A huge thanks to Dave and crew over at #TheWriteReads for organising this book tour and to Elyse Hoffman for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis
A heart-wrenching WW2 story of forbidden love and torn allegiances.
Franz Keidel is a monsterous SS soldier: loyal, hateful, and devoted to Hitler. With a cold heart, he hunts down his Führer’s enemies, but one fateful mission will fracture his shield of ice.
While hunting for Jews, Franz stumbles across a familiar face: Amos Auman, his childhood friend. Amos is the only source of joy in Franz’s life, but he is also a Jew. Unable to bring himself to kill his friend, Franz vows to protect Amos from his fellow Nazis.
As Franz spends more time with Amos, bringing him food and books, he falls in love with his kind-hearted friend. How could he fall in love with a man, a Jew? How can he continue to hate Jews when a Jew has thawed his icy heart?
And what will Franz do if he has to choose between Amos and his loyalty to Hitler? What choices does he have when he is already beyond redemption?
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 154 Pages
Publishing: 18th October 2022
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BJ7JS1MM/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62792525-fracture
My Thoughts
Controversial opinion I know but I love it when a book crosses a few lines and really makes me use my brain to try and reconcile different thoughts and beliefs and Fracture really did this. It made me feel sympathy and pity for something we’ve been taught not to, it made me feel chilled at the dark depths displayed by some humans and it made me think deep into the psychology of brainwashing and highly influencing vulnerable people. In short – it was absolutely brilliant, heartbreaking and shocking in equal measures. It will not be for everyone, but I found it unique and brave.
Franz is a despicable character but a childhood friend brings out changes in him that really allow the reader to see a different perspective. Franz lives with a serious mantra relating to his childhood and when this was revealed it made so much sense…”if Hitler is wrong, then his father was right” (in his mind). Franz wrestles with such a big dichotomy between his heart and his head and it is gut wrenching. Elyse captures how opposing thoughts and actions can be and this is a reflection on modern, everyday life and how we compartmentalise thoughts and feelings that don’t match what we believe.
Amos is such as sweet character and I adored him. He’s the ying to Franz’s yang and I love how he helped him to realise things. If you strip nationality, and beliefs away – the love story is just beautiful and I was completely rooting for them – until I remembered the circumstances.
Franz’s journey is such an emotionally charged one, filled with a mix of joy, repulsive behaviour and self-loathing. It’s a roller coaster of a journey and I think I felt every single emotion possible.
Elyse is a superbly talented and clever writer. There’s just something about her style that wrings every last emotion from the reader. Even if the subject matter isn’t to your taste – there is no denying how brilliant the characters and atmosphere is written.
The ending was very unexpected but what |I read there is more to come from both Franz and Amos it intrigued me and I cannot wait to find out where the story goes. Until then, I will continue to be haunted by Franz and Amos, their childhoods and how they became who they were. I will continue to ponder nature vs nurture, the impact power can have on a vulnerable mind and how we, as humans, deal with things when we are shown something to not be as we thought.
Author Bio – 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 Barracks of the Holocaust five-book series and The Book of Uriel. Elyse’s books are the way to go if you love history and want to read some unique stories.
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