Anna Lawrence is about to turn one hundred years old, she sits in her nursing home Marden House the night before her big birthday wondering where did the time go and why did she live so long and others didn’t?

Anna was born in Vienna to Jewish parents and just before the start of The Great War, Anna has always been strong, she needed to be and she looks back at a century of memories. As a young bride she leaves Austria for Palestine and to escape the Nazis. Anna had to make hard choices early, like everyone she has regrets and made mistakes and she’s had to live with what she did or didn’t do for decades. Anna has outlived everyone, her two husbands and sisters, acquaintances and friends.

The narrative is about Anna reflecting back on her life and past, she lived in four countries Austria, Palestine, Germany and England and survived some of the most turbulent times in history, she’s experienced hunger, war, loss and the Holocaust.

I received a copy of Beyond the Storm by Diana Finley from HQ Digital and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Anna’s story is her own and she comes to terms with it, she was a stalwart person and yet at times extremely fragile, she had a secret and it became a burden, and the telling the truth really did set her free and connected all the dots.

Four stars from me, Anna and her husband Sam were truly soul mates, he was a kind man and he gave her unquestioning and judgment free support and love.

A epic novel of a woman's life. Anna is turning 100 and reflecting on her life- a life which spans WWI and WWII. There are loves, losses, and so much more. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This is definitely an emotional read. I felt so heartbroken for Anna throughout this book. I really loved the shift from the present to the past. I love when historical fictions have you piece together the story by switching between narratives.

Sorry I could not finish this book in time. I will get a copy and try to read. Thank you for the opportunity.

In this story, Beyond the Storm by Diana Finley, Anna celebrates a milestone birthday. A reporter interviews her for the paper and we are taken into her life story full of loss and secrets.

This story takes us through Anna’s life as she experiences two marriages, several countries and a secret that consumes her. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Great story!

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Another good book that should be put on my favorites list of books about WWII. This one was an emotional journey with good plot and character. If you can handle the cruelty of a war - go read this one. Recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this e-copy in return for my honest review. Beautiful and captivating, an emotional story perfect for fans of Dinah Jeffries and Kate Morton.

Unfortunately I did not get on with this book and therefore cannot rate it very highly. I really struggled to connect with the characters and storyline.

I've always been a sucker for WWII novels and it's rare that one disappoints me and Beyond the Storm was to a disappointment. Anna is a strong and well written heroine. The novel was an insightful read and I would recommend it to any WWII historical fiction buff like myself.

This story was about Diana’s life. There were secrets, lies, betrayals, and hardships of WWII. It was emotional at times and well written. I think it will stay with me for a while.
Many thanks to HQ Digital and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A really emotive journey through the depths of the 20th century. Well worth a read. Many fully formed characters for the reader to form their own opinions of, just like in life

Diana Finley’s Beyond the Storm is the story of one young lady’s life and how decisions made can affect everything you do. It is the story of Anna, a young lady who made a heartbreaking decision that touched everyone she knew and all that she did. The story tells of her friends and families and how they survived life, death, love, and war. It’s a good book. I enjoyed it.
I received a free copy of this story from NetGalley for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A fantastic story about one woman's experience of WWII.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

My Review:
Beyond the Storm is a historical fiction about secrets, war and ultimately love. It starts off in 2014 where Anna is turning 100 years old and tells the story of how she was born in Vienna right around the time of war and of the people she loved and lost. It is truly a moving novel that I could not put down until the very end.

I was provided this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I must say it was a book I will remember for a long time. It was nice to see Anna surrounding by her entire family. Overall, it was well written and a book I highly recommend.

The story opens with the celebration of Anna Feldman Lawrence's 100th birthday. Anna is a strong willed, over opinionated (rightly earned) centenarian with a long passionate story to tell.

And so begins Anna's story of her life as a Jewish girl living in Vienna- before, during and after the war.

She reminisces over her lifetime of loves and loses; her homeland, friends and family... the choices she ultimately made, and the decisions she had to live with.

She has outlived everyone. She misses those gone before her very much, almost too much- forgetting how blessed and much needed she really is.

This the beautiful story of a woman who has lived through some of the hardest and darkest moments in recent history, only to come through carrying memories of what could have been what should have been, and accepting what was.

4🌟
Thank you to NetGalley, HQ Digital and the author Ms. Diana Finley for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy.

Loved the cover. The book is based on the entire life of Anna pre-war, during the WWII and after. Anna celebrates her 100th birthday and while waiting for 2 precious persons in her life; she goes through her memories,we read through the chapters Anna's life.
Her first betrayal by having an affair and conceiving her first son Shimon, Jakob her first husband made her give up her son up for adoption but not to strangers but to close people. Jakob dies in a concentration camp.
Anna marries an Englishman Sam, her real love, he passes away to soon. She had two wonderful children Ben and Eva. Anna slowly lost all of her family and friends. At 100 years-old she had with her her 3 children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. A beautiful and fulfilled life.
I want to thank NetGalley, HQ Digital and Diana Finley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Beyond the Storm is a story of Anna, a Jewish woman that grew up in Vienna prior to the rise of Nazi Germany and lived to be 100 years old. It is the story of her struggles, sacrifices, and love of family and friends. It details how those struggles and sacrifices shaped her as a woman, wife, and mother. I really enjoyed the book and thought it was well written. I think what I liked most was that it was a different look at life during that period of time and how it effected people, even if you were not Jewish. Specific to the character, Anna, you got to see her good qualities but also her flaws.

This is a cookie cutter novel... a woman looking back on her life and commenting on her choices and their results. Ho hum...I was bored.
Nothing about it stood out.. nether the characters nor the plot. It’s been written about before and done better.

The setting is a familiar one. Anna born in Vienna has escaped to the West but the trauma of being persecuted as a Jew has not left her even decades later. The story however, is about relationships and the problem that happens when secrets are allowed to be kept hidden. These are secrets that have to be told but Anna is not happy with the timing of airing the secrets of her past, not knowing how it will effect her life as it is now.

Anna is now 100 years old and in celebrating this day the story goes back in sections to her life, which was tumultuous and frightening in turns. It also deals with stories of people who lived in her past and how they have all had an influence on Anna. The biggest secret of all which has eaten into Anna and which now needs to be told.

This was another story set in the backdrop of WWII, the slow but sure denouncement and elimination of Jews and the few stories of the survival of some who lived to tell the tale.

Very emotional, very effective and good readi

A really insightful read into what it must have been like to have lived through the most turbulent times in European history. The novel starts with the memories of a birthday party for a 100 year old woman and it's her story that kept me captivated throughout this.

Anna is a traumatized Jewish refugee who falls in love with Sam who is a British Army Officers. Well, that is going to cause difficulties given the social expectations and fears of the time. This is not just the story of those in the book however - the author sprinkles stories of what it must be like to have suffered loss and tragedy in war and this is what holds the novel together and adds that cherry on the top. It's hard to read at times given the subject matter and the realisation that this all happened to some people at some point.

The spans 100 years yet it never feels overly long or drawn out. This is a raw and human portrayal of war and its aftermath

Recommended!