by Ella Carey
Publisher: Bookouture
Pages: 289
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: The truck stopped for a moment in the freezing, bombed-out street and Kate caught sight of a little girl in a ragged dress on the steps of a once-beautiful mansion. The child’s eyes were startling blue, a pair of endless pools, drawing Kate towards her…
1946, Berlin. War correspondent Kate Mancini is in Germany, reporting on the aftermath of the devastating war. For her readers back home in New York, she tells the stories of innocent families, trying to rebuild the wreckage of their lives now the soldiers have left at last. But in the Russian-held sector of Berlin on an icy winter’s day, Kate breaks all the rules, rescuing Mia Stein, a silent orphan who she fears will otherwise perish.
Together with her fellow journalist, handsome Rick Shearer, Kate manages to find a safe house for Mia before she returns to America and vows to keep in touch. Back home, the reality of post-war life for women is stark. Whilst Rick walks into his dream job, no newspaper will hire a woman. The editors laugh her out of their offices, telling her to get married and raise a family. Rick does all he can to support her, as she takes her first steps towards the new medium of television news, and their friendship deepens into something more.
Then tragedy strikes: Rick is falsely named as a communist sympathizer. He is arrested, blacklisted and faces prison.
Kate knows she must do all she can to free the man she loves. But that means returning to Germany, to seek out the little orphan girl who is her only chance at salvation. Kate and Rick saved Mia—will she help them both now? And even if Kate succeeds, freedom might never be hers when she returns home…
Kritters Thoughts: Kate Mancini is a hopeful journalist who while the profession is still dominated by men, she has dreams and aspirations that she will find a place in journalism that will allow her to talk about the political stories just like a man does. Rick Shearer is one of those said man journalists who have the opportunity to build the career of their dreams and after a chance encounter abroad that will go on a long and bump journey.
So to start the synopsis of this book lead me a bit astray. The tragedy that is described doesn't arrive until the very end and the timing of the whole book just felt off for me. I like the characters and especially enjoyed that Kate was based on a historical figure with some truth backing up her narrative, I felt as though the tragedy forced some events and it just didn't read right for me.
Ella Carey can write great women and that is what kept me staying in this book. I read this book more to hear about women in journalism in this moment and time and in this place. The encounters that Kate had and the interesting career choices she made were great to read and those are the things that I liked in this book.
I want to say I am an Ella Carey fan and although this one didn't hit the mark for me, I will absolutely continue to read her historical fiction and I am going to assume that I will enjoy them more than I did this one.
Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more
Ebook 2021 Challenge: 84 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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