Wow wow! What a book! I know that some people have said that they couldn't put it down, for me I had to stop reading after a chapter or so as there was so much to process and I frankly found it quite scary! What a life, what a story and what a time in history. In reading it felt as if much research had gone into the writing of this novel. It really felt as if some one was writing their own account but with so much detail. It is one of those books which I won't forget. Almost one which we should all hear lest we forget and find society going down a dangerous path again. However I would not recommend that a young reader should try this as it is rather harrowing. No doubt it will become a film one day.

Wow what a powerful story. Such emotion when i was reading this, a love story, a heart wrenching story, powerful, it really made me realise and understand how people were treated what lives were like adn how the strongest survived. 
Loved it

As a fan of historical fiction, I immediately fell in love with the writing of Louise Fein. This book explored WWII, life in the Reich, and the power of love. The deeper in love Hettie falls, the more she sees life through a different glass - which is a concept that defies time. 

This gripping story mesmerized me and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction!

Also titled, "Daughters of the Reich". Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

A wonderful novel for fans of historical fiction. The book is a look on life in Germany, under Hitlers power, and written from the perspective of a daughter of a German family and what happens when a she is brave enough to think for herself & find her own truth in love and life. A great book for fans of The Nightingale and/or All The Light We Cannot See.

I started this book, stopped reading it, then started it again and loved it. I’m a newcomer to Historical Fiction and this is one of those books you just have to read.

Set in Leipzig in 1933, we meet Hetty, her brother and Walter.   Hilter's propaganda is well and truly seconded onto the every day lives of German life and society and Hetty, who you would say is a good German girl is totally swept away with the ideology of a true, pure race.  

When she turns 16, her world summersaults when Walter, her best friend and who is happens to be Jewish, encourages her to challenge those indoctrinated beliefs.  In doing so, we see her faith in Hitler wain slightly, more so when she experiences firsthand the horrors that this ideology, the one she was so drawn too is perpetrating.

As Hetty matures, so do her ideals and what we have is an incredible love story that is set during one of the most horrendous times in history, but one that warms you and it is every bit as thought provoking, educational as it is a truly heart breaking novel.

I really enjoyed this book. Historical fiction fans will definitely want to read this! This was set in WWII time and explores a love affair of one Nazi officer and an old friend of Jewish decent.

To put it simply, this was unputdownable.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction , it calls to me and this story completely absorbed my heart and soul. 

People Like Me follows the life of Hetty during the 1930's when Hitler ruled. Her father is a high-ranking Nazi officer, every member of her family is devoted to doing their part to help Hitler succeed, Hetty included. However, certain events that take place put doubt into Hetty's beliefs. Thus causing her to take risks that could put her in harm's way.

This story flowed nicely, perfectly paced. I got to know each character well. 

I can say in all honestly that this is one of the best historical fiction stories I have ever read. 

People Like Us is perfect for historical fiction and romance readers.

This book is absolutely amazing.  Really thought provoking and an unusual point of view for a book written about this era.  I was really rooting for the main characters and the descriptions of the times were just heartbreaking.  Definitely recommended.

Set in Leipzig in 1933, we are introduced to Hetty, her brother and his best friend Walter.   Hilter's propaganda permeates every level of Germany society and Hetty, a good German girl is swept away with the ideology of a true, pure race.  

At 16, her world summersaults when Walter, her best friend and who is also Jewish, encourages her to challenge her beliefs.  Her faith in Hitler and the fatherland begins to slowly crumble when she experiences firsthand the horrors of what this ideology is perpetrating.

As she matures she begins to understand that she cannot believe everything she has been taught and that not everything is as it seems.

A tender love story within a tumultuous and dangerous era, it's message transcends time and place.

I did enjoy the novel, but I broke my arm and shoulder and I’m not capable of writing a review at the moment. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read quotation mark people like us quotation mark.

I loved People Like Us, a moving tale of friendship, loyalty and love between two teenagers in 1930s Germany. As a child Hetty Heinrich is saved from drowning by Walter, a young Jewish boy. When they meet up again as teenagers they become friends. Their friendship develops into a passionate love affair but Hetty's family are Nazis: her father is a senior member of the SS and any relationship with Jews is forbidden and dangerous. Torn between love for Walter, unable at first to believe what is happening to him as a result of Nazi policies, Hetty has to make a choice.

This book deserves wide readership as it illustrates how Jewish people were stripped of their rights as German citizens in the lead up to World War 2. It is also a love story which brought tears to my eyes. Louise Fein has delved into her own family history for the idea  behind this book, but tells the story from the young German's point of view. It is well researched and beautifully written. Its relevance to the early 21st century is paramount. I hope People Like Us gets all the accolades it deserves. Many thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read and review it.

Having read The Book Thief before, and loving it, this book, People Like Us really appealed to me and I was not disappointed,
A love story, set in Germany, detailing the relationship between Hetty, daughter of a high ranking SS officer, and Walter, a young Jewish neighbour.
The story starts at a time when they were children, and Hetty owes her life to Walter when he rescued her from drowning.  It is a time of innocence, when there is no real distinction between Aryan and other races, for the children at least.
As time goes by, and the Nazi regime begins to take hold of the lives and thoughts of the younger generations, friendship turns to forbidden love.
I was engrossed from very early on in the book, and my heart went out to the innocents in the war. All those whose lives were ripped apart because of the thinking of that one man, Hitler, and his henchmen.
Highly recommended,
Many thanks to NetGalley ad Head Of Zeus for an ARC, in exchange for an honest review,

I have been immersed in this book for 24 hours! I am a big fan of historical fiction so when this was recommended for people who enjoyed The Book Thief, I knew I had to read it.

This is thought provoking, educational and truly heart breaking novel. It focuses on Hetty Heinrich, who is 7 years old when we first meet her. Her life is saved by a family friend, Walter, after she nearly drowns on a family day out. Something she never forgets but others seem to as time goes on.

We then fast forward to when Hetty is a teenager and the emergence of the Nazi party is at the fore. The author focuses on how the Nazi ideology was spread, through the media, through hearsay, through fake news and rumours. Hetty, at points, has Hitler's voice in her head, demonstrating how deeply ingrained the belief system was. At the early points, Hetty "believes resolutely in her country, and the man who runs it".

At the heart of this story, is her relationship with Walter, a Jew, the family friend who becomes an enemy purely due to religion. The love story is gripping and at times, difficult to read because there is an inevitability to it. That said, it doesn't detract from the storytelling and the joy of seeing them prosper and fight back in even a small way. Her love opens her eyes and she bravely challenges what she sees.

The author has also weaved in some of her own family history into this story and used it as an opportunity to learn more about what her own family will have gone through and how they survived. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As the author states in the epilogue, she explores the question of "How could a people, a deeply civilized, democratic nation, become so unbelievably cruel; to de-humanise one another, and commit atrocities on such an unimaginable scale?"

Published on 7th May 2020. Thank you to @headofzeus and @netgalley for the opportunity to review.

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A wonderful book of fiction, mainly from the German/Nazi perspective of the run up to WW2. A story of unconditional love, friendships & struggles for survival. Read the Author notes at the end to discover where this story comes from and understand some of the fiction and non-fiction of this story. Before I got to the end, I thought it would be a great book for a sequel to know what happens next rather than bringing us up to present time in the last two chapters. However, thoroughly good read, at times distressing. Thoroughly recommend.

Hetty Heinrich is a German girl growing up in 1930's Germany whose father is in the SS and whose brother is preparing to join the Luftwaffe. Set against a rising wave of anti-Semitism, Hetty's best friend, Walter is Jewish. As a child he saves her from drowning and the bond formed by this experience combined with their childhood friendship grows into a passionate love as they mature into adults. This is a wonderfully written, meticulously research, faboulously moving historical romance which I was riveted by from the beginning to the tear-jerking epilogue.  For me, an extra layer of poignancy was added to the narrative by the dawning realisation that even though this is a work of fiction, this must have been a stark reality for thousands of couples in real-life during this era. Thank you for the advance review copy.

This book by Louise Fein set in Nazi Germany, at the start of World War Two.

I found this book a bit of an eye-opener shedding a reality on suffering for so many, that only the ones that lived in understood.
And how serious it was.

This book is written from somebody living in Germany's point of view. Hetty Heinrich. Following her childhood as a German and the way students were brainwashed to believe the depth of German life she was crafted to have.

Living amidst Nazi-Germany and the pressures and horrors that come with that – especially when Hetty ran into Walter, a Jewish friend from the past which is the aspect that made this book so interesting and so gripping to put down, a forbidden relationship that was bliss even in chaos.
The sadness surrounding Hetty's story creeps up on you. I felt Hetty's emotions, anger, frustration, love, confusion, and sorrow.
A heart-wrenching story that I couldn't let go of even after. 
So memorable and real. An absolute must-read.

Oh my- this is not my usual genre of book but having read The Tattooist of Auschwitz and visited Auschwitz a couple of years ago, I thought I would give it a try. I have to say that this is the best book I have read this year so far - I enjoyed the different perspective of 1930s Germany from the Nazi side and the dawning realisation of Hetty to what was really going on.  The ending actually made me cry - which is very unusual for me.  Highly recommended - I loved it.

I was completely captivated by this powerful novel and still find myself thinking about the characters.

I've read many WW2 novels but this is different in that it is told from the perspective of a teenage girl growing up in Germany in the 1930's.

The novel begins in 1933 with Hetty Heinrich's life being saved by her older brother's best friend Walter. The story then quickly moves to 1937 where you discover how attitudes and life in Germany have changed with the rise of Nazism. The Heinrich family are the epitome of the perfect German family living under Nazi rule. Hetty's father is an SS officer, her brother joins the Luftwaffe and Hetty is a member of the BDM. Walter is from a Jewish family and no longer a frequent visitor to the Heinrich home.

As anti-semitism grows, Hetty and Walter fall in love. Hetty then finds herself torn between Walter and her family and starts to question the way things are in her country and begins to form her own opinions. Their forbidden love story is very well-written and I loved the epilogue. Without giving away any spoilers I think it finished the story in a very emotional way that was just right.

This was a well timed read in the current climate.

A perfect historical love story that reminds you love will always find away, regardless of how dark things seem.

Uplifting read.

This is set in Germany in the 1930's.
Hetty is a German through and through. Her father is in the SS and her brother destined for the Luftwaffe and her mother involved in all good causes.
Through her childhood she has had friends but one, Walter is special. Walter saved her from drowning and her life. But Walter is a Jewish boy.
With friends and neighbours turning against themselves Hetty falls in love with Walter and in doing so risks everything she has held dear. But she realises that her feelings and beliefs of the Nazi Regime are changing.
Will she find happiness and will she survive?