Book: The Stolen Twins
Author: Shari J. Ryan
Pub Day: February 14th 2023
About the Book:
Auschwitz, 1944: “You can’t leave me,” I whisper, my hand trembling as I reach for her cheek. “You can’t. We’re in this life together, always, just you and me.” This utterly heartbreaking yet beautifully hopeful World War Two page-turner tells the story of identical twin sisters in Auschwitz. Born minutes apart, Arina and Nora have never left each other’s side—until now…
The cattle car is dark, except for the light filtering through the boarded windows. There are too many of us to count, crushed up against each other. The air is stuffy, carrying the scent of our terror—none of us know what awaits us when this train stops. I cling onto Mama’s hand and Nora, my twin sister, clutches Papa’s.
After what feels like forever, the train stops. We spill out of the carriage, the sun blinding us after being imprisoned in darkness for so long. There are people everywhere, soldiers separating children from their parents, husbands from wives.
We’re in some sort of queue, and a man in a dark-green SS uniform walks by, glancing at everyone he passes. “Twins, twins,” he shouts. My heart falls into the pit of my stomach.
“Right here,” says Mama, hesitation in her voice. “My daughters are twins.” My eyes widen, and Nora trembles. Papa tries to tell Mama to be quiet, but it’s too late.
The Nazi catches sight of us. “Twins,” he says again, pausing to inspect Nora and me. “Yes, you are, aren’t you? You two are going to come along with me.”
This unforgettable World War Two page-turner, perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Lucky Ones and The Midwife of Auschwitz, shows that, in the darkest of times, love can save your life…
(Previously titled: We Only Had Each Other)
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY SHARI!!
Review for 'The Stolen Twins' by Shari J Ryan.
This book was previously titled 'We Only Had Each Other'.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Shari J Ryan, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 14th February 2023
This is the second book I have read by this author. I have also read 'The Girl With The Diary' which I would highly recommend.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching unique cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that 'This unforgettable World War Two page-turner, perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Lucky Ones and The Midwife of Auschwitz, shows that, in the darkest of times, love can save your life…' I am a huge fan of 'The Tattooist Of Aushcwitz' so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a massive fan of Shari and if this book is half as amazing as 'The Girl With The Diary' it is guaranteed to be a page turner!! I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue and 36 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Debrechen and Munkacs, Hungary 🇭🇺, Bougival, France 🇫🇷, Chicago, Illinois, USA 🇺🇸 and Auschwitz, Poland 🇵🇱
This book is written in first person perspective and the main protagonist is Arina and Nora. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. The fact there are multiple protagonists is even better as it increases the readers knowledge of what more characters are doing and feeling.
'The Stolen Twins' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Shari discusses/includes violence, persecution of the Jews, murder and death.
Well, what can I say but wow!!! This story is definitely not going to leave my head anytime soon. Firstly I must congratulate Shari J Ryan for yet another absolutely extraordinary novel that seriously needs to be made into a movie which I assure would be best selling!!!
This book is extremely powerful and extremely well written. It is devastatingly heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. The storyline of this book is based on what Shari has learned about the Holocaust from personal experiences and which is another thing that drew me to read it. It is absolutely rammed with emotions that will make you smile, cry and laugh on the roller-coaster ride to hell that is the Holocaust. Nothing is left out and the author has done an immense amount of research and brings Arina and Nora's story to life. .
This book did not disappoint. Some people believe that these stories should not be written but I am a strong believer that these victims earned the right for their stories to be told and to not be forgotten and this book does just that. I loved discovering not just Arina and Nora's stories but also Dale's, Elek's and many other characters we meet in this heart wrenching book. Another thing that drew me to this book is the fact that this one was based around twins and having twins myself any books that are based around twins are an instant draw to me although I knew immediately this one would affect me even more because of this reason!! Talk about being my own worst enemy but every single tear was worth it to read this amazing story. I absolutely LOVED how this book was composed of two stories perfectly intertwined together to make one of the most emotional reads I have ever read!!! The fact that Shari has written a story about their lives, and before, learn more during and after Aushcwitz makes the book more realistic as you feel you are going on a journey through their pasts and present with them both. It is a journey filled with loss, death, hate and love being read during a lifetime of sadness, family, romance, joy trauma and so much more just takes the reader on an absolute rollercoaster rider of emotions. It is about learning to relive again after the trauma both these sisters went through together and seperately. It is great when you come along an absolute gem like this as normally you would expect a book about a holocaust story to be dark and horrific throughout but Shari manages to show the horrors while lightening up the reading tone during every other chapter and giving the reader hope and reasons to smile. This book was very hard to read during both Arina and Nora's stories but there were certain parts that will stay with me for a very long time and that were soul destroying. However the present chapters helps give the reader light hearted breaks between. What the Nazi's and Dr Mengele (The Angel Of Death) did to these innocent people makes me absolutely sick to my soul. The poor children and parents watching each other suffering especially. My heart screamed out to Arina and Nora for what she went through along with many others. Arina and Nora are such amazingly strong women who sadly struggle with survivors guilt who I absolutely loved and Dale and Elek are absolutely amazing gentlemen that are such a rare breed. I was completely invested in all their stories and lives. I am sad to say goodbye to them and they will live in my mind for a very long time!!!
It is set over/includes multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture. I loved the modern day chapters as well as the historical ones and felt like I was being told the story over a cup of tea.
Clear your schedules and grab your tissues as you will not be able to put this book down or stop the tears from streaming!!!
Again congratulations Shari on an absolutely stunning emotional rollercoaster ride of a book!! I would say this book is is even more emotional and memorable than the likes of 'The' diary of Anne Frank'. I cannot wait to read the best of your books and I would like to welcome you to my favourite 3 historical author list!!!
Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the prologue and the first two chapters of Shari's 'The Doctor's Daughter' which is guaranteed to be another emotionally charged absolute page turner!!
Overall a heart wrenching, absolutely beautifully devastating story filled with love, loss, hope and so, so much more!!!
Genres covered in this book include Historical Fiction, Jewish Literature, Literary Sagas, Historical European Fiction, Spiritual & Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Saga, Women's Historical Fiction, Women's Literary Fiction and War Story amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz', 'The Lucky Ones', 'The Midwife Of Aushcwitz', 'Orphan Train',Ellie Midwood, The Tattooist of Aushcwitz, The Librarian of Aushcwitz and anyone interested in the Holocaust and its history.
315 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle and £9.10 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio
Shari J. Ryan is a USA Today Bestselling Author of Women’s Fiction, WWII Fiction, and 20th Century Historical Fiction with a focus on the Holocaust and Pearl Harbor.
Shortly after graduation from Johnson & Wales with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Shari began her career as a graphic artist and freelance writer. She then found her passion for writing books in 2012 after her second son was born. Shari has been slaying words ever since.
With two Rone Awards and over 125k books sold, Shari has hit the USA Today Bestseller List, the Amazon's Top 100, Barnes & Noble's Top Ten, and iBooks at number one. Some of Shari’s bestselling books include Last Words, The Other Blue Sky, Unspoken Words and A Heart of Time.
Shari, a lifelong Boston girl, is happily married to her personal hero and US Marine and they have two wonderful little boys. For more details about her books, visit: www.sharijryan.com
Social Media
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