Treachery, heartache, and loneliness led Ella Kühn to take her first alcoholic drink ten years ago. Survival in the shadow of the Berlin Wall takes on a new face as her resulting addiction turns toxic. While memories of her past haunt her future, the butterfly tattoo covering the gunshot wound to her right shoulder becomes a physical and emotional reminder of Stefan’s absence, which now spans … twelve years.
In 1983, trust remains a fragile ally as the Communist Bloc begins to crumble. Ella’s involvement in the rising opposition and underground punk movement puts her more at risk than any escape plan. She is followed, watched, and hunted but by whom? An old enemy? The Secret Police? Or her new employer?
In Release, the third and final installment of the Berlin Butterfly Series, Ella battles her inner demons as she struggles to survive the ever-growing darkness in the Deutsche Democratic Republic. Will she regain her former strength and find a way to flee to the thinning borders of Czechoslovakia and join Anton and Josef? Or will ties to her precarious past keep her bound—her only release found in freedom from pain and guilt while embracing life in East Berlin without her family?
Fans of German war fiction and historical romance will love this extraordinary twentieth-century political drama.
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Incredibly written
I have read the first two books in the Berlin Butterfly series, and I was looking forward to reading this one. This book is another remarkable story from Moyes. It’s a powerful story of survival, and the haunting past, and also living in the shadow of the Berlin wall. Moyes definitely writes a raw and ingenious story. I really liked this story, and found many of the scenes powerful and real. I look forward to reading more by this author. This is a definite recommendation from Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews.
Moyes does an excellent job in wrapping up the Berlin Butterfly 3-book series with Release. I heard about Book One – Ensnare and as a military person and one who loves to read about history this series intrigued me about the Berlin Wall. This is an incredible journey Moyes tells about Ella and her life behind the Berlin Wall. If you enjoy history as I do, you’ll enjoy this riveting book by Moyes who did excellent research about this timeframe.
This has been a tough road for Ella that ties back to the fateful decision to stay with her father as the fence was going up between West and East Berlin. As the years pass separated from her brother Josef and her dear friend Anton, she was able to find love with Stefan, but that too didn’t last, and thus she turned to alcohol to drown out the pain of all that she has lost. If she doesn’t quit drinking she might just end up incredibly sick or worse. There’s good in store for Ella, she just has to become present in her life to realize it.
I don’t want to spoil how this book turns out because there’s so much happening over the years here in Release. But Ella does find herself again, Ella the fighter, the one who has only wanted to see the wall come down and to be reunited with her family. That fighting spirit will help her in this book, but it also puts her in dangerous situations, as anyone that goes against the Stasi isn’t safe. She needs to learn to rely on her gut, to rely on her friendships and her hope for the future that things really can change.
Reading The Berlin Butterfly trilogy has been such an emotional journey. Moyes has done a wonderful job in the research to create a fantastic story steeped in actual events and movements that sprung up all over Germany during this time. This is a great blend of historical fiction and romance, with vividly rich characters. I’m a little sad to see this series go but I look forward to what Moyes has in store for her readers, and I’m grateful to have been a part of this journey.
Readers of historical fiction and historical romance will enjoy this book. The long awaited finale of The Berlin Butterfly series, Berlin Butterfly Release is here. Ella’s story continues as she is struggling with her new reality. She has been shot, her plan of escaping to the West ruined, her hope of Stefan returning to her a haunting memory. She is alone, believing there is no hope of ever seeing Anton and Josef again, no hope of escaping, and her Stefan is truly gone, out of her life forever. Her decision to use alcohol to numb the pain has escalated putting her very life at risk until a friend from her past shows up unexpectedly needing help and a place to stay. This is a book of redemption, of finding a purpose, of taking risks, of reconnecting the pieces of the past and of perseverance, hope, and love. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If you are new to the series start with Berlin Butterfly Ensnare to read Ella’s story from the beginning.