By Kelly Bridgewater

About the Book

Book: The Good German Girl

Author: Erica Marie Hogan

Genre: Historical Romance

Release date: April 15, 2021

Omaha Beach
June 6, 1944

When battle-hardened Private Bernie Russell witnesses a fellow soldier shoot a young German boy with his hands up, he’s shaken to his very core. Then, as that same boy is dying, he presses a packet of photographs and letters into Bernie’s hand and utters three words in English.

It must end.

After having the letters translated, he discovers they were written by the soldier’s twin sister and the photographs within the packet reveal evidence of Hitler’s plan to wipe out the Jews.

Berlin, Germany

Margot Raskopf is a young art teacher, forced to conform to the education Hitler has designed. Then, when one of her sources with the underground resistance receives a letter for her from an American soldier, she’s shocked and filled with renewed hope. But Margot has been harboring a secret. In her house she hides a young Jewish woman she’s known since childhood, risking being discovered by the gestapo with each passing day.

As they begin a dangerous correspondence, both Margot and Bernie embark on treacherous journeys. One taking Bernie across Europe and right into Germany. Another taking Margot through the gates of Auschwitz … and under the scrutiny of Josef Mengele.

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My Thoughts:

The Good German Girl by Erica Marie Hogan showcases the horrors of the concentration camps during World War II alongside the heart of this brave generation in her individual characters who populate the story. The plot centers around Auschwitz II; the camp where Dr. Mengle resided and conducted all his horrific experiments on twins and other innocent subjects. Margot, the heroine, is thrown into the concentration camp because she refused to allow her best friend, Isle, to be taken away from her. The plot is a little different. I really enjoyed how the story started at D-Day at Omaha beach with an American soldier’s perspective, then it moved to the present day story for Margot in the 1944’s. Readers are allowed to see Margot’s heart and her perspective as she moves along before the concentration camp. The ending was a little different than expected, but it tied the story up nicely. On the other hand, Hogan’s writing is nicely handled. She does a wonderful job at balancing the viewpoints and keeping close to the characters. The setting was described well. I had no problem imagining the horrors she wrote about. Overall, The Good German Girl by Hogan is delightful story for fans of World War II historical novel. I would recommend picking up this novel if readers enjoy Sarah Sundin or Melanie Dobson.

I received a complimentary copy of The Good German Girl by Erica Marie Hogan through Celebrate Lit tours, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

About the Author

From as far back as she can remember, Erica Marie Hogan loved to write. When she was a little girl she adored make believe, but gradually her imagination became too big to restrict it to playtime and so, she wrote.
Erica was born and raised for nine years on Orient Point, Long Island, New York. After that she moved with her family to Virginia and, finally, to Texas where she now lives. She was homeschooled, is an avid reader, and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives to plot new stories, enjoys a good tear-jerker, and chocolate is her cure for any ailment.
Erica’s wish is to continue to write stories that not only drop her readers into the middle of historical time periods, but also to show the ability to rise up out of adversity and tragedy in hope, faith, love, and strength. When it comes to genre, she has no limits.

Along with The Winter Queen Series Erica’s World War I standalone novel, The Lost Generation, is also available now from Elk Lake Publishing, Inc.

More from Erica

There are two things I love in a good story. History and Romance. And when the two come together? Well, I’m sold.

Hi, I’m Erica Marie Hogan, the author of The Good German Girl, book one in a Historical Fiction series called A League of Extraordinary Women. When I set out to write a novel based during World War II, I never imagined The Good German Girl would be the end result. I started with an idea about a young German woman living in Berlin who wants to fight back against Hitler’s rule. This mustard seed of an idea took me on a journey through the battles at Omaha Beach, Aachen, Germany & the Battle of the Bulge. It took me through the gates of Auschwitz and right into Josef Mengele’s lab.

This little idea took me on a quest for love in the most horrible of circumstances. Where war and death divided two people who should be enemies but, through a miraculous correspondence, found each other and knew in their hearts they were meant to save each other. The Good German Girl is a Historical Fiction novel about the tragedy of World War II with the gentle beginnings of an epic love woven through the pages. I hope you enjoy the story of Margot Raskopf and Bernie Russell as much as I enjoyed writing about them!