A review by the_wistful_word_witch
Occasions of Sin by Elena Graf

5.0

I enjoyed the second book in the series as thoroughly as I did the first.

While Graf's descriptions of the physical world surrounding Margarethe von Stahl are not as expansive as in the first book (nor do they need to be since the first book really sets the stage for the reader), she continues to richly detail the emotional maelstrom that always seems to underscore Margarethe's life.

Margarethe experiences more loss in this book, but she also finds the woman who may just be the love of her life... Except that woman also happens to be a nun on the cusp of taking her final vows. Margarethe also uncovers a romantic mystery involving her many times over great-grandmother/eponym and another ancient nun at Obberoth, and comes to learn that it closely mirrors her own relationship. And what would an epic, historical love story be without some major termoil, an unexpected pregnancy, and the early rumblings of the Nazi party's uprising??

Graf again does a wonderful job of endearing both Margarethe and Katherine to the reader and putting you right there in the middle of the story, almost as if you were these women. I can't wait to see where the third book takes me!