Publication Date: March 21, 2025
Poland, 1943. I inhale the rich caramel scent as I carefully tuck a folded slip of paper under the delicate chocolates. My heart races as the door opens, and I lock eyes with my childhood sweetheart. If he found one of the secret messages hidden in every box of my creations, my life and my family would be in terrible danger…
Working in her father’s chocolate factory, Kasia risks her life every day hiding notes vital to the Polish resistance in the carefully packaged boxes. The information tucked beneath the truffles is crucial to freeing her country and her family from the Nazis. But each of her recipes is sent out under the watchful eyes of her boss, Sebastian—the man who broke her heart.
She has never been able to reconcile the kind, sweet boy she once adored with the man now allied with the Germans. Yet the more time she spends around him, the more he seems to hint at sympathizing with the resistance. And the risk of revealing everything to him seems to shrink day by day.
Until one coded message hidden among the rich chocolate makes her fear for her mother and brother’s lives. And though she’s on the factory floor with a group of fellow resistance women, she can’t let on what she knows. Because her network has been betrayed.
As she searches the faces of those closest to her for any sign of guilt, her eyes meet Sebastian’s, full of care and concern. With time running out, Kasia wonders if she can trust him with this deadly secret? Or are the soldiers already on their way to arrest her?
This sweeping World War 2 historical novel will have you utterly gripped and on the edge of your seat. Fans of The Nightingale, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and Kelly Rimmer will love this completely addictive and emotional read.
Kasia Hartmann returns to her Polish hometown after her father’s death, only to discover the family business in jeopardy because of the Nazi agenda.
Author Gosia Nealon brings to life the challenges faced by Poles during the German occupation. The Wartime Chocolate Maker captures Kasia’s efforts to navigate the changing landscape of her family’s chocolate factory while continuing her work for the Resistance.
Not only does Kasia have to discard the Polish half of her heritage to survive in the German-controlled city, but she also has to use the Germanized version of her name, Katharina. Told in alternating viewpoints by Kasia and Felek, an operative of the Polish Underground, the story illustrates the resilience of the Polish.
This resilience is highlighted by Kasia’s interactions with Sebastian, who is determined to win her hand. As her father’s business partner, he embraces the Nazi regime and endangers Kasia’s resistance efforts.
The Wartime Chocolate Maker serves up an interesting story of resistance built around the efforts of a half-Polish woman willing to fight for true love.
While Gosia Nealon is a proud New Yorker, she was born and raised in Poland. Her journey to the Big Apple revealed a wealth of cultural differences, but also the values that connect us all. Like the fierce desire to protect family, find love, and ultimately, discover who we are and why we’re here.
Gosia’s award-winning short stories have always delved into life’s biggest questions, but it was the drama, sacrifice, and tragedy of WWII that led her to pen her debut novel, which won a gold medal in the 2022 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY).
Growing up in Poland, Gosia heard many firsthand accounts of the war, told from a perspective rarely captured in mainstream literature. She was compelled to breathe life into two young people falling in love in the midst of the most terrifying conflict of our time.
When Gosia isn’t tapping away at her laptop, she’s often walking the streets of New York. With her husband and two young sons in tow, they search for the most succulent pierogi, transporting them back to the cobbled streets of her childhood.
