Review: When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin

 

About:

Munich, 1938

Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession and to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country--or worse. If she does not report truthfully, she'll betray the oppressed and fail to wake up the folks back home.

Peter Lang is an American graduate student working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party--to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can't get off his mind.

As the world marches relentlessly toward war, Evelyn and Peter are on a collision course with destiny.

My Thoughts:

This is such a relevant read especially with everything going on today. The year is 1938 and this story takes place within that year and a frightening new world view is gaining power- Hitler's Germany.

We have two Americans who are living and working in Munich at the start of this story. Evelyn is a woman reporter who has enough struggles working her way up in a man's world. She also wants to write the truth about how the Nazi regime is dangerous, suffocating, and without many freedoms.

Peter is a graduate student who has a slightly different view than Evelyn. He sees the devastation the world has been through due to the Great Depression and workplace violence as men and women struggle to care and feed for their families. He likes the order that is in Germany.

Now this novel raises many questions and it chillingly reflects some of the atmosphere we are living in today. The way a group of people were painted as evil and how quickly others could turn on them. I felt author Sundin did a great job on showing through the year, before the World War 2 started, the attitudes of the people. And the frightening way they changed and turned on their neighbors.

I thought the title was excellent. Is the twilight before dusk or dawn? The light or the dark? Twilight is the time of in between and that is exactly where these two characters find themselves. 

I was provided a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author:

Sarah Sundin is the bestselling author of several popular WWII series, including Sunrise at Normandy, Waves of Freedom, Wings of the Nightingale, and Wings of Glory. Her novels have received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. The Sky Above Us received the Carol Award, her bestselling The Sea Before Us received the FHL Reader's Choice Award, and both Through Waters Deep and When Tides Turn were named on Booklist's "101 Best Romance Novels of the Last 10 Years." Sarah lives in Northern California. Visit www.sarahsundin.com for more information.