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
I just just finished Writing Mr. Wrong by Kelley Armstrong and here are my musings. Gemma never expected her debut novel to make it so big… Or that anyone would work out the leading man in her book was her high school crush and now hot shot hockey star. Knowing they could help each other out, they decide to fake-date to boost their careers but is this more of a second chance? The chance they missed out on in high school? Look… I am already a huge Kelley Armstrong fan so this book was already going to be excellent because she does not write any trash! She did not disappoint! I loved the narrators. They did well together and it really brought the story to life. I loved Gemma… I connected with who she was as a person from the get go and while I am not a massive fan of the fake dating trope, this one was done really well. I really was rooting for both of them and there were some sweet moments that made me sighhh and some chuckle moments! I really felt for Gemma… What happened in school hurt her and you can see that she still wasn’t over it years on. I’m so glad they got the second chance they needed to get to know each other again. 4 stars Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for my gifted copy! You can find all my reviews at Www.thelipnessofliteracy.com My podcast is @litdulterouswhore and you can find it on Spotify and YouTube #writingmrwrong #bookish #kelleyarmstrong #romancebook #romancereader #booksbooksbooks #bookalorian #bookblog #bookishblog #vlog #reading #bookstagramcanada🇨🇦 #bookcommunity #bookishpodcast
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Book review - Fiction - Contemporary romance - Billionaire romance I just finished Devious Husband by Catharina Maura - Book 6 of The Windsors and here are my musings. She cannot stand him… He’s loved her in secret for years… Xavier damn near loses his mind when she begins to show interest in a man that is not him.. Is he thinking clearly when he offers Sierra the deal of a lifetime… A merger between their companies but only if she agrees to be his wife… What did I just read! This cannot be the end! Say it is not so!! Xavier might just be the most perfect MC on the planet! He isn’t perfect and I think thats why I love him so much! Sierra is his perfect match and someone to aspire to be. This book had a lot to live up to and it nailed it all the way to the bank! I loved the writing and how the book finished up all my expectations and hit that nail home. I am not a massive fan of the Rivals to lovers trope especially with business but this worked so well for me. If you love a good billionaire romance this has to be on your list! Start from the beginning and come talk to me about how amazing this series is. 4.5 stars Thank you to @bloombooks for my gifted copy! #bookcommunity #readersgonnaread #bookpodcast #romancereader #enemiestolovers
I just finished Falling for You Again by Kerry Lonsdale and here are my musings. Meli is a furniture artist. She crafts the most amazing pieces and looks forward to taking over the family business. She is blind-sided when her uncle plans to sell the business. When she finds out the company that is buying has someone she knows working for them… Aaron. A man she hasn’t seen in years… The man she married and divorced after a night in vegas… A man who might just be able to help her destroy the deal. Wow wow wow! This second chance story really took a unique twist by having the main characters meet by chance on a plane and get married in Vegas with the agreement they annul it after. They don’t see each other again until this deal. I loved the chemistry between them. The narration was absolutely wonderful and I loved how the whole book came to life in this beautiful way. I liked Meli a lot. I loved that she had a job outside of “pink” jobs that come up a lot in romance books. She was a rockstar with A wood-lathe and that was bad ass. I thought the plot was clever and unique. It really was a fun read. I liked the ending too. It was definitely an all round epic romance read! 4.5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @brilliancepublishing for my gifted ALC! You can find all my reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A #bookish #bookalorian #bookalicious #bookishblog #bookstagrammer #candianbookblogger #bookishbusiness #bookpodcast #litdulterous #readingbook #readersofbookstagram #bookrecs #fallingforyouagain #audiobookreview
Book review - Novellas - Romance Carolyn Brown - Chasing Dreams. This book has 3 exceptional novellas in it! A summer to remember … Bernie runs a bar… When she has 3 customers come in and she can see the heat between 2 of them… She tries her hand at matchmaking… If she manages it she plans on getting all her great nieces married off…. I loved Bertie and the story was so cute!! I have a real love for books with older MCs and this novella was so adorable. I am a hopeless romantic so this hit me right in the fuzzies!! The Matchmaker - Dorry, Minnie and Sookie are all retired and have been friends for years.. They decide to try their hand at matchmaking!! Unbeknownst to them. The couple they have chosen are already bound for divorce so they have their work cut out for them… These ladies are my people!! I absolutely loved this novella!! My fave of all 3, the writing was great and the characters just had me hooked right in! Chasing Dreams - Nita, Sharlene and Billy Joe want to go on a road trip but they can’t do it alone! They enlist the help of Ford, Billie Jo’s great grandson and Sharlene's great niece Joelle to help. Checking off things from their bucket list, these pensioners know how it is done! Joelle and Ford could stand to take a leaf out of their book… Such a great novella to end this book with! I really am charmed with the use of retired MCs and their personalities are simply the best! The whole book made me want to live more and see more… DO MORE!! Cannot wait for more books with older characters and I highly recommend this book! 4 stars Thank you to @sourcebooks for my gifted copy Out now #sourcebooksinfluencer #novellas #bookblog #bookishblog #blogger #bookinfluencer #bookishbusiness
Book review - Historical Fiction - Historical Romance - Marriage of Convenience I just finished A Most Worthy Husband by Faye Delacour - The Lucky Ladies of London #3 and here are my musings. Hannah never had aspirations to marry… She was happy to be a spinster and help her sister in law run the gambling club. Her mother won’t abide that so Hannah decides to ruin herself with an awful man so no one will want her… Silas is the perfect mark.. He’s a troublemaker and works as a dealer at the club. The man who gave him the job happens to be Hannah's brother but one kiss for so much money… How can he say no… Trouble is even that won’t stop Hannah’s mother and she will force a marriage whether Hannah likes it or not. I’m a bit of a sucker for this series so being back in the club was a nice change of pace for me. I like the slow burn of this book. It’s not normally something I enjoy but I really felt this pacing was exactly what was needed to bring this story alive. As anyone who reads my reviews knows, I am not a massive fan of fake dating or fake courting in this instance but I really loved how this one played out and it felt original rather than an overplayed trope but I am a massive sucker for the brothers friend trope and this one was a bulls eye.. Not only was she off limits because hello, her brother gave him the job but they aren’t even in the same class and that added a beautiful dimension to the story. I actually quite liked Hannah! She was naive but she has such a graceful presence and I love the fact she wants to be self-sufficient to the point that she was gonna pull a crazy stunt to achieve it! Silas was very much the protective MC and I loved their chemistry! It was sweet and it truly gave me the fuzzies! All in all another great installment of a great series… 4 stars Thank you @sourcebookscasa for my gifted copy! Out now! #bookcommunity #prettybooks #bookblog #bookish #readergram #reading #reading #bookinfluencer #bookblog #bookishvlog
I just finished The Fourth Daughter by Lyn Liao Butler and here are my musings. Liv Kuo was a star on the rise in the kitchen until a traumatic incident in her kitchen has her hiding in her apartment. She wants to stay there… Safe but when her grandmother calls her begging for her help, she jumps on a plane and flies to Tawain.. She needs help to find the daughter, a woman she thinks she just saw, her 4th daughter, who was rehomed by the child’s father decades earlier. Ah-Ma tells Liv all about her life before she was born and the while they spend time together and search for her missing aunt, they allow their love of food to bring them closer together. OK this was one of the best books of the year for me. I absolutely loved the straddling of timelines and how Ah-Ma had such a love for her children but after her youngest daughter was taken and given away…. The loss was tangible. It came across so acutely I could not help sobbing. Watching her struggle to be a wife to a monster in a time and place where she had no rights… UGH my heart. Her beautiful friendship with an abused woman was one of the best things I have ever read. I liked the cooking parts in the book too and the fact that Liv had PTSD and her struggles with the anxiety and panic attacks was done with such care, I couldn’t put it down. I felt bereft for Ah-Ma and I love that we got the story from the perspective of the family her daughter was placed with. It was beautiful, heartwarming in the sadness because she never gave up hope. It was beautiful and I highly recommend it. 5 stars Thank you to @brilliancepublishing for my gifted copy. 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 #thefourthdaughter #bookreview #bookishreview #bookalorian #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #booktok #litdulterous #bookishpost #bookishpodcast #booklover #reading #readersofig #booksofbookstagram
Book review - Non-Fiction - Psychology - Self Help - Science I just finished Why We Click by Kate Murphy and here are my musings! Did you know that subconsciously we mirror people's tone, mannerism, postures and more when we are communicating? I knew this. It’s a sales tactic we were taught. Mirror the customer and they feel more at ease and familiar with you that they will automatically trust you. That’s the surface part.. Did you know that we also sync our blood pressure, moods, brainwaves and heart rates as well? COLOR ME BLOWN AWAY. I had no dang idea and this book clued me right in and I found myself learning more and more. This book was truly fascinating. The book was clear and easy to follow. Nothing overtly complicated and it was a super interesting read. The topics covered… Things like relationships in a social setting, working remotely all with real life offerings makes everything more relatable. Have you ever wondered why some connections feel right and others don’t? This book will give you the insight you always wondered about but never actually asked outloud. I don’t read a lot of self-help books, they tend to lean towards a certain type of person but I actually really enjoyed this book and ended up lending it to my husband who is basically a social pariah and he understood some things about himself that he put into action. If you are looking into the psychology of how to understand social bonds then this book is one to look for! 4 stars Thank you to @celadonbooks for my gifted copy. Out 27th January 2026 #celadonbooks #bookblog #readersofig #booksbooksbooks #readingallday
Book review - Fiction - Romance - Historical Fiction - Historical Romance - LBGTQ I just finished The Duke by Anna Cowan and here are my musings. Kate, the Duke of Howard… An aristocratic monster.. Celine Genet… Beautiful ambitious courtesan.. One night together leaves their mark on them both even when Kate left Celine to her fate.. Now Celine knows something dangerous about the Duke. To keep her secret Celine wants a husband with a title but their attraction refuses to be ignored… Man oh man oh man!! My pulse still hasn’t returned to normal. I don’t think I have ever been so flushed reading a book in my life. I love a book that turns historical fiction novels on their heads and this one brought that in spades. Celine… I loved her the very most! She is strong and ambitious but that's the exterior.. Her soul is so beautiful and the way Kate.. Watching her thaw out and become the touch her and die herione…… These 2 might just be my new favorite pairing in fiction. I was hooked from the start but I have to admit it does lose its momentum a few times but all in all I was charmed with this book. It has bridgerton vibes and I dug the HECK out of that! 4 stars! Thank you to @bloombooks for my gifted copy Due out April 28th 2026 #bookblogger #bookalorian #readersofig #booklover #bookishlife #lifeofabookstagrammer #bookpodcast #bookishpodcast #bookpod
The storm by Rachel Hawkins Have you read any books by this author before? I’m a fan of hers so I’m a teeny bit biased but this book was amazing! The Rosalee inn sets a scene. Geneve owns the place and when her old friend returns after she left through a scandal.. all the secrets bubble to the surface! What will cause more carnage? The lies of the past or the hurricane heading directly for them? The book had a slow but brilliant start. One thing I love about her books is she knows how to set the stage and when things really get going… Oohh watch out! I loved the tone and the pace: the writing is always excellent but I felt the more dark edge in this one. The characters are all well developed and I wanted to learn more about them and hello!! Set in an inn!! Love that! Not always a massive fan of weather related plots in books but I actually quite liked that there was something coming that couldn’t be stopped! Felt the ending was done right and all in all.. solid book! 4 stars Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy. SMP early reader - book influencer - book review - thriller
