T.B.Cooper
  • Home
  • Me, the Author
    • Published Books
    • Hollow Mists Series
    • Breeding Program
    • Tentaglian Empire: House of Tentagel
    • DFB
    • HipOrCriticalView
  • The Subatomic Witch's Blog
  • My Artwork
  • My Store
    • Othervanders Fine Wands and Goddess Necklaces
  • My Blogs
    • A Precariously Balanced Life
    • My Mommy (& Her Many Talents)
    • For all the Books I've Loved so far...
    • Video Library
  • Farm Pics
  • Contact Me!!
  • Favs/WhoISupport
  • FAQs
  • Reviews & Testimonials
  • Home
  • Me, the Author
    • Published Books
    • Hollow Mists Series
    • Breeding Program
    • Tentaglian Empire: House of Tentagel
    • DFB
    • HipOrCriticalView
  • The Subatomic Witch's Blog
  • My Artwork
  • My Store
    • Othervanders Fine Wands and Goddess Necklaces
  • My Blogs
    • A Precariously Balanced Life
    • My Mommy (& Her Many Talents)
    • For all the Books I've Loved so far...
    • Video Library
  • Farm Pics
  • Contact Me!!
  • Favs/WhoISupport
  • FAQs
  • Reviews & Testimonials
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

For all the Books I've Loved so far...

My page just for Books... Book Reviews, Reveals, Release Blitzes etc. 
Disclaimer: While I work hard to make sure that the language and innuendo
used in the Cover Reveals, Excerpts, etc. that I volunteer to share to help out
other authors, is toned down to PG-13 status, 
​I might occasionally miss some
here and there. 
Reader Discretion is advised. 

1/4/2022 0 Comments

Review of "Tears of Amber" by Sofia Segovia

Picture
Tears of AmberTears of Amber by SofĂ­a Segovia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the first book I'd ever read written about "the OTHER side". I've read plenty of books about the oppressed, and more specifically, the persecuted peoples of WWII... but never have I read about what it was like for the ordinary German people who started off fully embracing & supporting Hitler & the Nazi Regime.

Let me start by saying... whoa.

So, the book follows two families from different statuses & different towns, and also an orphaned boy, during the years of Hitler's rise to power, through the war, and on past its bitter end. And MY GOSH, how well-written their stories are!

I've heard my fair share of war stories from the viewpoint of a peasant farmer via my mom, who grew up in China during Japan's invasion... so the hardships the families all eventually found themselves in were all too familiar a tale to me. What was "new" (for me) was the realization that the German people (especially those on the Eastern side of the country) had it really bad towards the end of the whole deal. I hadn't even considered that the Germans suffered... I know, I know... don't judge me. I know, pretty ignorant of me, but it's the truth.

I remember the Berlin Wall coming down. I remember it being toted as this BIG DEAL... But I find it funny how this fictional book (based on real people), read some 32 years later, is finally putting into perspective for me some of the biases that existed, long before that wall ever went up, that divided a country in such a concrete way (pun intended).

Sorry, where was I?

So the author didn't hold back... my gosh, there's pain, and violence, and death, and some vivid imagery. But for a long time, I was reading about these seemingly "normal" families just living their best, ordinary-in-the-middle-of-their-country's-huge-looming-success-in-the-war-lives, thinking to myself, "this isn't too bad." And then slowly and steadily their lives begin to change... Little by little, they compromise and they make sacrifices... small ones at first, extra food, extra clothes... then bigger ones... They (mostly unwillingly) gave away their lands, their children, their fathers... then their ideals and values, then their most precious, of secret valuables... and then for more than some, ultimately their lives. And it's just this smooth/steady incline to the ultimate, sharp decline in their shared human experience.

And it's all written in a way that was impossible to look away from.

I've often questioned if we as a people would ever again fall into the same trap of hatred & destruction under a falsehood of hope & greatness, and the answer is always an unfortunate, terrifying & resounding, yes... Yes, of course, we will & of course, we can... The saying (paraphrasing, probably) "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it," is scarily accurate. Germany learned... learned the extremely hard & terrible lesson, and on a global, modern, scale. But they DID learn. There are no Nazi or Hitler statues in Germany. Nazi imagery/propaganda is illegal/not tolerated. But what of the rest of the world?

Did we learn?

Yeah, this book moved me... at least it moved my IDGAF-o-meter a little more towards Idk, empathy for others?

Ya know, nobody wins in war. They're all losers. And for the survivors, the effects of war don't stop with them, they're felt for many generations afterward.

This book is heartbreaking, but my goodness, it's such a necessary read. Look, if you're not able to speak to a REAL person, face to face, that survived the war, any war, then start reading some books like this... learn from the ugliest of human nature, vicariously through (based on real) fictional characters... And tell everyone else to, too. Maybe we can all GAF again about humanity as a whole and stop another genocidal a-hole from rising to power.

There is no good & evil... just nuance & our concessions left to the interpretation & judgment of our descendants.

Final thought... Just read the book. And sorry for waxing poetic, this is why I usually try to stay with a format. Sorry again.

View all my reviews
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies

    Why do reviews?

    Well, I own over 6000 books.
    Most of them are non-fiction, since I have an obsession with knowledge.
    But oh, how I love a good story.
    I've decided to devote an entire Blog, just for books.
    ​
    Here, you will find book reviews for Fiction, in almost every genre.
    I'll also be sharing reviews for the too many to count
    Nonfiction books I am constantly dumping into my head.
    As well as Announcements etc. for New Releases
    from fellow authors.

    How do I decide what rating... 

    For Fiction books, it's either a 5, 4, or a 3-star. That's it. If it doesn't qualify for at least a  3-star rating, I will NOT post that kind of a review. I either REALLY loved/liked it and it was written well, regardless if it wasn't something "up my alley" so-to-speak, OR it was okay, but could have used some more details, or fix the plot holes, etc. I WILL NOT rate low for spelling and/or grammar, editing mistakes. If they are plentiful, I will send the author a polite email to let them know. Hopefully the author will listen and address the problems.

    For Nonfiction, sorry, but here I have to be a bit more discerning. I will rate 1-5 stars, according to the layout of the information, the quality of the information, as well as any editing mistakes, etc. I personally feel that a Nonfiction book is there to provide information, and if it is not delivered in a clear and concise manner, too much confusion will ensue and cause potentially horrible embarrassments or even fatal mistakes.
    Have a book that needs a Review?
    ***Important Notice-- I am currently behind on ALL of my book reviews. All books that I have set to review, I will get done as soon as possible. New requests will not be reviewed until ?????
    ​Please take this into consideration before making a request. Thank you.

      ​If you would like me to review your book (Fiction or Nonfiction), I will be happy to consider it. Please fill in the information below, and give a brief description of what your book is about, and be sure to note how soon you desire a review. I will get back to you within 36 hours to let you know if it is something I can assist with. Thank you.

      If needed by a specific date, please indicate here.
    Submit
    Picture
    Just some of my babies...

    Categories

    All Adult Fiction Adult Fiction Comedy Alpha Male Romance Announcements Anthology Apocalyptic Fiction Astrology Audio Book BDSM Biblical Fiction Billionaire Romance Biography Bisexual Romance Books For Writing & Writing Tips Brutal Romance Buddhism Cartel Romance Chapter Reveal Chick Lit Clean New Adult Fiction Coming Of Age Coming-out Story Contemporary Fiction Contemporary Romance Cover Reveal Dark Fiction Dark Romance Dark Romantic Comedy Disaster Preparedness D.M. Pulley Do NOT Recommend Dystopian Fiction Dystopian Romance Erotic Romance Forbidden Romance Futuristic Space Fiction German Story Gothic Fiction Historical Fiction Historical Romance Holiday Romance Holocaust Fiction Horror Fiction Intermittent Fasting Jihad Law Of Attraction Lesbian Romance Limited Time Sales Event LOA Mafia Romance Magic Realism Fiction Marie Flanigan Mature YA Romance MC Romance Memoir Metaphysical Military Romance M/m Romance Mystery Mystery Romance New Adult Fiction New Adult Romance New-adult-romance New Book Release Nonfiction Book Reviews Paranormal Fiction Paranormal Romance Poems And Songs Police Procedural Pre Order Pre-order Rerelease Re Release Review Rockstar Romance Romance Romance-late-1800s Romantic Comedy Romantic Suspense Samantha Jacobey Science Fiction Selfish Selfpromotion Shamanism ShariJRyan Special-event Special Events Sports Romance Sports-romance Supernatural Thriller Suspense Suspense Thriller Syrian War Tarot Teacher-student-romance Urban Fantasy Romance Wendy Webb Winter Romance Witch & Wizard Mysteries Ya Fantasy Ya Fiction Ya Romance

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly