An Age of Winters: a slow burn mystery with witchcraft rumors, accusations and hidden secrets

An Age of Winters by Gemma Liviero is a story of a time when witchfinders rules and paranoia spreads like wildfire when persecution and betrayal is hiding in the shadows. It is 1625 in the Franconian village of Eisbach, disease, famine and heinous crimes made a merciless winter even more chilling. Katarin Jaspers is the maid servant to the Reverend Zacharias Engel, newly appointed by Rome to discover the truth behind the strange events in the village. Soon a man is declared a witch and burned publicly and all prayed it would end the misfortunes. As peace and sense of normalcy returns to the village with the promise of spring and Katarin finds herself drawn to Zacharias, but when a new midwife comes to the village and becomes a rival for the reverend’s attention, a new fear builds as a new winter sets in and leaves the village on edge once again. As rumors fly, is no one safe from the threat of the pyres? 

An Age of Winters is a slow burn mystery in a day and age when the accusation of witchcraft was a death sentence. Ms. Liviero’s descriptions are so vivid that I could swear I felt the bitter winter wind. I liked Katarin’s character, a simple maid servant with her own secrets. Zacharias was a man of mystery with little eccentric traits that would raise an eyebrow and question his motives as well. Little hints along the way kept me guessing as to who or what was behind the evil that plagued the village. There were definitely questions about who to trust and who was lying and which accusations were real and which ones were fueled by ulterior motives. The ending was a shocker and left me gabbing in surprise. Overall, it was a bit slower than I normally like but it kept me engaged and turning the page. If you enjoy slow burn historical novels, I think you will enjoy An Age of Winters. 

An Age of Winters is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Broken Angels: a story of sacrifice during a time of great danger

Broken Angels by Gemma Liviero is a story about the horrors of the Holocaust during World War II. Told from the perspective of three individuals: a Nazi doctor, a Jewish woman and a young girl, the events during the war and the programs of the Nazis are told in vivid detail.

The story opens in 1996 with the funeral of a mother. Time is transported back to 1942 as a young Jewish woman, Elsi, helps her mother see the Nazi doctor assigned to the Lodz Ghetto. Willem Gerhardt is a doctor who is the son of one of Himmler’s top researchers. Matilda is a part-German child who is taken from her family and placed in a home in the hopes of molding her into the perfect Aryan child for a German family. As events unfold. Willem is confronted with the horrors and atrocities that the Nazis are doing to the Jewish people. He is sent to oversee the children’s program and he enters Matilda’s life. One night after a tragic loss, he sees Elsi, ill and being loaded onto a truck and decides to save her. He takes her in and treats her illness. He soon learns that the children who deemed unfit for adoption are being sent to the camps. He begins to falsify documents and save these children’s lives. Will he able to save these children’s lives? Will he be caught?

Broken Angels is a beautiful and heartbreaking story of Germany during the war. The atrocities of the Nazis, the indoctrination, the experimentation and the blatant disregard of human life. But it also a story of the unsung heroes who did their best to save lives despite the horrors around them and the dangers to their lives. There were moments in the story when the horrific events were just too much and I had to stop reading and process. I recommend Broken Angels as a deep look into events of World War II that many do not read about or don’t want to know about. Keeping the memories of the men and women who lost their lives simply because they were Jewish alive is important. We cannot forget them and Broken Angels will ensure that you never do.

Broken Angels

is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com

in paperback $14.95

Kindle Unlimited for free

and Audiobook $14.99