Customer Reviews

Arms of Deliverance: A Story of Promise (The Liberator Series, Book 1)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I just stepped out of WWII. It was exciting, gut-wrenching, and poignant. We parachuted out of a shot-down B-17, watched marines storm the beach at Normandy, and peeked behind the secluded walls of a castle where Nazis conducted secret genetic experimentation. Tricia Goyer wove the stories of three unlikely women together--two female war correspondents from opposite sides of the tracks and a Jew in hiding. Their paths intersect behind enemy lines in war-torn Europe, where they must all find the courage and wisdom to beat tremendous odds.

If you read the story, I'm sure you'll fall in love with the characters, as I did. Mary, a pull-herself-up-by-the-bootstraps newspaper reporter and Lee, a born-with-a-silver-spoon in her mouth writer for Vogue launch into a different world as they head over to England to cover WWII. Katrine, a Jew in hiding, must do the unthinkable in order to save her newborn child. With the help of Jack the crew chief, a navigator named Eddie, and a major newspaper editor back home, they thwart the plans of a maniacal Nazi officer and escape certain death. A fast-paced read that will tug on your heartstrings.

Stories set in the WWII era have been my favorite ever since I read my first one as a young teenager many years ago. When I first discovered Tricia Goyer's books a few years ago, I was especially pleased to find books set in WWII that also had a Christian slant. I read two of her books and found them to be good but with some significant weaknesses. Now, after a hiatus of a few years, I have decided to give Ms. Goyer another try, and bought her other two books set in WWII. I just finished the first of them: Arms of Deliverance. My verdict on this book is the same as the earlier two; it has a good story line, but with some significant weaknesses.

The story involves four people: two American female reporters who become ETO correspondents; an American B-17 navigator stationed in England; and a beautiful young Jewish woman who is saved from the death camp because of her ability to pass herself off as a blond, blue-eyed Aryan. The book starts out alternating between these four. As it progresses the stories of these four intertwine with Mary and Eddie quickly emerging as the main characters, and the others becoming secondary characters.

First, the strengths of this book. Goyer creates a nice sense of the "feel" of the 1940s. Her characters are multi-dimensional, and they grow and change throughout the course of the book. Her descriptions of the battle scenes and the bombing raids were skillful with just the right amount of detail to make it interesting. The book has excellent pacing and is never dull or slow. I was particularly impressed with the way she handled the relationship between Mary and Lee, the two American reporters. She skillfully depicted the rivalry between them, never allowing it to become exaggerated or over-done. Finally, I like the way she blends in Christian elements. This is a Christian book in the true sense, in that Mary and Eddie do explore and talk about their spirituality, but again it is never overdone or preachy.

Now the weaknesses. For the most part, these are a result of Ms. Goyer weaving in elements that serve to move her plot in the direction she wants it to go, but without developing them enough to make them really credible to the reader. In other words, several elements of this book felt very contrived. One example is Mary's relationship with her father. There were a lot of big holes in her (and her mother's) relationship with her father, and these holes were never filled in or explained for the reader. And yet at the end her father comes around enough to fly to England to give her away at her wedding?? It just wasn't convincing. There were also aspects of Lee's story that were never explained well, and so felt contrived. She apparently came from a family so wealthy and powerful that she had a colonel in the U.S. Army personally looking out for her well-being, and yet we're never even told her parents' names or what her father did? And when Lee was in Paris at the time it was liberated, General De Gaulle singled her out to ride in his car and shared confidential information with her just because she was a pretty young woman? C'mon....... Another part of the story I couldn't buy was that Eddie and Mary were able to just take a German Jewish baby out of Belgium and back to America to raise as their own. Without any red tape or questions? Impossible ...... Another thing that was totally unrealistic (at least as far as I know) was for a woman reporter to fly as a ridealong on a combat bombing mission. However, I was able to swallow that one because I didn't feel like the author was trying to pass it off as credible. Instead, she had the characters in the book being shocked by it, even Mary seemed to be dazed by what she was about to do. I felt like the author was winking at me saying, I know this could have never happened but just go along with it for the sake of the story, ok? And so I did.

Lastly, Eddie's and Mary's escape back to the American line should have been developed more. It could have been really exciting and suspenseful, but it never quite got there.

In conclusion, if you like stories set in WWII and with a Christian aspect then you will probably like this book. It is light entertainment that doesn't quite tap into your emotions, and the ending wraps up a little too nicely and neatly. I really consider it 3-1/2 stars, but since I can't do that I am giving it 3.

I'm impressed.

Not only has Tricia Goyer crafted a fine novel with an intriguing series of story lines, she didn't bore me to tears with the technical scenes in the plane.

I can't imagine how many hours of research she invested to write this story. She writes from the point of view of a high ranking Nazi officer, two women reporters driven by different desires, and a young Jewish girl who is given her freedom because she passes for Aryan, yet finds herself in another sort of prison.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to know the characters as well I prefer to know them, but this is just a technical and personal issue. The plot makes up for any lingering sadness over incomplete bonding with the characters.

The later chapters are very plot driven, and I wanted Tricia to slow down, but again, I tend to dig in to meaty characters.

I was pleased with the final chapter in the book. Deep and rich, it sewed all the loose ends in place leaving me hopeful and satisfied.

I'll be reading more of Tricia's books.

Okay, I may be a bit biased because Tricia is my sister. I was very interesting in reading her book. At first, I was worried I would get lost within the stories of Katrine, Lee, Mary and Eddie but I was captivated with each story and each one stuck in my mind. I couldn't put this book down!

I was so pleased when I realized all four characters were drawn into one story at the same time and I had gotten to view each of their separate views of the time and their personalities. The ending came together quite well.

I laughed, I cried and I enjoyed the drama in this story.

I'm not the best at book reviews, but I can tell you what I like, and I REALLY LOVED this book. I'm extremely eager to read the rest of her novels.

I love historical fiction, but haven't read anything set in WWII since high school. But Arms of Deliverance drew me right in and makes me want to read all of Tricia Goyer's novels! This really is the best novel I've read in a very long time...and I'm always reading something. The author weaves a compelling story about female reporters during the war, American fly boys, and a Jewish woman hiding behind her blonde hair and WASPish looks. I especially appreciate the portions of the story that include the less-discussed topics of Nazi breeding and the murder of children not considered fit. I really can't reccomend this novel highly enough.

Arms of Deliverance is one of the best books I've read in a long, long time. Tricia Goyer is a master at writing World War II novels that pick you up and send you back to that time in our history. She always gives you a ride that both entertains and enlightens. This book is no exception. In fact, I think it's one of her best.

When an author is able to transport you into a B-17 such that you feel the vibration of the roaring engines, you see the vapor trails of other aircraft in formation, and you hear the horrible "pings" of flack hitting your plane, you know she's done a great job.

Take that kind of accuracy in detail, combine it with story lines that intersect in deeply passionate relationships, and you have a brilliant novel. I truly didn't want this story to end.

As the daughter of a B-17 co-pilot during WWII, I recommend this novel to anyone who appreciates the sacrifices of our military and the brave reporters who told their stories to an anxious nation back home.

Who could twist the phrase "It's not what you know, it's who you know," into a gospel message? Tricia Goyer. Arms Of Deliverance is the fourth and concluding installment of her WW II novels, and what a way to close.

The fusion of Goyer's prose and her technique of interviewing WW II veterans result in a powerful telling that time-warp her readers to the 1940s. She's captured lost details. By recording the fading memories of a dying generation, Tricia's done an amazing service, both to the people whose patriotism put them in harm's way, and to the Jewish mantra, "Never Again." She literally brands history into the reader's mind--I know because I lived it through her characters.

Arms Of Deliverance is a painting of war, Holocaust horror, and National Socialist dystopia. The artist's brush sported bristles braided of lives. I've never read anyone so adept at capturing human mannerisms with a pen. She draws you into this black and white era with this tool-of-color so subtle, most writer's don't even know it's in their box. When you read "Tingles traveled up the back of her neck . . ." you know exactly what she means. I actually felt those tingles.

The Judeo-Christian presuppositions of Goyer's main characters, Mary, Lee and "Katrine," contrast Hendrick's Aryan world-view like a photo-negative. Through her powerful paradox of a morally black and white war, Tricia Goyer makes you see red. The personal conflict in Arms of Deliverance, layered upon historical fiction will keep readers of both genders enthralled, page after page.