Review: Daisies are Forever by Liz Tolsma (Litfuse Blog Tour & Giveaway)

May 23, 2014

Title: Daisies are Forever
Author: Liz Tolsma
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pages: 352
ISBN: 978-1-4016-8912-4
Publication Date: May 6th, 2014

Synopsis:
In the final days of Nazi Germany, the strength of one woman’s heart will determine the fate of a family.

Prussia, 1945

The fall of the Third Reich is imminent. As the merciless Red Army advances from the East, the German people of Prussia await the worst.

Among them is twenty-year-old Gisela Cramer, an American living in Heiligenbeil with her cousin Ella and their ailing grandfather. When word arrives that the Russians will invade overnight, Ella urges Gisela to escape to Berlin—and take Ella’s two small daughters with her.

The journey is miserable and relentless. But when Gisela hears the British accent of a phony SS officer, she poses as his wife to keep him safe among the indignant German refugees. In the blink of an eye,  Mitch Edwards and Gisela are Herr and Frau Joseph Cramer.

Through their tragic and difficult journey, the fabricated couple strives to protect Ella’s daughters, hoping against hope for a reunion. But even as Gisela and Mitch develop feelings beyond the make–believe, the reality of war terrorizes their makeshift family.
With the world at its darkest, and the lives of two children at stake, the counterfeit couple finds in each other a source of faith, hope, and the love they need to survive.
 Review:
This is Liz Tolsma's sophomore book, which I have to say I enjoyed a bit more then her debut, Snow on the Tulips. Like Snow, Liz pulls from her family's history for inspiration for her story. It is amazing to me what what the people of Europe survived during this time. What a frightening time to live in.

Daisies are Forever is also a good reminded that not all the Germans believed as Hitler did. When you think of WW2 and the massive assaults that the Germans applied to Britain and on Normandy, it can be easy to forget that the people of Germany were held captive under a tyrannical, socialist regime, while their children were being brain washed. We get a view of all of this in Daisies.

It's amazing to think that someone would move to Germany when Hitler took power, from America, but that is what happened to Gisela. She moved with her family back to Germany, after suffering the affects of the depression in America. In doing so, it put Gisela right in the path of the war. When the story opens up, the Russians are on their way in to Germany, and it is time for Gisela to flee for her life. It is now Germany's time to have the war on their land and bombing raids knock out their cities.

I have really started to enjoy stories based on WW2 and have started to look into it more, so it was interesting to read a story set on German soil near the end of the war.

This was a fast paced story that took you over many miles as Gisela and her rag tag group of refugees flee ahead of the Russians, toward Berlin. There was a lot that went on with this story. I enjoyed Gisela, she had a kind heart and desperately wanted to help those around her.

Mitch, having escaped a POW camp was constantly chomping at the bit to get back to his men. I get that, and it was nice to see that he also cared around helping the innocent. He was a very decent and caring lead, but he knew when he needed to fight.

There were many secondary characters in this story, children and the elderly. Then there was Rolf, who in all honesty got on my nerves, because he represented the selfish and narcissistic feel of the Nazi's, in my opinion. He sees something he wants, he doesn't care what is in his way to get it. The cast of characters went well with this story. They offered some annoyance and a little laughter.

I enjoyed this different look into a WW2 story.

Too Read
4 out of 5

About the Author:
Liz Tolsma has lived in Wisconsin most of her life. She and her husband have a son and two daughters, all adopted internationally. When not busy putting words to paper, Liz enjoys reading, waling, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping with her family. You can see more at www.liztolsma.com.







Giveaway:
Liz Tolsma's latest WWII historical fiction novel, Daisies are Forever, is getting rave reviews. 

". . . compelling and fast-paced tale about the atrocities and tremendous losses. . . ." —Library Journal

"Excellent storytelling, accurate historical reporting and gritty, persevering characters make this WWII-era novel a must-read." —CBA Retailers + Resources


daisies-400-click
Liz celebrating the release with a Kindle HDX giveaway!
One winner will receive:
  • A Kindle Fire HDX
  • Daisies are Forever by Liz Tolsma
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 31st. Winner will be announced June 2nd on Liz's website.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Liz's website on June 2nd to see if you won.



Thank you to Litfuse and Thomas Nelson, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

2 comments

  1. Great review. I've never read a book with such themes before and would love to because this one seems intriguing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shane, Thanks. It was an interesting story. It was intriguing.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. Leave a word, leave a line, I would love to hear what you have to say.

Latest Instagrams

© The Shelf Life. Design by FCD.