TLC Book Tours: The German Heiress by Anika Scott

Title: The German Heiress
Author: Anika Scott 
Format: ARC
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: April 7, 2020
Source: TLC Book Tours and Harper Collins

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Clara Falkenberg, once Germany’s most eligible and lauded heiress, earned the nickname “the Iron Fräulein” during World War II for her role operating her family’s ironworks empire. It’s been nearly two years since the war ended and she’s left with nothing but a false identification card and a series of burning questions about her family’s past. With nowhere else to run to, she decides to return home and take refuge with her dear friend, Elisa.

Narrowly escaping a near-disastrous interrogation by a British officer who’s hell-bent on arresting her for war crimes, she arrives home to discover the city in ruins, and Elisa missing. As Clara begins tracking down Elisa, she encounters Jakob, a charismatic young man working on the black market, who, for his own reasons, is also searching for Elisa. Clara and Jakob soon discover how they might help each other—if only they can stay ahead of the officer determined to make Clara answer for her actions during the war."

My Two Cents:  

"The German Heiress" is the story of Clara, the daughter of an iron business empire, who took over the reins of her family's company as Germany crumpled into chaos during World War II. Held high by the Third Reich, she rose to infamy during the war as her family's company turned to supplying with the tools of war that allowed the Nazis to get as far as they were able to get in the war. Was she a victim or an active participant? How thin is that line? Does it even matter? All of these questions and more are explored in this great book that explores the devastating aftermath of WWII.

With as much World War II fiction as I have read, I feel like I have not read a whole lot set in the direct aftermath of the war. Even those that escaped the war were deeply affected as they tried to put their lives back together again. Clara wants a new start but as the book opens, we see her pulled very quickly back to a place where she will most definitely be under suspicion of being a war criminal as she led her family's business during the war. I've read plenty of books about those that did good during the war and those that were pure evil but what about those that were in the middle? Are they complicit? Are they victims of the time? How does self-preservation factor in?

I love when my emotions are tugged in many different ways and this book certainly did that for me. This book definitely explores a lot of gray areas and I loved how it was able to change my emotions towards the characters as we the readers get to uncover what truly happened during the war. The tug of war over Clara and how bad to feel for her was a really fantastic journey that I definitely enjoyed.