The Amber Crane by Malve von Hassell

 

Death
Destruction
Desolation

War shreds everything around us for generations to come. It breaks us.

The Amber Crane by Malve von Hassell talks about war; it’s harrowing after effects and the life that sometimes rises like a Phoenix out of it. Battered yet resilient, to make the world a better place.

The book is an interesting mix of historical fiction and time travel; albeit historically and not futuristically. Set during two wars 300 years apart, the Thirty Year’s War and World War II, the book traces the life of Peter Glienke. An apprentice to an amber master, Peter is learning to be a master craftsman.

Struggling against the constraints of following the rules of the amber guild during the war and his master, Peter is longing for freedom. Freedom to craft what he wants, Freedom to be what he wants to be.

Unfortunately he doesn’t know what he wants to be.

Surrounded by gloom at his home since his brothers passing away during the war Peter seeks refuge at a forbidden beach and finds the one thing that changes his life. A piece of Amber.

Defying rules, Peter smuggles the piece to his workshop. It is here that he discovers the magical properties of this piece of Amber. Not the golden, curative and holistic healing properties associated with all Amber but one of time-travel.

Through the powers of the Amber, Peter travels to the future, to World War II and meets Lioba, a young girl trying to find her family while escaping from the onslaught of the army.

It is the consequences of his interaction with Lioba that shape Peter’s life. Will he endanger his family and his reputation or will he grow up and soar like a crane.

Malve’s storytelling is filled with intrigue, hope and a lot of history. She has the ability to suck you into the story and become a part of it. One that you don’t’ want to leave till you know the end. Superbly woven, her stories, just like this one, are filled with life lessons that enrich our lives.

A must, must, read The Amber Crane is a book that shows us that humanity can be healed, if only it wants to heal.

 

So glad I got this RC it had me at tenterhooks the whole time. Hope you liked my fair and honest review.

Happy Reading☺