The German Midwife by Mandy Robotham was a very well written book with a plot that was quite believable. Once I began reading it I found it hard to put down. I enjoyed reading it and did not want it to end. It alternated between the present and past. Seems like many authors write like this lately. Mandy Robotham's idea for this book was so unique that I almost believed it. Mixing fact with fiction was a good combination and made The German Midwife into a "what if" kind of a story.

Anke Hoff was a young woman working as a midwife in Berlin, Germany during World War II when the story began. She often found herself in the Jewish quarter helping young Jewish women deliver their babies. During one of these times, the place where Anke was helping a young Jewish woman deliver her baby was raided by SS officers. Anke was taken as a political prisoner. She later learned that her parents, brother and sister were also taken as political prisoners and sent off to work camps. Anke was sent to Ravensbruck. She began working as a sewer until it was discovered that she was a trained midwife. Anke was forced to work in that capacity from then on. She did not discriminate over who she helped. She felt the need to help any woman in childbirth despite their religion or nationality. It was the innocent babies that mattered to her most. Anke was intent on doing her job well and surviving. Then one day the commandant asked for her to come to his office. This unusual request could only have negative consequences or so Anke thought. The proposition that was presented to her was one that sent shivers down Anke's body. It was something that she feared and wanted no part of but could not say no to. She had no choice but to do as she was ordered to do. Anke found herself conflicted over how she felt. She was commissioned to be the midwife for Eva Braun, Hitler's mistress and soon to be mother of his child. In exchange for her services, she was told that her family would remain safe and unharmed. Her desire to help all women in need during childbirth and the innocent babies won out over her hate for the Nazis and what they were doing.

The German Midwife was a brilliant novel that was well researched. The characters were well developed and believable. This is Mandy Robotham's first novel. I hope she writes many more since I am now a fan. I highly recommend this book.

My thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for providing me with the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for this review which is completely my own.

A very well written book. Quite harrowing in parts but none the less a gripping book. Would highly recommend.

A great read. I enjoyed reading it and it has a great plot and characters. I also look forward to more books from the author.

I absolutely loved this historical fiction book and I was hooked from the very start. An excellent story that I just wanted to keep on reading it was so good.

I feel very underwhelmed at the whole thing. Not particularly bad writing per se but not very entertaining either. Very disappointing.

A superb 5* read that I didn't want to end, I picked this book up and just had to keep reading as it had me hooked and I was so invested in the story I read it in just a couple of sittings.

I can't recommend this book highly enough, a superb historical fiction read. I loved the characters and the setting and the way the author pulled the story together.

I enjoyed this book so much. the idea that Eva Braun was pregnant with Hitler's baby is startling. I imagine that a Hitler baby would be... a horrible thing. This was such a good book. it had me by my heartstrings the whole time

Absolutely wonderful! This is my favorite time period to read about and this was a page turner! The strength and determination of Anke was amazing. The atrocities of WW2 can be overwhelming but I think it’s important to keep them alive so we never repeat them. I loved this book!

This historical fiction uses the backdrop of the Nazi regime through the experiences and past memory of Anke Hoff , a young midwife. There is an interesting and powerful point of conflict: Anke’s nurturing care for infants regardless of their race and physical appearances and her detest for all things Nazi. This conflict is heightened when Anke is asked to be the main pre and post natal caregiver for Eva Braun, the long time partner of Hitler and his legally wedded wife for a day.
The setting is engaging and has its moments of moral dilemmas juxtaposed in the historical setting. The description of inmates in the Nazi camps are harrowing, more so, the situation of pregnant women and new mothers. The humane look at Nazi officials and other people bring in an added sensitivity but the flashbacks to Anke’s earlier experiences even as her current predicaments in Eva Braun’s household continue is somewhat distracting as readers would want to go with the current story line.
The larger narrative of the child that Anke is set to deliver and what it signifies to the German Reich leadership, how Eva Braun looks at it, Anke’s involvement with a Nazi official and what happens to the child is worth a read. I would recommend this for historical fiction lovers and those who love to dwell on the ‘what ifs’ of global history.

This is an interesting and intriguing historical novel set in World War Two.
Anke is a German midwife incarcerated in Ravensbruck concentration camp for crimes against the Reich. When she is ordered to leave the camp and attend Hitler’s mistress Eva Braun, who is pregnant, she has little choice. If she refuses her family will be killed.
This is a compelling “what if” story that had me gripped from the very beginning. As Anke attends Eva and the pregnancy progresses, there are flashbacks to her previous life, both in Berlin and in the camp.
The horror of the way pregnancy was dealt with in the camp as well as what Anke was asked to do in her job as a midwife in Berlin was completely shocking.
I liked the character of Anke who was both brave and clever. I also enjoyed the romantic aspect of the novel although it seemed most unlikely given Anke and Dieter’s situation and positions in Eva’s household.
There is a lot of detail about pregnancy and childbirth contained in the book and I was not surprised to discover that the author herself was a midwife.
The moral conundrum Anke is faced with is also interesting. What would a medical professional do when faced with aiding the birth of a child of one the most evil monsters the world has ever known?
The historical aspects of the novel novel were also well researched- life in the camps as well as life in wartime Berlin.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

The lead character, Anya, is a midwife in 1944 Germany and the opening chapter finds her incarcerated as a German political in a concentration camp where she supports pregnant inmates. This is quite harrowing and graphic to read but clearly portrays the inhumane conditions and suffering caused by Hitler's regime.


One day she has been chosen to care for a woman who is part of Hitler's inner circle, torn between her duty as a caregiver and her hatred for the Nazi regime, Anke is swept into a life unlike anything she’s ever known – and she discovers that many of those at the Berghof are just as trapped as she is. And soon, she’s falling for a man who will make her world more complicated still.

I find this kind of "what if?" historical fiction novels very fascinating and I loved this one so much that I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up on my top 19 reads of 2019.

I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Germany, 1944. Taken from the camps to serve the Führer himself, Anke Hoff is assigned as midwife to one of Hitler’s inner circle. If she refuses, her family will die.

Torn between her duty as a caregiver and her hatred for the Nazi regime, Anke is swept into a life unlike anything she’s ever known – and she discovers that many of those at the Berghof are just as trapped as she is. And soon, she’s falling for a man who will make her world more complicated still…

Before long, the couple is faced with an impossible choice – and the consequences could be deadly. Can their forbidden love survive the horrors of war? And, more importantly, will they?

this is my kind of book. i love this era and get sucked into so many books around it. and this author does not disappoint .
the story never becomes dull it keeps you gripped right from the start. the author has clearly done her research, and masterfully makes the pages come to life. making you feel so many emotions along the way of the characters story & showing the light in such a time of darkness . a compelling read

I was completely absorbed by this story. I would recommend it to anyone interested in stories of bravery, love and tragedy especially if there’s an interest in World War 2. It’s quite possibly the best book I’ve read this year. The birth descriptions were incredible but not gory, the characters and plot well written. 10/10 all round from me. With thanks to Netgalley and publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest review. I hope to be able to review more from this new author. What a great start to her writing career! I’ve been unable to leave a review on Goodreads as the ISBN is not recognised but will happily do so when I can, as well as recommending to friends with similar reading interests.

I absolutely loved this book. I read it in a day as I was unable to stop thinking about it.
Mandy Robotham obviously has excellent experience and begins the story explaining her profession.
I was captured by the description of the camp and found myself with tears at the horrors that she was describing, the memories were just painful.

I found the story around her other imprisonment captivating on a different level entirely.

Definitely a book for women who have an interest in WW2 fictional romance.

This was a thoroughly good read. The lead character, Anya, is a midwife in 1944 Germany and the opening chapter finds her incarcerated as a German political in a concentration camp where she supports pregnant inmates. This is quite harrowing and graphic to read but clearly portrays the inhumane conditions and suffering caused by Hitler's regime.
Anya is then requested to oversee a secret high ranking official's pregnancy with a threat of harm to her family if she refuses. What ensues is a test of her professionalism and courage as she moves to the epicentre of the Reich.
This is a well written novel which educated me in respect of the sufferung, not only of Jews, but many other citizens who did not fit perfectly in with the Aryan vision held by Hitler. Highly recommended.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Unintentionally, this was the second book in a row that I read that was historical fiction dealing with WWII. It was a good choice though. The midwife/maternity storyline was interesting, especially when you took into account the mother-to-be was pregnant with Hitler’s child and was being taken care of by a former camp prisoner.

Good read. Would recommend it to others.

Most readers seem to have enjoyed the time they spent with Mandy Robotham’s The German Midwife (aka A Woman of War), but I have to admit the novel left me conflicted.

As I understand it, Hitler’s few living relations have voluntarily committed themselves to intentionally stamping out their bloodline and I had great difficulty rectifying that knowledge against the context of Robotham’s work. I appreciate the theories that inspired this piece, but I also felt the framework Robotham chose thumbs its nose at the intensely personal decisions of very real people and couldn’t help wishing she’d opted to express herself through a different lens.

By pure coincidence, I also read this novel alongside I Was a Doctor at Auschwitz. The memoir, penned by Gisella Perl, is the firsthand account of the time its author spent as an inmate gynecologist. Fair or not, the natural overlap in subject matter prompted unconscious comparison and while I felt the fiction heavy, I couldn’t help noticing it the paler of the two. The course of Perl’s experiences with the officers of the camp also undermined Anke’s rise and at the end of the day, I found I had little patience for the fiction.

When all is said and done, I liked the ideas on which this story was built and appreciate Robotham’s style of writing but have such mixed feelings about the historic context and contemporary implications that I’d have a hard time recommending it forward.

What an extraordinary story. The strength that it must have taken to do what she did. For some reason, I felt for Eva. I liked that the book wrapped itself up. I felt that the epilogue was necessary to the book.

This was an amazing first book for this author. I will look forward to her other stories.

Anke Hoff is a midwife and has been chosen to care for a woman who is part of Hitler's inner circle. Her family's life depends on it. Torn between her duty as a midwife and the hate for her captors, she falls in love with an unlikely man. Will there love survive the war? Will her family be safe? This was a gripping book. It had everything romance, mystery, and extreme danger.

This was a very good book. While the subject matter is horrendous and sad, it shows the spirit of people and how they come to grips with the horrors of life and how some are able to live through it. Very poignant and heartfelt writing.