When Twilight Breaks. Sarah Sundin. 2021. [February] 365 pages. [Source: Review copy]
First sentence: Evelyn Brand had done a crack bit of journalism, and she hadn't even had to dress like a man to do so.
Evelyn Brand, our heroine, is an American correspondent working for the American News Service. Her dream job would have her living in Berlin and covering the biggest stories. It would be ideal if she could phone in her stories WITHOUT having to get the extra-approval of her boss, George Norwood. (The other correspondents--all men--don't have to go through this extra step.) But, no, Brand finds herself "stuck" in Munich covering lesser stories.
Peter Lang is teaching at a university in Munich as part of his dissertation. He's got big ideas on how to help German-speakers learn to speak English with a "better" American accent AND how to help Americans learn to speak German with a "better" German accent. Think of him as Professor Higgins--but younger and cuter.
Evelyn and Peter meet. There's definite attraction, potential for chemistry, but one thing is holding her back--well, two things technically. First and foremost, he seems to be pro-Nazi. He doesn't seem to be "aware" of the bigger pictures and the increasing dangers. The ideology doesn't seem to concern him all that much--after all, he is only there for two semesters, and as an American citizen, it doesn't seem to be anything that would ever effect him personally. The last thing America needs is to get involved in European politics--no matter how melodramatic. Evelyn sees the dangers--not only for the future, but for the present. She wants to have the freedom to write the truth--the whole truth. She's aware that she has to follow certain rules and guidelines--always trying to cover both sides of an issue, seemingly staying neutral, sticking strictly to facts. Unfortunately, Norwood--her boss and editor--changes every story she writes into pro-Germany, pro-Nazi propaganda. She's often shocked to read her story in print because it's been altered so drastically.
The book covers most of 1938 and a little into 1939. Mostly set in Germany.
It is an INTENSE, action-packed, suspenseful, historical romance. It is DRAMATIC in places but rightly so. The pacing is perhaps a little slow at the start. I was interested from the very beginning because this is one of my favorite genres or sub-genres. But the pace definitely picks up during the second half of the novel. The last third, well, I was actively worried. I was turning pages as fast as I possibly could.
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