4.5/5 stars

Lovely true story about lost and found love and family during one of the most terrible and horrifying times in human history. The writing is very simple and accesible for just about anyone. One of the downsides is that we are kept a bit of an arm’s distance from the characters, which results in one not feeling as affected by the inhumane conditions they had to endure.

It's hard not to read a story like this and it not have an impact on you. I think what really made this story stick out was knowing that it was the author's family. It felt more personal rather than just a factual statement.
I read a decent amount of WWII fiction, but this was so real to me that there were times I had to set it down and just consider what I had read. It deals with parts of the Holocaust that aren't always mentioned, though Auschwitz is a place described in this tale too. I liked hearing about how Inge and her family stayed together and how strong they were, sacrificing a lot at times to stay together. Inge's father was a really interesting man and I think I would have liked to have read more of his own story since he seemed to have more power in places Jews weren't powerful.
This was an easy to read story, with terms being described as you read, and the descriptions were kept simple. There are photographs I found myself really absorbed in, taking in every detail, and was amazed at how well preserved the photos were.
There is little to no dialogue in this, it is very much more of a description of surroundings and feelings, so it felt like we were more in the head of Inge. That being said, I didn't feel attached to them, having seen so little of their personalities. I think what kept me most interested was that they are/were very real people.
I'm not too sure if this should really be considered a romance, as very little of the story has to do with them interacting and more how they acted towards and without each other. The "romance" part of this was possibly the least interesting part, and think this could be marketed better as not a love story, though the love was brighten to a dark story.

The writing in this was good and I thought the story was compelling enough that I didn't want to step away from the book. The topic of the Holocaust is always interesting to me and I felt like I learned things I hadn't known before while reading this, which is always a plus.
It felt well told and isn't a story I will forget any time soon.

**Thank you to the author for sending me an ebook for an honest review**