Barbara Stark-Nemon

(*I received this book through Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for an honest review.)

The story features the life of Klare Kohler during World War 2 and afterwards. We get a glimpse into her life as the Nazi party rises to power and how she is treated during that time as a Jewish person living in Germany. Each chapter is a small fragment of her life, sometimes having time skips months or years apart, which was a bit of a struggle for me personally. I felt like I was getting just a peek and that at times one chapter felt a bit disconnected from the next.

Overall it was a well-written book speaking to the courage and tenacity of a family doing what they can, with the help of some friends, in order to survive one of the darker moments in history.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially that surrounding World War 2, or even biographical type novels as this book was based upon the author's real relative Klare Kohler.… (more)

Thank you to the author.

I'm not sure to how to review this. It wasn't a bad book but not a great one either. It held my interest throughout but I got bored with it after 1/2 the book but kept going to see what would transpire. Sometimes the main character Abbie Rose got on my nerves for one reason or another.

The title referred to her wanting to make Hard Cider in Michigan on her farm and it referred to that but it wasn't the main plot. The plot was a good one I guess but with a surprise thrown in for good measure of course.… (more)

Hard Cider gives a realistic view of what it is like to build and maintain a family. It also reminds us that the work is never finished, even after the children of a family are grown. Family secrets can be difficult, but their revelation can also be an added blessing to the lives of those involved.

As a bonus, we get a fascinating look at the business of making hard cider. It's much more complicated than I had ever imagined. I also really appreciated the story of a woman in the second half of her life looking to start on a new dream.… (more)