If you're a fan of WWII historical fiction, this novel is for you.
The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri is a WWII historical fiction novel based upon the true history of the Nazi SS Lebensborn program. During Hitler's rule, unmarried women were encouraged to breed with Nazi officers and bare children to send to "good Nazi families" and grow Germany's Nazi Aryan population. The women and children were housed at homes such as Hochland Home portrayed in this novel.
In a dual timeline layout, the reader follows the main protagonist, Allina, who is part Jewish, and leans of her journey to Hochland Home and beyond.
I read many WWII historical fiction novels, and I was not familiar with this specific topic. It's a heartbreaking read but the storytelling is well written, and the dual timeline (modern/WWII era) successfully details this unique perspective. I enjoyed the complicated relationship between Allina and Nazi officer Karl.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for the opportunity to read the complimentary arc.

Allina has lived with her aunt and uncle in a small German village her entire life. As the National Socialist party gains power and freedom becomes more of a distant memory she wants to fight against the new regime, but doesn’t know how. One terrible night will take everyone she loves from her and see her living at Hochland Home. Living and working in a Nazi baby factory means she will have to keep her head down to survive, but there are children who need her help and she can’t turn away from them. With an unlikely ally she will save who she can, and do her best to survive the war.
I had heard of and have read one or two books mentioning the baby factories, this is the first to exclusively feature it. I liked Allina, she is someone who had her choices taken away and still does her best with what remains. This book does examine the question of what it means to be apart of something bad but trying to do some good from within that, which is a favourite moral topic of mine to encounter in books. This is a book I recommend reading the authors notes, @adrianaallegri put a lot of information about her research and the history of the baby homes in there. This is definitely a book to check out, especially if you like niche areas of World War Two history.
Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for letting me review #thesunflowerhouse
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I have read many historical fiction novels about World War II. Most were from the point of view of the Allies. The Sunflower House managed to portray German citizens, even officers, in a very different light. The novel also explored one of the little known tragedies of Hitler’s plan for dominance, his baby factories. While we have many compelling stories of holocaust survivors, these littlest victims of the evil mind of Hitler could not tell their story. I was impressed by the development of this novel, it drew you in to the lives of Allina and Karl. This is a novel that will remain with me due to the actions of those trying to protect the infants. I want to hope that the those poor innocent babies had many real life champions.
I was swept away by this story and impressed by the obvious research that went into this compelling novel. I will be recommending it to my reading friends as well as suggesting it to my book club.

I enjoyed this novel, and I usually stay away from WWII historical fiction. The story drew me in, and while there are dual timelines, most of the novel takes place during WWII.

The Sunflower House is a captivating tale of resilience and love and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Katrine finds different objects from her mother's past. One is a box with a swastika. Was her mother a Nazi? Wanting, demanding, answers, Katrine confronts her mother, and the reader learns about Allina's life in Hochland Home, a place where unmarried women had babies for the good of the nation.

There are trigger warnings of rape, murder and antisemitism.

I am truly at a loss for words with this book. This was an exceptional read. A huge shout out and thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review on the book. With ease, I rate this book 5 of 5 stars.

I truly got so emotionally invested in this book by the end of it I was in tears and so full of emotions both happy and sad. It’s truly been a long time since an author has been able to provide that type of emotional connection for me to a book. As soon as this book is available I plan to buy a hard cover copy. This book will be one I will forever read and reread.

The author did an amazing job of writing in the sense that everything was taking place in ~1938. There was only a modern feel to the book when she would transition to the present with Allina and her daughter, Katrina. Besides that she really captured the feel of the past. Even though this was a fiction read it felt so real and so powerful to the non-fiction WWII books I have read.

The author used a multiple character point-of-view perspective, with every chapter being a different characters point of view. The author used a 3rd person point of view for this book. I’d just have to point out one thing regarding the authors writing style. I was not used to sentences being started with ‘And’ and ‘But’, so that threw me off.

This book is a historical fiction / romance. The book has such a passion about it once the connection between Allina and Karl blooms.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves romance and/or loves historical fiction or even wants to branch out to a different genre than they are used to. This book holds a special place in my heart.

After the Nazi’s raid her village, Allina is taken by a high ranking SS officer to a Leensborn home. Brutalized by the Nazi’s, she is fearful of everyone around her. Put into service as a nurse, she wonders why half of the children are left disabled by the Nazi’s parenting techniques.

I have to admit that I didn’t love this book. The passage of time did not really work, and took away from the growth and development of the characters. Overall, not a book I would reread or recommend.

This is a thoughtful novel about a Lebensborn home in Germany prior and during World War II. Allina is abused by a German officer and left pregnant in the home. Luckily she miscarries and starts to work with the children housed there. Her observations of their treatment is troubling. She works with a high ranking officer to improve the conditions for some. I have read several fictional accounts of these homes . Their existence and purpose is horrific. Allegri’s take on this is more hopeful than some others. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I really love historical fiction I really hate poorly researched historical fiction that fails to immerse you.

Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri

336 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: November 12, 2024

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Romance, World War II, Rape, Children’s Home

Karin received a call that her elderly mother, Allina, had fallen. She rushed to the hospital to get her and take her home. Once there, she saw her mother had been using a step stool in the closet before losing her balance and falling. Karin was removing the stool when she saw a lacquered box with a swastika on it. Her mother said she could explain.

The story jumps back in time to 1938 Germany. Allina was a young woman engaged to be married the following year. Shortly after her uncle’s passing, disaster shook her town. She is beaten and left for dead. A German officer finds her and takes her to Hochland Home, a breeding home for the master race. There she works as a nurse to the pregnant mothers and the unborn children. While working there, she met Karl Von Strassberg, a high-ranking German officer. He began showing interest in her, but she does not trust him or anyone who wore the uniform. He began to entrust her with his secrets and slowly she began to share her own.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are very developed, and it is written in third person point of view. The story is beautifully written although it is a difficult topic. It also shows the relationship between a mother and daughter and how strong the bond can be. If you like historical fiction, you will enjoy reading this book.

I read the final pages through a veil of tears. This is a poignant and beautifully written historical fiction centered around the all too real Lebensborn program entwined with a love story and the healing of a mother-daughter relationship. It garners a rare 5-star rating from me.

Adriana Allegri’s debut novel will transport you on an emotional journey through the era of World War II alongside the resilient protagonist, Allina.

Allina’s character is compelling, her struggles and triumphs mirror the turbulent times in which she lives. As Allina confronts the trials of war and the necessity of concealing family secrets, you are drawn into her world, intimately sharing her fears, sorrows, and acts of bravery.

“The Sunflower House” is a gripping tale, heart-wrenching and hopeful. It will resonate with you long after the final page!

Ms. Allegri, thank you for the privilege to read this amazing book before publication!

The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri is a heartbreaking and fascinating dual timeline that delves deep into the heart of Nazi Germany's horrifying reality of the Lebensborn Program, the Nazi's 'baby farms'. This program was designed to increase Hitler’s Aryan population.
It was difficult to read about the cruelties endured in those homes. In this meticulously researched debut novel, we follow the journey of Allina Strauss, a young woman thrust into a nightmare as she grapples the horrors unfolding around her and her love for Karl.
These were two Jewish Germans that were able to pull off bravery and heroism inside the Third Reich.
Told through the main character to her granddaughter, Katrine, from letters she finds.
I absolutely loved this book and this story. I will be recommending it to all my historical fiction loving book readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read The Sunflower House prior to publication. I was totally engrossed in the story line of this work by Adriana Allegri.

There were many plots and subplots in this book and they all were given the attention each required. For me, this was the first time reading about the Lebensborn program where Aryan women were encouraged to mingle with SS officers to provide children for Hitler's master race plan. Apparently the population of Germany (especially that of males) had great diminished after the Great War.

It also dealt with Mischling - people who had a distant relative of the Jewish faith. I was astounded to learn that some SS officers were allowed to work for the Reich despite their lineage.

It was also a wonderful love story, a tale of courage and the indomitable spirit of many who managed to survive.

This was a powerful story about family, motherhood, love, and survival. Allina’s story begins as she loses her family and loved ones to an attack. A Schutzstaffel officer notices that Allina has survived the attack and takes her to Hochland Home after trying to impregnate her against her will. Allina’s story begins here in the German baby factory and it takes secrets and a complicated love story to get her out.

The Sunflower House was full of eye opening history, descriptions, and details. You will want to read this one.

Wow, The Sunflower House grabbed my attention right away and did not stop until the very last page. This book is about survival and finding love amidst the horrors of the Reich. The writing was so beautiful and vivid in description that I felt like I was looking at a movie. I highly recommend this book!

WOW! What a story. Truly enlightening, heartbreaking, just WOW. I had ZERO idea houses such as Lebensborn existed. This story is written so beautifully it is hard to believe it’s true. I love this author for this reason now. I never once felt I was learning SO MUCH but following a story. Allina is a powerful person - she was thrown into circumstances far beyond her control and did everything in her power to right the wrongs she saw happening daily. With Allina’s birth mom being Jewish, her fake papers are the only way for her to survive. I LOVE how this story was told through Allina to her daughter. This story BLEEDS the true meaning of family, and what one person (or many) will go through for the people they love - and to do what is right.

This was a good read but a tough one, fair warning have tissues on standby. I had never heard of the Lebensborn program, aka Nazi baby factories, before reading this book. The author did a great job sharing the atrocities that happened to the women and children who passed through the doors of these facilities. This book will make you mad , sad but in the end hopeful.

This book had me hooked from the very first page! I have read a TON of WW2 fiction, and have never even heard of the Lebensborn programs in Germany during this time period. This book tells a tale of a woman's determination and fighting for what is right, with a subtle undertone of a love story that was very well written. This book is in line with a Kristen Hannah or Kate Quinn novel - the writing was amazing and the research it entailed was incredible. I can't believe this was a debut novel! Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! For fans of Kate Quinn and Kristin Hannah, you will LOVE this book! I have never read anything quite like this. This book broke my heart in so many ways but I am so glad I read it. I had never heard of the Lebensborn program, aka Nazi baby factories, before reading this book. The author did an incredible job sharing the atrocities that happened to the women and children who passed through the doors of these facilities. Allina Strauss is a character who has been through literal hell and does her best to survive the impossible hand she was dealt, all while grieving immeasurable loss, falling in love, and helping as many children as she can. This book made me furious, sorrowful, and hopeful… This story will stay with me long after I put it down. Be sure to have tissues close by!

TW: sexual assault, child abuse

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In a tranquil German village in 1939, Allina Strauss enjoys a seemingly perfect life, unaware of the looming shadow of Adolf Hitler's regime. But her world shatters when her Jewish heritage is exposed, leading her to serve as a nurse in the chilling Hochland Home. In "The Sunflower House" by Adriana Allegri, Allina's journey unveils the harrowing realities of Nazi eugenics, as she navigates love, secrecy, and the fight for survival amidst unimaginable horrors.

Allegri delves into the dark secrets of Nazi Germany's Lebensborn Program, exposing its chilling reality amidst the backdrop of World War II. This is something I didn't have any prior knowledge of, so it served to be educational for me as well. Through the journey of Allina Strauss, Allegri crafts a haunting narrative of identity struggle and survival, painting a vivid picture of life akin to a real-life Handmaid's Tale in a Nazi-run baby factory.

The novel's strengths lie in its historical accuracy (after my own research about the Lebensborn Program) and exploration of human resilience, as Allina defies the regime to save herself and the children in her care. Amidst the horrors, a forbidden love story unfolds, which challenged me to ponder morality and sacrifice in wartime. Ultimately, "The Sunflower House" stands as a testament to love's enduring power and the importance of remembering history's atrocities.

Thank you again, NetGalley, for the ARC! Comes out November 12th!! I give it 4.75/5.00 stars!!!