I would give this a million out of 5 stars if I could. I'm an emotional wreck. Reading this made me feel like I was Sally herself, in her shoes, in her world, in that time period. I've never read anything so beautifully written and expressive. I still rooted for Sally and Christian until the very end and even though I knew it would never work out, I still had a small feeling of hope. I don't know whether the ending satisfied me or not. It is a mixture of both and I am upset at the way Christian turned out. This was the first book that made me sob and I will remember it for the rest of my life. I felt what Sally felt, rage to confusion. Gahhh I cant. The fact I finished this in 2-3 days tells you enough. I was so into the book I made a literal playlist for it to which I cried to. The writer was always ahead of the reader and I was left as blinded and confused as Sally was. I'm so sad for so many reasons, Im so sad about the relationship that could have been, the person Christian had become (why???) and the potential he had. To see someone grow up from a normal boy to a remorseless killer even to those he loved really shook me to my core.

This needs to be made into a movie. I hope the author writes more about this time period, she did it beautifully

*2019 Popsugar Reading Challenge*
Prompt #38: A novel based on a true story

This book was well-written and researched, but too dark and gritty for my current state of mind. The ending, as some other people have mentioned, is both terrible and appropriate - but either way, not the ending I had wanted.

For details, click on the spoiler below:

The book makes you think the heroine and her ex-husband are going to get back together again and explores their past together (as children, as happy newlyweds, etc) and hints at him still being around and silently watching the heroine. BUT the only actual appearance he makes in the present day is in the last few pages of this 800+page book, where he reveals that he was a terrible person all along (he murdered his father, etc.) and then shoots himself in the mouth. And this isn't out of guilt for committing those crimes, he kills himself because he never wants to face public trial and get executed for crimes he doesn't believe are wrong. It was really unexpected and harsh, but obviously it's an appropriate ending for an SS officer because we can't go around romanticizing them and giving them excuses for their behavior.

If what you want to know what exactly the single most brutal moment in the book is, click on the spoiler below:

The traumatic moment that the heroine hints at throughout the book is revealed towards the very end, and it is that an SS leader that she had befriended, after being harshly rejected one too many times for his sexual advances, finally traps her into a meeting and brutally rapes her with his gun, shooting it so as to kill the baby she is carrying. He literally shoots it up through her womb, almost killing her and damaging her enough that she can never have children again.