Publication Date: 20th October, 2020
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: ebook
Page Length:296 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Synopsis
The cobbled streets were dark as Isabelle hurried through the shadows, dodging in and out of doorways, constantly looking back. She worried the sound of her loudly thumping heart would give her away, as she peered around a corner. Suddenly, Isabelle was surrounded by Nazi soldiers, their black boots pounding on the pavement, barring her way…
1939, Berlin. Max Albrecht is the young and handsome heir to a beautiful house on a lake where he spent his happy childhood. As war approaches, his parents tell him he must join the Nazi party or the whole family will be killed. But when his beloved French fiancé Isabelle shows him the horrifying truth, Max faces an impossible choice: protect his family or save the girl he loves?
2010, San Francisco. Anna Young is content with her life, running a bustling deli and taking care of her adored grandfather Max, who raised her. Max has never spoken of his past until he hands over an old map, the plans to a grand house just north of Berlin. With a shaking finger, he points to it and says, “I left something behind under the floorboards. Please bring it home before I die.”
When Anna arrives at the crumbling manor in Germany, she discovers a hidden engagement ring in a velvet box. She is desperate to find the woman her grandfather hoped to marry, but the local villagers look away when she mentions Max’s name, and back in San Francisco he is now in hospital, too unwell to speak to her. What did Max do so many years ago? Is Anna ready for the terrible secret that her family’s past may hold?
From bestselling author Ella Carey comes an unforgettable novel, weaving together past and present. Gripping and heartbreaking, The House by the Lake uncovers the secrets and devastating choices that people were forced to make during history’s darkest time.
My Thoughts
This is the second book of the trilogy inspired by Marthe de Florian's famous Paris apartment. In Paris Time Capsule the apartment and its contents are described in wonderful detail. In this novel, the apartment is only mentioned by way of a newspaper article that triggers 94 year old Max Albrecht to request his granddaughter, Anna, travel to Berlin on his behalf. He wants her to recover something he had secreted under the floorboards of his old room at the Schloss Siegel at the beginning of World War 2.
When Anna arrives in the village of Siegel, she is dismayed to find it rundown and far from prosperous. The mention of the Albrechts is met with unfriendliness as the villagers hold the family, especially Max, to blame for the current state of the village. No-one will help her gain access to the schloss or share any useful information. Eventually, Anna tracks down the current owner's lawyer in Berlin, Wil Jager, who agrees to help her recover Max's property.
The story alternates between the present, where Anna searches for the reason her grandfather abandoned his family and country all those years ago, and the past, from when Max and Isabelle de Florian first meet in the early 1930s and the years that follow. These years see the rise of Hitler and Max's reluctance to join the Nazi Party, despite his parents' urging that it is his duty to do so. Isabelle is certain that revealing her grandmother's past as a demimondaine to Max will end their relationship, as his aristocratic family would never accept her as Max's wife because of it. She is also disturbed by reports of what the Nazis are doing and can't believe that Max would join them willingly. Honour bound, Max enlists in the German army to protect his family, but his initial hesitancy in joining the Nazis has been noted and will lead to tragedy on a Paris street.
This is another delightful read by Ella Carey. Although part of a trilogy, it can be read as a standalone. I particularly liked how a crucial event from Paris Time Capsule is elaborated on to form the basis of this novel, establishing another link between the two aside from the Paris apartment. While I enjoyed the subtle romance between Anna and Wil, it was the drama of Isabelle and Max's part of the narrative that appealed to me more.
Love, duty, betrayal and tragedy combine to make The House by the Lake an excellent addition to the trilogy. I'm looking forward to reading the final book.
The House by the Lake is available from Amazon, Apple, Kobo and Google.
About the Author
Ella loves to connect with her readers regularly through her facebook page and on her website.
http://www.ellacarey.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ellacareyauthor/
https://twitter.com/Ella_Carey
Blog Tour Schedule
Lovely review, thanks for sharing your thoughts
ReplyDeleteThank you, Shellyrae.
Delete