The Violin Makers Daughter by Sharon Maas
Stacey • July 28, 2019
A riveting tale of impressionable Sarah, an apprentice violin maker and non-practising Jew in the midst of a raging war, systematically spreading throughout Europe. The first time the Nazi’s appear they decide to hide their Jewish background and stay in their beloved family home. The terrorizing wait to see if they can remain hidden and be left in peace…. The ultimate betrayal eventually comes to call and their status of Aryan decent has come into question and they are given a week to provide the paperwork… The countdown begins.
The time has come to flee but they cannot flee together. They must separate and go in smaller groups. Sarah must go alone and she must leave first. Her life depends on her ability to blend in, keep her head down, trust the people she does not know, to keep her safe. She must learn to keep her emotions in check. Keeping the despair of leaving her family from bubbling to the surface and her blind hatred for all Germans under wraps as to not draw attention to herself.
On her journey she mets Ralf, German and a soldier. She still can’t bring herself to trust him, even after her saves her life. Now he’s on the run too and agrees to get Sarah safely to where she needs to be. During their journey he will do much more than just protect her…. He will teach her to avoid detection, master her emotions, be brave and how to survive… He shows her that just as a war can destroy and create hate, It doesn’t have the power to stop an all consuming love.
Hiding their identities and deny who they are as the race from safe house to safe house, Ralf and Sarah continue their journey together. All too soon Ralf is captured and Sarah has a choice to make.
The weight of the world seems to rest on the shoulders of young Sarah. Having no world knowledge and being held in practically like a hostage in her home by a war she doesn’t understand and the full gravity of it being held secret by her parents. All she wants to do is make violins and put the love and careful attention to detail into each and every one. When the pounding on their door comes that night and Sarah now knows what her parents were keeping from her. She must leave the safety of her home, of her family and make the dangerous journey to safety. The rough terrain and the soldiers everywhere. Not knowing who she can trust, keeping a part of herself hidden so she can remain undetected. She has to keep her wits about her and ultimately her eye on the prize.
You can feel the emotional rollercoaster she is on. You literally watch her throw off her adolescences and transition into womanhood in such a quick succession, it would make anyones head spin. It really comes to a head when she is saved by a young German Soldier, Ralf who is now on the run too, having risked his life to save her and her friend Eric.
The journey is, at times, agony to read. Sarahs hatred for all Germans is so black and white that she can’t, at first, see there is so much grey all around her. Everything she says, everything she does, every small detail has to be just right in order to avoid detection. She has no life skills to help her on this life or death quest to safety. She is learning as she goes.
The whole book from start to finish is like watching Sarah mature from a naive caterpillar into a butterfly of knowledge. Her full transition from child to woman is painfully played out and you will feel every emotion right along with her. My heart was so full to bursting and the tears were hard to bite back knowing she was wholly dependent on herself and trying to navigate her feelings for a man she barely knows and didn’t trust in the beginning. No experiences to draw on and no Mother to ask. The whole book had me reeling with the simplicity of tale and the complexity of a world that we today, cannot comprehend. You could almost hear the footsteps of the Soldiers along the cobble stone streets and feel the pounding on the front door.
I’ve never read any of Sharon Maas’ work before, which is shocking to me as I am an avid historical fiction reader. This book was right on the money for me. You can feel the fear of the unknown, the hatred and the violence of a time that the author herself, didn’t live through but really has a way with the written word. I felt like I was living through 1940s France. The hairs on my arms would stand on end whenever she came to a check point. The air of silent terror really played out well through the whole book for me.
I really felt love can conquer all, even hatred. Historical fiction enthusiasts should really add this to their reading pile. If you enjoy having your heart beating as fast as a drum, having sweaty palms so slick you can barely hold the book any more and breathing so quietly so the Nazi’s can’t hear you, then this is the read for you.
Sincerely, The Lioness
Book review - Fiction - Audiobook - Romance Pick Me by Victoria Schade Brooke needs some inspiration for her writing so looking for a romance opportunity means looking in the weirdest places. She even learns to play pickleball to get close to a handsome man on the courts… She just needs to learn to play so when her friend pays for Owen to give her some lessons… Can she keep it strictly on the courts or will the attraction come off the page too? This one was a real surprise. I haven't ever played pickleball.. I've never seen a game either so it intrigued me. I might have gone to youtube to take a look at it and OMG there has to be easier ways to date haha. I really liked Owen. He was so grumpy and cute I wanted to eat him up with a spoon. I liked Brooke too and that's the magic for me. Their build up. The story was fine and the narration was good but the two of them were the wow factor for me. I liked how they connected. I thought it was really cute and I give it 4 stars Thank you @netgalley #netgalley #bookreview #bookishblog #pickleball #pickme #romancereader #bookalorian
I just finished Only Lovers in the Building by Nadine Gonzalez and here are my musings. Liliane quits her job as a lawyer after someone else got the credit for her hard work. Not willing to go home from the retreat just yet, she gets herself an air bnb and plans to read all summer. She finds herself bumping into her neighbor Ben and they discover a shared love for romance books and they spend the summer reading and critiquing books together while fighting the mounting attraction that neither wants to act on. This is one of the only beachy reads I did this summer and it was definitely the only one I needed. The thing this book had in spades was an eclectic group of characters. All unique and perfect in their imperfection. I loved Ben. He was refreshingly honest in how he dealt with people but had the biggest problem being honest with himself which really made for an interesting read. It was a realllllllllyyyyyyyyyy sssssssssslllllllllllllooooooooooowwwwwwwww burn. I mean really slow but honestly it worked for me. I liked the build up of their friendship and their mutual love of books. I liked their banter and how they started their podcast on their musings. It was very cool! 4.25 stars Thank you @harperaudio for my gifted copy You can find all my book reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A You can find all my book merch at Bookaloriandesigns.com and bookaloriandesigns.etsy.com #onlyloversinthebuilding #bookish #bookalorian #bookreview #audiobookreview #bookblog #bookpod #bookpodcast #litdulterous #booksbooksbooks #bookrecs #romancereader
Book Review - Fiction - Audiobook - greek retelling - Romantic Fantasy The Cafe of Inescapable Human Destiny by Elizabeth Hrib When Liv quits school she didn’t expect to find herself working in a coffee shop… Ran by the Fates! When her life thread becomes entwined with a beautiful man…. Nick, she has to get his life back onto track before the fates intervene. Well that was an entertaining read!! I loved the narration and the characters were the magic here. It was short and very entertaining little audio. Not my normal thing but dang the story was good! The book moved quickly and you will be just as charmed as I was. It was a clever little greek retelling and I can’t gush about it enough. 4 stars #novella #bookreview #booksbooksbooks #reader #reading #bookishblog #bookinfluencer
I just finished Dot Slash Magic by Liz Shipton and here are my musings. Seven Jones is in college… she just wants to get through it all. Walking into a secret underground magic club was not on the agenda. Learning she had magic is a big adjustment and the fact she doesn’t know what channels her magic is making everyone uneasy. When she accidently creates a magic computer program, an AI she calls dot… She keeps it a secret but someone is summoning terrifying creatures and everyone is looking at her to blame. This might be the weirdest plot of a book ever but dang I was hooked from the first chapter!! Seven has powers and she joins a group that can help her channel so the power doesn’t go bad.. She spends her time fighting the people in the group and working out how her magic works. I loved all the characters. It was a motley crew of magic wielders and they all connected so well. I loved the narration. The voice for dot was excellent. It made me giggle every single time. I liked how the book gave us the pitfalls of AI while showing us how it can make some things so much easier. I was really blown away with the plot! It was so different and fun! The ending threw me through a loop too! It was an excellent book! I love sci-fi’s and this one was unique and brilliant!! 4.5 stars! Thank you @tantoraudio and @netgalley #litdulterous #bookalorian #dotslashmagic #lizshipton #fantasybook #romancereader #dystopian #darkacademia #bookpodcast #bookreview #Urbanfantasy #sciencefiction #newadult
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Book review - Fiction - audiobook - Thriller - general fiction Darkrooms by Rebecca Hannigan It was the eve of 1999 summer solstice that was the last time anyone saw Roison… just 9 years old… she went into the hanging woods and never came back out. Twenty years later Roison's sister DeeDee is now a cop and she is barely holding her life together. Roison's childhood bestie Caitlin… A petty thief is returning home for the first time in years… She was the last person to see Roison before she disappeared.. It took me a while to get used to the audio narration on this one but I am so glad I stuck it out because the story was fabulous. It was dark and ominous and the twists came together at the end for a beautiful heartbreaking conclusion. I never really connected with any character and I think that was on purpose… We were supposed to distrust them all and it was a seriously clever way to tell a tale. I found the pacing started out really slow… It was a build up I didn’t get until I got further in so keep going! It will make sense! The writing was very good! I have ordered a copy for my shelf! Definitely worth the read. 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @harperaudio #netgalley #audiobookreader #thrillerbook #bookpodcast #bookishpodcaster #bookblog
I just finished Joy Moody Is Out of Time by Kerryn Mayne and here are my thoughts Cassie and Andy were made to believe they were from the future and they would be going back there one day… Cassie the believer and Andy believing they are being lied to. On their 21st birthday, their adoptive mom Joy Moody is found dead and all the family secrets have come skittering to the surface. This is a weird story. Joy truly believed what she was telling them and watching the fall out between the three women was different. The more you learn about Joy, the more you should be angry at her but you never end up feeling that way. I liked the potential sci-fi plot that ran through it but the ending was really solid. I actually loved this book way more than I thought I would. It was a really unique and well structured story. I liked the characters and the narration was absolutely spot on! Joy is one of those characters that really steal the show and I highly recommend grabbing the audio of this one. 4 stars Make sure you check out my store Bookaloriandesigns.com Bookaloriandesigns.etsy.com Unique bookish merch for the book dragon connoisseur. You can find all my book reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A Youtube.com/@litdulterous #bookreview #joymoodyisoutoftime #bookalorian #booktok #booktube #funnybooktok #litdulterous #audiobook #audioreader #literaryinfluencer #bookishpodcast
Book review - Fiction - Romance - Ghost Story - Paranormal Fantasy I just finished the Seven Rings by Nora Roberts and here are my musings. Sonya MacTavish lives in a huge manor house at the behest of a man she did not know but hoped she could break a curse… She has seen the past.. The death of seven brides. The malevolent spirit will not break her.. She will find the secrets and piece it all together so she can finally free her ancestors… Her enemy is a ghost dressed all in black and her illusions are so powerful they are a real danger.. Can Sonya fight a battle across two realms while straddling the past and present? Will the fight for the house end in death? I have loved this trilogy since the first page of book 1 and I waited so patiently to get this book and it did not disappoint. I am sad it is over though. I fell in love with all the characters and my heart is heavy to know that I won’t see anymore from their adventures. The book finished off this trilogy with such gravitas though that I sped to the end. I really was fully satisfied with how it all panned out. The writing is exactly what you would expect.. Brilliant, clever and flawless. I can’t wait to know what you think of the trilogy because it's an easy 5 star for me. Such an epic book… such an amazing end to one of my fave trilogies. GRAB IT NOW!!!! Thank you to @stmartinspress for including me in this campaign!! #bookblog #readersofig #bookblast #bookish #smpearlyreader
I just finished Sophie was here by Kathryn Croft and here are my thoughts. When Emmy’s boyfriend Charlie’s Parents want to give the family home to the couple, they move to the country which is something they both needed but what Emmy doesn’t expect to find is a mystery. Of what happened to Charlie’s girlfriend when he was a teen. When Emmy asks him about it, he turns cold… That’s not even the worst part.. When she goes down into the spooky basement.. There’s a message.. Sophie was here…. I love twisty turny psychological thrillers and this one was epic. Just when I thought I knew what was going on… BOOM! I was on a new path. It was great. I didn’t like any of the characters, they were a tad unlikable and Emmy was dramatic but I think that helped me to be more concerned about what happened to Sophie than the danger Emmy might have been in. I loved it. The audiobook was absolutely atmospheric! Pacing could have been a bit better but dang.. I was hooked from page one! 4.5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for my gifted copy You can find all my reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A My store is bookaloriandesigns.com and no tariffs!!! #bookish #sophiewashere #netgalley #audiobookstagram #audiobooklover #bookalorian #booksbooksbooks #bookouture #alc #arcbooks #arcreader #arcreview #literaryinfluencer
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