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396 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 2020
I sadly couldn鈥檛 connect with this book on any level. While it wasn鈥檛 a chore listening to the audiobook, the narration was smooth and clear, the story itself didn鈥檛 interest me much. Eva was very undecisive and while she didn鈥檛 let her mother control her, she certainly started the self-blame on very absurd stuff. For example, her mother told her it鈥檚 her fault her father got captured (she had NOTHING to do with it and could鈥檝e done NOTHING to help) she just wondered if it鈥檚 truly her fault. Her personality lacked depth honestly and a 鈥渃haracter鈥�.
But that鈥檚 fine, not enough reason to rate this book 2 stars.. if it wasn鈥檛 for the mother. She annoyed me so damn much. Her characterization was unrealistic. She blamed her daughter for everything and didn't 鈥済rasp鈥� that it鈥檚 war. For example, Eva warned them about the Jews's capture. Her parents didn鈥檛 take the warning seriously. And then the mother blames Eva? She sounded like a child and not a mother. War changes people, usually makes them tougher and stronger. Not like winy children with fictional expectations of war. She wasn鈥檛 worried her daughter might get captured, no she only wanted to break into a jail/camp whatever and save her husband. She didn鈥檛 have any mental disabilities to be clear and I didn鈥檛 think she was meant to be portrayed as a bad mother, that鈥檚 why I think her characterization wasn鈥檛 good.
I also wish the romance wasn鈥檛 so central to the plot, Remy was cool but it just didn鈥檛 do it for me. I wouldn鈥檛 recommend this book if you鈥檙e looking for something new and refreshing in this subgenre especially since this isn鈥檛 based on specific true events (at least the forging part). Overall, this book wasn鈥檛 bad but it lacked originality in this genre. It鈥檚 not easy to write a touching WWII story nowadays without just simply playing with the reader鈥檚 feelings and I鈥檓 glad the author didn鈥檛 do that here. I wish however the story had more depth, complexity, and fewer clich茅 moments.
"I was never a hero. I was just a young woman trying to do the right thing. .鈥�
I am my beloved鈥檚, and my beloved is mine.
鈥淪ir,鈥� I reply, 鈥渨e are only responsible for the things we do鈥攐r fail to do鈥攐urselves. You owe me no apology.鈥�