Review: CILKA’S JOURNEY by Heather Morris
Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris 
Series: The Tattooist of Auschwitz #2
Published by St. Martin's Press on October 1, 2019
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley
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FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
CILKA’S JOURNEY Review
Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris is the heart-wrenching story of Cilka Klein, who in 1942, at the age of sixteen, is sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. Cilka is a beautiful girl and her beauty catches the eye of some of the guards at the camp, who decide to separate her from her fellow prisoners. By playing the role these men want her to play, Cilka manages to survive three years in the camp until it is liberated. Unfortunately, young Cilka’s harrowing journey has just begun. She is arrested by the Russians, charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy (even though she had no choice in the matter) and is sent to prison for 15 years in Siberia.
While Cilka’s Journey itself is a work of historical fiction, it is based on a true story and as such is just all the more heartbreaking to read. Cilka is an incredibly sympathetic character. I liked her immediately because of the way she nurtures some of the younger prisoners. It’s clear that she is a victim of an unfair system and I found myself immediately rooting for her to find a way to survive. In showing what happens to Cilka from the moment she is arrested, Morris does an incredible job of exposing the many wrongs that all prisoners, but especially female prisoners, faced. The abuse is rampant, both physical and sexual, the conditions they are kept in are barbaric, and the treatment is inhumane, making the Russians appear, in many ways, not very different from the Nazis.
I thought the pacing of the novel was excellent too. Because I was so invested in Cilka and worried for her well-being, I was just glued to the book to see how things would turn out for her.
Thankfully though, it’s not all doom and gloom. Morris shows that there are a few bright spots in Cilka’s life in spite of her prison sentence. Her cellmates become somewhat of a “found family” for her, and she even befriends a female doctor at the hospital where she has been assigned to do administrative work because of her language skills. And while working at the hospital, she meets someone who inspires her to think about her future and what her life could possibly be like once she is finally free. It was nice to have moments like these woven into what is otherwise one heartbreak after another.
With every page of Cilka’s Journey, Morris brings to life Cilka’s heart, her bravery, and her strength. Her journey is filled with loss and grief, but also with resiliency and the will to live. And while Cilka’s Journey is a harrowing tale of survival, it is also ultimately a story of hope and love.
I didn’t realize when I requested Cilka’s Journey that it is a sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which I haven’t read yet. Thankfully, however, it works quite well as a standalone and I highly recommend it to fans of historical fiction, especially from the WWII era. It’s a powerful read, an emotional read, and one that will stick with you long after you’ve finished the last page.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
From the author of the multi-million copy bestseller, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, comes the new novel based on an incredible true story of love and resilience.
Her beauty saved her life – and condemned her.
Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, in 1942. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival.
After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to Siberia. But what choice did she have? And where did the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was sent to Auschwitz when still a child?
In a Siberian prison camp, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she makes an impression on a woman doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing. Cilka begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions.
Cilka finds endless resources within herself as she daily confronts death and faces terror. And when she nurses a man called Ivan, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love.
About Heather Morris
Heather Morris is a Native of New Zealand now resident in Australia, working in a large public hospital in Melbourne. For several years she studied and wrote screenplays, one of which was optioned by an academy award winning Screenwriter in the U.S. In 2003, she was introduced to an elderly gentleman “who might just have a story worth telling”. She says the day she met Lale Sokolov changed her life, as their friendship grew and he embarked on a journey of self scrutiny, entrusting the inner most details of his life during the Holocaust. Morris originally wrote Lale’s story as a screenplay – which ranked high in international competitions – before reshaping it into her debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
Top Ten Tuesday – “Sum” of my Favorite Books with Numbers in their Titles
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Book Titles with Numbers In Them (You could really challenge yourself and do numbers 1-10 or just any numbers at all. This was one of those topics that I thought would be easy-breezy but then of course when I sat down to write the post, I forgot every title of every book I’ve ever read. (Why does that always happen?) Anyway, I eventually started to remember a few and since they were all ten and under, I decided to go the “Count from 1 to 10” route. I did cheat a bit though because even though I’m calling these favorites, there are a few I haven’t read yet. They’re by favorite authors though so close enough, lol.
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“Sum” of my Favorite Books with Numbers in their Titles
1. ONE PLUS ONE by Jojo Moyes
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2. TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET by Karen McManus
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3. THREE DARK CROWNS by Kendare Blake
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4. FOUR TO SCORE by Janet Evanovich
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5. FIVE FEET APART by Rachel Lippincott
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6. SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo
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7. THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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8. THE 8TH CONFESSION by James Patterson
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9. NINE PERFECT STRANGERS by Liane Moriarty
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10. THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by Ruth Ware
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Question: Have you read any of these?
Review: THE SHAPE OF NIGHT by Tess Gerritsen
The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen 
Published by Ballantine Books on October 1, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal
Pages: 288
Source: Netgalley
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FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
THE SHAPE OF NIGHT Review
I’ve been a fan of Tess Gerritsen’s novels for years, especially her Rizzoli and Isles thriller series, so when I saw she had a new novel coming out, The Shape of Night, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy.
The Shape of Night is set in a remote coastal town in Maine where the protagonist, food writer Ava Collette, has rented a house, in hopes of escaping her troubles so that she can focus on finishing her latest cookbook, which is way overdue to her publishers. The home, Brodie’s Watch, is named after its original owner Captain Jeremiah Brodie, who died at sea over 150 years ago. When Ava firsts arrives at Brodie’s Watch, the outside does not look at all like the quiet, peaceful spot she was hoping for. Instead, it actually looks quite menacing and unwelcoming. Once inside, however, it’s exactly what Ava was hoping for and so she settles in quickly, feeling at peace with the place.
That is, until she starts feeling like she’s being watched. And not only that, she also starts hearing strange noises and seeing things at night that have her questioning her own sanity. When she also starts to find random personal items that clearly belonged to the prior tenant, Ava contacts her realtor to see about forwarding the items to the prior tenant and to try to get some answers about the house. The realtor gives her the runaround at first but then finally admits that the prior tenant left very abruptly and without explanation. Unsatisfied with the answers she is given, Ava starts to do some digging to learn as much as she can about the house and its prior owners. What she finds regarding the prior owners is not only incredibly disturbing, but it could actually end up costing Ava her life.
While The Shape of Night is quite different from those Rizzoli and Isles novels I love so much because it features a paranormal element, it still kept me on the edge of my seat with the riveting mystery of what is going on at Brodie’s Watch. I was very engrossed in the mystery of the house and whether or not it was actually haunted, and so found Ava’s investigation very entertaining. I was also very invested in the character of Ava and wanted to know more about what had happened in her personal life to have her fleeing to such a remote location and avoiding phone calls from her friends and family.
I also loved the creepy, atmospheric, almost Gothic feel that Brodie’s Watch has at night and all of the supernatural touches that Gerritsen has added. Ava’s paranoia about what she was experiencing was also quite contagious and had me looking over my own shoulder to make sure no one was watching me!
All in all, this was a gripping read that I was able to fly through in just a couple of sittings. My only real issue with the book was that there were some sexual scenes in the book that I could have done without. They didn’t really add anything to the storyline and were a little more graphic than necessary, veering into BDSM territory. Even with that issue though, it was definitely still a very solid read for me.
If you’re into mysteries and/or paranormal stories, Tess Gerritsen’s The Shape of Night may be exactly the book you’re looking for. It’s a perfect read for fall!
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
A woman trying to outrun her past is drawn to a quiet coastal town in Maine–and to a string of unsolved murders–in this haunting tale of romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.
Ava Collette is punishing herself for an unspeakable tragedy. So she flees Boston and rents an old home named Brodie’s Watch on a remote coastal peninsula of Maine, hoping to work on a cookbook inspired by New England cuisine that she’s been trying to finish for months. She immediately feels at peace in the isolated house–until she starts to hear strange noises.
Rumor has it that a sea captain named Brodie has haunted the house for decades. Then, one night, Ava is awakened to find herself face to face with an apparition who looks–and feels–all too real. Meanwhile, there’s been a series of accidental deaths nearby that don’t add up. And as Ava starts to check into the previous renter’s mysterious disappearance, she starts to realize that there’s a disturbing secret some in town are desperate to keep hidden.
Soon all of Ava’s waking hours are consumed by her investigation, and her nights are ignited by Captain Brodie’s ghostly visits. But even as she questions her own sanity, she knows she must uncover the truth before a killer strikes again.
About Tess Gerritsen
Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D.
While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction. In 1987, her first novel was published. Call After Midnight, a romantic thriller, was followed by eight more romantic suspense novels. She also wrote a screenplay, “Adrift”, which aired as a 1993 CBS Movie of the Week starring Kate Jackson.
Tess’s first medical thriller, Harvest, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Her suspense novels since then have been: Life Support (1997), Bloodstream (1998), Gravity (1999), The Surgeon (2001), The Apprentice (2002), The Sinner (2003), Body Double (2004), Vanish (2005), The Mephisto Club (2006), and The Bone Garden (2007). Her books have been translated into 31 languages, and more than 15 million copies have been sold around the world.
As well as being a New York Times bestselling author, she has also been a #1 bestseller in both Germany and the UK. She has won both the Nero Wolfe Award (for Vanish) and the Rita Award (for The Surgeon.) Critics around the world have praised her novels as “Pulse-pounding fun” (Philadelphia Inquirer), “Scary and brilliant” (Toronto Globe and Mail), and “Polished, riveting prose” (Chicago Tribune). Publisher Weekly has dubbed her the “medical suspense queen”.
Now retired from medicine, she writes full time. She lives in Maine.