*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Not what i thought but interesting and good, different

Written in language that borders on poetry, this love story, like most love stories, is complicated.

"The smell of the fish at the factory, the cleaning agents and the tang of briny water turn her stomach. It feels as though she is in a room with no windows, the air stale and heavy, her breath cannot reach her lungs, her brain cannot form full sentences. Each option she examines, turning it over in her mind like a gem, seems flawed and pointless and impossible. Her thoughts have no middle and no end -- they are questions with no answer, corridors in a closed-off maze. She cannot run, because where will she go?"

Peter Brenner is her lover. Werner Nietz is her husband. "Germany is dead because of a madman hell bent on destruction," and now Rugen, Germany is under Russian occupation. "Rugen is a beautiful place. There she'd had the churning Baltic Sea, the herring gulls that carved elegant paths across clear skies. The smell of salt and shifting colors."

Bettina is a photographer and artist. "Art that provokes and asks questions rather than providing answers. Art that takes everything in, and everyone -- wherever you come from, whatever you believe, your class, your work, your soul --Bettina can pick up on your essence with her camera."

Ultimately, Bettina is forced to make some heart-wrenching decisions.

I read this EARC courtesy of Lake Union & NetGalley pub date 03/01/20

Beautiful emotional a book that tore at my heart.I was drawn in from the first pages could not put the book down.An p moving heart wrenching story that I will be recommending.#netgalley#lakeunionpublishing,

Although the book started out slowly, I was absorbed with this piece of historical fiction of a place and time period rarely written about, Germany after the war. Bettina marries Werner at the end of the war, when Russians invade the Baltic island of Rugen and establish a different form of ruthlessness. Under the Communist rule, neighbor still turns on neighbor, and the Secret Police are watching. Bettina has an affair, and the results will impact her lover, Peter, Werner, and others. The role of the arts in politics is one of the many themes in the book, with Bettina’s photography an important part of who she is, and wants to become. I recommend this book and thank Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this e-copy in return for my honest review. Beautiful book and such an emotional story. I loved it.

This is the first POST WWII novel I've read in a long time. Also being a photographer this story drew me in and now I'm recommending this to fellow readers of this genre.

This book took me what seemed like forever to read, and I thought it was because we are in lockdown and everything is strange. This should have been an interesting and compelling book. It's about a woman in East Germany, who marries, has an affair and a baby and then ends up in Chicago. Great plot. Unfortunately it is not well executed. It is a duel timeline novel, but within those timelines the plots are not linear. The timelines are too close together and the same stories are covered in both. Over an over again. It is a very repetitive novel. It repeats itself. It tells the same scenes over and over again.
The "characters" have no character. Our "heroine" Bettina basically doesn't have a personality. When the plot finally does start moving - three quarters of the way through the novel - Werner (her ex husband) acts in increasingly out of character ways, mainly based on a look they shared. It makes no sense.

I was given a free e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I'm sorry I didn't enjoy this book more.

An emotional wrecking ball of a book - beautifully written and lyrical in nature. Looking at the post World War II era, the description of characters, the culture and the landscape of Germany is so well-developed. While initially somewhat slow moving, this historical fiction novel picks up and becomes a compelling story that is impossible to put down.

A well written and fascinating account of the characters lives at the end of WWII, on the island of Rugen in East Germany. It also takes place in two time frames, in 1961 Chicago, where Bettina, the main character is a photographer, and the back story 1943 in East Germany, where we read about a lot of the harsh politics that went on in Germany after the war, The Cold War divided Germany between the Western Allies in the West and Soviets in the East. Germans had little voice in government until 1949 when two states emerged.
Its a story of characters who have the feelings of, inadequacies, resilience, power, strength, hopelessness and hopefulness, loving and loosing things important to them. Each of the characters have their own complicated backgrounds, which make it an interesting read.
Bettina the main character has married an older Werner after the war , but it is not a happy reunion and she turns to Peter a teacher and writer who becomes her true love. A child is born to Bettina, but the paternity is unclear, thus we go into the part of the story where Bettina moves to America.
The synopsis of the book is readily available, so I will just let you read the story, and the fine details of these characters lives and thoughts, and let you form your own opinions of them.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the copy of this book.

Oh, this was heartbreaking. I loved the story and felt for the characters. Beautifully written and emotional story.

#ThisTerribleBeauty #NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union publishing for providing me with ARC.
I love Historical Fiction so much but this novel is very slow and boring. I tried so hard to continue this novel but I am feeling sorry, I don't love the characters as I expected.
I am so sorry Katrin , I wished that I loved it.
The cover is amazing and I loved.

A lovely dual time novel about Bettina, a German woman torn in the aftermath of WWII by the rise of the new oppressors. Bettina married Werner, never expecting that he would become a secret policeman. She also never expected to fall in love with Peter. Werner gives her the terrible opportunity to spare Peter's life if she leaves East Germany, also leaving her daughter Annaliese behind. In the more recent time line, she thought she coped with this but then.... No spoilers. Few authors have explored this aspect of post WWII Germany, which made this an especially interesting work of historical fiction. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

A lovely historical novel of Bettina, who evolves from a lonely girl to an unhappy wife to an independent woman. But it is hard to see her make so many mistakes in her life. Loved the settings of East and West Germany post WWII. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I hate to write reviews about a book that I was not crazy about but this one just wasn't for me. The book was well written and had depth its just not my genre I usually read however if you like historical fiction I would think you will like this.

This was an incredible novel that drew me in and never let go. I felt emotionally invested in the characters’ lives and couldn’t stop reading.

This Terrible Beauty is a potentially powerful story moving between Rugen, Berlin and Chicago. The strands are woven together effectively, but somehow the characters and their relationships just don't come to life. I think it would have been much more interesting had there been more concentration on the historical context and less on the love affair.

Reading historical fiction is always enlightening, because even through fiction I get to learn some part of history that I was previously unaware or uninformed about. But sometimes they make me feel aware of my ignorance. Throughout my reading of This Terrible Beauty, my own ignorance nagged at me.

Majority of this novel is set in the post-world war II Germany, a part of history I had no idea about. The story is told on alternate timelines. In 1960s, Bettina has become a distinguished photo journalist in Chicago. When her sister's ex-husband visits her, she is forced to revisit memories of her time in East Germany, which was still under the control of the German Democratic Republic.


We see through her eyes the harrowing experience of war, and being left to fend for herself in her father's fisherman's cottage after he dies. It is loneliness that compels her to marry a man she does not love, and also later cheat on him.


I could connect to Bettina, even in her mistakes and wrong decisions. Her helplessness and fears are portrayed with a depth that can't be ignored. She married a man believing he was kind, and wanting to be a mother. But when after years of marriage, she cannot conceive and Werner starts to get deeply involved with the secret police and their misdeeds, life becomes even more suffocating for her.


Affairs are not my cup of tea. But the author sets a compelling stage for Betting to fall for Peter, the pastor's son, an idealistic man who has had to fight his own demons. Her escalating fear of leaving Werner, who had started to grow more dominant over her while amassing power through his position .


The author does a commendable job in portraying the dangerous ambience of East Germany, with the government's frightening grip on every facet of living. The characters are also very real. Even Werner, maybe a villain at first impression, forces you to sympathize with him more than once.


Bettina's journey was believable and compelling. We see her grow from a lonely girl to a helpless wife and mother to an independent woman.


One thing I did not like about the story was how it ended. Not the ending, mind you. But the manner of the ending. The epilogue left the possibility of a sequel, something I wouldn't mind.

I would give it 2.5 stars. It was OK, not my favorite. At times I found the story to be slow. I didn't love any of the characters. Bettina had to know she was putting herself in danger. I'm not really sure what Bettina expected to happen once Werner learned the truth. She was living in East Germany under Soviet rule, everything was documented. I hate that Bettina lost all contact with her daughter. Deep down Werner loved Bettina, unfortunately Bettina didn't love him back. I enjoyed reading about East Germany and getting a different perspective. Rügen sounds like a beautiful place to visit. The ending of the book was not expected. Bettina fought harder for that outcome. At times it felt like Bettina missed Paul more than Annaliese.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, give the book a try. This just wasn't the right book for me. I didn't hate it or love it. I do love the cover of the book. I would definitely give the author's next book a try.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Magnificent. I'm actually having a hard time expressing my thoughts beyond here read this. Now. And recommend it to absolute everyone because it's a must read.. I wish I could give it more than five stars. Happy reading!

This is an important read that is very compelling and captivating. You will be swept away to Bettina's life. You will feel for Bettina and the things she goes through. Anyone who loves reading historical fiction that is hard-hitting will want to read this. Another great read from Katrin Schumann.