I loved both of Robotham’s previous books but It took me a while to get into this one. I found the beginning rather slow as we learn about all the characters and the state of Berlin. Once the story got going I just wanted to read it to the very end. I look forward to reading more from Robotham.

I have read lots of books in this genre and it takes a lot
to impress me. However I have to say I really enjoyed the plot and the central characters

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
An interesting idea behind this story and I liked learning more about women reportings pre and post war. The writing is good and the subject matter was handled well, realistically but still sensitively. The characters are fascinating and likable.
However, it is difficult to get into, especially at the begimning which is pretty grisly and seems disjointed to the expected story line.
A good read.

This is such a great story with insight into the years in Germany before WWII, told from a journalist's POV. Georgie (female) is sent to Berlin before the world understood Hitler's capability to destroy.
Georgie is gutsy, putting her life in danger to get to the bottom of what the regime is hiding, their goals, their secrets. She works alongside a fierce group of fellow reporters, also looking to uncover what is really going on in Germany.
I love historical fiction, and this was another part of history I hadn't yet read about...the reporters who were there experiencing everything firsthand while doing their best to get the word, and warning, out to the world all while Hitler's Germany does it best to muffle them. Or destroy them.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this must-read book.

I had a bit of a hard time getting into this, but once it picked up I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed it!

A wonderful historical fiction. A story starting with the cosmopolitan, indulgent life in Berlin pre-war. Georgie is sent over as the Chronicle newspapers' foreign correspondent. She joins the gang of journalists in their heady days of drinks, dinners and comradery as they all live and work in this foreign city. Things turn darker as the days close in to the start of war. A really heartbreaking, heart wrenching and heart warming story. I loved it. Highly recommend.

I enjoyed this book immensely and would heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys in- depth WW2 novels.
It is unusual as it writes about the work of a rookie journalist Georgie, who is sent to Berlin with an experienced reporter Max Spender to report on the situation in the years in the 1930s prior to the war.
The rise of Hitler and the Nazi party is chillingly and vividly described, with the increasingly huge Nazi presence spreading its tentacles throughout Germany, but especially prevalent in Berlin. Everyone in the city is looking over their shoulder, and as the persecution of Jewish Germans gathers pace, events are described in harrowing detail.
The descriptions of the horrors of Kristallnacht are extremely disturbing, all the more so for the reader’s knowledge that that terrible night is historical fact.
The characterisation is brilliantly written, bringing the central players and their interactions alive for the reader. As Georgie and Max and American colleagues take increasing risks to protect their Jewish colleague and his family, the suspense is nail- biting.
All journalists in Berlin continue their high-risk endeavours to get their ‘copy’ to London and New York, in a determined effort to open the eyes of the world to what is unfolding in Germany. It becomes obvious that they are all in imminent danger of arrest by the Nazis. As the danger of their situation rapidly escalates, they are forced to plan their escape.
This compelling story brought home to me the actions of the real-life journalists of that period of history, who would have taken serious risks to expose the reality of the danger of the unstoppable rise of Hitler. Without their reported information, politicians in UK, wider Europe and USA would not have been so acutely aware of the horror unfolding in Germany.
The meticulous research done by the author to make this story so authentic is commendable,
My thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title.

I didn't want to put it down and absolutely loved it until the end, when I felt that it ended very abruptly. Georgie is a driven, young reporter sent to a Berlin on the brink of war, along with fellow journalist Max Spender. While the two do not hit it off, they both make a number of new friends and join a world of foreign reporters trying to navigate Nazi Germany, what a free press means, and how to live with what they are witnessing. A suspenseful and heart filled story about people living through a crisis, the friendships formed, the jobs they do, and the decisions they make.

Loved the plot, the characters, and the way it paints the world in a way that explores what different people saw in 1930s Germany. It portrays how the world may have been blindsided by the Nazi regime or rather chose to ignore what was happening until they could not. You follow a reporter as she grows into her own, and falls in love with a city even while being sickened by what she sees happening around her. If you are looking for a good historical fiction book (or specifically an exciting fictional story based in a historical time), this might be a good choice.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are all my own.

This is the third book by this author and what an amazing writer!
She pulls you in with these war ridden tales that are filled with sadness and hope, friendships and loss.
I can't get enough of these stories!

Young naive Georgie Young arrives in the midst of Nazi Germany in 1938 as one of the few female journalists.
Georgie quickly starts to feel helpless the more she sees the innocent being torn away from their homes and families.

However Georgie is determined to uncover the secrets about Hitlers Germany even if that means uncovering secrets that are much darker than anticipated.

I really enjoyed reading This story as it is set just before the war is announced. As it’s a different take on perspective. And just following Georgie as she discovers what is really happening to the Jewish community and fighting as a young female journalist to get the story out there to other countries to warn them about what is happening. 4/5 stars, Mandy Robotham is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors

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I'm a big fan of Mandy Robotham and I wasn't disappointed by the lastest instalment of her historical fiction books.

Journalist, Georgie, finds herself sent to cover the everchanging politics and landscape of Nazi Germany alongside fellow journalist, the formidable Max Spender. Arriving in a very different landscape to the last time she visited Germany, Georgie automatically feels ill at ease with the rules and regulations of covering events in a dictatorship. As her news reporting causes her to dig deeper she discovers a number of unfavourable discretions in particular regarding the way in which Jews were treated by Hiter and his henchmen. Through her relationship with her driver, Rubin Amsel, who just so happens to be Jewish, Georgie must decide when it is important to bite her tongue and when she must stand tall and fight for her friends.

What I love about this book is that I was constantly on the edge of my seat, particularly in regards to Rubin and his family. I feel like it was realistic to the events of what happened in Nazi Germany and that in turn made me root for the characters even more. I completely devour these books and I cannot wait til the next offering.

WW II fiction and stories about the war's unsung heroes have become my favorites. The gripping tales how people like you and me put their lives on the line to help those persecuted by Hitler and his followers are so inspiring.

In THE BERLIN GIRL we meet young, courageous journalist Georgina Young who writes under George Young because sexism. Being sent to Berlin as a correspondent in pre-war times is her biggest accomplishment so far. While in Nazi-Germany we watch her grow, from the bright-eyed, fresh-faced, talented, spunky young woman, in love with Berlin and its people to a brave young woman who loses her naivety and gains some cynicism when she witnesses the Kristallnacht and the beginnings of the large-scale anti-Jewish pogroms and escalating violence.

In a nondescript town, in the middle of a largely unseen land, away from the world’s gaze, she’d witnessed an atrocity. In how many more places had it already happened, and would do so again?

But she's a survivor so she learns the game of deception and uses it to her own advantage. She also learns a painful lesson that there isn't a good Nazi. She also gains a ragtag group of journalist from around the world as friends. One in particular, a man she didn't get along with, becomes her closest confidante.

Mandy Robotham perfectly captures the danger people were in when they resisted the propaganda. It was people like Georgie and her friends who we have to thank for that we don't live in a permanent Nazi-Germany. I loved to see a completely different point of view of the war from a journalist's perspective. It gives you an idea how fast reporters could lose their lives if they dug too deeply into the perfidious secrets and horrific, detailed plans Hitler and his cronies cooked up. How fast they had to leave the country f they wrote about the persecution, the injustice, the utter devastation Nazi-Germany brought.

They both stared into their drinks, at the disappointment of facing a stark reality and the limitations of their job. A profession that might not change the world after all.

World War II books never get old. The dichotomy between the complete disdain and disregard for life on one side and the heroic acts of people on the other keeps fascinating me. And in a time where there are only few contemporary witnesses are left these books become even more important and poignant. THE BERLIN GIRL has a little bit of everything - suspense, action, lots of friendship and a little bit of romance. I'm definitely going to read more by this author.

Do we relish war? No. Do we fear it? Maybe. Can we win it? The verdict here is uncertain.
The conviction, however, is that we can only go forward, to push back a tyranny that is purely and simply wrong, that bullies can never to be allowed to triumph. If truth be told, we are certain only that the enemy we face is one worthy of our efforts, and that the time is ripe for us as allied nations to stand tall and fight for freedom.

I love WW2 novels - there's just something about this period of history that fascinates me, and the courage shown by everyday people astounds me. This novel was so well written, suspenseful, and the characters were so well developed. I read this novel in one sitting (okay, it went late into the night!!), But still, highly recommend!

The Berlin Girl by Mandy Robotham is a novel set in Berlin in 1938. Reporters from all over are in Berlin covering the rise of the Nazi empire. New reporter Georgie Young is posted to Berlin alongside fellow Londerner Max Spender.
They witness many atrocities and would like to report back, but the newspapers do not want to spread fear. They also are under the auspices of the Nazis when sending out their reports. Their writing is usually censored and the truth is not being spoken from their news gathering.
Some reporters from outside Germany are being hauled in for questioning and some never return. Georgie herself is questioned as is Max. It is a frightful time for these brave journalists who see what is going on but cannot bring the truth to the world.

It seems there have been a lot of novels lately about Germany in the 30s and 40s. Coincidence, considering what is going on these days? Anyway, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read another one but was glad I did. It is an engaging read, with solid plot and well developed characters. Georgie is a strong, independent female character for her times and I particularly liked that the author took time at the end of the book to followup on her characters’ lives after the war years.

It is also a cautionary tale for our times. What happens when an authoritarian takes over…when venom and nationalism is spewed from the top….when treaties and agreements are ignored…when the persecuted are refused a refuge by “humanitarian” countries….how deluded and hypnotically devoted the populace can become when a “leader” is viewed as a messiah.

This was a rewarding read…….

The Berlin Girl follows two reporters as they enter Nazi Germany in 1938 to report on life in the country. This was my first Mandy Robotham book and I was super excited to read it! However, it quickly became apparent that this book was not catching my interest. I struggled for a couple of weeks to get into this book, but it just never caught.

The characters seemed very flat to me and didn’t really come to life in my mind. This really reduced my ability to feel invested in the book. The history was accurate and well researched but without being invested in the characters, it was still difficult to enjoy and appreciate it.

This book focuses on what life was like for foreign reporters in Germany during the Nazi years, which was a really unique point of view as I’ve never read a book from this approach. However, it just fell flat for me. I won’t be recommending this book in the future, but I will be trying the other books by this author as I have heard some amazing things!

As anyone can probably tell from my shelves of feedback and to be read, this genre is an obsession with me currently. I never knew so many stories existed.
Georgie and Max draw you into this story. It is well written and easy to read in one sitting. But it does bring emotions to the surface. Which need to be revisited by many people.

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

We are being bombarded with WWII fiction nowadays, and this one stands out for its flawless story telling, and its ability to see Hitler's rise to power through the eyes of an English journalist in Berlin in the 1930's. Really enjoyed this, and will heartily recommend to people who can't get enough of WWII fiction!

A great read and would recommend reading this book . Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

I really enjoyed this look at 1930s Berlin, having just written a book myself on the same time period. The historical details were great and the story really kept me turning the pages as two British reporters get caught up in events in prewar Germany.