Welcome to Litsy!

This book broaches life in one of our darkest times in history from the perspective of multiple German women through WWII & beyond. I unfortunately did not love this story. None of the characters were likable, the story skipped around through different time lines & locations which was sometimes confusing , & it covered very sensitive subjects very briefly instead of capturing the reader and making them feel the characters pain. Just so so for me.

Amid the ashes of Nazi Germany's defeat Marianne returns to the once Grand Castle of her husband's ancestors and imposing Stone fortress now fallen into ruins following years of war. Marianne plans to uphold the promise she made to her husband's brave conspirators to find and protect their wives her fellow resistance widows

#TemptingTitles @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#With5+Words

This is a difficult book to read. It tells the story of 3 German women who live through the aftermath of WWII. The subject is not one much discussed in books and is hard to read. Lots of triggers. The prose is good and it is well researched. This helps the story a lot. However, the plot is rather slow and I didn't care for any of the characters and I am not talking about their actions (given the circumstances I doubt I would have acted...

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

"The day of the countess's famous harvest party began with a driving rain that hammered down on all the ancient von Lingenfels castle's sore spots -- springing leaks, dampening floors, and turning its yellow facade a slack, beetle-like black."

#LittensWantToKnow @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Reading:
📖 The Women in the Castle is a deep read and depressing. Despite this, it is well written and a subject you don't read much about. The aftermath of WWII in Germany and widows dealing with the horrors during and after the war.
📖 The Flatshare a rom-com and is funny and a feel story.
📖 The Stand-In is a romance not as light as The Flayshare but still good.

I‘ve read a lot of WWII novels over the years, and this one was a new viewpoint for me: the lives of the wives of German woman/widows of German resistors before, during, and after the war. The book is well-written, but sad and difficult to read in parts. I loved these women, their children, and their stories, and I really loved the ending. The narration of the audiobook is fantastic.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was the book I was just starting as I joined Litsy … then life got in the way, a job change, cancer and during one of the post treatment steroid cleaning frenzies I tidied it away! In a we might be moving cleaning gig this Christmas I found it and today I finally finished. Ultimately a story of regret this was an interesting take on post war Germany. I appreciated the reference to the Resistance but found it to be a bit too neat a tale

#JulyJourneys @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#castle

#QuotsyApr21 day 6 #imagine
@TK-421
📷 thebibliosage on Instagram

Thanks to:

#LITSYSPRINGBREAK
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@TheKidUpstairs

Today‘s Prompt: CASTLE

Historical fiction fans and women's fiction fans will love THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE.

Be prepared for a heart wrenching, but very thought-provoking read.

REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/yzqevnpb

#jessicashattuck

#LitsySpringBreak @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheKidUpstairs
Prompt: Castle

#Castle 🏰
#LitsySpringBreak

💔💔💔

“It wasn‘t God who caused the war and all the horror. It was people.“
This book shows WWII from an interesting point of view: German resistance and German women's lives during and after the war. The character development was nice but overall there was not much action and it was kinda meh.
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
📷 thebibliosage on Instagram

Another good historical fiction ebook on sale today on all platforms. Wow, it‘s a good list today! I enjoyed this read.

I really enjoyed this WWII story of three women‘s lives. It was a different take on the war from a perspective that is often unheard.

Wish I would have liked this more than I did; however it‘s still a pick for me. The beginning dragged quite a bit as Marianne gathered the other 2 women and brought them to live in the castle after their husbands tried to assassinate Hitler. I enjoyed how the story followed the women and their children through time. A very sad read as well. #MountTBR

This book was just ok, in my opinion. There is so much stuff out there about WWII that it's hard to compete. Not everyone is going to write the best book. This was fine and I'm sure that a lot of people liked it. It just didn't knock my socks off.

All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened. -Herman Hesse

The women in this novel must remain in a “preparedness” state in order to survive.
#prepared
#quotsysept19
@TK-421

One of my favorite parts of HF are the author notes to discover the real-life sources from which the amalgam of characters/settings are derived. Unputdownable

💗💗 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 💗💗

⭐️⭐️: I love WWII historical fiction so this should‘ve been a slam dunk. I didn‘t like this one, it slogged along and created characters that I struggled to connect with.

Another one for lovers of historical fiction. This book focuses on a whole other side to WWII and the holocaust: the women left behind by the revolutionaries/rebels to the Nazi party. Well-researched with sympathetic characters and vivid descriptions.

And I'm on my way, I still remember
This old country lanes
When we did not know the answers
And I miss the way you make me feel, it's real
We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill🎶

“Her dearest friends were like dreams she had woken from. How had she missed so much?”

#thecastleonthehill #wanderingJune @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB

Wow I am getting a history lesson from this audiobook. Told from the perspective of 3 women in post world war 2 Germany. Very well written. How lucky we are we didn‘t live through this time.
I listened to it as I walked to a far corner of our farm where a small creek usually runs. Previously when in drought it has always had waterholes but this drought has dried it out completely😟 #audiowalk #climatechange

Look what's on sale!! I've been waiting for it to go on sale!!

#kindledeals #kindledeal #ebooksale

This takes place right at the end of WWII, and is about 3 widows & their children who end up living & surviving together. There are quite a few flashbacks to their lives before & during the war, and even a few dramatic turns I didn‘t see coming. Reading about the war from female perspectives is always interesting but from German female perspectives was fascinating, and all three of them had very different views & responses to what was happening.

Stop 3 on today‘s home-library tour!

Do you own or have you read any of these books?!

(Current tune on the player from the ‘80s Hits list “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” 😆😎🕺)

#MrBooksBooks

Yes @Cinfhen my TBR is quite accurate, and is almost needless to say - I really looking forward to read them all♥️ and that I always read with burning candle, taking notes. Thank you, thank you, thank you❣️ I was overwhelmed when I received your package, and now seeing all this bookish goodies, I‘m beyond overwhelmed. You are truly exceptional generous, warm and thoughtful Litten, and I really hope to meet you IRL someday. 🙏

For so long Marianne and Albrecht and many of their friends had known Hitler was a lunatic, a leader whose lowbrow appeal to people's most selfish, self-pitying emotions and ignorance was an embarrassment for their country. They had watched him make a masterwork of scapegoating Jews for Germany's fall from power and persuade his followers that enlightenment, humanity, and tolerance were weaknesses -- "Jewish" ideas that led to defeat.

Audiobook for book club and the #litsyAtoZ challenge.. Good narration of the tale of three WW2 German women whose lives converge. Lovely writing and interesting weaving of the characters. @BookishMarginalia

Another epic round of #lmpbc !! @Johanna414 I‘m mailing yours back to you today! So hopefully you‘ll get it by midweek 💙. Love reading everyone‘s comments! Thanks for a fun round!! @kellyann28 @ConfessionofaBookaholic

This was a so-so for me! I felt the story dragged in the beginning, started to pick up steam as they regrouped their lives and then lost some momentum at the end. This shows unique perspectives from the Nazi era that you dont often read about, which I enjoyed. Another great round of #LMPBC ! Thanks ladies for the good reads! @TheBookKeepers @johanna414 @ConfessionofaBookaholic

Just got home from our vacation and had this waiting on me :) #LMPBC @ConfessionofaBookaholic @johanna414 @TheBookKeepers

I'm going to try and read it this weekend and get it back to you, Amanda!

Really enjoyed this one as a #lmpbc @kellyann28 I‘ll be send it out to you tomorrow!

Beautiful night for working on my #LMPBC in my hammock. Of course my buddy couldn‘t let me relax all alone, gotta make sure to share the love 😍 📝

#puppylove #dogsoflitsy

"...music, and art in general, are basic requirements of the human soul. Not a luxury but a compulsion."

Seventh read of 2019

8/10 Interesting look at Germany during WWII from a womens perspective. Different shades of black white, and grey are how people survive.

My #lmpbc book just showed up! Super excited to get started 🤓

@Johanna414
@TheBookKeepers
@kellyann28

#amreading #reviewer #blogger #seagramsescapes #mysaturdaynight #lovinlife #historicalfiction #wwii

The anthology is a gift from my mom, the rest are some books bought with some of my Christmas money. I've got 4 more on order from gift cards. #bookhaul

4.5 ☆ A riveting story of 3 widowed German women who‘s resister husband‘s were killed for an assassination attempt on Hitler. Through their experiences we get to know them-their past, secrets + hopes for a better life as they struggle to survive war horrors w/their children after seeking refuge in Marianne‘s battered castle. It also shed light on how Ger. civilians fooled themselves as to what was really going on. Heartbreaking + warming both.

I was a little nervous going into this, and wasn‘t sure if I was going to like it. I ended up absolutely loving it, and found myself thinking about the characters even when I wasn‘t reading. It‘s a beautiful story. #lmpbc @TheBookKeepers @kellyann28 @ConfessionofaBookaholic
Kara, I‘ll put it in the mail to you sometime this week!

Doing some #audiocrochet and trying to finish up Christmas gifts while plugging away at my #25infive readathon. This is more than I‘ve read in weeks, so I think I‘m finally getting over the dreaded slump I‘ve been in.

Everyone in our house is sick this weekend, but I‘m stealing a few minutes to relax while the kids nap. I think Tony and Lane are going to get a Christmas tree this afternoon, but I‘d rather stay home and read... I actually downloaded the audiobook of this so I could got back and forth between the two. Really enjoying it so far!
#audiocrochet #lmpbc

It‘s been kind of a crazy week with both kids sick, but Nina and I managed to venture out and mail both my #lmpbc book and #blinddatewithabookswap package this morning! Of course I forgot to take a picture, so here‘s Nina with my next read! @ConfessionofaBookaholic @TheBookKeepers @kellyann28 @TheReadingMermaid

I enjoyed reading this historical novel. I really found the characters fascinating. I liked the fashion in which the author slowly gave us details of these characters. By the way the bookmark shown in the picture is from the bookstore, called Novel, in Memphis where I purchased this book. I was on a road trip and had to visit a bookstore. It‘s a nice well organized bookstore not as quaint as some independent bookstore. But has a killer restaurant.