The Book of Lost Names is not just a book about the Nazi invasion of Europe. It is about what heroes of that time did to help others escape to freedom. Eva teams up with a group that is getting children to Switzerland where they can have a chance to live. I hope there is a sequel to this book.

I have read all of Kristin's books along with many other stories about WWII... The stories of what people endured and the courage and history that is brought to light is always fascinating. Its always interesting to learn the history with these imaginary characters especially in light of my own mothers escape from German as things were beginning to go south. The idea that this could not happen to us in our own countries and the rude awakening is often a painful memory. The characters and love story was a bit contrived and predictable but does serve to take away the real sting of the true horrors people survived during the war.

Wow how to even have the words to explain this beautiful book. I love reading WWII books, they don't all live up to expectations, but this one really blew me away.
I didn't love Eva at first, but how she adapted and changed during the war was really amazing. I couldn't stop reading this, I wanted to know what happened to her in both timelines. It was heartbreaking, yet beautiful, and I found myself racing through the pages.
It is still so heartbreaking to read about what was done to the Jews and many others during this time of horrible war. Kristin Harmel's writing flows easily and her little bits of hope sprinkled throughout is really lovely.
This is a book I will be thinking about for a long time to come.

If you like Kristin Hannah's 'The Nightingale' you will probably like this one too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is an incredible book. Dual time line that follows mainly the life of Eva. During WWII, Eva works with several others to help get children and others out of France to the safety of Switzerland. She becomes a master forger and also records the true identities of the children in The Book of Lost Names so these children are not forgotten.

I generally enjoy historical fiction, particularly of the WWII genre, but this read was a letdown. Based on the description and that it was reminiscent of The Alice Network, I expected to read about the personal experiences of individual(s) overcoming fear to resist evil, in this case, Nazi Germany. According to the publisher, the book is inspired by a true story of a woman, our main character Eva, who uses her artistic talents to forge identity documents to facilitate the escape of persecuted Jewish children to neutral Switzerland. She teamed up with a resistance cell that included a priest and another forger/chemist, Remy. While this book is billed as a tale of courage during a dark period, the time frame and forgery played second fiddle to the books' true purpose, the romance of two star-crossed lovers. Eva and Remy fall in love despite Eva's mother's objections, because she is Jewish and he is Catholic (or, as she routinely called him, a "papist"). This was more Nicholas Sparks than a serious WW2 fiction. I am not opposed to a love story intermixed but the development of the relationship quickly took center stage. Beyond that, I didn't like many of the characters. Granted it was an earlier time but were women truly as naive as Eva came across in this story. Her reactions to every situation were that of an inexperienced child or someone cloistered from society, not of a young woman living in Paris. And her mother was a pill. I understand her anger and even her bitterness but the portrayal was over-the-top and she came off as someone unlikeable rather than someone you pity. The climax (the Gerard angle) and ending were far too predictable. It's a shame because I was excited to read a woman-as-hero tale but I would not recommend this book.

I wish to thank Gallery Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

If you've never read any books by Kristin Harmel, now is the time! She is a wonderful author with great stories to tell. The Book of Lost Names is a historical fiction novel, inspired by a true story from WWII. Eva has a talent for forgery, which she uses to help Jewish children escape the Nazi wrath. This book goes back and forth between the past and present, while Eva relives her war time experience from many years ago. I loved reading this beautiful and touching story about a woman's bravery to defeat evil and did not want it to end.

My only experience with Kristin Harmel before this book was with the contemporary novels The Life Intended and Italian for Beginners, and the main takeway I had from those was how addictive her writing style was. The same applies to The Book of Lost Names, which is written with suspense and incredible pacing. It's always great to find a World War II novel with a unique angle, and the forgery angle of this one was so interesting. It also ends with a twist I wasn't expecting, which definitely helps it stand out from other novels with a similar plot. Definitely recommend this for a fast-paced, intriguing historical read!

Wow! This story follows Eva as she faces the darkest and scariest days of her life. She joins the resistance and becomes a master forger to save the lives of children whose parents have been collected in round ups of Jewish people. Eva goes through love and devastation with grace and grit. Beautifully written and researched in a thoughtful way. This author is a star in historical fiction.

I really enjoyed this book's take on WW2 fiction; as someone who enjoys reading books set in this time period, I love finding books that take new angles on the Holocaust and the war in general so that I can continue to learn more about this historic time period. This book definitely delivered on that front. The writing and story were both incredibly engaging and this book left me wanting more.

There are.so many books about the Holocaust out there. Finding one that deals with a different angle to the story of this shameful time in history is rare. Yet, "The Book of Lost Names", is one of those. Exceptionally well written, this is the spellbinding story of a young woman who defies the Nazis by forging new identities for hundreds of children whose only crime was being born Jewish. It is also a love story that allows us as well as the young woman continue to have hope during a time when the world seems to have gone mad. Kristin Harmel has written a winner!

I absolutely loved this book!!! I read a lot of WWII historical fiction and while it is one of my favorite genres, I have not been wow'ed like I was with this book in some time. The focus of this book is a young woman that fell into the role of forger to help with paperwork for the Resistance when she was exiled from Paris to southern France. The people she meets are so heartwarming, it's wonderful. There is a surprising love story woven throughout. There is very little focus on any German characters, which is the go-to villain for this type of book and having a change from that just makes this book different than the rest of the books in the genre. Instead, there is quite a struggle with her own mother who does a terrible job processing the state they have found themselves in. In the end, I stayed up way to late finishing this book and it was worth it!

I couldn't put this book down. If it hasn't been optioned for a movie already, it should be.
The novel offers a fascinating look at a part of World War II history that I know little about: how the people of France of all faiths and walks of life were affected by the occupation of the Germans.
Eva and her parents are Jewish; she was born in France, but her parents, who were from Poland, had moved to France many years before. As the war progressed, danger lurked around every corner, and one night, when Eva and her mother were at a neighbor's house, the police cam and took her father. Eva, a resourceful young woman, did what she had to do to get herself and her mother (who didn't want to go) out of Paris to the small town of of Aurignon, hoping to get to Switzerland.
But before Eva can convince her mother to leave, a small cell of forgers learns that she has a knack with creating false papers and talks her into helping them. I don’t want to go into much depth on the story since I wouldn’t want to spoil any of it for readers, but it’s one I definitely recommend.

This book brought me to tears. It is a very well researched World War Two novel that tugs its readers into a heartbreaking story. I could connect with the characters and sympathize with their struggles. I did find a typo in Louis’ name at the beginning of chapter 8. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

Eva works in a library and studies at the Sorbonne. Joseph, a fellow student, warns her that 20,000 Jews will be round up and urges her to leave with her family. Her parents want to stay and by a stroke of luck only her father is taken but before that he tells Eva what to do in order to leave Paris.

This book engaged me right from page one. It starts off a bit like The Nightingale in that Eva is 86 and living in Florida when she sees an article in the paper about a book that was recovered during the War and she recognizes it as "her" book. It reminds her of business that she didn't finish. She decides to go to Berlin against her son's wishes. He can't imagine why she wants to go but she never told him about her past.

I loved the characters in this book. The mother drove me crazy and I couldn't see her as anything but foolish while everyone else was so brave. The setting was in a small fictional town of Aurignon and the descriptions were such that it made it all seem so real.

I would most definitely recommend this to anyone that enjoys historical fiction.

Thank you for the ecopy of this book. I will be posting a full review on Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram! Many thanks.

I am not sure that 5 stars is enough! I loevd every minute of this book! I am a HUGE fan of all and evertyhing that I can get my hands on that deals with WWII and the holocaust. This book had everything a reader is looking for... romance, suspence, and twists you were NOT expecting. This book was a super quick read as I devoured it pretty much in a day... with the current covid-19 situation its easy to give a day to reading. You will not be disappointed in this book. I was excited to read it and even learn some new facts that I had never thought of from history!

I have honestly been a fan of this author for a long time so I will read anything she writes. But this book blew me away! I was smiling, I was sad. I was sobbing. The writing is brilliant, the story was refreshing. She took a time period that I generally don’t read about and made it irresistible! And has for the last 4-5 books.
I couldn’t imagine being Eva and going through what her family did. And you felt her connection with Remy immediately even though they come from different places in life. I don’t want to give away anything with the book. Just please read it. It is that great!

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

I've been on WWII historical fiction kick lately and I'm so glad I was able to read Kristin Harmel's "The Book of Lost Names." This story follows Eva as she becomes a forger to help smuggle children across the border to safety in Switzerland. She gives the children new identities, but doesn't want them to forget who they are, but it's too dangerous to have their real names written on a list somewhere. She ends up using a code to record their names in a book where no one would be able to track them down. Years later, someone finds the book among the artifacts stolen by Nazis in the war. Elderly Eva immediately recognizes it and flies back to Europe to retrieve it. Along the way, we are introduced to her story and what happened during her time as a forger. I really enjoyed this book and kept reading chapter after chapter at night. There is a love interest, and while it definitely seemed a bit too fast in the beginning, it churned into a sweet, slow burn. The relationship with Eva and her mother didn't really sit well with me... there was too much drama with no digestible resolution. Her mother was a certain way for most of the book, and then suddenly she does a 180 when it's too late to really feel a lasting bond between her and Eva. It left a sad imprint on the story rather than adding a bittersweet taste.
All in all, I definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of historical fiction! This is a book where the characters will sit with you long after you turn the last page.

“But in times like these, was it dangerous to dream unrealistic dreams?”

To put it upfront: This book made me reach catharsis (the pinnacle of story perfection, as the Greeks would agree).

It has been a while since I cried this much reading a book, and there is still the ghost of a tear clinging to my eyelashes as I type this, but I must push through, because I have to tell the world how dear, how beautiful this story is.

The Book of Lost Names is a historical fiction WWII novel that follows a young girl named Eva who escapes Paris with her mother and begins forging documents that help children (and many others) escape the German occupation by passing over the border into Switzerland.
AND
The Book of Lost Names is a love story: a story of its length, of its endurance, of its power.
AND
The Book of Lost Names is a beautifully thematic story that reminds its reader that we are the true authors of our identities, and nothing--not the taking of our name, not a change of location, not the passing of time--can strip that away from us.

What I loved about this story:
1. The ending: Lately I have been so disappointed by how authors have ended their stories. I now want to show them all the ending to this story as an example of how endings should be done. Obviously, I can’t discuss the content, but I will say that I felt like I was crying so hard at points near the ending that I thought I might choke.
2. The framing of the story: With occasional (& well-timed) flash-forwards, this story is written in such a way that the reader is able to see the implications of the past on the present in such a way that makes the ending (and the story’s themes) even more powerful.
3. The overall message: There are so many different themes at the core of this story--true love is powerful enough to endure all, goodness always can be found (even if you must create it yourself), etc, but the message that meant the most to me was that we are the true authors of our identities, and though many things can be taken from us, that never can.

What I disliked:
1. Insta-love?: There were a few moments in the beginning where I felt like this might be like any other WWII romance story. The falling in love aspect seemed to happen unbelievably fast, but that is just the way things happen sometimes. With the way the rest of the story turned out, I’m not bothered at all by the slight insta-love element.
2. “A breath she didn’t know she was holding”: I almost forgot this actually, but the main character releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding in two sequential chapters. I now realize that the author must have just been messing with us.

Overall, this a book that I would recommend to:
1. Anyone who loves historical fiction: You will learn a lot about forgery and the French resistance during the German occupation. The author based much of what Eva did on real-life forgers like Adolfo Kaminsky and Oscar Rosowsky (as can be seen in her author’s note).
2. Anyone: Truly. I think that everyone needs to be reminded of the core message of this story: that we are the true authors of our identities, and nothing--not the taking of our name, not a change of location, not the passing of time--can strip that away from us.

And there you have it. The five-star story I wasn’t expecting to find. As the book so aptly states, “those who realize that books are magic . . . will have the brightest lives.”

This book is magic.

I will be including this book in a video on my channel entitled “My Best Reads of 2020 So Far” that will go live on 5/3/20. You may look for a further discussion there, and here is the link to my channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAa3DZnHK3iMF_fQzLl4ALA?view_as=subscriber

& of course, thank you to Gallery books for providing me an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This wonderful book is set in Paris and the French countryside during World War II. Eva, a young woman who has learned an appreciation of precision and exactness, and a love of reading, must save herself and her mother after her father is taken by the French police in the historic roundup of Parisian Jews. With material and information supplied by her father’s former boss she is able to make false identity papers for herself and her mother and slip out of Paris to a small town in the French mountains. Eva quickly discovers that the townspeople include a group of people who are secretly hiding Jews and others who must evade the Nazis and escape to Switzerland. Because of the quality of the false papers Eva created for herself, she is recruited to become one of this network’s forgers.

This is a book filled with love, hate, mystery and fear. It is well written. I have read many books of historical fiction set in Europe during WWII and this one ranks among the best.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy.