Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and author Gosia Nealon for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

At times, historical fiction tends to sound the same over and over. I’ve found that with the number I’ve been reading, they seem to follow a pattern. It doesn’t mean the story is bad, but it does tend to be rather predictable for fans of the genre.

The Wartime Chocolate Maker appealed to me because I never dreamed of a chocolate factory being able to operate in Gdansk during the Second World War. However, I researched it a bit, and yes, there were chocolate factories in German-held territories that continued to operate. The chocolates were given to Luftwaffe pilots and crew in order to keep them awake during missions. The story depicted here is quite plausible.

Kasia Hartmann returns home to her native Gdansk following her father’s death. The two had an argument a few years before that ended with her leaving home to live with an aunt in Warsaw. With just her mother and younger brother, Kornel, at home now, it’s up to Kasia to step in and run the family’s chocolate factory. Her father was German and her mother is Polish. The family chocolate factory has remained open due to her father’s ingratiating himself with the occupying forces, his German background, and his new business partner, Sebastien. Kasia dreads going to work with Sebastien, but when she first encounters him, he is quite charming. It helps that he’s easy on the eyes as well. In order to keep things running smoothly both at the factory and for her family at home, Kasia allows Sebastien to romance her.

While she feels an attraction for him, she is cautious. In Warsaw, Kasia became involved with the Polish Resistance. She continues to help them now that she is home. Once a week, she and two other girls make deliveries to Gestapo headquarters in Gdansk. They overhear information that they pass on to the Resistance. Sebastien tries to get her to connect him with the Resistance, but she feigns ignorance. She’s not sure that she trusts him entirely. Meanwhile, she finds herself falling in love with another member of the Resistance, Felek.

The story is good, with a feeling that Kasia is constantly in peril, walking a tightrope between doing what she must to keep the factory open as well as aiding the Resistance. Sebastien seems to be suspicious of her, but she manages to keep him at arm’s length. It’s a delicate balance as she tries to stay true to her heart, even against her mother’s encouragement. Sebastien would like to marry Kasia, and her mother sees that as a good thing. Kasia is not so sure she trusts the man. She doesn’t believe they’d be any safer if she and Sebastien were married.

The characters are written very well, particularly Kasia. She weighs her options constantly, worrying about keeping her family safe and helping the local Polish population. She is angry with her father for capitulating to the Nazis, but at the same time, she begins to understand about compromising one’s values during war in order to keep people safe. There’s growth for her, from the girl who walked out on her father years before to a woman who gains a better understanding of what it’s like to have no easy options to choose from. Even Sebastien came across as a good character. His motives are unknown in the beginning, and even as his intentions become more and more doubtful, he’s not necessarily a villain. It’s a very interesting dynamic.

I enjoyed how everyday life was portrayed during the war. We read a lot about soldiers and battles, but not about what it was like for common people trying to earn a living and survive during those times. There are a number of characters introduced around Gdansk who help the Resistance, but are also just trying to survive.

All in all, I enjoyed The Wartime Chocolate Maker. The characters and setting were very interesting. It was well-written, and there was some suspense as to whether they would survive the war or not.