Emotionally charged historical fiction

The Vengeance of Samuel Val by Elyse Hoffman is a suspense-filled, edge-of-your-seat historical fiction that opens in a WWII Russian village at a time in history when the German Army, military, SS, and German police units took an active part in authorized mass murders of Jews in the Soviet Union. The story opens with a young man by the name of Samuel Val, attending synagogue on the Sabbath with his family and neighbors in the quaint Jewish village of Khruvina.

About the book: The Vengeance of Samuel Val

This Historical fiction hits the ground running with action as the normal Sabbath gathering is visited by the Nazi SS led by Viktor Naden, the Beast of Belourussia. Samuel is the only survivor. He witnesses the smells and sounds of his family and friends being burned alive. As a teen, he is shot and left for dead but is rescued by an anti-Nazi group known as the Black Foxes. He joins their tanks but harbors a thirst for vengeance. His true mission is killing Victor Naden to avenge his family. His cares about nothing else.

That mission is put on hold when he must escort a Jewish refugee to a safe house. All is going according to plan until he realizes that the safe house brings him to within reach of Victor Naden. Samuel has decisions to make. At what cost will he fulfill his quest to kill Naden? Will he sacrifice innocents to accomplish his goal?

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Book review: The Vengeance of Samuel Val

This story reads like a slow-burning fuse of suspense and uncertainty. Each emotionally charged chapter hooks and urges the reader to go one more chapter. The unforgettable characters are flawed and easy to care about. I admit I am a fan of Hoffman’s Paranormal WWII fiction including The Book of Uriel, and Where David ThrewStones: A Haunting WW2 Tale of Courage, Love, and Redemption. As I picked up this gripping drama, I wondered if I’d feel the same. This short read did not disappoint. It took me on an unpredictable coming-of-age journey with a conclusion I did not expect. I recommend this book to fans of WWII fiction, historical fiction, and historical Jewish fiction. The Vengeance of Samuel Val is book 1 in a series, and while this story is a satisfying standalone, it left me hungry to find out what happens next. I’m happy to award it four stars.

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As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer and I received a free review copy of this book and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with Black Coffee Book Tours. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.  

 

About the author: Elyse Hoffman

Elyse Hoffman is an award-winning author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. She loves to meld WWII and Jewish history with fantasy, folklore, and the paranormal. She has written six works of Holocaust historical fiction: the five books of The Barracks of the Holocaust and The Book of Uriel.

Grips the reader with page-turning fervor but disappoints in the end

Who Was Sylvia by Judy Gardiner is a haunting WWII tale involving two British sisters growing up in prewar England (1939) in a home with an overbearing father and an emotionally dismissive mother. Kit Coyrn idolizes her older sister Sylvia. She’s not only beautiful but full of life and love. Then one day it all changes. Kit arrives home to find her sister gone without a trace and without explanation from her parents. She’s just vanished. Kit never forgets Sylvia and when she is conscripted to serve during the war and off to London, her mother gives her a picture of Sylvia and tells her that she heard Sylvia was in London. 

About the book: Who was Sylvia?

Most of the story is told in first-person retrospect and does a great job of pulling the reader along the undercurrents of Kit’s life. She learns the rigors of serving in the military, makes friends, finds love, but every time a possible clue about Sylvia surfaces, she after it like a dog on a hunt. The story unravels bits of Sylvia’s life, but remains a mystery raising new questions with each discovery. Finding Sylvia becomes an obsession that involves the reader.

Book Review: Who was Sylvia?

The setting of wartime London adds new depth to Kit’s character. Her captivating story grips the reader with page-turning fervor. When Kit finally prepares to meet her sister after all the years that have passed, the tension is high. The anticipation of learning why she left, and what has happened since propels the story forward along a sketchy trail wrought with details that don’t match Kit’s idyllic memories.

This story of love and loss is well written with one exception. The end. It brings you right to the edge with all kinds of twists and turns, but then falls off the cliff without resolution of who Sylvia really is. It left me disappointed, but I would still recommend it to readers who enjoy WWII fiction like Soraya M. Lane’s The London Girls. Just know the end feels incomplete and there is no second book to tidy up unresolved questions.