Book Review: The Secret Letter by Debbie Rix

The Secret Letter is a beautiful, yet heart wrenching tale which addresses the horrors of World War II from the perspective of the Germans and the British. It delves into the lives of two adolescent girls, not only from two different countries but quite different backgrounds, and their experiences during the years of the war. The story begins in 1939 and spans through until the early 1950s, following each girl, the difficulties that they faced and how one of them changed the others life forever.

We are told the story from two different perspectives: that of 13 year old Magda and 15 year old Imogen (this is how old they are when the story begins in 1939). Magda lives in a rural German village, not far from Munich, where she is forced to participate in Hitler related activities at school and pretend she hails him as the Fuhrer. This is something that she struggles with as she discovers over time, through communication with her brother, that Hitler is doing dreadful things (including taking her best friend away). Over the course of the book, Magda grows enormously, as she aims to do what is right and not what all the other Germans are doing. When enemy fighter planes go down near the farm, Magda does all that she can to assist and help them back to health so that they can make home to their families and to the cause against Germany. Despite being subject to harassment, sexual abuse and threats from the Gestapo, Magda stays true to her beliefs and fights for the freedom of all. I found her character developed so much throughout the book. At the beginning she made small changes to rebel against her school mates, which then led to larger changes including supporting the White Rose and hiding enemies in her house. I admired her strength and determination and how she had no fear, no matter what situation she was put in. She was such a selfless character who always wanted to help those around her who were going through hardships. 

The second narrator is Imogen, a young British girl who is forced to move to the lakes with others adolescents from her city so that they are away from the risks of bombings. As she moves around throughout the war years, from the lakes to London, France and back again, she throws her heart and soul into her job working for the war effort as a Wren but she always feels like something is missing. Imogen struggles with her love life, as she has a couple of short flings but pines for her one true love, unsure if he ever loved her as more than a friend. I found Imogen’s love life throughout the book to really play with my emotions. She was a girl that knew what she wanted, but it was just out of her reach. This would have been the case for so many relationships within the war time, the men going off to war and the women never knowing if they would come back. Rix made this part of the plot so seamless, it was as if the reader was feeling the same emotions as the characters.

I adored this book from start to finish. By having the story span over a number of years, it was great to see all of the characters develop and change so much over time and the impact that their actions had on future events. I was immersed into the world of Germany and England and felt like I was a part of the story, the story, the characters and the events were extremely emotive. Rix writes beautifully and in such a way that the contents of each page feel lifelike. One part that really toyed with my emotions was when Magda was sexually assaulted, I was extremely upset and hoped that she would get her revenge. There was no point during this book where I felt the plot lacked or slowed down, it was a high paced adventure that kept me engaged throughout. The most special part of this book was reading through and trying to work out the connections between Imogen and Magda prior to anything being revealed. As the first chapter was told in the present day, a letter between the two characters, you knew that there was going to be some form of connection between them and it was fascinating seeing how Rix interwove their stories together. The most amazing part of this book was the relationships between the characters and I feel like this was what kept me so interested as I wanted to see what happened at the end.

I would highly recommend this to those who have read The Nightingale and The Book Thief and thoroughly enjoyed them. It is a story of sacrifice, love, motivation, strength and perseverance which captivates you until the final page. It is historical fiction but is based on true events which occurred during World War II. I was blown away by this book and I’m sure you will be too.

I rated this book: 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to the publishers, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy.

The Secret Letter will be released internationally on the 22^nd of July 2019

Book Review: King of Fools by Amanda Foody

King of Fools is the second book in the Shadow Game series (with Ace of Shades being the first), written by Amanda Foody. If you haven’t read Ace of Shades and plan to in the future, there are a couple of spoilers from that, as this is a sequel and the synopsis does mention a couple- just skip the next paragraph or first couple of sentences.

King of Fools is an action packed, fast paced sequel set in the notorious City of Sin, which follows on directly from the first instalment. It begins as Enne and Levi have just escaped the Shadow Game, when they are faced with the fall out and a series of repercussions, including a bounty on both of their heads. This book focuses on the main characters attempting to fix the fate of New Reynes through their own deeds and with the assistance of other stakeholders and gangs. This is done both criminally and politically. The narrative is told through three different perspectives of Levi, Enne and Jac as they each face different challenges over a series of months. Levi, with the development of an unlikely partnership, Enne, attempting to build her own gang and stuck between being a street lord and proper lady, and Jac who builds an unlikely friendship with a woman who holds significant power over one of the cities wealthiest families.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Despite its intimidating size, it kept me engaged throughout and the fast pace made me want to keep reading into the night. One thing that really stood out to me was the inclusion of three narrators. As there was a lot more going on in this book, by having each of the main characters narrate, as a reader, we were able to see further into the plot and what was going on. This also allowed for the characters to develop further and to discover more about their context. I especially liked reading Jac’s point of view, as he was only a secondary character in the first book and this book really allowed for him to show what he was capable of. Jac was able to prove that he was more than just Levi’s second and he could make his own choices based upon what he believed in. I found Enne’s chapters thrilling to read too, as she battled with herself and what she believed in, whether she should be a street lord or whether she should just be a set of eyes for Vianca.

Unlike other young adult fantasy books, I commend Foody for writing about some topics which other authors may find confronting or shy away from. Within this book, there is mention of drug addiction and abuse, torture and parental abuse (to name only a few). While these scenes may be confronting for some, they allow the reader to visualise the high stakes of the city and the lengths that the characters will go to, to ensure that they are in control.

Another aspect of the book I really enjoyed was the inclusion of Enne’s gang and the feminist representation within. These girls all came together with a common goal of seizing power in a city where the men were seen to rule the gangs. Despite their differences, they all worked together to achieve their goals despite numerous setbacks. I also admired the character of Enne and how she changed so much from Ace of Shades. Her character development was phenomenal, going from a girl who was used to a fancy finishing school, to leading a gang. Over time, she learnt the ways of the city and that it was a fight to survive.

This book also included mystery within its pages too. This aura of mystery made me want to continue reading, to find out what was happening. There was the mystery regarding who Vianca’s third omerta was which left the reader guessing throughout the whole book. There was also the mystery regarding Sophie, who she is and what her intentions were over the course of the book. These were two things within the book which kept me guessing until the very end and made me engage more with the plot.

I also felt like the characters were further developed throughout this book. While the various other gangs were introduced in Ace of Shades, King of Fools gave Foody the opportunity to flesh out these gangs and the members within them. The reader was able to find out more about the gangs, what they were after (considering the events of the previous book) and how they aimed to achieve this. There were shifting alliances, new members joining old gangs and new gangs being formed. I especially liked learning more about the Scarhands and the Doves as they were previously introduced but not too much was known about them.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading King of Fools and following Enne, Levi and Jac on their journeys in New Reynes. This was a book that kept me engaged throughout due to its fast pace and inclusion of so much action. I am very much looking forward to reading the next book when it is released to see where the plot goes!

I rated this book: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

King of Fools will be released in Australia later this month and has already been released in the US. Thank you to the publishers, Harlequin Australia, for providing me with a review copy via NetGalley

More about the book and information regarding where to purchase can be found by accessing the link below:

https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781489276971/king-of-fools/