I received this ARC from Grenzland Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

1943. Norway is occupied by the German forces and governed by a puppet ruler. If there is one thing I learned from this book it is the definition of the word Quisling, son named after the leader of Norway at the time. Quisling, a traitor who collaborates with an occupying enemy force.

Kari is the 15 year old daughter of Erling, a widower farmer. Life is hard, both economically and personally. Kari spots a downed allied plane and against the wishes of her father takes action. In this moment she declares herself part of the resistance. As she and Lance, the pilot, make their way to the Swedish border we are treated to her perspective a swell as that of her father and a German officer determined to capture them for the sake of his career.

"...but beauty isn't the point of war."

There were some beautifully descriptive sentences that made the landscape really come alive but that's about as much as I can compliment here. I found this novel quite one-demensional, redeemed mostly by the historical details gleaned and its brevity.

"To the south, thick storm clouds gathered over the mountains, pooling like spilled mercury. It felt ominous and still, like the world was coming to an end."

2 stars.

Publication Date: January 24, 2017

I had high hopes for the book, but I didn't love it.  I thought the overall story was good, but because it was so short, I felt that we didn't get as much character development as I would have liked.  I also typically read historical fiction books so I can learn something new while reading, and I was hoping to learn more about Norway since it is a different setting than is normally used in WW2 books.  Ultimately, I didn't feel like the setting really played a role, beyond where the story was taking place.  I prefer when the setting is a character in the story.  I also found the ending a little confusing, and slightly unsatisfying.

This book is fast paced and exciting. It was easy to read in one fell swoop and it was a great read for a cold winter afternoon.

The book is set in Norway during World War II. Kari, a teenager, lives on a farm and has romantic dreams of someday going to America. Life is hard on the farm and the privations of the Nazi occupation only add to the burden. Kari sees an American plane go down. She tells her father about it and he tells her to leave it alone. Kari decides that she cannot and goes to check out the crash site. She finds the pilot and decides to help him get to the Swedish border.

The pilot, Lance, and Kari set out for Sweden without her father knowing what she is doing. She takes the horse and cart and some supplies. The trail is harsh and dangerous and it is extremely cold which is complicated by trying to avoid discovery. They are soon pursued by the Nazis who are aided by a friend of Kari's father who knows where they are going. Kari's father, Erland, realizes what Kari is doing and the danger that she is in so he goes after her to try and save her if he can. It is a thrilling chase.

The end is wonderful. Kari succeeds in her mission but at the end of it, she has to choose between between her dreams or her family.

The book was well written and the author told the story simply and cleanly. I enjoyed it and I will be looking for more by this author.

I received an advance copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read it.

A solid read that was interesting, but somewhat stilted in its pace.

I enjoyed reading this part historical fiction, thriller and romance story set in occupied Norway in 1943. I'd rate this a 4.5 if Goodreads had such a rating.  The author's adeptness at creating visual scenes plunges the reader into the tundra of Norway. The story told in various points of views, held my interest throughout the novel.

We begin with 15-year-old Kari, who finds an American pilot in the forest, his parachute stuck in the trees. She pretends to belong to the Norwegian Resistance, and although young, she proves to be resilient and leads the pilot through a harrowing trek towards Sweden, ducking SS soldiers, a Nazi Lieutenant and others who'd kill the both of them.

Her view of America is Hollywood movies and she soon finds herself enamored with the young pilot. Her widower father, worried when she doesn't return to their farm, looks for her and figures out that she's aiding the pilot; assistance that can send her to prison or her death. He follows a day behind the two, encountering his own problems. Both learn truths about themselves and their relationship through this journey.

The characters are fully described and interesting.  Although one is a young girl, the others soldiers, and older men, the author gives them all distinct dialogue and personality. I liked the twists and turns, especially the ending.

I'd rate this close to five stars if the author hadn't used so many "Then ..." "And ..." in his work. These filler words detracted from the reading too much. I found myself skimming those words.  Overall, it's a very good read.

I couldn't feel much for the characters and never got a clear idea about Norway's involvement during WWII.  I think what bothered me the most was loose ends:  the father knocked on his cousin's door and goes inside. The next time he's back on the trail looking for his daughter. What happened with his cousin?  I actually gave up on this book halfway through.

The best bit about this book was the last 20%. The writer does have a sense for creating tension and drama. There were some twists and turns which really worked and the descriptions were typically cold and dark....However, overall, perhaps it was a 'lost in translation' effect, the book seemed naive and the characters weren't well developed. There seemed to be a lot telling rather than showing going on and as I read the descriptions of mountains and forests, I often found myself re-writtitng them in my head to make them better. "behind the mountains..." What mountains? What do they look like? sorry I'm not from there. I also thought the character of Kari was a little unrealistic. She has ninja like reactions, but still decides to describe the appearance of the pilot in the Mills and Boon type terminology of a disappointed 50 year old willing to try one last time...., "he was not movie star but still handsome..."  kind of thing. Come on! 15 year olds either fancy someone madly or they hate them. Maybe this would have made a better YA book.

As I often say, historical novels are very important to complete the alleged academic knowledge should have about our history, more or less recent. Kjeldsen takes us in Norway, near the end of World War II, and puts us in contact with two opposing realities: the resistance and collaboration, the latter described by its demonstration truest and sinister, which is born of envy. While remaining attached to the realism of the facts, Kjeldsen also takes great care in deepening the psychological character, since his protagonist, the young Kari, struggles with all her might, without fear of paying in person, for the things she believes in, and that does not even bow to the first real love disappointment of her life.
Thank Grenzland Press and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting experience, but not one I'd wish to repeat or recommend, particularly.  The story comes across as the plot of one of those taut adventure films, where the characters slowly diminish in number until a crux confrontation, leaving the survivors to pick over the bones.  It certainly has many an instance of Hollywood clunkiness, and as far as literary power goes stays mainly in evoking the weather, which it sets out to do at every opportunity, for want of something else.  So all we're left with is the freshness and novelty of the situation, location and character mix, and a strange feeling of wondering if any of this is based on family legend or purely made up.  Certainly the multiple cultural references and local landmark names attest to much research, but nothing here is to much great effect.  Not bad, but by no means great.

A touchingly awkward, yet very interesting and original novel: historical young adult adventure with touch of Jack London stories, and full to the brim of Scandinavian gloom. There are the White Silence, icebound expanses of the Stjørdalen Valley and stern reticent people with 'hidden fires' inside, who spend their time together in silence while having intense internal monologues. Also I really liked the colorful descriptions of nature and local daily routines. This story will certainly make lovers of Nordic literature happy.

Thanks Net Galley for Land of Hidden Fires by Kirk Kjeldsen. The book is about a young girl leading a downed American pilot to Sweden after crashing his plane in occupied Norway.  Being chased by the Germans they must do everything possible to survive not only them but must also the Nordic winter along the way.  A good easy read with simple plot, I finished in a couple of days. Although not a very intense book  I enjoyed the read and will read other books by this author.

Despite my interest in the story this novel tells, I was very disappointed. While the description of place was quite good, and I could easily see and feel the various settings, it all remained on the surface in an unsatisfying way. More disappointing, though, was the quick-and-facile wrap-up of the plot. The characters felt thin, too, and I could sense that the book could be so much more, it could've dug a little deeper, presented a bit more complexity, and I would've appreciated the story more.

As it is, my interest in the Norwegian Resistance during WWII will have to be satisfied elsewhere. The book was fine, as far as it went, I just didn't feel like it went far enough, and certainly not as far as I was pulling for it to go.

A short tale of an downed American pilot in ww2 Norway and the young girl that helps him. Full f beautiful language and a captivating story, I give this book 5:stars

When Kari, a young Norwegian girl, sees that an Allied plane has crashed in the forest near her home, she decides that she is the best person to help the injured pilot get to Sweden, away from the Nazis occupying her country. Against all odds, she fights weather, her fellow Norwegians, and even her father, to do what she feels is right. The writing in this book is simple yet highly engaging. The hidden reasons for human behavior are explored sensitively and delicately. Recommended.

First, full disclosure:
1. I received a copy of this novel from the author with a request to read and review it.
2. I am obsessed with stories related to the two World Wars.

LAND OF HIDDEN FIRES is a novella that takes place in Norway during the Nazi occupation of World War II. But the war almost fades into the background because this is a novel about a chase, with 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, seemed somewhat forced, even unnecessary, and detracted from the building suspense of the story. Nevertheless, the suspense keeps building as the book progresses. And the ending, when it comes, seems realistic. 

This book is less a war story than it is about the varied ways people behave during difficult times (brave or self-serving, for example), and how their personal reactions wind up impacting the lives of those who cross their paths.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting book with an incredibly rushed ending. It felt sudden and abrupt and not fitting with the build up before.

Interestingly enough, the main characters of Kari and Lance were the least developed. References to her mother's temperament aside, were we to believe that Kari's motivation to help Lance were solely due to her obsession with American culture? So much more could have been done with Lance's false bravado.

Norway isn't a typical setting for a WWII book, so it was definitely good to see from that perspective. Nordic settings in general tend to be refreshing.

3.5 rounds to 4 stars. The book had a lot more potential and needed more follow through with the ending.

This was my first dip into the writing of Kirk Kjeldsen.  It turned out to be a delightful experience.  I have a recent fascination with Norway already, so when I found that the book is set there, it was pretty much a forgone conclusion that I'd want to check it out.  LAND OF HIDDEN FIRES was an easy book for me to get involved in, enjoying the storyline and the time period, all handled in a wonderfully descriptive writing style.  It became a battle between wanting to finish the book to see how it ends, and trying to keep from inhaling it too quickly so that it wouldn't be over too soon.  Something that doesn't happen all too frequently for me.  A satisfying read that has me already looking forward to future works by this author.   My thanks to Netgalley,  Grenzland Press, and the the author himself for the complimentary copy to read.

If you like World War 2 stories, with plenty of action, strong characterization, and a good old fight against the forces of evil, then Land of Hidden Fires is the book for you.  As I approached the climax of the novel, I couldn't help but hold my breath.  I highly enjoyed my reading experience and just couldn't put this book down!

Kjeldsen has a way with words; the way he describes Norwegian landscapes and people make them easy to see in your mind's eye. The plot grabs you in the beginning and moves briskly forward, making this an easy day's read for me. However, some of the character growth in this novel came across as a bit forced -- people have revelations out of nowhere, without enough buildup to know that they were struggling in the first place. 

I would probably recommend this to friends who love to read historical fiction about World War II, but not someone who was looking for "the definitive World War II novel."

My Rating System:
5 Stars = great book, would enthusiastically recommend
4 Stars = good book, would recommend
3 Stars = so-so rating, might recommend
2 Stars = finished, but would not recommend
1 Stars = bailed