Poor women stuck in cruel times, i felt so sorry for these women, f##king soldiers were absolute animals, made me so angry, It was very informative and written really well, I truly think this author is very talented but it just didn’t do it for me as much as i thought it would, there was a romance running through it but they spent a lot of time apart so that was a big negative for me, there was a few non detailed sex scenes between the main characters, something I normally try to avoid in books, so for the romance side of this book I wasn’t impressed, the rest of the story deserves my thumbs up....
***Trigger warning for gang rape, not detailed but it’s there***
3.5 stars

'Berlin Hungers' is a beautiful historical romance set predominantly in Berlin in the years following the end of WWII. The story opens on VE Day with Gillian Somerville, having spent the war as a pilot for the Air Transport Auxiliary, realising that she is expected to find a husband and have children and leave her dream of continuing as a pilot in the rubble. On the same day in Berlin, Erika Brandt experiences the brutality of the victorious Soviet forces as she and her motley band of friends try to survive in ruins of their city. In the weeks following Germany’s surrender Erika has to use whatever means she has to survive and have some semblance of control over her own future. Gillian discovers that the closest she’ll get to flying is becoming an air traffic controller and ends up stationed in Berlin.

Saracen gives voices to all four nationalities (English, German, American and Russian) occupying Berlin through the individual characters she creates and what is apparent, is that there is admirable and appalling behaviour from all of them. Gillian becomes friends with farm girl Betsy who is an aircraft mechanic and even though they’re roommates for years, Gillian knows her desire for women would never be accepted by Betsy. The social and political aspects of the era are interwoven in wonderful storytelling that I barely realised I was learning something. I wish I had been taught history like this at school (although I’m sure some of the nuns might not have been quite as thrilled by this story as I was).

Gillian and Erika’s relationship is realistically portrayed and it was difficult to read how often they were thwarted by external circumstances like distance, fraternization policies, detainment, mail and work. I loved strength of both Gillian and Erika as women in a time where women were so easily used and dismissed. Post-war Berlin was so well described that I could smell the urine, feel the grime and taste the ghastliness of powdered potatoes. The history and politics were remarkably easy to read and assimilate by the way they were interwoven into the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this but I am interested in this era of history. The only reservation I have is the ending. There was nothing wrong with it, but I found it a little short and too simplistic considering the wealth of detail I had just read through.

There is rape in the story but it is not graphically described.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

If you like historical fiction, you will enjoy reading Berlin Hungers. The plot revolved around the plight of Berliners, especially their struggles to survive after World War II due in part to its very tumultuous political climate. The Russians wanted to hold tight to Germany fearing an independent Germany might once again invade their country. The other Allied nations, specifically the United States, England, and France, adhered to establishing a more democratic West.

As the characters’ dealt with such historic events taking place around them such as the Marshall Plan, the Nuremberg trials, and the Berlin Airlift, the author effectively took the reader behind these events and personalized the life and death realities of those involved.

Also interspersed throughout the novel were human interest stories that added another layer of depth to this already well developed and researched novel. With each loss of life or brutalized assault, the reader felt the characters’ pain and suffering. With each acts of kindness and love, the reader felt the characters’ hope for a better life and future. With each turn of the page, the author continually engaged the reader through vivid detailed descriptions and realistic dialogue that made this story so enthralling.

This was a great read and very highly recommended.