Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy of The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan.

I haven't read Beneath A Scarlet Sky, but I'm now looking forward to reading it.

This is a story of survival and hope. Emil and Adeline Martel along with their family have made the tough decision to follow the German soldiers as they escape west in March 1944 from the Russian army. They are of German ancestry but settled in the Ukraine over 100 years earlier and they have already felt the wrath of Stalin in the 1930s in the Holodomor so while they despise Hitler, they've experienced the pain that Stalin has caused. This leads them as refugees for 7 years until they can find a home in a green valley.

The writing is phenomenal and you feel for the family through the struggles of being refuges, and wondering if they will make it. I didn't know much about this but now I'm interested in reading more on the Soviets at the end of WWII. It was hard to read in parts, but so well done.

Mark Sullivan, the author of bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky brings a fresh dose of WWII historical fiction carefully wrapped around a family’s true story of audacity, survival and victory.

The book closely following the Martel family finds us in March 1944 in a ‘Long Trek’, through Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Poland, away from Stalin’s forces in Soviet to the Nazi Germany. Emil and Adeline Martel are one among the many ethnic Germans whose ancestors have been farming in Ukraine for centuries. Stuck between the two belligerent armies, they reluctantly follow the brutal Nazi officers to escape to the West and search their freedom. Soon the trek turns into a nightmare with gunshots and bombs exploding either side, tanks firing and, Russian and German planes shooting across the skies. Their plight manifolds at numerous German check points. Days turn to weeks and then months to finally land in temporary quarters in Poland, previously owned by Jews.

Poor, miserable and pure blooded Germans are desolated in the Polish streets as the Western Allied forces capture German occupied countries. The Long Trek ended for many in work camps in the east or survival among the brutes.

Book unfolds Stalin’s horrors of Holodomor - killing by starving millions of Ukranians and secret police dragging and enslaving innocent people to Siberian camps and mines. Living horrors swelled with the German occupation in Ukraine and brutal killing of innocent Jews. Mark presents an unflinching tale of terror, panic and dismay. He brings the horrors of prisoner’s camps to life with utmost heartache and empathy. Miserable crying voices of Jews echoes all-over.

Author carefully blends the spiritual density that holds the spirits of the Martel clan to live, survive, hope and dream in their hardships and adversities. Corporal Gheorghe, a Romanian soldier spells the universal intelligence, and the greater plans of the Almighty and Divine, characterizing the story as even more courageous and inspiring.

Emil, Adeline and their sons Will and Walt lived for seven years as refugees until they reached their The Last Green Valley, in Gallatin Valley, Bozeman, Montana “a place where everything was connected and where dreams did come true, a place where imagination, faith, and effort collided with the spark of God’s grace to become whole and real and good.”

I received ARC of this book from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Rating : 💥💥💥💥💥

I learned so much from this book and that is what I love about historical fiction. The fact that it was based on real people made it even more interesting. It was a well written story that I got lost in.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Emil and Adeline Martel are of German heritage, forced to make the difficult decision to either stay in the Ukraine and it’s about to be invaded by the Russian army or leave and flee West with the Germany army? The Martel’s have lived under Russian rule before, they decide to leave, they have two young sons Walt and Will, and they pack their wagon with, food, water, clothing, bedding and tools. They begin the journey into the unknown, with horses Thor & Oden pulling the wagon, the roads are busy, full of other refugees and retreating German soldiers. Adeline’s mother Lydia and her sister Malia, have a wagon and leave with the Martel’s. On the road, they catch up with Emil’s parents Johann, Karoline and his sister Rese.

The trip is a nightmare, they can hear gun shots, bombs exploding, and both Russian and German planes are flying overhead, and they go through endless German check points and hold ups. They keep traveling for days, the strength and courage that Emil and Adeline show is remarkable, and their determination is truly inspiring. Things get worse, eventually the couple are separated and both still continue to fight to survive, hope they will be together again and one day live in peace.

The Last Green Valley is based on a true story, Mark Sullivan has written an epic novel, it's a testimony to the love Adeline and Emil had for each other and their children. At such a horrific time, they showed incredible fortitude, persistence, faith, bravery, courage and it’s inspiring.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, it was amazing and five stars from me.

Having loved “Beneath a Scarlet Sky,” I was excited to get an ARC of Sullivan’s newest book, The Last Green Valley.

This novel was based on a true story told to our author by descendants of those depicted. The focus was on a German family whose ancestors had been brought to the Ukraine by Catherine the Great because of their outstanding agricultural knowledge and practices. Germans settled and farmed the Ukraine for over 100 years.

The story began with the extreme injustices wrought on the people during the Stalin era when Stalin decided to systematically starve the Ukrainians in what has become known as the Holodomor. This resulted in the killing of 3.9 million people. Our protagonists were thrilled to hear of the advent of the Nazis in the Ukraine as they feared the Soviets much more than the Nozis. The story took off with the Nazis [supposedly] leading thousands of German-Ukrainians to safety in Germany (actually Poland which was controlled by Germany).

Having read numerous accounts of WWII, I felt myself fairly inured to the horrors of that war, but this novel brought the worst of the worst to my mind’s eye to the point that I had to close the book at just under 50%. As I tried to continue reading, I felt that I was no longer reading a novel, but a movie script bent on exploiting the gore and atrocities at the expense of the story of human perseverance, survival, love and hope in the most inhumane circumstances.

I appreciate this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Lake Union Publishing, in exchange for an honest review. It was a unique and wonderful story, but I simply couldn’t tolerate the vivid images of gore.

What I love about Mark Sullivan is his incredible ability to write incredible books based on real people. I loved reading about Pino Lella and his incredible life during WWII in Beneath a Scarlet Sky (one of my favorite books).

I could not wait to read Sullivan’s new book, The Last Green Valley. This time we follow the story inspired by the real life events of the Martel family. A family of German heritage whose ancestors settled in Ukraine as farmers find themselves caught between Stalin and Hitler during WWII.

This book is brutal, but beautifully written. It is hard to imagine that people actually lived through these grueling circumstances and horrible events. Despite all of the hardships this family went through, their strength, faith and love is a true inspiration.

This book is definitely hard to read, but I’d you enjoy historical fiction, I would highly recommend this bookt. Just don’t expect sunshine and roses.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

I really struggled to get into this book and ended up calling it at 20% completed. I set it down and restarted a few times to get it a good try, but I felt like it jumped right into the action without explaining much of the context or much about the characters. It was really hard for me to connect with the action. I had to twice read the scene of Emil running from the tanks and getting caught between the German and Soviet tanks before I could really grasp it. Even then it was hard to fully grasp the fully meaning of it. I felt like I got dropped into a story that I couldn't connect with and wasn't interesting enough for me to keep reading.

In late March 1944, as Stalin’s forces push into Ukraine, young Emil and Adeline Martel must make a terrible decision: Do they wait for the Soviet "bears" to come and starve under Stalin's rule or do they flee with the Nazi "wolves" to become the seeds of the new Germany? Emil is determined that their future lies as far west as they can go but the journey will not only severely test their physical and mental state but their very faith as well. Based on the history of the Martel Family, this book vividly portrays the depths of depravity humans can commit, the incredible perseverance of a tormented soul and the strength of a family's love. Despite the often barbaric and brutal conditions depicted in this book, I highly recommend this engrossing quest for liberation and peace of mind.

The most extraordinary thing about this book is that it is based on a true story. The Last Green Valley is a harrowing account of the Martel family, whose attempt to escape to the West near the end of World War II is an amazing tale of courage and faith. The danger, the starvation, the fear, and the desperation that this family lives through is heart-wrenching and awe-inspiring. The author describes their journey with stark detail, but always with just the slightest glimmer of hope.

Mark Sullivan has become one of my go-to authors. This was a great read. It’s incredibly gut-wrenching, moving and cruel. It’s brilliantly written, so beautiful and emotional. I’ll be honest, it was so moving I almost didn’t want to read it - but I did and I’m glad I did.

Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was great. I couldn't put it down. I needed to know how the story ended. There are so many books about WW2 but none rarely does an author explore those caught between Stalin and Hitler. Knowing this was historical fiction, based on a real family made it so breathtaking. Certainly a book to be recommended to all friends who are serious readers.

This book is WONDERFUL! It is another perspective of the atrocities of WWII under Soviet rule.

This is the story of the Martel family, Emil, Adeline and their two sons Walt and Will. They must somehow try to survive and thrive while keeping their faith that they will, someday, somehow find the Last Green Valley as they flee the Soviets in Ukraine as German refugees.

Their journey is filled with the unspeakable and unimaginable atrocities. How they survive is absolutely miraculous! I loved this family and I loved many of the characters that they encounter along the way. I cried, I laughed and I prayed right along with them as they continued on their journey.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release on May 4, 2021.

I was so excited to get a galley of Mark Sullivan's new book, The Last Green Valley, as his previous book Beneath a Scarlet Sky is one of my all time favorites. This book tells the incredible story of the Martel family and their fight for survival as German refugees during WWII. Fleeing Ukraine and the Soviet armies, the family signs up to be  evacuated by the SS in exchange for safe passage to a resettlement camp. However, they quickly learn that neither army is safe and their struggles are only just beginning. The amount of strength the Martel family showed and the hardships they endured was incredible. Their story was a remarkable tale of survival and what it means to truely be free. Thank you so much @netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advance copy! The Last Green Valley comes out May 4th.

Another very good book from Mark Sullivan, based on real people and set during and after WW2. This one is not as exciting as Beneath A Scarlet Sky but it is certainly a story worth reading as it tells of the Long Trek from Ukraine to the Baltic by ethnic Germans. I studied the Second World War as part of my history degree but I learnt a lot that was new to me from the background to this book. Adeline and Emil are resourceful, stoic and determined and their courage shines through the whole book. The last couple of chapters really make for a satisfying ending to the very long trek for the Martel family. With thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and Mark Sullivan for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this title.

The Martel family has made a tough decision to leave their prospering family farm and embark on a long, harrowing journey to relocate during wartime hardship. Mark Sullivan paints a vivid picture of this family’s courage and resilience as they make the long trek to their new home, surviving terrible conditions, low rations, hopeful for light at the end of the tunnel. Based on a real family, meticulously researched and so well written, this is a remarkable story of human endurance, faith and survival.

Set mostly in Ukraine, Romania, Poland and Germany this novel is a kaleidoscope of unspeakable horrors, decisions, fears, determination, love, hope and unshakeable faith. It is a nonlinear timeline with most happenings occurring in the 1920s and the 1940s. What human beings are capable of...both barbaric and heroic...is stunning. Not only did the Martel family go through intensely harrowing circumstances but they were almost constant with very few breaks of normalcy. Though a historic fiction novel it is based on true life events and knowing that this did happen to real people makes it that much more disturbing and tragic.

Emil and Adeline Martel have a decision...to live in Ukraine and die or leave Ukraine and die. Either way, they must choose between the least evil. Hitler or Stalin? What a choice. They and their small sons Walt and Will pack their wagon with a few belongings and leave home for good, hoping for an escape. Other family members leave in their own wagon and join a large convoy of sorts. But the escape is grueling and harrowing and the Martels scarcely escape with their lives. They are in constant fear of being discovered and taken away to Siberia as others have and never come back. They suffer from starvation and watch while soldiers turn wheat piles over, ruining it with shovels in front of them in mockery. Emil is once kept for a few nights and is faced with a horrendous decision, a decision he cannot move on from. But he is taken much longer later. Family members do not know who has survived. I just love and admire Adeline's courage and faith to go on no matter what. Discovering what happens to each family member later is fascinating.

My emotions were all over the place reading this unputdownable book from tears of sadness and frustration to joy. But mostly tears of heartache. The anguish and despair are almost touchable. I have read scores and scores of books about this era and have an ancestral connection so always appreciate new perspectives and vantage points. This was not exactly an enjoyable read but a very important one. The thread of hope really inspires.

My sincere thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the honour of reading the e-ARC of this wondrous book.

My simple review will never give this story and the Martels justice. I wish I could find the words to describe this beautiful, inspiring story. The writing and attention to detail is phenomenal. I can’t imagine living through what the Martels lived through. I never would have made it. Their struggle was difficult to read. Not because it was poorly written, but because it was, and is, unimaginable what one human can inflict upon another. I’ll never understand the hate that lives in our world. I fretted and worried right along with Emil and Adeline and their family. But just as often as that occurred, I also leapt for joy at their triumphs and love. I cried and laughed when they did. I think in the end what is most important is that their story is one of love, hope and resilience. It is a story I won’t soon forget.

Oh the tears! This story, inspired by the Martel family, completely gutted me and also reminded me of the beauty and strength found in love and faith.

What Emil, Adeline, and their children had to endure is the substance of nightmares. Trying to outrun Stalin’s army while having to trust the protection of the Nazis is not unlike running with cunning, self-satisfying wolves while being chased by mean, hungry bears. Their hopes and dreams of a peaceful family life on their farmland in the Ukraine were destroyed and buried under the realities of scarcity and war. What followed were years of hardship, toil, and loneliness as refugees. Instead of caving to suffering and oppression, Adeline led her family to hold firmly to faith and boldly claim that beauty would come from every cruelty they faced.

Sullivan meticulously crafted these characters and plunged me into their harrowing circumstances. What they felt, I felt. What they experienced, I experienced. I really adored Adeline and her stubborn faith and persistent, unconditional love. If ever there was a perfect matriarch, Adeline portrayed that. But my very favorite character was quirky, delightful Corporal Gheorghe. He was immensely endearing while also being surprisingly wise. (Don’t miss the author’s notes regarding the real life inspiration for Corporal Gheorghe!)

I’ve read a wide variety of WW2 historic fiction, but this was my introduction to Black Sea Germans and The Long Trek from Ukraine to Germany. I found it a unique addition to a seemingly full genre.

In the foreword Mark Sullivan says, “I hope their story (the Martels) will give comfort and courage to the afflicted and a better understanding of what ordinary people can endure and achieve when all seems lost.” As I ruminate on the Martels and what they had to bear, I am reminded that perspective and hope can indeed fuel the impossible.

Thank you Mark Sullivan, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

“If you must look back, try to find the beauty and the benefit in every cruelty done to you. If you must think about the future, try to have no expectations about it. Trust in God to guide you through.”

This meticulously researched novel tells the story of the Martel Family, living in the Ukraine at the end of WWII. This family of German heritage illuminates a unique viewpoint of post war tragedy. They are wedged between the impossible choice of Hitler vs Stalin...head west or stay and starve. The extended family choose The Long Trek, a Nazi-escorted caravan toward Hungary, Budapest and eventually to Poland. I appreciate the horrific nature of the time, but felt I was longing for some (any) levity among the despair of the situation. The timeline flashbacks to even more dire times got in the way of my appreciation of the storyline.

Perhaps this was just the wrong book at the wrong time for me, but as a huge fan of Beneath a Scarlet Sky, I felt this was a follow-up that did not hit the mark. With great respect for the author, I will not be sharing a negative review on my social media platforms, and appreciate the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Fleeing the bear and running with the wolves

One of the best books I have read all year. This story spans all range of emotions, Love, Hate, Fear, Sadness and even at times loathing. It is a story that would test the faith of even the most staunch of believers. Half the time I was holding back tears and the rest of the time I was holding my breath. I cannot believe the courage of this family. First under Stalin, then under Hitler and once more under Stalin. I know it was said that there is a safe place in the eye of every storm, but there were times where I wasn't sure there was a safe place for this family anywhere.

This is the story of Emil and Adeline Martel and their two children Will and Walt. As young people they immigrated to Ukraine from Germany. They remember the Holodomor suffered as children. The killing Ukraine famine where millions died under the failed policies of Joseph Stalin in 1932 and 1933. They have been farming in the Ukraine under Hitler's rule. Now Stalin is coming back to take over Ukraine once again and in 1944 they fled from the Ukraine toward Germany with the fleeing Nazi's hoping they can break away and go west toward the allied forces during WWII.

They go on what the know as "The Long Trek" a journey from Ukraine to Hungary on the way to Poland and Germany. They traveled through Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Poland on the route of the Long Trek with aging parents and two small children. With a cart and a horse and later just a red wagon on they traveled. Their travel and life and death experiences are documented in this story. You will be holding your breath and cheering them on in their travels.

Just as they have decided to try and break away and travel west Emil is arrested by Polish policemen and held for the Soviets and sent to a prison camp in Poltava Ukraine. Adeline and the boys kept traveling west and made it to Berlin. The lives they both had to live Emil in the camp and Adeline under Nazi rule for the next five years is a story of great strength, courage and faith. It is a testimony of their love for each other and their will to someday be free. The things they see and are forced to do will haunt you long after you finish this book.

You will be holding your breath through their daring escapes to freedom and wondering if they will make it or not. I will not give away the ending but it will be worth reading the book to find out. It makes it more real knowing that the author wrote it on actual stories told to him by the people that lived them, and that the historical events and the actions by the Soviets and the Nazi's did take place during this time as horrible as they were.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks to Mark Sullivan, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of the book and to give my honest review.