Blog Tour Review: Fracture by Elyse Hoffman

Hey everyone!
Today is my stop on the blog tour for Fracture by Elyse Hoffman, and I am excited to be sharing my review with you all.

A massive thank you to @The_WriteReads for allowing me to be a part of the tour.

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Book Blurb:

A heart-wrenching WW2 story of forbidden love and torn allegiances.

Franz Keidel is a monsterous SS soldier: loyal, hateful, and devoted to Hitler. With a cold heart, he hunts down his Führer’s enemies, but one fateful mission will fracture his shield of ice.

While hunting for Jews, Franz stumbles across a familiar face: Amos Auman, his childhood friend. Amos is the only source of joy in Franz’s life, but he is also a Jew. Unable to bring himself to kill his friend, Franz vows to protect Amos from his fellow Nazis.

As Franz spends more time with Amos, bringing him food and books, he falls in love with his kind-hearted friend. How could he fall in love with a man, a Jew? How can he continue to hate Jews when a Jew has thawed his icy heart?

And what will Franz do if he has to choose between Amos and his loyalty to Hitler? What choices does he have when he is already beyond redemption?

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My Review:

I’ve previously read The Book of Uriel (REVIEW HERE), and Where David Threw Stones (REVIEW HERE) by Elyse Hoffman (also thanks to The Write Reads) and absolutely loved them both, so when this tour email went out, I signed up immediately! This did then mean that my expectations for Fracture were extremely high.

The story begins with a young Franz Keidel, and his friend Amos Auman. Franz’s father is a vicious bully of a man who regularly beats his son, but Amos is Franz’s strength, his safe place, and his happiness. Little Amos Auman is not afraid to stand up for his friend, even against the monster that is Herr Keidel. Their friendship is strong and true, and friendship can conquer anything, which we see continued as a running theme throughout the entire book.

We then jump forward in time to Germany at war. Franz is now an SS soldier, and gone is the sweet innocent boy from the beginning of the story. He is now a ruthless killer, who would do absolutely anything for Hitler and his country. The transition from the fragile child at the beginning of the story to the monster that follows is really difficult to take in, especially given what he went through as a child, and my feelings towards him were so conflicted. But when Franz uncovers his old friend Amos, who happens to be Jewish, hiding in a barn, everything in Franz’s world is tipped completely upside down.

From there onwards, we follow Franz’s struggle between his duty to his country, his beliefs and views of Jewish people, and his feelings towards his best friend in the world and his desperate need to protect and help him. Things become even more complicated when he realises that he is falling in love with Amos, and now his views on homosexuality are also being challenged by his own feelings. It’s an absolute rollercoaster from beginning to end, and of course there can be no such thing as redemption for Franz after the horrors and crimes that he has committed, because nothing can EVER make up for what he has done. But, when it comes to Amos he does do the right thing, and it shows that love and friendship truly can overcome absolutely anything. Psychologically, this book was a lot to take in.

In regards to characters, Franz is a very complex character with so many layers to unravel. His conflicting feelings and beliefs are the main focus of the storyline. There are some really horrific people in this book, which given the setting and theme of the story you’d expect anyway, many of which I would describe as pure evil. There were a few familiar faces too, such as Edmund and Sigmund Rahm, who both feature in Where David Threw Stones. The two books actually flow quite nicely with each other, and although they are both easily read as standalones, I would recommend reading Fracture, and then reading Where David Threw Stones to follow.

I would say that this is the most controversial of Elyse’s books that I’ve read so far, and it’s probably not to everyone’s liking, but it was certainly unique and I personally really enjoyed it. It was gut wrenching, heart aching, and at times extremely difficult to read. It’s one of those books that has you really thinking about it for weeks after you’ve finished. I love Elyse’s writing style, and I would probably say she is one of my favourite historical fiction writers. I can’t wait to see what else she has in store for us in the future.

I give Fracture a 4 star rating!

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About The Author:

YOU CAN FIND ELYSE HERE:
Twitter, Instagram, GoodReads

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