Hope At Dawn Review

Hope At Dawn

Author: Stacy Henrie

Average Rating: 4.53/5.0

Personal Rating: 5.0/5.0

Page Count: 384

Finished Reading: July

Published: June 24th, 2014

According to Goodreads:

In a Time of War, Love is the Inspiration.

With her brothers away fighting the Great War overseas, Livy Campbell desperately wants to help her family. Her chance comes when she meets a handsome stranger who lands her a job as a teacher in a place far from her parents' farm. But the war casts a long shadow over the German-American town that Livy now calls home—and the darkness will test everything she thought she knew about family and love . . .

More than anything, Friedrick Wagner wants to be part of his adopted country's struggle for peace. But when the bitter animosity between Germans and Americans soon turns citizens against newcomers, friend against friend, he will do whatever it takes to protect Livy from the hysteria that grips their town. As tragedy—and dark secrets from the past—threaten their future, Friedrick and Livy have one chance to stand up for what's right . . . and one chance to fight for their love.

My opinion:

I received an electronic copy of this book to review from the publisher through NetGalley, but in no way does that have an impact on my views and opinion. 

Hope At Dawn is one of those books where you wish you could travel back in time, even if the time period is during the midst of World War II. I loved this book so much!! I don't truly know how explain it to all of you in a way that will inspire you to pick it up when you have the chance. There wasn't any action throughout the novel, but it portrayed a romance between two people that literally made me wish I was in the girl's place. 

Friedrick Wagner has been definitely added to my list of fictional characters I would date. He's protective, gentle, and chivalrous. He doesn't overdue it, but he just encompasses the whole picture of a gentleman. It's a miracle in itself if a guy holds a door open for a woman now. I know it's just not the men, but it's always nice to see an act of chivalry every once in awhile to remind us that we shouldn't stereotype every guy that we see as a rude, arrogant human. 

I felt like I really connected with Livy throughout the novel, because of her love for teaching. Some of my favorite scenes to read were the ones that she was teaching her class. It's one of my hopes that time travel becomes a thing, because I would travel back in time so I could teach in a wooden schoolhouse. I have no idea why that setting has been intriguing to me throughout the years. I guess it has a sort of charm to it. Who knows. Of course, I am not a teacher yet. I still have to earn my degree, but I know the day will come when I will have a turn at teaching. 

The author made the struggles of German Americans during World War II prominent as the plot progressed. She wrote about the language laws that were created that forbade them from speaking German. She also briefly included how family businesses were vandalized, and had to close due to lack of business. These particular scenes opened my eyes. Why were these American citizens being treated like trash? What did they do to deserve this? Escaped Germany for a better life? They are humans. What really matters is what is the inside, not the faults of their ancestry. Sounds a bit cliche, but it's true. 

I found no faults while I was reading the novel. It went along at a nice steady pace, which I felt matched what the author was trying to portray about the time period and the struggles endured. I highly recommend this book to all of you. This book isn't some romance where two main characters fall in love over night. This romantic relationship is about a romance that I think we all secretly long to experience.