That Summer in Berlin

By: Lecia Cornwall

Narrated by: Hannah Curtis

Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

In the summer of 1936, while the Nazis make secret plans for World War II, a courageous and daring young woman struggles to expose the lies behind the dazzling spectacle of the Berlin Olympics.

German power is rising again, threatening a war that will be even worse than the last one. The English aristocracy turns to an age-old institution to stave off war and strengthen political bonds—marriage. Debutantes flock to Germany, including Viviane Alden. On holiday with her sister during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Viviane’s true purpose is more clandestine. While many in England want to appease Hitler, others seek to prove Germany is rearming. But they need evidence, photographs to tell the tale, and Viviane is a genius with her trusty Leica. And who would suspect a pretty, young tourist taking holiday snaps of being a spy?

Viviane expects to find hatred and injustice, but during the Olympics, with the world watching, Germany is on its best behavior, graciously welcoming tourists to a festival of peace and goodwill. But first impressions can be deceiving, and it’s up to Viviane and the journalist she’s paired with—a daring man with a guarded heart—to reveal the truth.

But others have their own reasons for befriending Viviane, and her adventure takes a darker turn. Suddenly Viviane finds herself caught in a web of far more deadly games—and closer than she ever imagined to the brink of war.

©2022 Lecia Cornwall (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Held my interest from the very beginning

I loved this story!! Beautiful written and narrated. Had enough intrigue to make you question on where the story was going. I enjoyed a story from the WW2 era that was from a different aspect and time frame than most.

Intrigue and fast paced action with strong woman lead

Coming off a not-good read about Vietnam, I was concerned about diving into a pre-WWII book billed as having a strong woman as the lead who happens to come from a wealthy privileged background, with intrigue, danger and romance around every corner!

Fortunately - I was just fine! This book grabbed me early on and never let go. Viviane is a great character who is strong but flawed, and we never stop wanted to know more about her. She is expected to marry into a title as her family has fallen on hard times, but is unwilling to make herself smaller and is convinced she can make her way in the world.

That ‘way in the world’ ends up involving Germany between the Winter and Summer Olympics of 1936, and very soon Viviane is peeking behind the curtain with her ever-present camera. In Germany with her stepsister Julia, hosted by an old friend of her stepfather and his family of Nazis, she works to blend into society while seeing what the Germans want to remain hidden.

The characters in this book are intriguing, with a dozen or more who were fully fleshed out with personalities and motivations - but everyone has something to hide. Her best friend Reggie had introduced her to the reporter Tom, and the two meet and work together in Berlin. The relationships and motivations of all of the characters are taken into consideration, making for a thrilling story.

My singular criticism was in the final 10% of the book things moved too quickly and a few unlikely coincidences occurred that wouldn’t have happened earlier in the book. But by then I was so invested in everything that it was easy to forgive these shortcuts.

Overall a wonderful and tense read that I thoroughly enjoyed and definitely recommend.

Excellent book! Very well written and performed.

I love historical novels and this one is amazing. Lecia Cornwall is genious in creating a story that very appropriately depicts the pre-WWII situation in Germany. Bravo!

Vivien's love of her late father, a camera, and coming to terms with the truth

a picture doesn't lie, and story is complete when the truth is said. War is coming, keeping up appearances is everything during the summer Olympics. Yet this new government is fragile not strong.

Enjoyed it

This is an enjoyable book. I’m glad I listened to it. The narration fit the story and I enjoyed it.

Twists and turns!

This book had a good amount of twists and turns to keep me listening. I found the romance between the two main characters boring..rolled my eyes..

Great Historical Fiction

It was a great story that was beautifully balanced between the horrors of history and a sweet love story.

Great audiobook

A great story with historical personal insights to Germany pre WWII & the Berlin Olympic Games. Great story & narrator

INTERESTING STORY

I enjoyed the storyline very much. But, the book could have been a good hour shorter and still have been good. There was too much reiterating of the same points, just by different characters.

I found the young character Klaus to be obnoxious! I enjoyed the character of Vivian very much — strong, fearless, always up for adventure. The Scottish reporter/spy, Tom, was decent enough, but I felt he should have been 30 or 32 for credibility, not 25.


The narrator did a good job narrating the English accents, but her Scottish brogue was cringe worthy! Every time she used the Scottish Brogue, I wanted to clap my hands over my ears and say, “Make it STOP!”

If you like to read about WWII, you may enjoy this book, although the plot was more about trying to PREVENT WWII, than about the war itself. I’ve read better books on this subject and I’ve read worse.

Overall, I enjoyed this book.

Loved it.

Great narration. Also interesting timeline from other world war stories years before it actually showed what the Germans were really like.