From USA Today bestselling author A.W. Hartoin comes a series perfect for the fans of Kristen Hannah’s The Nightingale, Martha Hall Kelly’s Lilac Girls, and Kit Sergeant’s The Spark of Resistance: Women Spies in WWII.On the eve of WWII, a honeymoon turns treacherous.For Stella Bled Lawrence being wealthy and stylish in 1938 is exactly what it’s cracked up to be. She’s blissfully unaware of the … unaware of the rising tensions in Europe even as she travels to Vienna on the eve of the Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass. Stella and her husband, Nicky, witness the night’s atrocities first hand. Even as they watch the horror, they never imagine it will touch them personally, a pair of wealthy Americans on their honeymoon but touch them it does. In the chaotic aftermath, Stella finds passion and purpose in the form of a package with a Paris address. She promises to deliver it, not knowing what it contains or who wants it. Soon Stella must decide who and what she’s willing to sacrifice to keep a secret that has been quietly guarded for five hundred years.
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This book covered an experience right before WWII when a newlywed couple traveled to Europe and got caught up in a Nazi web. The storyline was very realistic for a historical novel of that time period although the Nazis wouldn’t have been able to track the couple as easily as they did in this book which detracted from the realism. I considered this book to be an ok book but not one that I would read again.
Very difficult to follow, very long descriptions, not worth the time
This book seems to never end. It’s one twist and turn after another and just not very realistic. There’s too much description and a combination of inconsequential details coupled with tragic events from the German invasion of European countries. I don’t think the story is believable.
Interesting first hand look at early Nazi impact on European countries in 1938-39.
It reads like a child wrote it.
Pretentious and rather absurd
When I got half way through, it was hard to put down. First half was slow to peak my interest. sorry about that!
It was a great read. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series
Stella and Nicky Lawrence are on a grand tour of Europe for their honeymoon in the fall of 19xx. They happen to be in Vienna during Kristalnacht, and after that their lives are intricately intertwined with the Nazis. While not Jews themselves, their guide Abel, just before he was arrested by the SS, gave Stella a package to be delivered to his cousins in Paris. Stella and Nicky carom from one encounter with the Nazis to another, while anyone who tries to help them gets badly injured or killed. At the beginning, Stella comes across as an airhead, interested only in fashion and art; her husband Nicky comes across as a bored playboy. Both of them End up displaying an astonishing depth of character, courage, and ingenuity. The pace of this book is relentless, and we as readers have as little breathing space as do the characters. The author also includes subtle moral lessons on self-knowledge, trust, the nature of evil, and honor with sacrifice. You should read this amazing book.
What starts out as a European honeymoon for an American couple becomes a twisted adventure at the onset of WWII. The naive protagonist unknowingly thrown into an action movie-like adventure during a dark, dangerous time in history was an eclectic combination that grew on me. Not a big action fan, I more enjoyed the description of landmarks and historic events as well as the suspense involving that package the protagonist accepted from their tour guide. Discovering the contents of the package was fascinating. Very enjoyable!
It was like. Raiders of the Lost Ark story. Very fast paced and entertaining.
I really really enjoyed this book. It’s better than good, but left me wanting more at the end so somewhere between good and excellent. A sequel perhaps. If you like adventure and action this is packed on every page. Sometimes it was just a summer read and sometimes it cut right to the core and transported you to the very page you were reading. It was hard to put this one down. Even a bit in there for the feminist in all of us.