This was a fantastic book! I really enjoyed learning about the Lebensborn homes during WW2. The story is told from the point of view of Allina Strauss as she experiences the war, and all of the horrible atrocities that took place. As she finds herself a resident of one of the homes she is very disturbed by the behavior of the the other women and girls there and the way they behave around Nazi soldiers. She is even more disturbed by the treatment of the children who are not perfect. She soon finds a like minded friend and is able to do her part to help these children.
I could have read this book in one sitting, and really enjoyed the authors style of writing. I’m looking forward to more stories written by Adriana Allegri.
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC.

I honestly have no idea how to rate or review this book.

I loved it, but it broke my heart and it hurt to read.

Definitely some trigger warnings for SA and general content for those unfamiliar with exactly how bad the situation was surrounding the eugenics obsession in Germany surrounding WWII.

The Sunflower House is fiction, but much of the story was all too real.

If you enjoy historical fiction and are prepared for the content, I’d absolutely recommend this book, with the caveat that you should be aware of what you’re getting into.

I received an advance copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own, and a review was not required.

The Sunflower House is a frame story that starts in the present day when Katrine makes a shocking discovery in her mother’s bedroom closet. Her mother, Allina, begs her daughter the chance to explain and in doing so, many things about Katrine’s unorthodox upbringing begin to make sense. Now to figure out how she will ever make peace with what she has learned.

Sixteen-year-old Allina Strauss owns her aunt and uncle everything after taking her in and raising her when her parents passed. When her uncle falls ill, he revels many things about her own family she didn’t know, and now finds complicated as the Nazis have arrived on their doorstep. Quickly, they decimate her small village looking for traitors, and those not immediately killed are beaten and raped. Allina makes it out alive, but the damage is immense not only to her body, but her spirit. Sent to Hochland House, a eugenics program that churns out perfect Aryan children, Allina is disgusted by the behavior of the visiting soldiers and the treatment of the babies in the home. After gaining the protection of ranking officer Karl von Strassberg, who has his own host of secrets, the “home” becomes slightly more tolerable as the two make plans to aid as many of the neglected children as they can.

Allina and Karl’s story gives one hope that somewhere in that Nazi war machine there were resisters trying to subvert Hitler’s agenda in Germany. The author does an excellent job of making both Allina and Karl both inspiring and flawed. It is easy to feel for Allina who is brutalized and wears her feelings on her sleeve, but to make a reader feel for Karl takes plenty of finesse as his day job makes him intolerable. The work the two did to save not only Jewish children, but also those born in the Lebensborn program who didn’t develop as expected is touching.

I cannot believe this is a debut novel. Adriana Allegri clearly did her research, and her writing drops the reader directly into some of the most cringe-worthy moments of Hitler’s plans for a master race. I found myself holding my breath on more than one occasion to see if Allina and Karl had gotten away with another act of sabotage in the face of evil. Fans of The Nightgale and The Book of Lost Names will enjoy this story.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and of course author Adriana Allegri for the advanced copy of the book. The Sunflower House is out on November 12th! All opinions are my own.

Hitler wanted a master Aryan race. One way to develop this was to encourage Aryan women, married and unmarried, to have many children. To help facilitate this, the Lebensborn program was developed. Special houses were created to keep women and their children until the children were adopted by Aryan families. After Allina’s village was raided, her family was killed, and she was brutally raped and beaten, she was taken to a Lebensborn house. Here she worked to help the children born there. Here she met her future husband, a Nazi officer who was working to get Jews out of Germany.
The Sunflower House, by Adriana Allegri, is the telling of Allina’s story to her daughter years later. It is a story of the horrors ordered by the Nazi leaders, the courage of a few to defy those orders, and the love that can be found during the most difficult of times. I am stingy with 5-star reviews, but this book deserved it. I was able to read an ARC on #NetGalley.

It’s 1939 in Germany and Allina has found out that her birth mother was Jewish. After Allina’s life is tragically changed, she is forced to work at the Hochland Home; an institution for pure Aryan women to reproduce. When she meets Karl, a high ranking SS officer, she realizes he also has secrets.

I highly recommend this great World War Two historical fiction with a romance subplot. This story is intense and suspenseful. The characters have a lot of depth. I really liked Karl’s character and the ethical dilemma that he faced. This one not only tells a true story of the Nazi baby factories, but also pulls heart strings as two individuals do the best they can in horrible circumstances.

“The Führer is like a poison pill coated in chocolate. If you’re hungry enough, you’ll eat it. But poison always kills in the end.”

The Sunflower House comes out 11/12.

My thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin s, and the personal invitation I received to review this book.

What an EXCELLENT book! I loved this and could not put it down! Look forward to more from this author!

Young Katrine finds a box of her mom s, Alline with a swastika on it in present time line. Thus begins her mom s past tale of how her family was killed and she was brought to a baby factory/orphanage/ to work as a nurse under the protection of a Nazi officer but prevails and finds love!

Wonderful story, excellent writing, strong characters. Highly recommend!

A jarring look into Germany during WWII. I have read other books on this subject but this story was more emotional to me. I loved the romance between Allina and Karl and the trust they had for each other. As with other books on this subject it tears at my heart that something like this could happen. Thank you for bringing a new look to a part of history that many would disagree happened.

I've read many books about the Holocaust world war II and the terrors that the world went through thanks to the Nazi reign however this book was very different than I was used to. This book is told through two different timelines one with our main character, Katine , discovering the secrets her mother has long since buried, about her time in Germany. The book then flashes as we get to see what actually happened with Allina, (Katherine's mother) and what led her to make the decisions that she did. Allina is a wreck when the Nazis invade her hometown killing everyone she loves. Thankfully by some unforeseen circumstance Allina survives, well at least physically. She is then forced to work in a clinic on something called the Lebensborn project. The project itself was absolutely horrific however Alina decides that it's up to her to try and save as many of the children as possible. I loved her for sticking to her grounds and doing what she knew to be right even when everyone was telling her not to. I love the dual timeline on this because it really gave the reader a whole lot of information that we wouldn't necessarily have had otherwise. I found the characters were very strongly written and my favorite had to have been Allina's because it was very sad to see all of the struggle she had to go through but knowing she made it out in the end made for a very compelling read. This book focuses on the Lebensborn program which unfortunately was an actual thing. With all of the books that I've read over the years about the Holocaust and world war II this was a new thing that I've never heard of before. It was terrifying and interesting and fascinating all while filling me with terror at the same time. This is one book that will really leave you thinking as well as leaving you desperate to learn more. Even after this book was long finished I know that this one will stay with me for a while. If you love books with a historical fiction this is definitely one you'll need to check out. There's so many things going on in this book that any review won't do it proper justice. All I have to say is this is one book that you will want to check out, and I can't wait to see it hit the shelves.

This is the most amazing book ever! This book is about baby factories in Germany during world war 2. I have literally never heard of these before! This is historical fiction, but it is so well researched that it could easily be nonfiction. An absolute love!

How does a woman explain having a wooden box with the Nazi swastika on it with Germany documents inside to her adult daughter? The majority of the story takes place in the late 1930's to early 1940's in Germany centering around the Lebensborn Program, Himmler's eugenics program to create the "perfect" race.

Due to the killing of her family, Allina ends up at one of these homes where she learns about what is happening to the pregnant women and their newborns. The storyline is what Allina experienced as a young lady as she relates it to her grown daughter Katrine.

I have to admit I had not heard about these homes and the atrocities that happened to women used for breeding and their offspring. Horrible.

The pace was good and kept my interest. There was a bit too much mushy love interest. Because of this I rate this a solid 4 star.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy.

I'm absolutely speechless after finishing this beautiful book. While the story is based on World War II and the Holocaust, it is told from a different perspective. The book itself was very fast, similar to a thriller which I loved and haven't encountered before in a historical fiction. The author laid out no moments for pauses, but rather kept the book flowing with a quick plot line. I also enjoyed the love story aspect and I found myself shedding tears, even though I knew they would be coming. One of my absolute favorite books of all time that will never leave my mind.

1939, a small town in Germany. Allina Strauss "...works at her uncle’s bookshop, makes strudel with her aunt, and spends weekends with her friends and fiancé.... One fateful night after losing everyone she loves, Allina is forced into service as a nurse at a state-run baby factory called Hochland Home. There, she becomes both witness and participant to the horrors of Heinrich Himmler’s ruthless eugenics program."

And so it begins, The Lebensborn Program -- "Women of “pure” blood stayed in Lebensborn homes for the sole purpose of perpetuating the Aryan population, giving birth to thousands of babies who were adopted out to “good” Nazi families. Allina must keep her Jewish identity a secret in order to survive, but when she discovers the neglect occurring within the home, she’s determined not only to save herself, but also the children in her care."

Amidst the horror of this program, there also is love. Allina meets, Karl, a high-ranking SS officer who she initially shies away from -- due to her rape by another high-ranking Nazi officer and persistent fear of men in that uniform, Karl, VERY gradually wins her trust and then her love.

There are secrets [key] and hope, Abuse and atrocities. Love and friendships.

This novel was a heartbreaking slow burn, but I was always fully engaged--wanting to see how the story unravelled and what would become of Allina, I've read MANY Holocaust books, but this was a different take--though no lesser an impact or description of the horrific program of the Third Reich.

Sort of a dual timeline--as it begins when Katrine, Allina's daughter, "....while visiting her mother's home in Ramsey, [New Jersey [in 2006] , encounters a hiding place holding a swastika emblazoned box containing a secret stash of items from her now 86-year old mother Alina's life in Germany during the years leading up to World War II." The novel is almost wholly a telling of Allina's life in the prewar/and WWII period, culminating at the end, with a return to the older Allina.

Intense, but also easy to read [though NOT because of the subject matter]--the plot kept moving forward--and there was always hope--after all, an elderly Allina is the start of the book.

Debut novel--sign me up for more by Allegri.

The only disconnect for me were the occasional "mush" moments--always derails me.

Solid 4/recommend.

This was an interesting read with strong characters. A sad story with hope laced throughout. It was my type of book but still not a bad read.

Before and during World War II, homes known as Lebensborn homes, were all across Germany. Essentially baby factories their sole purpose was to use young German women to be bred with German soldiers to ensure pure lineage for future generations. Any child born less than perfect was deemed inferior and sent away to be an experiment and eventually killed.
“The Sunflower House” is gripping story, told through the eyes of a Allina Strauss. When Allina’s entire family and village is destroyed she is repeatedly raped, then, under the “protection of her brutal, rapist, SS officer Gud”, brought to a Lebensborn home and forced into performing nursing duties caring for children born within the home. The children were bred to be adopted by German families with the intention of raising them to be perfect Nazis. While tending to her duties with the children, Allina meets a young SS officer named Karl. Karl out ranks Gud and takes Allina into his own protective role. He eventually gains Allina’s trust revealing his true intentions and identity. The author has done extensive research and has written this historical fiction novel in a way that makes the reader feel like these are true stories about real people. I found this to be a compelling and emotional read. I will look forward to reading more from this author. This ARC was provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Nov. 12, 2024
Adriana Allegri’s debut novel, “The Sunflower House”, is a World War two historical fiction novel that has the distinction of being one of the very, very few I have read in this category that have managed to introduce me to a topic I know very little about.
Allina Strauss is living with her aunt and uncle in a sleepy German village, helping her uncle run his book shop. But it’s 1939 and, all of a sudden, Allina’s life is turned upside down. Hitler has declared war on Jews, and after the death of Allina’s uncle, she finds out the truth about her past- her mother was Jewish, making Allina half-Jewish, which makes her a target. Desperate to escape persecution, Allina uses forged papers and begins work as a nurse in a place called Hochland House. Hochland House is one of the sites for the Nazi’s eugenics program and Allina sees it firsthand, how women are used as breeding stock to continue the Aryan race, and how babies are adopted by “purebred” Germans, in order to further the German population. She is trapped with no way out until she meets SS solider Karl, who promises to give her a better life. But can she really live a life with a German solider, putting her life at risk to try and keep who she really is a secret?
“The Sunflower House” tells the story of the Lebensborn homes (essentially, baby factories) that were scattered throughout Germany during World War Two, whose sole purpose was to create more “pure” Germans to fight in wars against other nations. Although I knew the eugenics programs existed, to hear it told through the eyes of a front line nurse was extremely powerful. The struggle of Allina, as she wore a German façade, while children with disabilities were “sent away” to be killed as they were non-adoptable, was something that had me feeling so many emotions, all at once.
The story is narrated, of course, by Allina, in 1939, but the beginning of the story starts in the 21st century, when Allina’s daughter, Katrine, finds a box with a swastika on it in her mother’s belongings. Allina tells the story to her daughter slowly, and she pulls the reader along on a tension-fueled, heartbreaking and emotionally fraught storyline that did not stop until the final pages.
Allegri’s novel is well-researched, and it stands out for many reasons, not the least of which being that it is her debut! Wherever she has been hiding, I am glad that she had taken her chances and released this book into the world and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

I am a sucker for a historical book and this one was fantastic. This is a beautiful story of a woman trying to make sense of a world that is awful and dark and just so so difficult. She doesn't have a lot of choice but she makes the best of it. The concepts in this book are wild to me. One of my favorite books I have read although I hate saying that because of the content.

The Sunflower House is a story about love, loss, survival, and secrets. Set in the time of Hitler during WW2 this novel has a fresh story than other WW2 novels I've read. This novel highlights an important aspect of history and while it is fiction, I learned of a new aspect of horror during this time period. This story is full of emotion, tension, resilience, and love. This is a must for any historical romance fiction lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Sunflower House is a beautifully written compelling and captivating read that will stay with me for a very long time.

The story is told in a dual time line .

The story begins with a woman who uncovers a hidden wooden box of her mother's that has a swastika on it.

The author then takes us to a German village where we truly meet Allina Strauss.

Her story is a sad and difficult one and shows the horrors of WWII and the treatment of the Jewish people.

Allina is put to work as an aide in a reproductive clinic and is referred to as the Lebensborn program.

It is nothing but atrocious.

Allina wants to save as many children as she can.

Adriana Allegri takes the reader on an emotional journey, one that is hard to imagine or forget .

You cry with Allina, you cheer for her and most of all you admire her tenacity and strength.

The Sunflower House will be a Book Club pick no doubt.

Historical fiction at its best.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the privilege of reading and reviewing this unforgettable book.

I have read a couple books that have covered the Eugenics program in WWII, but none of them were anywhere as educational and enjoyable as this one. The author’s research was stellar, the storyline was engaging, and the unexpected love story between Karl and Allina was absolutely beautiful.
Even though this is based upon fictional characters, the research was so spot on, it can easily be listened or read as true. If you want one more excellent WWII book to add to your library, add this one, well worth the read. High 5 stars.
I thank St. Martin’s Press along with NetGalley for providing this Galley edition for no requirement other than my offer to provide an unbiased review.

This was a compelling story of very difficult topics surrounding WWII–the Lebensborn program and falling in love with an SS officer. It is so tough for me to fathom how life during a war is, and this book drove that home even more for me. I really liked the story despite my feelings on the topics in the book. I will definitely read this author again.