This was an unexpected good read blending the past and present storylines of Clara and her parents. It was a beautiful, but heart-wrenching story in the midst of war. Historical romance fans should check this out.

Thank you to Sarah Freethy, the publishers, and Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 1/2 stars

This is an excellent story of love, loss, cruelty, beauty, and death. The book focuses on a couple, Bettina and Max, an artist and an architect, one Christian, one Jewish, and follow them through the lead up to WWII, through WWII, and what followed. It’s a story of quiet resistance, the loss of freedom, and of hope. Of suicide, of sacrifice, of the toll that stealing peoples’ rights and self-determination can take on bright, talented, hopeful people.

The book begins with Clara Vogel, trying to learn who her biological father was. It’s something her mother, Bettina, would never speak of. Clara travels far and wide to try to learn just who the Porcelain Maker really was, for that’s all that she knows. She goes from London, to Cincinnati, to Germany, collecting clues as she goes. She’s lucky enough to find helpful people who continue to move her forward with her search.

The Porcelain Maker is filled with exceptional characters, and the writing is very good. I greatly enjoyed this book. It’s dark, painful, and near the end, a tear-jerker. It’s a wonderful debut novel and definitely worth a read.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

The Porcelain Maker
Another Holocaust book taking place in two time zones. In the 1990’s Clara and her daughter Lotte are trying to find information about Clara’s father. Her Mother Bettina who passed away a few years before, never spoke to her about her father. The story takes you to the US where Clara acquires some porcelain figurines at an auction that later the reader finds out were made by her father. From the US to London and Germany trying to trace what happened during the war. In between the story goes back to the WWII years and before and tell Bettina’s and Max’s story. I found the book dragging, forced myself to get through it to be able to write a review. I found a lot of the story not believable and the research by the writer lacking. Overall, can’t give this novel more than three stars at best.
I received a complimentary copy, opinions are my own.

A phenomenal debut!

Can art alone save us?

At the heart of this story is, Clara Vogel, a woman in search of truth who desperately traces the provenance of a porcelain piece, hoping it will lead her to discover the identity of her father. The author weaves this timeline with a Bauhaus Movement timeline featuring two artists, a Jewish architect, Max Erhlich, and a German painter, Bettina Vogel, who strive to live through the Nazi brutality in hopes that their art will live on.

My heart was stretched and I reached for the Kleenex box reading about a man creating beauty in a place that was built for destruction and designed to crush the human spirit. The teacher within was impressed with the rich lexicon and my inner history buff was engaged with a story of hope, courage, and sacrifice. You may appreciate the author’s attention to the power of art, both in peacetime and in the midst of war. My only regret? Illustrations that would have made this story next level.

This epic story about love, betrayal and art needs to be on every historical fiction lover's reading list.

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Two artists meet at a festival in Berlin in 1929 and fall in love. Max is a talented Jewish architect and Bettina is a painter. The connection they have between them is something you feel as you read their story…..which comes to a grinding halt when the rise of Nazism in Germany starts taking over. Max is arrested and immediately sent to Dachau, luckily for him they realize he is an artist so put him to work making porcelain figures, saving him from death at the moment. Bettina is willing to risk everything in the hope that she can not only escape with their child but also Max.

In 1993, Clara has always wanted to know who her father was, but it was something her mother would never talk about and she never understood why. When her mother passed, Clara decided to start on a mission to find out the truth, good or bad on who he was and why it was a secret. She started with going to an auction to purchase porcelain figures that had been made in a concentration camp as a starting point.

Each character in this book has their story, their flaws, their secrets, who they want to be and where they want to go. As they intertwine with each other over time the story grows with history and romance in so many ways over multiple locations and decades. It only touches on what some had to go through in order to survive war and death.

This is a book that some will find easy to read, a true page turner. While others will take it slow, maybe even need to put it down and come back to it, so they can truly ingest what happened in the world’s history. I received an ARC for my honest review and very glad that I did. It is one that I will be buying when it is printed to add to my collection.

The Porcelain Maker
Author Sarah Freethy
(This review is based on an ARC given to me by NetGalley)

This is a remarkable story of love that spans decades through the horrors of World War II
To 21st century America, based on an actual porcelain factory in Dachau (one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany)
In 1929 when Max a Jewish Architect and Bettina a celebrated German Avant Garde artist meet at a party, attraction was instant but their love is soon affected by the rising threat of Nazism.
When Max is arrested and sent to Dachau camp, it is his talent of making the porcelain figures that stands between him and death. Bettina has no idea where Max is but once she learns that he is in Dachau she is determined to rescue him.
Bettina’s daughter Clara sets out to uncover the truth about her identity, she discovers the terrible secret her mother wanted hidden forever.
This is a novel of enduring love and courage in the face of brutality as a daughter seeks to unlock the mystery of her past.
The author brings readers an unforgettable story of love and loss.

I love WWII historical fiction, and this did not disappoint. It was a new angle, featuring a storyline I was very unfamiliar with—how had I never heard about Dachau porcelain until now?? I enjoyed the characters and very much sympathized with their hardships. I do wish the book included a section in the back that gave nod to the historical aspects, but perhaps that will be in the final version.

To start I really enjoyed reading this book – 5 stars. The story begins with a daughter trying to find out who her father is. Her mother survived the war in Germany, but never shared who her father really was. The story goes back and forth from the beginning of WWII and present day, but is easy to follow. Bettina a controversial artist (who is not Jewish) meets Max, a Jewish architect. They fall in love. They manage to stay together during most of the war. Bettina is pregnant with Max’s baby - Clara. Present day – Bettina has passed away – never revealing to Clara who her father was. Clara and her granddaughter now try to solve the mystery. When a group of porcelain figures come up during an auction they finally have something to investigate. This is the first book written by Sarah Freethy and I hope not the last.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins press for the opportunity to read this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful debut novel! This is a great mix of historical fiction and romance. I look forward to reading more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Thank you so much netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
I have been so into historical fiction lately and this one was beautiful. It is absolutely one of my top historical fiction reads of the year. This absolutely stuck with me and I loved the dual timelines

Thank you netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I looooveeeeee WW2 era historical romance novels, and this one has beautiful writing that just pulled me in; mind you, it does take a bit to set the story up and the pacing is quite slow at first, but once it gets going, it's a great story.

I love the alternating timelines, it keeps the story moving, I think.

I really enjoyed this.

The writing style is so immersive I could see everything and felt like I was right there in the room in every scene.

Clara is as such a strong character that I loved following her through her search for answers.

Bettina and Max and their story was so amazing I would recommend this story. It kept me wanting more and more.

I had never heard of this porcelain shop in Dachau before and this was intriguing to read about. The SS and their destruction of humans to have this porcelain factory that made fine porcelain to further the love of their country just seems so out of place to me.

This was a great read!

The Porcelain Maker is very well written, and the book's premise is excellent. I struggled to get into it as it was a very slow start. I would start to get into the ~1930s timeline and get invested, and then it would change to the 1990s timeline. It was hard to connect and route for the characters when it changed so much at the novel's start. I wish there had been more of a love story at the beginning on how the main character's parents got together. It seemed like they met, and then suddenly, they were living together in the next chapter, and there wasn't much of a love story. The description for the book says it is an epic story of love, but I saw loyalty to each other, and yes, there was love, but I don't know about epic. They went through trials, but for me, there needed to be more detail to make me truly be in love with them as a couple. It was anti-climactic when the main character found out who her father was and what had happened. There is so much leading up to it, and then she finds out, and that's it. The ending wraps up nicely. This book would do well as a movie since it would show more about the character's feelings, and I didn't get that from the book. Overall it is a good book and worth the read. I just wanted more details in certain areas and more information to make the story more compelling.

I love World War II ere historical fiction and this one did not disappoint. This was a wonderful, yet heartbreaking story. The story captured me from the beginning and I felt connected to the characters throughout the book. Highly recommend!

The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy captures your heart and mind immediately. It is a story about love and loss during the 1920’s and 1930’s in Germany. A young architect, Max, and a lovely avant-garde artist, Bettina, meet in Berlin. But as their relationship deepens, Nazism takes root in Germany. It is a story about survival and sacrifices during difficult times. Sarah Freethy uses such vivid descriptions of the characters’ actions and feelings that you feel as if you are a part of the story. This is a book I could not put down because I wanted to learn more about Max and Bettina. The story also takes place in current times as Bettina’s daughter Clara tries to discover more about her own identity. Clara is persistent in her quest for her past as she uncovers one clue at a time in spite of the hidden secrets. I highly recommend this book to readers who love historical fiction and stories of survival and courage in the face of love and loss. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

While I enjoyed this book, it did seem to be a slow read. I had a hard time sticking with it. I did finish it because I wanted to know what happened to Max and Bettina, and I enjoyed the plot. I just wish it had been harder to put down.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of "The Porcelain Maker" in exchange for my honest review.

The story is told from two perspectives. In Germany between the years 1925 and 1946. In the US and England between 1993 and 1994. Clara Vogel goes to an auction in Cinncinati in August 1993 where she bids on porcelain animal figurines that all bear the mark of the SS. She believes that these figurines will lead her to answer the greatest question of her life - who her father is. The figurines lead her to an assisted living facility where Ezra Adler a sculptor from Europe lived until a month ago when he passed away. When Clara looks about Ezra's apartment she finds a photo of her mother Bettina dated 1941 in Dachau. Clara is sure that the Porcelain Maker of Dachau is her father. She joins forces with her daughter Lotte to learn as much as she can about her mother's life. Bettina who has passed away was very secretive and told very little of her life to Clara. Clara is trying to balance out her fear - wanting to know what happened but scared that she will learn something awful.

In Germany in 1925 Max Ehrlich is an architect and he meets artist Bettina Vogel. Bettina's brother is a brown shirt and doesn't approve of his sister being an artist or her spending time with Max who is Jewish. They make plans to follow Max's family to Switzerland but Bettina's brother has Max arrested while Bettina is waiting for him at the train station. To protect her unborn child - all she feels she has left of Max, Bettina marries an evil, vile man named Karl Holz. His sister Liesl is even more ambitious than Karl and hopes to climb the social ladder through her brother, to her status matters above all else. She is cruel and mean to Bettina at every chance.

While at Dachau Max manages to use his architecture experience to be sent to the Porzellan Manufaktur Allach where he meets Ezra Adler. He creates fine porcelain figurines and is reunited with his beloved Bettina when he recognizes that the pieces he is creating are from her paintings. Clara finds a way to be at the factory painting the figurines so she can be close to Max. It seems that there is always something conspiring to keep them apart.

When Clara meets Holger Ostendorf she learns all the missing pieces of her life and she and her daughter find a way to honour the life and legacy of Bettina Vogel.

There is a lot of tragedy in this story, a lot of hope and it is all beautifully written and very sensitive to the subject.

Such a touching book! The descriptions of Germany are beautiful. The descriptions of Decau are heartbreaking. One woman looking for the truth and the path she takes to find it leads her on a journey of discovery about her mother in Germany just before WWII and the horrors that were inflicted on anyone who didn't go along with the Nazi rules. Beautifully written with wonderful insight into the horrific history of one of the world's saddest times.

One of my favorite reads this year. The imagery is haunting and the story absolutely captivating. The Porcelain Maker is a must-read for historical fiction fans and romance fans alike. The author does a beautiful job juxtaposing the horrors of Nazi Germany with the beauty of art and love in many forms. The pace is arresting - I simply could not put this book down once I started.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting swept up in the romance of Bettina and Max's early carefree love affair; their budding romance made all the more inviting when you know of the unrest to come. The WWII story is interpolated with Clara's story set in the early 1990s and her quest to find out who her father was. The gumbo of art and love as a powerful measure of resistance and hope carried this tale to new heights; the bonus being that the plot was also extremely well-executed and supported by engaging characters. Each character served a critical role in the richness and momentum of the story and I was invested in the where-do-they-each-end-up? until the very end.

Highly, highly recommend this great book. For those who do not read, I hope they make it a movie! A really special story.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
I read a lot of WWII historical fiction, but the love between these two people still moved me as much as anything I have ever read. If you were in love with a Jewish person in Germany as WWII began, would you have hastened to leave or would you have stuck it out, waiting for the world to come to it's senses? A dual timeline story between the 1990s and the 1940s as their love story is shared with us.