Thanks to The Write Reads for my invitation to tale part in this book tour and the copy of the book to write my honest review.
Book Blurb
Samuel Val is blessed with a loving family and a tight-knit community in his Jewish village of Khruvina. He dreams of becoming Khruvina’s Rabbi, but his dreams are crushed when his family is slaughtered by Nazi Officer Viktor Naden, the Beast of Belorussia.
With Samuel left as Khruvina’s only survivor, he joins the anti-Nazi resistance group known as the Black Foxes. Determined to avenge his family, he swears to hunt down and destroy Viktor Naden. Samuel’s mission of vengeance, however, is put on hold when he is forced to escort a Jewish refugee to a safehouse operated by Black Fox Ten, a high-ranked member of the resistance.
While on his mission to save a life, Samuel discovers that the Beast of Belorussia might be closer than he thought. All at once, Samuel is given the chance to destroy Viktor Naden…but the cost will be high.
Will Samuel sell his soul for vengeance?
Award-winning author Elyse Hoffman offers a heart-breaking and thought-provoking WW2 story.
Elyse Hoffman is an author who can have me in the palm of her books hand with five minutes of reading it. The Vengeance Of Samuel Val was no different. Part of the Project 613 series and set in WW2 I was hooked immediately.
Samuel Val’s story tells of how is is the sole survivor of a Nazi attack on his Jewish village. He is left for dead but lives, all his family are dead too. He joins a resistance group the ‘Black Foxes’, determined to exact revenge on the SS officer who led the attack, known as ‘the Beast’. On a mission he discovers the Beast’s home and subsequently has to decide if the revenge he has planned is worth the price of his very soul.
Emotional and hardhitting, this is a novella that feels like a 300 page book! The author takes the reader alongside Samuel as he experiences a spiritual and emotional journey. There is a recurring character also, Amos. I was pleased to see him again. I did appreciate how Elyse Hoffman created the moral debate between these two characters. I was in the fence with these two. Only because I saw both sides of the argument and could see both where right in their own ways.
Again, it is a book that leaves you thinking. Elyse Hoffman is superb at recreating periods of the past and transporting the reader away from the modern day. She is a master storyteller, and I love the ‘webs’ she weaves!
Author Bio
Elyse Hoffman is a best-selling author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. Having studied WWII since the age of thirteen and with interests in fantasy and Jewish folklore, she loves to combine them in her writing. Elyse started writing novels at fourteen and finished her first historical fiction work at fifteen. She studied English, History, and Law at George Mason University. In her spare time, she loves to read, work on pretty keyboards, and hang out with her co-authors – her Goldendoodle Ari and her ex-feral cat, Echo.
Social Media Links
Website https://www.elysehoffman.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/Project613Books
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/project613books/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20851312.Elyse_Hoffman
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