REVIEW
Having read The Magdalen Girls by V.S. Alexander back in December 2016 and absolutely loved it, I had been keeping an eye out for more books by this author. When I saw The Taster I was instantly very interested, then when I read the blurb I knew I just had to read this book as soon as I could!

The cover features a woman dressed in a plain wine dress with a very neat white lacey collar. The female also has a brooch or badge at the neck of her dress. There is also lace featured on the cuffs of the long-sleeved dress. The female is holding a tea cup & saucer. The picture created on the cover could represent lots of different scenes from within the book. It could be the main character of Magda Ritter, or it could also represent Ursula Thalberg.

The genres listed for this book are General Fiction and Historical Fiction which fit the book perfectly. I would also add the label Realistic Fiction and make sure to explain that this book is based on a true story too.

The book actually begins at the end with Magda Ritter explaining she is a childless old widow alone in a house full of memories. Magda describes the linden trees in spring and the blue lakes in summer that no longer bring her any joy. Then Magda reveals that she was one of fifteen women tasters that were employed to try/test Hitler's food to prevent him being poisoned by Allies, spies or any of his own men. Magda goes on to say after the war only her husband knew exactly what Magda did. But though she has kept her secrets for many years she feels now she has not much longer to live, she must reveal her hidden secrets. I loved the wording where Magda says she hopes people will not judge her as harshly as she has judged herself. How can anyone judge her badly for doing what she had to do to survive?

The book then steps back to a much younger Magda and tells the sequence of events that took place for Magda to become a taster for Hitler and the course of events that led to Magda being in the bunker the day Hitler died.

At the beginning of the story, Magda Ritter is living with her parents Hermann & Lisa Ritter in Berlin. Hermann Ritter is quietly against Hitler, his Nazis' and the war. He works at a factory and due to an injury and his age, is thankfully too old to be conscripted and sent to war. His wife, Lisa Ritter, is more accepting and sympathetic to Hitler, his Nazis' and the war. Lisa thinks Hitler may be good for Germany and its people. In fact, she is concerned when her daughter does not join the Nazi party! Lisa brings in money for the family by doing sewing. Also living in the same building as the Ritter family is Frau Horst, an elderly lady who openly supports the Nazis with a swastika card in her window. Frau Horst prefers to gather her cognac and cigarettes before making her way down to the basement when the Allies are bombing. As Berlin is becoming increasingly difficult to live in with Allied strikes increasing, food and work becoming scarcer, Hermann Ritter insists his daughter Magda be sent to live with his brother Willy and his wife Reina. After initially attempting to reason and making her case to stay in Berlin, Magda finally gives in to her parents’ wishes and is sent to Berchtesgaden, to her father’s brother and his wife's home. Magda packs a small case, putting in a family photograph and the cherished stuffed monkey her father bought and gave her when she was a young child. There's an SS Officer checking everyone's papers before she is allowed onto the train to begin her long journey. When Magda boards the train she notices a young couple a few seats in front of her. They lean close together smoking and quietly talking to each other. Part way through the journey, the train is stopped. Ann SS Officer board the train and marches up to the couple, putting his gun to the male’s head. He remains this way until armed police arrive to remove the couple from the train. Magda is naturally in shock, why are the couple being removed from the train? They are in the middle of nowhere what is going to happen to the couple?

Once Magda arrives at Berchtesgaden train station she quickly searches the people milling around and standing between all the swastikas and flags. Once she locates her Aunt and Uncle she greets them with the expected Nazis salute, she notices that her Uncle Willy in his local Police uniform with a swastika on his arm, looks much happier to see her than her Aunt Reina does. Aunt Reina is wearing a cobalt blue dress that has a fastened collar with a diamond brooch in the shape of a swastika pinned above her heart. Her Aunt and Uncles Bavarian home is festooned with swastikas and even has a black and white portrait of the Fúhrer hanging over the fireplace! Aunt Reina is openly, fully supportive of Hitler, the Nazis and the war. Aunt Reina is convinced Hitler is going to win the war easily and is the best person to rule the country. In fact, it doesn't take long for Aunt Reina find fault with Magda, specifically that Magda is not a party member yet. Aunt Reina is a big fan of Hitler and everything he says and does. Reina quickly dictates that Magda must find a job or a husband, as she and her Uncle cannot afford to keep her for nothing. It is the fact that her Uncle Willy is part of the local Police force that helps Magda finally get an interview for a job. The job Magda is accepted for is that of being one of fifteen "Tasters" though she doesn't find out what her job is until she arrives at the Berghof. Magda once again finds herself packing her small case and taking her treasured stuffed monkey to live on site at Hitler’s mountain retreat, The Berghof. Magda reports to the head of the kitchen and cook Fraulein Schultz who explains she has been chosen by her and SS Officer Captain Karl Weber for a very important job, to taste the Fuhrer's food. Fraulein Schultz goes on to say that being a taster is an important honour, as well as a job, for Magda's body is being offered in sacrifice to the Reich in case the Fuhrer's food is poisoned. It is Fraulein Schultz that teaches Magda the individual, different poisons, how they smell, taste and work. Though Fraulein Schultz is a hard boss, she is a fair one and soon comes to like Magda and they become firm friends.

Magda does meet, and make some good friends, such as Ursula who introduces her to her own boyfriend Franz. It is via Franz and Ursula that Magda eventually becomes involved with SS Captain Karl Weber and ends up being drawn into a group of Germans with in Hitler’s work force who are plotting to try and bring Hitler and his regime down.

Magda is not only risks her life every time she tastes the Fuhrers food but she has to live under constant scrutiny and behave as the perfect citizen according to Hitler too. When Hitler takes an interest in her budding romance with Karl, and gives his blessing, he even gives Magda a special badge to wear when he takes it upon himself to make her part of the Nazi party. Then Hitler continues to keep track of their lives and is constantly pushing them to marry sooner rather than later and go on to have many healthy German babies! When they do plan their wedding Hitler not only attends their wedding with his companion Eva Braun but they are the witnesses to the marriage. Hitler gifts Karl and Magda special matching, engrave silver rings, to wear as wedding rings. The young couple are happy to be together and living in married quarters now but they still have to be very careful as they are still under scrutiny, anything they do, that is perceived as being wrong can and will be severely punished. The thing is it won't just be their necks on the line but that of their family too. Magda is aware one wrong step could result in her parents, or even her Aunt and Uncle being held responsible and them being punished or killed. Magda has to be extremely careful, yet ends up being very brave in the actions she does take. This way of punishing the nearest person to the one who has committed the offence is shown when in an attempt to both protect and distance Magda from being part of any plot against Hitler, Karl leaves her behind, whilst he goes on the run. Sadly, the Colonel, who has never particularly liked Magda refuses to believe she is innocent and had no knowledge of the plotting has her sent to Bromberg-ost. It is Magda's wedding ring gift that came directly from Hitler that saves her from abuse and the fate of living in, and perhaps dying in the Bromberg-ost concentration camp.

I immediately took to and came to both respect and be in awe of Magda Ritter, she is thrown into a job beyond her own control and is simply expected to put her life on the line for one of the most self-important, hated figures in history. Magda definitely views life and politics like her father Hermann and remembers her father’s advice of "Do what you must to survive" and has to choose to adhere to this advice on many occasions throughout the book. Magda endures a lot in this book, at one point another cook Otto takes a dislike to her and actually purposely gives her poisoned food to taste. Initially Hitler thinks this was a great idea that should be repeated regularly to assess his tasters and their abilities. It is much later in the book that unintentional actions taken by Magda mean that cook Otto falls seriously out of favour with Hitler.

I adored the relationships between Magda Ritter and SS Officer Karl, as well as the one between Ursula, a fellow taster and SS Officer Franz. Ursula and Franz had known each other since childhood and planned to eventually get married. Sadly, this is a plan not meant to come to fruition as a task carried out by Ursula has awful consequences.

As much as I disliked the cook Otto, I grew to love cook, Fraulein Schultz as much as Magda did, she came to treat Magda as a good friend. So much so that when Magda has to choose between leaving Fraulein Schultz behind or escaping danger, it ends up being a very painful and difficult decision for Magda.

The funny thing is that two of the characters I found I really disliked were Lisa Ritter and Reina Ritter, though they not blood related, they are so alike and would probably have loved the honour to have had Magda's job as taster. They both can see, only the good in Hitler and his Nazi beliefs and doctrines. They both belittle those who would question Hitler and blindly believe he is the saviour of Germany right to the bitter end.

I ended up truly, adoring reading this book and I honestly became very fond of Magda. I think even more so when you realise it is based on a true story. The horrors she saw, was part of, and had to endure. Just when Magda thinks the war is over and safety is within grasp, she and those friends she has found are attacked and abused by their supposed "Russian saviours".

I have to admit it, I had a tear in my eye when Magda gets to go back to her Aunt & Uncles house when things are over, and Hitler is dead. She certainly see's a difference in her Aunt, gone are the swastika's and the portrait of the Fuhrer. There is another, bigger, surprise awaiting Magda at her Aunt & Uncles, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. I will just say have those tissues to hand.

I thought I would hate Hitler's companion Eva Braun but on occasion within this book you see a rather lonely woman who loves a man that is so busy with the war that he has very little time for her and continually puts off their wedding. Then on the other hand you think Eva Braun surely must have known what was going on with the concentration camps, which makes you wonder how could she love such a man? In the book you see Eva as a lonely figure so desperate for friends she tries to make friends with Hitler's staff. Of course, we know Eva does get her wish and gets to marry Hitler, and they then commit suicide together in his bunker with members of his staff on hand to assist where needed. Trusted members of staff then set fire to their bodies and bury their ashes as per the final instruction given to them by Hitler.

This book did go into some great and interesting details of Hitler & his staffs final weeks and days hidden far underground. The book revealed how Hitler’s right-hand men also committed suicide alongside him in the bunker first making sure their young children were also dead. Even nearing the end of his power Hitler's staff were still diligently, blindly doing the crazy man's bidding. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Hitler's final days through Magda's eyes. This view also leaves you with questions, was Magda really there alone with Hitler at the end. I don't doubt that she would be brave enough to stay as she wished "at the end" or even carried out the actions she says she did.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. I learnt more about what day to day life was like for those around Hitler. Also, I hadn't known that some of Hitler's own employees and people from his inner circle were plotting and sometimes attempting to kill him. So even those in a close vicinity to him knew he was losing the war, knew what he was trying achieve was wrong and knew he had to be stopped at all costs. Then there is the other side of the coin, of Hitler’s almost fatherly interest and matchmaking with his employees and their relationships, Also shown in this book is Hitler’s love of his dog Blondi, that has pups. Once again, Hitler goes on to show, what I guess, most people would simply say, is his pure evil side by killing the dog he professes to deeply love and care for and her pups so that when he commits suicide in his bunker no one else would get his beloved dog Blondi or her pups!

My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were, Wow, an amazing read!

This is the second book I have read by this author. This book is a work of fiction based within factual information gathered. I have to admit I grew really fond of Magda and could certainly empathise with her character, and understand how she reacted, and why she reacted to the increasing madness around her. This book is so brilliantly written, it makes you feel you are actually there, with a bird’s eye view of the horrific events through Magda's eyes.

I honestly found this book both a highly addictive read and an interesting, informative one too. There are so many little details in this book, that encourage you to really visualise what is being portrayed in the book. What can I say? It truly is a time in history that evokes strong feelings and emotions from within me. I think the stories of the real people around Hitler should continue to be told. I am also adamant that what happened in and around the concentration camps that Hitler built etc should never, ever be forgotten.

Another great book by V.S. Alexander! I will most certainly be keeping my eyes and ears open for any other forthcoming books by this author.

(Please excuse the really bad pun! I can’t believe I’m using it! 😬 )

<b>4 delicious stars to The Taster!</b> ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The Taster was highly recommended by my friend, Holly. Who knew there were food tasters for Hitler during WWII? This dangerous job was viewed as their service to The Reich. Magda’s story was loosely based on a real taster who only told her story late in life when she was in her 90s. Magda is not a member of “The Party,” and her sentiments do not lie with Hitler. So, as you can imagine, some unrest and drama ensues. I cannot remember a WWII story I’ve read from this perspective.

The Author’s Note provided valuable insight into V.S. Alexander’s research, as well as what really happened and where he took liberties. There were places where the history was not documented, or even questioned, and he explored some of those things with Magda’s character. As I read those happenings, they seemed a little bit of a stretch, but then when I read the author’s explanation, it made me realize they were just one possible take on the truth, which we may never know.

Magda is a strong character and made the read worthy for me. The story was well-written and interesting. Overall, I enjoyed this entertaining book, especially because of the fresh perspective on WWII. Thanks again to Holly!

Thank you to V.S. Alexander, Kensington Publishing, and Netgalley, for the complimentary ARC.

<b>The Taster will be released on January 30, 2018.</b>

I didn’t know about tasters until I came across this book. Now that I know about the profession, I still can’t really wrap my mind around the entire concept. Tasters in the Reich used to taste Hitler’s food for poison. They would detect the poison and avert the crisis or die for Hitler if they fail to detect the poison. This was supposed to be an honorable profession because it meant that the Taster was willing to die for Hitler. One thing that I am not certain about is why Tasters were female. The author does explain that tasting is a skill and some Tasters have a natural gift. I don’t know if women were most gifted in the profession than men.

The Taster in this story is Magda Ritter who is the narrator. In case you are wondering how she ended up in the profession, Magda didn’t know what she was signing up for until it was too late (not in a spoiler, it is in the blurb). She quickly learns that she has to adapt to her new profession where each meal could be her last one.

The author did a great job in creating the setting for the story. The different locations where Hitler stayed were so well portrayed that I could picture what life was like over there. The bunkers without enough air or light, the high walls with a lot of security, they all created an atmospheric setting. Life outside these locations was also well portrayed. I had an image of Berlin burning as the story progressed.

This book had memorable characters and I liked the fact that it tackled new aspects of WWWII that I haven’t encountered before such as the Tasters. In addition, the story is told from the POV of Germans who didn’t idolize Hitler which was an interesting angle. My only issue with the book is that I didn’t find myself as captivated by the narrative as much as I expected. It is not a book that I thought about when I wasn’t reading it. I have been thinking about this and I think my issue was the fact that the entire story line focused a lot on one major thing that the characters wanted to do. I felt like this slowed down the pace a bit. However, I still enjoyed discovering new things through the story and I liked the narrator. I also enjoyed seeing how the characters developed through the pages especially Magda.

4 stars

It is ironic that I never considered that there would have been women whose job it was to taste the food that was prepared for Hitler. Also, it was ironic that all of these tasters were women, not a man among them. Yet, these women were selected to offer up their lives for a man that many idolized.

Magda Ritter, a young German girl was chosen for the position of taster. She is brought into the very core of Hitler's various residences, Berghof, Wolf's Lair, The Fuehrer's bunker all to have the job she really does not want. However, Magda fears for her life, the life of her family and eventually the life of the man she loves. She is not a Party member, in fact she comes to hate Hitler and plots and dreams of a way to eliminate him. As the war continues and the end is at hand, Magda makes a decision that she has wanted to make for quite some time.

Supposedly, this story is loosely based on a true taster, a woman named Margot Woelk's who at the age of ninety-five told her story. The book is interesting but at times does really require large leaps of faith to believe the narrative. The war and its many problems inherent in the behavior of Hitler and those that followed his every word was a true testament to how evil one man can be especially when he molded the minds of an entire nation.

Thank you to V.S. Alexander, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for an unbiased review.

Magda, the protagonist, is a simple woman that loves her family, she lives in Berlin and is not interested in politics neither is affiliated to the Nazi party. Circumstances forced her to work and survive. Like all German citizens she has a duty to perform, for her country, her family and the Führer. There was a lot of Nazi propaganda going on, most of them didn’t know about the concentration camps, there were rumors, but no way to prove it, therefore, it was easier to believe they weren’t real. The author noted this flawlessly.

Hitler is presented as a “caring” man for the people close and loyal to him, a grandfather figure in a way, but a monster nonetheless. Don’t be mistaken this is not a pro Hitler book, but the approach is in my opinion is pretty objective. People love to see Hitler as a spiteful and hateful man, the monster everyone talks about, and yes he was. But he was more than that, he didn't rise to power being a hateful figure, he was the opposite, he made people love him, gave them a purpose.

Magda, has no opinion, nor feelings towards the Führer, he was the leader and she ought to obey, she loathed her job and was afraid for her life. Everyone around her insisted that she must feel honored for her job as a taster of Hitler’s food. The Fürher life was in her hands.

As the book develops she realizes he is a monster and became obsessed with killing him. I feel in that regard, that the author got carried away, especially in the last part at the bunker. It’s a bit presumptuous they way he ended Hitler’s life. Regardless of that, I found the book a great read, I truly enjoyed. It was refreshing to read a book that presents the other side of history, that describes the suffering of the German people, all the deaths, the destruction, for example, how the Russians raped the women that got in their way. At the end of the book the author explains the liberties he took with the story, and I can only sympathize.

The book is also a love story, I’m not a fan of romance but it doesn’t feel forced, is a nice one. I recommend this book.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Taster was a very good book. I usually enjoy stories set in WW2 very much and I was lacking the "other side", the bad side perspective. Except Magda Ritter, one of Hitler's personal food tasters, is not a bad person. She is a complicated one, like all humans, and she finds herself naively caught in the circumstances of history. Even though we get lost in the darkness and some more happy points of Magda's life are cut too short (on purpose?), this is a detailed story told through the emotions of this woman, her thoughts and newfound sense of reality.

The Taster
by V.S. Alexander
Reviewed by Kay Stephen
January 12, 2018

In the novel The Taster, V.S. Alexander has built a story around the fact that Hitler had young ladies who tasted his foods prior to them being served to him to ensure that they were not laced with poisons.
Alexander has stayed true to the timeline and events of WWII, which serve as a background to the story. His main character, Magda, a young German woman finds herself in being in the position of doing what one must in order to survive the horrors of war. In her case, it means working as a taster for Hitler. Alexander does not shy away from incorporating the horrors that Hitler was responsible for into the story line, yet he does not dwell on them either. Magda has ample opportunity to witness Hitler's humanity, how he is a father figure for many in his inner circle and loves nothing better than a real life romance. Initially, Alexander's writing seems stilted as he describes the setting of Hitler's “castle” and attempts to define Magda's character but towards the end of the novel when Berlin is falling and Hitler is holed up in his bunker Alexander's writing comes alive. The reader is left gasping at the brutality of the invading Russians and heart broken when Hitler has his beloved dog put down prior to his own death. Overall this is an intriguing and well imagined story. There are some issues with the writing leaving this reviewer to double check if it had actually been a translation. The moral question it addresses for me, yet again, is “How could the German people have stood by and done nothing?”.

In an effort to keep herself safe, Magda Ritter applies to work for the Reich. She gets hired to be one of 15 tasters for Hitler, tasting for poison and making sure his food is safe to eat. The constantly possibilty of being poisoned terrifies her, but she does her job well. The closer she gets to Hitler's inner circle, the more disturbing things she discovers. She will have to decide what is more important.... going with her conscious and putting herself in danger, or keeping her head down and herself alive.
This book was a fascinating read, and from a perspective I had not thought of before. I could not put the book down. I highly recommend this book!

Loved this book. No matter how much I read in this genre, I love finding stories that are new and thought provoking. Excellent writing. Kept my interest from start to finish! Thank you!

Wonderful and informative read! I knew Hitler was paranoid about getting poisoned but I didn’t know he went to this extreme. This was well written and I couldn’t put it down!

I'd really like to give this book more than five stars! While it, admittedly, took a bit longer to get into than I would've preferred (and aren't we all glad that it's so cold this week, so that I kept pushing on?), it turned out to be one of the best books I read in 2017. The content is over my students' heads, but I will probably adapt some of the ideas from it when we get to our WWII studies....that not everyone was behind him, including those who worked most closely beside him; the fact that there were jobs such as a Taster; the gross injustices described against those who were supposedly very close to the Reich.....these are all things that we don't see / hear much about during WWII discussions. I felt like this was tastefully (!) done, with regards to showing sympathy for those who chose to work with the Reich. After all, if the war had ended differently, these are the same people who would have been lauded...

The writing style didn't work for me. I couldn't get into this and didn't finish it.

There are many good novels on the subject of WWII. What makes this book stand out is a new angle, something never told before. The idea of this book was prompted by an account of Margot Woelk, a real taster for Adolf Hitler, who revealed her story at the age of ninety-five. This book is not based on her life, although several scenes from her life were incorporated into this story.

“Who killed Adolf Hitler? (…) The circumstances surrounding his death have been disputed since 1945…”

In this story, a fictional character of Magda Ritter answers this question by telling her story. “She is one of the fifteen women who tastes Hitler’s food as he is obsessively concerned about being poisoned by the Allies or traitors.”

In 1943, at the age of 25, Magda’s parents send her to their family in Bavaria to keep her safe from Allied bombs raiding over Berlin. As soon as she arrives in the charming town of Berchtesgaden, her aunt forces her to get a job to pay her share.

She is taken to Berghof Chalet perched on a hillside above her uncle’s town. Here she learns about her job description. As she learns her duties and how to identify poisonous food, she also learns about an underground network operating right under Hitler’s radar. The National Socialism they’ve been fed by Hitler turns out to be full of cruelty proven by photos taken at Auschwitz.

Cut off from the world and fed by Hitler’s propaganda, most of the German people don’t know the truth and the atrocities done in the camps. But as war progresses and as some hope it’s nearing its end, more and more Germans start questioning Hitler’s ideology, if it’s rather madness. More and more attempts are made to kill him, but they all fail. Now they’re hopeful that Operation Valkyrie will work.

The first part of the book is slow in action, but not in pace. It is still an interesting part. The second half has more action and graphic descriptions about brutality of the war.

How did Adolf Hitler die and did most of the Germans not know about atrocities of the WWII? We may never find out the answers to these questions. Nevertheless, this is a very fascinating read.

"The Taster" is an interesting book about the fate of a young woman serving as Hitler's taster during the last years of WWII. The writing was good and I generally liked the plot but the characters felts slightly underdeveloped and some parts of the story felt glossed over.

There were a lot of coincidences that made the story feel unrealistic at times and there wasn't enough time spend on Magda's emotions and character development, in my opinion.

Overall, I liked the plot but the characters could have done with a bit more development.

It's 1943- Magda Ritter, young ,naive and German. She is a food taster for the Fuhrer.

Her position would place her in the Teahouse at Hitler's Berghof, The Wolf's Lair and The Furer's Bunker in Berlin.
-Is this a job she seeked? NO
-Did she want to be separated from her parents/family? NO
-Was she a supporter of Hitler or the SS Party? NO
-Did she fear for her life and the lives of her family and loved ones? YES

Magda lives with her parents in Berlin and Allied bombs have been falling along with rumors that Germany is not doing well in the war. To protect her, they send her to live with her Nazi Uncle Willy. She is expected to do her part, her duty, and winds up at The Berghof, Hitler's own remote mountain retreat. She is trained to recognize the smell and taste of poisons. Her teacher states "Your body is offered in sacrifice to the Reich in case the food is poisoned." Magda is utterly horrified!

As the Allied forces move in and the war intensifies, so does the plight of Magda and those she loves. Magda must hide her hatred of Hitler or die.

The author notes that several scenes are based on Margot Woelk's account of her experiences as a taster for Adolf Hitler (although not a biography, it is fiction). Ms. Woelk kept her accounts confidential until she turned 95 years old. Fascinating!

If you enjoy WWII Historical Fiction, you may enjoy this "different take" as it is from the perspective of a German girl who despises Hitler. The story is fictional and the author does take some unsubstantiated turns, but it becomes part of her story!

When she goes in search of a job, Magda finds herself assigned to be a taster for Adolf Hitler. Though she had little political inclination herself, she slowly comes to see just how inhumane the war is. Somehow, she must keep her true opinions to herself as she lives in the heart of the Reich.

To be honest, this left me with mixed feelings. The story is well researched and, for the most part, well written. Magda starting off with no real opinion about the war was a brilliant move, as it makes it easier to follow her journey. She did change her mind very quick merely because the man she was attracted to showed her pictures, but they were graphic images.

I especially liked the approach of "what-if" that the author used to tell this story. The telling of the story, how it ends, made it seem likely it could have happened in a similar manner.

There is a sex scene, though thankfully it is not detailed. There is also a rape scene which was in more detail. Towards the end, Magda's journey did seem a little far-fetched, and the end was even more unbelievable.

Overall, I found it interesting if not exactly an instant favorite.

This is a different look at World War II than readers are used to reading. The Taster is from the perspective of a young German girl and is about life inside Germany during the war. It's a coming of age story for a young girl with little to no interest in politics and war to a young woman who begins to see the moral dilemmas of the war and the inhumanity of the Nazi party.

Magda's parents send her out of Berlin because the allies have started bombing and they fear for her safety. She goes to live with relatives and they feel that it is a German woman's role to have a job that will help the country. After several interviews, she gets a job at Hitler's mountain retreat as a taster - she tastes every food that he will be served at his meal to make sure the food hasn't been poisoned. She is willing to sacrifice her life to save the life of the ruler of Germany. The longer Magda is at the German headquarters, the more she sees about the inhumanity of the war and once she falls in love with a conspirator, she really begins to have questions.

This is fantastic war story about a subject that we don't usually read about. It's a story about love and courage in the face of war.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This is an amazing story of a strong and courageous young woman who lived in one of the bleakest periods of modern history. Magda was forced to confront an evil that is unimaginable to most of us, and her strength of character serves as an inspiration. This book gives us an inside look at what it was like to be a part of the Third Reich and the character of Magda is one that I will long remember. I highly recommend this book.

The circumstances surrounding the death of Adolph Hitler have long been discussed and disputed since the end of the war. “The Taster”, written by V.S. Alexander and published by Kensington Publishers is a novel based on a woman who was among Hitler’s “tasters”. These women were chosen for their fidelity to the Fuhrer and were required to taste every bit of food and drink prior to its presentation to Hitler. Hitler was scared to death that he would be poisoned and thought that everyone was out to kill him. At the Wolf’s Lair and at The Berghof, Hitler’s places of residence, the tasters followed him and were required to stay within the compound at his service.

Magda Ritter, is the name of the young woman in this novel who is chosen by the Reichstag to be one of Hitler’s tasters. She is schooled in the different forms of poison so she can recognize them by taste and smell. If she falters, then she will be the one poisoned. Magda meets a member of the SS assigned to Hitler’s guard and they become involved. He is also involved in a group planning to assassinate Hitler. This story is so interesting and menacing at the same time. All the while reading this book, I was constantly feeling terrified for all those involved.

I thought that this was a great read and very rooted in historical fact. The author’s list of background books and articles made the book seem real. Based on a true character, who would not believe it?