REVIEWS from READERS!

LoveReading From the UK Says

https://www.lovereading.co.uk/book/9798989727155/isbn/1949-by-Catharine-A-Deever-aka-Dani-Dee.html

1949 is the first book in the Starlings of Peace trilogy by Catharine A Deever and sees a group of residents of a Gasthaus form a community and work to rebuild their lives after the war. As implied by the title, the book takes place throughout 1949 in a Berlin blockaded by the Soviet Union. Against this historic backdrop we find a character driven story of love and hope.

I liked the setting of the Gasthous which allowed a varied group of people to come together, developing their own storylines, whether that’s searching for their family after the war, finding love, or working to achieve their goals and build a better future for themselves. It is clear that a lot of research has gone into bringing to life Germany and the world at the time, and it provides an interesting backdrop to an otherwise very character-focused storyline. Each character brought their own wartime experiences to the storyline - an orphan surviving poverty and horrendous abuse, former pilots, resistance and prisoners of war, all perspectives that would have required yet more research in order to bring the characters to life the way the author has managed. This is an epic first instalment that would be great for Historical fiction readers interested in the post war era but is also a great read for those looking for character focused stories of love, hope and community.

Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful perspective on West Berlin after WWII

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2024

This story shares a unique perspective of a city in recovery by the telling of what becomes four couples (2 married with very different marriages, and 2 that become married). Each couple is from a different country, England, France, America and Germany. They end up living in the same guesthouse in West Berlin.
They all have various strength, prejudices, talents and challenges to overcome. It was so refreshing to see the couples evolve and grow. The women were strong in their own rights and working at worth while careers with their husbands' support. The men were influential in getting things done with lots of background on how the war had affected them both personally and in their career since the war. They each played a significant part in how West Berlin became self governing as the occupancy was ending.
I became very vested in each of the couples and look forward to the rest of the trilogy.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Very Immersive

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2024

This is a character-driven look into Berlin during 1949. I think that Catharine A Deever has done significant research into the history of the place; it can be clearly seen in all the small details in the language between characters and how she sets the scene. Further more, the book ends with a playlist that turns out to be the names of all the chapters and are songs from 1949. This is a book that you can fully immerse yourself in if you want.

The character-driven nature of the book keeps the reader engaged with the plot through emotional settings in which character backstories weave together and characters in the present grow closer. Because of this, the book has quite a lot of heart. To continue to highlight the character-driven point - the beginning of the book has a list of the main characters for you to read before jumping into the story. This is immensely helpful since there are so many.

People who enjoy historical fiction will enjoy this book; however, I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars due to some of the scene set up being a bit dry. With that being said, maybe my real concern is that the book could have been a bit shorter. All in all, though, I appreciate what the author has done with this story and felt that this book was a great overall read.

I received this book as an ARC from GEMS books.