I enjoy reading historical books. One of my favorite time periods seems to be World War II.

Daisies Are Forever gave me a new perspective on World War II. I've never thought much about the destruction Berlin underwent. This was an absorbing read. I found myself on the edge of my seat many times, anxious to find what would come next.

A couple weeks ago, our local PBS station had a program talking about the destruction of Berlin. It brought the book to life.

If you enjoy history, I am sure you will also enjoy this book. ( )

Daisies Are Forever by Liz Tolsma is a fascinating, action packed novel set in Germany in the days leading up to the Russian army's invasion during the waning days of World War II. This faith-based romance is a richly detailed and historically accurate account based on true stories of two women's real life experiences.

Daisies Are Forever begins as Gisela Cramer flees Prussia with her cousin's two young daughters and three elderly neighbors. Their trek is filled with danger as they battle sub-zero temperatures, a shortage of food and the relentless attacks from the Russian Army. At one of their stops, Gisela impulsively steps in to protect Mitch Edwards, an escaped POW, and he joins the ragtag travelers as her pretend husband. Tragedy strikes just as they are about to embark on the next leg of their journey, and just as Gisela is about to be separated from the charges in her care, assistance arrives from Kurt Abt, a wounded German soldier. Danger and uncertainty continue plague them as they soldier onward in their journey to safety.

The cast of characters in Daisies Are Forever is eclectic but well-developed. Gisela is young, but growing up in war-torn Germany forced her to mature quickly. She has seen more than her fair of tragedy and loss and she shoulders the burden of guilt and blame for what she considers poor decisions. Gisela takes her responsibilities very seriously and she sometimes makes risky choices in an effort to fulfill her promises.

Mitch also carries a burden of guilt for the events that led to his capture and that of his comrades by German soldiers very early in the war. He also feels the weight of disappointment for not living up to his father's expectations. Mitch is grateful for Gisela's aid, but he is quickly torn between his desire to stay with Gisela and his duty to return to his fellow soldiers.

Kurt quickly becomes an external source of conflict for Gisela and Mitch as he tries to separate them for his own selfish reasons. He is frustrated by Gisela's refusal to give in to his attempts to manipulate her. He is extremely suspicious of Mitch and refuses to believe that Gisela is Mitch's wife. Kurt is an unlikable character and this casts doubts on many of his actions.

Elderly sisters Bettina and Katya bring a bit of levity to the story. Both are senile and most of the time, they are quite unaware of their perilous circumstances. They view the journey as a pleasure trip and they do not see the wartime destruction surrounding them. Instead, they think they have traveled to exotic and romantic locations from their past. They are sweet elderly ladies and most of the time, the rest of the group is grateful the sisters do not fully understand what is happening around them.

The romance between Mitch and Gisela is understated given the gravity of their situation. They grow close as they fight to protect everyone in their care. They also become close confidantes, sharing intimate details of events from their past that continue to haunt them. Both begin to lose their faith in God as events continue to spiral out of their control but just as they are at their lowest point, they are reminded of God's benevolence.

Daisies Are Forever is another extensively researched and well-written novel. This heartbreakingly honest story is a raw and gritty depiction of the harsh living conditions and the serious dangers of wartime life. Liz Tolsma adroitly conveys the characters' sense of urgency, their fears and their desperation as they try to escape the ravages of war. Realistic and insightful, I recommended this novel to fans of faith-based historical fiction.
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Nice fictional account based on real world experiences in WWII ( )

The approaching Russian army forces people to flee from Heiligenbeil East Prussia in February 1945. Hurriedly packing belongings in a cart and hitching it to her bicycle, Gisela Cramer takes her three- and five-year-old nieces and joins Herr Holtzman and his elderly and senile spinster sisters on the wintery roads out of town in Liz Tolsma's novel Daisies Are Forever, set in Germany at the end of World War II.

Two escaped allied POWS (Xavier and Mitch) cross the path of the refugees on one of their first nights at a roadside farmhouse. In an impulsive move to protect the soldiers (dressed as they are in German uniforms and in danger of being found out as allied escapees or German deserters) Gisela calls them both by German names dubbing the British Mitch, Josep Cramer and claiming he's her husband.

Their party eventually reaches the main road where they manage to catch a ride on a military truck headed for Danzig. On that leg of the trip they meet Audra, another girl from their village and a wounded German soldier Kurt. He is instantly attracted to Gisela and decides that someday she will be his.

A nightmarish train trip from Danzig eventually brings them to Berlin where the horrors continue. Gisela and her band of refugees make their way through the bombed out streets and see deserter German soldiers hanging from lamp posts on Unter den Linden boulevard. But, wonder of wonders, they find her mother still alive. The ruse of Gisela and Mitch's marriage is soon uncovered, however, which makes Kurt all the more determined to possess Gisela.

Throughout the tale Gisela grapples with guilt over deserting her loved ones in an earlier encounter with Russians soldiers. Mitch keeps hearing the voice of his father whose expectations he has never met. Kurt is haunted by the loss of his arm and the fact that he'll never be able to play the piano again. Gisela and Mitch find strength to live through their personal challenges and the nightmare of war through their faith in God.

The story takes us to April of 1945 and the arrival of British troops in Berlin

This bleak book forced me to look at the horrors of war full in the face and at the same time, admire the courage of the people who live through it. Tolsma's vivid writing helps us see the devastation of the war-touched landscapes, feel the panic of bombs going off all around, live the claustrophobia of crowded trains, bomb shelters, and bunkers, and experience the boredom and hopelessness of war--will this never end?

Four stars because the romantic plot thread felt repetitive with the same relationship tensions and interactions between Kurt, Gisela, Josep (Mitch), and Audra occurring again and again. I also found the setting very heavy with little let-up in the everlasting bombing, rubble and despair, so that by the end, I was almost numb to it all.

I received Daisies Are Forever as a gift from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for the purpose of writing a review. ( )

Wow! Another powerful read by Liz Tolsma - I couldn’t put this one down. The characters are vibrantly drawn and brought to life in this achingly sad novel – a story of bravery and survival.

This is a totally different perspective of WWII and one that I’m not familiar. I’ve read much about the Holocaust and what the Nazis did to the Jewish people. But this is a story of German refugees, set on German soil, near the end of the war. It portrays how the German people also suffered under Hitler’s wicked leadership. It looked like the war was lost. How many more innocent civilians would Hitler sacrifice to his pride?

The Russians were pouring in from the south and the Germans were not able to hold off the Soviets. It was becoming a dangerous area and many were fleeing before the Red Army arrived.

Gisela Cramer leaves East Prussia with her two young nieces, and three elderly neighbors, with a daisy tucked in her bible, to a safer place. Gisela needed to get to Berlin, and take care of her mutti, and from there they would travel to Munich. There was no guarantee they would survive and see liberation, and the courage it took to survive this dark period in history was just amazing.

And the story unfolds as they make this horrific journey in the middle of winter, into the frozen countryside, from Heiligenbeil to Berlin, Germany, trying to stay ahead of the Soviets.

Daisies Are Forever is an intense story written in vivid detail – a captivating and emotional read about a devastating time in our history. You don’t want to miss this one. My rating is 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions shared are my own. ( )