Shortly after the end of WWll, Clara Falkenberg is running from her past. As part of one of the most prominent families in Germany, she kept the family-owned ironworks running during the war. By taking over such a large operation, she also placed a large target on her back. Clara is running from a British officer attempting to arrest her for war crimes. When she decides to take shelter with her friend Elisa, she meets Jakob, and together they unravel the mysteries of Clara’s family.

This book was so intriguing because it brought to light what must have been so difficult for many during war time... Where do loyalties lie? With family? Country? What should you do when standing up for what you believe conflicts with everything you though you knew? Clara wrestles with the decisions of her past while trying to come to grips with the reality of her situation. The plot had many twists and turns, and each time Clara learned something new, it added a new layer of mystery to her family. It was interesting to see how Clara learns to separate her beliefs from what was expected of her. Clara’s character developed wonderfully throughout the story. Reading along with her thoughts had me examining my own and what I would do if I were in her shoes. I enjoyed the thought provoking themes as well as the air of mystery woven through the story.

I love a great historical fiction book and this one was fantastic. The author did an amazing job of writing a well written story that makes you feel as if you apart of the story. This book was filled with so many details and so many emotions. I couldn’t put this book down and highly recommend it.

I've read plenty of WWII novels...but it's rare to see a Nazi as the heroine. Heiress Clara Falkenberg earned the nickname "the Iron Fräulein" whilst running her family's ironworks company during the war and fled the city at the end of the war, assuming a new identity. 

But eventually, Clara returns home hoping to stay with her best friend Elisa as she seeks answers to questions about her family. Unfortunately, Elisa is nowhere to be found. More unfortunately still, Clara encounters an American soldier intent on bringing her to justice for war crimes.  

Clara begins a journey to find her best friend and meets Jakob, who is also looking for Elisa. As we get to know Clara, we learn there might just be more to the Iron Fräulein than first meets the eye. This novel will force you into Clara's shoes, demanding you to reconcile the idea of good and evil and the choices that make a person good or bad.

This novel takes place in Germany after the end of the war. A British officer is searching for the Iron Maiden, a German heiress who ran a factory which was staffed by foreign workers during WWII. Clara (the Iron Maiden) has changed her name to Margaret Muller and fled Essen as the town was getting bombed by the Allies. She meets and becomes engaged to a Dr. Blum who turns out to be a doctor from the women’s concentration camp. Clara had planned on returning to Essen to look for her best friend so she leaves immediately. Her train is stopped by the British officer who knows who she is and starts to interrogate her. She manages to escape and makes her way to Essen where she is in hiding. She goes to her friend’s home to find out it has been bombed. She finds people living in the basement who take her in until the British officer (Thomas Fenshaw) comes to find her. The story then revolves around her repeatedly hiding from Fenshaw. At one point she meets Jacob who helps her hid. Jakob has stumbled upon a hidden German cache of goods with a young boy guarding it. Jakob thinks this is lucky because he can sell the items on the black market. The boy (Willy) thinks the war is still on and won’t let Jakob take anything. Clara is still searching for her friend (Elisha) and her friend’s son while still hiding from Fenshaw.. Jakob finally tells Clara about the hidden supplies. Clara discovers that the young boy is Elisha’s son who has been in the mine for 2 years and won’t leave. Jakob is threatened by Fenshaw (to hurt his two sisters) so tells him where to find Clara. Clara is back in custody and tries to make a deal with Fenshaw to find out where Elisha is. Elisha had been killed at the end of the war along with many of the constricted employees of Clara. Once again Clara tried to make a deal. This time to protect Willy. If she tells him where all the German supplies are. Clara manages to escape once more and makes it to the mine where she finds Jakob who had gone to try to get Willy to come home with him. There is also a side story about Willy’s parentage and a former boyfriend. This novel was a look at the war from a German’s point of view and the choices that sometimes needed to be made, thus making it an unusual look at the war. For a first novel I thought this was very good and will look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to Harper Collins Publishers and NetGalley for a preview of this novel.

I received an advanced copy of The German Heiress from NetGalley. I requested this book because I have read quite a bit of World War II fiction lately, but it was all from the French or English point of view. The main character Clara is a German Heiress who is hiding in plain sight after the war has ended. She has a fake identification card and tries to adopt a new identity. The British authorities are searching for her as we learn her story throughout the war. Clara questions whether she could or should have done more to protect workers during the war. We see her inner struggles throughout the story. An excellent read!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with an ARC of this title.

This story takes place in post WWII Germany, which is unlike any book I've read before. The characters and their changes throughout the book are developed well and there is resolve. I would have appreciated a little more romance between Jakob and Clara in the plot.

The first half of the book was a little sluggish, but it picked up the second half and kept my attention. Overall, the book was good, not great, but enjoyable.

The German Heiress is a post WW2 historical fiction novel told from a German perspective. It was a unique story yet still filled with the heartbreak and fear that stories from time all are. It was very detailed and full of twists.

I read an ARC, it will be released April 7, 2020.

Loved it....

It was a different point of view than what we normally read. I read this during a cold weather spell, and the author made me feel what the characters were feeling while they were dealing with the winter weather.

I like books that are a bit different. This story was told from someone who was being hunted who normally was the one that was doing the hunting.

I recommend this to all who want a different story regarding the survivors of the Holocaust.

I did not finish this book. I found it very boring. I am not someone who generally enjoys WWII stories, I was willing to try it based on the recommendations of an online bookclub to which I belong. Sadly, it was not for me.

I love historical fiction and The German Heiress exceeded my high expectations. The author paints a picture that’s so realistic, I felt like I was transported back in time. I love everything about the characters and plot!

Thank you NetGalley and The Book Club Girls for the eARC of this book.

I am a fan of historical fiction in the WWII period and this debut novel of Anika Scott did not disappoint. The story is told from the perspective of a German heiress, Clara Falkenberg, who is on the run in post WWII Germany. The novel gives us a picture of the many things that were physically, mentally, emotionally and financially endured after the war that permanently scarred them. In an attempt to survive often people did things they normally would not do and later had to deal or try to deal with the guilt of it all.

I really enjoyed this book and I hope Ms. Scott will continue writing page-turners
Ike this one.

Told from the Germans’ point of view, Anika Scott’s The German Heiress gives the reader a different perspective on how WWII affected the opposing people of the Allies. Clara, the protagonist, matures through the story as she realizes the true natures of her father and mother, her own failures in helping the displaced people, and the true loyalty and bravery of the townspeople toward her family, who owned a major industry in the town. When she accepts responsibility for her actions, she proves to Fenshaw, a main subsidiary character, that she is worthy of leniency and trust, an important theme. Scott gives her readers plot twists from beginning to end: Clara thwarting Fenshaw’s attempts of capture, Willy’s charging the cave wall, and allowing the reader to decide for himself what happens after the last paragraph.
I enjoyed learning about the effects of WWII on the German people and the Allies’ roles in Germany after the war. I recommend this great read of historical fiction!

I cannot get the book to download. Can I get some help? This is my first book, so I must be doing something wrong. I can see it, it just doesn’t download.

I absolutely LOVED this book! The author has a gift for taking you into each scene. The story felt real to me. I'd love to see this movie made into a film. This book exceeded my expectations. I will be looking for more from this author.

This was a quick and easy read, though not as suspenseful as I expected from the description. Jakob was interesting, but I never felt invested in Clara. I usually count character growth as a good thing, but the changes here happened too quickly. Someone told Clara that many of her memories and perceptions were lies. Even though Clara had a strained relationship with this person, she accepted their account without hesitation. Clara's feelings about her own actions changed just as quickly. Unfortunately it didn't move me or feel believable.

The story ended abruptly, and the lack of author's notes disappointed me as I enjoy reading about an author's motivation.

Thank you to the NetGalley for the ARC.

I have read many many WWII novels over the past few years and sometimes feel as if I cannot bear another story of suffering and loss. But then I pick up All The Light I Cannot See, or The Nightingale, or The Huntress and I find myself loving another war story. In this book I found myself drawn into the rare German postwar perspective and found it very thought provoking and the characters well written and empathetic. I very much enjoyed the book, will recommend to others and look forward to more from this author. Thank you for the ARC

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published April 7, 2020.
Net Galley's description was that this book was "for readers of The Alice Network and The Lost Girls of Paris, an immersive, heart-pounding debut about a German heiress on the run in post-World War II Germany." BOOM I was sold!

The book takes place after 2 years after WWII had ended in Germany. Clara Falkenberg has false documents saying she is Margarete Müller, but in reality she is an heiress to a pre-war iron working empire. She is in hiding because she is wanted for war crimes for her and her families support of the Nazi’s. Clara is trying to return to Essen to find her best friend Elisa and Elisa’s son Willy. The path she ends up following is full of twists and intrigue, and an ending that hits all the feels and surprises you too.

The opening of the book paints such a bleak picture of post WWII Germany. That is something we rarely think about. We think about the Yay Nazi’s defeated, but what about the other Germans. The ones that weren’t in the military and weren’t necessarily Nazi’s but had to find a way to survive when the Nazi’s were in power. Did they get saved by Adolf’s defeat or were they punished for crimes they had no choice in? Wow this was just a wow book! I’m not sure I even have words, it was so well written and the story was so compelling. None of the characters turned out to be who you thought they were. The depth and breadth of the character development was fantastic, and as any good book should, made me feel all the feels.

It seems that everywhere you look lately there's another WWII era book with a strong female main character, and when I got the opportunity to read The German Heiress from Netgalley, I was wondering if I would be able to get into it. I think that even after reading so many in this subgenre there are still some great stories to tell, but they have to be special and stand out in some way. This one truly does! It's very well written and the characters are so complex. It's funny that the description compared it to The Lost Girls of Paris because I actually just finished that one and the two books have nothing in common other than the time period! I thought that The German Heiress was SO much better! I hope that people won't dismiss it as just another WWII story because they will really be missing out!

It takes place in Germany, in 1946, and the main character is struggling to survive like everyone else. She is forced to come to terms with the choices she made during the war while she searches for her best friend that she hasn't seen since the night she fled her hometown and began living under a different name. Everyone seems to know her face though, in spite of how hunger has changed it. She was the famous "Iron Fraulein," held up as a symbol of strength in German propaganda. The British officers who have arrested her father for war crimes are hunting for her while she hunts for her friend, and decides who she wants to be when confronted with the truth about her wealthy family. I was drawn in from the very beginning and the ending did not disappoint. I will definitely look for more books by Anika Scott!

Beautifully written. Edita chooses to preserve literature and share stories for the children even though they are enduring horrific conditions. The stories are an escape from an unreal situation. She has to give up her childhood because of the war, yet she tries to help the other children preserve theirs as much as she can.

I adore historical romances that focus on a bloody strong woman.

Like the writing , the setting, and the story in general.