“[B]eautifully written and emotional wrenching…its dynamic characters present a timely truth we should all grasp and embrace: We must stand up against those who preach hate.” —Karen Harper, New York Times bestselling author of The Queen’s Secret
For fans of The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See, a spellbinding story of impossible love set against the backdrop of the Nazi regime.
She … the Light We Cannot See, a spellbinding story of impossible love set against the backdrop of the Nazi regime.
She must choose between loyalty to her country or a love that could be her destruction…
As the dutiful daughter of a high-ranking Nazi officer, Hetty Heinrich is keen to play her part in the glorious new Thousand Year Reich. But she never imagines that all she believes and knows will come into stark conflict when she encounters Walter, a Jewish friend from the past, who stirs dangerous feelings in her. Confused and conflicted, Hetty doesn’t know whom she can trust and where she can turn to, especially when she discovers that someone has been watching her.
Realizing she is taking a huge risk—but unable to resist the intense attraction she has for Walter—she embarks on a secret love affair with him. But as the rising tide of anti-Semitism threatens to engulf them, Hetty and Walter will be forced to take extreme measures.
Will the steady march of dark forces destroy Hetty’s universe—or can love ultimately triumph…?
Propulsive, deeply affecting, and inspired by the author’s family history, Daughter of the Reich is a mesmerizing page-turner filled with vivid characters, a meticulously researched portrait of Nazi Germany, and a reminder that the past must never be forgotten.
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I have never read this author before but for the first time read this is an awesome book. So full of emotions and historical romance. I will be reading this author again. Thanks for writing such a moving story!
This is an entertaining, well-written, World War II Holocaust novel told from the point of view of the daughter of an SS officer. It has family drama, infidelity, a teenage romance, heart wrenching subject matter and a bittersweet ending.
Just started reading this and I am enjoying it
Hard to imagine how the Third Reich blossomed and grew. An interesting perspective on how the brainwashing occurred.
Loved this book. Will look for more from this author.
1930’s Germany before the outbreak of war told from the POV of a daughter of an SS officer who falls in love with a Jewish boy from her childhood. Realistic characters in a frightening era of our history. A cautionary tale for our time as well.
An emotional read. The bravery of those caught up in the horror of the Nazi regime is beyond words. We must never forget. This story haunted me. A fierce testament to the courage of those who lived this horror.
Germany before WWII. From a different perspective.
Emotional and realistic depicting the horrors of war
Well done historical fiction
I cannot get back to where I was reading this book
I enjoyed reading from the German side of the rise of the Nazi regime!
This compelling and deeply-moving story follows the inexorable rise of Hitler’s Nazi party and Germany’s descent into darkness in the years leading up to the outbreak of World War 2. Through Hetty’s eyes, the reader experiences the grim march of extreme nationalism and the anguish of lives brutally torn apart. And yet Daughter of the Reich is also a reminder that–even in the darkest times — the extraordinary power of love can light the way.
I couldn’t believe it when I read that this is a debut, because it’s so skillfully written. We feel Hetty’s character development through the pages; the scene-setting and historical background are unobtrusive but utterly convincing. This is an important subject to write about and I learned a lot, but above all it is a powerful, unforgettable love story.
I adored this book because not only is it beautifully written, it also tells a familiar story from a very unfamiliar perspective: that of a naïve German teenager caught up in the rise of Nazism ,and her gradual realization of the inhumanity driven by Aryan fanaticism. Louise Fein’s characters help us understand how so many people were taken in by Nazi propaganda, and the terrible, heartbreaking dilemmas they faced trying to protect the people they loved. This is historical fiction at its absolute best.
DAUGHTER OF THE REICH by Louise Fein is a gut-wrenching and heart-breaking novel. I finished it with tears running down my face.
Set in Germany before World War II, it follows the Hetty Heinrich, the daughter of an up and coming SS officer who has fully embraced Hitler’s ideology. Hetty idolizes her father and is caught up in the excitement of the future as proposed by the very dynamic Hitler, despite being told that a woman becoming a doctor is not in the cards. The indoctrination starts young and is hard to read. Hetty also doesn’t understand how her brother could forget his best friend, Walter, and is shocked when she finds out he is one of the “evil” Jewish people she has heard so much about, especially since he is blond and blue-eyed and he saved her life.
When she and Walter meet again, by chance, she struggles with what she has been taught all these years and what Walter presents to her as his reality. How can she believe him? Then, again, he is still the same person she has always loved and he is always honest with her, even when it comes to how her family ended up in their big beautiful house, so different than the small dingy apartment they started in. As a child, she had no reason to question how she got there, but as she got older, with Walter, the inconsistencies made her question everything she thought she knew. As their relationship grew, we see Hetty’s struggle with what she is told to believe and what she believes to be right forcing her to make heart-breaking decisions about her relationships with Walter, her friends, and her family.
This was well-written and I found myself immersed in the descriptions and horrors of all that happened during that time period. This novel makes it easy to see how things progressed in Germany. The characters were well-developed and pulled a wide array of emotions from me. This is one that was an unexpectedly “unputdownable” for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
#DaughteroftheReich #BookClubGirlEarlyRead #BookClubGirl #WilliamMorrow
Beautiful and absorbing — a vital story of kindness, and a reminder that humanity can flourish in the darkest of times… Breathtaking and wonderful.
Growing up under the Reich
Growing up under the Reich
Hetty is a young girl growing up in pre war Germany. Her father is an SS Officer. She never questions the teachings of her father and the Nazi doctrine until she becomes a teenager. Now she reconnects with Walter a childhood friend that once saved her from drowning in the pond and is a Jewish boy. She uses the excuse of walking her dog to meet with Walter. It is forbidden and at first they are friend but later become sweethearts, forbidden and hidden. She confides in no one until she confides in her best friend . She writes everything in her journal.
Unknown to her the secret meetings with Walter are noticed by two people, her housekeeper and a childhood friend Tomas that has feelings for Hetty. When the housekeeper tells her brother and he warns her father things become tense. What happens next is heartbreaking and very sad. It is life changing and everyone is affected by it.
This book tells the story of a young girl coming to realize the evil of the Nazi regime and the involvement of her parents. She is traumatized by events that take place and emotionally conflicted by them. It effects her relationship with her parents and her friends.
This is a very emotional story, but very believable. The characters are realistic and true to the parts they play in the story. This book is a good dramatic read, I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Louise Fein, Harper Collins Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of the book in return for an honest review.
Hetty is a young girl who has a father who is a high ranking official in the 3’rd Reich. She has a crush on Walter who is Jewish. As German continues to isolate and alienate the Jews Hetty begins to question all that she has been taught. Could she or should she have a relationship with Walter or not?? If so what would the consequences be?? I could not put this book down and learned so much about this historical event.