The Lost Loves of World War II Collection

The Lost Loves of World War II Collection

Bruce Judisch & Sharon Bernash Smith

Katia 

(Judisch)

Madeline is a young American journalist just finishing up school in Berlin. She gets a phone call that opens up the perfect opportunity to stay and work in Germany. She will be interviewing and writing the memoirs of a WWII survivor. But what Madeline finds when she meets Katia is more than she bargained for.

For Maria
(Judisch)

When Madeline finished Katia's memoir she sets off in search of the relatives that are still missing. She hopes to reunite all of the family members. But trying to juggle her career, family and marriage is taking a bit more than she can handle. What can she give up and what will happen when some of the family members aren't as eager for this reunion as she is?

The Train Baby's Mother

(Smith)

Hadassah and her husband make the ultimate sacrifice when they throw their baby from the train on the way to the concentration camps. They hope that the young children playing by the train will rescue their daughter. Fritz and his cousin find the baby and set off events that will effect the entire village.

My thoughts

All of these books were well written. But each of them were so completely different that I felt the need to write a review that was sort of separate. The first book had a slow start and took a bit to grab my attention. But once it got started, I couldn't put it down. The author was able to bring the reader into the emotions and hardships surrounding the residents of Germany during the war and after the wall went up.

The second book by Judisch felt more like an epilogue than an actual book. It seemed to tie up loose ends and focus more on the main character and her marriage than it did on the reunion. I liked the way that the author portrayed the challenges and resolutions in a marriage, but felt the book was lacking something.

The third book was outstanding, riveting, heartbreaking, and redeeming. It had some moments that seemed a bit clique or cheesy, but they were momentary. The heartbreak, anguish and utter horror that the Jews went through during the Holocaust was gut wrenching. This author has done her homework and brought those feelings of despair and terror into the writing. I truly felt like I was there and it wasn't a good feeling. But the story ends, while sad, with redemption and healing. So I finished with tears, but with a great feeling about God and his children.

I received this book free of charge from Barbour Publishing in exchange for my honest review.