The Melody of Secrets by Jeffrey Stepakoff

I was a tad put off by this book at first, by the style and the lack of emotion, but then I realized there was a reason for this... As the heroine of the story opens up, so does the book, revealing the emotions under what at first comes off as an icy exterior. I quickly grew to appreciate this style and it engrossed me.

I breezed through this one in two days, partly because it's an easy read, not too heavy on description or details and partly because it's such a fascinating subject that hasn't been done before. It reveals how very desperate America was to compete with Russia in space. Desperate enough to hire former Nazis to the job and bury their secrets, their wrongdoings.

The rockets, the factory, all fascinating. Wrong, but fascinating. I feel morbid for saying that, but hey, if we forget history, we risk repeating it, so it's something I feel should become more known.

In a nutshell, you have the space program in 1957, Germans who have relocated to America, the Civil Rights movement being compared to what the Nazis did (really appreciated this look at hate and how it's hate, pure and simple, no matter who does it), a love triangle that could get messy, and about how turning the other cheek makes you just as bad as those who did the crime. There's a very touching story, tragic also, about a violin and its origins. The heroine is faced with a difficult decision and must realize the truth has been staring her in the face all along, a truth she didn't want to see. It's intense and I even teared up at one point.

I appreciated many aspects to this tale. I must confess, however, that I didn't buy into the historical love story at all. Just hours after meeting, if that, she throws herself at this stranger? Noooooo.....

The ending...I was really hoping it would go the other way. :/

I must say though, this book ended up being one of my most interesting read this last week. I recommend it.

I received this via Netgalley.