Occupied Norway, 1943. After seeing an allied plane go down over the mountains, headstrong fifteen year-old Kari Dahlstrøm sets out to locate the wreck. She soon finds the cocky American pilot Lance Mahurin and offers to take him to Sweden, pretending she’s a member of the resistance. While her widower father Erling and the disillusioned Nazi Oberleutnant Conrad Moltke hunt them down, Kari begins … begins to fall for Lance, dreaming of a life with him in America. Over the course of the harrowing journey, though, Kari learns hard truths about those around her as well as discovering unforeseen depths within herself.
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This story hits all the marks for me. The hidden strength we can find within ourselves. The real connection to family no matter what and no questions asked. The love of a father for his daughter especially touched me. Kari, a typical teenager, didn’t feel it and didn’t give it at first. Only thru great discovery on a long torturous journey helping an American pilot escape to Sweden did she finally see what was truth. I was so proud of her. I was overwhelmed by the steps her father took to save her.
I received this book from NetGalley after the author asked me to review his book. I found it to be a short, easy read, finishing it in two days. It takes place in the winter of 1943,in occupied Norway. A US air force plane crashes near a Norwegian farm run by a widower and his 15 year old daughter. She finds the pilot, stuck in a tree, and gets him down. She tells him that she is with the resistance(not true) and will take him to Sweden. She fantasizes about a romance with the pilot. The Nazis are searching for him and the plot proceeds at a good pace. There is quite a bit of descriptive information about the geography, plants and people of Norway.
Two quotes:
“The black mountains rose in waves, churning and white-capped. They climbed ever higher to the east, each row more faded and illusory than the last.”
“People seemed to be full of hidden fires, invisible to one another and often even invisible to one self.”
I enjoyed reading it and give it 4 out of 5 stars.
First, full disclosure:
1. I received a copy of LAND OF HIDDEN FIRES from the author with a request to read and review it.
2. I am obsessed with stories related to the two World Wars.
The novella takes place in Norway during the Nazi occupation of World War II. But the war almost becomes unimportant because this is a novel of building suspense, that follows the intersection of five lives:
1. An American pilot who crash lands in the forest.
2. A motherless teenage girl experiencing her first tender feelings of love.
3. A spineless Nazi collaborator dreaming of a more prosperous life.
4. A German officer, desperate to leave the relative safety of his posting in Norway for the possibility of earning glory on the battlefield.
5. A remote but desperate father trying to locate and protect his lost daughter.
And one more major character — the cold Norwegian winter. Snow, cold, and ice impact everything. My biggest criticism of the book is the elaborate descriptions that start each chapter, which to me, sometimes detracted from the building suspense of the story. Nevertheless, the suspense does build as the book progresses. And the ending seems realistic.
The book is less a war story than it is about the ways people behave in difficult times and how their personal desires wind up impacting others who cross their path.
This book is one you will want to read in one sitting. It grabs you from the start and holds on with an embrace that becomes frantic by the end. Great story of World War II and the German invaders when a young woman is forced to face adulthood long before she is ready. Memorable.
A very well-told story. I cared about the characters and wanted to know what would happen next. The ending was slightly disappointing in its abruptness.
Historically interesting but slow.
Good story, OK writing.
I enjoyed reading this book as it was based on reality -historical fiction at its best.
I did not care for the ending. The male character was not developed. The story didn’t really end.
Great book
Nice to have a happy ending.
The setting and idea were good. However, the execution was simplistic and unrealistic with flat characters.
Enjoyable…
Good reading
Very interesting!!
The interplay of the Norwegian characters caught in the Nazi occupation and their various anguished choices for how to live in that context was well captured. The ending surprised me in a pleasant way.
I was glad for Kari!
I enjoyed the historical perspective. The author creates likeable characters who draw one into the storyline.
I was hoping for a happily ever after ending.
Did.not care for