Hidden Among the Stars

GIVEAWAY

DOBSON, MELANIE
HIDDEN AMONG THE STARS

A gripping time-slip mystery about hidden treasure, a castle, and ordinary people who resisted evil in their own extraordinary way.

The year is 1938, and as Hitler's troop sweep into Vienna, Austrian Max Dornbach promises to help his Jewish friends hide their most valuable possessions from the Nazis, smuggling them to his family's summer estate near the picturesque village of Hallstatt. He enlists the help of Annika Knopf, his childhood friend and the caretaker's daughter, who is eager to help the man she's loved her entire life. But when Max also brings Luiza Weiss, a young Jewish woman, to hide at the castle, it complicates Annika's feelings and puts their entire plan -- even their very lives -- in jeopardy. Especially when the Nazis come to scour the estate and find both Luiza and the treasure gone.

Eighty years later, Callie Randall is mostly content with her quiet life, running a bookstore with her sister and reaching out into the world through her blog. Then she finds a cryptic list in an old edition of Bambi that connects her to Annika's story...and possibly to the long-buried story of a dear friend. As she digs into the past, Callie must risk venturing outside the safe world she's built for a chance answers, adventure and maybe even new love.

My Review:

Emotions engaged, tear-ducts drained -- five tissue box alert! What an incredibly moving story! I was as riveted by the contemporary story as I was by the historical one. And the way Dobson shifts between the two -- heart-in-throat moments that leave a reader reeling and, bam, we're in another time and place with barely a moment to catch our breath before we're holding it again. Truly stunning!

Callie (present day heroine) is full of bookish delight. Known as the Story Girl for her rousing story times, she is a font of literary knowledge and I adore the way she approaches things through book-coloured glasses. I studied library sciences and specialized in children's lit and I did not know the most amazing things about some of the classics. How did I not know? I'm gobsmacked and still shaking my head in despair over my ignorance. So, of course, I loved all the bookish bits in Callie's story -- and the role a particular children's classic plays in bridging generations. I could definitely relate to all things Callie, from living life through her fiction to needing to be surrounded by books.

The historical timeline gutted me. I'm always left pondering how the masses were so quick to follow Hitler. Blind to the evil right before their eyes. Or at least willing to look the other way. And I'm in awe of the power in simple acts of kindness. In the quiet resolve to do the right thing. At a time when the world was possessed by madness, people like Annika, Max and Hermann made a difference and changed the course of history. That comes through so clearly in Hidden Among the Stars and was my complete undoing. I heaved great gulping sobs towards the end. This is the kind of novel you'll carry in your heart for as long as you live. .

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Hidden Among the Stars, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday February 23 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!