Book Review (+Giveaway): When The Heart Sings

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for When the Heart Sings by Liz Tolsma, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: When the Heart Sings
Series: Music of Hope #2
Author: Liz Tolsma
Publisher: Gilead Publishing
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

Natia has a secret, and she’s hiding him right beneath her captor’s nose…

The Nazis have forced Natia and Teodor from their Polish farm to a labor camp. When the couple is separated, Natia is chosen to be the housekeeper for the camp’s overseer, and Teodor is sent to work in the factory. Despite the strict camp rules—and the consequences for disobeying them—Natia finds a way to communicate with Teodor by sending messages through song as she passes Teodor’s dormitory.

The stakes get higher when Natia finds a Jewish orphan on the overseer’s doorstep. She is determined to protect the boy and raise him as the child she and her husband were unable to bear— but if her German captors discover how much she’s hiding, both she and Teodor may pay the ultimate price.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Christian Book | Book Depository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Passionate might best describe Liz Tolsma. She loves writing, research, and editing. Her passion shone through in her first novel which was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. Nothing means more to her than her family. She’s married her high-school sweetheart twenty-eight years ago. Get her talking about international adoption, and you might never get her to stop. She and her husband adopted three children, including a son who is a U.S. Marine, and two daughters.

CONNECT WITH LIZ: website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

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MY IMPRESSIONS:

One of the highlights of this year was my trip to Poland in April. The experience was wonderful as we encountered beautiful cities, countryside and people. When The Heart Sings by Liz Tolsma brought all of that back to me, but through a different perspective. The novel set during WWII captures the beauty of the human spirit and its resilience in the face of extreme persecution. Just as my trip introduced me to a country with a strong cultural heritage in spite of the many hardships the people faced over the centuries, this book brought to life the ordinary people of Poland that survived the invasion of Nazi Germany. Powerful in its message and beautifully written, When The Heart Sings is a very highly recommended read.

When The Heart Sings is a small story — small in that it is set in a small town, with a small forced-labor factory, with a small cast of characters. But it certainly is not small in message. Everything about it seeks to put a face on what the people of Poland endured during the dark days of occupation. The characters could be you or me. A young couple displaced from their farm and forced to work under unimaginable circumstances, really slaves to the Nazis. A doctor who against all odds is left to live and practice medicine and do what he can to undermine the efforts of the regime. A young, naive German woman who despite indoctrination and abuse, knows deep down the right thing to do. And the cruel face of evil in the very real form of a Nazi officer. The book also examines the small actions that we can take that have big results.  And under, around, and through all of the drama of the novel, God is not only present, but in control. As one of the character states: “We look at our circumstances and see things as not good. But we don’t see the picture clearly, as the Lord does. He knows what is going on.. Things happen just the way he has planned they will.” (p. 258) A hard truth to accept sometimes, but truth nonetheless. Where is God? is a question asked repeatedly, and in the end the characters and the readers know.

As you can probably guess from the title, song has a large part in the narrative. The music and words of lullabies, love songs, classical works, and hymns encourage, comfort, and help to keep sane those who find themselves in impossible situations. There is an especially moving scene in which song softens the heart of a brutal captor. Even if you have a tin ear (like me 😉 ), you will love the way Tolsma incorporates music.

I absolutely loved When The Heart Sings. It is part of a series, but the books are only connected through theme and setting and can be read as standalones. It is definitely a book you are going to talk about — great for book clubs or friends/family who love to read together.

Very Highly Recommended.

Great for Book Clubs.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Gilead Publishing for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive (US only)

• a print copy of When the Heart Sings
  
• ‘Just One More Chapter’ throw pillow seen HERE

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight November 26, 2018 and last through 11:59pm December 3, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

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Tags: historical fiction, Liz Tolsma, WWII