When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin

Meet Author Sarah Sundin:

Sarah Sundin enjoys writing about the drama and romance of the World War II era. She is the bestselling author of When Twilight Breaks (February 2, 2021), The Land Beneath Us (2020), The Sky Above Us (2019) and The Sea Before Us (2018), as well as the Waves of Freedom, Wings of the Nightingale, and Wings of Glory series.

A mother of three, Sundin lives in northern California and enjoys speaking to community, church, and writers' groups. Her novel The Land Beneath Us was a finalist for the 2020 Christy Award, The Sky Above Us won the 2020 Carol Award, The Sea Before Us won the 2019 Reader's Choice Award from Faith, Hope, and Love, and When Tides Turn and Through Waters Deep were both named to Booklist's 101 Best Romance Novels of the Past 10 Years. Sarah serves as Co-Director for the West Coast Christian Writers Conference.

Please visit Sarah at www.sarahsundin.com, on Facebook at SarahSundinAuthor, on Twitter at @sarahsundin, and on Instagram at @sarahsundinauthor

"Munich, 1938. Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent as determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession as she is to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country--or worse. If she fails to truthfully report on major stories, she'll never be able to give a voice to the oppressed--and wake up the folks back home.

In another part of the city, American graduate student Peter Lang is working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party--to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can't get off his mind.

This electric standalone novel from fan-favorite Sarah Sundin puts you right at the intersection of pulse-pounding suspense and heart-stopping romance." ~Amazon

Numeric Breakdown:
1: didn't like it/skip it
2: it was okay/it wasn't for me
3. liked it/worth a read
4. really liked it/loved it
5. it was amazing/must read!

A spectacular beginning read.

I've had Author Sarah Sundin's books in mind for a long time now, and I've added them to my Goodreads "to-read" list on more than one occasion. They're a genre I'm particularly interested in being WWII historical fiction with a romance, mystery, and Christian bent. Yet, I've hesitated in reading them because of my own WWII historical fiction writing. I prefer to immerse myself in WWII nonfiction reading as opposed to fiction.

However, when given the opportunity, I leapt at the chance to read Sundin's newest work When Twilight Breaks. Within this standalone book, we find characters Evelyn Brand and Peter Lang working in different areas in 1938 Munich Germany. Both have significant reasons for being there, but each have their own way of viewing how the world is changing.

Evelyn is an industrious and motivated American foreign correspondent who's determined to find out what's really happening with the Nazi regime and report the truth. She isn't for the radical changes the Nazis are making, and she doesn't like the rhetoric Hitler is spouting to build his nationalistic lingo. Her stories aren't being reported the way she tells them, and every piece has a positive pro-Nazi belief that frustrates her.

Peter Lang is an American graduate student who is working on his PhD in German. He's supportive of the changes Hitler and his followers are making in Germany. With the Great Depression in his memory, he appreciate the order being established under the Nationalist party. He hopes the prosperity they are achieving under Hitler's guidance will benefit other countries as it appears to be doing for the German people.

When the two characters meet, Evelyn is sent to interview Peter and his experiences for her paper. It sets her against him immediately, and save for his kindness and gentlemanly manner, she would dislike him completely. After their first get-together, she concludes there's no way she'll meet with him again.

Peter is struck a bit differently when they meet. He sees her as inspiring and beautiful, and he hopes she'll go out with him. However, he sees she's not so willing to give him the chance he desires, and their first meeting appears to be its last. Until events construe to push them together and ensure they become each other's lifeline to getting out of Germany alive.

When a brutal attack forces Peter to reevaluate his political beliefs, he feels the best way to continue the work he loves and help those under assault is to pose as a sympathetic party to the Nazis. His role provides him with names of supporters and puts him in more danger than he thought possible. His next step is to get out of town and take along the intrepid reporter he's been sharing his collected information with, but there will be challenges to getting out.

While Peter is making his own plans, Evelyn is sinking deeper into her own battles. Her editor-in-chief consistently rewrites her work and gives her the worst assignments - in her opinion - ever. A chance to send her next story directly to the states and bypass him turns out to be a lucrative and essentially deadly event. Now, Evelyn is on the run, and Peter joins her in the challenge to escape before their contacts find them.

The thrilling plot unfolds at a steady pace, and we're treated to a strong female lead and a compassionate male character. Both bring a unique viewpoint to the story. Their conversations bring light to some heavy topics and give each food for thought along the way. The historical details are well-done and well-researched, and the third person narrative with two points of view keeps you engaged and wondering what will happen next.

While I found this book wonderful and in-depth, I did notice the changes brought about by each character were more based on the events and politics than their faith. As a Christian novel, I would have liked to see a bit more correlation concerning those events and politics and how their beliefs reinforced the change in views each had. However, the action and adventure, suspense, building romance, and character realizations throughout the circumstances keep the reader entertained and absorbed throughout the machinations.

Basically, when all is said and done, Sundin creates a memorable and impressive story. Her world is down-to-earth, considerate, and well-written. I appreciated her characters and creation. I'm thankful I had the opportunity to read it, and I'll definitely be reading more of Author Sarah Sundin. Overall, I'm giving this a 5/5 "must read" rating and highly recommend it to anyone who loves historical fiction, action, mystery, and Christian romance.


Thanks to the author and Revell: A Baker Publishing Group for an ARC copy to read and give an honest review.

Thanks for joining me, and as always, Happy Reading!! :)

~Rebecca Reddell, Author