What I Would Tell You by Liz Tolsma

 

Enriching, inspirational story that can be hard to read. It's heartbreaking. The timeslip format makes it easier with Tessa learning about Mathilda, her family and friends, gradually unfolding the story. Complicated life in 1941 Salonika, Greece, especially after the Nazis took over Greece. Pulls your heart strings right to the end. It's so well written that you forget it's a book, no surprise with Liz Tolsma.

I received this book free from the author, publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#WhatIWouldTellYou #NetGalley #LizTolsma #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #ChristianHistoricalFiction #christianbooksandcoffee 

About the Book

 

Book: What I Would Tell You

Author: Liz Tolsma

Genre: Christian Fiction / Romance / Historical Fiction

Release date: January 1, 2023

DNA Test Unlocks a Family Mystery

Sephardic Jew Mathilda Nissim watches in horror as the Germans invade her beloved city of Salonika, Greece. What angers her most is the lack of resistance her people put up to their captors. In secret and at great risk to her life, she continues to publish her newspaper, calling her people to action. She doesn’t trust God to help them. When she and her husband find out they are expecting a child, Mathilda may have to resort to desperate measures to ensure her daughter’s survival.

Three generations later, college student Riley Payson and her cousin take a popular DNA test only to discover they don’t share any common ancestors. In fact, the test shows Riley is a Sephardic Jew from Greece. This revelation shakes Riley’s tenuous faith and sends her on a journey to discover what happened to her great-grandmother and how all this relates to her faith and her life today.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Liz Tolsma is the author of several WWII novels, romantic suspense novels, prairie romance novellas, and an Amish romance. She is a popular speaker and an editor and resides next to a Wisconsin farm field with her husband and their youngest daughter. Her son is a US Marine, and her oldest daughter is a college student. Liz enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping. Please visit her website at www.liztolsma.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter (@LizTolsma), Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. She is also the host of the Christian Historical Fiction Talk podcast.

 

More from Liz

Take a Trip to Greece with Me

I was privileged to travel to Greece last year to research my upcoming WWII novel, What I Would Tell You. God orchestrated it so beautifully. Because of Covid, we weren’t sure my daughter would be able to travel there for the summer internship she had applied for. Eight weeks before her scheduled departure, Greece reopened to foreign visitors. Around that same time, I sold What I Would Tell You, which is set in Thessaloniki, Greece, to Barbour Publishing. I had to go and visit!

 

Greece is a beautiful country. The pictures you see don’t do it justice. And to someone like me, the history is one of the best parts. My daughter and I explored the old city wall, built in the 1400s, many churches that predated the Ottoman Empire, and many excavated Roman ruins that have been dug up in the city’s process of putting in a subway system.

 

Because this is a WWII book, we also spent a great deal of time learning about the history of the Jews in the city. The Kapani Market, just down the street from our apartment, was a vibrant mix of colorful fruits, fragrant spices, and a cacophony of languages. I could well imagine what this old Jewish market was like prior to the war with people hawking olives, fish, and oregano.

 

We wasted no time in visiting the Jewish museum. I was shocked by the heavy security presence with armed guards outside of the building. Once inside, we had to show our IDs and were required to turn in our phones. Antisemitism is alive and well in Greece. But what a place. There were displays after displays tracing the history of the Jewish people in Thessaloniki from 1492 until WWII. The most breathtaking was the room with stone-covered walls, the names of all 48,000 Salonikan Jews killed in the Holocaust carved into the marble. There’s an entire scene in the book that deals with this room.

 

What saddened me most was what we saw when we visited the trainyard where the Jews were herded into cattle cars and shipped to Auschwitz. Before we got to where the station once stood, there was a wall on which someone had pained a mural covered with black-and-white figures in their striped uniforms, their eyes and mouths wide in horror. As if that weren’t difficult enough to view, what sickened me was the blue swastikas someone had painted over them.

 

We also trekked to the other side of the city to visit what had once been the Jewish cemetery, now the grounds of Aristotle University. All that remains to testify that half a million people were once buried here is a small, ill-kept memorial. There were two dead Christmas wreaths placed there. We visited in August.

 

In addition to a moving and thought-provoking story, I hope to also introduce you to the amazing city of Thessaloniki and give you a peek into the people and the culture of this amazing place. If you ever find yourself in Greece, plan some time in Thessaloniki. Many Americans miss this gem, but it’s packed with charm and history.

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Liz is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon e-gift card and copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/23ccb/what-i-would-tell-you-celebration-tour-giveaway

Blog Stops

CELEBRATE LIT BLOG TOUR - Check out other reviews!

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, January 28
Texas Book-aholic, January 28
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 29
Blogging With Carol, January 29
Genesis 5020, January 30
Tell Tale Book Reviews, January 30
Where Faith and Books Meet, January 30
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, January 31
For Him and My Family, January 31
Cover Lover Book Review, February 1
Lily’s Book Reviews, February 1
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, February 2
deb’s Book Review, February 2
Betti Mace, February 3
Connie’s History Classroom, February 3
Paula’s Pad of Inspriation, February 4
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 4
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 5
Books You Can Feel Good About, February 5 (You are here)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 6
Holly’s Book Corner, February 6
Bigreadersite, February 7
Blossoms and Blessings, February 7
Mary Hake, February 7
Labor Not in Vain, February 8
Pause for Tales, February 9
A Good Book and Cup of Tea, February 9
Little Homeschool on the Prairie, February 10
Southern Gal Loves to Read, February 10
Lights in a Dark World, February 10

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The School for German Brides by Aimie K. Runyan

 

Wow, what an intense book. Three young girls trying to live their lives in Berlin 1930s when WW2 was beginning. One was from a wealthy background, but her parents were rough on her. Another had a mother who was a doctor, frowned upon at that time, and was sent to her very wealthy Aunt and Uncle when her mother died. Both of these girls were expected to marry good connections in the party and advance themselves and their families in the party and status. The third girl was a Jew from a family of lawyers with an Aryan father who disowned them when things started getting dangerous. He left them to support themselves which they did as seamstresses and clothing designers for the wealthy. They are all struggling with their circumstances and trying not to get in trouble or killed. No one could be trusted. They were being taught hatred and prejudice and were expected to embrace it. They eventually trusted each other and saved each other's lives, during a complicated and stressful time. It's very hard to put down. I was grateful for the epilogue telling how they all did later on. Don't think you've read too many WW2 stories or think they would all be the same. Each life and story is unique and inspiring when you know what people went through. Lessons that should never be forgotten. One of those books that stays with you and leaves a mark.

I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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A Picture of Hope by Liz Tolsma

 

Riveting. Heart wrenching. Nellie is a photographer/reporter from America, anxious to make a difference and get the message to Americans about what was happening in the war Hitler had brought. The story starts as D-Day takes place. They didn't give permission to women to go into France, so she blended in and got herself there. The things she found once there were unthinkable, including a village where the Germans forced the women and children into a church and set them on fire. But she also found a little girl hiding, a girl with Down Syndrome. One that the Germans considered imperfect and needed extermination. She was able to get a perfect photo of her in front of the burned out church after the village was deserted again.

There she ran into Jean Paul, a member of the French resistance fresh out of prison. His father was a German officer who was angered that he stayed with his French mother and fought against him. Together they get to a convent where they housed a few other children with Down Syndrome and they all worked to get the small group out of France and across the border into Switzerland. Not an uneventful process. Constant danger and tension. 

Both Nellie and Jean Paul are also fighting an internal battle from things in their own lives that motivate them to make a difference and not accept the way things were, not just stand by even though they risked their lives. 

Excellent read of love and sacrifice with a Christian message throughout. Showing true beauty where others rejected,  hope and love, innocence shining through. Often I didn't like Nellie because of stupid, headstrong choices that she made, but Jean Paul liked her (wink), and the end results turned out well.

I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
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When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin

 

Another masterpiece from Sarah Sundin. Christian historical. Germany 1938. Peter is teaching in Munich, Americans to speak German fluently. Evelyn is a reporter who would prefer to be reporting from Berlin. She's fiercely independent, wanting to be taken seriously, a serious writer. And she's good, but the editor keeps censoring out content to make her articles more pro German. They are just beginning to see Hitler for what he is, and she wants her readers to know and realize. At first Peter only sees what the Germans who welcome Hitler's leadership see. Little by little things are revealed to him. With his contacts he can help get inside information to Evelyn. She had been treated badly before, and doesn't trust men. Little by little both have their eyes opened. It gets very hold-your-breath dangerous and I guarantee you won't want to put it down. Many gems of wisdom. 

I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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The Ringmaster's Daughter by Carly Schabowski

The story follows Michel, a young, handsome, poor man who lives in Paris, just at the beginning of the German invasion in Europe. Michel has some good friends, especially an older man named Bertrand who has basically raised him. Bertrand tricks Michel and has him jump on a train that turns out to be a small circus train. They have some rough bumps, but Michel ends up working for them and falling for the ringmaster's woman. It isn't until much alter that he learns who she is.  Europe has been unsafe for Jews for years and the circus people know it well. But they're smart and have good friends who are able to help them for awhile. The ringmaster takes care of everyone in the troupe, watching out for their survival. They are all misfits. As is typical in carnival life, relationships are complicated. It's interesting to see this play out - the story doesn't always go as expected. During this horrible time and place in history, relationships are what really mean everything. Sad and yet encouraging. Good read.

I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.  #TheRingmastersDaughter #NetGalley

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The Socialite by J'nell Ciesielski

This author has a special talent for weaving history and romance together in special characters. That special ability to bring people to life, and show what it was like to live back in time. This time WW2 in Paris, after the German occupation. Kat's sister got herself into Paris and was being kept by a German officer. She was an official organizer of parties for the social elite, a Brit bringing her social talents to the party and living it up to the hilt. Their father sent Kat to bring her home, his wealth and connections getting her into the area. He also hired Barrett to keep them safe, without her knowledge. The story is a balance of the horrors of Hitler and his elite officers and every day life in high social circles, until the shine started coming off, revealing the evil beneath. I don't think I breathed much for the entire last half of the book. I was on edge the whole time. Fabulous story, completely engaging!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
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Hidden Among the Stars by Melanie Dobson

 

"Only God knows the entire score of our lives , but we all have our assigned parts, measures to sing solo or with a choir."

Modern time - Callie and her sister have a bookstore, and she reads stories to children. She hides painful things in her life and needs someone she can trust in her life. She blogs about second hand books they bring into the store, and is given one that belonged to an Austrian girl just before Hitler took their country over. It's interesting to go back in time (1938) and learn more about her and those in her life at that time. The story weaves back and forth through both times, and is so well written it leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering how it will turn out for those in both time frames. Who would ever dream that someone like Hitler could ever come along. Sure, we all have people who don't like us for one reason or another, but never on the scale that was. Who would dream up the torture and mistreatment at that time and the evil that some could commit on others. Thankfully very few, but we all deal with situations in our own way. This is a very good story in a beautiful setting. I don't like to see books come to and end, but I needed to get to the end to know what happened.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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