Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I absolutely adore the historical fiction novels Bookouture releases, so of course I had to grab this one too. This was my first Shari Ryan read and I can truthfully say it won’t be my last. The character and plot depth within this novel was phenomenal! I’m so glad Bookouture published Ryan’s books to allow more readers to discover their work.

The plot was intriguing and always kept me guessing. It was fantastic to see an historical fiction novel based in World War Two from Jews within a ‘privileged marriage’. This is something I haven’t seen done in many novels based in this time period and Ryan definitely gets stars for originality. The characters were realistic and honest in their depictions. Nothing was cheesy or cliche. I truly adored that about this book.

The only issue I have with it is that we didn’t see enough chapters from Olivia’s POV and the reader was left to piece together what happened to her which wasn’t very good. I really wanted to see more of her own survival and change as a character. If more chapters in her POV were added to give more depth then this would definitely have been five stars.

I cannot wait to read more Shari Ryan books in the future. This is definitely for fans of Heather Morris and Ellie Midwood.

3.5 stars rounding up. A WW2 novel about Auschwitz and a family determined to help in any way they can. There is a side love story which helps lighten the heavy subject matter..

A well written, yet sensitive story about a dreadful time in our world’s history. It was so well written, I thought it was a true story, although I’m guessing it is based in truth. I loved all the characters and was eager that they all survived. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in the holocaust.

Sofia cannot look her father in the eye as he works as a doctor for the Nazi SS. When Jewish workers are sent to work in her family's garden outside Auschwitz, Sofia cannot help but become involved in saving at least a few of the doomed prisoners. Well written historical fiction.

“The Doctor’s Daughter” is by WWII historical author, Shari Ryan. In my mind, this is the story of three people - Sofia, the daughter of a doctor, Isaac, a young man trying to survive on the streets of Warsaw with his sister, and Frederik, Sofia’s father. While Frederik is a secondary character, his actions, I think, show how much he tried to protect and save his family, something I kept feeling, during my reading of the book, neither Lena nor Sofia understood.

What I found interesting about this book was that I knew a little about the “Privileged Marriage” law, but I didn’t fully understand what it entailed. I did not know that property would not automatically be taken by the SS, for instance. I also didn’t realize that the law had been rescinded so late into the war. It took a while for the stories of Sofia and Isaac to combine and it felt, for a while, that there were two separate stories. I felt overwhelming sadness for Isaac’s sister not knowing what was going on, but also understood Isaac’s guilt in not being able to communicate with her. Ms. Ryan writes with understanding and compassion - but also shows how throughout all there is hope, and sometimes that what one must cling to in order to survive. Personally, I felt Frederik’s pain - in not communicating with Lena, he felt he was protecting the family, but also in not communicating with her, she felt bewildered and confused by his actions. When Sofia also tried making sense of her father’s actions, she also failed. I was pleased that, in the end, possibly with some insight from Isaac, both women realized that Frederik did the best he could for them. And it’s moments like those in Ms. Ryan’s books that I greatly enjoy.

I have read many historical fiction books set during these times and this is one of the great ones. Reading about the atrocities that happened at Auschwitz is never easy reading and the author brings this to life. It’s brutal and cruel.

The Doctor’s Daughter is a tear-jerker. The main characters, Sofia and Isaac are brilliantly developed and it’s formatted with each chapter told through Sofia or Isaac’s eyes.

Sofia, a Jewish girl is a brave and strong character who goes above and beyond her capabilities. She loves her dad although she’s not afraid to question her non-Jewish father’s job with the Nazis.

The Doctor's Daughter by Shari J. Ryan - Book Review
Isaac is the son of Jewish parents and part of the resistance, he has to keep an eye out for his 14 year old sister when they get separated from their parents during a fight with the German soldier.

Sofia and Isaac are drawn to each other in dangerous circumstances.

It’s absolutely a brilliant read! I highly recommend it and can’t wait to catch up on the author’s other books!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ryan has done it again, crafting an incredibly heartbreaking novel that draws on real life experiences. I found myself tearing through this book once I properly started it, unable to put it down. The characters were well rounded (albeit some of the secondary ones were a tad two dimensional), and the pacing and plot had me desperate to know more. Poignant, emotional and well researched, another heart shattering novel by Ryan that had me crying at the end.

The Doctor’s Daughter by Sari J Ryan during World War 2. I really enjoyed this book, particularly the central character. I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

The book The Doctor’s Daughter is heartbreaking, tragic and romantic. A German doctor is married to a Jewish woman and they have a daughter whom is also considered Jewish. The doctor must work for the Nazi’s and save their lives to keep his wife and child safe. We see the true brutality and ugliness of Auschwitz within this story. We also see the bravery of two women who do everything they can to save those caught in the Nazi’s cruelty.

Shari J. Ryan is a fairly new author to me but her writing will keep me coming back for more of her books. This book is extremely well written and will hold the readers attention. You will go through a roller coaster of emotions with this one.

Thank you to #netgalley and #bookouture for allowing me to read the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

There is always hope, no matter how bad things are many do survive because of that human feeling, hope. For the characters in this Holocaust story, it is the thing they cling to.

Sophia and her mother are Jews. Sophia's mother is married to a gentile, a well-known doctor who both ladies feel has made a pack with the Nazis. He has agreed to train Nazi doctors in exchange for his wife and daughter's safety. They don't seem to understand why he does it and both ladies tend to shun him.

We are then introduced to Isaac and his sister, Olivia who have been caught in the Warsaw Ghetto and sent to Auschwitz. Both of them are struggling not only with the conditions, but also with the probably loss of their parents. Isaac is ordered to work in the fields that surround Sophia's family home. Sophia and Isaac meet, after Sophia witnesses the brutality and harsh circumstances the men toil under. Meeting secretly, they begin to hatch a plan for possible freedom for both Isaac and Olivia. All they have really is hope. With the help of her parents Sophia secrets Isaac away and hides in an underground tunnel, her dad had constructed.

Then the worst happens and Sophia and her mother lose their privileged status. They go, with supplies from their father, into the tunnel where Isaac is concealed and then their father goes missing and hope is on a tenuous thread.

What will become of them? Is Olivia and the father still alive, and when will this hell end?

Once again, we are given a grim reminder of what occurred those seventy plus years ago. The horror and the abomination that happened can never be forgotten and the fact that many books have been written using this topic is a credit to the fact that we must never forget.

Will the hope that exists be enough to carry these characters through the hell that have lived in?

Thank you to Shari J. Ryan, Bookouture, and NetGalley for a copy of this book which published on April 28, 2022.

The Doctor’s Daughter is the second book that I have read by Shari J. Ryan in the last number of months and she is certainly an impressive author when it comes to writing in the historical fiction genre. This book is once again set during World War Two. Despite a slow start, once the two main characters meet things did really pick up pace. A very brief prologue takes place in May 1945, when war has been declared over. A female character, whom we soon learn to be Sofia, emerges after experiencing war for more than a third of her life. You can sense her apprehension at entering this new and uncharted world but there is a small sense of hope that surrounds her as she knows that she is in now in charge of her own destiny. ‘Some might see this moment as an opening to Heaven’s gates while others could argue we are stepping away from the depths of hell’.

We are then taken back to May 1941 and from then on chapters move back and forth between Soifa and Isaac, both of whom are having very different experiences of war despite both being Jewish. Sofia lives on a farm with her mother Lena and father Friedrich. Sofia and her mother are Jewish but due to the marriage laws they are protected but still they fear things could change at any moment and the small comfort and security they have as a family could be shattered. Freidrich is a doctor and is soon tasked by the SS to train their incoming doctors. Sofia had planned to follow her father and become a nurse and she is horrified when she feels that he is betraying her and her mother by working for the side that is inflicting so much terror, distress and torture on people whom they deem unworthy of living.

Sofia had wanted to be like her father more than anything in the world. To have a life where she could help others but now as she doesn’t look up to him anymore rather she resents him she questions when things get really tough will her father give up on her and Lena and turn them in? To be honest I felt that Friedrich had no choice but to accept the position because if he hadn’t it would have meant certain death for all his family. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place and had to accept that Sofia’s opinion of him had altered. On the other hand, I could also understand how Sofia felt. The person you loved so much was in a way complicet in the torture delivered by the SS to so many innocent men, women and children and you know this is wrong so how can you look at your father in the same light. When she visits Warsaw with her father and from a high up buiding can see the ghetto in which hundreds of thousands of Jews are imprisoned she comes to a stark realisation that it should have been her and her mother behind those walls living in a hole in a wall or overcrowded room. In one way her father through his actions has spared her because of his last name and because of his job acceptance but in another does guilt eat away at Sofia that she is getting away with things?

Sofia was a well written character whom I grew to really appreciate the further the story progressed. Both herself and her mother are strong, brave and courageous in that they go above and beyond to try and help the workers sent from the camp at Auschwitz who have to toil away on their land. Through this, Sofia establishes a connection with Isaac and although only brief moments can be snatched together you do feel the genuine love that develops between the pair. It’s love in the face of evil and you question given the shocking circumstances that unfold can it ever come to fruition where they can live in happiness side by side? Sofia isn’t afraid to face the darkness that grows stronger the further you delve into the story. It becomes all consuming but can there be any light at the end of the tunnel?

I found myself connecting more to Isaac’s story, not that I didn’t appreciate Sofia’s it’s just I think because he was going through a much tougher time and we really got indepth detail about the suffering he was enduring alongside his family I found I connected with him more and was more concerned for the eventual outcome for him and his sister Olivia. Isaac’s family were forced into the ghetto in Warsaw with promises from the Germans of safety and shelter which turned out to be utter lies. The earlier sections of the book set in the ghetto were so detailed and quite frankly horrific. Unfortunately, I could picture everything so clearly in my mind and these images have not left me long after I have finished reading the book. ‘It’s as if they’re trapped in a container without holes for air, and it’s only a matter of time before they all waste away’. This quote sums things up perfectly the situation Isaac is in. The scenes where the Jewish resistance attempt to battle against the German soldiers were utterly heartbreaking and the result of this sees Isaac and Olivia separated from their parents. Isaac has to now step up and be the father figure for Olivia who is only 14. There is still an air of innocence about her but this is soon quashed as the two are sent to Auschwitz and separated upon their arrival.

I felt the book took on a different tone once the sections set in Auschwitz began. I thought there had been too long spent describing the ghetto and what happened to the family there so when the camp was reached I thought things picked up pace and I was grateful for that. It meant periods of time occurred quickly, as they reached the camp in 1942 and there was still 3 years of the war to go through before the victory. Maybe just a little more balance between the two parts of the story was needed as at times it did read like a book of two halves and definitely the epilogue tried to fit too much in even though it was nice to see how things turned out in the end. I found Issac to be a fantastically written character and someone who wise beyond his years. I can’t say much as to what occurs regarding Isaac’s storyline but I found his unwavering strength and devotion to be admirable.

I can’t fail to mention Olivia. I was surprised she took such prominence as I initially thought the entire focus of the book would be on Sofia and Isaac. Her aspect of the story was raw, powerful, heartbreaking and will have you in tears. It’s but a small snapshot of what happened at Auschwitz but it hits you right to the core and makes the book all the better for its inclusion. Olivia is but one of many victims but her story stands out here for all she endured and the guilt that Isaac feels as he is separated from her and can’t prevent what is happening to her.

The Doctor’s Daughter is another interesting, thought provoking and hard hitting story from Shari J Ryan and fans of books set during World War Two will definitely enjoy it. Although it is the wrong word to use given the subject matter this is one of the better books in this genre and highlights how far family will go to protect and be there for one another.

"The curtain to my window has become the quilt concealing the monsters I used to think lived beneath my bed. Truth be told, the monsters live outside, not in the dark, not hidden in any way."

The Doctor's Daughter is a poignant book set against the horrors of WWII in Poland, particularly the Warsaw Ghetto and the Auschwitz dead camp. In the book we meet Sofia, a young Jewish girl (18) who is the daughter of a so-called privileged marriage. While her mom and Sofia are Jewish, her dad is a protestant doctor, and as such she is protected from the worst atrocities of the Nazi regime in Poland initially. We also meet Isaac, a young Jewish boy (18), who, together with his family, lives in the Warsaw Ghetto. Making the best of life for a while, he is soon left only with his younger sister Olivia (14), as they are being deported to Auschwitz. As Isaac is sent out on work detail on a farm near Auschwitz, he first lays eyes on Sofia. Sofia, being increasingly upset about her father working with and for the Nazis, comes up with a plan to safe the boy she sees from her window...

Being told from both Sofia and Isaac's perspectives, and later increasingly also Olivia's perspective, we see three rather different view-points on what the war meant to youngsters living in Poland. I believe the book painted a harrowingly truthful picture of what life in the Warsaw Ghetto was like. I also appreciated the internal struggles Sofia was facing as she was no longer sure whether her father could be trusted. She was fierce, and stood up for what she believed in (sometimes foolishly so). I enjoyed the traces of romance growing between Sofia and Isaac as well, and appreciate the researched detail that has gone into the story.

While it is necessary to sometimes skip extended periods of time in a book like this, I felt like there was too much in the story to truly explore all the meanings of all the happenings. I think that perhaps Olivia's storyline was not necessary for the main story to be believable and painfully real, and now feel like her story could be a book all on it's own. That perhaps would have done it more justice. I am also not sure that I needed the ending to be so neatly tied up with a ribbon around the package, as I genuinely do not believe that is how WWII stories often ended, but that is more my own taste than anything else of course.

If you are looking for a well-written story that teaches more about the Nazi regime in Poland, exploring life in the ghetto and that of those in privileged marriages, this is definitely a read worthy of your time.

I really enjoy writing that brings out my emotions and makes me feel connected to the characters and story. This book brought me in to the story so much that I felt what the characters felt whether it was sadness, fear, determination or triumph.

I knew going into thus book that it was going to pull me into the darkness of the Holocaust and Auchwitz. The bravery of Isaac, Sophia, and Olivia brought out that glimpse of love that couldn't be extinguished by all of the atrocities.

This book really covered a lot of areas, including the ghetto, a death camp, prisoner work, and hiding from the Nazis. Plus the ending was done very well!

This whole book had me grabbing for the tissues which was a testament to the great writing!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

I'm afraid this book fell a bit flat for me, but I also acknowledge that I may be a bit jaded with WWII fiction at this point and perhaps I should take a break from it.

I loved Isaac, and what he endured with his family in the Warsaw Ghetto was heartbreaking and really well-written. I didn't feel that Sofia was written as strongly as Isaac though, and her emotional reactions to the events that unfolded and her ongoing conflict with her father just didn't feel convincing. The plot stalled somewhat after Isaac left Warsaw and the tension became a bit underwhelming. I continued to find Sofia's arc to fall flat, including her chemistry with Isaac.

My overall impression is that the author really cared about this subject and did indeed have an interesting story to tell, but it just felt underdeveloped in a lot of ways and therefore it doesn't stand out in the crowd of WWII stories.

The Doctor's Daughter is for me the most impassioned historical from Shari Ryan thus far. I have enjoyed all of her books in this genre and she's definitely found her 'sweet spot' so to speak within this timeframe. Once again we are thrust into the woes of World War II and the battles of the Jewish people and the horrors they faced. There are three storylines and POVs presented here side by side and I knew at one point or another, they would intersect in a powerful way. We get siblings Isaac and Olivia Cohen's tragic existence in war-torn Poland juxtaposed to the more settled life of one Sofia Amsler, her esteemed doctor father's daughter. Each realizing day by day that being Jewish comes with a price yet still has the strength to survive no matter the consequences.

I truly liked each of these characters and the huge amount of pride and chutzpah they had when things seem the direst. Sofia is sassy and her thoughts of betrayal by her beloved father only fuel her passion to save the men working their spacious farm alongside her mother, Lena. The so-called privilege these two women have since the good doctor is Christian is the perfect platform for them to sneak food to the starving laborers while plotting a way to save them from the grips of the Nazis. And when Isaac Cohen fatefully becomes one of the laborers, sparks start to fly and Sofia's moxie is put to the test over and over again.

We get with the 3 POVs what happens in all 3 characters' lives, Olivia and Isaac are now prisoners at Auschwitz, and Sofia is a prisoner in her own home forced to wear the Star of David patch to make sure it's never forgotten just who she is no matter her father's religion. Olvia's side is all the desperation and horror at the hands of the guards and adds another layer of just how tragic this time in our world's history was. And like Sofia, her will to live kept her going even when she didn't always know the whereabouts of her brother, her last link to her family.

As worlds collide, much happens that is written thoughtfully and respectfully, something Ryan is known for. However, I did feel a bit of disconnect at times, feeling as if not enough detail was given as time jumps, albeit necessary, didn't always give me the whole picture. And I should point out that Ryan is known for her research and attention to detail. Especially wrt Olivia and what she endured, it almost felt as if the resolution to all that occurred as her future takes hold, was kind of swept under the rug. I think for me, I needed a bit more first-hand experience. Everything didn't need to be 'smoothed' out. I appreciate the tougher side since it gives me the chance to truly understand all that happened.

In the end, however, this is a very good read and is yet another important story that once again shows just how determined and fierce many people were and quite frankly had to be, during WWII. For all that happens, one should know that Ryan never disappoints with how she finds a way to give her long-suffering characters a HEA in spite of all the obstacles in their way. I shed many a tear but yet was smiling as I finished the last few pages. The emotions can sometimes be tough to handle but most definitely are worth it in the end.

3.5 stars.

Imagine you are a doctor living in Oświęcim, Poland during the time it is under Nazi occupation. Your wife and daughter are Jewish, but you are not. What would you do to save the lives of your family? Would you work for the Nazi's? If you did would that be enough to save them?

These are all questions that Sofia's father had to ask himself. Did he have a choice? Really? I tend to think he didn't but as an adult he was doing his best to protect those he loved and that meant keeping secrets from them and spending time with those they all hated, helping those who meted out torture and death without batting an eye. As a reader, I cannot imagine how difficult that would have been and although this story is a fictional one, I am sure that there were many people who faced just such a dilemma.

To Sofia, her father's choice is a heinous one that causes her relationship with him to disintegrate. Her mother is equally torn although with an adult perspective she seems to understand a little better. As Sofia looks out her bedroom window each day she sees the horrors of the Holocaust played out right in front of her and knows that it could so easily be her living a life like the slave labourers who tend her family garden. But what can a girl do to make a difference?

Isaac and his sister Olivia, have lost both of their parents while in the Warsaw ghetto and find themselves living in the sewers to survive. Eventually they resurface and immediately find themselves on the way to Auschwitz. There they face the horrors that all new inmates face and they are separated from each other. Isaac is chosen to be a slave labourer in the gardens of Sofia's family. Olivia works in Kanada, one of the "best" places to be, but full of horrors of it's own.

Throughout the novel, the reader experiences the story primarily through the eyes of Sofia, Isaac and Olivia. How their lives intersect and what happens to them throughout the years of the war was vivid enough to keep me reading through the night. As I write on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, this story reminds me that it is all to easy for humanity to sink to deplorable levels. The cruelty of the Nazi's is impossible to fully understand.

Some of the words of Isaac really stood out for me, especially in light of the current war in Ukraine. "When a reader reaches the last page of a book, the spine creaks as the back cover closes - a definitive end, and time to place the story up on a shelf for the next person. War is not like a book -there is no end. The tremors are everlasting."

Many thanks to #NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sofia lives in Nazi-occupied Poland, her father is a doctor for the SS, and her mother is Jewish. Sofia can’t believe her father is working for the SS while so many Jewish people are being killed. Sofia decides she must go against her father and help as many Jews as she possibly can. She has to make a difference for the good. Isaac arrives by a packed train at Auschwitz. He is one that was chosen to work the fields. Isaac and the numerous other inmates are sent to work at a nearby farm. From sunup to sundown they work the land with nothing to eat. Sofia is determined to help the prisoners, against her father’s will. She risks her life sneaking food to the prisoners and a note to Isaac. But when Sofia helps Isaac and the prisoners escape, their only chance to survive is to hide underground. But will they survive while the Nazi’s are determined to find them. This heart-pounding, and heartbreaking story is so engrossing, that once you read the first page you can’t stop until the very last page. I was literally trapped between the pages that I couldn’t put this book down. I felt my heart beating faster and faster as I read this story. This heart-wrenching read had me on the edge of my seat, with tears streaming down my face. This is one that will stick with me for a very long time. Completely unforgettable, I can’t recommend this book enough. Please read this one for sure. I wish I could give ten stars. Wow….just wow!!!

Thank you Shari J. Ryan for such a phenomenal and captivating book. I was so engrossed with the story, I found it to be completely unputdownable. I highly recommend this book.

The Doctor’s Daughter is World War II fiction at its best. It shows how family’s can be divided by war and by political beliefs. The point of view alternates between the two protagonists, Sophia Amsler and Isaac Cohen. Sofia and her mother are Jewish, but her father isn’t. He is recruited by the Nazis to care for their soldiers. He complies, thinking his efforts will enhance the status of their “Privileged Marriage” and increase the likelihood his wife and daughter will survive the war. Isaac is a young man who is separated from his father and mother in a Warsaw ghetto and his sister is taken to Auschwitz.

Sofia and her parents live a rather posh existence on a farm while Isaac and his family are starving in the ghetto. When Isaac and his sister are sent to Auschwitz, he is forced to be slave labor on Sofia’s family farm. As she watches the Nazi guards mistreat their prisoners, she determines to save them and recruits her parents into this daring plan.

Ryan doesn’t avoid the atrocities committed by the Nazis or the blind adherence to Hitler’s many grievances against Jews, Romani, and other ethnic groups he feels are inferior to Aryans. Instead she walks a fine line between describing and overplaying them. It’s hard to say I enjoyed this book, but it does provide a well-researched description of life as a Polish Jew in the 1940s. It is also a story of the perseverance of hope during the most dreadful of conditions.

In the midst of WWII, Sofia struggles to remain true to her virtues. Her father, a Protestant doctor working for the SS, does everything in his power to keep his Jewish wife and daughter safe. His religion and status help his family stay alive but Sofia can no longer stand and watch her fellow Jews be murdered. She knows she must do something. When she meets Isaac, a young man forced to work at a concentration camp hear her home, she realizes this could be her chance. She must risk everything for what is right.

Author Shari J Ryan had me on a deep and powerful emotional rollercoaster with this heart-tugging novel. We follow Sofia's inner battle between obeying her father's wishes to stay safe and longing to help those in need. She knows putting her thoughts into action could mean the end of her life, as well as her loved ones, too. Siblings Isaac and Olivia try to stay together while fighting for their very lives. Their struggles between giving up and staying hopeful are difficult to read, knowing abuse like this was very real at the hands of the Nazis. One critique I had was the pacing was not as smooth as it could have been. The large jumps in time could have been filled in with more detail and story as this is a fairly quick read. Overall, though, the suspense throughout and touching ending combined made for a great historical fiction book that would make a fantastic movie!

“Never look back, only remember the good of what was left behind.”

I can’t say enough good things about this book!
This story is such a great depiction of life, love, loss, and what it looks like to persevere no matter the circumstances you are in. Isaac and Sofia’s love story was heart warming and heart wrenching all in the same breath. Ryan’s descriptions of each character and their feelings/experiences were developed so well - I caught myself getting lost in the suffering that Isaac and Olivia were experiencing and feeling what they were feeling too.

Another aspect that I loved — each chapter as a different point of view - I’m a sucker for multiple POVs.

This is going on my to buy list once published!!
If you are a historical fiction fan, this is a read you are sure to enjoy.

Thank you Shari Ryan, NetGalley, and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this digital ARC for an honest review in return.