In the 1930s, Hitler's power was starting to rise. During that time, his honorary niece, Gretchen, was growing up as one of his favorite people. She loves her uncle Dolf dearly, the man her father died supposedly protecting. When a Jewish journalist, Daniel, tells her a different version of her father's death, Gretchen slowly learns the truth about her uncle. Together, the two try to find the truth though finding it may cost them their lives.

PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG by Anne Blankman is now one of my favorite books. Packed with heart-stopping action, a heart-warming romance, and deceits you never see coming, it is an excellent work of historical fiction following a young girl in Hitler's inner circle. The setting feels so real and intense, and it gives the tone of the story a haunting kind of air that brims with originality. Gretchen is such a well-rounded and complex main character whose story you will want to devour. Watching her slowly unravel the secrets and hidden agendas around her will make your heart nearly break at times, but she faces it all with a strength tinged with compassion. She is easily one of my favorite characters.

Alongside her is Daniel, the boy who helps figure out the truth with her. Their romance is slow and fragile, but it builds wonderfully into something strong and solid. Getting to see them overcome their own stereotypes about the other is completely beautiful, and some of their scenes together are my favorite.

Overall, I absolutely love PRISONER OFNIGHT AND FOG. I really hope to see a sequel from Anne Blankman, because I'm dying to revisit these outstanding characters again. I would recommend it to any historical fiction fans, particularly those who enjoyed CODE NAME VERITY or nonfiction works like THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.

Book Summary

In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her uncle Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.

Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler.

And Gretchen follows his every command.

Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.

As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?