Reviews

A Woman of War by Mandy Robotham

awesomebrandi's review against another edition

1.0

Woo. I need to scrub my brain of this book. I feel gross for having read it. I am not sure what I was expecting, but I have never read a WWII book that was so freaking sympathetic to Nazis!! Have. Mercy. Excuse me while I vomit.

The MC is a midwife who originally went against orders to betray disabled babies, which is great. But, she ends up getting 'selected' and leaving the punishment camp to be a personal midwife for Eva Braun, in a fictionalized 'what if' Braun got pregnant with Hitler's child.

I'm going to try and avoid spoilers but I'm telling you, this book really gave me the creeps in the way she wrote about multiple people close to Hitler. Far more sympathy than even a fictionalized book should ever give them. Also, she constantly refers to Eva Braun as 'childlike'. Probably ten times. She's very much chalked up to be a victim, who's hopelessly in love with a monster who doesn't appreciate her. Just. WHAT. WHAT EVEN.

If that isn't enough to turn you off, please know this has fairly detailed childbirth scenes, which doesn't bother me, but if you have experienced birth trauma, just a heads up. Also, some of the historically expected Nazi terrors within camps, but honestly, the romanticizing of anybody in the Nazi party is what repulsed me most in this book.

In general the writing is largely flat, and the MC is pretty hateable, not going to lie. The only plus side is this was a fast read, so I can now move on and try and erase the memory of it.

Stay far away. So, so far away. Can't believe anyone published this book. Ugh.

silentnpale's review against another edition

4.0

Interesting take on history and something that could have happened. I thought it was laid out well and flowed nicely. Worth a read but obviously, it is heavy subject matter.

skynet666's review against another edition

4.0

Not really believable, but still an enjoyable listen.

becca_nguyen's review against another edition

4.0

Interesting take on ww2

bsmith27's review against another edition

3.0

A German midwife, Able had been put into Ravensbruck because she was found caring for Jewish women. Here she is chosen to be the midwife to the pregnant Eva Braun. She cares for her and learns to care about her. She falls in love with an SS officer while there. He is also being made to do something he doesn't want. Eva delivers a deformed baby and rather than have him killed by the Reich, Eva asks anke to get rid of him. Eva does by giving him to the SS officer she loves. They both disappear. Anke is released. After the war she meets a man and marries him. She discovers her lover was killed 2 weeks after she last saw him. The book has several unbelievable parts but is a good story.

charper15's review against another edition

3.0

Good book. Kept me hooked but the ending could have been better. If you have extra time, read it.

ahoeft09's review against another edition

3.0

Nothing groundbreaking, but I enjoyed this book. I was constantly picking it up again and again, happy to rejoin the plot. I learned some horrid things about WWII that I’d never known, too. The romance felt kinda forced — I appreciate a little bit more subtlety. But overall, enjoyable and likely forgettable.

ladybiblio's review against another edition

5.0

I fell in love with this book, and not just for the Captain. This is a "what if" historical fiction. Where Anke is moved from one prison to another, which has a very secret and fine line patient. Impossible circumstances. A baby (to be) born to the most powerful man in Nazi german and his young, secret mistress. Anke has a choice but will she take it for the greater good...?

This novel has interwoven timelines. Switching between present Anke and herself before /at the beginning of war. Its nice to see the changes in her, while also the lack of changes. It was the relationships with Eva Braun and Captain Dieter that really pulled me in. They felt real, honest and had a natural flow to them. Making the novel feel less like fiction and more just an autobiography of a midwifes life.

Trigger Warning: Graphic childbirth & Concentration Camp descriptions.

hutchnsam's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

dahlinv's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.0