When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin - A Review

 



        After reading Sarah Sundin's excellent When Leaves Fall in Paris earlier this year, I immediately looked up the rest of Sundin's catalogue and found When Twilight Breaks, which was released in February of 2021. The book takes place in 1938 pre-war Nazi Germany, and presents a full and detailed picture of what life was like for all in Germany as Hitler seems bent on a relentless march towards war. The two main characters are both American citizens living in Germany. Evelyn Brand is a foreign correspondent determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession, as well as expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. She has to walk a very fine line so as not to offend the Nazi government, otherwise she could be expelled from the country... or worse. Peter Long is a graduate student working on his PhD in German, disillusioned with the chaos in the world and growing communism due to the Great Depression. Peter is impressed with the order and apparent prosperity of German society, but he soon witnesses the true brutality of the regime and ultimately discovers a better way to use his contacts within the Nazi Party..... feeding information to Evelyn Brand for her articles. When Twilight Breaks takes you on an adventure of courage and compassion, chaos and brutality, love and espionage, with a beautiful lesson to be learned along the way. 

        I have to say that I was impressed with how thorough Sundin was in presenting what life under the Nazi regime looked like for all, showing both what the German Nazis and Nazi Sympathizers experienced and what the Jewish people and those that opposed the regime experienced. The whole thing was excellently done. I also enjoyed seeing Peter learn to forgive, which allowed him to see more clearly and to realize that the rigid order of the regime had its major drawbacks, and watching him find out that it's better to have a balance of both order and chaos. I also loved how he understood, accepted, and respected Evelyn from the start, even when she was rather unreasonable. Since I had read Until Leaves Fall in Paris BEFORE When Twilight Breaks, I had already met the characters of Paul and Simone Aubrey, so for me, it was icing on the cake to learn more about them and see more of a glimpse of their lives before Until Leaves Fall in Paris. 

        I've seen a few other readers say that this book crawled and was too full of facts and research the first two thirds of the book. I have to disagree. I think that it was all necessary information in order to set the scene, as well as develop and give context to the story and its characters. Honestly, my only gripe with the story, and it's not a reflection of the writer or the quality of the writing, is that I found Evelyn a bit too stubborn at times, frustratingly so. With that said, I loved this book and could not put it down. After reading two of Sarah Sundin's books, I've learned an important lesson: When planning to read one of her books, I really MUST set aside enough time to read the book in one or two sittings, because I truly can't stand to put it down once I start! I am officially a Sundin fan... On to The Sound of Light! 

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