“Well, dog-gone it!” says I, Kimber the Magnificent. In case you’re wondering – and even if you’re not – I’m fine, thanks. Fresh off a festive holiday weekend with food falling like rain off people’s dinner plates. Cuz once it hits the floor, it’s dog-gone!  (Don’t tell Mom. Let’s just keep that Thanksgiving Day coup our little secret, okay?)

“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid!”

Anyway, we were all set to post a review today of an historical fiction work, Half Notes From Berlin. It grabbed our attention when we received a blog tour invite for this title. We wanted to do a review. But the book did not arrive in time. (What can I say? We have standards. Deadlines. Sometimes we can bend. Sometimes we can’t. This was a “can’t.” Bummer.)

Where was I? Oh yeah. Historical fiction. Like a coming-of-age story set in Berlin 1933.

Even though this book didn’t make our cut-off for arrival, we’re still intrigued. And you know how we love good historical fiction. So we want to feature it with a “spotlight.” Cuz we’re really, really nice that way. What?

Here ya go:

Half Notes From Berlin

By B.V. Glants

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

Anchor Media

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Berlin, 1933

Synopsis:

Hans believes he and his family are safe from persecution.

Then, he discovers his family’s dirty secret: his maternal grandparents were Jews who converted to Christianity.

Driven by the desire to understand who he is and whether his mother’s blood is tainted, Hans befriends Rebecca, the only Jewish girl he knows. Perhaps if Jewish blood isn’t evil, his mother will be ok.

To be a Jew in Hitler’s Germany is dangerous.

But to fall in love with one is unthinkable.

Desperate to keep both his family’s true heritage and his love for Rebecca a secret, Hans attempts to navigate this terrifying new world. He’s disconsolate when his Jewish mother is kicked out of the Berlin Conservatory. He’s disgusted by his Aryan father’s aims to acquire Jewish business on the cheap.

Worst, he must watch helplessly as his classmates target Rebecca with increasing violence and malice.

But when his school announces it will expel Jewish students, Hans is determined to fight for Rebecca and the lives and souls of his family.

About the Author

Author B.V. Glants (Amazon)

B.V. Glants was born in Soviet Ukraine and immigrated with his family to suburban New Jersey when he was ten years old. Raised on family stories ranging from his grandparents’ fight for survival in WW2 to his parents’ confrontations with Soviet antisemitism, he now lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and daughter.