I was hoping for more historical fiction and less romance so this was not the novel I expected it to be.

I’m an avid WW2 historical fiction reader, so I was very excited to read The Sunflower House. This story is jumps between two timelines— present day and during ww2. This was the first book I’ve read that dove into the Lebensborn program. I appreciate the research this author did to bring this emotional yet important story to life. I also found out that this is a debut novel! Incredible. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of Adriana Allegri’s work. This was a heartbreakingly beautiful novel.

The Sunflower House is a debut novel about WWII that tells the story of a young woman named Allina and an SS officer, Karl, and the ways their lives changed once Hitler came to power. This story had me hooked from the beginning. I enjoyed the dual timelines, the different POV's, and the well-researched aspect of the Lebensborn program. Allegri does a beautiful job of capturing the pain, the heartache, and even the hope that people held on to. I feel like I can't say too much without spoiling it, but I absolutely loved this book. It brought light to different aspects of WWII that aren't always talked about and the ending had me in tears.

The Sunflower House is a hauntingly beautiful tale. While the story is fictional based on WWII, the author’s research pours through the pages.


My attention was instantly captured, and I was unable to put this book down even though it was so difficult to read at times.


Adriana Allegri weaves this incredible story blending past and present through multiple POVs. While I did prefer the chapters with Allina in the past, the entire book is interesting. I’m still in awe that this is her debut novel.


Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Sunflower House
By Adriana Allegri

Many books have been written about World War II – stories about the plight of the Jews, Gypsies, and others under the Nazi reign of terror. This book is different. It is told from the standpoint of Germans working from inside the system – indeed from the very heart of the dreaded SS – to thwart Hitler and his cronies and to save as many lives as possible.

The story begins in New Jersey, many years later, where Katrine, a middle-aged woman, is trying to care for her mother after a fall. Katrine stumbles upon a beautiful wooden box with a swastika on the lid. Finally her mother – Allina – decides that she must tell her daughter the story behind the contents of the box.

A young woman, Allina Strauss, lives in the small town of Badensburg with her aunt and uncle as the Nazis are gaining control over the country. On one horrific day the SS comes to town and massacres the townspeople for harboring fugitives from the government. Allina, a beautiful young woman, is brutalized by several SS men and ultimately raped by an officer.

On the chance that she might be pregnant the officer takes her to Hochland Home, a Nazi facility where good German women are expected to fulfill their duty to the Reich by bearing multiple children to replenish the ranks of soldiers killed in war. German SS officers come there to hook up, socialize and ultimately to impregnate these women.

It is there that Allina meets Gruppenfuhrer Karl von Strassberg. At first she reacts to him as she does to all men in uniform – with fear and loathing. But Karl learns her story and pursues her gently and with great patience. As it becomes apparent that he loves her, Allina finally resolves to tell him her most closely held secret – her mother was Jewish. Instead of being repelled, Karl only becomes more protective.

There are many twists and turns as the story unfolds. There is much heartbreak. Secrets haunt them all. But the lesson learned here is that truths, sometimes hard to bear, will always lead you out of darkness and into the light.

This is a wonderful book about a terrible time, told from a different viewpoint. It teaches us that people may do evil deeds, but they are not intrinsically evil. And that good people can be found where we may least expect. It is well worth reading.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: historical fiction📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Such a beautiful yet heartbreaking debut with a unique WWII perspective. It was super intriguing, I didn’t want to put it down.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Heartbreaking WWII reads
Lebensborn Program
Strong female protagonist
Powerful message of resilience
Thought provoking reads
Side of romance
Dual timelines
All the secrets
Suspenseful

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Very well researched
The authors note

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Some parts felt a little unfinished

The Sunflower House really does have a "Handmaid's Tale meets WWII" vibe and there is evidence that this probably did happen in Germany with the top of the Nazi organization wanting to create their perfect race. Beautiful women being housed and rewarded for procreating and with officers visiting to help fulfill that mission.

The "Haupthaus" part of the book was well done, in my opinion the author tried to introduce romance into the mix of this historical fiction and that part of the story felt too "forced" for me. I know many readers have rated at 5 stars, but The Sunflower House just seemed a bit "too romance-y" for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read the advance review copy of The Sunflower House in exchange for an honest review. approx 336 pages.

One of the best books I’ve read this year! The story tracked me in from the very beginning, and I couldn’t stop reading until the last page! 4.5 stars!

Thank you very much @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri, a debut novel. In present day, Katrine’s 86 year old mother Allina opens up to her about her past, and the reason she has kept secrets for all these years. Allina is from Germany, and found out in 1938 as a teenager that she is half Jewish. Her parents died when she was young, and her aunt and uncle are killed by the Nazi’s. She is taken care of a by a Nazi officer, and brought to a place that she finds out is a baby factory and part of Lebensborn, Hitler’s program to provide “pure” babies to German families. While there, she meets another Nazi officer who turns out to be running a secret program to save Jewish children, and they team up and fall in love. There is a lot of violence, and some hope in this story. It was a different look at the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Some of the parallels to today’s political situation in the US were frightening, with the beginning of a fascist government. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this, and look forward to future books by this author. #thesunflowerhouse #adrianaallegri #debutnovel #netgalley #advancedreadercopy #lovetoread #bookstagram #takeapagefrommybook #wwIIstory #lebensborn #bookloversofinstagram

What a beautiful and moving novel. Most of us have heard this history before, but it is taken to new levels as the author weaves together history and fiction. Based on true events of WWII this novel will take you on a journey, for which you know the historical outcome. Still, the journey of Allina will draw you into her world and her resistance to the systematic atrocities of the Nazi regime. Highs and lows ensue throughout, but the journey will warm your heart.

I finished The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri and I recommend reading this story. This book has a different take on a WWII novel and weaves in current family secrets stemming from the war. The characters are likable and keeps the reader rooting for a happy ending during a difficult time in history. Pick up a copy of The Sunflower House. This book was released in early November and I am surprised I have not heard more about it on the socials.

#netgalley #TheSunflowerHouse #AdrianaAllegri

This book taught me about an event history I had very little knowledge on. A young Jewish woman, Alinna is forced to work in a home who's purpose is to grow the Aryan population. This was a hard read especially reading about all the neglected children. It was just heartbreaking this was a reality. This was a powerful story & Allina was a great protagonist. I am looking forward to reading more books by the author.

A nuance of WWII that I had not heard about! This book is about baby factories in nazi Germany, where young fertile aryan ladies lived to get pregnant by soldiers on ROR to perpetuate the race. This seems to have been a very well researched book and I enjoyed the characters and the story. I love historical fiction because it tells a story and provides a history lesson at the same time. I get a bit tired of WWII books, but this one covered a whole new subject matter. It was an interesting and well-told story.

1939 Germany and Adolf Hitler is coming into his brutal rule. Nurse Allina Strauss finds herself assigned to a home which is part of the Lebensborn program, where blond babies with Aryan features are "chosen" to enter "good" German homes as adoptions. When she meets Karl, a high ranking German officer, she finds a partner with the same beliefs as herself, but the danger to them both is considerable. Well written historical fiction.

This is an fantastic book with beautiful writing! I was nervous the majority of the book would include the horrific scenes from the beginning of the book, but this surprising book wove in a beautiful love story of healing and hope, new life and a sweet, tender love and marriage. I truly can't recommend this book enough! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and to review this book!

This is Adriana Allegri’s debut novel and I was blown away! There aren’t really words to convey how much I loved this book.

This story takes us through a mother-daughter relationship and some of WWII darkest times in history, as it explores the Lebensborn Program.

As an avid reader of historical fiction, I’d never heard anything about this program. The goal of the Lebensborn program was to create a perfect race of babies that would then be adopted by Nazi families. The author does an incredible job of bringing this to light but is also very thoughtful of the women trapped in this experience. This one will definitely stick with me.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my thoughts.

Wow. Just wow. I found myself completely enthralled by this story. It was heartbreaking. It was emotional. It was beautiful in that deeply dark way that only good WWII historical fiction can be. I was truly captivated.

The Sunflower House is centered around Heinrich Himmler’s Lebensborn Program, a lesser-known part of his horrendous eugenics program. It was expected of good Aryan men and women's jobs to produce as many healthy, fit German babies as possible in serving the Reich. In order to aid in this, Lebensborn homes were created where German women were sent to birth as many babies as they could as well as encouraged to mingle with SS officers so they could continue to grow the German population.

This story follows Allina who is forced to work as a nurse in one of these homes. She is grieving and scared. The only way to survive the war is to stay safe and serve Hochland Home well. When I tell you this story is beautiful and utterly heartbreaking at the same time, I truly mean it. If this is a genre you enjoy, I will be recommending it for the foreseeable future.

There are secrets, high stakes moments, and a story of finding love even in the darkest of places. This debut was unbelievably well researched, a unique stand-out in the genre, and a story I am so glad I took the time to listen to. I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for what Allegri shares with us next!

This is a WWII novel that is mostly set in one of the Lebensborn homes that Germany ran to breed racially pure children. The well researched story tells the tale of a woman who loses everything and is then forced to be a baby nurse and how she is determined to improve the lives of the children there. There is risk and romance and lots of anger inducing moments in the world gone mad Nazi Germany. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reading copy. While it is a story that has been covered before (ie. "Cradles of the Reich" by Jennifer Coburn), I enjoyed it. 4/5

This is one of those books I keep finding myself recommending to all my friends!

Like most historical fictions taking place during World War II, they are hard and emotional, and The Sunflower House is exactly that.

Focussed on a lesser known or portrayed aspect of Hitler’s eugenics program, main character Allina finds herself orphaned and set up in a state run baby factory.

While there, she actively fights for the children’s safety and that of the Jewish people. Finding unlikely allies, Allina becomes one of the lucky ones and makes it out alive.

The story was epic and sweeping just like the emotions that I experienced while reading. This debut from Adriana Allegri has me eagerly anticipating what she comes up with next.

The sunflower house~you alwonder what the grab will be when you are starting another WW2 book. The Lebensborn Program in detail takes you on a ruthless tour of crating the perfect race (gone wrong). Between family secrets, love come to light.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the amazing ARC..