Daisies are Forever ~ Review

Daisies are Forever
By Liz Tolsma

This is an incredibly moving story.  Set at the height of the European theater, Germany hes been closed in by the Western allies and the Russian Red Army and the Third Reich's fall is imminent.  This is the setting in which California born Gisela Crammer finds herself.  The years she has lived in Germany are not ones of happiness, but  rather sorrow and guilt.

With the Red Army mere hours away from the home of her grandfather and cousin, Gisela is forced to flee with her cousin's two young daughters.  As they flee to the west Gisela comes to the aid of an escaped British POW, claiming that she is his wife.

Mitch Edwards has been in a German prison for years and when the opportunity to escape presented itself he took it.  But he wasn't prepared for the dangers would face him starting with his accent.  When a beautiful young woman claims that they are married - Mitch is given a chance to survive in this tide of refugees.

Their journey towards freedom is fraught with dangers - air raids, SS officers, the ever approaching Red Army, the weather, and a shortage of food.  But through it all it is also a journey of faith and trust.  Gisela and Mitch have to learn to let go of their individual guilts and accept that God is in control and always had been.

Daisies are Forever is a book that should appeal to fans of the Thoenes - the characters will touch your heart as they struggle to survive in a world that is in the midst of change.  This book is not your normal historical fiction that happens to be set in World War II, but rather this is story of the lives of a small group of people trying to survive long enough to see the end of Hitler's War. This is a book you don't want to miss reading.

I was provided a copy of this book through the BookLook bloggers program in exchange for my honest review.

Book Description

Gisela must hold on to hope and love despite all odds in the midst of a war-torn country.

Gisela Cramer is an American living in eastern Germany with her cousin Ella Reinhardt. When the Red Army invades, they must leave their home to escape to safety in Berlin.

However, Ella is a nurse and refuses to leave, sending her young daughters with Gisela. During their journey, Gisela meets Mitch Edwards, an escaped British POW. She pretends she is his wife in order to preserve his safety among other Germans, especially one wounded German soldier, Kurt, who has suspicions about Mitch’s identity. Kurt also has feelings for Gisela and tries to uncover the truth about her “marriage.”

Their journey to Gisela’s mother in Berlin is riddled with tragedy and hardship, but they strive to keep Ella's daughters safe so they can reunite with their mother. During the journey Gisela and Mitch begin to develop feelings for one another beyond friendship. They reach Berlin, but their struggles are far from over. Gisela and Mitch must learn to live for the day and find hope in the darkest of circumstances.

In this moving, historically accurate portrayal of WWII Germany, the characters learn that, even with destruction all around them, some things last forever.