“Women and children to the right. Men, to the left,” I once said. From 1942 to 1944 I was what some called a Jew killer. Though, I have never hurt a soul, I was responsible for separating Jewish families, ensuring they would never see each other again. Those who were sick, were sent to their death … by me because I was forced to follow the enemy. The war stole my right of beliefs, my goals for … goals for a future, my left arm, and the love of my life.
I saved Amelia …
… then I lost her.
And after more than seventy years, I’m told she’s alive and asking for me.
Will love be enough to overcome the silence of more than seven decades?
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The best book I’ve read all year!
I’m about to run out of Vick’s Vapor Rub with how much my chest is aching! This book was emotionally exhausting, my eyes are still puffy and swollen, my heart squeezed painfully, I have a migraine (crying gives me a migraine), but I have zero regrets.
It’s been days and I am emotionally incapable of moving on from this amazing series. I keep thinking about it and I tear up. **takes deep breath** I don’t think I have words that will properly express how much I loved this book, but here goes:
First off, to the author: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for writing Charlie’s POV! I didn’t know how much I needed his side of the story after reading Last Words two years ago.
Second, I was only a few chapters in when I knew this was a 5-star read. I didn’t have to finish it (although I did) to know this, and I would stand by my rating. I want to stress how extremely rare that is for me. That’s how much of an extraordinary storyteller this author is. She was born to do this.
The Holocaust isn’t an easy subject to write or read about. I knew it would break my heart, but I didn’t think I would cry as much as I did. I had to take constant breaks when reading Charlie’s POV because it was so emotional and heartbreaking. I’m not going to sugarcoat this – it is a very hard book to read. It’s a raw, heart-wrenching story and the very definition of limitless love.
If you’ve read Last Words then you already know how Charlie and Amelia’s story ends (it’s a HEA). If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend reading it. This series should be read in order to get the full benefit of the story. It is one of my all-time favorites! Now I will stare off into space, hoping to get rid of this book funk soon.
5 TOUCHING BEAUTIFUL STARS!! Another heartfelt touching story by this phenomenal author. Shari J. Ryan’s words are so beautiful and will engrave themselves on your heart. I could not put this book down and all my emotion buttons were pushed. This book will be with me forever and will be with you too. Download this Book now.
Unspoken Words by Shari Ryan
5 ++++ Stars (ALL THE STARS!!)
Incredible! Incredible! What a journey! I really lost myself feeling like I was in the WWII. My heart broke so many times and so much meaning to the story.
“We left the dangers behind, but the love has forever been captured between us, and our unspoken words were the links that tied us together, keeping our memories alive– the connection forever intact.”
Very highly recommend! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! Shari Ryan did such a marvelous job! A MUST READ!!
This book was by far the best book I have read this year. I don’t know if I can do it justice with this review. Charlie was a young German boy who chosen to go to a special school to be groomed into becoming a soldier. He is resistant to the cause and always questions why. I have never really thought about the point of view from a German soldier. Charlie was definitely different from the rest. Amelia was of Jewish decent and was rounded up along with her family. They meet at one of the camps and they develop feelings for each other. Each knows that it is forbidden but they can’t help themselves. Charlie helps Amelia and a child escape and then they are separated. Their story is extremely important and powerful. At one particular point in the story, I had to put it aside and sob for a while. This book was a testament to true and unselfish love. I am forever grateful to have read this book!
Thank you for the privilege of reading this book! Amazing work
I want to give Unspoken Words ALL THE STARS! What Shari J. Ryan has created is nothing less than the pure excellence. On every single page, she wrote her heart out and my goodness does it show. I was left in big, ugly tears as I read the incredible epilogue knowing just how far Charlie Crane had come after finding his true love once more. I was almost scared to find out how he survived not only one of the most horrific events in history but how he managed to go on afterwards. But Ryan seamlessly combines glorious moments from the present with the gut-wrenching sadness of the past and through it all, it’s that unwavering hope that becomes a savior once more.
To say I lost myself in this book would be an understatement. I was faced with the brutality of WWII but found the solace of a forbidden love between Charlie and his Amelia to be the continuing balm I needed to push on. Getting first-hand accounts of just what Charlie was faced with as his own beliefs were in constant conflict with what Germany was going through during wartime, floored me. I was given a clarity of that time that I never had the chance to appreciate and it just made what he endured all the more painful. But I welcomed that pain as Charlie becomes the hero once more as he never stopped showing his love and determination to have the life he deserved.
My heart broke over and over again as Charlie relays his lonely and desperate days as his search for Amelia never wavered. He has lived a life of choices that were not always his own and I was rooting for him to finally claim that missing piece of his soul since nothing nor no one could ever fill it quite like his Amelia could. With the wonderfully supportive Claude and Juliette, Charlie had shoulders to lean on when he needed them most. They truly made this book feel complete.
Although fate clearly took its time with Charlie Crane, I loved that the author threw in some moments of kismet when things felt dire. It’s such a special story with extraordinary details and events that are equally wonderful and heartbreaking. But in the end, it’s simply the story of man who loves a woman enough to cherish that adoration, even if it can only exist in his mind.
I strongly encourage you to read Last Words and The Other Blue Sky since together with Unspoken Words, they are all inter-connected and give you the whole story of a handsome, strong-willed German boy and the feisty and beautiful Jewish girl and the exceptional lives they have led, both together and apart. Your very being will be better for it.
5++++++++++++++++++++++++ stars!
This author knows how to write the ultimate forbidden romance! Whats more forbidden than a Nazi soldier and a Jewish girl in the throes of war? Charlie and Amelia forged a bond that could not be broken by time, distance, and life obstacles thrown their way. Their tale of love and loss, enduring heartache and hope, is inspiring and one of the reasons I’m a big fan of these types of romance stories, for the feelings they pull from way down deep. This author is an expert at pulling and playing my heartstrings and moving my soul with her words. I wish there were more stories like this, as awful as this time in our collective history was, stories like these always leave me feeling extra hopeful about the future. Like if such a beautiful love could be born out of that then its surely happening out there now somewhere. Just a truly great story anyone who is a fan of love in general should read!
4.5 Stars
Shari has taken us on a walk through time with this series. It is emotionally charged and sometimes hard to take, but the story is woven so well that it is hard to put down. This one is told from Charlie’s point of view and I am so glad we got a chance to see the story from the other side – ugliness an all. There is just something about Charlie and Amelia that make my heart happy, this Author was able to do that through difficult times and cultural differences…simply AMAZING!
I absolutely love that Ryan gave us Charlie’s story! We first met him in Last Words when we read about his forbidden romance with Amelia. Now we learn of how he and his family were affected by a madman in a very horrific time in German and world history. Going from a happy boy with his dream of being a baker like his father, to a young man forced into a life that went totally against his nature and all he believed in, to finding and losing the love of his life and his quest to find her again. This is a beautiful, and poignant journey that is so gripping, heartbreaking, but also hopeful and healing. It sinuously moves from past to present, weaving a tale that kept me engaged and my heart racing. The emotions it made me feel, from laughter to loss, horror to joy, and everything in between is the reason I love to read. This is a must read, it will touch your soul and make you believe, if you never give up, love always wins.
Don’t even think about starting this book without having the tissues handy. I couldn’t even make it through the first chapter before I was reaching for them. There are simply no words for what this story has just put me through. I knew it was going to happen and yet I still signed on for the ride. I feel hollow and emotionally drained now, and I’m asking: “why do I keep doing this to myself?” This was an amazing and deeply emotional story bringing us full circle with Charlie’s perspective of the events we first learned about in Last Words. It’s told with such skill and empathy, I’m nearly in tears just thinking about what the author must have gone through to create this masterpiece. I don’t know if I’m grateful or bereft to see the end of Charlie and Amelia’s love story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Foreword PR & Marketing.
Unspoken Words was the book I was waiting for after Last Words. This is Charlie’s story. You can read this book without reading the others, but this series is a must read!
It is a historical romance set during the Holocaust, but it is just so beautifully written and told don’t let a difficult theme deter you. This is a wonderful, heart wrenching story in a difficult time that will pull at your heart strings, make you reach for tissues and sit on the edge of your seat till the last page.
Amelia lost her parents in the war. Charlie was forced to become a soldier, but deep down was a good person, not a Nazi. The way Charlie helped to save Amelia, will let you see how good he was. There was so much to his character – love, compassion, sorrow.
There is so much to say about this story, yet the reader needs to experience it for themselves. I do not want to give anything away, but just know that this is a story that will stay with you long after you finish the last page.
It is a forbidden love story that has withstood the test of time, against all odds. It’s about sacrificing everything for love! This is a must read!!!
Unspoken Words by Shari J Ryan is a contemporary and historical novel about a love that spans seventy four years. It is the other half of the story begun in Last Words. This is Charlie’s story. It is a story that will swell your heart as the love reaches beyond the pages of the book. It is a beautiful tale.
The action is in present day America and alternates backwards to 1935 Germany before moving forwards in time. This is a forbidden love. This is a love that defies the odds.
Germans were taught to hate but not all Germans could do so. “I was not meant to be a killer. I refused to hate, no matter what I was supposed to believe.” The outward uniform was in conflict with the inner nature. Shari J Ryan has managed to convey the struggle to remain true, to see people as people and not to hate.
Ayrian Germans were perceived to be living in freedom but the reality was obey or be killed. Everyone had choices to make. “I know you think we have a choice in what is happening in our country, but we do not.”
Unspoken Words was a very brave novel to write as the action is seen through the eyes of a Nazi soldier, albeit a reluctant one. Shari J Ryan has produced a likable character in Charlie as he tries to follow his conscience and not the German leader’s directives.
I have ‘enjoyed’ (if I can use this word in conjunction with the Holocaust) getting to know Charlie and Amelia in this three book series. All the books have been sensitively written and my heart has broken for man’s inhumanity to man.
May we never forget the six million innocents.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
Unspoken Words took me on a journey through a time no one should have had to experience let alone live though. It was written in such an astounding way that I could not stop turning the pages. I could feel the pain and desperation laced through the words, but the hope and never ending love refused to be distinguished.
Shari Ryan, this story needed to be told and it was meant to be told by you. Sometimes Unspoken Words tell us their own story. This book is captivating, raw, honest, emotional and heartbreaking but it is also full of love, hope and promise for a better tomorrow.
Tracey, Life Reads With Friends
Wow!! Unspoken Words has left me speechless!
Shari J. Ryan has written such an poignant story. I knew going into this story it wasn’t going to be an easy read, but the way she has written it, you feel like your right there with the characters, going through all the horrendous things with them. Charlie and Amelia didn’t meet in the conventional way, but that didn’t stop them from following what was in their hearts.
Also Last Words: Surviving the Holocaust, is Amelia’s side of their love story.
Every once in a while, a reader gets a deep enough glimpse to anticipate a book’s potential impact. Having read Amelia’s story in Last Words, I knew the story of one of the darkest times in our world’s history from Charlie Crane’s point of view would be devastating. Ryan shines a light on the atrocities of the Third Reich, humanizing those enslaved to its power, no matter their heritage or religion.
Charlie Crane was twelve years old when he was sent to a “special school,” which was, in reality, the Führer’s Youth Camp. All because of his blonde hair and blue eyes, the trademark of the ‘superior race.” As if overnight, the rules changed, but Charlie couldn’t find it in himself to hate those different from him and never developed the gleeful bloodthirstiness of many of his comrades.
That begins the story of a German soldier and a beautiful, young Jewish prisoner. They should have hated each other, but despite all odds and obstacles, they fell in love. Their journey is treacherous, harrowing and heartbreaking but inspiring, triumphant and gratifying. Creating beautiful descriptions, Ryan paints a vivid picture and breathes life into her words, so the reader experiences each scene as if she’s an essential piece of the unfolding story.
With poignant themes of soul mates, destiny and good triumphing over evil, Charlie and Amelia’s story will make your soul weep and hold permanent residence in your heart. Definitely in my top five reads of a lifetime, you absolutely do not want to pass up the chance to read this powerful, profound, life-altering book.