The Book Of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel is a powerful Word War II story that illustrates the history of the many forgers who created false documents and helped thousands of children to escape Nazi occupied France in the 1940s.
Eva and her mother are forced to flee Paris when her father, a Polish born Jew is arrested. They arrive in a small town in Free France , and Eva's artistic skills are pressed into service. She joins the resistance and begins forging documents for children who are being escorted across the border into Switzerland. While she understands the importance of what they are doing, she feels it is equally important that a record is kept of the children's real identities, with the hope that after the war they can be reunited with their families, so along with her colleague Remy, she comes up with an ingenious code that allows the information to be hidden in the pages of an old book in the church library, which they call "The Book of Lost Names".
This is an engaging story, with a hint of romance and a dash of danger, and one that I am sure many readers of historical fiction set in this era will enjoy.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Thank you SO much NetGalley and Welbeck Publishing UK for letting me have a copy of this frankly wonderful book. It took me 4 days to read it because I couldn't put it down and last night I stayed up until 1.30am to finish it because I couldn't get to sleep without knowing the ending.

And I cried buckets.

And any books that not only makes me stay up until late into the night and makes me cry is a book I will recommend over and over again. I am already planning on buying a copy as gift for someone who I know will love it.

I wish they did half stars here because I reserve 5 stars for books that 'change me' in some ways but this book definitely deserves 4.5 stars.

Thank you Netgally for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is the story of Eva Traube, a librarian who lives in Florida and who has a much more interesting past than her family knows. The story starts in 2005 when Eva reads an article about a library in Berlin that is trying to return to their rightful owners some of the books that the Nazis looted during the Second World War. In the picture Eva sees ‘The book of Lost Names’ and all the memories of the Second World War come crashing back. Eva is not just a shy and quiet librarian who should be retiring. Upon seeing the book, she decides to go to Berlin and recover the book. The story is written in two timelines, the 2005 present day, and 1940s during the War.
Her story starts in Paris and we see a young Eva studying English, but worried about her graduating as Jews were having more and more of their rights stripped by the Germans who had occupied France. One night Eva witnesses her Tatus(father) being arrested by the French gendarmes and this event puts her on a new path. Afraid for their lives Eva and her mum must run and try to cross over into Switzerland and ensure their safety. Destiny brings them to a small village in the Free Zone where Eva becomes one of the best forgerers of the French Resistance and she creates fake documents that help save the lives of hundreds of Jewish children. The price of freedom though is high, and Eva tries her best not to erase these children and their heritage.
This book is emotional and moving. I have enjoyed reading about Eva, Remy, Pere Clement and all the other villagers who fought in their own way the Nazi oppression, however I found Eva’s mum annoying and stubborn. She could not accept that her views might be wrong, and she made Eva’s life miserable with her petty comments and jibes.
The love story forming between Eva and Remy was sweet and it felt realistic reading about their struggles.
I would have liked more detail about the work of the Resistance and what more they did to strike back at the Nazis, as well as more background on the children saved. This said, the book is lovely and a great piece of historical fiction.
Amazing quotes as well about the importance of books in our lives.

A fascinating, cruel and yet beautiful story all wrapped up against the backdrop of the Second World War. Beautifully written, nice depth of characters, good pace and enough tension throughout.

This lands firmly on my favorites shelf!
I absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys books set during the Second World War, historical fiction and finding life, love, hope in the darkest of circumstances.

Thank you to Netgalley, Welbeck Publishing UK and Kristin Harmel for this ARC in return for my honest review. This is the first novel by Kristin Harmel that I've read and I must say she's gained a new fan. I've already purchased The Winemaker's Wife. The Book of Lost is a powerful and emotional book with a very strong plot and main character. Once I started reading I was hooked. A compelling story of resilience, strength and courage.

I've never read a book about the forgers during the war before and found it fascinating how they created these fake documents. Not only the risk involved in undertaking the challenge, but the chemistry and art involved. It was interesting to read about the different papers used, how to remove ink using chemicals and the tactics the Nazi's used to detect forgeries. I also found the use of the Fibonacci sequence as a way to hide the children's names in the textbook really clever.

The book was a little predictable in places, I suspected the twists that came later in the novel. However this didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. Despite the pain and terror they were subjected to, the story is really one of love and hope. I'm always moved when I read about the kindness of strangers during times where such empathy could have resulted in execution.

A moving story of compassion, bravery, love and hope. I really enjoyed it.

You can read my full review at : https://mmbbookblog.com/the-book-of-lost-names-by-kristin-harmel/

The Book of Lost names by Kristin Harmel is a fascinating read of the important role forgers played in Resistance in World War 2. I was not aware that this has already been published and I have been given a copy by Wellbeck publishing due to its paperback release.
It is 2005 Eva Traube ex-librarian sees an article in a magazine how the Nazi destroyed priceless books in Berlin Libraries in world war 11. And with that she sees a photo a book that she has not seen for 65 years. The memories that resurface from seeing that very book makes her book a flight to Berlin.
In 1942 Eva Traube was a graduate working with books in Paris when like many thousands of Jews are arrested including her father Tatus. She flees for her life with her mother to a quite village called Aurignon before trying to get to the free zone of Switzerland. She gets involved with the French Resistance as a forger. Creating documents for people like herself who want to escape the Nazis. But she does this against her mother’s wishes and who blames her for father being arrested.
The is another richly detailed novel of the bravery and the hardships of the people in France in World war 2. Who are against the ideals of the Nazi’s? This is a heart wrenching story where people scarified their lives this time for Jewish children to give them a future. I really enjoyed this book especially as I was not aware of subject of the forgers in the Resistance. That it gave it a different aspect for a Historical book about World war 2. 5 stars from me.

Thank you for this eARC advance copy of this book!

This book starts when Eva, an elderly librarian spots a book that was looted by the Nazis shown on TV. She books a trip to Berlin without telling her 50-something year old son.

The story then unfolds of how Eva, a young Jewish librarian, found herself babysitting for her neighbour on the night the police came for her family. Her father is taken away and Eva and her mother escape Paris for a small village in the Vichy state after she is able to forge papers for them.

In the small village, the boarding house owner notices the gaps in their story and puts Eva and her mother in contact with the Resistance network.

Eva becomes an important forger in the area, producing many papers for children being smuggled out of France into Switzerland.

The book has a thread of tension running through it that is countered by the love and friendships Eva finds. The ending is beautiful too, and provides a surprise.

Definitely a 5 star read for me. Loved it!

A beautifully told story of forgers working for the French resistance, and protecting the innocent and persecuted in Eastern France during World War 2. Recommended to any history buffs, fans of historical fiction which are well-researched and believable. All the characters are well-rounded; and incidents in the novel are all believable - however sad, emotional or uplifting they are.
This is the first of Kristin Harmel's novels I've read, but it won't be the last.

With thanks to NetGalley and Welbeck for an ARC.

This was my first time reading a novel by Kristin Harmel and I was not disappointed. The Book of Lost is a terrific book with a very strong plot and central character. I found it difficult to book the book down once I started, the storyline was so gripping. I can't wait to read more from the author in the future.

Well researched and equally well written, this is historical fiction with so much heart. Easily set to be a bestseller, the pacy plot kept me turning the pages and wondering about the characters long into the night. Very interesting author notes at the end detail which characters and events are directly inspired by actual events from WW2.

Wow! I have read several by this author and she is amazing. I look forward to getting every book by her and I’m positive I will love them all. Thanks to publisher and NetGalley. Also, thank you to author for being such a great storyteller.

What a wonderful read this is. Thought provoking as you explore all the lives lost, and those forever changed from the impact of World War Two. A perfect read for me, and one I’ll highly recommend. Well written and I feel well researched. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel.
1942 in Paris a young student Eva and her mother are at neighbours flat when German soldiers come to arrest them, they take her father prisoner.
Eva and her mother flee to the French Free Zone. When they arrive they are helped by the townspeople who give them shelter.
Eva joins the resistance as a forger making identity papers to smuggle children into Switzerland. With another forgers help they come up with a code to record the children’s identities and their new names so that they can be reunited with their families after the war.
This is the amazing story about the courage of the people in the French Resistance who faced great danger to help innocent children to escape being taken prisoners.
There were lots of great characters and this story and it will stay with me for a long time.
Thank you to NetGalley and Welbeck Publishing UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

With thanks to netgalley and Kristin Harmel for an early copy in return for an honest opinion.
Can I just say I have read numerous books by this amazing author and never been disappointed,the book of lost names is just quite brilliant the twin timeline the brilliant characters it has been so well exacuted I was totally glued to the book and having nothing but praise for this author it read quite beautifully its a heartbreaking soul searching read but I think its one we should all read to know what happened to so many innocent lives. Thank you.

Sometimes the right book comes along at the right time, and this was one of those books. I had picked this up on a whim, thinking it would be another Historical Fiction to read on a rainy Saturday afternoon. But I was wrong. This book gripped me from the very first line and had me on the edge of my seat for the entire novel. I could not put it down, it was a whirlwind of emotions and heartbreak. Harmel writes characters incredibly well, I found myself inexplicably attached to Eva from the start. At the heart of it, this is a story about a woman's determination to survive, when there is seemingly nothing left to live for. And it was beautiful to read, soul crushing at times, but poignant and moving. It's one of those books that will stay with me for a while and I'm so grateful to have found this hidden gem of a story.