How is it that this is the 60th book and the series is still so freaking5 stars - Futuristic/Crime/Police Procedural/Mystery/Suspense/Thriller/Romance
How is it that this is the 60th book and the series is still so freaking good and addictive?!?! I don't know how Nora Roberts (J.D. Robb) keeps putting out such great reads, but I'm glad she does....more
This is another great read in the series, and I just love all the Will and Sara I can get. Karin Slaughter writes some4 stars - Crime/Mystery/Thriller
This is another great read in the series, and I just love all the Will and Sara I can get. Karin Slaughter writes some very dark books, and this is no exception. It has some seriously disturbing content and characters. I wanted a lot more comeuppance for several of them....more
I mainly read the Shadow and Bone trilogy before this to have a better understanding of the world-building, and I'm gla4.5 stars - Young Adult Fantasy
I mainly read the Shadow and Bone trilogy before this to have a better understanding of the world-building, and I'm glad I did because I think it helped my enjoyment of this book. I thought the Shadow and Bone trilogy was interesting, but it felt too YA for me in some ways. I also didn't like the characters.
That isn't the case at all with Six of Crows. The story is a multifaceted, dark, intriguing, action-packed fantasy with villains, brutal violence, some road-trip buddy moments, a prison break, a heist, and subtle romance. Even though the ages of the main characters make it fall into the YA category, they don't act like typical YA characters and seem much older. They're all complex, brave, strong, and broken or tortured in some way. I loved them all, especially Kaz and Inej. (view spoiler)[And I'm really hoping for a happy ending for them all in the second book. (hide spoiler)]...more
It's hard to believe that this is the 57th (wow!) In Death book, and I still absolutely love this amazing series. I 4 stars - Futuristic Crime/Mystery
It's hard to believe that this is the 57th (wow!) In Death book, and I still absolutely love this amazing series. I can't imagine ever getting tired of these characters, so I hope Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb never gets tired of writing them! And I'm still holding out hope for a TV series or movie someday....more
Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors, and she deserves praise for writing about the uns4.5+ stars - Vietnam Historical Fiction/Women's Fiction
Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors, and she deserves praise for writing about the unsung heroines of the Vietnam war. Yes, there were female Vietnam veterans. During the Vietnam War, more than 265,000 American women served the military and 11,000 women served in Vietnam, with 90% working as nurses. Some women also worked in administrative roles, military intelligence, and air traffic control. These women veterans were ignored, marginalized, dismissed, and denigrated, and many of them suffered PTSD, addiction, and suicidal thoughts without receiving assistance from the VA.
The Women is an emotional and powerful read, and I really enjoyed the story. It's nearly a 5-star read, but part of it felt a bit melodramatic. I admired Frankie, but she also frustrated me toward the latter part of the book. I loved her best friends, Ethel and Barb. Honestly, I found Barb's character even more intriguing than Frankie, and I would love a book about her.
The main reason I didn't rate it full 5-stars is that everything wrapped up at the end much too quickly. (view spoiler)[I was glad for the peace that Frankie found on the Montana ranch and in helping other nurses and women veterans, but I wanted a lot more page time spent on that journey of recovery and healing. And I really wanted Frankie's dad to put a picture of her on their family's wall of heroes! (hide spoiler)]
I listened to the audiobook, and Julia Whelan does a great job with the narration. I highly recommend this! 4.5+ stars! ...more
Wow. What an incredible story of one of the most prominent French resistance leaders and spies of WWII, Nancy Grace A5 stars - WWII Historical Fiction
Wow. What an incredible story of one of the most prominent French resistance leaders and spies of WWII, Nancy Grace Augusta Wake (also known as The White Mouse). She was the Allies most decorated woman during World War II, saving thousands of soldiers and eventually becoming the most wanted person by the German Gestapo in 1943.
Even though this is historical fiction, the author based it on extensive research, biographies written about Nancy Wake, and on Nancy's own autobiography, The White Mouse, and all of the events are real, as are most of the characters in the book.
Ariel Lawhon describes her as "bold, bawdy, and brazen" in the author's note, and Nancy Wake was indeed that. She was also brave, strong, fearless, clever, courageous, compassionate, determined, cunning, stubborn, tough, and fair and had a strong sense of justice. And she risked everything to fight the Germans and to help win the war.
There is a beautiful, romantic, moving, heartbreaking, and tragic love story in this book between Nancy and her French husband, Henri Fiocca. Even already knowing how their story ended, I still wasn't prepared for it.
I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator, Barrie Kreinik, was fantastic and really brought Nancy and the other characters to life.
I highly recommend this to fans of historical fiction and non-fiction, WWII historical fiction and non-fiction, and even to romance fans. If you don't know about Nancy Wake, you really should. What a truly amazing, remarkable woman she was! 5 stars!...more
Wow. This is such a powerful, gut wrenching, inspiring, heartbreaking, and impactful read. I don't have th5+ stars - WWII/Holocaust Historical Fiction
Wow. This is such a powerful, gut wrenching, inspiring, heartbreaking, and impactful read. I don't have the words to do this book justice. It's one of those books that's impossible to review because there's so much I want to say and talk about. Most importantly, I just want everyone to read it. I'm honestly shocked and disappointed that this book only has 3,432 ratings here on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. How have so few people read and reviewed this incredible book?
The book description does a fair job explaining the main plot. The Last Checkmate tells the story of Maria's, a fourteen-year-old Polish resistance worker sent to Auschwitz, fight for survival and justice. Even though Maria ranges from age 14-18 in the story, this book is adult fiction, not YA, and I appreciate that the author didn't hold back from detailing the horrors and brutality that occurred during the Holocaust.
The Last Checkmate is a brilliant piece of historical fiction based on actual events, and some of the characters are real historical figures or based on real people. The author provides details, research, and additional information in the "About the Book" section at the end, and I was glad to be able to learn more about the events and people that inspired the book.
As many survivor accounts that I've listened to, documentaries and movies I've watched, books I've read, and museums I've visited about the Holocaust, I never cease being shocked and appalled by the incomprehensible atrocities and evil that human beings committed on their fellow human beings. I don't know if we'll ever be able to fully understand the Holocaust, but we must always keep facing it, learn all we can from it, never forget it, and most importantly, never allow anything like it to happen again.
Thank you, Gabriella Saab, for writing this incredible story, and I hope more people read it. Maria, Hania, Irena, and Father Kolbe will stay with me, forever.
My body was starving, yet my soul was starving even more. Starving for kindness, compassion, love, everything I once took for granted. Raw hunger never ceased to gnaw at me, but the hunger for human affection was a sharp ache that pierced me to the depths of my being. One simple gesture was all it took to alleviate the agony. And in this moment, this one moment, the hunger within my soul was satiated.
"Every day, I choose to live and fight, and every day, people around me choose to do the same. They give me the strength to go on. And together, we will live and fight through this."
Maybe we aren't meant to leave the past behind. Maybe we're meant to bring it with us so we can join others weighed down by the same burdens, and we can carry them together. Maybe that's how we find peace.
From terrible suffering and crippling loss rises a special kind of resilience, one unique to those who endure. Every tap of a chess piece against the board, every whisper and peal of laughter fills the room and sends a flicker of warmth into my chest. These are voices that evil attempted to silence, voices of bravery, kindness, strength, intelligence. Voices of resilience. Those ravished by hatred will be healed by love, and their courageous spirits and compassionate souls will lead them through the darkness to a life beyond.
I highly recommend this to everyone, especially fans of historical fiction, WWII fiction/non-fiction, Holocaust fiction/non-fiction, author Kate Quinn, and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah....more
This latest St. Cyr installment is another compelling, complex mystery, and having Sebastian struggle physically with a 4.5 stars - Historical Mystery
This latest St. Cyr installment is another compelling, complex mystery, and having Sebastian struggle physically with a healing injury while tracking down the murderer added an interesting component to the story. I was hoping for more page time for Paul Gibson and Alexi, and I also felt that the ending was somewhat abrupt.
After 18 books, I'm really anxious for revelations to some of the lingering questions that have gone unanswered for too long. (view spoiler)[Who is Sebastian's father? Was Jamie Knox his half-brother? Did Jarvis and Victoria kill Hero's mother? (hide spoiler)]
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator, Jenny Sterlin, does a pretty good job. But I really miss Davina Porter's phenomenal narration of the series....more
This is such a heartwarming and utterly delightful feel-good romance, and I savored and loved every word of it! It’s basic5 Swoonworthy Romance stars!
This is such a heartwarming and utterly delightful feel-good romance, and I savored and loved every word of it! It’s basically a historical romance remake of the movie Pretty Woman except the heroine is a feisty French ballerina in need of money instead of a prostitute.
I couldn’t get enough of the witty banter and explosive chemistry between outwardly cold-hearted, aloof Lysander and spirited, outspoken Neve. Their romance was absolutely swoon-worthy! I also loved the secondary characters, Lysander’s spinster aunt and the group of friends that take Neve under their wing. I hope we get romances for the other women in the Taming of the Dukes club.
I listened to the audiobook, and Mary Jane Wells’s narration is fabulous and truly brought the book to life. She does such a wonderful French accent for Neve and gives all the characters distinct voices. I truly loved listening to this one.
This was me every single word and every single minute of this book! *dreamy sigh* Big 5 stars!
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