In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.
Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command.
Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.
As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?
From debut author Anne Blankman comes this harrowing and evocative story about an ordinary girl faced with the extraordinary decision to give up everything she's ever believed . . . and to trust her own heart instead.
I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. SO FREAKING MUCH.
When I first heard of the bed I honestly thought this was just going to be about Hitler's niece falling in love with Jewish boy and that's it. And while that did happen, there was so much more to the story than that.
The romance wasn't in your face. It was a slow build and paced very well. It reminded me of the romance in The Winner's Curse where when it happens, it's like a good slap in the face. You have two characters from completely different worlds who have to put their difference aside to solve a very important mystery. Gretchen is obviously supposed to hate Daniel because of his religion but she doesn't and Daniel knows that she's different. They're wary of each other at first, but the more they're together and the more things are revealed, Gretchen realizes that there's more to Daniel than just his religion.
The build up was so beautiful, it gave me the feels. I had to put the book down because I was all kinds of bubbly on the inside.
Granted, I did want to read from Daniel's p.o.v and what he was thinking and feeling about Gretchen. The story was told the third perspective of Gretchen and we got to see her character growth and thoughts but not Daniel's.
Anne Blankman did a fantastic job basing her story around real historical events. There was so much detail pertaining these events, that there was obviously a lot of research done to be put into the book. It's evident in the setting and even with how she portrayed the characters. The psychology behind Hitler and how she wrote him was mind blowing. The amount of detail she put in to his character to make him as realistic and authentic as possible.
This book kept me wanting more. The writing was beautiful, the characters were intriguing and I have no idea why I haven't picked up the sequel.
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