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Quick Review: "Karolina's Twins" by Ronald H. Balson


From Goodreads:  Lena Woodward, an elderly woman, enlists the help of both lawyer Catherine Lockhart and private investigator Liam Taggart to appraise the story of her harrowing past in Nazi occupied Poland. At the same time, Lena’s son Arthur presents her with a hefty lawsuit under the pretense of garnering her estate—and independence—for his own purposes. Where these stories intersect is through Lena’s dubious account of her life in war-torn Poland, and her sisterhood with a childhood friend named Karolina. Lena and Karolina struggled to live through the atrocity of the Holocaust, and at the same time harbored a courageous, yet mysterious secret of maternity that has troubled Lena throughout her adult life. In telling her story to Catherine and Liam, Lena not only exposes the realities of overcoming the horrors of the Holocaust, she also comes to terms with her own connection to her dark past.

Karolina’s Twins is a tale of survival, love, and resilience in more ways than one. As Lena recounts her story, Catherine herself also recognizes the unwavering importance of family as she prepares herself for the arrival of her unborn child. Through this association and many more, both Lena and Catherine begin to cherish the dogged ties that bind not only families and children, but the entirety of mankind.

My Thoughts: This is seriously one of my favorite books of the year!  As soon as I finished reading Karolina's Twins, I went straight to the library to check out Balson's other two books.  I was pretty much hooked from the very beginning and could not stop reading until I knew the whole story.

The author does an amazing job of showcasing life in a Polish ghetto; the transports, the workshops and the all pervasive sense of fear. His attention to detail made the setting seem so real.  There are a variety of characters in both the past and present stories and they were all very well-developed.  Liam and Catherine are a great couple and a fantastic team and I really enjoyed reading about them.  Lena and Karolina's stories broke my heart but their friendship and love for each other was beautiful.  

 There was an unexpected twist in the story; nothing bad but just really intriguing.  I loved the ending of the story and I was definitely in tears as I finished it.  As a whole, this is an excellent read and I would recommend it to anyone.  5 stars.

 ***Since finishing this book, I've read another of Mr. Balson's books.  Seriously, go read something he has written. His books are awesome!!
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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