From The Dark We Rise by Marion Kummerow

Today Mandie is sharing her thoughts on From The Dark We Rise by Marion Kummerow, as part of the #booksontour event with publisher Bookouture. Thanks to the publisher for the early copy of the book for review. Here’s what it’s all about:

About the Book

“Please, let me help. I won’t tell anyone.” It was madness to help an escaped prisoner in Nazi Germany, but how could she not? If it weren’t for a lucky strike of fate, she might be the woman on the ground shivering with fear. A light of hope entered the prisoner’s eyes and she knew what she had to do…

1942, Germany: When a young woman calling herself Annegret Huber unexpectedly inherits a huge fortune, including a house and factory just outside Berlin, her first thought is to try to see out the war quietly, avoiding the Gestapo and SS as best she can.

No one needs to know her dark secret. She must focus on staying hidden. Because she can’t risk being exposed for who she truly is. Not really Annegret. But a girl living a secret life.A girl who was once called Margarete.

But then an encounter with an escaped prisoner changes everything, as Margarete discovers what is happening at the factory and its attached labor camp. Witnessing first-hand the suffering of prisoners—shivering, with faces gaunt from hunger, as they work in brutal and cruel conditions—she realises she must act.

If she can save just one life, she knows she has to. Because the truth is that Margarete resembles the prisoners in the camp in ways she daren’t admit. And on the other side of the fence, she has seen a face that is achingly familiar…

An absolutely gripping and devastating story, perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, All the Light We Cannot See, and My Name is Eva.

Mandie’s Thoughts

Having absolutely loved the first book in the series I couldn’t wait to get my hands on From The Dark We Rise so that I could find out what was next for Margarete and if she would still be able to pass herself off as Annegret Huber.

It still doesn’t sit well with Margarete that she has to pretend to be Annegret, but she knows that she must as it’s the only way she will survive. After the events in the first book, she is now the sole survivor of the Huber family and has inherited everything. Keen to get away from any possibility that her deception will be discovered she goes to stay in the family home in the countryside. As Annegret had not been there since she was a child she thinks that she will be safe. Unfortunately for her the head groom remembers the child that she was so he is very distrustful of her. As she spends more time at the house she finds that all is not as it seems there, and she is confronted by her own true past in more ways than one. Can she work out who she can trust before her secret is exposed?

This is truly a test of Margarete’s determination to stay aliveas more and more she comes to see just how bad Annegret was and just how badly her fellow Jews are treated. Now more than ever she is risking exposure and her life as she is determined not to be the quiet little woman that people expect her to be. The more she learns about what the Huber’s were involved in the more she is determined to change things as best she can. She is constantly disgusted by the things she has to do and the people she has to cosy up to but knows it is a necessary evil. She does manage to find a couple of friends in the form of her maid Dora and escaped Jewish munitions worker Lena. She knows she is risking everything, but she also knows she has to do whatever she can to help.

These books may be fiction but the attention to detail that Marion Kummerow provides is what makes them grab your attention and keep it. Highlighting the treatment of Jews during the war it also shows that not every German was cruel but did what they needed to in order to survive themselves, after all disobeying orders or showing sympathy in anyway could get you punished or worse. This is truly a dark time in history, but I am really loving following Margarete’s journey and I can’t wait to see what happens as the war nears its end and if she will ever be able to embrace the person she really is ever again.

About the Author

USA Today Bestselling author of historical fiction.

Her books are filled with raw emotions, fierce loyalty and perpetual resilience.
She loves to put her characters through the mangle, making them reach deep within to find the strength to face moral dilemma, make difficult decisions or fight for what is right. And she never forgets to include humor and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.

Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to “discover the world” and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she’s now living with her family.

After dipping her toes with non-fiction books, she finally tackled the project dear to her heart. UNRELENTING is the story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime. It’s a book about resilience, love and the courage to stand up and do the right thing.