Levi's War is the third in a series and I have not read the first two. I feel like Levi's War shouldn't be a standalone novel as there are scenes that did not quite make sense. I am assuming that they were flashbacks to information from the first two books. I will be ordering the entire series for my library!

This book! This book was fast paced and unputdownable. I found myself waking up extra early to get a few chapters in. I love historical fiction, especially WWII. Levi is a Jewish pianist and bank clerk during the rise of the Nazi regime. After being sent to a camp, Levi is asked to play the role of spy and is actually dropped behind enemy lines to play the piano and seek information about the Nazis.

Levi's War read like a biography and I found myself googling to see if this was a true story. The attention to detail was impeccable throughout the novel.

I received a free copy of this book from net gallery in exchange for an honest review.
This is the story of Levi, a young Jewish man separated from his family who chooses to risk his life by playing an active role in opposing the Nazi regime during WWII—first as a trained British spy, then as resistance fighter in Italy. The book switches timelines with the present as Levi’s family finds out about his wartime activities for the first time, after his death.
Overall, I would say that I enjoyed the book, but found the timeline to be a bit off. To me, the “present day” chapters lacked the emotion to match the rest of the book—and I found it to be a significant distractor, especially at the end of the book. Perhaps if I had read the first two books in this series, I would have felt differently. I did truly enjoy the historical chapters and story encircling Levi.

#LevisWar #NetGalley
I didn't know this as first but this is the third book of Julie Thomas trilogy, Set on the knowledge of the LIbowtiz family. Since I haven't read the others books, some of the discussions confused me a little pit and I didn't fully get to reference. If I go back and read the other books I think I would get better clarity on how I feel about this.

Julie Thomas writes a brilliant historical novel about one man’s fight against Hitler and the Nazi’s. Levi, who comes from a wealthy banking family, leaves his mother country for a job with a London bank when things begin to get difficult for the Jews. Once in London he cannot sit by and watch his people being annihilated. What follows is the story of one man’s battle and the tremendous risks he takes to fight against the enemy. Unbeknownst to his family until he is long gone, Levi was a hero in the truest sense of the word. Beautifully written, this well researched novel is a must read.

World War II-era novels are some of my favorites, so I was looking forward to this book. Sadly, it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I haven't read the author's prior books, so perhaps that's why this one didn't connect with me.

In addition, the writing style didn't work for me. The flow just seemed off in some way. There were some elements I wasn't expecting, and that didn't improve my impressions. I will not be checking out the other books in this series.

I did not enjoy this book. I felt it was disjointed and rushed at times. It just wasn’t for me and I read historical fiction primarily. I will say that I did not read the first two books and that might be part of the issue. Regardless, I wasn’t interested in the characters in this book enough to go back and read the other two.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper360/Harper Collins NZ for this ARC.

Julie Thomas wrote an incredible account of Levi Horowitz’s life and strength. Her written words are visceral. Brava. Thank you NetGalley and Harper 360 for this opportunity to read this ARC.

This is the first book I have read from this series and now I plan on going back and reading the first two. There are a lot of WWII fiction books out there and I think this one was unique. I couldn't stop turning pages, highly recommend.

Levi’s War is the third book in a trilogy about the Horowitz family. I loved the first two books but found this book a disappointment. This story takes place after Levi’s death, when the British government uncovers forgotten films from the end of WW2 in which Levi Horowitz is being debriefed on his experience as a British spy behind enemy lines. For his entire post war life, his family has thought that Levi was safely in England during the war, but as a German citizen living in England he had been interred in a camp, then recruited and trained to spy and dropped back into Germany.

I read a lot of WW2 fiction but just had a hard time with this book, which I was eagerly waiting for. The writing didn’t flow as it did in the earlier 2 books.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

An interesting WW2 story of bravery, resiliency, and family set around music and Levi Horowitz, a German-Jewish spy for the British that had me turning pages but also confused me at times. I didn't realize this was the 3rd story in the Horowitz Chronicles. It works as a stand-alone novel but (I think) there are definitely parts that would be easier to understand if you've read the previous novels.

The novel goes back and forth between the war and 2017 when Levi's family learns about "his war" and I found the latter part of the book, set all in 2017, to be rather clunky. Although I understand the reason for it, there was just something missing for me.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper 360/HarperCollins NZ, and the author for an advanced copy of this book.

This is a much written about era.. horrific as best described... but I feel executed better than this novel managed to do. Hitler and the Nazi regime have been analyzed and dissected since before WWII. There are thousands of pages of literature dedicated to this topic and many are noteworthy. Levi’s War is not one I can recommend. It became monotonous and I felt not believable at times. The added homosexual relationship seemed superfluous and hardly credible that an ardent family of Nazi sympathizers would exhibit such a turn around.

Levi Horowitz is an amazing character and easy to love! Levi's War is a story about a young, gay, jewish man, during the holocaust. The story was great but at some times the writing felt rushed and not fully thought out. I also felt like the end of the story was a little abrupt. However, I highly recommend this book as it's a different perspective from WW2.

The perfect way to end a trilogy. Julie Thomas writes so poignantly it's like you're there with the characters, watching as they make some of the most difficult choices of their lives. Levi's story wraps up the three stories of the Horowitz family, and how they all had such different experiences during WWII. You do not need to have read the first two books to enjoy this one, but it does help.

"Levi's War" by Julie Thomas is the third book in the trilogy of the Horowitz family. I did not realize this was a trilogy until after I downloaded the book and added it to my GoodReads account.

Levi is a pianist and bank clerk; he is also Jewish. Levi's father finds a way to gain passage to London for Levi in 1938. He eventually arrives in London, moves into a boardinghouse, and works at a bank. After war is declared, Levi registers as a German national, and eventually is declared an Enemy Alien and sent to a camp. There, he is approached about being a spy for Britain and dropped behind enemy lines to play piano and listen for information to help the Allies win the war. There, Levi meets a young man who he cares about very much. This young man is then arrested and taken to Dachau Concentration Camp for being gay. The two eventually join the Resistance fight.

The research completed by the author is outstanding; there is much detail. I appreciate how 'God' is written as 'G-d," as many Jews feel that writing it this way does not show any disrespect to God.

I do not prefer historical books that flip from the past to present day, and this book does, since Levi's descendants are invited to watch a video created by the national archives. I also found some of the information shared a bit much, and that took away from the story.

This is definitely not a standalone novel, as there were references to violin and a painting, that was probably explained in the previous books.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy in exchange for my review.

I've decided not to post a review of this book, as the biggest concern that I have involves a spoiler. I just absolutely do not believe that British intelligence could get a source that close to Hitler - and that said source would take a bullet meant for him! Couldn't suspend disbelief enough to find the rest of the book entertaining. Since I can't recommend it based on that, and I won't discuss the spoiler in the book, I can't do the review.

I liked some elements of the book, and was okay with the character. I disliked the framing scenes and thought they were totally unnecessary--I get that they hearken back to other books in the series, but still.

The third novel in Julie Thomas’ Horowitz Chronicles, follows a family during WWII. I did not realize that this is part of a trilogy, and would have much better appreciated it if I had read the first two novels prior to this one. I would highly recommend reading these in order to avoid missing key details and points, and will be doing that myself.

Another addition to the growling list of WWII titles! This book was a little confusing for me until I realized its #3 in a series. I enjoyed it and will be reading the first two, which are highly rated on goodreads. If you can't get enough of WWII in your fiction reading. this is a worthy candidate to add to your list!

I have read countless books that center around WW2. The author surprised me with this story as it had a unique viewpoint. Levi Horowitz, the main character, is an immensely talented musician. So while this book centers on the war, music and culture also play a prominent role.

This is the third novel in the trilogy of the Libowitz family. Although this book can certainly be read without reading the prior two, I do believe a lot would be confusing or missed if the others not read beforehand.

I felt that the book did a good job making you believe that the majority of these characters could have been real life people during this time in history. So while fiction was certainly a factor in this book, there were several facts present as well. Overall, a well written book, but I did feel it dragged on a bit too long.

I received an ARC of "Levi's War" by Julie Thomas in exchange for an honest review.

Another interesting WW !! story... I've read a lot of them and although the outcome was known, it always breaks my heart to read them. As the daughter of someone who escaped, always grateful to learn more

This even paced novel tells a unique historical story about a Jewish spy struggling to understand himself during World War II.

Levi’s War has only a grain of truth when it comes to its primary protagonist, Levi Horowitz. The setting is certainly historical, but Levi not so much so. The characters with whom he interacts, both in Berlin and in Assisi, are certainly real: Hitler and his confederates as well as Father Don Aldo Brunacci. But Levi’s actions, and the plot in which he engages, is imagined.

The writing in Levi’s War is good and the plot is evenly paced. The descriptions are careful, and nuanced well in the case of Levi’s intimate moments. His first one occurs with Pierre while swimming in the ocean. “An arm around his chest pulled him back down, and then it happened. Just a second, there and gone.” The same is true later in the story during his romantic liaisons with Erik, and the description of their final encounter is particularly poignant. These presentations lend credibility to occurrences that could easily have otherwise been unbelievable.

Still, the plot of Levi’s War often struggles to fit within the real events of the years in which the story takes place. Being Jewish in Nazi Germany is nothing new, and being homosexual in that time has also been explored in historical literature. One needs only to remember the musical Cabaret for an example of that. To be Jewish and homosexual, as well as a spy, is certainly extraordinary. And this novel strains when it links the two in Levi. In the end, the reader knows little about Levi the person, other than that he was Jewish, a homosexual and a spy. That is disappointing.

On NetGalley, where review copies of Levi’s War were posted by the publisher, the novel is scheduled to be released in 2021. But it was published in fact in 2018, and is the third is a series of novels about the Horowitz family. Whether 2018 or 2021, it is still the weaker of the three, almost an afterthought about the Horowitz’s. One feels when finished reading that one has completed a paint by numbers portrait of the Horowitz family.