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    Hidden Among the Stars: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Hidden Among the Stars: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Hidden Among the Stars: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    Hidden Among the Stars: A Novel

    Written by Melanie Dobson

    Narrated by Nancy Peterson

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From the award-winning author of Catching the Wind, which Publishers Weekly called “unforgettable", comes another gripping time-slip novel about hidden treasure, a castle, and ordinary people who resisted evil in their own extraordinary way.

    The year is 1938, and as Hitler’s troops sweep into Vienna, Austrian Max Dornbach promises to help his Jewish friends hide their most valuable possessions from the Nazis, smuggling them to his family’s summer estate near the picturesque village of Hallstatt. He enlists the help of Annika Knopf, his childhood friend and the caretaker’s daughter, who is eager to help the man she’s loved her entire life. But when Max also brings Luzia Weiss, a young Jewish woman, to hide at the castle, it complicates Annika’s feelings and puts their entire plan—even their very lives—in jeopardy. Especially when the Nazis come to scour the estate and find both Luzia and the treasure gone.

    Eighty years later, Callie Randall is mostly content with her quiet life, running a bookstore with her sister and reaching out into the world through her blog. Then she finds a cryptic list in an old edition of Bambi that connects her to Annika’s story...and maybe to the long-buried story of a dear friend. As she digs into the past, Callie must risk venturing outside the safe world she’s built for a chance at answers, adventure, and maybe even new love.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateSep 4, 2018
    ISBN9781974922246
    Unavailable
    Hidden Among the Stars: A Novel
    Author

    Melanie Dobson

    Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of sixteen historical romance, suspense, and time-slip novels including Chateau of Secrets and Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor. Three of her novels have won Carol Awards, and Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana won Best Novel of Indiana in 2010. She loves exploring old cemeteries and ghost towns, hiking in the mountains, and playing board games with her family. She lives with her husband and two daughters near Portland, Oregon.

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    Reviews for Hidden Among the Stars

    4.5/5

    71 ratings12 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I have been a big fan of Melanie Dobson for a number of years. Her novels always deliver a story full of wonderfully developed characters, unforgettable settings, and powerful messages. Hidden Among The Stars is no exception and has moved to the top of my all-time favorites from this talented author. You really need to read this book! Very highly recommended!Hidden Among The Stars has a dual timeline that while popular with authors and readers alike, certainly has to be very difficult to achieve. I often find that one story is missing something. Not so with Hidden Among The Stars. I was fully invested in both the modern day story of children’s book store owner Callie as she sought to find the connections and secrets hidden within the pages of storybooks and the story of oppression and fear, hope and sacrifice in the early years of WWII-era Austria. The characters touched my heart and became like well known friends. I hurt for them, cheered them on, and was amazed at their resilience and nobility in the face of cruelty. While all the characters are striking in their portrayal, my favorite was the simple, teenaged Annika who was caught up in events much larger than her experience. A very ordinary young woman, Annika extraordinarily lives out Christ’s love. The history surrounding the occupation of Austria, the early years of Nazi oppression, and the hidden treasures that were lost was fascinating. Dobson weaves a mystery that will captivate your imagination while forcing you to turn the pages faster and faster. For those who love books, children’s books in particular, Hidden Among The Stars is a treat. I loved the history shared about the authors and their life experiences.Hidden Among The Stars will undoubtedly make my best of 2018 list. A book that pulls you in from the opening lines, it is a beautifully written, emotionally charged, and powerfully moving depiction of love, honor, and sacrifice. Grab this one and some of your friends — you are going to want to talk about this book!Very Highly Recommended.Great for Book Clubs.Audience: older teens and adults.(Thanks to Celebrate Lit and NetGalley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
    • 5/5
      I couldn't get through the book without crying several times. The author has written an historical story that sweeps across time from 1938 to present. It was easy to follow when going from time period to time period. Each character had a special place in my heart with their fierce determination to survive. I have read several books about how Hitler treated the Jewish citizens and each time my heart weeps for them. This book was especially emotional because the characters seemed so alive and jumped off the pages.Annika was a special person who wanted to help her friend Max hide treasures so that Hitler's men couldn't find them. It was such a risk for her and I feared that she would be found out. Would you risk your life to help a friend? The author describes the terror that the Jews faced with deep emotional words. I can't imagine having to hide from people who hated you. The story is very intriguing and I couldn't put the book down.When the book goes to present day, I saw the brilliance of how gifted the writer is. It is a seamless jump from past to present . Callie is a wonderful character and I liked her instantly. How fun it was to read how much Callie enjoys being at the bookstore everyday. She does story time with children which they all look forward to. When she discovers a very old children's book, she finds something very special hidden in the pages. This will take her on a journey that will span years and impact many lives.I really enjoyed finding out more about "ownerless treasures" and how desperate people wanted to preserve them. Are there still treasures hidden today that are waiting to be found? Callie goes to great lengths to discover who Annika was and what the hidden message in the book meant. It's a wonderful story filled with faith, danger, sadness and for me an unexpected ending to the story. I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
    • 5/5
      The author has woven a story that begins in 1938 and flashes to the present eighty years later, and when we begin we know that the characters are somehow connected, but how, yes, we think one way and then another.Through the written words we experience the beautiful area of Austria, and unfortunately, also the evil that is lurking to destroy a group of people because of their beliefs.I found the bookstore charming, and could just see the rapture in the eyes of those children as they enjoyed the stories read to them.We see how the children’s story Bambi, written by a Jewish author, helps bring this book together, and in the end, works to bring families together.Lest we forget, a book that is a reminder of a dark time, and also of a rebirth.I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Tyndale, and was not required to give a positive review.
    • 1/5
      This book was incredibly boring. The modern day part of the story ruined the book for me.
    • 4/5
      Great history again, but this book was a bit hard to follow as a listener, seemed very lengthy also but worth the read

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Fantastic story and well written. The narrator/voice actor was excellent... very talented! I don't know if I've read a good a book like this since "The Things we cannot Say". The transition/contrast between modern day and ww2 period may be difficult to adjust to at first, but you should find as I did that it adds quality to the story. I highly recommend this!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Such an incredible story! "Greater love has no man..." Wonderful!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Love WWII historical fiction. This book did not disappoint at all.
    • 5/5
      4.5 Stars rounded up. I have been reading a lot of historical fiction surrounding WWII, so when I saw reviews popping up for this book, I decided it would be one that I would enjoy. I am very glad I made that decision. The story is about the plight of the Austians after Hitler marched in and took over the country.

      Callie is a bookstore owner in small town America. When she receives an old copy of Bambi, written by Austrian Felix Saltern, she carefully looks over the book. Not only does she find the original owner's name in the book, Annika, but she finds lists of valuables hidden among the pages. She is not able to read it, but once it is translated, it leads her on a journey to find Annika or her family to return the book. She also finds a picture of a man named Max that sends her in another direction. Meeting up with a professor that is heading to Austria to try and recover treasure dumped by the Nazis as they fled the allies, they form a bond that leads them both to Austria. There is a second book that also has important clues to the past. Charlotte, Callie's foster mother of sorts, has had this book since she was a child dropped off at an orphanage in France during the war.

      In the second storyline, we go back in time to Austria in 1938, where Annika is the daughter of the caretaker of an estate in the lake region of Austria. The castle is owned by a wealthy Viennese family as their summer house. Annika is in love with the owner's son, Max, but does he share her love? It seems Max is in love with a young Jewess, Luzia Weiss, who is in danger in this nazi occupied country along with so many others.

      Melanie Dobson weaves a marvellous tale of two times, separated by an ocean and 80 years. The lives of several characters are brought together by a simple children's book. It is a story of the terror of the Nazi regime and the lives of the Jewish people devastated during the holocaust. It is also the story of what happens to those left behind and the generations that followed them. What happened to Annika, Luzia, Max, Marta and the rest of their families? I was captivated by this story and read it in a couple of days. It is emotional and gripping, and the characters will linger in your heart for a long time to come. It’s a novel about, as the author says, “ordinary people who resisted evil in their own extraordinary way”. A must read from intriguing start to compelling finish! All in all I found this book to be a remarkable story, recommended to all lovers of Historical Fiction, especially during the WWII time. The publisher, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. The rating, opinions and ideas shared are my own.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book was impossible to put down! A time-slip novel bringing the terror, secrets and the horribleness of Hitler's takeover of Austria together with a cape-clad, red-striped sock wearing Story Girl who wants to return treasures and memories more than 70 years later. Annika, Max, Luzia and many others had physical and emotional scars from what they had to do to survive. Many, as we know, did not survive, and those who did, do not want to talk about it, so finding the owners of the notes, little treasures and pictures found in old books was a labor of love for Callie, the co-owner of the Magic Ballon Bookshop. An orphan, now grown, an imposter, a professor and the bookstore owner all find answers and family in this fabulous story of resilience and faith. I received this ebook through CelebrateLit and this review gives my personal impressions and opinions.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Not a good book. There are so many true accounts from people who survived the Holocaust and much better novels. This was so preachy in an attempt to find Christian meaning to the suffering.
    • 5/5
      I loved this story. I loved the characters in both the present and the past. I was never confused as to which characters I was reading about. I loved Annika and Max and Luzia. There were many twists and turns throughout this present day/ historical mystery. I received a copy of this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

      1 person found this helpful