This book follows two storylines centered around a grandfather's wish for his granddaughter to find a memento he left behind in his family home. One story is based in the 1930s and the other in 2010. It takes a different angle than most historical fiction about the times leading up to WWII, which I found very interesting and enjoyable (though not particularly action-packed). I read it quickly, as I was curious to find out what happened. The only drawback, for me, was a significant change in one of the characters near the ending, which I found somewhat implausible. I recommend this book to those interested in historical fiction. ( )

I enjoyed this book. It was refreshing to have a different view on Nazi Germany for a change. The author did a great job in avoiding to paint everything just black or white, and she explained that not every German who was a party member took that decision lightly, or agreed with the politics. I even looked up a few things, which is always a good sign, as it shows, that I actually engaged with the book.
However, there were a few things that didn't sit right with me, and there was just too much jumping back and forth in time, which was dizzying.

The narrator was superb. I have no idea how she coped with all the time jumps and different accents, but she did a marvelous job and I enjoyed the book all the more due to her narration. ( )

3.75 stars

This book switches between the past and present. A girl's grandfather asked her to go to Germany for him which is strange because he never speaks of his background. He was in Germany before WWII. This story is different because it is about the climate before the actual war. Hitler had a lot of good ideas about making the country better in the eyes of most Germans. Their country was struggling. He didn't start off full blast about killing Jews and taking over the world. He won them over by brining awareness to areas of hardship for Germany and proposing drastic solutions. He wanted to make Germany great again. This story makes the political climate of today (2017) in the US feel even more scary.
Some of the storyline wasn't interesting to me, but other parts touched me deeply. This is a bit of bittersweet romance, family saga and historical fiction. It's worth reading for sure.
( )

Anna has a happy life in San Francisco until her grandfather asks her to go to Germany and find a package in his family's estate in Germany. For the first time she finds out that he was part of an aristocratic family before WWII. When she gets to the small town in Germany she finds the castle abandoned and falling apart. She feels that she has to learn the history of the home and of her grandfather's family so she contacts the lawyer of the owner and after a rude start, he helps her try to trace family history despite all of the dead ends that they encounter. By the end, they find that the house in Germany and her grandfather are linked to the abandoned apartment in Paris. As with Book 1 in the series, this book has mystery, romance and family history that unlocks her grandfather's past. ( )

This is the story of Anna a cafe owner in San Francisco. At the request of her grandfather Max, she travels to Germany to retrieve a mysterious article that he abandoned in the family's castle when they had fled after WWII. The book caught my attention because it linked Anna and Max to the real-life "Paris Time Capsule" apartment that I was fascinated by.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook, it passed the driving time which is pretty much all I ask. But the story itself just had too many lapses in logic and "WTF?" moments that took me out of the story.
( )