This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Hitler’s Taster is described as ‘a poignant tale of hope, danger and betrayal from the heart of history’s darkest moments’. The fact that Hitler employed a number of women to taste his food for fear of poison was a surprise to me, although not that he was paranoid enough to do so or that he was willing to have others die instead of him. After all, many millions did as a result of his actions.

Having arrived at Berghof, Hitler’s mountain retreat, Magda quickly forms a relationship with Captain Karl Weber, an SS officer in charge of security in the kitchen where she and the other tasters perform their duties. From Karl she learns about the realities of the Nazi regime – the persecution of Jews and other minorities, the concentration camps and countless other atrocities. This is information which, for propaganda purposes, is being kept hidden from the German population, as is the truth about how badly things are really going in the war. Magda realises that not all Germans support Hitler’s regime, even within the ranks of his own army.

It was interesting to get a ‘behind the scenes’ look at what it was like to be close to the Führer and the rather bizarre nature of life in his household. At one point, Magda is invited to take tea and his favourite apple cake with Adolf Hitler, there are dances organised and showings of films such as Gone With The Wind for those stationed at Berghof. As she observes, ‘We were trapped in a make-believe world propagated by the Reich while all around us battles were being fought, troops slaughtered and innocents butchered’.

On a brief trip to Berlin to visit her family Magda discovers the reality of what ordinary Germans are experiencing: food shortages, nightly bombing raids, buildings reduced to rubble, hospitals overwhelmed by the injured and the dying. It’s this, along with other events, that makes her determined that Hitler must die. She fantasises about the ways she personally might achieve this. Some are rather outlandish, others are no doubt similar to those being considered by the Allies. However, all of them are likely to end in her own demise.

At this point in the book, any notion the focus will mainly be on Magda and Karl’s relationship is rudely shattered as the story gets progressively darker with Magda experiencing first-hand the worst aspects of the Nazi regime. If anything, it becomes darker still including nightmare scenes as the soldiers of the Red Army overrun Berlin and take their revenge on German citizens. Students of history will know how Hitler’s reign of terror ends but perhaps cannot quite imagine what it would have been like to witness it in person.

Hitler’s Taster surprised me. It took a direction I was not expecting with some scenes that were distressing to read, not least of which because they depict things that happened in real life to real people. In fact, no doubt those real life experiences were worse than described in the book. I don’t think any of us would disagree with the author when he writes in his afterword, ‘Another global war would surely lead to annihilation; therefore, we must maintain a constant vigil against those who would use their power to destroy’.

A very engrossing book about a young woman who is a taster for Hitler during his third Reich. This is the UK version. The USA version is titled The Taster.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley!
All opinions are my own.

I was not sure whether I would enjoy a book that was about Hitler’s reign. I am so pleased I read this book it’s a wonderful story full of emotion with a heart tugging love story, mixed with the hardship of war and its many casualties. This is so much more than a book about Hitler and does not glorify his atrocities!!

I was so gripped by this from the very beginning you had me in the palm of you’re hand until the very last page. I practically read this in one sitting and went to sleep thinking about the characters until I awoke early to finish this amazing story.

When Magda 25 is sent to stay with her aunt and uncle for safety they encourage her to find employment. Magda finds herself along with 15 other women as a food taster for Hitler. She is taught how to taste and smell poisons incase someone tries to contaminate Hitler’s food. Every meal could be her last.

Magda meets Captain Karl Webber and they are instantly attracted to each other, he tries to distant himself from her as he has a plan to kill Hitler which will put their lives and their families lives in peril. Their romance is bitter sweet amongst the devastation of war. Can love in this instance conquer all?

Loved the insight into Hitler’s inner circle at the mountainside retreat and of his relationship with Eva.

A must read book that brings history to life in a mesmerising and addictive way.

You’re ending bought tears to my eyes and will forever remain in my heart!!

10 out of 10 from me!! Looking forward to V.S Alexander next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

I read a lot of Historical Books, particularly wartime period books, however this gave a very different perspective for me, the story follows Magda, one of Hitler's food tasters, it's an interesting concept of a book, Magda has escaped the wars front line, or has she, as food taster for one of the worlds most men, is it really an escape?

The book has been very well thought out and well researched and was a really enjoyable read, it's nice to read some Historical fiction from a different viewpoint.

Not the book I thought I was going to be reading!

A very interesting journey through WWII via the life of a young girl from Berlin and the unusual job she found herself working in.

Made me go and read lots of historical accounts of this side of the war which I was unaware of.

Could probably have been a bit grittier in places but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

2.5 stars

Magda Ritter is a young woman living in a Germany that is at war. Magda's parents send her to live with her aunt and uncle, away from the Allied bombings in Berlin. Magda soon finds herself with a job on Hitler's staff, working as a taster at Hitler's mountain retreat, the Berghof.
Life at the Berghof is a hidden escape from the horrors of the war. At first. But Magda becomes tangled with assassination attempts, romance with a SS officer and hidden horrors of the war.
With a job that literally means Magda must put her life on the line every day, any moment could be her last.
How far will Magda go to survive?

The premise of Her Hidden Life really intrigued me.
I have mixed feelings about Magda. She had lots of horrible things happen to her but I found some of her reactions and thoughts questionable.
The plot was interesting, mainly because of the period that the book is set in.
I wasn't a big fan of the romance. They didn't know each other that well and I would have preferred it to be a slow burner.
The writing style wasn't one of my favourites but it suited the story. However, there were parts where it could have flowed better and there were times where I lost interest.
There were a few places where details were repeated which I thought was unnecessary as I remembered them from the first time they were mentioned.
I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.

Overall this was an okay read.

This was a fascinating story about life under the third Reich. Raises lots of questions about who knew what.. I was in Buckeberg Germany in 1945, we lived in a house in the woods and my father was stationed with the R.AF. I can still remember all the people I met saying they didn't know what Hitler was doing. Well written story with the right emphasis.

A Culinary Perspective of the Final Days of the Third Reich:
"Her Hidden Life" by V S Alexander tells the true story of one of Hitler's food tasters who protected the neurotic Fuehrer. Hitler got it into his head that his enemies were most likely to try to kill him by poisoning his food and thus insisted that every dish of food be tasted before it was eaten by him or his guests. Once tasted, the cook would let one hour pass before being sure that the food was safe to be eaten. Clearly a lot of rather cold food must have been served up.
The story starts in 1943, just as the fortunes of WWII were turning against Germany, and takes us through to the final demise of the Third Reich in April 1945 and just beyond.
The main character is a taster, Magda Ritter, and it is through her that we learn of the final months of Nazi Germany. You might even say that the novel provides a culinary perspective.
The Hitler of this novel is not a man of pomp and glory. No mass parades of fervent German SS troops. This is a Hitler who is obsessed with conspiracies against him, a man betrayed by the German people who travels secretly and undercover. A man who is nonetheless able to inspire loyalty of the highest order amongst the majority of his friendship circle and even the German people themselves. This being despite the fact that the Allies were gradually reducing every German city to rubble. This is a Hitler detached from reality.
The novel is painstakingly researched and for me captured the atmosphere of Hitler's various final retreats realistically. Most especially in the description of Berchtesgaden and the Bunker.
The novel features the Von Stauffenberg Bomb Plot of 20 July 1944 and the terrible revenge taken against those responsible. That part of the story devoted to the Berlin Bunker in 1945 gives the reader a realistic insight into the minds of Hitler and his close associates. Providing you ignore the manner of his exit from this world.
Unfortunately the novel just didn't work for me: I found the dialogue stilted and Magda Ritter's supposed remorse unbelievable. Many historians have commented on the hypnotic power Adolph Hitler seemed able to project on those around him and it seems highly unlikely that Magda would have truly held out against this.
An interesting read mainly because of the detail contained in the novel of Hitler's hideaways, his habits and attitudes but held together by weak and stilted dialogue.

Magda is a young girl growing up in Berlin during WW2 when her parents decide that it is too dangerous for her to stay there and so she is sent to live with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt and uncle insist that she gets a job to pay her way and so she gains the unenviable position as food taster for Hitler to make sure that his food is not poisoned. She is definitely not a fan of Hitler but then she falls in live with Karl an SS officer.... so what will his opinion be!

A really interesting book about a area of the war that I didn't really know anything about, well written and although a work of fiction loosely based on a true story. If you are into WW2 stories i would definitely recommend it

Thank you to NetGalley for giving some pause for thought.
An interesting read-it could be a memoir, though the author is keen to point out that it is not based on real events.
Our main character is sent to live with her aunt and uncle. She is sent to work for Adolf Hitler, and becomes one of his many food testers. Risking life daily for someone you have no faith in is a terrifying position to be in. How far would you go to survive?
This was one of those stories that certainly didn't glamorise the Nazi regime, but it examined the effects of such a machine and the way in which it operated.
Following our main character through a number of years allowed us to witness the decline in Hitler's health, the growing sense of dissatisfaction within certain members of Germany and some hellish moments as people try to navigate through a particularly turbulent period in history.

Loved this! It’s my favourite time period for novels, WW2, and this didn’t disappoint. I’m appreciative to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I’ll be recommending this book to family and friends.

Despite being mostly a fiction-based story from WWII, it gave me an insight into how hard and heartbreaking life was for those who lived and worked through this time. It was well written and enlightening. Well researched too. I felt I gained a knowledge of the major characters from history and was wholly caught up in the story. A lesson in history.

Brilliant book about the war but based on the nazis, although the main character despises them, , I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more by this author

I love this book , i had wanted to read it for a long time it is based on a True Story and once you start this you will not put it down.

This book is very well written, a real page turner and it grabbed my interest. History usually bores me but I loved this book.

This is an absorbing and fascinating book. The historical accuracy is exact and reassuring as it does not deviate from reality. The events covered were an important part of the rise and fall of Hitler and the book provides an enthralling look inside the people and surroundings of Hitler in the Berghof.
This book has provided me with another perspective on Hitler and and his cronies.
Well worth a read. Both engrossing and entertaining

Normally the books I read about the holocaust are about Jewish people and prisoners of war etc and for personal reasons, when I started reading this book I wasn’t sure if I could carry on as this was based on the Nazi’s. However once I found out Magda was against the Nazis I carried on - and what an amazing book. So well told and gives you insight as to how not only the Jews, but many Germans suffered too.

A fantastic Story intermingled with real Events in history. A look behind the Scenes at what it was like living with the higher Echelons of Nazi Society, without being one of them. The glory years of the Reich is where she first gets introduced to the rarified life at Berchesgarten, and then the years of the struggle during the war as the Tide turned, plots against Hitlers life happened, and in the end Berlin falls and the war Ends. A nice love Story is woven through all this, and the 'Little people' are portrayed as they pobably would have been in those days, just getting by the best they can, with only the Information they were given.

A tale of one woman's fight to survive in World War II Germany. This story is connected (albeit extremely loosely) to a real person and the amount of research put in to the making of this book really shows. A fantastic book that is ideal for those interested in World War II or historical fiction in general. Thanks to LoveReading for giving me the opportunity to review this book.