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The School for German Brides: A Novel of World War II Kindle Edition

by Aimie K. Runyan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,281 ratings
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In this intriguing historical novel, a young woman who is sent to a horrific "bride school" to be molded into the perfect Nazi wife finds her life forever intertwined with a young Jewish woman about to give birth.

Germany, 1939

As the war begins, Hanna Rombauer, a young German woman, is sent to live with her aunt and uncle after her mother's death. Thrown into a life of luxury she never expected, Hanna soon finds herself unwillingly matched with an SS officer. The independence that her mother lovingly fostered in her is considered highly inappropriate as the future wife of an up-and-coming officer and she is sent to a "bride school." There, in a posh villa on the outskirts of town, Hanna is taught how to be a "proper" German wife. The lessons of hatred, prejudice, and misogyny disturb her and she finds herself desperate to escape.
For Mathilde Altman, a German Jewish woman, the war has brought more devastation than she ever thought possible. Torn from her work, her family, and her new husband, she fights to keep her unborn baby safe. But when the unthinkable happens, Tilde realizes she must hide. The risk of discovery grows greater with each passing day, but she has no other options.
When Hanna discovers that Tilde is hiding near the school, she knows she must help her however she can. For Tilde, fear wars with desperation. The women must take extraordinary risks to save the lives of mother and baby.
Will they both be able to escape with their lives and if they do, what kind of future can they possibly hope for?
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  1. Print length
    354 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    William Morrow Paperbacks
  5. Publication date
    April 26, 2022
  6. File size
    4022 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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School For German Brides 1

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Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a moving and memorable tale of sisterhood, strength, and survival, which will resonate deeply with readers of historical fiction.

-- "Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author"

About the Author

Kathleen Gati is an award-winning actress who has starred in a number of Hungarian television series and films.



Original bio sent from Cassandra:

Cassandra Campbell began doing voice overs as the voice for Calvin Klein's Italian commercials. This was followed by commercial and documentary recording in both English and Italian. She has recorded many audiobooks and has received several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie(R) Award nomination. As an actress and director, she has worked at the Public, the Mint, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stagewest, Theatreworks, the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Millmountain Theatre, the National Shakespeare Company, and the New York Fringe Festival.



Aimie K. Runyan is a multipublished and bestselling author of historical fiction. She has been nominated for a Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer of the Year award and two Colorado Book Awards. She lives in Colorado with her wonderful husband and two (usually) adorable children.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B097RQ9X4F
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks (April 26, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 26, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4022 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 354 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,281 ratings

About the author

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Aimie K Runyan

Aimie K Runyan

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Aimie K. Runyan writes to celebrate history’s unsung heroines. She has been honored as a Historical Novel Society Editors’ Choice selection, as a three-time finalist for the Colorado Book Awards, and as a nominee for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer of the Year. Aimie is active as an educator and speaker in the writing community and beyond. Her next books, The Castle Keepers (in collaboration with J'nell Ciesielski and Rachel McMillan) and A Bakery in Paris will release in 2023 from Harper Collins. Also from Harper Collins, Aimie's contemporary Women's Fiction debut, The Memory of Lavender and Sage, will release in early 2024. She lives in Colorado with her amazing husband, two (usually) adorable children, two (always) adorable kitties, and a dragon. To learn more about Aimie, please visit www.aimiekrunyan.com.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,281 global ratings
Intriguing story
4 Stars
Intriguing story
I love reading about this period in history and I continuously learn something new! I had never heard of Hitler’s bride schools! This story is told in first person, alternating between Hanna and Tilde’s viewpoints. The story moves along quickly. Hanna and Tilde don’t actually meet until later in the book, but their lives are intertwined. This is an intriguing story. Read this if you love historical fiction!I read this story voluntarily. My thoughts are my own.
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Top reviews from the United States

Mary J. Aigner
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2023
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This book was hard to put down and was really well written. I felt like the three main characters were real people and that the story was based on their true identities. It’s a sobering book that gives a glimpse of what could happen once again in the future if we’re not careful.
5 people found this helpful
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Heather Gibson
4.0 out of 5 stars This book pulled at my heartstrings.
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2023
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I loved that the story showed how the war was from both sides. It blew my mind what Hanna went through. To be forced to marry a man at least 20 years older just for status in the party. Tilda was my favorite character. She went through so much. I was rooting for her throughout the story. I loved how Aimie Runyan wove the lives of each character together and how they are each at least once removed from each other. This just goes to show you do not know what someone is dealing with in their life just by looking at them.
2 people found this helpful
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reading4life
5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Fiction at it's Best!
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2022
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The writer did a fantastic job of transporting the reader to another time and place. Totally held my attention -- did not want to put this book down!! I learned a great deal about World War II and the struggles that accompanied it. The characters in the book felt very real to me -- and I felt like I knew them.
The author's attention to small details made this book a joy to read! Will be reading more from Aimie K. Runyan!!
5 people found this helpful
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Valerie Simons
5.0 out of 5 stars Sad but hard to put down
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2023
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Great story on how several life’s became intertwined. Even during the war, there were people willing to risk their own lives to save others. Unfortunately humanity has not learned from its previous mistakes and history is repeatIng itself
One person found this helpful
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Stephanie McCall
3.0 out of 5 stars I Think the Author Needs to Go "Back to School"
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2022
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I waited with great anticipation for The School for German Brides. It seemed like one of those rare novels that takes the familiar, such as WWII fiction, and gives it new twists and turns. I wasn't completely disappointed, but...well, on we go.

First, as always, the good stuff. I enjoyed the three main characters. I love when an author creates a story wherein different people experience the same events or time period, but from different positions and perspectives. And while I've seen the Jewish/Aryan pairing a lot, I had not yet seen something like Aryan/half-Jewish/Aryan again. I also want to give Aimie credit for trying three POVs, two of which were kind of the same (Klara and Hanna). Again, it's not something you see every day.

Additionally, while the characters were two-dimensional, I enjoyed what I saw of their growth. Klara in particular kept my attention. I can always get behind a character who has every reason and opportunity to stay safe, to eschew risks, and yet places him or herself in danger anyway. I enjoyed Tilde and Hanna for the same reasons, and because their plots each had little turns that made them unique. For instance, I expected Tilde would naturally have the toughest journey, and she did. But how she got to that point, and the experiences she had within the journey, were refreshing and tailored for her.

Finally, I liked the premise of a bride school, and the discussions of what Aryan women endured as a result of Lebenstraum. That is, we as readers have a ton of information on the plight of Jews and other out-of-favor groups during Nazi rule, as we should. That information is no less than crucial to anyone old enough to understand it. But I think we also forget that there was such a person as the average German, the person who wanted to resist but was too terrified, or the person who tried and failed. All these stories need to be told, and Aimie did a fair job. I especially appreciate that this book was female-centric, since women probably had the least power and yet used what they had so well.

Okay, with all that said, what's the problem? Well, I hate to say this, but it's my old friend, telling over showing. Within about 70 pages, I found myself skimming, looking for dialogue, introspection, or developed scenes. Instead, the overall story has a very "sketched-in" feel. That is, we have what we absolutely need to know, such as who agrees with the regime and who doesn't, or who is Jewish or Aryan, or where people are going and what they're doing.

Other than that though, not much is developed. Even a momentous event like Kristillnacht almost feels glossed over (although, there are other events going on during that night, which make Aimie's take on it stand out). German Brides' cadence is very much, "go here, go there, say this, argue about that, do this." Thus, the characters usually read close to cardboard, where it's painfully obvious who's "good" or "bad." As for the plot, it reads like a WWII fiction fallback, where the whole focus is either hiding or getting out. Nothing wrong with either of these, it's just...they need fresh elements. I found some, such as Samuel's irrepressible sister Lilla and Hanna's secret interest in herbal medicine. But they pop in and out of the story. They don't get to stay.

Overall then, The School for German Brides disappointed me, but only in the sense that I wanted more. If Aimie's writing style doesn't bother you, you'll probably like it. But I might recommend reading something a little deeper alongside it, such as Kristin Harmel's The Book of Lost Names or Janet Charles' The Paris Library.
29 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Reallydifferent
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2023
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Iwas not surprised that the Nazi regime want to control everything, but for those girls to get away with what they did seemed a little too much lucky. Great story with good history involved.
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2023
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I enjoyed reading this book and looking at how lives intertwined. The book also looks at the sad reality of how people can be so cruel to one another in the background of the story with the Nazi regime.
2 people found this helpful
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cheryl perk
5.0 out of 5 stars Love
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2023
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Great as always. I love her books, read them all. Easy read and I always learn something, very interesting and informative
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Top reviews from other countries

Antoinette Candido
5.0 out of 5 stars Intersting
Reviewed in Canada on July 2, 2023
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Loved the story line
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Tazbeet
5.0 out of 5 stars You will not want to put down this book
Reviewed in Canada on May 21, 2022
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This is the first time I read Aimie Runyan, and I am very impressed. Every end of chapter in this book is a cliff hanger and it was very difficult not to start the next chapter. So so well written and great historical fiction.
3 people found this helpful
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