A story of expectations and secrets. Based in Berlin where the Lecht family are basically just surviving amongst the rubble, Lili is caring for her grandfather, younger brother Ruri both of them suffering ill health, also brother Dirk who is something of a fly-by-night chap who in his own way helps to keep the family going with his ill gotten gains.
Then they are introduced to squadron leader Michael Harrison by Nico Kacharian (who is something of an enigma).
Lili and Michael have reason to distrust the war on each side, both having lost dear ones to the forces, so what could bring them together?
There is some twists through the story as it unravels.

The descriptions were very vivid, I can still see Lili’s room. Nico just annoyed me. Personally I felt it ended suddenly.

A historical fiction about post war Germany before the Berlin Wall went up.
I found the historical aspect very interesting.
That ending???? I was a bit let down with it.
The romance????
All in all, a ok read. If you enjoy historical fiction, pick this up and see how you like it.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

Interesting read about an intrepid woman. I enjoy reading books like this. Women who took on challenges and rose to the occasion are inspirational and insightful.

I was not able to get interested in this book and I did not finish it. The characters and the plot were not able to catch or keep my attention.

I’m not going to lie I enjoyed this until the end and then the end ruined it. I was really excited to read a book centred around the Berlin blockade and I thought it captured the bleakness of post war Berlin perfectly. I also noticed a few errors in the German words used which let it down too

Another great title from Margaret Mayhew, her writing is excellent and her details about wartime Britain are always spot on!

I first read the Margaret Mayhew books about 20 years ago and it was her that got me interested in books based around WW1 and WW2. They are well written and teach the reader history around a storyline. I honestly couldn't remember the storyline and enjoyed rereading the book. My only criticism was the lack of a happy ending!

Post war Berlin was a tough place. Lili and her family are in the Russian sector, which is perhaps the least cared for. Then she meets Michael, an RAF squadron leader who lost family in the German bombings of the UK (as well as those he flew with). A romance? Yes, but also a good depiction of a time and place most have forgotten. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical romances.,

Another fantastic novel by Margaret Mayhew
Based in 1948 in Berlin
A city that was divided by war., and two lovers on opposing sides. Can they overcome the obstacles of war and make there own destiny
Fantastic book.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the advance copy

This story takes place in Berlin just a few years after the war. Berlin is divided in quarters but the relationship between the Western Allies and Russia isn't that good. The story shows the desperate situations the Berlin people lived in. Most of Berlin was in ruin with food, clothing, medicine and fuel spares. It wasn't living, it was surviving each day.

Not sure about this book. Good historical context but a few years went by without much explanation and then just ends.

Loved this saga ,a book with strong characters romance .I picked The Pathfinder up and could not stop reading.I was totally drawn in to the story .Highly recommend.#netgalley #the pathfinder

An exciting book to read. It was very gripping, emotional, happy and sad. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The characters were strong, interesting and the story kept me wanting to know what happened. I recommend that you read this book to learn more about life in Berlin after the war had ended.

In the aftermath of WWII, Berlin is a hard city to simply survive in. Lili is 19, and the head of the household, taking care of her senile grandfather, her polio stricken 9 year old brother and her 16 year old black-marketeer brother. The city of Berlin is divided into 4 sections, and sadly their family lives in the Russian section, which is one of the harshest ones. Losing their mother and grandmother to the bombing by the British and Americans, she has no love for them. Michael Harrison was an RAF pilot who dropped many bombs on Berlin during the end of the war. He lost his sister and 2 nephews to a Nazi bomb attack in England, so he has no love for the Nazi's, and clumps all Germans in the same category. While there is a romance, it is ill-fated. The characters are well defined, and the story is well written. I liked how it made me think deeper about what it was like for the German people, and not fall into the same trap that Michael did at first. Hard to put this one down, and I highly recommend it.

In 1948 Berlin, Germany the Second World War ended 3 years ago but the city is in rubbles, after so much bomb damage done by the Allies. In the British sector, RAF Squadron Leader Michael Harrison, was a war hero who helped bomb Berlin into fragments. He doesn't much care for Germany or its people, as he views them responsible for all the suffering that occurred in England and the war in general, where his siblings were killed in The Blitz. He just follows orders now. In the Russian sector is Berliner Lili Leicht, whose now living in the ruins of her former home with her ailing grandfather, and brothers. She does hard labour to put food on the table.Her father was murdered by the Gestapo and her mother was killed in the bombing. Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German society, culture, press, economy, judiciary and politics of Nazism. The victorious allies asserted joint authority and sovereignty over Germany as a whole. While Berlin was wholly located in the Soviet zone, because of its symbolic importance as the nation's capital and the seat of the former Nazi government, the city was jointly occupied by the Allied powers and subdivided into 4 sectors. However, since the war's end, tensions started growing between Russia and the rest of the Allies. The Germans, in particular, the Berliners, hated the Russians because when they came into Germany during the war, they treated the Germans poorly and they raped many women from young to old. People in the Russian sector of the city weren't getting enough food and supplies.The Russians were making things difficult. The Berlin Blockade which lasted from June 1948-May 1949 was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of postwar Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Western Allies then organised the Berlin airlift from June 1948-September 1949 to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin.As tensions in the smouldering city grow worse, Michael and Lili slowly fall in love, but can their love survive prejudice and secrets?

Omg this book was everything and more than i expected. My ideal book as i love family saga books. Highs and lows of everyday life. Loved, loved ,loved it