Blog Tour and Book Review ~ The Girl in the Striped Dress ~ Ellie Midwood #Bookouture

 

TITLE - The Girl in the Striped Dress

AUTHOR - Ellie Midwood

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SYNOPSIS -

Auschwitz, 1942: This unforgettable novel, based on a true story, brings to life history’s most powerful tale of forbidden love. Set within the barbed wire of Auschwitz, a man and a woman fall in love against unimaginable odds. What happens next will restore your faith in humanity, and make you believe in hope even where hope should not exist. 

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered, pressing a note into her hand. Her entire body trembled when she read it: I am in love with you.

Helena steps off the cattle train onto the frozen grounds of Auschwitz. She has twenty-four hours to live. Scheduled to be killed tomorrow, she is not even tattooed with a prison number. As the snow falls around her, she shivers, knowing that she has been sentenced to death for a crime she didn’t commit.

When a gray-clad officer marches towards Helena and pulls her away, she fears the worst. Instead, he tells her that it’s one of the guard’s birthdays and orders her to serenade him.

Inside the SS barracks the air is warm, thick with cigarette smoke and boisterous conversation. After she sings to the guard, Franz, he presses a piece of cake into her hands––the first thing she has eaten in days. On the spot, he orders her life to be saved, forever changing the course of her fate.

What follows is a love story that was forbidden, that should have been impossible, and yet saved both of their lives––and hundreds of others––in more ways than one.

Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Choice, and The Orphan Train will be utterly entranced by this unputdownable page-turner. This completely heartbreaking yet beautifully hopeful novel shows that love can survive anything and grow anywhere.

*Previously titled: Auschwitz Syndrome

I have read many Auschwitz related books including The Violinist of Auschwitz, also by Ellie Midwood. You start to think you've read everything about what "inmates" did, to survive this most horrendous time in history, then another book comes along like this one, and throws more tales of sadness, heroism and love into the mix. 

This is an outstanding read of the horrors of Auschwitz and Birkenau. Some of the events in this book caused a lot of conversation between myself and my Husband. We discussed both the horrors and some of the good things (if the word "good" is the corret one to use). We talked about how not all the Nazi's were sadistic and how some had been recruited into the role. 

This book is well researched and certainly generated many thoughts and conversations. Although I found it quite slow to start with, thinking it was just going to go over things covered in other books of the same genre, it moved on and came into it's own. The "characters" are well described and delicately portrayed. It is a very thought provoking read. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline

when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, The Girl from Berlin.' Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.

In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their Chihuahua named Shark Bait.

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Website: http://elliemidwood.com/

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Publication Day Book Review - The Violinist of Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood - #TrueStory #WW2 #Holocaust

 

TITLE - The Violinist of Auschwitz

AUTHOR - Ellie Midwood

GENRE - Based on a true story, WW2, Holocaust

SYNOPSIS - 
Auschwitz, 1943: In the depths of hell, can hope rise? And can love triumph over hatred?

Based on the unforgettable true story of Alma Rosé, The Violinist of Auschwitz brings to life one of history’s most fearless, inspiring and courageous heroines. Alma’s bravery saved countless lives, bringing hope to those who had forgotten its meaning…

In Auschwitz, every day is a fight for survival. Alma is inmate 50381, the number tattooed on her skin in pale blue ink. She is cooped up with thousands of others, torn from loved ones, trapped in a maze of barbed wire. Every day people disappear, never to be seen again.

This tragic reality couldn’t be further from Alma’s previous life. An esteemed violinist, her performances left her audiences spellbound. But when the Nazis descend on Europe, none of that can save her…

When the head of the women’s camp appoints Alma as the conductor of the orchestra, performing for prisoners trudging to work as well as the highest-ranking Nazis, Alma refuses: “they can kill me but they won’t make me play”. Yet she soon realizes the power this position offers: she can provide starving girls with extra rations and save many from the clutches of death.

This is how Alma meets Miklos, a talented pianist. Surrounded by despair, they find happiness in joint rehearsals, secret notes, and concerts they give side by side––all the while praying that this will one day end. But in Auschwitz, the very air is tainted with loss, and tragedy is the only certainty… In such a hopeless place, can their love survive?

This devastatingly heartbreaking yet beautifully hopeful tale proves that even in the darkest of days, love can prevail––and give you something to live for. Fans of The Choice, The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Orphan Train will lose their hearts to this magnificent tale.

I have read some really great books based at Auschwitz and have an interest in the Holocaust. I have to say this is one of the best books I've read in this subject matter. 

Alma, the main protagonist, comes across as a warm and friendly person. She coped amazingly during such an awful period of our history, helping others to survive in the process. 

The author has written a great story, merging both fact and fiction. The characters were really brought to life; not just Alma but also Dr Death himself, Dr Josef Mengele. 

A must read book I couldn't put down. 

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher Bookouture for allowing me to read and review this book. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author.

She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl.

Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it.