Hello again!
Hope you enjoyed your weekend. May it have been light on work, and heavy on pleasure with much of that leisure time occupies by great reads! As for mine...I worked, and ran errands prior to work, but such is life, and I still managed to squeeze in some reading time, so I still count it as a win. Speaking of which...
The reading here lately has been AMAZING and I'm currently sitting on several titles that need reviewing, so keep tuning in for updates and new suggestions for your TBR. Today's featured title is not one of those held in waiting, but a NEW RELEASE available right now for your reading pleasure. Now, I say that with a grain of salt because while reading is a pleasurable pastime, the subject matter covered within this title, the history pages it was torn from, are anything but enjoyable...however, the story itself, how it was built, shaped, and shared was memorable from start to finish. Ready to learn more? Ladies and gents, here comes today's ebook of choice...
by
Steve N. Lee
About the book...
She will save hundreds of lives. But can she save her own?
Inspired by a previously untold true story.
1943. 18-year-old Czech, Inge is torn from her family and imprisoned in some godforsaken hellhole. There, she suffers month after month of torturous labor while praying for liberation by the Allies. But rescue never comes. And her dream of surviving the war dies.
Heinz, an SS Sergeant, has been force-fed the Reich's poison since childhood, but nowadays, he covertly helps prisoners.
So when a random act of kindness thrusts Inge and Heinz together, they can't resist being drawn to one another. Unable to deny their feelings, they dare to dream of a future, a life — together.
But their relationship does not go unnoticed. For Inge and Heinz, falling in love becomes a death sentence. And not just for them, but for all those they care about.
Unless…
Inge makes an unthinkable sacrifice.
Set during history’s darkest hour, “To Dream Of Shadows” is an epic tale of compassion, sacrifice, and the strength of the human spirit. Discover one of the most heartwarming, heartbreaking, and heroic tales of the Holocaust.
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I've read this author's work before, and while I did enjoy it, it tore my heart out, stomped on it, placed it back in my chest, and then tore it out once again. I mean, the emotions pulled from you were exhausting...and while yes, it meant that the author really connected with you, I wasn't so sure if I could take another heart beating...hence, it's been a little while since I read/reviewed his work. Then we have today...
This week, or rather just yesterday, saw us celebrating the release of yet another title from author Steve N. Lee, and this time around it was a Historical Fiction novel that really sounded like something I needed to read. So, I took a chance. I gambled. I let my heart out of its confines to explore this new venture from someone that has penned great yet heartbreaking work before...and I can't say I'm sorry for having done so.
This story has its bare bones in history, but the details, the fleshing out, and the ending are all speculation. It provided the author with a time period well known, locations visited many times over, and lives to explore on both sides of the war, along with the atrocities that still shock to this day, and the evil that was done in the name of a homeland. It allowed him to build complex characters that we can't help but feel for. Now whether those feelings were in favor of them or wishing they would fall into their own mass graves is something to be determined, but I will say this...while you could easily get lost in the story, both that of life in the camps, and the potential for love brewing in the most unlikely of places, it raised some interesting questions...at least for this reader. In no way shape or form are the events that transpired excusable, but I have to wonder...how many were not fighting for something they believed in, but something they were made to believe, or to protect their families, or to save themselves? Does it make them a coward for not falling on the blade, so to speak, or just as evil as those in command if they were acting against their will for the good of others?
Inge's character I was behind one hundred percent. Even though she talked out of turn with no care for herself at times, she was always trying to help others, save others, protect others, and then eventually herself. It wasn't an easy road to walk in any way, but she did the best she could in the dire situation presented. It was so hard watching her struggles day in and day out, but it was equally hard seeing the hardships of those around her, and the people in general. It's so heartbreaking to know things like that actually happened, and that's where my second query came in. Heinz was a character that I had a very hard time liking. Grant it, it was more plausible than Gruber, or Kloser, or several others, but although he was nicer, he was still one of them. It wasn't until about seventy-five percent through the book that I was willing to accept him as something more than an instrument of war. Yes, he worked to change things. Yes, he stepped in on the prisoners behalves. Yes, he was still a member of a party of "people" that believed they were the only true race that should exist...and though he was "fed poison" all his life, and obviously harbored doubts to be how he was when we met him, it was still SO HARD to think anything kind on his behalf...hence the questions his character raised while I was reading.
All in all, it was both captivating, and heartbreaking. It gave us another glimpse into history, while raising questions that are very hard to answer, and still grabbing us by the heartstrings as we wait with baited breath to see if things turn out right in the end. FYI...I'm not spoiling that part, but I will say this...there is a twisty surprise along the way, and...the author wounded me once again with the story of Heinz's dog. Just...bring the tissues, okay...you'll need them on more than one occasion.
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About the author...
Apart from animals and writing, Steve’s passion is travel. He’s visited 60 countries and enjoyed some amazing experiences, including cage-diving with great white sharks, sparring with a monk at a Shaolin temple, and watching a turtle lay eggs on a moonlit beach. He’s explored Machu Picchu, Pompeii, and the Great Wall of China, yet for all that, he’s a man of simple tastes — give him an egg sandwich and the TV remote control, and he’ll be happy for hours!
He lives in the North of England with his partner, Ania, and two black cats who arrived in the garden one day and liked it so much, they stayed. Graciously, the cats allow Steve and Ania to stay in 'their' house.
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Special thanks to author Steve N. Lee for the ebook for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or his others works, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is AVAILABLE NOW via Blue Zoo, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
