Blog Tour: The Silent Resistance by Anna Normann

 

There's no doubt that there are a lot of dual point of view WWII novels out there and some of those books are average, so it brings a lot of satisfaction when you find one that stands out from the crown. The Silent Resistance by Anna Normann is one of those books. It's such a great read!

Anni Odland is doing the best that she can to keep what remains of her family together in German occuupied Norway during WWII. Her husband, Lars, is a merchant sailor. He left Norway years before, not knowing that he would not be returning home, leaving Anni to raise their young daughter Ingrid. Along with her mother in law, Guri, she also is doing what she can to resist the Germans.

One day, there is a knock at the door. Ingrid hides in her hiding spot, knowing if there is danger she needs to hide until she can run to her grandmother. However, it is not imminent danger. It is a German civilian who has come to inform Anna that her house has been requisitioned and he is going to be boarding in her house for the foreseeable future. This is going to make it difficult for her resistance activities to continue.

Whilst war brings out the best in people but it also brings out the worst. It doesn't take long for people to begin to gossip about the fact that Anni is a single woman with a German living in her house. 

I mentioned that this is a dual point of view, as opposed to a dual timeline. The reason I make this distinction is that Ingrid's story starts from when she is a young girl being bullied by her schoolmates and wondering when her family is going to be reunited. We then follow Ingrid across the decades as she move to England and then tries to find out exactly what happened to her mother in the days immediately following the end of the war, facing silence and obstacles at every turn.  I was very moved at several points in this book, particularly towards the end.

I do have a little familiarity with the WWII history of Norway through a couple of books, plus the movie Number 24 and some documentaries but I wouldn't call it comprehensive! In this book, there were some particular aspects that I hadn't heard of before. I found myself wondering how the government in exile expected women like Anni to manage when they made the laws. 

Anna Normann is a pseudonym for two authors who write together, Natalie Normann and Anan Singh. They have been writing together in Norwegian for years, but this is their first book writing in English. I was very impressed. There were a couple of idioms that had me wondering but other than those minor moments this was a fantastic read. I would definitely be interested in reading more from these authors, either together or individually. 

If you are looking for a really compelling read with a rare setting, an interesting story, fascinating history and an emotional payoff then give this book a go! I loved it and this is a 5 star read for me! 

I am sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here.  Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. Be sure to check out other stops on the blog tour below.

Rating 5/5

About the book

The Silent Resistance

Occupied Norway, 1944. Anni endures the war alone, aiding the resistance while longing for news of her sailor husband. Her daughter, Ingrid, is her joy, and Anni is determined to keep her safe. But when a German official is billeted at their home, danger escalates, and Anni faces an agonising dilemma.

London, 1952. Ingrid has been trying to understand her mother’s mysterious disappearance at the war’s end. Clinging to Anni’s promise that she would always come back for her, Ingrid sets out to discover what happened all those years ago.

Purchase Link - http://tinyurl.com/2n6sr5b6

About the Author 

Anna Normann is the pseudonym of authors Anan Singh and Natalie Normann, and it all happened because of a bet. Sometime in the nineteen eighties, while watching a movie with a so-so plot, they started arguing about improving the plot and how they could write a better story than that mess. And then Anan’s wife said ‘I bet you can’t’ …

Since then, they have published seven books together in Norwegian, exploring different genres. Their first novel, set in WW2, won a competition in 1995 for ‘Norway’s best entertainment novel’.

Social Media Links – https://linktr.ee/NatalieNormann

Blog Tour: Escape to the Northern Lights by Carrie Walker

 

You know I love an escapist romance. While I normally read a lot of books set in France, Italy and Greece, this year my focus seems to have moved North as I have read a couple of books set in Finland and now this one which is set in Norway.

Sara Pearson is a lawyer who is going places. Sure, her private life is a mess given that she is currently going through a divorce from sleazy Mark, but any day now she is going to be made partner in her law firm. When she wins a big case but doesn't get made partner, her anxiety and stress reach burn out levels and she is forced, albeit unwillingly, to take a month off work.

When one of her friends mentions that she saw that a Hollywood star had recently stayed at a luxury resort called Firefly Forest, Sara decides if it is good enough for them, it's good enough for her so she impulsively books to stay at the spa retreat for four weeks. It's pricey, but it's going to be worth it. 

With her bags packed filled with her most fashionable winter clothes, Sara heads off to Norway. She probably should have taken a closer look at the website because the place where she ends up is less luxurious spa retreat and more vegan getting back to nature retreat! As such, it is against the rules to use the internet unless there is an emergency, it is alcohol free, and every day there is a silent lunch. Then there are various wellness activities which encourage participants to look inwards. It is not what Sara signed up for. She does contemplate leaving but there are no refunds and the air fares are expensive to reschedule, so she stays...for now. 

There is one bright light though. Firefly Forest is a family run affair. There is the father, Tore Nilsen and his two sons, Henrik, and Jonas  and his fiancee Greta who are doing their best to keep the retreat commercially viable. Henrik is one of the good guys. Handsome, attentive and drawn to Sara despite her initial unmet expectations of her destination, he too has had a high flying career but these days he is happy to live and work in the family business 

When the Nilsen's whole home and livelihood come under threat from an unlikely source, Sara becomes involved, which is probably the least she can do, especially since she may have been the person who inadvertently caused the problem in the first place.

It took me a while to warm to Sara. She was so focussed on her work that it did make sense that she wouldn't look further at the website to understand where she was going but on the flipside surely as a very successful lawyer she is good at looking for detail. I also didn't always understand some of her decisions. For example, she was moving back into her flat which she decided to get redecorated in exactly the same colour palette of the marital home. And as for Mark....ugh, what a sleaze. 

This is my first book from Carrie Walker, and I am glad that I took a chance on this new to me author. I am interesting to read her previous two books as well. The titles make it sound as though they might be connected but I don't think they are. Those books are set in Tuscany and Switzerland and they both sound like fun.

The idea of seeing all that snow and the Northern Lights fascinates me. I read this on the plane to Sri Lanka, so you can't really get much more different weather conditions. We are, however, contemplating a trip to see the Northern Lights at the end of 2026 so this was definitely a good taster for that trip. I can't wait for the day that we too can escape to the Northern Lights.

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. Check out the other stops on the blog tour as well!

Rating 4/5

About the Book

Escape to the Northern Lights

Packed with humour, romance and a love affair with nature, Escape to the Northern Lights is a story of transformation, second chances and finding home in the most unexpected places.

High-powered lawyer Sara thought she had life figured out – until her whirlwind marriage ends in divorce, her dream promotion slips away and a burnout diagnosis forces her to take a break.

Desperate for a reset, she books a four-week spa retreat in Norway, imagining a luxurious escape. Instead, she finds herself in the rugged wilderness of Firefly Forest, knee-deep in reindeer droppings and stuck with an annoyingly bohemian – and ridiculously attractive – outdoorsman, Henrik.

What starts as a nightmare turns into a journey of self-discovery as Sara swaps designer heels for bare feet, legal briefs for tree-hugging, and fleeting flings for something far deeper...

Purchase Link - https://amzn.eu/d/5U4BLAz

 

About the Author

Carrie Walker is a Brummie born rom-com lover with a lifelong passion for travel. She has lived in a ski resort, by a beach, in the country and the city, and travelled solo through Asia, South America and Europe. Her own love life was more com than rom until she met her husband a few years ago and settled down with him and her dog Ziggy in a small pub-filled village in Essex.

Social Media Links 

https://www.carriewalker.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/carriewalkerauthor

https://x.com/carriewauthor

Festive Treats - October

 

I know, I know. Surely October is far too early for Christmas movies, books and treats! Well, yes, it probably is, but a lot of the Christmas books are released in October, the advertising for the movies has started and our mind has definitely turned to when we are going to have family events and our travel plans.

So here are the Christmasy things that I did in October

1. Written in the Stars by Helen Rolfe (review)

2. Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel by Rebecca Raisin (review)

3. One Winter at the French Chalet by Mandy Baggot (review)

4. The Village Christmas Party by Sue Roberts (review)

5. A Recipe for Christmas by Jo Thomas (review coming soon)

6. Home for Christmas (season 1)

Home for Christmas was an interesting one. It is a Norwegian TV series that has been dubbed into English. It has the kind of premise that you might see in a made for TV movie but because it is a six-part series we get to see a lot more. The premise is that the main character, Johanne, is a nurse who is getting a lot of pressure from her family to bring home a partner for Christmas. We then get to see her trials and tribulations as she tries dating a number of people in the lead up to the big day. It was a lot of fun, so I will definitely be watching season 2, and season 3 when it comes out. Interestingly, this series has also been remade in both Italy and South Africa!

Here's the trailer