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Project 613 #4
Adiel and the Führer
A chance to prevent the rise of Hitler… but at what cost?
Adiel Goldstein has a good life. Despite the anti-Semitism he faces as a German Jew, he has everything he wants. A dream job as an art professor, good friends, a loving father, and a precious nine-year-old daughter, Kaia. But his life is about to be upended. An old comrade from his time fighting in the Great War is gaining power: a man named Hitler. Adiel’s father insists that they need to leave the country before Hitler becomes the leader of Germany.
Adiel and his family plan to move to America, but before they can even pack their bags, he and Kaia make a shocking discovery. Adiel’s father, Natan Goldstein, is from the future. A Holocaust survivor who lost his family to unspeakable tragedy, Natan was given the chance to go back in time and take the life of Adolf Hitler. But when he failed to kill the future Führer, he devoted himself to his new family and awaited the inevitable.
Natan can’t face the Holocaust again, but Adiel’s unique connection to Hitler means he might be able to succeed where his father failed. Adiel now has a choice: escape as planned and let history repeat itself, or sacrifice everything to stop the Holocaust before it can begin.
Award winning author Elyse Hoffman has crafted a thought-provoking and daring work of historical fiction which will tug at your heartstrings.
Adiel Goldstein has a good life. Despite the anti-Semitism he faces as a German Jew, he has everything he wants. A dream job as an art professor, good friends, a loving father, and a precious nine-year-old daughter, Kaia. But his life is about to be upended. An old comrade from his time fighting in the Great War is gaining power: a man named Hitler. Adiel’s father insists that they need to leave the country before Hitler becomes the leader of Germany.
Adiel and his family plan to move to America, but before they can even pack their bags, he and Kaia make a shocking discovery. Adiel’s father, Natan Goldstein, is from the future. A Holocaust survivor who lost his family to unspeakable tragedy, Natan was given the chance to go back in time and take the life of Adolf Hitler. But when he failed to kill the future Führer, he devoted himself to his new family and awaited the inevitable.
Natan can’t face the Holocaust again, but Adiel’s unique connection to Hitler means he might be able to succeed where his father failed. Adiel now has a choice: escape as planned and let history repeat itself, or sacrifice everything to stop the Holocaust before it can begin.
Award winning author Elyse Hoffman has crafted a thought-provoking and daring work of historical fiction which will tug at your heartstrings.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 20, 2024
About the author
Elyse Hoffman
16 books384 followersElyse Hoffman is an award-winning author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. Having studied WWII since the age of thirteen and with interests in fantasy and Jewish folklore, she loves to combine them in her writing. Elyse started writing novels at fourteen and finished her first historical fiction work at fifteen. She has published eight books: five in a series called The Barracks of the Holocaust, and three novels, including The Book of Uriel, Where David Threw Stones, and Fracture. In her spare time, she loves to read, work on pretty keyboards, and hang out with her co-authors - her Goldendoodle Ari and her ex-feral cat, Echo.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
May 25, 2026
Author Elyse Hoffman has written what she calls a work of historical fiction, “Adiel and the Führer: A Thought-Provoking Tale Of WWII.” But her book is not about WWII nor is it historical fiction. It is a fantasy masquerading as historical fiction.
It is 1955 and husband and wife Natan and Becca are among the relatively few Jews who survived the Holocaust. Their baby son Avi, their siblings and their parents died in Auschwitz at the hands of the Nazis. But what if Natan and Becca were able to travel back in time to murder Adolf Hitler the day he was born? In theory they would thereby save the lives of not only their son but six million others who were murdered after Adolf Hitler became the Nazi Fürher.
The book opens at the turn of the twentieth century in Germany. Natan and Becca are wealthy thanks to canny investments the hindsight from their time travel helped them to make. They have one son, Adiel, about to celebrate his seventh birthday. Even at this early age Adiel is an aspiring artist. Raised as a religious Jew, Adiel wears a kippa, the customary Jewish head covering which makes him a visible target for the droves of antisemites who populated Germany with their poisonous hatred.
Fast forward to Adiel at age 42. He is a professor at an art institute in Munich. His mother and wife have died from natural causes, and he and his beloved daughter Kaia, now nine, live with Natan. Mobs of brown-shirted Nazi Stormtroopers roam the streets attacking and assaulting Jews. Natan is planning to use his wealth to escape Germany with Adiel and Kaia for America. But then, Adiel, which means God’s Ornament in Hebrew, discovers a stunning truth about himself. You will need to read the book to discover the revelation for yourself.
Unfortunately, fantasies about time travel frequently raise paradoxical questions that less intellectual authors like Elyse Hoffman prefer to sidestep. Like how could Becca, alive in 1955, have died of natural causes in the 1930s? And why was Adiel’s brother Avi never born after his parents traveled back in time to the past? Especially since they traveled back in time specifically to save him.
When the murdered Avi and his deceased mother miraculously appear alive at the end of the book in 1945, it all seems like their deaths had been some sort of cosmic misunderstanding.
Frankly, I’ve seen episodes of The Twilight Zone that made more sense.
And what about the older and younger versions of Natan co-existing and interacting with each other in the same time and place? Not even Marty McFly could manage a trick like that.
Still, despite these difficulties and the author’s penchant for mediocre melodrama showcasing her sophomoric writing style, if you are willing to accept her fantastical premise and want to find out how and why their original plan failed to prevent the Holocaust, you may find her unique novel bearable.
But when I found midway through the book that the Plan B to prevent the Holocaust was resting on the rehabilitation of Final Solution architect and mastermind Reinhard Heydrich, I knew that the story was making a leap from moderately absurd to absolutely absurd.
Who knew, except for author Elyse Hoffman, that Reinhard Heydrich, the very personification of evil on earth with a goal to exterminate an entire people, actually had a heart of gold and a soft spot for Jews? Easy: Just show Heydrich some illustrated history books from the future about the Holocaust to convince him that, gosh, mass murder is maybe wrong after all. Conversion of a rabid antisemite and sociopathic killer has never been so simple!
For according to this book, if only we had appealed to the Nazis’ better angels that whole unpleasant historical chapter called the Holocaust could have been avoided.
And it rests on the mistaken assumption that the Holocaust depended on Hitler alone, and not on a totalitarian Nazi ideology with millions of followers feeding a compliant nation a constant diet of the most grotesque antisemitic propaganda dehumanizing and scapegoating the Jews as the cause of Germany’s misfortunes.
Which brings me to my last point. Towards the end of Adiel and the Führer, the author tries to copy the dramatic dilemma and emotional impact of Sophie in William Styron’s famous (and infinitely better) novel, Sophie’s Choice. Sophie and her two young children are prisoners in Auschwitz. In a heart wrenching scene, a sadistic Nazi SS Officer forces her to choose between saving one of her children and sending the other to certain death. She is given seconds to decide. If she doesn’t make her choice then both her children will be killed.
But in this book Adiel has days, not seconds, to contemplate his decision to either remain with his daughter Kaia or impersonate the Führer to hopefully save millions of Jews from death in the Holocaust, but never see Kaia again.
In his case, though, Adiel’s choice does not involve killing Kaia, nor, as I said before, was preventing the Holocaust within the power or purview of one man, even if that man was an incredible fictitious Hitler who the German nation was expected to believe had an impossible overnight change of heart about the Jews he had spent his entire adult life demonizing.
P.S. I was wondering what happened to all those illustrated history books documenting the Holocaust that Natan and Becca had brought back with them from the future and which Reinhard Heydrich had found so persuasive? Did they simply disappear from future libraries and bookshelves because they were no longer history? Not surprisingly, the author never says.
It is 1955 and husband and wife Natan and Becca are among the relatively few Jews who survived the Holocaust. Their baby son Avi, their siblings and their parents died in Auschwitz at the hands of the Nazis. But what if Natan and Becca were able to travel back in time to murder Adolf Hitler the day he was born? In theory they would thereby save the lives of not only their son but six million others who were murdered after Adolf Hitler became the Nazi Fürher.
The book opens at the turn of the twentieth century in Germany. Natan and Becca are wealthy thanks to canny investments the hindsight from their time travel helped them to make. They have one son, Adiel, about to celebrate his seventh birthday. Even at this early age Adiel is an aspiring artist. Raised as a religious Jew, Adiel wears a kippa, the customary Jewish head covering which makes him a visible target for the droves of antisemites who populated Germany with their poisonous hatred.
Fast forward to Adiel at age 42. He is a professor at an art institute in Munich. His mother and wife have died from natural causes, and he and his beloved daughter Kaia, now nine, live with Natan. Mobs of brown-shirted Nazi Stormtroopers roam the streets attacking and assaulting Jews. Natan is planning to use his wealth to escape Germany with Adiel and Kaia for America. But then, Adiel, which means God’s Ornament in Hebrew, discovers a stunning truth about himself. You will need to read the book to discover the revelation for yourself.
Unfortunately, fantasies about time travel frequently raise paradoxical questions that less intellectual authors like Elyse Hoffman prefer to sidestep. Like how could Becca, alive in 1955, have died of natural causes in the 1930s? And why was Adiel’s brother Avi never born after his parents traveled back in time to the past? Especially since they traveled back in time specifically to save him.
When the murdered Avi and his deceased mother miraculously appear alive at the end of the book in 1945, it all seems like their deaths had been some sort of cosmic misunderstanding.
Frankly, I’ve seen episodes of The Twilight Zone that made more sense.
And what about the older and younger versions of Natan co-existing and interacting with each other in the same time and place? Not even Marty McFly could manage a trick like that.
Still, despite these difficulties and the author’s penchant for mediocre melodrama showcasing her sophomoric writing style, if you are willing to accept her fantastical premise and want to find out how and why their original plan failed to prevent the Holocaust, you may find her unique novel bearable.
But when I found midway through the book that the Plan B to prevent the Holocaust was resting on the rehabilitation of Final Solution architect and mastermind Reinhard Heydrich, I knew that the story was making a leap from moderately absurd to absolutely absurd.
Who knew, except for author Elyse Hoffman, that Reinhard Heydrich, the very personification of evil on earth with a goal to exterminate an entire people, actually had a heart of gold and a soft spot for Jews? Easy: Just show Heydrich some illustrated history books from the future about the Holocaust to convince him that, gosh, mass murder is maybe wrong after all. Conversion of a rabid antisemite and sociopathic killer has never been so simple!
For according to this book, if only we had appealed to the Nazis’ better angels that whole unpleasant historical chapter called the Holocaust could have been avoided.
And it rests on the mistaken assumption that the Holocaust depended on Hitler alone, and not on a totalitarian Nazi ideology with millions of followers feeding a compliant nation a constant diet of the most grotesque antisemitic propaganda dehumanizing and scapegoating the Jews as the cause of Germany’s misfortunes.
Which brings me to my last point. Towards the end of Adiel and the Führer, the author tries to copy the dramatic dilemma and emotional impact of Sophie in William Styron’s famous (and infinitely better) novel, Sophie’s Choice. Sophie and her two young children are prisoners in Auschwitz. In a heart wrenching scene, a sadistic Nazi SS Officer forces her to choose between saving one of her children and sending the other to certain death. She is given seconds to decide. If she doesn’t make her choice then both her children will be killed.
But in this book Adiel has days, not seconds, to contemplate his decision to either remain with his daughter Kaia or impersonate the Führer to hopefully save millions of Jews from death in the Holocaust, but never see Kaia again.
In his case, though, Adiel’s choice does not involve killing Kaia, nor, as I said before, was preventing the Holocaust within the power or purview of one man, even if that man was an incredible fictitious Hitler who the German nation was expected to believe had an impossible overnight change of heart about the Jews he had spent his entire adult life demonizing.
P.S. I was wondering what happened to all those illustrated history books documenting the Holocaust that Natan and Becca had brought back with them from the future and which Reinhard Heydrich had found so persuasive? Did they simply disappear from future libraries and bookshelves because they were no longer history? Not surprisingly, the author never says.
February 17, 2024
Adiel and the Führer is the 4th book in the Project 613 series, but can be read as a standalone. Having already read and loved the other 3 books in the series, I had extremely high expectations for this book, and I certainly wasn’t let down.
The story begins with little Adiel trying to make friends, but none of his German neighbours wanted to/were allowed to play with a Jew. It immediately pulls on your heartstrings, and the knowledge that this discrimination was so very real made it even more devastating. We then fast forward to adult Adiel, who is now an art professor, and a very proud Jewish man, in a country that sees him as the enemy. What Adiel is unaware of is that his father, Natan, has been through it all before.
The time travel aspect made this story so interesting, and the revelation of who Adiel was in a past life/alternate timeframe was something I would have never seen coming. This was a HUGE moment! It brought a whole new feeling to the story, and shifted a few perspectives. Adiel became determined to save as many people as he possibly could, and he would risk everything to do it.
The characters within the story are all intriguing and complex. A few of them we know of through history, but the author makes us think a lot deeper about them. Anyone who knows anything about WWII will undoubtable know the names Reinhard Heydrich and Heinrich Himmler, but the fictional twists to their characters within the story is very interesting. One of my favourite characters in the book is little Kaia Goldstein! She has so much strength, resilience, and spirit. She brought so much to this story, and was a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark tale.
The action and intensity really picks up towards the end of the book, and took some turns I hadn’t expected. Word of warning, be prepared with a box of tissues for one part of the final few chapters, because it hits you like a double decker bus. From that moment, everything changes, and catapults the process of the storyline. Once the action calms back down, the final few pages end the story in a very bitter sweet way, but it’s the perfect way for everything to wrap up.
This book is exciting, emotional, and fantastically written. I love how Elyse pushes the boundaries with her stories, twisting subjects in a way that I’ve never seen before, and she has easily become on of my favourite authors because of it. I can not wait for her next book!
The story begins with little Adiel trying to make friends, but none of his German neighbours wanted to/were allowed to play with a Jew. It immediately pulls on your heartstrings, and the knowledge that this discrimination was so very real made it even more devastating. We then fast forward to adult Adiel, who is now an art professor, and a very proud Jewish man, in a country that sees him as the enemy. What Adiel is unaware of is that his father, Natan, has been through it all before.
The time travel aspect made this story so interesting, and the revelation of who Adiel was in a past life/alternate timeframe was something I would have never seen coming. This was a HUGE moment! It brought a whole new feeling to the story, and shifted a few perspectives. Adiel became determined to save as many people as he possibly could, and he would risk everything to do it.
The characters within the story are all intriguing and complex. A few of them we know of through history, but the author makes us think a lot deeper about them. Anyone who knows anything about WWII will undoubtable know the names Reinhard Heydrich and Heinrich Himmler, but the fictional twists to their characters within the story is very interesting. One of my favourite characters in the book is little Kaia Goldstein! She has so much strength, resilience, and spirit. She brought so much to this story, and was a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark tale.
The action and intensity really picks up towards the end of the book, and took some turns I hadn’t expected. Word of warning, be prepared with a box of tissues for one part of the final few chapters, because it hits you like a double decker bus. From that moment, everything changes, and catapults the process of the storyline. Once the action calms back down, the final few pages end the story in a very bitter sweet way, but it’s the perfect way for everything to wrap up.
This book is exciting, emotional, and fantastically written. I love how Elyse pushes the boundaries with her stories, twisting subjects in a way that I’ve never seen before, and she has easily become on of my favourite authors because of it. I can not wait for her next book!
April 28, 2024
This series is a doozy.
I call books like this one “What If”? books, when an author writes alternative circumstances for historical events, in the form of historical fiction. I like these types of novels, because they often really make the mind stretch from what it already knows with sharp twists and turns.
“Project 613” is an ongoing series; “Adiel” is #4. All the novels are stand-alones, but reading them in order does make them more interesting, I think.
*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*
I call books like this one “What If”? books, when an author writes alternative circumstances for historical events, in the form of historical fiction. I like these types of novels, because they often really make the mind stretch from what it already knows with sharp twists and turns.
“Project 613” is an ongoing series; “Adiel” is #4. All the novels are stand-alones, but reading them in order does make them more interesting, I think.
*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*
February 18, 2024
Imagine that you had the power to go back in time! What would you do? Would you be like Marty McFly and attempt to change your family’s fortunes in the future, or would you do something more worthwhile. Such as go back, kill baby Hitler, ultimately stopping the atrocities associated with the Holocaust and subsequently avert the death of six million Jewish people that were killed in the Final Solution
It’s a thought exercise that has been posed a number of times and in Adiel and the Führer, Elyse Hoffman explores this concept.
At the beginning of the story we meet Adiel, a young Jewish boy, devoid of friends as he lives in a local German village prior to the rise of National Socialism in Germany. Adiel gets his first taste of the ever growing anti semantic sentiments.
Moving forward a number of years, we follow Adiel as he is now fully grown and is an art professor at a local university, with a young daughter, Kaia and an indulgent father Natan.
Unbeknown to Adiel, Natan is a time traveller that journeyed in time with the sole intention of killing Hitler before he could turn into the monster that became the leader of the Third Reich and the monster that orchestrated the slaughter associated with the Final Solution.
Upon discovering the truth, Adiel sets in motion a plan that could hopefully succeed where his father failed.
Elyse Hoffman’s latest book, Adiel and the Führer is the third book in the Project 613 series of books that began with The Vengeance of Samuel Val and Black Fox One, and whilst Adiel and the Führer references these books, it can be read very much as a standalone book.
Elyse Hoffman competently amalgamates time travel fiction with Jewish folklore and historical fantasy to create a story that has elements of syrupy family drama and a captivating suspense driven tale. Employing characters both factual and fictional, Elyse Hoffman riffs off one of Chaplin’s greatest films to drive the plot to a bitter-sweet conclusion, whilst never glossing over the horrors of the Holocaust and how it affected those that survived.
Using both history and imagined inspirations, Elyse Hoffman weaves a tale of determination as Adiel and his family try to change the future and save the Jewish People from the extermination camps and hopefully orchestrate a future where millions of deaths are averted.
Adiel and the Führer is an absorbing story of one man’s struggle to avert a bloody and brutal future that will tug at the heart strings.
It’s a thought exercise that has been posed a number of times and in Adiel and the Führer, Elyse Hoffman explores this concept.
At the beginning of the story we meet Adiel, a young Jewish boy, devoid of friends as he lives in a local German village prior to the rise of National Socialism in Germany. Adiel gets his first taste of the ever growing anti semantic sentiments.
Moving forward a number of years, we follow Adiel as he is now fully grown and is an art professor at a local university, with a young daughter, Kaia and an indulgent father Natan.
Unbeknown to Adiel, Natan is a time traveller that journeyed in time with the sole intention of killing Hitler before he could turn into the monster that became the leader of the Third Reich and the monster that orchestrated the slaughter associated with the Final Solution.
Upon discovering the truth, Adiel sets in motion a plan that could hopefully succeed where his father failed.
Elyse Hoffman’s latest book, Adiel and the Führer is the third book in the Project 613 series of books that began with The Vengeance of Samuel Val and Black Fox One, and whilst Adiel and the Führer references these books, it can be read very much as a standalone book.
Elyse Hoffman competently amalgamates time travel fiction with Jewish folklore and historical fantasy to create a story that has elements of syrupy family drama and a captivating suspense driven tale. Employing characters both factual and fictional, Elyse Hoffman riffs off one of Chaplin’s greatest films to drive the plot to a bitter-sweet conclusion, whilst never glossing over the horrors of the Holocaust and how it affected those that survived.
Using both history and imagined inspirations, Elyse Hoffman weaves a tale of determination as Adiel and his family try to change the future and save the Jewish People from the extermination camps and hopefully orchestrate a future where millions of deaths are averted.
Adiel and the Führer is an absorbing story of one man’s struggle to avert a bloody and brutal future that will tug at the heart strings.
February 14, 2024
A child’s life for a child’s life. A chance to prevent the Holocaust and Hitler’s atrocities. Adiel and the Fuhrer is an incredibly powerful read, filled with historical context and fantastical elements which seek to present a fascinating alternative take on WW2 fiction and history itself.
When Natan Goldstein is given the opportunity after facing the atrocities of WW2 firsthand to travel back in time, take the life of Hitler, and prevent the Holocaust and genocide of millions of Jewish people. His son, Adiel, may be his only hope, with his mysterious connection to Hitler providing him with a greater chance of success.
This was a brilliant read. So thought-provoking and highly emotional, with characters that tug on your heartstrings. The power in the words, in the story and Hoffman’s remarkable characterisation, makes you think about life, whether the past always determines the future and how, if you could go back to certain points in history and alter the past, would it change what was predetermined and meant to be?
Throughout this book, a realistic and accurate description of the conditions, torture and torment faced by Jewish people during WW2, highlighting the research put into writing this book. However, despite the tragedies depicted throughout this book, the author shines a light on the determination, courage and faith of the characters, namely Adiel and Kaia, in the face of adversity and death.
For readers of historical fiction, fascinated by WW2 fiction and history, with fantastical elements, Adiel and the Fuhrer will leave a long-lasting impression on all who read it.
When Natan Goldstein is given the opportunity after facing the atrocities of WW2 firsthand to travel back in time, take the life of Hitler, and prevent the Holocaust and genocide of millions of Jewish people. His son, Adiel, may be his only hope, with his mysterious connection to Hitler providing him with a greater chance of success.
This was a brilliant read. So thought-provoking and highly emotional, with characters that tug on your heartstrings. The power in the words, in the story and Hoffman’s remarkable characterisation, makes you think about life, whether the past always determines the future and how, if you could go back to certain points in history and alter the past, would it change what was predetermined and meant to be?
Throughout this book, a realistic and accurate description of the conditions, torture and torment faced by Jewish people during WW2, highlighting the research put into writing this book. However, despite the tragedies depicted throughout this book, the author shines a light on the determination, courage and faith of the characters, namely Adiel and Kaia, in the face of adversity and death.
For readers of historical fiction, fascinated by WW2 fiction and history, with fantastical elements, Adiel and the Fuhrer will leave a long-lasting impression on all who read it.
February 18, 2024
As much as it embarrasses me to admit, this is the second time (the first being Black Fox One) that I almost made the mistake of passing on an Elyse Hoffman book because 1) I forgot that this installment was coming, and 2) I took one look at the cover and shrugged it off as I don't really read historical fiction, moreso this time period. But the same friend who recommended Black Fox One gently prodded me to read it, and as someone who has trouble saying no to a trusted recommendation, I went ahead and did so.
OH MY GOODNESS.
If I'd read the blurb, I'd have known from the start that I was diving into a book that had some of the stuff I just love. Time travel? Alternate history? Magic and folklore? COUNT ME IN. Coupled with Elyse's engaging prose and talent for creating complex yet relatable characters, the book hooked me until the very end!
And the twists, holy moly. Based on the cover, I thought we'd be following a child or a teen character much like Jonas in Black Fox One... but no. And just when I was so certain the story was going in a particular way, I would be thrown off-balance by a plot twist, most of them so quietly but so skillfully done too. (I'm only not screaming about them because I really don't want to spoil anyone's enjoyment.) But you bet I was really gutted by some of the turns. I was feeling victorious and heartbroken in certain parts. And I was rooting for and hoping to see a redemption arc for [REDACTED] — but we can't know for sure?????
I'm making no further mistakes; I've signed up for Elyse's newsletter and very much looking forward to The Hangman's Master, the next installment!
OH MY GOODNESS.
If I'd read the blurb, I'd have known from the start that I was diving into a book that had some of the stuff I just love. Time travel? Alternate history? Magic and folklore? COUNT ME IN. Coupled with Elyse's engaging prose and talent for creating complex yet relatable characters, the book hooked me until the very end!
And the twists, holy moly. Based on the cover, I thought we'd be following a child or a teen character much like Jonas in Black Fox One... but no. And just when I was so certain the story was going in a particular way, I would be thrown off-balance by a plot twist, most of them so quietly but so skillfully done too. (I'm only not screaming about them because I really don't want to spoil anyone's enjoyment.) But you bet I was really gutted by some of the turns. I was feeling victorious and heartbroken in certain parts. And I was rooting for and hoping to see a redemption arc for [REDACTED] — but we can't know for sure?????
I'm making no further mistakes; I've signed up for Elyse's newsletter and very much looking forward to The Hangman's Master, the next installment!
February 16, 2024
A thought provoking alternate history is explored in this book which tugged at my heart strings!
If you had the chance to travel back in time, where would you go and what would you do? When holocaust survivors Becca and Natan find themselves in this situation they decide to travel back in time and kill baby Hitler. There will be no war. No death camps. Their friends and family will not have been murdered. The thing is, it is a one way journey and they must live their lives going forward in this alternate timeline.
The author looks at nature v nurture and the affect upbringing has on a child when they are an adult.
The star of the book for me was little Kaia who was forever positive and happy, no matter what life threw at her. Following the premise of a Charlie Chaplin film she comes up with a crazy solution to get to the ‘second Hitler’. Operation Chaplin. But it might just work!
I was absolutely sold on this book from the synopsis and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. The writing pulled me in completely. Many of the German characters in the book are real people who were close to Hitler, and have been written as authentically as possible.
It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t when you read it. I haven’t included too much of the plot in my review so as not to ruin it.
All I can say to sum up is I highly recommend it, and I will be reading the others in this series…as well as the next one.
If you had the chance to travel back in time, where would you go and what would you do? When holocaust survivors Becca and Natan find themselves in this situation they decide to travel back in time and kill baby Hitler. There will be no war. No death camps. Their friends and family will not have been murdered. The thing is, it is a one way journey and they must live their lives going forward in this alternate timeline.
The author looks at nature v nurture and the affect upbringing has on a child when they are an adult.
The star of the book for me was little Kaia who was forever positive and happy, no matter what life threw at her. Following the premise of a Charlie Chaplin film she comes up with a crazy solution to get to the ‘second Hitler’. Operation Chaplin. But it might just work!
I was absolutely sold on this book from the synopsis and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. The writing pulled me in completely. Many of the German characters in the book are real people who were close to Hitler, and have been written as authentically as possible.
It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t when you read it. I haven’t included too much of the plot in my review so as not to ruin it.
All I can say to sum up is I highly recommend it, and I will be reading the others in this series…as well as the next one.
February 27, 2024
As a long time fan of Elyse Hoffman's work I jumped at the opportunity to review this one. The first thing I would like to say to anybody considering any of her books, this one or any of her others is don't let the controversial style of the covers put you off. I know that some people turn away from the books when they see them. There is no attempt to try to soften Hitler or anything like that in this. The exact opposite really, her books really highlight the evil of him and his regime and the terrible impact it had on so many.
In Adiel and the Fuhrer we are presented with an age old question, the time travelling Hitler assassin. But of course as usual Elyse turns things on their head. Just as Adiel is seeking to flee to America he discovers a stunning family secret. His father, Natan is a time traveller who lost his family during the Holocaust. Given the opportunity to stop Hitler, Natan travelled through time to take his life. But alas he failed.
Instead Natan remained in Germany attempting to raise a family. Now many years later Adiel is attempting to succeed where his father failed.
The book is an emotional affair that follows Adiel's life from childhood as he now struggles with saving his family or attempted to take out Hitler.
Thanks to the author and TWR for my copy
In Adiel and the Fuhrer we are presented with an age old question, the time travelling Hitler assassin. But of course as usual Elyse turns things on their head. Just as Adiel is seeking to flee to America he discovers a stunning family secret. His father, Natan is a time traveller who lost his family during the Holocaust. Given the opportunity to stop Hitler, Natan travelled through time to take his life. But alas he failed.
Instead Natan remained in Germany attempting to raise a family. Now many years later Adiel is attempting to succeed where his father failed.
The book is an emotional affair that follows Adiel's life from childhood as he now struggles with saving his family or attempted to take out Hitler.
Thanks to the author and TWR for my copy
February 20, 2024
4.5
Book source ~ TWR Tour
Adiel Goldstein is a German Jew, an art professor, a father, and he has a honking big secret that he doesn’t even know he has. His father drops the bombshell at the build up to the Holocaust and now Adiel has a life altering decision to make. Can he do it? Can he prevent the rise of Hitler and save millions of lives at what is most likely the cost of his own?
This fourth book in the Project 613 series is a hell of a whopper. Each book can be read as a standalone, but characters do cross over, so reading the other books makes this book a richer reading experience.
Are you looking for a gut wrenching read that will make you so angry you want to kill someone? A book that is sad and devastating and yet also hopeful and at times a joy to read? This book brings ALL the feels! With wonderful characters, excellent writing, and a story arc for the ages, you will not want to put this one down.
Book source ~ TWR Tour
Adiel Goldstein is a German Jew, an art professor, a father, and he has a honking big secret that he doesn’t even know he has. His father drops the bombshell at the build up to the Holocaust and now Adiel has a life altering decision to make. Can he do it? Can he prevent the rise of Hitler and save millions of lives at what is most likely the cost of his own?
This fourth book in the Project 613 series is a hell of a whopper. Each book can be read as a standalone, but characters do cross over, so reading the other books makes this book a richer reading experience.
Are you looking for a gut wrenching read that will make you so angry you want to kill someone? A book that is sad and devastating and yet also hopeful and at times a joy to read? This book brings ALL the feels! With wonderful characters, excellent writing, and a story arc for the ages, you will not want to put this one down.
April 17, 2024
Adiel and the Fuhrer
Elyse Hoffman
Book Review Day!
Adiel and the Fuhrer is book 4 of the project 613 series but can be read as a standalone with no problem!
The depth of this story wastes no time at all pulling your heartstrings with a young Adiel trying to make friends which of course is hard for him because being Jewish, kids either won't or can't be friendly 🥺 Dispite the hardships of being a Jew, Adiel grows up into an accomplished adult with a career as an Art professor and a loving family and great friends. Unfortunately life is about to take a rough turn as Hitler is rising up in power... Until Adiel and Kaia find out that Adiel's father is actually from the future and Adiel might succeed where his father failed, kill Hitler and prevent the Holocaust.
The timeline/time travel concept was really seamlessly wound into the fabric of this story. It didn't disrupt the historical background descriptions and the German settings. I was instantly pulled in to the story very deeply and needed my tissue box 🤧 The characters are very complex and you can connect on true level, Kaia Goldstein was my favorite character throughout, she brings such joy and hope into the story. It all lead up with action and good pacing to a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend this book!
Elyse Hoffman
Book Review Day!
Adiel and the Fuhrer is book 4 of the project 613 series but can be read as a standalone with no problem!
The depth of this story wastes no time at all pulling your heartstrings with a young Adiel trying to make friends which of course is hard for him because being Jewish, kids either won't or can't be friendly 🥺 Dispite the hardships of being a Jew, Adiel grows up into an accomplished adult with a career as an Art professor and a loving family and great friends. Unfortunately life is about to take a rough turn as Hitler is rising up in power... Until Adiel and Kaia find out that Adiel's father is actually from the future and Adiel might succeed where his father failed, kill Hitler and prevent the Holocaust.
The timeline/time travel concept was really seamlessly wound into the fabric of this story. It didn't disrupt the historical background descriptions and the German settings. I was instantly pulled in to the story very deeply and needed my tissue box 🤧 The characters are very complex and you can connect on true level, Kaia Goldstein was my favorite character throughout, she brings such joy and hope into the story. It all lead up with action and good pacing to a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend this book!
May 21, 2026
5 stars for the first 75% - well written with engaging characters. To me, the ending didn’t hold together as well as the rest of the book
May 1, 2024
What an amazing story and what a concept. Going back to the past and trying to change a time in history that was so inpactful.
This story,for me, is original and fantastical and i couldn't put it down. There is time travel, folklore and so many emotions conveyed in this story. I was so surprised by the plot twist and was not expecting it.
📍I recommend this book. It's an amazing and captivating tale.
Thank you to Henryroipr and author for this magnificent ARC.
This story,for me, is original and fantastical and i couldn't put it down. There is time travel, folklore and so many emotions conveyed in this story. I was so surprised by the plot twist and was not expecting it.
📍I recommend this book. It's an amazing and captivating tale.
Thank you to Henryroipr and author for this magnificent ARC.
April 20, 2024
I was recently sent this book as part of a booktok tour, this was the first book that I have read from Hoffman in the series and I will definitely be checking out the others soon, I would highly recommend it.
The book centres around Adiel Goldstein who faces
anti- semitism as a German-Jew. He has everything he wants a dream job as an art professor, good friends, a loving father and a nine year old daughter-Kaia. But just when he thinks he has got his life sorted, an old comrade from his time fighting in the war begins to gain power and this person is Hitler. Adiel’s father insists that they all must leave the country as soon as possible. They plan to move to America, but before they are able to do so, he and Kaia make a shocking discovery. Adiel’s father, Natan Goldstein is from the future. He is a holocaust survivor who was given the chance to travel back in time and take the life of Aldof Hitler.
This book pulls at your every heartstrings and you really don’t know which way the story is going to go, so it keeps you on edge of your seat from the first to the last page. I have read many war books before but never something as thought provoking as this, the depth to the story is incredible. Adiel really enabled us to get inside of his head due to the vivid descriptions that Hoffman created, which enabled us to join him on his life changing journey, and think about the many questions that we were being presented with.
If you are looking for a war book that keeps you second guessing, and leaves you with your heart pumping and wanting more then pick yourself up a copy of this one.
The book centres around Adiel Goldstein who faces
anti- semitism as a German-Jew. He has everything he wants a dream job as an art professor, good friends, a loving father and a nine year old daughter-Kaia. But just when he thinks he has got his life sorted, an old comrade from his time fighting in the war begins to gain power and this person is Hitler. Adiel’s father insists that they all must leave the country as soon as possible. They plan to move to America, but before they are able to do so, he and Kaia make a shocking discovery. Adiel’s father, Natan Goldstein is from the future. He is a holocaust survivor who was given the chance to travel back in time and take the life of Aldof Hitler.
This book pulls at your every heartstrings and you really don’t know which way the story is going to go, so it keeps you on edge of your seat from the first to the last page. I have read many war books before but never something as thought provoking as this, the depth to the story is incredible. Adiel really enabled us to get inside of his head due to the vivid descriptions that Hoffman created, which enabled us to join him on his life changing journey, and think about the many questions that we were being presented with.
If you are looking for a war book that keeps you second guessing, and leaves you with your heart pumping and wanting more then pick yourself up a copy of this one.
April 19, 2024
The story begins with Adiel as a young Jewish boy living in a German village, unable to make friends. The isolation and hatred is so palpable and immediately breaks your heart. Several years later, Adiel is an art professor living with his young daughter and father, and while he’s proud of his heritage, that discrimination is still deeply felt.
What comes next is an extremely intriguing aspect of time travel that I was not expecting. Adiel’s father journeyed back in time to assassinate Hitler before he could commit the atrocities of WWII, which of course he’d failed to do. Upon learning this, Adiel is determined to do the same, but this time he will risk everything to save as many people as possible.
This is now the third book I’ve read in this series, and while it’s not my usual reading fare, it has again completely blown me away. The characters are complex and extremely well written. The story is gut wrenching and thought provoking. While Hoffman never shies away from the dark and hideous side of humanity, she’s created a historical fantasy where all that’s good thoroughly shines through.
Thank you Henry Roi PR and Black Coffee Book Tours for the ARC and the opportunity to be on this tour.
What comes next is an extremely intriguing aspect of time travel that I was not expecting. Adiel’s father journeyed back in time to assassinate Hitler before he could commit the atrocities of WWII, which of course he’d failed to do. Upon learning this, Adiel is determined to do the same, but this time he will risk everything to save as many people as possible.
This is now the third book I’ve read in this series, and while it’s not my usual reading fare, it has again completely blown me away. The characters are complex and extremely well written. The story is gut wrenching and thought provoking. While Hoffman never shies away from the dark and hideous side of humanity, she’s created a historical fantasy where all that’s good thoroughly shines through.
Thank you Henry Roi PR and Black Coffee Book Tours for the ARC and the opportunity to be on this tour.
April 7, 2024
Adiel and the Führer is the first book I’ve read by Elyse Hoffman, though definitely not the last. It’s a part of a historical fiction series, but works great as a standalone, too. The preamble is thrilling: what if you could travel back in time to kill baby Adolf Hitler so that holocaust would never happen… but ended up kidnapping him and raising him to become a devout Jew? Natan and Becca do just that, and their som Adiel grows into a gentle arts professor. As Edmund Hitler seems to be replicating everything Adolf Hitler did in the previous timeline, the Goldsteins are faced with a dilemma.
This book is a mixture on fact and fiction; fantasy, folklore and historical facts amalgamated into an unputdownable story. I love the way the story unfolds. Hoffman has a vivid way of making the characters come alive on the pages, and you start feeling love, compassion and hatred towards them. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of Kaia Goldstein. This book was definitely worth reading.
This book is a mixture on fact and fiction; fantasy, folklore and historical facts amalgamated into an unputdownable story. I love the way the story unfolds. Hoffman has a vivid way of making the characters come alive on the pages, and you start feeling love, compassion and hatred towards them. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of Kaia Goldstein. This book was definitely worth reading.
May 18, 2026
One of the more imaginative and well written books I've read in the time travel and alternate history genres. The characters are well drawn and realistic, the history is well researched and it is a page turner.
May 10, 2026
Adiel tries to right history but is only able to achieve so much. The timeline will correct itself somehow but he succeeds in bringing an early finish to WWII and saving some of his people.
April 30, 2024
Adiel and the Führer by Elyse Hoffman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I don't think I can do this book justice, but I'll give it a go!
Adiel Goldstein has struggled with bullying and racial slurs all of his life. After a substantial outburst after yet another failed attempt to make a friend, Adiel destroys the house. The only thing he has ever "done wrong" is being a Jewish child, and for that, he is hated by people who do not even know him. His mother stands by while he gets it out of his system and then begs him to put aside anger and hatred "it burns you before it burns them"
Fast forward to the mid 1930s and Adiel is working as an art professor at a good university. He and his family, his father Natan and daughter Kaia live a happy life, wealthy, yet still always on the outside. After an ill fated game of hide and seek, Adiel notices some books in his father's wardrobe. Books of a time yet to come. You see Natan is a holocaust survivor, he has the tattoo to prove it. The books, those showing some of the world's greatest atrocities and possibly the most evil, disgusting thing to have ever disgraced this earth, is Adiel.
Natan and his wife were allowed the opportunity to go back in time. To steal Adolf from his crib, and prevent history as we know it. But as time marches on, terrifyingly familiar events happen.
This is absolutely incredible. Kaia is an exceptional character. She has a spirit which draws people to her, who has the ability to disarm and warm the hearts of the most heartless. A lady thief! Don't expect this to leave this book with your heart in tact, just isn't going to happen. Will you regret reading this? Absolutely not. Easy 5 star read
I don't think I can do this book justice, but I'll give it a go!
Adiel Goldstein has struggled with bullying and racial slurs all of his life. After a substantial outburst after yet another failed attempt to make a friend, Adiel destroys the house. The only thing he has ever "done wrong" is being a Jewish child, and for that, he is hated by people who do not even know him. His mother stands by while he gets it out of his system and then begs him to put aside anger and hatred "it burns you before it burns them"
Fast forward to the mid 1930s and Adiel is working as an art professor at a good university. He and his family, his father Natan and daughter Kaia live a happy life, wealthy, yet still always on the outside. After an ill fated game of hide and seek, Adiel notices some books in his father's wardrobe. Books of a time yet to come. You see Natan is a holocaust survivor, he has the tattoo to prove it. The books, those showing some of the world's greatest atrocities and possibly the most evil, disgusting thing to have ever disgraced this earth, is Adiel.
Natan and his wife were allowed the opportunity to go back in time. To steal Adolf from his crib, and prevent history as we know it. But as time marches on, terrifyingly familiar events happen.
This is absolutely incredible. Kaia is an exceptional character. She has a spirit which draws people to her, who has the ability to disarm and warm the hearts of the most heartless. A lady thief! Don't expect this to leave this book with your heart in tact, just isn't going to happen. Will you regret reading this? Absolutely not. Easy 5 star read
May 7, 2024
If you could go back in time and stop an unspeakable global tragedy, would you? What would you give up to save millions of lives? Adiel Goldstein has created a wonderful life for himself - he has a great career, a wonderful daughter, and great friends. However, as a Jewish man living in Germany, he is becoming increasingly concerned about a man named Hitler who is gaining power. His father, Natan, urges him to take his daughter, Kaia, and flee to the US. Before they can, Kaia and Adiel discover that Natan is actually from the future. Natan is a Holocaust survivor who was given the opportunity to go back in time and kill Adolf Hitler before he came into power. He was unable to do so. Adiel may be able to succeed where his father failed… but what will he have to give up to save millions of people?
Historical fiction that centers around the Holocaust so I was excited to pick this one up! It did not disappoint. This book took me on a rollercoaster of emotions - anger, sadness, shock, and hope. I loved the characters that Elyse Hoffman developed in this book. The time travel element gave this story a unique twist that I really enjoyed. This was my Elyse Hoffman read and I will definitely be picking up more!
Historical fiction that centers around the Holocaust so I was excited to pick this one up! It did not disappoint. This book took me on a rollercoaster of emotions - anger, sadness, shock, and hope. I loved the characters that Elyse Hoffman developed in this book. The time travel element gave this story a unique twist that I really enjoyed. This was my Elyse Hoffman read and I will definitely be picking up more!
April 26, 2024
I really didn’t know what to expect from this book. This isn’t the first book that I have read from this author. All I knew that is what alternate history book about WW2. I really enjoyed this author’s writing style and how she creates and tells a story. I honestly felt like I was there with Becca and Natan when they were to murder someone to change the events ahead. Don’t want to spoil the book. Yes this book took me a little long to finish. But I felt like I was there when these characters. I don’t think I will forget these characters and their strength to change history. This is the first book like this that I have read. You don’t have to read these books in any order. They all stand-alones. I have to say that I really enjoy the relationship between Adiel and his daughter. I could see her little carefree face when she would come up in the chapters.
I highly recommend this book and other books from this author.
Thank you the author and rrbooktours for the opportunity to read such an amazing and heart felt kind of book.
I highly recommend this book and other books from this author.
Thank you the author and rrbooktours for the opportunity to read such an amazing and heart felt kind of book.
May 30, 2024
Fascinating read introducing Jewish folklore, time travel (which I particularly liked!) and the author built on the equally excellent ‘Black Fox One’ book with some repeating characters appearing - but in a different time concept which in my opinion really added to the development of them as individual characters. Examines moral dilemmas, how the act of changing events via time travel (again how cool is that!) could have a significant impact on how the future pans out. I really enjoyed learning more about Jewish legends, folklore and the differences in how people experience and express identifying as Jewish in the book (for example Adiel wears a kippa and practices Shabbat but does not identify as Orthodox). Kaia is a wonderfully brave and strong character and I loved how she was presented. I would definitely recommend reading ‘Black Fox One’ before reading this as you will have a more immersive experience of this part of the characters story if you’ve read that beforehand. A really excellent book from a brilliant author I will definitely be reading more of her work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2025
I enjoyed this book and I must admit at first I believed it was the story of a Jewish family and their struggles during the Nazi era. I did not see the twist coming and I was very surprised.
But I do recognise Adiel and the Fuhrer hinged on two fundamental questions. Is it nature or nurture that creates a good person or an evil monster. Secondly, what would have happened if Hitler hadn't become the leader of Germany.
The author's grasp on these two questions was both intriguing and entertaining and kept me reading to the end. With strong and interesting characters plus a turnaround of events we know from the history books, I can strongly recommend this story.
But I do recognise Adiel and the Fuhrer hinged on two fundamental questions. Is it nature or nurture that creates a good person or an evil monster. Secondly, what would have happened if Hitler hadn't become the leader of Germany.
The author's grasp on these two questions was both intriguing and entertaining and kept me reading to the end. With strong and interesting characters plus a turnaround of events we know from the history books, I can strongly recommend this story.
April 18, 2024
The novel intensifies when Adiel discovers that his father, Natan, is not a typical survivor—the guy isa time traveler who had once attempted, and failed, to assassinate Hitler! This revelation pushes Adiel into the heart of a moral quandary, teetering between fleeing to ensure his family's safety and attempting to alter the course of history himself. It is a stinging reminder of the power of human agency in the face of overwhelming adversity. And, it's exceptionally well written.
May 1, 2024
I cried, but could not put it down.
Such courage and fortified I cried seven laughed and cursed how can humans treat one another so. A brilliantly written story I am so glad I read. I highly recommend.
Such courage and fortified I cried seven laughed and cursed how can humans treat one another so. A brilliantly written story I am so glad I read. I highly recommend.
October 16, 2025
Not your typical WW2 story
This book was a complete surprise. I have never read a book that totally blindsided me. I enjoyed it so much because anything was possible. Not your typical WW2 story.
This book was a complete surprise. I have never read a book that totally blindsided me. I enjoyed it so much because anything was possible. Not your typical WW2 story.
August 5, 2024
stand by
A bit confusing at times. I started out enthralled but found myself wandering.
Overall this is a good read that leaves one wondering why.
A bit confusing at times. I started out enthralled but found myself wandering.
Overall this is a good read that leaves one wondering why.
March 23, 2025
Amazing alternative
Such an imaginative telling of an alternative outcome. I loved the telling of how it could have been. Well done
Such an imaginative telling of an alternative outcome. I loved the telling of how it could have been. Well done
February 15, 2024
Title – Adiel and the Fuhrer
Author – Elyse Hoffman
Genre – Alternate History
It has been a pretty long time since I have put up any kind of blogpost, so there might be a bit out of touch from my regular review style. Elyse Hoffman has been one of those authors whose books I have been reviewing for a while now and this is my third book by the author that I have picked up and to say the least, it did kind of help me pick up my reading pace. ‘Adiel and the Fuhrer’ is an alternative history which deals with the concept of what would have happened if the world’s most feared dictator, Adolf Hitler was taken out of the equation and how different the world would have been.
Blurb:
Adiel Goldstein has a good life. Despite the anti-Semitism he faces as a German Jew, he has everything he wants. A dream job as an art professor, good friends, a loving father, and a precious nine-year-old daughter, Kaia. But his life is about to be upended. An old comrade from his time fighting in the Great War is gaining power: a man named Hitler. Adiel’s father insists that they need to leave the country before Hitler becomes the leader of Germany.
Adiel and his family plan to move to America, but before they can even pack their bags, he and Kaia make a shocking discovery. Adiel’s father, Natan Goldstein, is from the future. A Holocaust survivor who lost his family to unspeakable tragedy, Natan was given the chance to go back in time and take the life of Adolf Hitler. But when he failed to kill the future Führer, he devoted himself to his new family and awaited the inevitable.
Natan can’t face the Holocaust again, but Adiel’s unique connection to Hitler means he might be able to succeed where his father failed. Adiel now has a choice: escape as planned and let history repeat itself, or sacrifice everything to stop the Holocaust before it can begin.
My Take on the Book:
For someone who has been out of touch on reading, this did pose me quite a difficult start but knowing Elyse’s book I was sure it would be quite a roller coaster ride. Just like the author’s previous books, this one also dealt with the theme of Jews and World War 2 and the lives of the people revolving during those difficult times. The book started with Adiel’s mother trying to keep her son away from hate and yet as the timeline moves ahead, we see how Adiel turned out to be someone who was hated throughout history and yet here he is leading an alternative life that could have been something that Adolf as well could have led.
With numerous time travelling books and movies that I have read or seen, one thing that every material stresses on is that how much we ever try to change the course of history, nature would still make sure that the history does not change and the timeline comes back to what this world was destined to be. The same can be said true about the plot here where eventhough we see that the original dictator was made to leave the timeline, the world was still moving towards the vast destruction that was already written in the history. It was an interesting take to see whether Kaia, who comes to know the horrifying truth along with her father and grandfather be able to bring about a change for a peaceful future.
The author’s writing as always had been quite pleasing to read and the author makes sure that the plot isn’t stretched unnecessary across the pages. There have been times that the reader is able to predict what is to come in the next few pages but what one couldn’t be ready for is the ultimate plot twist that came halfway through the book that brought the curious me to flip pages quickly. Pick it up if you are looking for something light and yet interesting to make your reading experience even better.
My Rating – 🌟🌟🌟🌟(4 out of 5 stars)
Author – Elyse Hoffman
Genre – Alternate History
It has been a pretty long time since I have put up any kind of blogpost, so there might be a bit out of touch from my regular review style. Elyse Hoffman has been one of those authors whose books I have been reviewing for a while now and this is my third book by the author that I have picked up and to say the least, it did kind of help me pick up my reading pace. ‘Adiel and the Fuhrer’ is an alternative history which deals with the concept of what would have happened if the world’s most feared dictator, Adolf Hitler was taken out of the equation and how different the world would have been.
Blurb:
Adiel Goldstein has a good life. Despite the anti-Semitism he faces as a German Jew, he has everything he wants. A dream job as an art professor, good friends, a loving father, and a precious nine-year-old daughter, Kaia. But his life is about to be upended. An old comrade from his time fighting in the Great War is gaining power: a man named Hitler. Adiel’s father insists that they need to leave the country before Hitler becomes the leader of Germany.
Adiel and his family plan to move to America, but before they can even pack their bags, he and Kaia make a shocking discovery. Adiel’s father, Natan Goldstein, is from the future. A Holocaust survivor who lost his family to unspeakable tragedy, Natan was given the chance to go back in time and take the life of Adolf Hitler. But when he failed to kill the future Führer, he devoted himself to his new family and awaited the inevitable.
Natan can’t face the Holocaust again, but Adiel’s unique connection to Hitler means he might be able to succeed where his father failed. Adiel now has a choice: escape as planned and let history repeat itself, or sacrifice everything to stop the Holocaust before it can begin.
My Take on the Book:
For someone who has been out of touch on reading, this did pose me quite a difficult start but knowing Elyse’s book I was sure it would be quite a roller coaster ride. Just like the author’s previous books, this one also dealt with the theme of Jews and World War 2 and the lives of the people revolving during those difficult times. The book started with Adiel’s mother trying to keep her son away from hate and yet as the timeline moves ahead, we see how Adiel turned out to be someone who was hated throughout history and yet here he is leading an alternative life that could have been something that Adolf as well could have led.
With numerous time travelling books and movies that I have read or seen, one thing that every material stresses on is that how much we ever try to change the course of history, nature would still make sure that the history does not change and the timeline comes back to what this world was destined to be. The same can be said true about the plot here where eventhough we see that the original dictator was made to leave the timeline, the world was still moving towards the vast destruction that was already written in the history. It was an interesting take to see whether Kaia, who comes to know the horrifying truth along with her father and grandfather be able to bring about a change for a peaceful future.
The author’s writing as always had been quite pleasing to read and the author makes sure that the plot isn’t stretched unnecessary across the pages. There have been times that the reader is able to predict what is to come in the next few pages but what one couldn’t be ready for is the ultimate plot twist that came halfway through the book that brought the curious me to flip pages quickly. Pick it up if you are looking for something light and yet interesting to make your reading experience even better.
My Rating – 🌟🌟🌟🌟(4 out of 5 stars)
February 17, 2024
I was fortunate to get an early read of this book as part of the WriteReads blog tour.
Blurb
Adiel Goldstein has a good life. Despite the anti-Semitism he faces as a German Jew, he has everything he wants. A dream job as an art professor, good friends, a loving father, and a precious nine-year-old daughter, Kaia. But his life is about to be upended. An old comrade from his time fighting in the Great War is gaining power: a man named Hitler. Adiel’s father insists that they need to leave the country before Hitler becomes the leader of Germany.
Adiel and his family plan to move to America, but before they can even pack their bags, he and Kaia make a shocking discovery. Adiel’s father, Natan Goldstein, is from the future. A Holocaust survivor who lost his family to unspeakable tragedy, Natan was given the chance to go back in time and take the life of Adolf Hitler. But when he failed to kill the future Führer, he devoted himself to his new family and awaited the inevitable.
Natan can’t face the Holocaust again, but Adiel’s unique connection to Hitler means he might be able to succeed where his father failed. Adiel now has a choice: escape as planned and let history repeat itself, or sacrifice everything to stop the Holocaust before it can begin.
Award winning author Elyse Hoffman has crafted a thought-provoking and daring work of historical fiction which will tug at your heartstrings.
As with her other books, I have come to expect the unexpected from Elyse Hoffman.
This is a truly unique story, which poses the question what would have happened if Hitler had never come to power?
The story begins with a family, the Goldstein’s and their life in Germany. It is a total surprise when it is revealed that Adiel’s father, Natan, is from the future and has experienced the Holocaust before. He was given the opportunity to go back in time and stop Hitler, but he failed. Instead, he started a family and he is now desperate to save them, from what he knows is coming.
The antisemitism experienced by Jewish families is incredibly well written, and it reminds us how very quickly and easily hatreds can form.
The dilemma that Adiel faces is such a unique and interesting perspective on this chapter of History. Do you save yourself and your loved ones or do you put yourself at risk to save countless others?
There are many unexpected twists to this story and the final chapters will leave you feeling very emotional. Have tissues ready!
It is another exceptional read from a fabulous author.
This is historical fiction at its best and I would highly recommend you read it.
About the Author
Elyse Hoffman is an award-winning author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. Having studied WWII since the age of thirteen and with interests in fantasy and Jewish folklore, she loves to combine them in her writing. Elyse started writing novels at fourteen and finished her first historical fiction work at fifteen. She has published eight books: five in a series called The Barracks of the Holocaust, and three novels, including The Book of Uriel, Where David Threw Stones, and Fracture. In her spare time, she loves to read, work on pretty keyboards, and hang out with her co-authors - her Goldendoodle Ari and her ex-feral cat, Echo.
Huge thanks to the author, publishers and TheWriteReads blog-tour for allowing me early access to this book.
Blurb
Adiel Goldstein has a good life. Despite the anti-Semitism he faces as a German Jew, he has everything he wants. A dream job as an art professor, good friends, a loving father, and a precious nine-year-old daughter, Kaia. But his life is about to be upended. An old comrade from his time fighting in the Great War is gaining power: a man named Hitler. Adiel’s father insists that they need to leave the country before Hitler becomes the leader of Germany.
Adiel and his family plan to move to America, but before they can even pack their bags, he and Kaia make a shocking discovery. Adiel’s father, Natan Goldstein, is from the future. A Holocaust survivor who lost his family to unspeakable tragedy, Natan was given the chance to go back in time and take the life of Adolf Hitler. But when he failed to kill the future Führer, he devoted himself to his new family and awaited the inevitable.
Natan can’t face the Holocaust again, but Adiel’s unique connection to Hitler means he might be able to succeed where his father failed. Adiel now has a choice: escape as planned and let history repeat itself, or sacrifice everything to stop the Holocaust before it can begin.
Award winning author Elyse Hoffman has crafted a thought-provoking and daring work of historical fiction which will tug at your heartstrings.
As with her other books, I have come to expect the unexpected from Elyse Hoffman.
This is a truly unique story, which poses the question what would have happened if Hitler had never come to power?
The story begins with a family, the Goldstein’s and their life in Germany. It is a total surprise when it is revealed that Adiel’s father, Natan, is from the future and has experienced the Holocaust before. He was given the opportunity to go back in time and stop Hitler, but he failed. Instead, he started a family and he is now desperate to save them, from what he knows is coming.
The antisemitism experienced by Jewish families is incredibly well written, and it reminds us how very quickly and easily hatreds can form.
The dilemma that Adiel faces is such a unique and interesting perspective on this chapter of History. Do you save yourself and your loved ones or do you put yourself at risk to save countless others?
There are many unexpected twists to this story and the final chapters will leave you feeling very emotional. Have tissues ready!
It is another exceptional read from a fabulous author.
This is historical fiction at its best and I would highly recommend you read it.
About the Author
Elyse Hoffman is an award-winning author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. Having studied WWII since the age of thirteen and with interests in fantasy and Jewish folklore, she loves to combine them in her writing. Elyse started writing novels at fourteen and finished her first historical fiction work at fifteen. She has published eight books: five in a series called The Barracks of the Holocaust, and three novels, including The Book of Uriel, Where David Threw Stones, and Fracture. In her spare time, she loves to read, work on pretty keyboards, and hang out with her co-authors - her Goldendoodle Ari and her ex-feral cat, Echo.
Huge thanks to the author, publishers and TheWriteReads blog-tour for allowing me early access to this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2024
I think we've all had that late night discussion of what we'd do if we could go back in time and kill Hitler. Adiel and the Führer is a really interesting extrapolation of that idea, involving two Jewish Holocaust survivors, the demon king Asmodeus, and a good measure of kindness. What follows is one of the most thought-provoking novels I've ever read: what if, instead of killing baby Hitler, you raised him in a gentle and nurturing environment? He has the same experiences that lead to him becoming leader of the Nazi party: surviving the First World War, being rejected from art school, etc., but views everything through a different lens. What kind of man would be become?
I loved the way Adiel's experiences informed his character. Out of everyone, seeing how the lead up to the war and the plot changed him was devastating. Crafting flesh and blood around names pulled from history books is no mean feat, and Hoffman has done a brilliant job humanising some of the most important figures in the Nazi party - the ability to do so is one of my favourite features of the alternate history genre. Watching Natan fight with his instincts and experience once Adiel and Kaia recruit a Nazi to their side was one of the most nail-biting sequences I've read outside of horror. The character work in general is one of my favourite aspects of this book - with one exception. As much as I liked Kaia's fearlessness and oddity, she did feel fairly one-dimensional when surrounded by this rich of a cast.
Alternate history allows for some deep discussions around exactly what influences specific events. In this case, Hoffman raises questions regarding good and evil, shared responsibility, blame, and nature vs nurture. I love that the genre exists to allow us to explore these topics. A lot of kneejerk reactions to events like the Holocaust are that the perpetrators are straight up evil to the core and, while I'm not disagreeing with that, I like that we can construct a narrative in which we can explore the character and history of these perpetrators using the resources we have from the time period itself, so we can determine what might have led them to make such heinous decisions. This type of work especially is brave and daring for any author to publish, even more so now we live in a time where global slander is possible and a lot of people take offence to headlines without reading deeper and thinking critically, and Elyse Hoffman deserves all the credit for taking that risk and executing it this well.
This book is for people who want a more intense, thought-provoking reading experience, or those who want to know exactly what loss can make a man do.
I was gifted a copy and asked to provide my thoughts.
I loved the way Adiel's experiences informed his character. Out of everyone, seeing how the lead up to the war and the plot changed him was devastating. Crafting flesh and blood around names pulled from history books is no mean feat, and Hoffman has done a brilliant job humanising some of the most important figures in the Nazi party - the ability to do so is one of my favourite features of the alternate history genre. Watching Natan fight with his instincts and experience once Adiel and Kaia recruit a Nazi to their side was one of the most nail-biting sequences I've read outside of horror. The character work in general is one of my favourite aspects of this book - with one exception. As much as I liked Kaia's fearlessness and oddity, she did feel fairly one-dimensional when surrounded by this rich of a cast.
Alternate history allows for some deep discussions around exactly what influences specific events. In this case, Hoffman raises questions regarding good and evil, shared responsibility, blame, and nature vs nurture. I love that the genre exists to allow us to explore these topics. A lot of kneejerk reactions to events like the Holocaust are that the perpetrators are straight up evil to the core and, while I'm not disagreeing with that, I like that we can construct a narrative in which we can explore the character and history of these perpetrators using the resources we have from the time period itself, so we can determine what might have led them to make such heinous decisions. This type of work especially is brave and daring for any author to publish, even more so now we live in a time where global slander is possible and a lot of people take offence to headlines without reading deeper and thinking critically, and Elyse Hoffman deserves all the credit for taking that risk and executing it this well.
This book is for people who want a more intense, thought-provoking reading experience, or those who want to know exactly what loss can make a man do.
I was gifted a copy and asked to provide my thoughts.
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