So good. Loved it and I could barely put it down, wondering what was going to happen next. I loved the growth of both Liliana and Meric, and how a kindness and protective measure of a marriage of convenience turned out to be the best thing for both of them. It was a good modern-day take on that scenario that you usually only see in historical fiction, and made you root for both of them constantly.

I thought both their traumas was looked at in a compassionate and sensitive way, especially for Meric. So much to unpack there. It was well written in a way that had you invested in each of them and pulled you into their stories and was very emotional. I do wish there was a little more dialogue at the end transition but it wasn’t meant to be fully fleshed out, I get that.

The action-thriller part of human trafficking I liked as well. I didn’t feel like it was overly done but it set a good scene for the romance portion of the story and made it flesh out well, while adding something to keep you moving and guessing.

4.5 stars rounded up. A really interesting and informative look at the Lebensborn Society - and yet another layer of how infiltrating, ingenious, and horrendous the Nazis were. If you want to indoctrinate a society, start with children who are innocent and don’t know any better but to believe you. I’m always a bit flabbergasted at their evil brilliance whenever I read again at how to well they did this with typical, unsuspecting German families.

I enjoyed the 3 perspective approach with the main characters of Gundi, Irma and Hilde. It provided a really intriguing story and a good look at both how each aspect of the culture - against, indifferent, for - dealt with something that came across as innocent and helpful but underneath was disgusting and depraved.

The only thing I wish was different was that more was fleshed out at the end and the story continued a bit. I was a little disappointed at the lack of closure but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. Opinions are mine alone.

2.5 ⭐️s rounded up. I was interested in this one because of my occupation and love of data systems and technology. The parts of the book that talked about it were pretty fascinating, and I was not aware of the Hollerith cards and machines to track data in a computerized way.

However, while the cards and computers were a recurring theme in the book, so much of the theme of the book was also a couple different love affairs between both lesbians and a transgender woman, or pretty terrible male characters. The way the author depicted all the men in the book, it’s like she had a very low opinion of men as a whole. Only Frank McKay was a good male character - all the rest were either villains, completely self-absorbed, or portrayed as helpless and unstable. It just felt really unbalanced. The female characters I thought lacked a lot of depth, and felt like they made leaps from one thought or feeling to the next at times. The ending felt a little too perfectly solved as well and didn’t feel believable.

Well, this was…odd. I was not expecting a science fiction type book. Despite figuring out what was going on pretty early on, the ending was rather bizarre - some things were accurate and some things weren’t? And for Joy, talk about not being able to read a room…

Also as a side note, absolutely not with the sister and cheating husband. I’m all for forgiveness but that’s pretty dysfunctional to just resume the relationship that’s *still* in betrayal like that. Maybe I’m wrong in thinking that but that sort of thing is not something I could dole out grace without boundaries.

Great look at the need for friendship, and the struggle with not belonging in your own home or with your own people, and how a friend who offers consistent grace and acceptance can make such a difference to your spirit. There actually wasn't a ton about the Trinity project overall in the book, though by the end more detail was offered, and the twist at the end I did not see coming, which was refreshing.

The beginning and middle did drag a little for me. The bulk of the book focused on Olive and Jo's faith journey and walk with God, as well as their progression as friends and the fight Olive put up for that initially. While certainly good and some really great nuggets folded in there, it just felt like it could be a little more compressed and consolidated, and started losing me a little.