Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for The Brunswick by Callie Murray, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: The Brunswick
Author: Callie Murray
Publisher: Revell
Release Date: May 19, 2026
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
When Cora provides a safe haven for Jewish refugee children, she discovers that opening her doors means risking everything, including her heart.
In 1939 Georgia, far removed from the war brewing overseas, Cora Cain’s world feels small–and shrinking. There, she runs The Brunswick, her family’s once-grand hotel, which is now struggling as the town’s general store. When Thomas Watkins arrives seeking work and solace after his mother’s death, a connection sparks between them. Through Thomas, Cora glimpses a life beyond obligation and her war hero father’s unpredictable moods.
But everything changes when Cora is asked to turn The Brunswick into a sanctuary for Jewish children fleeing persecution in Germany. As Cora and Thomas prepare for the children’s arrival, they struggle to confront their pasts–and the prejudice of their neighbors–as their fragile hope is put to the test.
Meanwhile, in Vienna, ten-year-old Charlotte is offered refuge in America. But even with the horrors she sees around her, she wonders how her parents could possibly send her away. As war’s shadow begins to reach small-town Georgia, each person must face what love demands and decide what to hold on to and what to let go.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Baker Publishing Group | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook | Bookshop | BookBub
About the Author
Callie Murray is an entrepreneur who has been featured on The Today Show and in The New York Times. Her debut Southern fiction book delves into the lesser-known historical details preceding World War II. Callie and her husband live in Norcross, Georgia, with their seven children, four of whom came through the honor of foster care.
Connect with Callie by visiting calliemurray.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
I loved this book! Callie Murray shed some light on a historical event I knew little about, the Kindertransport that brought Jewish children out of Germany during World War II.
Cora Cain is a young woman who should be getting ready to venture out into the world. Instead, she’s single-handedly running what was once the grand hotel her father built for her mother. Her father has withdrawn further into himself since Cora’s mother left, and fighting in World War I left him with emotional scars. He lacks the wherewithal to keep The Brunswick going, so Cora has turned it into her small Georgia town’s general store. Cora is struggling to keep the business afloat, but she perseveres.
Thomas Watkins has left medical school behind and returned home, looking for the peace he couldn’t find in the big city of Chicago after his mother’s death. When he meets Cora, the spark is almost instantaneous (but this isn’t insta-love). Cora hires him to help her run The Brunswick, and their feelings for each other grow, but Thomas isn’t sure he should say anything. He is of German descent, and with trouble brewing in Europe, people are suspicious of anything German.
Then a chance comes to be of service. Cora is called upon to open up The Brunswick as a shelter for Jewish children rescued from Germany, and Thomas volunteers to make the trip overseas to bring the children back. Cora worries about how her father will feel. World War I left him with no love for the Germans. She worries about Thomas, traveling toward the danger. And she fears for her health. For Thomas, the journey is not only one of service, but one of learning something about his mother.
This story is so wonderfully told. Murray gives us various events from three viewpoints: Cora, Thomas, and Charlotte, a Jewish child in Germany. They are all beautifully written characters, very easy to like and cheer for. Charlotte’s view of how the war affects her and those around her is particularly touching. It’s one thing to think of the impact of war on children in the historical abstract. Reading someone’s imagining of what that was like makes it so much more real and more gut-wrenching.
There are moments of humor and lightheartedness. Sometimes characters find themselves in difficult situations, and I wasn’t sure how those situations would play out. There is sadness, and hurt, and struggle, and redemption. The thread of faith isn’t as strong as I usually see in what I consider Christian fiction, but it’s a wholesome story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Read the author’s note at the end. Murray gives us a lot of insight into how she got the idea for the novel.
Five stars for The Brunswick, and I hope to read more by Callie Murray!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book through JustRead Publicity Tours. I was not required to leave a review. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.
Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight June 3, 2026 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on June 10, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
I really like the cover art design! Thanks so much for sharing!