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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
History Comes Alive, November 2, 2006
This review is from: Arms of Deliverance: A Story of Promise (The Liberator Series, Book 1) (Paperback)
I love historical fiction. For me, it helps me to understand history better. I learn more and it's easier to relate too. It was because of historical fiction that I changed my major to history. I love reading all types, from ancient Greek and Roman history right to stories based during the Cold War. Historical fiction brings the people, places and events to life.
"Arms of Deliverance" is Tricia Goyer's fourth novel set during World War II. Mary and Lee are two female reporters each struggling to prove they deserve to have the top story. Katrine is a Jew, living the life of an Aryan, pregnant with a Nazi's child. Their lives become intertwined as Mary and Lee are sent to Europe to report about the war and Katrine learns the risk of keeping her secret. Along the way, the reader learns about the Nazis view of children and bloodlines, the role of women reporters during war times and the true meaning of sacrifice.
I found this book fascinating. I love stories set during WWII. This was such a dramatic time period. I found the Katrine story very captivating, as she is a Jew being able to pass for a Aryan. Learning about the birthing houses where women gave birth solely to make new generations of Aryans was very interesting. I felt like I was really in the story especially during Mary and Eddie's adventure. Very edge of your seat. The amazing thing is is that many people probably faced that exact situation during the war. It makes the story more exciting and nerve wracking. You can tell there was a lot of research done in writing the book. I really liked the strong female characters. Mary and Lee kept trying to make their name on their own and allowed themselves to be pushed to the limit. Katrine risks her life to finally let the truth be known. I'm not sure I could do the same had I been in their situation.
Currently in one of my courses, we are studying about WWII and the Nazis. This book helped me get a better outlook on their thinking and way of life. I'm really glad I read it and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of Tricia's books. I would recommend this for anyone who likes historical fiction.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great historical fiction, August 26, 2006
This review is from: Arms of Deliverance: A Story of Promise (The Liberator Series, Book 1) (Paperback)
Arms of Deliverance is set in Nazi Germany during World War II.
Tricia Goyer has the gife of bringing her characters to life so that you, the reader, share their thoughts, their fears and their lives. There's Lee O'Donnally, rich, spoiled, with contacts to help her achieve her desires. She wants to be an overseas reporter writing about the war from the front.
Mary Kelly doesn't have those connections. Raised by a single mother, she grew up poor, knowing who her father was, but never being accepted. Mary also wants to report from the war zone. She resents Lee's connections, but has a grudging admiration for the other woman.
And then there's Katrin, a Czech Jew, who passes herself off as Aryan until she finds she is pregnant. Her lover, Hendrick Schwartz is an officer in Hitler's army, with the job of killing Jews to preserve pure Aryan blood lines. What will happen to her baby if Hendrick learns she is a Jew?
Eddie Anderson, is a member of a B-17 crew stationed in Bassingborn, England. Eddie is all too familiar with the bombing raids from which many of his friends never return.
Tricia Goyer does a tremendous amount of research, talking to actual vetrans who were there and know what it was like. Whether the character is inside a B-17 on a bombing raid, landing under hostile fire, or in a concentration camp, the reader knows what it was like to be there. This is an actual portrayal of the evil Hitler unleashed on the world and of the men and women who helped defeat him. For far too many of us World War II is just something we vaguely remember hearing about. Tricia Goyer reminds us that we must never forget.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Reprinted from the Nov 2006 "The Historical Novels Review", November 25, 2006
This review is from: Arms of Deliverance: A Story of Promise (The Liberator Series, Book 1) (Paperback)
Subtitled `A Story of Promise', this is the fourth of the author's Christian works which focus on World War II. It tells the story of three women who lives become entwined in wartime Europe of 1944. Katrine, a blond Jewess hiding in Belgium, finds herself pregnant by a married SS officer named Hendrick. As the plot unfolds, she learns he may have an ulterior motive, manifested in his connection to the Nazi Lebensborn program. Meanwhile, two newspaper women in America seek to cover the war in Europe. Lee, trying to remake her fashion girl image, volunteers to go on the Normandy landings. The other, Mary, really the main character, hitches a ride on a B-17 bound for Berlin, a trip that will ultimately connect her to the unfortunate Katrine. In the tattered threads of the remaining Nazi presence, she finds not only peace for herself, but a future calling as well.
The work suffers from its multiplicity of main characters. Although the author rather neatly ties their stories together in the end, the reader is apt to be confused in the early chapters. Many will likely find their stories, especially the Jewess who hides her identity by becoming the lover of an astonishingly evil SS officer, too incredible to be believed.
On the other hand, the book succeeds as a story of faith and redemption, as long as one doesn't look too deeply into the motivations of the women, or question the coincidences that abound in its pages.
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