The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

“In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the Russian refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century….”

The first chapter of the book draws you into the beautiful country of Poland. But only a couple more chapters in, the beauty fades, lives are changed forever and the Natzi have officially invaded the country. This book switches between the 1940s (in the heart of the World War Two) and present day. With Alina and Alice as the main characters for each chapter. I’ve always loved historical fiction novels and have been fascinated with World War Two. I am Polish and after reading this book I seriously want to consider looking into my heritage further.

“….It costs our ancestors too damned much for us to have this life - the best thing we can do to honor them is to live it to its fullest…..”

This book makes you appreciate every single ounce of life and all the blessings that we have living in the 21st century. Something simple as calling your loved ones on the phone.…We have so many things we take for granted.

I switched between reading the physical copy of the book and listening to the audio. I loved the audio! The narrator did such a good job with the different accents for different characters. I feel like sometimes an audio book can be hit or miss in that aspect. If you don’t have the right voice it can throw off the whole story.

This is a story of war, love, perseverance, loss, life, compassion, humanity and so much more. It was such an easy read! Where you can just picture every scene, every character. Even if you take a break, once you pick the book back up you are pulled right back in. As if you time traveled in 5 seconds.

“…Life has a way of shattering our expectations, of leaving our hopes in pieces without explanation. But when there's love in a family, the fragments left behind from our shattered dreams can always be pulled together again, even if the end result is a mosaic.…”

I laughed with Alice and cried with Alina. A beautiful book about women empowerment. It has a bunch of twists and turns, I didn’t even see a lot of them coming. Sometimes I couldn’t put the book down! I needed to just to figure out what was going to happen next. A constant reminder- not everything is as it seems. Ahh that’s all I can say without giving away any spoilers! Tell me if you end up reading it! This book has become one of my favorite!!

Until next time,

Bee