Historical Fiction

I received an advanced reader’s copy from NetGallery to read and review. This book took me a little while to get hooked on it but when I did, I couldn’t put it down. This is the story of Anke Hoff and finding herself in a situation that puts her in an interesting predicament - be the midwife of Adolf Hitler’s mistress, something that goes against everything she believes in. This remarkable story is multi-dimension and how Mandy Robotham does a great job weaving the fiction and nonfiction together in this book. If you’re looking for a great #historicalfiction, I’d recommend this one. ( )

In the acknowledgements of this historical romance, author Mandy Robotham said she wanted to imagine a “what if” scenario where a midwife would be put in impossible circumstances—in this case to care for a secret baby to be born to Eva Braun, mistress of Hitler, after all the horrors she’d witnessed in the Nazi death camps. Midwife Anke Hoff is determined that her patient will be treated no differently from any other. But her assignment remains a prison, merely a more comfortable one.

This was well written and had dual timelines detailing Anke’s time earlier in the war, and switching back to the present, where she is with Eva. There is also a romance with the Captain assigned to guard her—and this relationship, along with the relationship Anke has with Eva, was the most interesting of the novel. The author is a midwife, and the detailed medical scenes were extremely well done.

Trigger Warnings: graphic childbirth scenes including death, concentration camp scenes

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
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The story of political dissident Anka, who is in a camp with her parents and sister. She is suddenly whisked away to the home of the Goebbals, where she is employed as a midwife (her career before the camp) to none other than Eva Braun. A very good "what if" story. ( )

Anke Hoff begins the story as a political prisoner in a German concentration camp. A midwife, Anke delivers the babies of pregnant inmates, only to have the guards murder the babies at first light. It is a brutal and demoralizing existence, but she does her best for the mother's under her care. One day, she is taken from the camps and told that she will now serve as midwife to Eva Braun.

This was a well written and engaging book. The characters were interesting and dynamic. There were some good twists and unexpected moments that kept me reading long into the night. Overall, well worth picking up. ( )