I received this book from
Netgalley for an honest review. I really enjoyed it, it was emotional and well written. Thank you for the ARC.

I love a good World War II novel, so I was so excited to read this one. I was not disappointed. Hetty Heinrich is the daughter of a high ranking Nazi official, and she wholeheartedly believes in Hitler's messages of racial purity. Until she runs into Walter, an old friend of her brother's who also happens to be Jewish. Hetty and Walter begin to meet in secret, and as they fall in love, Hetty begins to question the Nazi ideology.

I was really transported to Nazi Germany in this story. I loved getting inside Hetty's head, and experiencing her change of beliefs. It wasn't an easy read by any means, but I'd put it up with stories like The Nightengale and Things We Cannot Say in terms of being a powerful WWII novel. If you love historical fiction of this era, you should read this book!

I was finally able to download this book and I am sure glad I was! Hands down 5 stars!!! This is the story of Herta (Hetty) Henreich, daughter of an SS officer who runs the town newspaper. Hetty and her family move into a nice large house who Hetty hears belonged to a Jewish family who Hetty hears were run out by the Nazis. Hetty wants to become a doctor and travel, but her parents want her to marry and have make perfect German children to help Hitlers vision for a perfect society. Hetty questions her father's ideals. When she falls in love with Walter, her Jewish friend, and becomes pregnant with his child, and sees what is done to fellow Jews, her life is put to the test. I love how this book created the feeling of the time and made me want more.

This was a difficult read for me. I really forced myself to persevere through the beginning of of the story. As Hitler rises and people embrace him, the rhetoric, the inhumanity, and the scary parallels to today were disturbing. Yet, I am glad I remained with the book. After the tough beginning, I couldn’t put it down and, by the end, loved it.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

I read a lot of historical fiction, one of my favorite time periods being World War II. As someone who's father grew up in Nazi Germany, I am especially interested in the mindset of the people. What was daily life like? And how did they allow a mad man like Hitler and the Nazi party to control not only the country but even their thoughts? This book gave me quite a bit of insight, at least when it came to the young people.

The book starts with Hetty Heinrich, a typical German school girl in Leipzig in 1933. The shadow of Hitler already is over everyone. One day in class a new instructor arrives to discuss the purity of the Aryans and the impurity of the Jewish race. He calls up two students to the front of the class. One of those students is her brother's childhood friend, Walter. Walter appears the perfect Aryan, blond, blue eyed, strong..... he even saved Hetty from drowning one time and she has harbored a crush on him since. How could he be a Jew? But he is.

Hetty is torn, in her mind she believes in the purity of the Germans. She has an almost religious faith in Hitler, praying to him, trusting him. She hears about how the Jews are harmful to Germany, harmful to the German race. She believes it, but still..... she joins the BDM (The League of German Girls) and along with her best friend Erna, they go camping, they sing nationalistic songs, they go to rallies. At one point, she even helps a friend turn in his father to the SS, but always right there in the back of her mind is the question, is this right?

Fast forward to 1938 and Hetty has a chance encounter with Walter. Her old feelings are still there and she finds out that he has feelings for her. Still battling her inner thoughts, she embarks on a love affair with Walter. They dream about a world in which they can be together, a world with no anti-Semitism .Her father, a newspaper man and high ranking member of the SS even brags about being able to control what people believe through the press. As things worsen for the Jews, Hetty witnesses first hand Kristallnacht. It all splits open for her. She can't believe the evil that people are doing to the innocent. She knows now, more than ever she has to find a way to save her love, Walter.

The author, Louise Fein, has written a lovely and at times harsh book about the realities of evil in this world. Hetty's eyes opening by bits and then finally all the way open is compelling. I read that she based this on the story of her father. I am not going to spoil it for anyone, but take a look at her blog for the story https://www.louisefein.com/blog.

I have a particular measure of a good book. I don't like to read books written in present tense. This one was and I didn't care. Highly recommend this!

4 WWII Young Love Story Stars

I read quite a bit of historical fiction and this one is from a different perspective, the daughter of an SS officer in Leipzig and most of the book takes place just prior to the start of WWII. Hetty is just a schoolgirl trying to figure out her place in the world and why she should think differently about her Jewish friends.

Her teachers, her parents, and the German press explain that she should not associate with Jews and in fact they are to blame for the current situation in Germany. At first, she is all in with the rise of the Thousand Year Reich, but she starts to question that thinking and begins to think for herself about childhood Jewish friends and those at school.

This one develops into more of a love story and I know some readers prefer historical fiction without that element. There’s also drama, danger, and violence – as in most WWII novels. The love story has impossible odds, but I could not help but root for it at the same time.

Hetty is an interesting character and I enjoyed the journey with her, and I especially liked the epilogue at the end of the book. This one did a good job explaining the buildup to the war.

I received an advance copy of this book from Harper Collins by way of the The Book Club Girls & NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Young Hetty is dazzled by the Nazi party in pre WWII Germany. Her father is quickly moving up the ranks & her family is climbing the social & economic ladder. She sees only the positive in Hitler & his philosophies the way a trusting child often does but as we age we learn the world isn't quite as black & white as it seems. After seeing the humiliation of a longtime friend because of his religion she learns more about the darker side of the Reich & begins to question her long held beliefs. Questioning only leads to trouble for Hetty & she is soon forced to make an impossible choice.

Maybe I'm over WWII historical fiction, or maybe this just wasn't the book for me to try & read at the moment but I really didn't click with this one. Hetty & Walter are underdeveloped as love interests & remembering that she's only 17 made her so much harder to connect with. Every action she takes is only because of young love. Love puts everyone in danger & love makes her take chances to do the right thing. I don't like it. Hetty jumped from being in love with her father & the party to being in love with Walter - she never did anything that wasn't for or because of the love of a man. She put so many people in danger throughout the book that I felt so disappointed by her constantly, which was a shame & made it difficult to connect with this book.

I also felt that the most interesting part of Hetty's life was in front of her & it was only hinted at in the prologue section. She became a resilient woman in the face of so much adversity in post war Germany, she made sacrifices & worked to help others but we never got to see it. That's a story I would want to read.

Despite my negative impression of Hetty the book was very well written. The authors prose was beautiful & well thought out with great descriptive touches. It drove home the shiny surface of the Reich for those on top with the darkness for those below. If you are looking for a wonderful glimpse of 1930's Germany this book delivers that in spades!

Hetty Heinrich is a good German girl in 1930s Leipzig. Her father is a rising SS official and they have recently moved from a cramped apartment to a spacious new house with beautiful furnishings. Hetty doesn't wonder what became of the previous occupants and she doesn't question the disappearance of the Jewish students from her school. She doesn't begin to question the Nazi ideology until she falls in love with her brother's Jewish friend Walter and she begins to struggle with the beliefs she had previously accepted.

This is a different perspective on a familiar World War Two story, giving us a better understanding of how ordinary Germans fell under Hitler's spell and how they paid for it at the end of the war.

This was a very different look into life during WWII. Hetty is a young girl living in Germany. The daughter of an SS officer, she believes in Hitler and the beliefs of the Nazi regime. As she grows older, she begins to realize that these beliefs are faulty, and feels she is led to do something about this. We follow her life as she finds tortured love and makes heart-wrenching decisions. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the author’s writing style! I highly recommend reading it!

Growing up under the Reich

Hetty is a young girl growing up in pre war Germany. Her father is an SS Officer. She never questions the teachings of her father and the Nazi doctrine until she becomes a teenager. Now she reconnects with Walter a childhood friend that once saved her from drowning in the pond and is a Jewish boy. She uses the excuse of walking her dog to meet with Walter. It is forbidden and at first they are friend but later become sweethearts, forbidden and hidden. She confides in no one until she confides in her best friend . She writes everything in her journal.

Unknown to her the secret meetings with Walter are noticed by two people, her housekeeper and a childhood friend Tomas that has feelings for Hetty. When the housekeeper tells her brother and he warns her father things become tense. What happens next is heartbreaking and very sad. It is life changing and everyone is affected by it.

This book tells the story of a young girl coming to realize the evil of the Nazi regime and the involvement of her parents. She is traumatized by events that take place and emotionally conflicted by them. It effects her relationship with her parents and her friends.

This is a very emotional story, but very believable. The characters are realistic and true to the parts they play in the story. This book is a good dramatic read, I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Louise Fein, Harper Collins Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of the book in return for an honest review.

This book was so wonderfully written and from a perspective that I haven't ever heard before which is from an SS officers daughter during WWII. It was such a unique story and her way of writing was simple and not forced to be something it wasn't. It flowed so nicely and I would definitely recommend to lovers of historical fiction.

A WWII novel with a different perspective. Reading this during the time of safer at home made some scenes hit harder that they might normally have. This was a well done book and I look forward to recommending it to others as something a little different in the WWII historical fiction genre.

Solid 4 stars
First, thanks to Harper Collins, Book Club Girls, and Netgalley for the ARC of Daughter of the Reich.
Thoroughly enjoyed this story; once started, I had to finish it to find out what happened. (And yes, I cried at the end.) It was an engaging story that captured the conflict that Hettie felt as she figured out where she stood with the propaganda fed to her by her parents and the regime. I also liked that the story did not follow predictable twists and turns.
My only disappointment was that the story ended in 1939. I wish it had continued through the war.

This novel broke my heart. I loved watching Hetty go from a sheltered young girl blindly following what she is told to a young woman standing up for her beliefs. It was nice to read a WWII novel that didn’t put the camps front and center. The story centers around a family and the choices made during a period of war without the bombings. It is an eye-opening piece of history. Highly recommended!

“We all have a choice. Each and every one of us. We choose how we treat each other.”
▫️
despite the fact that I’ve read a lot of historical fiction books, DAUGHTER OF THE REICH stands out to me as unique because it’s set against the backdrop of the Nazi regime coming to power in the years prior to WWII. Hettie, the young daughter of a powerful Nazi leader, is surrounded by Nazi propaganda, but begins to question it when she falls in love with a Jewish boy. she ultimately must decide what she believes and who she should protect. I really enjoyed reading the story from the perspective of a young teenager who is grappling between what her family and community believe and what she believes to be right. a really engaging story—highly recommend for those who enjoy historical fiction! 4/5 ⭐️—I liked it!

Daughter of the Reich was a beautiful, stunning book! The events are heartbreaking, but so is the whole time period under Nazi regime. This was a beautiful love story between a German girl and a Jewish boy. Hetty has been raised to love and honor Hitler as her father moves up the ranks and becomes a top SS official. The love story was lovely but this aspect of the story was extraordinary. Hetty begins to grapple with what she has always known as her eyes are slowly opened to the horrors of the regime and their treatment of people. This book was extremely well written. It’s a beast of a book but I sailed through it and could not put it down. I was completely caught up in this story and lost myself to the time period. This was a remarkable piece of historical fiction and receives all of the stars from me. My thanks to @williammorrowbooks for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

My favorite genre told through the eyes of a young German girl. Truly an emotional story line that draws you in. Enjoyable read.

I had the ARC of "Daughter of the Reich" for almost two months before I began reading it. I am so sorry that I waited so long to read it! It is beautifully written by Louise Fein and is most definitely not a typical Holocaust/WWI storyI. It is a heartwarming tale of good prevailing over evil. Hetty is a young German girl growing up as the Nazis are beginning to wield their power over the Jewish population. As a small child, she almost drowns but is saved by her older brother's best friend, Walter who is a Jew. This begins the love story that takes place during such dark and evil times. But this book is so much more than a romance novel- it is about the people who dared to go against Hitler and his regime! It tells of the people who survived and some who perished. I absolutely loved this book and it has already become one of my favorites that depict this horrible era. A Captivating and Compelling Five Star read! Thank you NetGalley, The Book Club Girls, and most of all Louise Fein for the ARC!

I felt so many intense feelings throughout this book! I've read so many historical fiction books set during WWII but this one definitely stands out from the rest. If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would.

This was an interesting book written from a different perspective - and just when you think you have it all figured out, you really don't. The book tells the story of a German family, and how as the father of the family rises in the Nazi ranks, the daughter begins to question the life she has known against the life she wishes she could have.. Enjoyed this book, and was a quick read.