I adore a great historical fiction, and nothing pulls at your heart strings and leaves you as devastated as one based in Auschwitz. 5 stars, great read.

The Seamstress of Auschwitz by CK McAdam was a very interesting look at prison life in Auschwitz. Yes, there was the ugliness of wholesale massacre of helpless people, but there was also a look at the kind of cold-hearted selfishness that would condone using those same helpless people to provide fashionable clothing for socialites and their friends. Definitely a solid good read.

Historical fiction is my favorite genre to read. The writing in this book was perfect. The character had real life and you felt for them every moment of this book.

In a sea of WWII novels this book leaves an impression. Sarah's beautiful and sometimes tragic story is well told. The span of her life against the backdrop of a war torn country in a time of desperation and evil is intricate and woven with care. I would love to be able to read this again for the first time and I just barely finished.

One of the better WWII historical fiction books I've read recently. It's well researched and well written. The story was written from a different aspect from many others, with the main character being a seamstress and having a talent that allowed her to be useful and survive the camp. The story was compelling and I found myself reading late into the night because I needed to finish the book before I could sleep. I highly recommend this novel.

The tale of a young Jewish woman who is taken to concentration camp and deals with the loss of her whole family and the boy she falls in love with. Through him and his family she finds love after the war. Her skills keep her alive.

Well written and tragic. This story was horrifying in a worst of humanity way. Absolute soul crushing sadness and horror. But the resilience of humans shines in this. The story was well done and realistic and drew me in. I read it all in one sitting I was so invested. So much tragedy in our history. Great character, and a solid albeit sad plot.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. A gripping story of resilience and survival. You feel so connected to the characters and their struggles.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-copy of The Seamstress of Auschwitz by CK McAdam..This historical fiction piece is well written and researched.You can imagine yourself in the camps with Sara the main character as she fights to live in Auschwitz with her sisters.She is a seamstress so conditions for her are somewhat better but she still faces unimaginable tragedy and illness.Even after the war tragedy continues to follow her.A very moving piece!

3.5 stars rounded down

This is hard for me to rate since I did enjoy the book, but I have a few reservations about the book. I have read a lot of WWII books and I would say this book falls more into the middle of the pack.

I struggled with the MC Sara. She didn’t really seem like a strong female character who was held in a concentration camp. She made very dumb/childish choices throughout the book. Then I struggled with Sara falling in love with Paul. The book made their interactions very brief, but she falls in love with him? She chooses to find him versus going to America to find her family? I just kind of struggled with that relationship since it was so quick.

There are no years listed in this book so I had a hard time understanding how much time had passed between different parts of the book. It seemed like only one or two years passed, but that is not the case.

I appreciated that this book was not drawn out, but so much time was covered and some parts should have went into more detail. This book felt more like a true work of fiction versus historical fiction.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book had me in an emotional rollercoaster. The losses, the found friends, and love found a place in my heart. The story building of the experiences in Auschwitz and the building of the character's reactions to her life events where great! The ending had me in tears and the connections to family in the end wrapped everything in a neat little bow!

A must read historical fiction! A really intriguing story that draws you in and keeps you reading. Likeable characters and an interesting setting.

Set during WWII, Sara and her sisters are Jewish seamstresses who are sent to Auschwitz where they are able to make themselves of value to the Nazis by making dresses for the the officers' wives. Their talents allow for their survival at the death camp and the story follows the aftermath as they settle in Palestine. A wonderful story of resiliency and survival.

This was a fantastic WWII historical fiction book. It gave such a unique perspective of such a horrific time in the world. The author did a wonderful job at telling a story and bringing to life the characters all while being very respectful of the time

This book is incredibly powerful and heartbreaking throughout it's telling. There are many valuable lessons we can take away from this book and I highly recommend this novel.

As with the majority of historical fiction novels I read with a WW2 background this was a highly emotional read with an incredible story and I loved it!

Sara, a German born Jew in a long standing family of tailors and seamstresses finds her life changed irrevocably forever when war breaks out. Her family torn apart, life as she has known it over and finding herself sent first to Ravenbruck concentration camp and then Auschwitz.

Being an adept seamstress helps save Sara from the more extreme horrors and situations within these camps. A somewhat "easier" situation but, still one fraught with danger, , overbearing hunger, the ever growing dread of disease and the pressure of the SS over shadowing and ever watching everyone and everything.

This is a beautifully interwoven story with strong characters. Full of utter bravery, compassion, resilience love and hope.

Hope for a better future. Hope for a better world.

Both of these are strong emotions, they can promt you to want to survive any situation no matter how dire the circumstance and this story shows how simply having love and a shared hope for a world without such horror for your family, for the people around you and sometimes a love that happens when you least expect it can be the saviour you didn't know you needed.

I’ve always been a sucker for a WWI or WWII book, so when I saw this book I knew I needed to read it.

This book follows Sarah, a teenage Jewish seamstress. She comes from a long line of seamstresses and tailors. Her father owned the towns sewing shop but once their town had been invaded they were targeted and shunned for being Jewish.

Eventually Sarah and her sister are taken to a concentration camp where they are quickly used for their talents, and then transferred to Auschwitz’s to make dresses for the commanders wife and friends.

Throughout the story Sarah experiences tons of heartache losing people she loves, while also finding new people to care about.

This book was gut wrenching most of the time and by the end I just couldn’t believe that one person could experience SO MANY things. If you are like me and love a historical fiction book I highly recommend picking this book up, but be ready to have your tissues handy.

Thank you for this book and exchange for my honest review. Unfortunately, I was completely disappointed in this book from the first chapter on. Therefore, I was unable to finish it and did not have any desire to do so.

Someone else in the reviews put it in the perfect words, I felt like the author was telling me the story rather than showing me, there wasn’t a huge amount of dialogue and I think it’s needed in these kinds of books. The story did make me cry though and I would recommend it to anybody who likes this kinds of books, it was really well told and an interesting read.

Stunning, such a harrowing heartbreaking story written so incredibly well. I absolutely loved the novel and the story, I enjoyed the tattooist of Auschwitz but I think I preferred this. I will be recommending to everyone as a must read.

It did start slightly slow however after 20% I flew through it and couldn’t put it down. I stayed up most of the night just finishing it.

My Instagram post is to follow