Set in the late 1920s. When Cara O’Shea’s strict, Catholic family finds her magazinw with a nude woman in it, they discover that her proclivities are the same as her brother’s, who was kicked out of the house a few years ago. Banished from her childhood home, she heads to Berlin, to the welcoming arms of her brother, and the queer scene at the famous Eldorado club, where she uses her sewing skills to craft costumes for the performers.

When the Nazis invade her happy world, heartbreak and tragedy are just around the corner.

I mostly enjoyed this book. It covers a lot of ground of several years during a time of great historical significance, and it does kind of tell without showing some, glossing over some of the times and summing up events and feelings. I’m a sucker for a queer, period piece, though, and I loved the cast of characters throughout the book.

I like this book more than I thought I would, I loved the representation and the fashion aspect to it. It was a fun and quick read.

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

I’d like to thank NetGalley and the author for the ARC of Beyond A World Apart. While I was intrigued by the premise, unfortunately, this book fell short in several areas, making it a difficult read for me.

To begin with, the writing feels forced and unpolished. The author’s skills seem underdeveloped, and at times, it reminded me of a 13-year-old's fanfiction. The dialogue was especially rough —no one talks the way the characters in this book do. It also feels like minimal research went into the historical setting. Part of the story is set in Berlin, but it reads like the author skimmed a Buzzfeed article or watched Cabaret and then projected her own experiences into that era, without putting in the necessary depth or accuracy.

It’s clear that the book is self-published, and I can understand why — it feels like a draft rather than a finished novel. The themes themselves are compelling, but the execution is lacking. The story has the potential to explore interesting ideas around identity and queerness, but it needs significant editing —perhaps 200 more days' worth of revisions— to fully realize that potential. As it stands, it feels like the author is grappling with her own youth, but the projection of that onto a time and place she doesn’t seem to fully understand weakens the narrative.

Ultimately, I wasn’t able to finish the book despite my best efforts. The lack of cohesion, the underdeveloped writing, and the shallow historical context made it hard to push through. While I appreciate the effort and the important themes, Beyond A World Apart needs a different author or a lot more editing to do those themes justice.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it has since come out. Yes this was a good and very complicated book. Not exactly what I expected but the way the build up was written felt more genuine to the story. I think I expecte even more queer ww2 history, but in hindsight that wouldn't make sense and be overcrowding.

This has been a rather quick but interesting ride.

We follow a young seamstress through the struggle of finding her identity in the 1920s with the Nazi-Party rising in the background. As the focus is so much on the inner works of Cara herself and the Eldorado, i was kind of surprised by the sudden change in tone as the Nazi-Party took over. Same goes for the ending which felt rather abrupt for me.

Especially the beginning and the insight into the brother's life really got me but somehow I did not feel like Cara was growing as much as I wanted her and therefore the book almost lost me.

Still a very quick and interesting read, just not my cup of tea.

This is a queer coming-of-age story set in the chaotic Berlin queer scene of the twenties. Cara is a young Irish lesbian, riddled with Catholic guilt, in love with her best friend, and longing to be a fashion designer. When her exiled older brother invites her to live in Berlin with him, she flees her hometown to become the seamstress at a queer nightclub in Berlin. There, she grows, learns, loves, has heartbreak, and builds a community, but the rising Nazi party casts a long shadow.
This was a good historical fiction novella about a time/place/culture that doesn't get a whole lot of representation. Berlin in the 20s is usually overshadowed by the 30s and 40s, so it was cool to see it written about. The cast was delightfully diverse, even though characters sometimes simply faded away when their role was done (why did Edith lose her standing?). Cara was an interesting enough character. Sometimes the dialogue felt a little stilted and like it was specifically designed to teach Cara. It also had almost a horror aspect, watching this wonderful community and knowing, with modern knowledge, that within a few short years all of it would be gone, which was a bummer but I don't think detracted from the story. In fact, it probably added to the story.

I just read an amazing historical fiction book that has it all. It has history, politics, the stage. Beyond a World Apart is a don’t miss book!

Compelling narrative structure and writing but all the desperate elements just didn't come together for me. It felt like each part of the book was a separate book and the author tried to hit too many historical perspectives in one story. I enjoyed the writing and the overall story but felt like it needed significant editing and more building between events to help you contextualize Cara's character.

Beyond A World Apart by Caitlin E Myers is historical novella telling the story of queer, Irish siblings Cara and Ronan in 1920s Ireland and Berlin, and then 1930s Berlin. The plot covers the circumstances under which both siblings leave Ireland separately, their subsequent work at a Berlin Cabaret, and then the fall of the Weimar Republic/rise of the Nazis. There's a rich cast of side characters, particularly in the Berlin sections and I loved all the descriptions of the fashion that came with the main character being a seamstress. It really conveys a clear sense of queer identity and community (including weaving in the Hirschfeld Institute), but the time period and setting means you know that this is only ever a temporary reprieve for the characters. I felt like this was a teaser for a much longer book though and I wish there was more time dedicated to the final part where it felt like a lot happened in a really short span of text.

Loved reading about queer life in a historical setting and found following characters in that world fascinating! I wanted to spend longer with them!

This was a wonderfully done novel about the queer community in 1928. It had that element that I was looking for and was invested in what was happening with the characters. It was a really well done plot and uses everything that I was hoping for in this type of book. Caitlin E. Myers wrote this perfectly and left me wanting to read more from them.

I normally like historical books but even though the story had potential I had issues to get into the story and the characters. Cara left catholic Ireland where was impossible to live as gay in the 1920’s. Berlin was a lot of fun and so open minded to start with but things changed with Hitler. I never really liked Cara so in general the story was a bit of a disappointment. Also no real love story in the book, just casual hook-ups.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the review copy.

I enjoyed this book, and found it to be a quick and easy read. It provides a good look at the dilemma of homosexuality, particularly within the context of the Catholic Church. Add the rise of Nazism in Berlin, and the threat there to the gay community and a life of continually looking over one's shoulder is laid bare.

Beyond a World Apart captures the tumultuous times the world was experiencing between the wars. Our MC Cara lives in Ireland, traditional to its core and well defined by patriarchy and church. As she hits her late teens and realises that she is different and same sex attracted, the overbearing weight of church and social guilt takes its toll. Fortunately, she has sympathetic friends who help her escape her life of poverty and burden to reunite with her brother Ronan in Berlin . Ronan having escaped a few years earlier after being made a pariah because of a dalliance with a clergyman.

Berlin during the Weimar Republic is like a whole new world for Cara. Finally, she comes to terms with her sexuality and the diversity of those around her and fells like she has finally found her niche. Unfortunately, the Third Reich is looming and the once idyllic life begins to change for the worse.

There has been a lot of historical research done for this book, from the legendary El Dorado Nightclub to Dr Hirschfield’s sexology Museum, and the first tentative treatments into gender reassigning.
An interesting read.

Absolutely a must-read!

This is a powerful coming-of-age novel combined with a captivating historical fiction. The core idea follows the protagonist's journey in discovering her sexual identity, and to do so, it ensures the creation of interesting characters who move naturally within the described world. The entire story revolves around LGBT+ themes, thoughtfully addressing queer issues first in the Irish context and then in 1928 Berlin.

The harsh reality of the historical situation of those years looms over the entire story, making the protagonist's situation even more precarious. I enjoyed the text; I found it both accurate and compelling. It's easy to empathize with the protagonist, and at the same time, the historical impact is not just in the setting but plays an active role in the narrative.

This is a classic coming of age novel that explores the dynamics of queer friendship. Berlin in 1928 was full of Catholicism and fear, and the book does not shy away from those topics. It paints a picture of how the queer community (and the rest of the world) felt during the war.

I'll be honest, I have a gripe sometimes with these kinds of books. It can be hard to read another queer story through the lens of shame, and my only wish for the novel was for them to feel a tiny bit of joy. Then again.. it is 1928. Nobody is happy in 1928.

I love an LGBTQ+ story that is set before my time because you don’t really hear about couples or what they went through so even though this is fiction it still gives me and the readers ideas of maybe how the world looked for our community. This does just that and does it so much bigger than most stories as we have more of our community represented in this story like the trans community. Also the author really does take you back to those Nazi days with the descriptions and setting up the scene. I am excited to see what’s next for Caitlin!

This is an incredible novel! The author does an amazing job bringing the world to life. It was an excellent historical fiction about a young girl exploring her emotions while discovering her sexuality in a strict Catholic home.