Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Defiance by A.L. Sowards (Blog Tour + giveaway)




Defiance by A. L. Sowards
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Genre: WWII Historical Fiction
Source: Received from Publisher to review.

Book Description:  Eight years after immigrating to the United States, German-born Lukas Ley embodies the American dream: successful athlete, gorgeous girlfriend, loving family. But beneath the surface, eighteen-year-old Lukas is driven by ambition, resolved to avenge the murder of his father at the hands of the Nazi regime. Unfortunately, a failed physical throws his plans for flight school off course. Unlike his war-hero older brother, Lukas’s purpose is unclear. He can’t fly, and in the eyes of the military, he’s good for only one thing—the front lines. 

From the foxholes of war-ravaged Luxembourg to the devastation of an enormous German offensive, Lukas’s journey is fraught with peril. But when he’s taken as a prisoner of war, he realizes life is about to get much worse. In the enemy camp, Lukas is viewed as a German fighting for the wrong side. Ripped from the innocence of an idealistic youth, he becomes a man beaten by the horrors of war. Now his only hope of survival is to hold tightly to his faith in God and his love of family and home. But even if he manages to make it out alive, can he ever be whole again?

Sometimes survival is the ultimate act of Defiance.


My thoughts:  I just want to start the review by expressing how amazing the books written by A. L, Sowards are.  She takes a look at parts of the war that are not the mainstream war novels.  She writes books that look at the nitty gritty part of the war.  In this case, she takes a German American and places him in the war fighting for the Americans.  He is neither fully accepted by the country where he lives and he is not treated well by the Germans.

When the book begins Lukas has just graduated from High School.  He lives in a small community and has feelings for the girl next door.  When his brother returns from the war, he begins to get a small view of the negative side effects of war.  His brother is missing a leg and has many new scars.  But Lukas thinks that he is going to fight and destroy Hitler, the man responsible for his father's death.  All too soon he learns what war is really about.
  
Lukas has a rough road in this book.  You can visualize the war through his eyes.  Sowards is excellent at not sugar coating war, but at the same time not painting graphic scenes.  I never miss an opportunity to read her books.  She does her research and she brings her books to life.

The book contains kissing and war violence.  Lukas is also religious.  His beliefs are mentioned in the book.



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A.L. SowardsAbout the Author: (Taken from Goodreads)  About My Writing: 
A little mystery, a little history, a little romance, and a lot of action, adventure, and suspense. Primarily, I write to entertain. I also hope my books will teach readers something new about history or about life. My books are usually set during wartime, so there is some violence, but I keep the language and romance family-friendly. My goal is for my writing to be thrilling, clean, and uplifting.

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