Special thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for a copy of The Goddess of Warsaw to read in advance. This book will publish on May 28, 2024.

Hollywood’s newest star, Sienna Hayes, wants to produce a movie about previous bombshell, Lena Browning. But Lena Browning isn't who she says she is, and Sienna Hayes doesn't know that yet.

Lisa Barr knows how to write an engaging tale. I was utterly gripped by Lena's true background, and learning her story alongside Sienna Hayes made for a page turning tale. Lena -- known as Bina Blonski in Warsaw -- is a formidable and ferocious main character. She started off a theatre star in Warsaw before the war, and as a Jew gets relegated to the Warsaw Ghetto. Finding a new use for her talents, she becomes parts of the resistance network and takes part of the uprising in 1934. And that’s only the beginning. You'll be amazed at Lena’s bravery and courage no matter the cost to her own life.

I would recommend The Goddess of Warsaw if you enjoy World War II novels.

Content Warnings: war, rape, sex, lust, affair, antisemitism

A very BIG WOW to Lisa Barr’s soon to be released The Goddess of Warsaw. With so many moving and emotional WW2 novels, it is incredible how authors continue to find new ways to tell the world of the atrocities of the Holocaust. Yet Ms. Barr has indeed found a way in this compelling historical fiction thriller.

The story begins in 2005 where we are introduced to Lena Browning, an eighty-something year old who is considered to be the best actress of her time. Lena is meeting with Sienna Hayes, the current It Girl, who wants to produce, direct and star as Lena in a biographical movie. But Lena is really Bina Blonski, a Jewish woman who lived an incredible life fighting the Nazis as a young woman in Poland, risking her life to save others but never forgetting those who inflicted the horrors she and those she loved endured.

This captivating story was filled with characters who will leave an indelible mark on your heart. It will stir every human emotion possible page after page and give you yet another perspective of this horrible time in history. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial Paperbacks / Harper Paperbacks for providing me with the opportunity to read this exquisite book. Brava Lisa, Brava!

Thank you for the ARC! Okay - this book is excellent. Again this is a historical fiction unlike any I’ve recently read and I loved reading more about the Polish perspective during WW2, especially when it’s told in this way! Lena’s story is so multilayered and the character development was out of this world. Highly recommend!

The Goddess of Warsaw
by Lisa Barr
Pub Date: May 28, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
The Goddess of Warsaw is an enthralling tale of a legendary Hollywood screen goddess with a dark secret about her life in the Warsaw Ghetto. When the famous actress is threatened by someone from her past, she must put her skills into play to protect herself, her illustrious career, and those she loves, then and now.
The Goddess of Warsaw is a captivating historical fiction read that follows the untold story of Hollywood star Lena Browning aka Bina Blonski, a Polish Jew who survived the Warsaw Ghetto. The writing was exquisite, the characters were well-developed. I took a break from Holocust fiction but this one is too good to miss.
Read if interested in:
-WWII fiction
-Jewish history
-Suspense
-Hollywood movie making

There was nothing not to love about this upcoming release by this author! Which I think is the same way I feel when I read all her books. The character development, especially Bina, is fantastic. This author makes it so easy to get comfy and just get lost in her words and stories. If you are a historical fiction fan and you have not picked up this author yet, I would encourage you to do so.

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

Special thanks to the author and publisher for sharing this ARC with me through Net Galley.

If you're looking for WWII historical fiction with a fearless FMC, ready and willing to use her gifts to fight for her people, while also battling with forbidden love, this book is for you. This is definitely an eventful read, jam-packed with so many twists and turns spanning across multiple time periods.

I will say that for me it felt at times like it was a bit too much going on. There were certain parts of the story I would have liked to read about more and others I probably could have done without.

Nonetheless, this book has all the makings of a story I think others will enjoy.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be done processing this. Lisa’s storytelling ability is unmatched in this book and she uses it in such a powerful way. I already know this will be one of the best books this year (right up there with the ever popular The Women recently published) and is one of the best historical fiction books I have ever read. It tells such an important story and I feel like everyone should read it. I don’t even know how to write a review to do this justice.

Wow, what an amazing story! I could not put this book down.
The story of Lena Browning (AKA Bina Blonski) is beautifully written. I love the way the complex story unfolds. I was on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this book.
If you enjoyed The Huntress by Kate Quinn and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, you will enjoy this book, too. I also recommend Barr’s Woman on Fire.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for a chance to review this book.

A suspenseful, powerful page turner! “Goddess” is the perfect title given the “bad ass” protagonist of Lisa Barr’s latest novel. On the heels of the deservedly popular Woman on Fire (which I recommended and gave to many fellow bookish friends and family members), Barr has penned another WWII tale replete with intrigue, twists and turns and featuring a woman of almost unfathomable strength and resilience - set against the horrific backdrop of WWII Warsaw. The depth of Barr’s research, her obvious creativity and her gifted writing style combine to render a novel that should be among the year’s best reads. A forewarning, however. Don’t dive into this story until you have time to read it all. This superbly well crafted book is truly “unputdownable.”

Highly recommended!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper for the privilege of a complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.

📖 Book Review 📖

📱 "The Goddess Of Warsaw” by Lisa Barr

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
To be published May 28, 2024

Thank you @netgalley for the eARC of this novel. 

Wow- another 5 star read to start the month of March. Told in 3 parts starting in LA in 2005 when a Hollywood starlet opens up about her past in Poland. Sienna Hayes, reminds Lena Browning of herself when she first arrived in Hollywood. She is ambitious, beautiful and wants to show the world who Lena is.

Before arriving in America Lena Browning was Bina Blonski, a Polish Jew whose life and family were destroyed by the Nazis. It is 1943 in Warsaw, Poland when the educated, beautiful, and talented young actress Bina Blonski and her husband, Jakub, are imprisoned in the horrid, cramped ghetto. Determined to fight back, Bina uses her blonde Aryan-looks and her skills from the stage to become a spy, gaining information and stealing weapons from outside the ghetto. Everyday is unknown and dangerous, so when Bina’s love for Aleksander grows she knows it is wrong. Yes he is Jakub’s brother, the only family left but unlike her husband, Aleksander is an ally in the resistance and he believes in her.

The war has ended, and Lena has fled. Arriving in Hollywood around 1953, she begins to act again, giving herself a cover to secretly pick off Nazi officials that escaped and evaded punishment. When someone from her long ago past in Poland recognizes her, and blackmails her into starring in his movie, she retaliates- slowly and cleverly.

I enjoyed reading about how courageous Lena/Bina was as she tried to stay alive and help those she loved. Her pursuit of justice was admirable as she tried to avenge those she lost.

#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

Thank you Harper and NetGalley for an advanced copy of “The goddess of Warsaw. I loved Lisa Barnes last novel woman on fire so much and was so excited to read this. I typically don’t like historical fiction thank you Harper and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the goddess of Warsaw. I loved Lisa Barr’s last novel “woman on fire” so much and was so excited to read this. I typically don’t like historical fiction with World War II about Nazis in World War II because it is so upsetting, but this book was outstanding . The main character is one of the strongest female characters I have ever read and you root for her survival over and over again as she continues to survive horror after horror. I cannot wait to see what this author writes about next.

The Goddess Of Warsaw is the story of the secretive dark history of one of Hollywood’s leading ladies. Hailing from the Warsaw Ghetto, Bina’s life story and escape are harrowing. When the new life she built is threatened, she plans the ultimate final act.

I loved this historical fiction and was brought to tears over the stories of the Jewish children.

WWII historical fiction by a Jewish author with lots of twists and turns, then & now timeline, love stories, revenge and Warsaw ghetto uprising
Lisa Barr does it again!

I was totally hooked on this story from the beginning, Bina's life was a fascinating look into a strong Jewish woman from Warsaw and what she did to save herself and the ghetto. Heartbreaking and haunting to read but researched and historically accurate. You should be uncomfortable reading about the conditions in the ghetto.

Present day scenes showcase how the nazi mentality and propaganda exists today in the US.

With love from the Warsaw ghetto <3

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

WOW. Just WOW. This one has gone straight up my list of best of 2024 right along with The Women by Kristin Hannah. Raw, emotional, and beautifully written, I will recommend this to EVERYONE. What a wild ride, and don't forget the tissues. 5++++++ Stars! Thank you SO much to Netgalley and Harper Perennial for allowing me a copy to read in return for an honest review.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I had mixed feelings about this title throughout the whole book. There were some good parts and good characters, but so much dark and depressing. Granted it is a war story, but just so dark and sad. Not sure about all the revenge killing.

I loved this book! Wow! I was so excited to get this book from #NetGalley. This book is mostly set in the past in Warsaw during WWII. The story is heartbreaking and vivid and then you get to present day and I laughed and and cried about Lena and her life. The story was not what I was expecting, and that made me fly through this book!

Lisa Barr wrote the most incredible book about a fearless heroine that is ready to put it all on the line fighting for what is right and the survival itself. A beautiful dual timeline story that is sure to touch your very soul.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️From the publisher Harper Perennial and Paperbacks: Los Angeles, 2005. Sienna Hayes, Hollywood’s latest It Girl, meets Lena Browning, the enormously mysterious and famous Golden Age movie star, Sienna sees her big break. She wants to direct a picture about Lena’s life. Before she was a Living Legend, Lena Browning was Bina Blonski, a Polish Jew whose life and family were destroyed by the Nazis.
Warsaw, 1943. A member of the city’s Jewish elite, Bina Blonski and her husband, Jakub, are imprisoned in the ghastly, cramped ghetto along with the rest of Warsaw’s surviving Jews. Determined to fight back against the brutal Nazis, the beautiful, blonde Aryan-looking Bina becomes a spy, gaining information and stealing weapons outside the ghetto to protect her fellow Jews. But her dangerous circumstances grow complicated.
Over a decade after escaping the horrors of the ghetto, Bina, now known as Lena, rises to fame in Hollywood. Yet she cannot help but be reminded of her old life and hungers for revenge against the Nazis who escaped justice after the war. Her power and fame as a movie star offer Lena the chance to right the past’s wrongs . . . and perhaps even find the happy ending she never had.
*************************
My review: Constant fear, worry, action, hope. That was this book. In war, ordinary people have to and are forced to do extraordinary things. This was Bina's life. From an aspiring actress, to a dangerous rebel, to a work famous Hollywood star, to an avenger, Bina/Lena does what needs to be done.
I was on the edge of my seat throughout the novel. Barr keeps things taut, exciting, heartbreaking, and suspenseful. The idea that in impossible times, people make impossible choices weaves its way through all of Bina's life. She is fiercely loyal, smart, and brave. Her "eye for an eye" methodology is satisfying, if not scary.
In this current time of increased anti-Semitic activity, this novel reminds us that through the centuries, hate has driven people to do unspeakable things. An unfortunate human trait.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 stars for an amazing, gripping book that I will be thinking about for a long time.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an advance digital copy in exchange for my review.

The Goddess of Warsaw was an amazing book about ww2 and what people did to survive the terror of living in the Warsaw Ghetto. Art, dance, acting and journalism, resistance and forbidden love are all part of what made this novel shine!