Today is my stop on the blog tour for U-Boat 931 Attack On America by Ian T Gwilliams.

Here’s the blurb

March 1944, Nazi Germany needs to turn the tide of the war. Ahron Roth, captain of submarine U931, is ordered by Himmler to transport two SS officers and a new ‘super weapon’ to America.

The Atlantic crossing is full of dangers, from air and sea. Roth, battling both the enemy and the SS, is unwillingly drawn deeper into the plot, whilst questioning the actions of Germany and himself.

Somehow, he must outwit Admiral Sullivan, RN, who has a score to settle, plus the allied intelligence agencies who are tracking the elusive subs’ movements, but are unaware of the secret mission; a mission that could change the course of history.

Review.

This is my first foray into the genre so was very excited to see if it lived up to expectations. Yes, I’ve read lots of stories focused on the people affected by war, but not really from the perspective of those taking part.

Firstly I’ll admit the cover did grab me, add in a stirring blurb and you reeled me right in. I’ve always had a fascination with submarines as it must be a very different kind of life to be aboard when submerged and I really wanted to see if Ian T Gwillaims manged to bring that nervous energy I’d expect to the foreground.

I’m no expert on wartime fact but I felt there was the perfect mix of detail and plot to show the author put some real time and focus into the tale to make it seamlessly feel real.

Anyone who knows me will know I’m all about the character development, without that the plot will always suck in my opinion but boy did the author know how to create their characters, the tension.. it’s very emotive development as you can feel their stress levels rising.

As you can imagine this tale is all about tension.. a cat and mouse chase and the pace of the story means this tension builds perfectly to boiling point with absolutely cracking warfare scenes. It really makes you think how different it would have been if you were caught up in these type of events..pure adrenalin in your system.

Overall I felt the author managed to blend plot, development and detail nicely. The time put in has paid off and we’ve been given an exciting and fulfilling tale.

I think I’ve always been wary of reading a book involving submarines as it’s so unlike anything I’ve ever read and for me you’d need to get the atmosphere spot on otherwise it just wouldn’t feel right. Has U-Boat 931 manged to alleviate this fear… 100%. Very much enjoyed this one and at £2.50 for the kindle version in the UK… well worth it!

4/5 stars

To find out more head to Goodreads or Amazon!

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My thanks go to the author, publisher and ZooloosBookTours for having me on the tour and for providing me a copy of the book to aid my review! While this was greatly appreciated I’m very happy to admit I enjoyed the book so much that I’ve bought a copy too.

Author Bio

Ian Thomas Gwilliams, originally from Liverpool, England, has been married to his wife Jane for 40 years and they have two grown up children. Ian’s a retired blue collar worker and served an apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce Motors Crewe, where he was lucky to be involved in building bespoke motor cars for the British Royal family and also armoured limousines for foreign dignitaries. After twenty years service he then went to live and work in Canada for a short while, before returning to England and then on into the aerospace industry, before finally retiring in 2019.

Ians’ hobbies include golf, lots of reading, walking, cycling and model making, plus a fascination with all things concerning World War 2 historical facts. His favourite authors include Damien Lewis, Stephen E. Ambrose and James Holland. His influences for writing also include classic WW2 films like The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far and Saving Private Ryan, plus the Band of Brothers TV series. After visiting the battlefields and cemeteries of the D-Day landings in Normandy and following the route of The Battle of the Bulge through Belgium, Ian was inspired to write his debut novel, ‘U-boat 931, Attack on America’, which was completed during the lockdown periods of the covid pandemic. All the facts, weapons and timeline contained within the story were painstakingly researched and the actions described, could have actually taken place during the period of the conflict.

The narrative is a good old fashioned action and adventure tale, full of heroes and villains

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Twitter : https://twitter.com/gwilliams_ian

Website : https://itgwilly.wixsite.com/u-boat-931-attack-on

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