en-US Wed, 18 Dec 2024 09:07:52 -0800 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 57800389
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.]]> 301 Silvia Moreno-Garcia 052562080X Cathy 0 to-read 3.71 2020
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59689972
Can the truth about her family's past unlock her future?

Normandy, 1937 . Sixteen-year-old Elise embarks on a whirlwind romance with a young American man, which transports her from the drudgery of her everyday life caring for her mother. But neither she nor William is prepared for the war that will threaten to tear them apart...

Boston, 2009 . Lucy has been left reeling by the death of her beloved grandfather. They had always planned to visit France together after her college graduation; now, still aching from his loss, Lucy decides to take the trip alone. As Lucy traces the steps of her grandfather through the French countryside where he once served as a GI, a powerful story of love, loss and destiny emerges �� but can the truth about her family's past unlock her future? Or are some scars too deep to heal?

Readers love The Time Between Us :

' Poignant , haunting story took my breath away. A simply stunning debut ' Clare Marchant

' Emotional story of love and loss, beautifully woven ' Liz Fenwick

' Left me breathless . My emotions were crushed and revived and tangled ... I cried and felt heartbreak for the characters. Time stood still and supper cooled while I finished living it... Unmissable... I cannot stop thinking about it ' ŷ������ 5* Review

' Emotional rollercoaster of love and loss... An excellent read which kept my interest right through to the last page' Jo Lambert

' Fabulous , emotional ... This is a beautifully written story of war, love and loss... Pulled me in from the first page and I loved the story of Elise' NetGalley 5* Review

' Emotional and heart-breaking ... If you like WWII books then you will love this one' NetGalley 5* Review

' Fantastic ... Hooked me and kept me invested ... McCarron was able to capture the sights, smells, sounds, touch and tastes to the extent that I felt I was in the soldier's boots . It was phenomenal! ... I was emotionally wrung out by the end of the book ... This is the best book out there ... Spectacular ... Magnificently written, five-star historical fiction must be on your radar' NetGalley 5* Review

' Very beautiful read . I highly recommend this one . I really like the writer's style and look forward to her future books' @IslaRoseReads , 5* Review

' Heart-breaking dual timeline story of love, loss and the reality of life' NetGalley Reviewer

'Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres and this one did not disappoint... I recommend this book if you like to read historical fiction' NetGalley Reviewer

' Poignant and emotionally complex . Loved it ' NetGalley Reviewer]]> 385 Marina McCarron 1801104417 Cathy 0 to-read 4.41
author: Marina McCarron
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.41
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58796720
With the war raging, Lily has learned not to take life for granted. In a time of such tragedy, every day is a gift. Her husband is a soldier, fighting to save their country, and she prays that she will survive �� to one day welcome him home.

One sweltering July night, bombs rain down. Lily and her dear friend Ethel , who is nine months pregnant, seek refuge in a shelter. Miraculously, a baby girl is born to the sound of ear-splitting shrieks and explosions in the distance. Once the raid quietens, Lily races into the house to find the newborn a blanket. But then the unthinkable happens, planes thundering right over the rooftops��

When Lily rouses, finding herself amongst broken glass and crumbled brick, she is devastated to discover that Ethel has been killed �� leaving little Joy behind. With tears rolling down her face, Lily makes a split-second decision.

To save the orphaned child, Lily must tell a heartbreaking lie, a secret that she holds close to her chest for years. But when the truth comes out, whose lives will be destroyed? And will she ever be forgiven?

Readers absolutely love Shirley

‘I was gripped from the very first page �� It was heartbreaking �� I smiled through these happy times with them but also shed tears �� I could not put it down�� Will undoubtedly pull at your heartstrings . Just make sure you have a box of tissues ready! �� Stardust Book Reviews, ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

�� Absolutely fabulous �� Had me hooked from the very first page�� Took me on a rollercoaster of emotions and had me in tears .�� ŷ������ reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

�� I absolutely loved it! �� An emotional, heart-wrenching story of love and loss amidst the horror of war... Will tug at your heartstrings �� Will have you reaching for the tissues �� Wonderful .�� ŷ������ reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

‘A beautiful story! Had me in tears from the very beginning . I couldn’t put this one down .�� A Book With Review , ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

�� Outstanding �� I absolutely loved this superb page-turner .�� ŷ������ reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

�� Make sure you have tissues handy �� The story is heartbreaking �� Worthy of 5* and more .�� ŷ������ reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

�� Promises to keep you turning the pages as your heart attempts not to break . A book you will lose yourself in! �� All the Good Books , ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

‘A gorgeous character-driven, coming-of-age story about family bonds, love, and hardships of war. Exceptionally beautiful! �� ŷ������ reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

‘A beautifully written coming-of-age story�� I didn’t want to put down �� Tugs at your heartstrings .�� ŷ������ reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐]]> 360 Shirley Dickson 1800198809 Cathy 0 to-read 4.46
author: Shirley Dickson
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.46
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58832586 Ninety-eight-year-old Ginny McAllister’s last wish is for her granddaughter to complete a treasure hunt containing clues to her past. Clues that reveal her life as one of the first female pilots at Pearl Harbor, and a devastating World War Two secret.

1941, Pearl Harbor: On the morning of December 7th, Ginny is flying her little yellow plane above the sparkling seas when she spots an unknown aircraft closing in on her. She recognises the red symbol of the Japanese fighter planes almost too late. Somehow, she manages to land unscathed but the choices she is forced to make in the terrible hours that follow have tragic consequences��

2019, Pearl Harbor: Heartbroken Robyn Harris is reeling from the death of the strong, determined grandmother who raised her. Her only comfort is a letter written in Ginny’s distinctive hand which details a treasure hunt, just like the ones she used to set for her as a little girl. Except this time, the clues are scattered across the beautiful island of Hawaii. Despite her grief, Robyn finds herself intrigued as she follows the trail of letters, revealing the truth about Ginny’s service during the Second World War.

But Robyn’s whole world is turned upside down when she’s faced with a shocking secret which has the power to change the course of her own life��

Inspired by true events, this is a heartbreaking and unforgettable WW2 novel about love, loss and bravery. Perfect for fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and Kathryn Hughes.]]> 387 Anna Stuart 1800198450 Cathy 0 to-read 4.39
author: Anna Stuart
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.39
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59475264 A gripping and groundbreaking account of how all but one of FDR's ambassadors in Europe misjudged Hitler and his intentions

As German tanks rolled toward Paris in late May 1940, the U.S. Ambassador to France, William Bullitt, was determined to stay put, holed up in the Chateau St. Firmin in Chantilly, his country residence. Bullitt told the president that he would neither evacuate the embassy nor his chateau, an eighteenth Renaissance manse with a wine cellar of over 18,000 bottles, even though “we have only two revolvers in this entire mission with only forty bullets.��

As German forces closed in on the French capital, Bullitt wrote the president, “In case I should get blown up before I see you again, I want you to know that it has been marvelous to work for you.�� As the fighting raged in France, across the English Channel, Ambassador to Great Britain Joseph P. Kennedy wrote to his wife Rose, “The situation is more than critical. It means a terrible finish for the allies.��

David McKean's Watching Darkness Fall will recount the rise of the Third Reich in Germany and the road to war from the perspective of four American diplomats in Europe who witnessed it firsthand: Joseph Kennedy, William Dodd, Breckinridge Long, and William Bullitt, who all served in key Western European capitals—London, Berlin, Rome, Paris, and Moscow—in the years prior to World War II. In many ways they were America’s first line of defense and they often communicated with the president directly, as Roosevelt's eyes and ears on the ground. Unfortunately, most of them underestimated the power and resolve of Adolf Hitler and Germany’s Third Reich.

Watching Darkness Fall is a gripping new history of the years leading up to and the beginning of WWII in Europe told through the lives of five well-educated and mostly wealthy men all vying for the attention of the man in the Oval Office.]]> 403 David McKean 1250206987 Cathy 0 to-read, non-fiction 4.51
author: David McKean
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.51
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: to-read, non-fiction
review:

]]> 58423491
Ireland, 1848. Fourteen-year-old Rosaleen watches her mother die. Her country is reeling from the great potato famine, which will ultimately kill more than one million people. Driven by a promise and her will to survive, Rosaleen flees her small coastal town.

She eventually arrives in America at the birth of the industrial revolution and is filled with hope and a new sense of independence. Yet the more Rosaleen becomes a part of this new world, the more she longs for a community she lost and a young man she can’t forget.

Through a series of both heartwarming and tragic events, Rosaleen learns that she can’t outrun the problems that come along with being Irish. And maybe, she doesn’t want to.]]> 411 Lisa Boyle 1736607707 Cathy 0 4.33 2021
author: Lisa Boyle
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: to-read, historical-fiction, scribd
review:

]]> 58432051
After eleven years in school in England, Charlotte Lawrence returns to Sundar, the tea plantation owned by her family, and finds an empty house. She learns that her beloved father died a couple of days earlier and that he left her his estate. She learns also that it was his wish that she marry Andrew McAllister, the good-looking younger son from a neighbouring plantation.

Unwilling to commit to a wedding for which she doesn’t feel ready, Charlotte pleads with Dan Fitzgerald, the assistant manager of Sundar, to teach her how to run the plantation while she gets to know Andrew. Although reluctant as he knew that a woman would never be accepted as manager by the local merchants and workers, Dan agrees.

Charlotte’s chaperone on the journey from England, Ada Eastman, who during the long voyage, has become a friend, has journeyed to Darjeeling to marry Harry Banning, the owner of a neighbouring tea garden.

When Ada marries Harry, she’s determined to be a loyal and faithful wife. And to be a good friend to Charlotte. And nothing, but nothing, was going to stand in the way of that.]]> 406 Liz Harris 1913687090 Cathy 3 The book is a simple story, simply told. The main character is an 18 year old woman, Charlotte who has returned to India after an absence of 11 years during which she attended school in England. Upon her return she finds her much loved father died two days prior, leaving her the family’s tea garden as her inheritance. Being 1930’s India she is told she will not be able to successfully run the business because she a female. She is left with two choices sell the garden or marry a neighbors�� son and merge the two farms. She cannot imagine selling so she chooses the later BUT can she go through with marriage to a man she does not love or is love possible? This is the dilemma Charlotte faces.
Of course my summary does not include the twists and turns present of which there are quite a few. Unfortunately I was able to predict them at about a quarter of the way through. The writing in general, with the exception of a few run on sentences, was nicely done. The main characters were adequately developed and the pacing of the book was even with each scene moving the plot forward.
I cannot recommend this book for readers like myself who are looking for more complex themes and storylines. However if a simple nicely told romance is what your looking for this just might be the book for you.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Heywood Press, through net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.

Merged review:

Darjeeling inheritance is a historical romance, emphasis on the romance. In my twenties I would have loved this book. The more the romance the better, if there was an historical setting that was a bonus. Today in my sixties I find my reading tastes have done a 180. While enjoying some romance in a book,I’m looking for more historical detail and depth then this book offers. This is not said to slam the book, simply to point out a fact that may bias my review.
The book is a simple story, simply told. The main character is an 18 year old woman, Charlotte who has returned to India after an absence of 11 years during which she attended school in England. Upon her return she finds her much loved father died two days prior, leaving her the family’s tea garden as her inheritance. Being 1930’s India she is told she will not be able to successfully run the business because she a female. She is left with two choices sell the garden or marry a neighbors�� son and merge the two farms. She cannot imagine selling so she chooses the later BUT can she go through with marriage to a man she does not love or is love possible? This is the dilemma Charlotte faces.
Of course my summary does not include the twists and turns present of which there are quite a few. Unfortunately I was able to predict them at about a quarter of the way through. The writing in general, with the exception of a few run on sentences, was nicely done. The main characters were adequately developed and the pacing of the book was even with each scene moving the plot forward.
I cannot recommend this book for readers like myself who are looking for more complex themes and storylines. However if a simple nicely told romance is what your looking for this just might be the book for you.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Heywood Press, through net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.]]> 4.18
author: Liz Harris
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2021/09/09
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves: arc, historical-fiction, kindle, read-2021
review:
Darjeeling inheritance is a historical romance, emphasis on the romance. In my twenties I would have loved this book. The more the romance the better, if there was an historical setting that was a bonus. Today in my sixties I find my reading tastes have done a 180. While enjoying some romance in a book,I’m looking for more historical detail and depth then this book offers. This is not said to slam the book, simply to point out a fact that may bias my review.
The book is a simple story, simply told. The main character is an 18 year old woman, Charlotte who has returned to India after an absence of 11 years during which she attended school in England. Upon her return she finds her much loved father died two days prior, leaving her the family’s tea garden as her inheritance. Being 1930’s India she is told she will not be able to successfully run the business because she a female. She is left with two choices sell the garden or marry a neighbors�� son and merge the two farms. She cannot imagine selling so she chooses the later BUT can she go through with marriage to a man she does not love or is love possible? This is the dilemma Charlotte faces.
Of course my summary does not include the twists and turns present of which there are quite a few. Unfortunately I was able to predict them at about a quarter of the way through. The writing in general, with the exception of a few run on sentences, was nicely done. The main characters were adequately developed and the pacing of the book was even with each scene moving the plot forward.
I cannot recommend this book for readers like myself who are looking for more complex themes and storylines. However if a simple nicely told romance is what your looking for this just might be the book for you.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Heywood Press, through net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.

Merged review:

Darjeeling inheritance is a historical romance, emphasis on the romance. In my twenties I would have loved this book. The more the romance the better, if there was an historical setting that was a bonus. Today in my sixties I find my reading tastes have done a 180. While enjoying some romance in a book,I’m looking for more historical detail and depth then this book offers. This is not said to slam the book, simply to point out a fact that may bias my review.
The book is a simple story, simply told. The main character is an 18 year old woman, Charlotte who has returned to India after an absence of 11 years during which she attended school in England. Upon her return she finds her much loved father died two days prior, leaving her the family’s tea garden as her inheritance. Being 1930’s India she is told she will not be able to successfully run the business because she a female. She is left with two choices sell the garden or marry a neighbors�� son and merge the two farms. She cannot imagine selling so she chooses the later BUT can she go through with marriage to a man she does not love or is love possible? This is the dilemma Charlotte faces.
Of course my summary does not include the twists and turns present of which there are quite a few. Unfortunately I was able to predict them at about a quarter of the way through. The writing in general, with the exception of a few run on sentences, was nicely done. The main characters were adequately developed and the pacing of the book was even with each scene moving the plot forward.
I cannot recommend this book for readers like myself who are looking for more complex themes and storylines. However if a simple nicely told romance is what your looking for this just might be the book for you.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Heywood Press, through net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.
]]> 16091639 The influence of the book was widespread. W. H. Auden praised it, during World War II, as one of the founding works of Western culture...

]]> 486 Jacob Grimm Cathy 0 to-read 4.09 1812
author: Jacob Grimm
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1812
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 6591062 398 Pam Jenoff 1552549178 Cathy 4 3.84 2007
author: Pam Jenoff
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2008/04/10
date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: historical-fiction, read-2013, kindle
review:
Library book. I would not normally choose a Harlequin Romance instead prefering Historical Fiction that stays very close to the historical record. I did not know Mira was a Harlequin inprint so I was drawn to this rather unique love story without reservations about the quality of the research. I am so glad I chose it. The story centers on Emma a young Jewish woman whose husband has gone to fight with the jewish resistance. Emma does her part for the resistance by changing herself into Anna a young catholic widow. She catches the eye of the leading Nazi commander Kommandant Richwalder and soon is working for him and spying for the resistance. As The kommandants affections for Anna increase Emma becomes torn. Living a lie with one man while loving yet betraying another. This novel explores Emma's precarious position well defining the danger Emma faces. We feel her fears yet we also feel her emotions and can understand how she is torn by them. The historical detail is well defined and researched. The authors extensive stay in Poland shows in her understanding of the people and their actions during the war. All in all a very pleasant read. I know I will get and read the follow-up!
]]> 247922
In her exile she finds a family of friends to replace the family she's lost: a native healer, Haleola, who becomes her adopted "auntie" and makes Rachel aware of the rich culture and mythology of her people; Sister Mary Catherine Voorhies, one of the Franciscan sisters who care for young girls at Kalaupapa; and the beautiful, worldly Leilani, who harbors a surprising secret. At Kalaupapa she also meets the man she will one day marry.

True to historical accounts, Moloka'i is the story of an extraordinary human drama, the full scope and pathos of which has never been told before in fiction. But Rachel's life, though shadowed by disease, isolation, and tragedy, is also one of joy, courage, and dignity. This is a story about life, not death; hope, not despair. It is not about the failings of flesh, but the strength of the human spirit.]]> 400 Alan Brennert 031230434X Cathy 4 4.16 2003
author: Alan Brennert
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2004/01/01
date added: 2024/05/23
shelves: historical-fiction, library-book, read-pre-2010, wish-to-re-read
review:

]]> 17303659
An ancient secret brotherhood.
A devastating new weapon of destruction.
An unthinkable target...

When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati... the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has surfaced from the shadows to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy... the Catholic Church.

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces he has hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.

Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair... a secret location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

An explosive international thriller, Angels & Demons careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.
--jacket]]> 480 Dan Brown Cathy 4 4.00 2000
author: Dan Brown
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2006/01/01
date added: 2024/04/06
shelves: library-book, read-pre-2010, thriller-paranormal
review:

]]> 5043 Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.

Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time the twelfth century; the place feudal England; and the subject the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape.

Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life.

The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.

For the TV tie-in edition with the same ISBN go to this Alternate Cover Edition
]]> 976 Ken Follett 045122213X Cathy 5 4.34 1989
author: Ken Follett
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at: 1995/01/01
date added: 2023/12/02
shelves: historical-fiction, read-pre-2010, kindle, currently-reading
review:

]]> 8686068
When Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that day, he finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he has ever investigated. Nothing quite makes sense, and it will take a genius to understand the genius behind this particular crime...]]> 298 Keigo Higashino 0312375069 Cathy 0 to-read, mystery-japanese 4.16 2005
author: Keigo Higashino
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/28
shelves: to-read, mystery-japanese
review:

]]> 59034559 All the Light We Cannot See and Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, a transportive historical novel about finding morality in the throes of war and colonization.

Released from Nazi forced labor as World War II ends, 20-year-old Sam is quickly drafted and sent to the island of Java to help regain control of the colony. But the Indonesian independence movement is far ahead of the Dutch, and Sam is thrown into a guerilla war, his loyalties challenged when his squad commits atrocities reminiscent of those he suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

Sam falls in love with both Sari and the beautiful island she calls home, but as he loses friends to sniper fire and jungle malady, he also loses sight of what he wants most -- to be a good man.]]> 336 Anne Lazurko 1770416196 Cathy 4 RTC 3.91
author: Anne Lazurko
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.91
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/27
date added: 2023/11/28
shelves: audiobook, historical-fiction, multicultural-fiction, read-2023
review:
RTC
]]> 57827502
May, 1917. Ginger Whitman left a life of wealth and privilege in England to train as a battlefield nurse and serve in the Great War. Working on the brutal frontlines in Palestine, she finds a wounded soldier hiding in her camp. The soldier claims to carry intelligence unmasking a secret plot against the British—and that traitors within British intelligence are searching for him. Desperate and dying, the soldier entrusts a coded message to her care.

Ginger is hurled into an unfamiliar world of intrigue and murder amidst the war-ravaged Arabian desert. She's determined to help her country but trusting the wrong person could cost her life. Then the arrival of mysterious and handsome British intelligence officer Major Noah Benson offers a chance of help. But Noah may be as dangerous as he is charming. As she’s swept away by stolen moments on the desert sands, Ginger realizes her heart may also be at risk.

Hunted by a shadowy enemy spy, Ginger must decide if she can trust Noah. But as she grapples with her decision, Ginger makes a shocking discovery: a sinister secret that threatens to shatter the world she thought she knew.]]> 435 Annabelle McCormack Cathy 5 The novel takes place in Egypt during WWI. Ginger is a young nurse attached to the British nurses corps. She is stationed at a forward hospital close to the front lines. The work is hard and the hours long but Ginger is strong, dedicated and loves her job. The storyline begins with her discovery of a severely wounded Turkish soldier. Policy dictates she report him immediately. The man begs her not to do so because he is in fact a spy for British intelligence and in possession of crucial information that if not gotten to the right person can devastate the British efforts and lead to many deaths. Furthermore his life is in danger from a traitor in British Intelligence and she must only trust the one person he wishes her to contact. Ginger puts everything on the line to help him. Ginger sends a telegram as instructed but two men show up. Steven a lifelong family friend who Ginger has turned down a marriage proposal from and a Major Noah Benson who treats Ginger with suspicions of his own. Who should she trust the information to and can the plot he alludes to be stopped?
For me accurate historical details supply plausibility to a story. Ms.McCormack has obviously done her research well. She uses the details to add depth to the settings within the book. They are not just window dressing they become integral parts of the storyline. I learned a lot about this area during. WWI that I had never known. When I can learn as I read for pleasure it’s an added bonus for me.
Windswept is not only enjoyable to read it is very well written. Characters,even secondary ones, are fully described lending an authenticity to the work. They act as one would expect for their times. Ginger, Though strong and opinionated will on occasion demure to the wishes of the men around her. She is a woman of 1917, not 2021. Dialogue is witty and believable keeping the prose entertaining. Pacing is even keeping the storyline moving forward. The plot has many twists and turns and some will come as complete surprises.
In addition to being historical fiction this book is also a great romance. Often the romance will take over a novel with everything else coming secondary. I could really enjoy this romance because it doesn’t do this. There is a perfect balance here. You will fall for the hero with this book. One caution for those who do not like love scenes that DON’T fade to black. There are several here. Personally I felt they were beautifully written and appropriate to the storyline, but you may find them too explicit.
The fact that this is a first novel is just unbelievable! This is the first book in what is described as a saga. I hope the author writes fast.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), and net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.

Update 11/24/23
Reread via audiobook. I will be keeping the 5 stars this second time. The only difference I noted was the tension. The decrease of it is easily explained by my remembering all the twists and turns once I got to approximately 30% . I thought I had forgotten Abit but I was wrong. I continued to listen despite this because I enjoy the story so much. I look forward to the second ook which I hope to start shortly.]]> 4.15 2021
author: Annabelle McCormack
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/25
date added: 2023/11/28
shelves: audiobook, arc, historical-fiction, romance, wish-to-re-read, read-2023
review:
I absolutely love this book! I usually reserve 5 star ratings for classics like To Kill A Mockingbird but occasionally a recently published novel will check all the boxes for me. Windswept has done this and therefore has IMO earned 5 stars. From many of the reviews I’ve read I’m not alone.
The novel takes place in Egypt during WWI. Ginger is a young nurse attached to the British nurses corps. She is stationed at a forward hospital close to the front lines. The work is hard and the hours long but Ginger is strong, dedicated and loves her job. The storyline begins with her discovery of a severely wounded Turkish soldier. Policy dictates she report him immediately. The man begs her not to do so because he is in fact a spy for British intelligence and in possession of crucial information that if not gotten to the right person can devastate the British efforts and lead to many deaths. Furthermore his life is in danger from a traitor in British Intelligence and she must only trust the one person he wishes her to contact. Ginger puts everything on the line to help him. Ginger sends a telegram as instructed but two men show up. Steven a lifelong family friend who Ginger has turned down a marriage proposal from and a Major Noah Benson who treats Ginger with suspicions of his own. Who should she trust the information to and can the plot he alludes to be stopped?
For me accurate historical details supply plausibility to a story. Ms.McCormack has obviously done her research well. She uses the details to add depth to the settings within the book. They are not just window dressing they become integral parts of the storyline. I learned a lot about this area during. WWI that I had never known. When I can learn as I read for pleasure it’s an added bonus for me.
Windswept is not only enjoyable to read it is very well written. Characters,even secondary ones, are fully described lending an authenticity to the work. They act as one would expect for their times. Ginger, Though strong and opinionated will on occasion demure to the wishes of the men around her. She is a woman of 1917, not 2021. Dialogue is witty and believable keeping the prose entertaining. Pacing is even keeping the storyline moving forward. The plot has many twists and turns and some will come as complete surprises.
In addition to being historical fiction this book is also a great romance. Often the romance will take over a novel with everything else coming secondary. I could really enjoy this romance because it doesn’t do this. There is a perfect balance here. You will fall for the hero with this book. One caution for those who do not like love scenes that DON’T fade to black. There are several here. Personally I felt they were beautifully written and appropriate to the storyline, but you may find them too explicit.
The fact that this is a first novel is just unbelievable! This is the first book in what is described as a saga. I hope the author writes fast.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), and net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.

Update 11/24/23
Reread via audiobook. I will be keeping the 5 stars this second time. The only difference I noted was the tension. The decrease of it is easily explained by my remembering all the twists and turns once I got to approximately 30% . I thought I had forgotten Abit but I was wrong. I continued to listen despite this because I enjoy the story so much. I look forward to the second ook which I hope to start shortly.
]]> 63251940
Told in a series of voices, Calling for a Blanket Dance takes us into the life of Ever Geimausaddle through the multigenerational perspectives of his family as they face myriad obstacles. His father’s injury at the hands of corrupt police, his mother's struggle to hold on to her job and care for her husband, the constant resettlement of the family, and the legacy of centuries of injustice all intensify Ever’s bottled-up rage. Meanwhile, all of Ever’s relatives have ideas about who he is and who he should be. His Cherokee grandmother urges the family to move across Oklahoma to find security; his grandfather hopes to reunite him with his heritage through traditional gourd dances; his Kiowa cousin reminds him that he’s connected to an ancestral past. And once an adult, Ever must take the strength given to him by his relatives to save not only himself but also the next generation of family.

How will this young man visualize a place for himself when the world hasn’t given him a place to start with? Honest, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, Calling for a Blanket Dance is the story of how Ever Geimausaddle found his way to home.]]> 288 Oscar Hokeah 1643753916 Cathy 0 to-read 4.21 2022
author: Oscar Hokeah
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60322697 The Scout of Wounded Knee lifts the veil of romance from the western genre, blending historical and fictional characters to paint an uncompromising and compelling picture of post-Civil War America.
Told through the memories of an aged frontier scout, this standalone follow-up to Michael A. McLellan’s In the Shadow of the Hanging Tree, is a story of friendship, love, remorse, and the end of a way of life in the American west.]]> 380 Michael A. McLellan Cathy 0 to-read 4.71 2022
author: Michael A. McLellan
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.71
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 123176586 Bestselling author of the Queen of the Tearling series, Erika Johansen, journeys to a new kingdom in this brilliant stand-alone novel—a darkly magical take on The Nutcracker where two sisters, cursed from birth, are forever changed one memorable Christmas. . . .

Light and dark—this is the destiny placed upon Natasha and Clara, the birthright bestowed by their godfather, the mysterious sorcerer Drosselmeyer. Clara, the favorite, grows into beauty and ease, while Natasha is cursed to live in her sister’s shadow. But one fateful Christmas Eve, Natasha gets her chance at revenge. For Drosselmeyer has brought the Nutcracker, an enchanted present that offers entry into a deceptively beautiful world: the Kingdom of Sweets.

In this land of snow and sugar, Natasha is presented with a power far greater than Drosselmeyer: the Sugar Plum Fairy, who is also full of gifts . . . and dreadful bargains. As Natasha uncovers the dark destiny laid before her birth, she must reckon with powers both earthly and magical, and decide to which world she truly belongs.]]> 354 Erika Johansen 1524742759 Cathy 0 to-read 3.21 2023
author: Erika Johansen
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 9215834 From the Edgar Award–winning author of Bone Rattler. “Evocative language, tight plotting, and memorable characters make this a standout�� (Publishers Weekly, starred review).With the aid of the Native American Shaman Conawago, Duncan McCallum has begun to heal from the massacre of his Highland clan by the British. But his new life is shattered when he and Conawago discover a dying Virginian officer nailed to an Indian shrine tree. To their horror, the authorities arrest Conawago and schedule his hanging. As Duncan begins a desperate search for the truth, he finds himself in a maelstrom of deception and violence.The year is 1760, and while the British army wishes to dismiss the killing as another casualty of its war with France, Duncan discovers a pattern of ritualistic murders related to provincial treaty negotiations and struggles between tribal factions. Ultimately he realizes that to find justice, he must brave the sprawling colonial capital of Philadelphia. There the answers are to be found in a tangle of Quakers, Christian Indians, and a scientist obsessed with the electrical experiments of the celebrated Dr. Franklin. With the tragic resolution in sight, Duncan understands the real mysteries underlying his quest lie in the hearts of natives who, like his Highland Scots, have glimpsed the end of their world approaching.“The pleasures of Eliot Pattison’s books, and Eye of the Raven is another smashing example, are high adventure in perilous landscapes, a hero stubbornly seeking the truth, and the haunting mysteries of ancient cultures.�� —Otto Penzler, editor of The Big Book of Female Detectives]]> 402 Eliot Pattison 1582436827 Cathy 4 4.32 2009
author: Eliot Pattison
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/20
date added: 2023/11/21
shelves: historical-fiction, kindle, read-2016, non-fiction, read-2023
review:

]]> 59609071
As the war turns deadlier, Greece’s Queen Frederica takes a defiant stand against the communists, announcing that she will save the children of Greece by opening children’s villages. The communist partisans continue their campaign, countering the Queen’s villages with children’s camps of their own. Entire villages are emptied, thousands of children are taken by the truckload, ripped from their mothers�� arms and transported to communist countries across the border.

Having suffered their own set of tragedies, Marco and his mother are desperate for help. Marco turns to his best friend, Katerina, for distraction and scraps from her family’s table. His mother knows there is only one way to save what remains of her family.

When communists reach the village, loyalties are tested as devastating secrets threaten to emerge. Marco is sent to the queen’s village while Katerina and her family flee on foot. But before their final tearful goodbye, Marco and Katerina make a promise, vowing to find their way back home to their tiny village and to one another, setting into motion events that will take decades to unravel.

Set among Corfu’s picturesque cobblestone lanes, villages, and villas, Where the Wandering Ends is layered with the history of the Greek royal family and Greek mythology and reminds us of the power and magic of a mother’s love. Peasant. Goddess. Queen. Whether she is born in a palace or in poverty, there is no sacrifice or sin a mother wouldn’t commit to save her child.]]> 400 Yvette Manessis Corporon 140023607X Cathy 2 read-2023 DNF @47%. Review to follow. 3.90 2022
author: Yvette Manessis Corporon
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2023/11/04
date added: 2023/11/21
shelves: read-2023
review:
DNF @47%. Review to follow.
]]> 59807978
When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows––while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which?

In this sensuous and hypnotizing tale, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country's complicated past, and learns that America's ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel's story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a "real" American in the first half of the 19th century, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of "unusual" women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined, Hester is a timeless tale of art, ambition, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down.

A vivid reimagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne, the tragic heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and a journey into the enduring legacy of New England's witchcraft trials.]]> 322 Laurie Lico Albanese 1250278554 Cathy 5 3.94 2022
author: Laurie Lico Albanese
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/21
date added: 2023/11/21
shelves: arc, historical-fiction, audiobook, read-2023
review:

]]> 122993405
In 1919, far-flung Korean patriots establish the Korean Provisional Government to protest the Japanese occupation of their country. This government-in-exile proves mostly symbolic, though, and after Japan’s defeat in World War II, the KPG dissolves and civil war erupts, resulting in the North-South split that remains today.

But what if the KPG still existed now, today—working toward a unified Korea, secretly harnessing the might of a giant tech company to further its aims? That’s the outrageous premise of Same Bed Different Dreams, which weaves together three distinct narrative voices and an archive of mysterious images and twists reality like a kaleidoscope, spinning Korean history, American pop culture, and our tech-fraught lives into an extraordinary and unforgettable novel.

Early on we meet Soon Sheen, who works at the sprawling international technology company GLOAT, and comes into possession of an unfinished book authored by the KPG. The manuscript is a mysterious, revisionist history, tying famous names and obscure bit players to the KPG’s grand project. This strange manuscript links together figures from architect-poet Yi Sang to Jack London to Marilyn Monroe. M*A*S*H is in here, too, and the Moonies, and a history of violence extending from the assassination of President McKinley to the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007.

Just as foreign countries have imposed their desires on Korea, so too has Park tucked different dreamers into this sprawling bed of a novel. Among them: Parker Jotter, Korean War vet and appliance-store owner, who saw something--a UFO?--while flying over North Korea; Nora You, nail salon magnate; and Monk Zingapan, game designer turned writing guru. Their links are revealed over time, even as the dreamers remain in the dark as to their own interconnectedness. A thrilling feat of imagination and a step forward from an award-winning author, Same Bed Different Dreams begins as a comic novel and gradually pulls readers into another dimension—one in which utopia is possible.]]> 528 Ed Park 0812998979 Cathy 0 to-read 3.73 2023
author: Ed Park
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 96178191
From the Gwangju Massacre to the 1988 Olympics, flashbacks to Korean repatriation after Japanese surrender, and the Sewol ferry accident, E. J. Koh’s exquisitely drawn portraits and symphonic testimony from guards, prisoners, perpetrators, and liberators spans continents and four generations of two Korean families forever changed by fateful past decisions made in love and war. Extraordinarily beautiful and deeply moving, The Liberators is an elegantly wrought family saga of memory, trauma, and empathy, and a stunning testament to the consequences and fortunes of inheritance.]]> 240 E.J. Koh 1959030159 Cathy 0 to-read 3.43 2023
author: E.J. Koh
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 3419681
In the autumn of 1876, nineteen-year-old orphan Esperanza Gorst arrives at the great country house of Evenwood in Northamptonshire. There she will serve as the new lady's maid to the former Emily Carteret, now Lady Tansor. But Esperanza is no ordinary servant. She has been sent by her guardian, the mysterious Madame de l'Orme, to uncover the secrets that her new mistress has sought to conceal - and to set right a past injustice in which her own life is intertwined.

Unable to escape the reverberations of past misdeeds, Lady Tansor finds herself desperate to keep Esperanza from learning dark, dangerous truths.

As well as a page-turning period mystery, The Glass of Time is a beautifully written and vividly imagined study of seduction, betrayal, and friendship between two powerful women bound together by the past.]]> 586 Michael Cox 0393067734 Cathy 4 4.00 2008
author: Michael Cox
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2008/01/01
date added: 2023/10/08
shelves: historical-fiction, library-book, read-pre-2010
review:

]]> 56179372 Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.

A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger �� only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.

Enter Slewfoot, a powerful spirit of antiquity newly woken ... and trying to find his own role in the world. Healer or destroyer? Protector or predator? But as the shadows walk and villagers start dying, a new rumor is whispered: Witch.

Both Abitha and Slewfoot must swiftly decide who they are, and what they must do to survive in a world intent on hanging any who meddle in the dark arts.

Complete with 8 pages of Brom’s mesmerizing full-color artwork and chapter illustrations throughout, his latest book is sure to delight.]]> 305 Brom 125062200X Cathy 4 The story centers on Abitha, a young wife who grew up in London and was sold into marriage,by her father, to a Puritan man living in Sutton , CT. Abitha finds that the life is hard but life amongst the Puritans is even harder. Though the marriage was arranged real affection grows between the couple. The main problem they face is the debt they owe her husband Edward’s brother Wallace. Once it is paid they will own the farm they are working on. Wallace despises Abitha because she is a strong outspoken woman in a society that believes women are inferior to men and should not speak unless spoken to. When Edward dies in an “accident�� the pressure to bring in the crop alone intensifies. Add to the story that a blood craving spirit is awakening and you have a great tale going.
I truly loved this book. Bron does an excellent job defining each character well, even the minor ones. As you can see from the description above,which only touches the surface of the storyline, Bron has created a rich complex plot.
I read this using an audiobook. I highly recommend this choice! The narrator is a very talented actress who creates each scene as if she were staging a play. I was fully immersed in each chapter. I give it 4.5 stars.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio and net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.


Merged review:

Slewfoot is a tale reminiscent of the Salam witch trials.but it’s so much more. If you think this is a simple retelling of Salem you’d be so wrong. What if there really were devils in this world. And magic existed hand and hand with nature? What if devils could be conflicted? All are questions explored by Brom
The story centers on Abitha, a young wife who grew up in London and was sold into marriage,by her father, to a Puritan man living in Sutton , CT. Abitha finds that the life is hard but life amongst the Puritans is even harder. Though the marriage was arranged real affection grows between the couple. The main problem they face is the debt they owe her husband Edward’s brother Wallace. Once it is paid they will own the farm they are working on. Wallace despises Abitha because she is a strong outspoken woman in a society that believes women are inferior to men and should not speak unless spoken to. When Edward dies in an “accident�� the pressure to bring in the crop alone intensifies. Add to the story that a blood craving spirit is awakening and you have a great tale going.
I truly loved this book. Bron does an excellent job defining each character well, even the minor ones. As you can see from the description above,which only touches the surface of the storyline, Bron has created a rich complex plot.
I read this using an audiobook. I highly recommend this choice! The narrator is a very talented actress who creates each scene as if she were staging a play. I was fully immersed in each chapter. I give it 4.5 stars.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio and net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.]]> 4.23 2021
author: Brom
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/09/15
date added: 2023/09/28
shelves: arc, audiobook, horror, fantasy, historical-fiction, read-2021
review:
Slewfoot is a tale reminiscent of the Salam witch trials.but it’s so much more. If you think this is a simple retelling of Salem you’d be so wrong. What if there really were devils in this world. And magic existed hand and hand with nature? What if devils could be conflicted? All are questions explored by Brom
The story centers on Abitha, a young wife who grew up in London and was sold into marriage,by her father, to a Puritan man living in Sutton , CT. Abitha finds that the life is hard but life amongst the Puritans is even harder. Though the marriage was arranged real affection grows between the couple. The main problem they face is the debt they owe her husband Edward’s brother Wallace. Once it is paid they will own the farm they are working on. Wallace despises Abitha because she is a strong outspoken woman in a society that believes women are inferior to men and should not speak unless spoken to. When Edward dies in an “accident�� the pressure to bring in the crop alone intensifies. Add to the story that a blood craving spirit is awakening and you have a great tale going.
I truly loved this book. Bron does an excellent job defining each character well, even the minor ones. As you can see from the description above,which only touches the surface of the storyline, Bron has created a rich complex plot.
I read this using an audiobook. I highly recommend this choice! The narrator is a very talented actress who creates each scene as if she were staging a play. I was fully immersed in each chapter. I give it 4.5 stars.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio and net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.


Merged review:

Slewfoot is a tale reminiscent of the Salam witch trials.but it’s so much more. If you think this is a simple retelling of Salem you’d be so wrong. What if there really were devils in this world. And magic existed hand and hand with nature? What if devils could be conflicted? All are questions explored by Brom
The story centers on Abitha, a young wife who grew up in London and was sold into marriage,by her father, to a Puritan man living in Sutton , CT. Abitha finds that the life is hard but life amongst the Puritans is even harder. Though the marriage was arranged real affection grows between the couple. The main problem they face is the debt they owe her husband Edward’s brother Wallace. Once it is paid they will own the farm they are working on. Wallace despises Abitha because she is a strong outspoken woman in a society that believes women are inferior to men and should not speak unless spoken to. When Edward dies in an “accident�� the pressure to bring in the crop alone intensifies. Add to the story that a blood craving spirit is awakening and you have a great tale going.
I truly loved this book. Bron does an excellent job defining each character well, even the minor ones. As you can see from the description above,which only touches the surface of the storyline, Bron has created a rich complex plot.
I read this using an audiobook. I highly recommend this choice! The narrator is a very talented actress who creates each scene as if she were staging a play. I was fully immersed in each chapter. I give it 4.5 stars.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio and net galley. This fact in no way influenced my review.
]]> 61070392 Edmond Rostand 1666582735 Cathy 0 to-read 4.19 1897
author: Edmond Rostand
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1897
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 10217 256 M.M. Kaye 0312263104 Cathy 0 to-read 3.94 1953
author: M.M. Kaye
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1953
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 4965
Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition.

As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love.

As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. ]]> 304 Geraldine Brooks 0142001430 Cathy 0 4.00 2001
author: Geraldine Brooks
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/30
shelves: to-read, kindle, historical-fiction, own
review:

]]> 57933338 The epic story of Violeta del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century.

Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first girl in a family of five boisterous sons. From the start, her life will be marked by extraordinary events, for the ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth.

Through her father's prescience, the family will come through that crisis unscathed, only to face a new one as the Great Depression transforms the genteel city life she has known. Her family loses all and is forced to retreat to a wild and beautiful but remote part of the country. There, she will come of age, and her first suitor will come calling. . . .

She tells her story in the form of a letter to someone she loves above all others, recounting devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, times of both poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy. Her life will be shaped by some of the most important events of history: the fight for women's rights, the rise and fall of tyrants, and, ultimately, not one but two pandemics.

Told through the eyes of a woman whose unforgettable passion, determination, and sense of humor will carry her through a lifetime of upheaval, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and deeply emotional.]]> 322 Isabel Allende 0593496205 Cathy 2
This is the hardest review I’ve ever had to write. Isabel Allende is a favorite author of mine, having read 4 of her books which I enjoyed very much. In addition this book has generated mostly 4 and 5 star reviews. I feel I must have read a different book since I can’t agree. Since i’m definitely in the minority here PLEASE take the time to check out other reviews before deciding to not read this book!
The storyline is simple. It is 2020 and Violeta is 100 years old and feels her death drawing near. She wishes to leave her life story with her grandson,Camilo so writes him a long letter detailing all she has seen and experienced along the way. I should probably not have requested this title since I’m the type that prefers to be shown what happened not told. The letter format was almost all tell and no show. Also for a good amount of he book Violeta recites the events with a flat, almost monotone voice. It felt like she was relating events that had nothing to do with her.
I did chose this book since Chilean history is not something.I was very familiar with. Violeta’s life is literally bookended by pandemics. She was born in 1920 the year the Spanish Influenza Reached Chile. She expects to die in 2020 the year the world was overtaken by Covid 19. In between those years the world experienced much turmoil and I looked forward to learning a great deal of history while reading. Unfortunately this did not happen. For example WWII and the immediate aftermath was literally handled with one small paragraph stating that it didn’t affect her directly so she paid no attention when “the men�� were discussing it. What a wasted opportunity! It is well known that many German war criminals escaped Europe to South America surely a great adventurous story could have been crafted to boost a pretty boring storyline.
Despite a very promising beginning where Violetas�� character appears to be a strong, intelligent and courageous young woman who is willing to challenge the social traditions that stifle women once she meets Julian this all changes. Julian is a charming pilot that comes into her life early in her marriage and sweeps her off her feet and away from her husband. Julian is a flawed character. He is a hard drinking, womanizing man who is often away flying anyone who wants service even those from the criminal world. Their relationship soon becomes abusive. He is physically abusive to her and emotionally and verbally abusive to their children. Try as I might I could not understand her decisions for staying. She was not dependent financially, she was financially secure and didn’t need him for her livelihood. I think it was more that she seemed to be addicted to the passion they had for each other. She rarely if ever discussed her love for him, that I could understand, but she does talk a great deal about their sexual connection and lust for each other. After an altercation she’d be ready to end the relationship but he would seduce her into bed and she would stay. I do understand domestic violence well and know that each woman stays for reasons that are unique to her relationship. I just never could discern her reasons. I am very empathetic to any person caught in such a destructive and dangerous relationship I just couldn’t extend that empathy to her.
I could give other examples of why I did not like the book but to do so I would have to include spoilers. That is something I won’t do. I can only repeat that my opinion is definitely in the minority here and you should take that into account when making your decision.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Ballantine Books and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.


Merged review:

2.5 disappointing stars ⭐️,

This is the hardest review I’ve ever had to write. Isabel Allende is a favorite author of mine, having read 4 of her books which I enjoyed very much. In addition this book has generated mostly 4 and 5 star reviews. I feel I must have read a different book since I can’t agree. Since i’m definitely in the minority here PLEASE take the time to check out other reviews before deciding to not read this book!
The storyline is simple. It is 2020 and Violeta is 100 years old and feels her death drawing near. She wishes to leave her life story with her grandson,Camilo so writes him a long letter detailing all she has seen and experienced along the way. I should probably not have requested this title since I’m the type that prefers to be shown what happened not told. The letter format was almost all tell and no show. Also for a good amount of he book Violeta recites the events with a flat, almost monotone voice. It felt like she was relating events that had nothing to do with her.
I did chose this book since Chilean history is not something.I was very familiar with. Violeta’s life is literally bookended by pandemics. She was born in 1920 the year the Spanish Influenza Reached Chile. She expects to die in 2020 the year the world was overtaken by Covid 19. In between those years the world experienced much turmoil and I looked forward to learning a great deal of history while reading. Unfortunately this did not happen. For example WWII and the immediate aftermath was literally handled with one small paragraph stating that it didn’t affect her directly so she paid no attention when “the men�� were discussing it. What a wasted opportunity! It is well known that many German war criminals escaped Europe to South America surely a great adventurous story could have been crafted to boost a pretty boring storyline.
Despite a very promising beginning where Violetas�� character appears to be a strong, intelligent and courageous young woman who is willing to challenge the social traditions that stifle women once she meets Julian this all changes. Julian is a charming pilot that comes into her life early in her marriage and sweeps her off her feet and away from her husband. Julian is a flawed character. He is a hard drinking, womanizing man who is often away flying anyone who wants service even those from the criminal world. Their relationship soon becomes abusive. He is physically abusive to her and emotionally and verbally abusive to their children. Try as I might I could not understand her decisions for staying. She was not dependent financially, she was financially secure and didn’t need him for her livelihood. I think it was more that she seemed to be addicted to the passion they had for each other. She rarely if ever discussed her love for him, that I could understand, but she does talk a great deal about their sexual connection and lust for each other. After an altercation she’d be ready to end the relationship but he would seduce her into bed and she would stay. I do understand domestic violence well and know that each woman stays for reasons that are unique to her relationship. I just never could discern her reasons. I am very empathetic to any person caught in such a destructive and dangerous relationship I just couldn’t extend that empathy to her.
I could give other examples of why I did not like the book but to do so I would have to include spoilers. That is something I won’t do. I can only repeat that my opinion is definitely in the minority here and you should take that into account when making your decision.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Ballantine Books and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.]]> 3.97 2022
author: Isabel Allende
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2022/08/26
date added: 2023/06/06
shelves: arc, historical-fiction, kindle, own, read-2022
review:
2.5 disappointing stars ⭐️,

This is the hardest review I’ve ever had to write. Isabel Allende is a favorite author of mine, having read 4 of her books which I enjoyed very much. In addition this book has generated mostly 4 and 5 star reviews. I feel I must have read a different book since I can’t agree. Since i’m definitely in the minority here PLEASE take the time to check out other reviews before deciding to not read this book!
The storyline is simple. It is 2020 and Violeta is 100 years old and feels her death drawing near. She wishes to leave her life story with her grandson,Camilo so writes him a long letter detailing all she has seen and experienced along the way. I should probably not have requested this title since I’m the type that prefers to be shown what happened not told. The letter format was almost all tell and no show. Also for a good amount of he book Violeta recites the events with a flat, almost monotone voice. It felt like she was relating events that had nothing to do with her.
I did chose this book since Chilean history is not something.I was very familiar with. Violeta’s life is literally bookended by pandemics. She was born in 1920 the year the Spanish Influenza Reached Chile. She expects to die in 2020 the year the world was overtaken by Covid 19. In between those years the world experienced much turmoil and I looked forward to learning a great deal of history while reading. Unfortunately this did not happen. For example WWII and the immediate aftermath was literally handled with one small paragraph stating that it didn’t affect her directly so she paid no attention when “the men�� were discussing it. What a wasted opportunity! It is well known that many German war criminals escaped Europe to South America surely a great adventurous story could have been crafted to boost a pretty boring storyline.
Despite a very promising beginning where Violetas�� character appears to be a strong, intelligent and courageous young woman who is willing to challenge the social traditions that stifle women once she meets Julian this all changes. Julian is a charming pilot that comes into her life early in her marriage and sweeps her off her feet and away from her husband. Julian is a flawed character. He is a hard drinking, womanizing man who is often away flying anyone who wants service even those from the criminal world. Their relationship soon becomes abusive. He is physically abusive to her and emotionally and verbally abusive to their children. Try as I might I could not understand her decisions for staying. She was not dependent financially, she was financially secure and didn’t need him for her livelihood. I think it was more that she seemed to be addicted to the passion they had for each other. She rarely if ever discussed her love for him, that I could understand, but she does talk a great deal about their sexual connection and lust for each other. After an altercation she’d be ready to end the relationship but he would seduce her into bed and she would stay. I do understand domestic violence well and know that each woman stays for reasons that are unique to her relationship. I just never could discern her reasons. I am very empathetic to any person caught in such a destructive and dangerous relationship I just couldn’t extend that empathy to her.
I could give other examples of why I did not like the book but to do so I would have to include spoilers. That is something I won’t do. I can only repeat that my opinion is definitely in the minority here and you should take that into account when making your decision.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Ballantine Books and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.


Merged review:

2.5 disappointing stars ⭐️,

This is the hardest review I’ve ever had to write. Isabel Allende is a favorite author of mine, having read 4 of her books which I enjoyed very much. In addition this book has generated mostly 4 and 5 star reviews. I feel I must have read a different book since I can’t agree. Since i’m definitely in the minority here PLEASE take the time to check out other reviews before deciding to not read this book!
The storyline is simple. It is 2020 and Violeta is 100 years old and feels her death drawing near. She wishes to leave her life story with her grandson,Camilo so writes him a long letter detailing all she has seen and experienced along the way. I should probably not have requested this title since I’m the type that prefers to be shown what happened not told. The letter format was almost all tell and no show. Also for a good amount of he book Violeta recites the events with a flat, almost monotone voice. It felt like she was relating events that had nothing to do with her.
I did chose this book since Chilean history is not something.I was very familiar with. Violeta’s life is literally bookended by pandemics. She was born in 1920 the year the Spanish Influenza Reached Chile. She expects to die in 2020 the year the world was overtaken by Covid 19. In between those years the world experienced much turmoil and I looked forward to learning a great deal of history while reading. Unfortunately this did not happen. For example WWII and the immediate aftermath was literally handled with one small paragraph stating that it didn’t affect her directly so she paid no attention when “the men�� were discussing it. What a wasted opportunity! It is well known that many German war criminals escaped Europe to South America surely a great adventurous story could have been crafted to boost a pretty boring storyline.
Despite a very promising beginning where Violetas�� character appears to be a strong, intelligent and courageous young woman who is willing to challenge the social traditions that stifle women once she meets Julian this all changes. Julian is a charming pilot that comes into her life early in her marriage and sweeps her off her feet and away from her husband. Julian is a flawed character. He is a hard drinking, womanizing man who is often away flying anyone who wants service even those from the criminal world. Their relationship soon becomes abusive. He is physically abusive to her and emotionally and verbally abusive to their children. Try as I might I could not understand her decisions for staying. She was not dependent financially, she was financially secure and didn’t need him for her livelihood. I think it was more that she seemed to be addicted to the passion they had for each other. She rarely if ever discussed her love for him, that I could understand, but she does talk a great deal about their sexual connection and lust for each other. After an altercation she’d be ready to end the relationship but he would seduce her into bed and she would stay. I do understand domestic violence well and know that each woman stays for reasons that are unique to her relationship. I just never could discern her reasons. I am very empathetic to any person caught in such a destructive and dangerous relationship I just couldn’t extend that empathy to her.
I could give other examples of why I did not like the book but to do so I would have to include spoilers. That is something I won’t do. I can only repeat that my opinion is definitely in the minority here and you should take that into account when making your decision.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Ballantine Books and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.
]]> 59584300
They help two German POWs escape, are caught, court-martialed, convicted and given long sentences. One was sentenced to hang. Ten years later, they are successful businessmen.]]> 406 William Sonn Cathy 0 to-read 3.58
author: William Sonn
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.58
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62970088 A rural New Zealand vacation turns poisonous.

Antiquities expert Annalisse Drury and tycoon Alec Zavos are at an impasse in their relationship when Alec refuses to clear up a paternity issue with an ex-lover.

Frustrated with his avoidance when their future is at stake, Annalisse accepts an invitation from an acquaintance to fly to New Zealand—hoping to escape the recent turbulence in her life.

But even Annalisse’s cottage idyll on the family sheep farm isn’t immune to intrigue.

Alec sends a mutual friend and detective, Bill Drake, to follow her, and a local resident who accompanies them from the Christchurch airport dies mysteriously soon after. A second violent death finds Annalisse and Bill at odds with the official investigations.

The local police want to close both cases as quickly as possible—without unearthing the town’s dirty secrets.

As she and Bill pursue their own leads at serious cost, the dual mysteries force Annalisse to question everything she thought she knew about family ties, politics, and the art of small-town betrayal.]]> 340 Marlene M. Bell 0999539493 Cathy 0 to-read 4.41
author: Marlene M. Bell
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.41
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58066018 For fans of I'm Not Dying with You Tonight, this gripping YA novel digs into the historical and present-day effects of white supremacy and the depths of privilege.

Shania never thinks much about being white. But after her beloved grandmother passes, she moves to the gentrifying town of Blue Rock and is thrust into Bard, the city's wealthiest private school. At Bard, race is both invisible and hypervisible, and Shania's new friends are split on what they see. There's Catherine, the school's queen bee, who unexpectedly takes Shania under her wing. Then there's Prescott, the golden boy who seems perfect…except for the disturbing rumors about an altercation he had with a Black student who left the school.

But Prescott isn't the only one with secrets. As Shania grieves for the grandmother she idolized, she realizes her family roots stretch far back into Blue Rock's history. When the truth comes to light, Shania will have to make a choice and face the violence of her silence.]]> 384 Olivia A. Cole 0759554129 Cathy 0 to-read 3.33 2022
author: Olivia A. Cole
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/10/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 30298566
The case affords Paul entry to the heady world of high society--the glittering parties in Gramercy Park mansions, and the more insidious dealings done behind closed doors. The task facing him is beyond daunting. Edison is a wily, dangerous opponent with vast resources at his disposal--private spies, newspapers in his pocket, and the backing of J. P. Morgan himself. Yet this unknown lawyer shares with his famous adversary a compulsion to win at all costs. How will he do it?

In obsessive pursuit of victory, Paul crosses paths with Nikola Tesla, an eccentric, brilliant inventor who may hold the key to defeating Edison, and with Agnes Huntington, a beautiful opera singer who proves to be a flawless performer on stage and off. As Paul takes greater and greater risks, he'll find that everyone in his path is playing their own game, and no one is quite who they seem.]]> 370 Graham Moore Cathy 0 to-read 4.34 2016
author: Graham Moore
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60177373 Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.�� And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.]]> 607 Stephen King 1668002175 Cathy 0 to-read 4.05 2022
author: Stephen King
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58479603 When a small-town family is pushed to the brink, how far will they go to protect one of their own? A propulsive, gets-under-your-skin read about what we will do in the name of love and blood

Tony has always looked out for his younger brother, Nick. So when he's called to a hospital bed where Nick is lying battered and bruised after a violent attack, his protective instincts flare, and a white-hot rage begins to build.

Nick didn't ask for any of this. One moment he was partying at college; the next, he was at the center of an investigation threatening to tear not only him, but his entire family, apart. The real trouble? He can't remember a thing about what happened at the bar that night. And now his attacker, out on bail, is disputing Nick's version of what happened.

Tony's wife, Julia, always knew that her husband's younger brother would be a huge part of their lives. As a a small-town New England lawyer, she works with kids like Nick all the time. She is determined to use her professional connections and keen intellect to make the best possible case for Nick. When Detective Rice gets assigned to the case, Julia feels they're in good hands. Especially because she senses that Rice, too, understands how things can quickly get complicated. Very complicated.

As Julia tries to help her brother-in-law, she sees Tony's desire for revenge growing by the day. She wants justice for Nick, too, but Tony's preoccupation is scaring her. And before long, she finds herself asking: does she really know what her husband is capable of? Or of what she herself is?

Exploring elements of doubt, tragedy, suspense, and justice, The Damage is an all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.]]> 390 Caitlin Wahrer Cathy 0 to-read 4.19 2021
author: Caitlin Wahrer
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55196588
Daughter of New York financier Leonard Jerome, Jennie was born into wealth—and scandal. Upon her parents�� separation, her mother took Jennie and her sisters to Paris, where Mrs. Jerome was determined to marry her daughters into the most elite families. The glamorous city became their tumultuous finishing school until it fell to revolt.

Fleeing to Queen Victoria’s England, Jennie soon caught the eye of aristocrat Randolph Spencer-Churchill, son of the Duke of Marlborough, one of Britain’s loftiest peers. It was love at first sight, their unconventional marriage driven by mutual ambition and the birth of two sons. Undeterred by premature widowhood or society’s rigid expectations, Jennie brashly carried on a lifelong intimate friendship with Edward, Prince of Wales—a notorious bon vivant—and had two later marriages to younger men. When her son Winston launched his brilliant political career, Jennie guided him to success, his most vocal and valuable supporter.

By turns scandalous, tragic, and exciting, Jennie Jerome lived an unconventional life full of defiance—one that enshrined her as an American adventuress.]]> 352 C.W. Gortner 0063035812 Cathy 0 to-read 4.28 2022
author: C.W. Gortner
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51951476
In 1909, Clementine steps off a train with her new husband, Winston. An angry woman emerges from the crowd to attack, shoving him in the direction of an oncoming train. Just before he stumbles, Clementine grabs him by his suit jacket. This will not be the last time Clementine Churchill will save her husband.

Lady Clementine is the ferocious story of the ambitious woman beside Winston Churchill, the story of a partner who did not flinch through the sweeping darkness of war, and who would not surrender either to expectations or to enemies.]]> 402 Marie Benedict 1492666912 Cathy 0 to-read 4.13 2020
author: Marie Benedict
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58738195
She fights off an attack by a nobleman, and the only way to save herself is to flee to the colony of Canada as a Daughter of the King. She can have money, protection, and a new life - if she adopts the religion she's spent a lifetime fighting. She must leave her homeland and the promises of her past. In the wild land of Canada, Isabelle finds that her search for love and faith has just begun.

Based on the incredible true story of the French orphans who settled Canada, Daughter of the King is a sweeping tale of one young woman's fight for true freedom. Kerry Chaput brings the past to life, expertly weaving a gripping saga with vivid historical details. Jump back in time on a thrilling adventure with an unforgettable heroine.]]> 248 Kerry Chaput 1684338379 Cathy 4 It is in this world that our protagonist, Isabelle is born and raised. As a young woman it is she who must venture out into town to obtain her mothers and her own daily staples. As a strong, courageous woman she is well suited to the task. That is until a decree comes down declaring all property of the Huguenots forfeit and that they should leave town or face the consequences. I don’t want to tell too much of the story here since it’s a wonderful tale best told by the author. Suffice it to say she and her mother flee their home and thus Isabelle takes her first step on a journey that will take her from her small French town to the NewWorld.
Overall this is a well written novel. There is a Nice even pace throughout the book. Each scene advances the plot and reinforces our understanding of Isabelle’s situation and shows the untenable position the Huguenots were forced into. Ms Chaput has done an admirable job with her character development. The main character, Isabelle is fully fleshed out. We know her strengths and weaknesses and the motivations behind her actions though not always agreed with by this reader. At first I thought her outspokenness and fierce strength was out of place in 17th century France and Canada but as I thought about it I realized that it would take just the qualities she possesses to accept the kings offer, to leave ones homeland all alone and sail off into a unknown and alien world. It would take a woman possessed of Incredible inner strength and courage. Each of the women who travel with her possess these qualities, most just don’t know it. Isabelle wants to use her voice to help them find theirs.
For the most part the book is filled with wonderful historic details. I have one small complaint here, I wish there had been more description of New France’s physical surroundings and what the daily life for it’s inhabitants was like.
All in all the novel is an engaging read that I whole heartedly recommend for fans of historical fiction.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Black Rose Writing and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.]]> 4.04 2021
author: Kerry Chaput
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2022/05/29
date added: 2022/09/09
shelves: historical-fiction, arc, kindle, own, read-2022
review:
It’s 1661 La Rochelle, France. The Protestant Huguenots are being persecuted and forced to convert to the Catholic religion. Life is fraught with danger and fear for those who refuse. Just going about ones daily tasks can lead to beatings and far worse. Their religious rites must be preformed in secret deep in the woods surrounding the town.
It is in this world that our protagonist, Isabelle is born and raised. As a young woman it is she who must venture out into town to obtain her mothers and her own daily staples. As a strong, courageous woman she is well suited to the task. That is until a decree comes down declaring all property of the Huguenots forfeit and that they should leave town or face the consequences. I don’t want to tell too much of the story here since it’s a wonderful tale best told by the author. Suffice it to say she and her mother flee their home and thus Isabelle takes her first step on a journey that will take her from her small French town to the NewWorld.
Overall this is a well written novel. There is a Nice even pace throughout the book. Each scene advances the plot and reinforces our understanding of Isabelle’s situation and shows the untenable position the Huguenots were forced into. Ms Chaput has done an admirable job with her character development. The main character, Isabelle is fully fleshed out. We know her strengths and weaknesses and the motivations behind her actions though not always agreed with by this reader. At first I thought her outspokenness and fierce strength was out of place in 17th century France and Canada but as I thought about it I realized that it would take just the qualities she possesses to accept the kings offer, to leave ones homeland all alone and sail off into a unknown and alien world. It would take a woman possessed of Incredible inner strength and courage. Each of the women who travel with her possess these qualities, most just don’t know it. Isabelle wants to use her voice to help them find theirs.
For the most part the book is filled with wonderful historic details. I have one small complaint here, I wish there had been more description of New France’s physical surroundings and what the daily life for it’s inhabitants was like.
All in all the novel is an engaging read that I whole heartedly recommend for fans of historical fiction.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Black Rose Writing and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.
]]> 57845241
Sicily, 1943. Three American women, all nurses in the Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron, are determined to do all they can for their country. Vita is fun-loving, Dot shy and sweet-natured, and Evelyn practical and determined, but for all their differences, a life of military service pulls the three together as firm friends.

When they’re selected for a daring mission, the women are proud to play their part. But disaster strikes when their plane crash-lands behind enemy lines in occupied Albania. Together with twenty-three other medics, they find themselves trapped, cut off from all communication with the squadron, and in terrifying and unimaginable danger.

As days and nights pass without hope of rescue, the group must travel on foot across unfamiliar terrain thick with Nazis and their violent local allies. Can Evelyn, Vita, and Dot survive the perilous journey through enemy territory—and finally find their way home?]]> 351 Soraya M. Lane 1542031982 Cathy 4
I wanted to read this novel from the first time I heard about it. I like books that focus on little known true stories from WWII, as long as they are well written. What really piqued my interest is the fact that the main characters are nurses! As a former RN I couldn’t pass this one up!
The book opens in 1943, in Kentucky where three recently trained nurses meet on a train platform. They are being transferred from one training facility to the next. They are there to learn to become flight nurses for MAETS, ie, Medical Air Transport Squadron. Prior to MAETS�� formation the injured were transported, via truck or train, from the front lines to medical facilities that were often many miles away. The death rate was high among the severely injured. With air transport the critically injured could reach hospital much faster and death rates did drop significantly!
The three nurses; Dot, Evelyn and Vida, become fast and inseparable friends. They support each other throughout the rigorous training. Upon completion they are assigned to Italy to begin right away. The work is hard but rewarding with each nurse gaining In confidence, even Dot the shyest and least confident amongst them.
First and foremost this is a story of survival. During a period of daily bad weather all MAETS flights were grounded. Wounded GIs were not able to be evacuated until the flights could be resumed leading to increased chance of severe disability and death. Once the weather cleared the General in charge ordered a larger plane that would carry 13 nurses and 13 medics instead of one each. This large of an undertaking had never been attempted before so with little warning our 3 find themselves flying towards the front lines. Spirits are high with everyone anticipating getting back to work. That is until they hit bad weather and are blown off course. Furthermore it appears their navigational equipment has been broken. Flying blind they soon run into German planes intent on shooting them down. After they crash they have no idea where they are. Fear then grips the team when they learn they are behind enemy lines in Albania! The story then focuses on the groups struggle to return to safety with as many survivors as possible. Do they make it and with how many alive? For the answer you will need to read the book.
The novel is for the most part well written. The one area I found a little wanting was the pacing. Even though there are periods of high tension and danger I felt that the book fell flat in between them. Sometimes it became even boring to me. I feel more description of the villages and villagers they encounter along the way would have been helpful. For example; we know food in the villages is short and the Americans are showing signs of malnutrition. I found myself wondering how the Albanians were able to cope. Also what’s their day to day life like? Very little is shared about them. I feel the book would have been more interesting and have a richer context if more was included.
One thing the author does very well is in her handling of her characters. Each main character and a few of the secondary characters are supplied with very detailed backstories that gives us a chance to care about their survival. They become important to us. Lesser characters are not even named let alone described. At first I was disappointed but soon realized that it would be a very complicated book if they were given roles.
The other thing I liked about the book was the Authors note. Here she delineates fact from fiction, something I wish more authors would do.
Oh for our Romance lovers there are a few sweet romances, so don’t turn the book down thinking the material too dark. There are definitely some very credible romantic moments! This is not to say that the romance stories overtake the main plot because they only enhance the book.
I can recommend this book wholeheartedly to fans of Historical Fiction especially if one likes stories were strong and courageous women are featured. Also fans of WWII stories will find this book engrossing!
I’m rating the book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.]]> 4.38 2022
author: Soraya M. Lane
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/12
date added: 2022/09/08
shelves: historical-fiction, kindle, own, arc, read-2022
review:
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

I wanted to read this novel from the first time I heard about it. I like books that focus on little known true stories from WWII, as long as they are well written. What really piqued my interest is the fact that the main characters are nurses! As a former RN I couldn’t pass this one up!
The book opens in 1943, in Kentucky where three recently trained nurses meet on a train platform. They are being transferred from one training facility to the next. They are there to learn to become flight nurses for MAETS, ie, Medical Air Transport Squadron. Prior to MAETS�� formation the injured were transported, via truck or train, from the front lines to medical facilities that were often many miles away. The death rate was high among the severely injured. With air transport the critically injured could reach hospital much faster and death rates did drop significantly!
The three nurses; Dot, Evelyn and Vida, become fast and inseparable friends. They support each other throughout the rigorous training. Upon completion they are assigned to Italy to begin right away. The work is hard but rewarding with each nurse gaining In confidence, even Dot the shyest and least confident amongst them.
First and foremost this is a story of survival. During a period of daily bad weather all MAETS flights were grounded. Wounded GIs were not able to be evacuated until the flights could be resumed leading to increased chance of severe disability and death. Once the weather cleared the General in charge ordered a larger plane that would carry 13 nurses and 13 medics instead of one each. This large of an undertaking had never been attempted before so with little warning our 3 find themselves flying towards the front lines. Spirits are high with everyone anticipating getting back to work. That is until they hit bad weather and are blown off course. Furthermore it appears their navigational equipment has been broken. Flying blind they soon run into German planes intent on shooting them down. After they crash they have no idea where they are. Fear then grips the team when they learn they are behind enemy lines in Albania! The story then focuses on the groups struggle to return to safety with as many survivors as possible. Do they make it and with how many alive? For the answer you will need to read the book.
The novel is for the most part well written. The one area I found a little wanting was the pacing. Even though there are periods of high tension and danger I felt that the book fell flat in between them. Sometimes it became even boring to me. I feel more description of the villages and villagers they encounter along the way would have been helpful. For example; we know food in the villages is short and the Americans are showing signs of malnutrition. I found myself wondering how the Albanians were able to cope. Also what’s their day to day life like? Very little is shared about them. I feel the book would have been more interesting and have a richer context if more was included.
One thing the author does very well is in her handling of her characters. Each main character and a few of the secondary characters are supplied with very detailed backstories that gives us a chance to care about their survival. They become important to us. Lesser characters are not even named let alone described. At first I was disappointed but soon realized that it would be a very complicated book if they were given roles.
The other thing I liked about the book was the Authors note. Here she delineates fact from fiction, something I wish more authors would do.
Oh for our Romance lovers there are a few sweet romances, so don’t turn the book down thinking the material too dark. There are definitely some very credible romantic moments! This is not to say that the romance stories overtake the main plot because they only enhance the book.
I can recommend this book wholeheartedly to fans of Historical Fiction especially if one likes stories were strong and courageous women are featured. Also fans of WWII stories will find this book engrossing!
I’m rating the book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.
]]> 59644632
“A brilliant story brimming with unexpected friendships and family ties. Historically sound and beautifully stitched,�� The Thread Collectors will stay with you long after the last page is turned.�� —Sadeqa Johnson, international bestselling author of Yellow Wife ��

1863: In a small Creole cottage in New Orleans, an ingenious young Black woman named Stella embroiders intricate maps on repurposed cloth to help enslaved men flee and join the Union Army. Bound to a man who would kill her if he knew of her clandestine activities, Stella has to hide not only her efforts but her love for William, a Black soldier and a brilliant musician.

Meanwhile, in New York City, a Jewish woman stitches a quilt for her husband, who is stationed in Louisiana with the Union Army. Between abolitionist meetings, Lily rolls bandages and crafts quilts with her sewing circle for other soldiers, too, hoping for their safe return home. But when months go by without word from her husband, Lily resolves to make the perilous journey South to search for him.

As these two women risk everything for love and freedom during the �� brutal Civil War, their paths converge in New Orleans, where an unexpected encounter leads them to discover that even the most delicate threads have the capacity to save us. Loosely inspired by the authors' family histories,��this stunning novel will stay with readers for a long time.]]> 336 Shaunna J. Edwards Cathy 0 to-read 4.36 2022
author: Shaunna J. Edwards
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 23876
Unsettling and indelible, Of Love and Other Demons is an evocative, majestic tale of the most universal experiences known to woman and man.]]> 160 Gabriel García Márquez 0517405091 Cathy 0 to-read 4.01 1994
author: Gabriel García Márquez
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59575976
Sylvie de Rosiers,��as the daughter of a rich planter and an enslaved��woman, enjoys the��comforts��of a lady in 1791 Saint-Domingue society. But while she was��born to��privilege, she was never fully accepted by island elites.��After a violent rebellion begins the Haitian Revolution, Sylvie and her brother leave their family and old lives behind to flee unwittingly into another uprising—in austere and radical Paris. Sylvie quickly becomes enamored with the aims of the Revolution, as well as with the revolutionaries themselves—most notably Maximilien Robespierre and his mistress, Cornélie Duplay.
��
As a rising leader and abolitionist, Robespierre sees an opportunity to exploit Sylvie’s race and abandonment of her aristocratic roots as an example of his ideals, while the strong-willed Cornélie offers Sylvie��safe harbor and guidance in free thought. Sylvie battles with her past complicity in a slave society and her future within this new world order as she finds herself increasingly torn between Robespierre's ideology and Cornélie's love.
��
When the Reign of Terror descends, Sylvie must decide whether to become an accomplice while a new empire rises on the bones of innocents…or risk losing her head.]]> 432 Zoe Sivak 0593336038 Cathy 0 to-read 3.49 2022
author: Zoe Sivak
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 30298569 The winds are howling, can you hear the screams?

WARNING: Not the famous Stephen King from Maine.]]> 180 Stephen R. King Cathy 0 to-read 3.61
author: Stephen R. King
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.61
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 386162
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!]]> 193 Douglas Adams Cathy 0 to-read 4.28 1979
author: Douglas Adams
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1979
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 393474 703 Karleen Koen 1575661772 Cathy 4 3.99 1995
author: Karleen Koen
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 79484 THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

One of the most beloved historical fiction novels of all time!

As opulent and passionate as the 18th century it celebrates, Through A Glass Darkly sparkles with all of the extravagance and scandal of a grand and glorious era.

Barbara Alderly has loved her husband, the wealthy, charming Earl of Devane, Roger Montgeoffry, since childhood.

Set against a French court awash in intrigue, treachery and debauchery, Barbara must learn to navigate the dark currents of deception, scandal and betrayal.

Peopled by a cast of unforgettable characters, here is the story of a great family ruled by a dowager of extraordinary power; a young woman coming of age, seeking love in the midst of a storm; her mother, the cruel and self-centered Diana; and of a man haunted by a secret that could turn all of their dreams to ashes...

Like no other historical fiction novel, Through a Glass Darkly is infused with intrigue, sweetened by romance and awash in the black ink of betrayal. ]]> 674 Karleen Koen 1402200447 Cathy 4 3.97 1986
author: Karleen Koen
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves: historical-fiction, library-book, read-pre-2010, wish-to-re-read
review:

]]> 25696247 want to go into the water…��

Phuket, Thailand, seemed to be the perfect getaway choice for twenty-two-year-old Calum Armstrong: What he saw, and did on that holiday proves to have far- reaching consequences; not only for himself, but also for those closest to him.

In Germany, uncompromising Frankfurt detective, Otto Netzer,is leading the manhunt for a brutal serial killer who preys on heavily-pregnant women��
Neither Calum, nor the killer, yet realise that their destiny lies in the hands of a mythical creature who resides beneath the turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea.

Intriguing and exotic, Kevin Ansbro’s novel explores how our actions can come back to haunt us in the most unexpected ways.

‘Murder, myth and Mr Ordinary meet up in this extraordinary novel. However bad the weather is here, Ansbro’s vivid writing will transport you to a sun-drenched tropical island �� with darkness at its heart. I loved it!��
-Karen Holmes, editor 2QT Publishing]]> 314 Kevin Ansbro 1910077542 Cathy 0 to-read 4.47 2015
author: Kevin Ansbro
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 138685 456 C.J. Sansom 0330411969 Cathy 0 to-read 4.05 2003
author: C.J. Sansom
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59811278 When a house party goes terribly wrong, a suburban town fractures, exposing disturbing truths about the community.

Maja Jensen is smart, stylish, and careful, the type of woman who considers every detail when building her dream home in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The perfect house that would compensate for her failure to have a child, the house that was going to save her marriage. But when a group of reckless teenagers trash the newly built home just weeks before she moves in, her plans are shattered.

Those teenagers are the "good kids"--the ones on track to go to college and move on to the next stage of their privileged lives. They have grown up in a protected bubble and are accustomed to getting by with just a slap on the wrist. Did they think they could just destroy property without facing punishment? Or was there something deeper, darker, at play that night? As the police close in on a list of suspects, the tight-knit community begins to fray as families attempt to protect themselves.

What should have been the party of the year will have repercussions that will put Maja's marriage to the ultimate test, jeopardize the futures of those "good kids," and divide the town over questions of privilege and responsibility.

An absorbing novel told through shifting perspectives, The House Party explores how easily friendships, careers, communities, and marriages can upend when differences in wealth and power are forced to the surface.]]> 320 Rita Cameron 0063218062 Cathy 0 to-read 3.41 2022
author: Rita Cameron
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.41
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61641079 A woman is haunted by the Mexican folk demon La Llorona as she unravels the dark secrets of her family history in this ravishing and provocative horror novel.

Alejandra no longer knows who she is. To her husband, she is a wife, and to her children, a mother. To her own adoptive mother, she is a daughter. But they cannot see who Alejandra has become: a woman struggling with a darkness that threatens to consume her.

Nor can they see what Alejandra sees. In times of despair, a ghostly vision appears to her, the apparition of a crying woman in a ragged white gown.

When Alejandra visits a therapist, she begins exploring her family’s history, starting with the biological mother she never knew. As she goes deeper into the lives of the women in her family, she learns that heartbreak and tragedy are not the only things she has in common with her ancestors.

Because the crying woman was with them, too. She is La Llorona, the vengeful and murderous mother of Mexican legend. And she will not leave until Alejandra follows her mother, her grandmother, and all the women who came before her into the darkness.

But Alejandra has inherited more than just pain. She has inherited the strength and the courage of her foremothers—and she will have to summon everything they have given her to banish La Llorona forever.]]> 272 V. Castro 0593499697 Cathy 0 to-read 3.64 2023
author: V. Castro
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 1391389 256 Paul Harding 0747237255 Cathy 0 to-read 3.83 1991
author: Paul Harding
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 1114727 218 Keith Heller 0747256845 Cathy 0 to-read 3.53 1986
author: Keith Heller
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.53
book published: 1986
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 25401720
Newland Archer, an eligible young man of the establishment is about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a pretty ingénue, when May's cousin, Countess Olenska, is introduced into their circle. The Countess brings with her an aura of European sophistication and a hint of scandal, having left her husband and claimed her independence.

Her sorrowful eyes, her tragic worldliness and her air of unapproachability attract the sensitive Newland and, almost against their will, a passionate bond develops between them. But Archer's life has no place for passion and, with society on the side of May and all she stands for, he finds himself drawn into a bitter conflict between love and duty.]]> 322 Edith Wharton Cathy 0 to-read 4.21 1920
author: Edith Wharton
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1920
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61401417 She’s meant to be catching flights, not catching feelings��

Molly and Andrew are just trying to get home to Ireland for the holidays, when a freak snowstorm grounds their flight.

Nothing romantic has ever happened between them: they’re friends and that’s all. But once a year, for the last ten years, Molly has spent seven hours and fifteen minutes sitting next to Andrew on the last flight before Christmas from Chicago to Dublin, drinking terrible airplane wine and catching up on each other’s lives. In spite of all the ways the two friends are different, it’s the holiday tradition neither of them has ever wanted to give up.

Molly isn’t that bothered by Christmas, but—in yet another way they’re total opposites—Andrew is a full-on fanatic for the festive season and she knows how much getting back to Ireland means to him. So, instead of doing the sane thing and just celebrating the holidays together in America, she does the stupid thing. The irrational thing. She vows to get him home. And in time for his mam’s famous Christmas dinner.

The clock is ticking. But Molly always has a plan. And—as long as the highly-specific combination of taxis, planes, boats, and trains all run on time—it can’t possibly go wrong.

What she doesn’t know is that, as the snow falls over the city and over the heads of two friends who are sure they’re not meant to be together, the universe might just have a plan of its own��

A totally gorgeous and escapist friends-to-lovers festive romance with a swoon-worthy hero. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Mhairi Macfarlane, and Christina Lauren.]]> 354 Catherine Walsh 1803145455 Cathy 0 to-read 4.01 2022
author: Catherine Walsh
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 30988092 Neil Gaiman 006266364X Cathy 0 to-read 4.01 2017
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 50523477 Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash Tasha Suri's The Jasmine Throne, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess's traitor brother.

Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters �� but is now little more than a decaying ruin.

Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.

But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire.]]> 533 Tasha Suri 0356515648 Cathy 0 to-read 4.12 2021
author: Tasha Suri
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57136995
Weaving together a multitude of narratives, Wuhan is a historical fiction epic that pulls no punches: the heart-in-mouth story of a peasant family forced onto a thousand-mile refugee death-march; the story of Lao She �� the influential Chinese novelist �� who leaves his family in a war-zone to assist with the propaganda effort in Wuhan; the hellish battlefields of the Sino-Japanese war; the incipient global conflict seen through a host of colourful characters �� from Chiang Kai-Shek, China's nationalist leader, to Peter Fleming, British journalist based in Wuhan and a prototype for his younger brother Ian Fleming's James Bond.]]> 768 John Fletcher 180024987X Cathy 0 to-read 3.69
author: John Fletcher
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.69
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59530862
Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemary—awake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tears—seemed to need more protection from the world.

Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sage’s stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.

Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined . . .]]> 369 Ellen Marie Wiseman 1496715888 Cathy 0 to-read 3.82 2022
author: Ellen Marie Wiseman
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57873328 This sweeping new novel from the internationally bestselling author of��The Woman Before Wallis��takes readers behind palace walls to see the end of Imperial Russia through the eyes of Olga Romanov, the first daughter of the last Tsar.��

Grand Duchess Olga Romanov comes of age amid a shifting tide for the great dynasties of Europe. But even as unrest simmers in the capital, Olga is content to live within the confines of the sheltered life her parents have built for and her three sisters: hiding from the world on account of their mother’s ill health, their brother Alexei’s secret affliction, and rising controversy over Father Grigori Rasputin, the priest on whom the Tsarina has come to rely. Olga’s only escape from the seclusion of Alexander Palace comes from her aunt, who takes pity on her and her sister Tatiana, inviting them to grand tea parties amid the shadow court of Saint Petersburg. Finally, she glimpses a world beyond her mother’s Victorian sensibilities—a world of opulent ballrooms, scandalous flirtation, and whispered conversation.��

But as war approaches, the palaces of Russia are transformed. Olga and her sisters trade their gowns for nursing habits, assisting in surgeries and tending to the wounded bodies and minds of Russia’s military officers. As troubling rumours about her parents trickle in from the Front, Olga dares to hope that a budding romance might survive whatever the future may hold. But when tensions run high and supplies run low, the controversy over Rasputin grows into fiery protest, and calls for revolution threaten to end 300 years of Romanov rule.

At turns glittering and harrowing,��The Last Grand Duchess��is story about dynasty, duty, and love, but above all, it’s the story of a family who would choose devotion to each other over everything—including their lives.]]> 400 Bryn Turnbull 0778311708 Cathy 0 currently-reading 3.69 2022
author: Bryn Turnbull
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/28
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 51901147
The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.]]> 541 Suzanne Collins Cathy 0 to-read 3.99 2020
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 56685393
Summer 1940: In German-occupied Paris, Inspector Henri Lefort has been given just five days to solve the murder of a German major that took place in the Louvre Museum. Blocked from the crime scene but given a list of suspects, Henri encounters a group of artists, including Pablo Picasso, who know more than they're willing to share.

With the clock ticking, Henri must uncover a web of lies while overcoming impossible odds to save his own life and prove his loyalty to his country. Will he rise to the task or become another tragic story of a tragic time?

Five days. One murder. A masterpiece of a mystery.]]> Mark Pryor Cathy 3 A solid 3 stars 3.92 2022
author: Mark Pryor
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/08/18
date added: 2022/08/27
shelves: arc, audiobook, historical-fiction, historical-mystery, own, read-2022
review:
A solid 3 stars
]]> 59746719
When their daughter, Margot, inherits the family business, she wants nothing to do with it. The winery is valued for its unparalleled produce, but it's built on a field where hundreds of convicts were once hanged, and the locals whisper morbid rumors. They say the ground is cursed.

It's been more than a decade since Margot last saw her childhood home. But now that she's alone in the sprawling, dilapidated building, she begins to believe the curse is more than real―and that she may be the next victim of the house that never rests...]]> 377 Darcy Coates Cathy 0 to-read 3.84 2022
author: Darcy Coates
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 138872
With the rushing Ohio River as her guide, Mary Ingles walked one thousand miles through an untamed wilderness no white woman had ever seen. Her story lives on—extraordinary testimony to the indomitable strength of one pioneer woman who risked her life to return to her own people.]]> 406 James Alexander Thom 0345338545 Cathy 0 to-read 4.21 1980
author: James Alexander Thom
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59576959
America, 1989: Turning the pages of the newspaper, Annaliese gasps when she recognizes the face of a man she thought she’d never see again. It makes her heart skip a beat as a rush of wartime memories come back to her. As she reads on, she realizes the past is catching up with her. She must confront a decades-old secret �� or risk losing everything��

Germany, 1942: Annaliese’s marriage is beginning to crumble. Her husband, Hans, has grown cold and secretive since starting his new job as a doctor at Dachau. When a tall, handsome Russian prisoner named Alexander is sent from the camp to work in their garden, lonely Annaliese finds herself drawn to him as they tend to the plants together. In snatched moments and broken whispers, Alexander tells her the truth about the shocking conditions at the camp. Horrified, Annaliese vows to do everything she can to save him.

But as they grow closer, their feelings for each other put them both in terrible danger. And when Annaliese falls pregnant she has to make an impossible decision between protecting herself and saving the love of her life…]]> 388 Debbie Rix 1800195478 Cathy 3 Annaliese having just buried her father is a 17 year old vulnerable woman in late 1930’s. Munich, Germany. She is alone in the world when she meets a young doctor, Hans Vogel. He is everything that Annaliese wants. He is warm, personable and caring. He is also ambitious and represents stability, financial security and a prestigious social position. He sweeps her off her feet. They soon marry and begin life in a house she could imagine only in her dreams. Annaliese soon makes it a home.
Hans dreams of helping humanity. He wishes to do research into a homeopathic cure for malaria. He joins the elite SS believing it will offer the best opportunity to advance his goals. He dreams of a modern lab fully equipped and stocked with animal test subjects. In reality his posting to Dachau,the infamous German concentration camp, offers a much different view. It’s not a dream but a nightmare. Though the lab is modern he finds that the test subjects would be human prisoners.
We see how Hans begins to make compromises in his ethical beliefs, rationalizing that the suffering of a few to benefit the many was acceptable. We see how he changes as he slowly devolves as a human. We see the ever increasing pressures placed on him by the depravity that was the Nazis. It is the strain on their marriage and the changes it brings about in both of them that forms the basis of the story.
It is a nicely written novel. The author has developed complex and compelling characters. They change throughout the novel in mostly appropriate ways. The pace is fast and the danger of their situation feels real. All in all a good and engrossing read that demonstrates how good people can do evil things, through the lies they tell themselves.
The only difficulty I had was with Annaliese. There were times when she was just way too naive. Refusing to believe the danger her actions were bringing to her family despite being told about it. Or maybe she knew but didn’t care if others got hurt. I would have in real life shook her and told her to stop acting like a besotted teenager and grow up! There where real dangers and bigger issues she needed to be dealing with then a broken heart! I had to put the book down a few times because her actions annoyed me so much. For this reason I’m rating the book 3.5 stars and not upgrading to four. I just felt there were better ways for the author to increase the danger and tension then making the main character a simpering idiot!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Bookouture Audio and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.]]> 4.36 2022
author: Debbie Rix
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/01/08
date added: 2022/08/25
shelves:
review:
The.German Wife is a novel that encompasses two time periods. The book opens in the late 1980’s. Anna Vogel sees a picture in the paper of a man she believed was possibly dead. A man she had known well in the 1940’s. A man who helped shape her present. She starts to recall the long suppressed memories and relates them to her grown son, Sascha.
Annaliese having just buried her father is a 17 year old vulnerable woman in late 1930’s. Munich, Germany. She is alone in the world when she meets a young doctor, Hans Vogel. He is everything that Annaliese wants. He is warm, personable and caring. He is also ambitious and represents stability, financial security and a prestigious social position. He sweeps her off her feet. They soon marry and begin life in a house she could imagine only in her dreams. Annaliese soon makes it a home.
Hans dreams of helping humanity. He wishes to do research into a homeopathic cure for malaria. He joins the elite SS believing it will offer the best opportunity to advance his goals. He dreams of a modern lab fully equipped and stocked with animal test subjects. In reality his posting to Dachau,the infamous German concentration camp, offers a much different view. It’s not a dream but a nightmare. Though the lab is modern he finds that the test subjects would be human prisoners.
We see how Hans begins to make compromises in his ethical beliefs, rationalizing that the suffering of a few to benefit the many was acceptable. We see how he changes as he slowly devolves as a human. We see the ever increasing pressures placed on him by the depravity that was the Nazis. It is the strain on their marriage and the changes it brings about in both of them that forms the basis of the story.
It is a nicely written novel. The author has developed complex and compelling characters. They change throughout the novel in mostly appropriate ways. The pace is fast and the danger of their situation feels real. All in all a good and engrossing read that demonstrates how good people can do evil things, through the lies they tell themselves.
The only difficulty I had was with Annaliese. There were times when she was just way too naive. Refusing to believe the danger her actions were bringing to her family despite being told about it. Or maybe she knew but didn’t care if others got hurt. I would have in real life shook her and told her to stop acting like a besotted teenager and grow up! There where real dangers and bigger issues she needed to be dealing with then a broken heart! I had to put the book down a few times because her actions annoyed me so much. For this reason I’m rating the book 3.5 stars and not upgrading to four. I just felt there were better ways for the author to increase the danger and tension then making the main character a simpering idiot!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Bookouture Audio and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.
]]> 6219656
“The Lottery�� stands out as one of the most famous short stories in American literary history. Originally published in The New Yorker, the author immediately began receiving letters from readers who demanded an explanation of the story’s meaning. “The Lottery�� has been adapted for stage, television, radio and film.
]]> 30 Shirley Jackson 1563127873 Cathy 0 to-read 4.08 1948
author: Shirley Jackson
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1948
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60693378 From three bestselling authors comes an interwoven tale about a trio of World War II nurses stationed in the South Pacific who wage their own battle for freedom and survival.

The Philippines, 1941. When U.S. Navy nurse Eleanor Lindstrom, U.S. Army nurse Penny Franklin, and Filipina nurse Lita Capel forge a friendship at the Army Navy Club in Manila, they believe they’re living a paradise assignment. All three are seeking a way to escape their pasts, but soon the beauty and promise of their surroundings give way to the heavy mantle of war.

Caught in the crosshairs of a fight between the U.S. military and the Imperial Japanese Army for control of the Philippine Islands, the nurses are forced to serve under combat conditions and, ultimately, endure captivity as the first female prisoners of the Second World War. As their resiliency is tested in the face of squalid living arrangements, food shortages, and the enemy’s blatant disregard for the articles of the Geneva Convention, the women strive to keep their hope—and fellow inmates—alive, though not without great cost.

In this sweeping story based on the true experiences of nurses dubbed the “Angels of Bataan,�� three women shift in and out of each other’s lives through the darkest days of the war, buoyed by their unwavering friendship and distant dreams of liberation.]]> 424 Ariel Lawhon 0785253343 Cathy 0 to-read 4.10 2022
author: Ariel Lawhon
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 9441603 The darkly thrilling and psychological historical fiction novel of Scottish Highlanders aboard a convict ship bound for Colonial New York and the French and Indian WarIn a novel rich in historical detail, acclaimed author Eliot Pattison reconsiders the founding of America and explores how disenfranchised people of any age and place struggle to find justice, how conflicting cultures can be reconciled through compassion and tolerance, and ultimately how the natural world has its own morality.Aboard a British convict ship bound for the New World, protagonist Duncan McCallum witnesses a series of murders and apparent suicides among his fellow Scottish prisoners. A strange trail of clues leads Duncan into the New World and eventually thrusts him into the bloody maw of the French and Indian War. Duncan is indentured to the British Lord Ramsey, whose estate in the uncharted New York woodlands is a Heart of Darkness where multiple warring factions are engaged in physical, psychological, and spiritual battle.Exploring a frontier world shrouded in danger and defying death in a wilderness populated by European settlers, Indian shamans, and mysterious scalping parties, Duncan, the exiled chief of his near–extinct Scottish clan, finds that sometimes justice cannot be reached unless the cultures and spirits of those involved are appeased.]]> 381 Eliot Pattison 1582439540 Cathy 5 5 intriguing stars I 3.81 2007
author: Eliot Pattison
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2022/08/14
date added: 2022/08/21
shelves: read-2016, historical-fiction, historical-mystery, kindle, audiobook, own, read-2022, scribd
review:
5 intriguing stars I
]]> 57137041
With this astonishing version of Oedipus' famous demise, Gébler dismantles the polarisation and absolutism of our time. By tracing the histories of Oedipus and his parents Laius and Jocasta, as well as the peripheral characters of the plays who had a central role in him fulfilling his destiny, Antigone’s ‘biography�� causes us to re-evaluate the extent to which any of us can be entirely blamed for the actions by which we will be defined.

The book ultimately meditates on the illusion of free will, and the warning that context is everything, I, ANTIGONE will be a major contribution to the reclaimed classics.]]> 248 Carlo Gébler Cathy 0 to-read 3.49
author: Carlo Gébler
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.49
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32331732
Throughout history, the protectors of its secrets have sacrificed their fortunes, their happiness, and even their lives. And when the device comes unexpectedly into the life of Rebecca Sanders, its effect is no less profound.

Rebecca’s journey begins with the unsettling disappearance of her mother, a respected Princeton professor. The only hints to her whereabouts are a series of clues left by an unknown scribe more than 500 years ago.

To track down her mother, Rebecca has no choice but to rely on the help of Mark Whitmore, a professional treasure hunter with obscure motives. Joined by her mother’s quirky assistant, they soon discover why Rebecca’s mother has disappeared: she’s searching for an ancient document penned by Archimedes himself, a blueprint for a mysterious device that could rewrite history.

The search for Archimedes�� blueprint soon takes a dangerous turn. As Rebecca and her unlikely partners work to decipher the ancient clues, they must stay one step ahead of a ruthless antiquities dealer who’ll stop at nothing to acquire the priceless document, and elude a secret society that has spent two thousand years hiding the truth of the Archimedes device.

From ancient Alexandria to medieval Constantinople to the streets of modern-day Manhattan, The Archimedes Device is an epic journey of adventure, intrigue, and discovery.]]> 676 C.M. Hanna 0996731431 Cathy 0 to-read 3.71
author: C.M. Hanna
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.71
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 39149
Now a fugitive running for his life, Sebastian calls upon his skill as an agent during the war to catch the killer and prove his own innocence. In the process, he accumulates a band of unlikely allies, including the enigmatic beauty Kat Boleyn, who broke Sebastian's heart years ago. In Sebastian's world of intrigue and espionage, nothing is as it seems, yet the truth may hold the key to the future of the British monarchy, as well as to Sebastian's own salvation....]]> 410 C.S. Harris Cathy 0 to-read 3.89 2005
author: C.S. Harris
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57840571 Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca in this debut supernatural suspense novel, set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, about a remote house, a sinister haunting, and the woman pulled into their clutches...

In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost.

But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined.

When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears—but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark its doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano?

Beatriz only knows two things for certain: Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will help her.

Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, Andrés will have to rely on his skills as a witch to fight off the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda and protect the woman for whom he feels a powerful, forbidden attraction. But even he might not be enough to battle the darkness.

Far from a refuge, San Isidro may be Beatriz’s doom.]]> 352 Isabel Cañas Cathy 0 to-read 3.83 2022
author: Isabel Cañas
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 56883955 A killing. A hidden history. A story that goes to the heart of the nation.

When Mark McKenna set out to write a history of the centre of Australia, he had no idea what he would discover. One event in 1934 �� the shooting at Uluru of Aboriginal man Yokununna by white policeman Bill McKinnon, and subsequent Commonwealth inquiry �� stood out as a mirror of racial politics in the Northern Territory at the time.

But then, through speaking with the families of both killer and victim, McKenna unearthed new evidence that transformed the historical record and the meaning of the event for today. As he explains, ‘Every thread of the story connected to the present in surprising ways.�� In a sequence of powerful revelations, McKenna explores what truth-telling and reconciliation look like in practice.

Return to Uluru brings a cold case to life. It speaks directly to the Black Lives Matter movement, but is completely Australian. Recalling Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man, it is superbly written, moving, and full of astonishing, unexpected twists. Ultimately it is a story of recognition and return, which goes to the very heart of the country. At the centre of it all is Uluru, the sacred site where paths fatefully converged.]]> 256 Mark McKenna 176064255X Cathy 0 to-read 3.98 2021
author: Mark McKenna
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 22571629 From the acclaimed author of The Bastard of Istanbul, a colorful, magical tale set during the height of the Ottoman Empire

In her latest novel, Elif Shafak spins an epic tale spanning nearly a century in the life of the Ottoman Empire. In 1540, twelve-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan’s menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan’s beautiful daughter, Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire’s chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota’s help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history. Yet even as they build Sinan’s triumphant masterpieces—the incredible Suleymaniye and Selimiye mosques—dangerous undercurrents begin to emerge, with jealousy erupting among Sinan’s four apprentices.

A memorable story of artistic freedom, creativity, and the clash between science and fundamentalism, Shafak’s intricate novel brims with vibrant characters, intriguing adventure, and the lavish backdrop of the Ottoman court, where love and loyalty are no match for raw power.]]> 432 Elif Shafak 052542797X Cathy 0 to-read 4.00 2013
author: Elif Shafak
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55362952
Blending true history with new stories, popular inaccuracies, and some almost forgotten medieval legends, The Scarlet Forest: A Tale of Robin Hood brings a new life to the greenwood, which here feels as fresh as it does traditional. With an academic background in medieval English studies, A. E. Chandler captivates with this unique and nuanced reinterpretation of Robin Hood’s struggles and adventures. The forest is waiting.

This expanded second edition of the bestselling novel contains additional bonus material, including a historical note and a translation of one of only five surviving medieval Robin Hood "ballads."]]> 306 A.E. Chandler 0992053927 Cathy 0 to-read 4.21
author: A.E. Chandler
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.21
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60182625 448 Diney Costeloe 180110980X Cathy 0 to-read 4.55
author: Diney Costeloe
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.55
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 43220998 A portrait of love, silence, and secrets under a Spanish dictatorship.

Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming promise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of an oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother's birth through the lens of his camera. Photography--and fate--introduce him to Ana, whose family's interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War--as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel's photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of difficult decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.

Includes vintage media reports, oral history commentary, photos, and more.]]> 512 Ruta Sepetys 0399160310 Cathy 0 to-read 4.30 2019
author: Ruta Sepetys
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61082035
Oliver Mol was a successful, clever, healthy twenty-five-year old. Then one day the migraine started. For ten months, the pain was constant, exacerbated by writing, reading, using computers, looking at phones or anything with a screen. Slowly, Oliver began to disappear.

One evening, Oliver googled the only thing he could think 'full-time job, no experience, Sydney'. An ad for a train guard appeared. For two years Oliver watched others live their lives, observing the intimacy of strangers brought together briefly and connected by the steady march of time.

Exquisitely written and bravely told, Train Lord is a searingly personal yet hugely relatable book, which asks what happens when your sense of self is suddenly destroyed, and how you get it back.]]> 272 Oliver Mol 024152508X Cathy 0 to-read 3.35
author: Oliver Mol
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.35
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 56228865
Fonzaso Italy, between two wars

Nina��Argenta��doesn’t want the traditional life of a rural Italian woman. The daughter of a strong-willed midwife, she is determined to define her own destiny.��But when��her brother emigrates to America, she promises her mother to never leave.

When��childhood friend Pietro��Pante��briefly returns to their mountain town, passion between them ignites while Mussolini forces political tensions to rise. Just as their romance deepens, Pietro must leave again for work in the coal mines of America. Nina is torn between joining him and her commitment to Italy and her mother.

As Mussolini’s fascists throw the country into chaos and Hitler’s Nazis terrorise their town, each day becomes a struggle to survive greater atrocities. A future with Pietro seems impossible when they lose contact and Nina’s dreams of a life together are threatened by Nazi occupation and an enemy she must face alone��

A gripping historical fiction novel, based on a true story and��heartbreaking��real events.

Spanning over two decades,��Under the Light of the Italian Moon��is an epic, emotional and triumphant tale of one woman’s incredible resilience during the rise of fascism and Italy’s collapse into WWII.]]> 396 Jennifer Anton 9493231003 Cathy 0 to-read 4.08 2021
author: Jennifer Anton
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58724741
France, 1918. Nurse Marcelle Marchand has important secrets to keep. Her role as a spy has made her both feared and revered, but it has also put her in extreme danger from the approaching German army.

American soldier George Mountcastle feels an instant connection to the young nurse. But in times of war, love must wait. Soon, George and his best friend Philip are fighting for their lives during the Second Battle of the Marne, where George prevents Philip from a daring act that might have won the battle at the cost of his own life.

On the run from a victorious Germany, George and Marcelle begin a new life with Philip and Marcelle’s twin sister, Rosalie, in a brutally occupied France. Together, this self-made family navigates oppression, near starvation, and unfathomable loss, finding love and joy in unexpected moments.

Years pass, and tragedy strikes, sending George on a course that could change the past and rewrite history. Playing with time is a tricky thing. If he chooses to alter history, he will surely change his own future―and perhaps not for the better.]]> 368 Sarah Adlakha 1250774594 Cathy 0 to-read 4.06 2022
author: Sarah Adlakha
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60868599
Colorado, 1918. World War I is raging overseas, but it’s the home front battling for survival. With the Spanish Flu rampant, Denver’s schools are converted into hospitals, churches and funeral homes are closed, and nightly horse-drawn wagons collect corpses left in the street. Sisters Helen and Lutie have moved to Denver from Ohio after their parents�� death. Helen, a nurse, and Lutie, a carefree advertising designer at Neusteter’s department store, share a small, neat house and each finds a local beau �� for Helen a doctor, for Lutie a young student who soon enlists. They make a modest income from a rental apartment in the basement. When their tenant dies from the flu, the sisters are thrust into caring the woman’s small daughter, Dorothy. Soon after, Lutie comes home from work and discovers a dead man on their kitchen floor and Helen standing above the body, an icepick in hand. She has no doubt Helen killed the man—Dorothy’s father—in self-defense, but she knows that will be hard to prove. They decide to leave the body in the street, hoping to disguise it as a victim of the flu.

Meanwhile Lutie also worries about her fiance “over there��. As it happens, his wealthy mother harbors a secret of her own and helps the sisters as the danger deepens, from the murder investigation and the flu.

Set against the backdrop of an epidemic that feels all too familiar, Little Souls is a compelling tale of sisterhood and of the sacrifices people make to protect those they love most.]]> 9 Sandra Dallas 1250837014 Cathy 5 As the novel opens we meet a young woman Lutie who owns a house in a reputable neighborhood with her sister Helen. Lutie comes home one night after work to a dark house which is unusual since Helen, a nurse usually arrives home first. Lutie heads to the kitchen calling out for her. When she arrives there Helen yells for her to leave the light off. As her eyes adjust Lutie makes out 3 figures. First there is Dorothy a 10 year old girl who had lived in the basement apartment with her parents the Streeters. Dorothy lives with the sisters now because her mother recently died of the flu and her father, known to the sisters as a brutal man, disappeared. Next is Helen standing with an ice pick in her hand. Crumpled at their feet is the missing Mr. Streeter obviously dead. What happened here and why? This mystery forms the core of the book.
Though This novel is a mystery it is also great Historical Fiction seamlessly weaving accurate details of WWI, the Flu and day to day life into the storyline. Oh and yes there are romances. Though they form an integral part of the story they never over power it. Instead they add layers and a little lightness to what otherwise could have become a very dark book.
This book is also an exploration of family. What constitutes one? Is it strictly biological or can choice play a part?
This book is so well written I was totally engaged. The main characters are vividly defined and portrayed. I felt the two sisters could very well be my own. We even get to know the secondary characters well. Some you will love others you will hate.
This work is fast paced. It never gets bogged down. It advances easily from one scene to another always moving the multiple parallel storylines forward.
This novel is a very emotional read. I must caution potential readers. There are situations where disease and death are described in detail and sexual assault is discussed. Their are other triggers, yet to share them I would need to include spoilers which I'm trying to avoid. If one does have triggering events please read the description carefully. Also feel free to private message me and I will answer any questions you have.
It’s almost impossible to read this book and not draw parallels between that time and today’s. What with Covid ramping up again with the newest variant and the war in Ukraine continuing to generate talk of WW3, one can be forgiven for confusing which millennia one is in.
i �� read��. Lost Souls using the audiobook version, which was an excellent choice! The narrator does an admirable job bringing the book to life. The characters were each well delineated with their own voice. Though there are quite a few characters I never got confused.
I can highly recommend this novel to all mystery, romance and historical fiction lovers alike. If you like complicated story lines, great believable dialogue and main characters you grow to love and respect this book is for you.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review]]> 3.80 2022
author: Sandra Dallas
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/07/13
date added: 2022/08/07
shelves: arc, audiobook, own, read-2022, historical-fiction, historical-mystery, romance
review:
It’s 1918 in Denver, Colorado. The Spanish Flu continues it’s deadly spread throughout the world, Taking mostly young adults as it’s victims. The world is further devastated by the continued carnage of WWI.
As the novel opens we meet a young woman Lutie who owns a house in a reputable neighborhood with her sister Helen. Lutie comes home one night after work to a dark house which is unusual since Helen, a nurse usually arrives home first. Lutie heads to the kitchen calling out for her. When she arrives there Helen yells for her to leave the light off. As her eyes adjust Lutie makes out 3 figures. First there is Dorothy a 10 year old girl who had lived in the basement apartment with her parents the Streeters. Dorothy lives with the sisters now because her mother recently died of the flu and her father, known to the sisters as a brutal man, disappeared. Next is Helen standing with an ice pick in her hand. Crumpled at their feet is the missing Mr. Streeter obviously dead. What happened here and why? This mystery forms the core of the book.
Though This novel is a mystery it is also great Historical Fiction seamlessly weaving accurate details of WWI, the Flu and day to day life into the storyline. Oh and yes there are romances. Though they form an integral part of the story they never over power it. Instead they add layers and a little lightness to what otherwise could have become a very dark book.
This book is also an exploration of family. What constitutes one? Is it strictly biological or can choice play a part?
This book is so well written I was totally engaged. The main characters are vividly defined and portrayed. I felt the two sisters could very well be my own. We even get to know the secondary characters well. Some you will love others you will hate.
This work is fast paced. It never gets bogged down. It advances easily from one scene to another always moving the multiple parallel storylines forward.
This novel is a very emotional read. I must caution potential readers. There are situations where disease and death are described in detail and sexual assault is discussed. Their are other triggers, yet to share them I would need to include spoilers which I'm trying to avoid. If one does have triggering events please read the description carefully. Also feel free to private message me and I will answer any questions you have.
It’s almost impossible to read this book and not draw parallels between that time and today’s. What with Covid ramping up again with the newest variant and the war in Ukraine continuing to generate talk of WW3, one can be forgiven for confusing which millennia one is in.
i �� read��. Lost Souls using the audiobook version, which was an excellent choice! The narrator does an admirable job bringing the book to life. The characters were each well delineated with their own voice. Though there are quite a few characters I never got confused.
I can highly recommend this novel to all mystery, romance and historical fiction lovers alike. If you like complicated story lines, great believable dialogue and main characters you grow to love and respect this book is for you.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review
]]> 61082793 New from the USA Today bestselling author of The Girl in His Shadow!

Women's work is a matter of life and death.

Nora Beady, the only female student at a prestigious medical school in Bologna, is a rarity. In the 19th century women are expected to remain at home and raise children, so her unconventional, indelicate ambitions to become a licensed surgeon offend the men around her. Under constant scrutiny, Nora's successes are taken for granted; her mistakes used as proof that women aren't suited to the field.

Everything changes when she allies herself with Magdalena Morenco, the sole female doctor on-staff. Together the two women develop new techniques to improve a groundbreaking surgery: the Cesarean section. It's a highly dangerous procedure and the research is grueling, but even worse is the vitriolic response from men. Most don't trust the findings of women, and many can choose to deny their wives medical care.

Already facing resistance on all sides, Nora is shaken when she meets a patient who will die without the surgery. If the procedure is successful, her work could change the world. But a failure could cost everything: precious lives, Nora's career, and the role women will be allowed to play in medicine.]]> Audrey Blake Cathy 5
Before starting my review I want to make it clear that this is the 2nd in the Nora Beady series, The Girl in His Shadow being the first. I point this out because I had no idea! Due to Ms. Audrey Blake’s excellent writing skills Nora’s past is seamlessly woven into the narrative. I never felt like I was missing a piece of the story!
I loved this novel. The story, the strong female protagonist and the descriptions of early medical practices combined into an engrossing tale that had me hooked from the very beginning!
It’s the mid 19th century. It’s a time when gently raised young women,ie wealthy or upper middle class, were expected to be demure and submissive to the will of first their fathers and then their husbands. Their role is to be mere adornments for the men. The activities they were permitted to pursue were the genteel arts of watercolors, painting, knitting and all forms of needlework. Definitely NOT anatomical dissection and drawing from corpses and the pursuit of medicine or surgery as a career! Of course in real life there were a handful of courageous and impressive women who did just that and succeeded! It is these women that Ms Blake honors with her book.
We meet Miss Eleanora Beady (Nora for short) in Bologna,Italy. She is from England and is in her second year studying medicine and surgery at the prestigious University of Bologna. A degree from them just might help her practice in England where the guilds block women from joining. She has given up a lot to come here. Mainly leaving 2 men behind that are important to her for three years while she studies. The first is the famous Dr. Horace Croft, Nora’s guardian and mentor. He took her in at a young age when her parents died and introduced her to and induced in her a love of medicine. The second is Dr. Crofts�� young associate Dr. Daniel Gibson her boyfriend and hopefully future husband.
It does not come as a surprise when Nora faces bigotry and discrimination from most of her professors and fellow students. Though more knowledgeable and talented than most, she is seldom selected for procedures and often derided when she advocates for herself. This begins to change when Dr. Magdalena Morenco, returns from a trip to Cairo. Dr. Morenco is a pioneer of Caesarian sections. This procedure so common and safe today was at that time considered barbaric and gruesome. It also had a low success rate. Dr. Morenco plans to change that. Soon Nora is working with her and has found in her a mentor.
Though it sounds like I have given away the whole story in truth I’ve only scratched the surface. It’s a wonderful historical fiction with some romance and even some suspense replete with a villain.
I do have to place a caution here though. The subject matter contains many descriptions of medical procedures that today are seen as brutal. But remember the medical field truly was in it’s infancy. Doctors were just beginning to use Ether as an anesthesia, prior to this, as described in the book, nothing was used. Pain management wasn’t even thought about let alone practiced. And the use of sterile technique was years away from discovery as was the knowledge that microorganisms caused disease and infection. The book describes much of this and though I personally found it all fascinating not all will.
Though I cannot praise the writing skill enough I do have one small complaint about some of the terminology used. For example, the book describes a late term abortion of a fetus to save the mothers life as a craniotomy I can find no such reference in my personal library of medical history books or on the internet. I believe the proper term is cranioclast. It is for this and several other inconsistencies that I have dropped a half a star.
I do not know if this will be an ongoing series but if so I will definitely continue. I will also be reading the first book and will probably reread this one after.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, RB Media and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.]]> 4.11 2022
author: Audrey Blake
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/08/01
date added: 2022/08/07
shelves: arc, audiobook, historical-fiction, own, read-2022
review:
.4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Before starting my review I want to make it clear that this is the 2nd in the Nora Beady series, The Girl in His Shadow being the first. I point this out because I had no idea! Due to Ms. Audrey Blake’s excellent writing skills Nora’s past is seamlessly woven into the narrative. I never felt like I was missing a piece of the story!
I loved this novel. The story, the strong female protagonist and the descriptions of early medical practices combined into an engrossing tale that had me hooked from the very beginning!
It’s the mid 19th century. It’s a time when gently raised young women,ie wealthy or upper middle class, were expected to be demure and submissive to the will of first their fathers and then their husbands. Their role is to be mere adornments for the men. The activities they were permitted to pursue were the genteel arts of watercolors, painting, knitting and all forms of needlework. Definitely NOT anatomical dissection and drawing from corpses and the pursuit of medicine or surgery as a career! Of course in real life there were a handful of courageous and impressive women who did just that and succeeded! It is these women that Ms Blake honors with her book.
We meet Miss Eleanora Beady (Nora for short) in Bologna,Italy. She is from England and is in her second year studying medicine and surgery at the prestigious University of Bologna. A degree from them just might help her practice in England where the guilds block women from joining. She has given up a lot to come here. Mainly leaving 2 men behind that are important to her for three years while she studies. The first is the famous Dr. Horace Croft, Nora’s guardian and mentor. He took her in at a young age when her parents died and introduced her to and induced in her a love of medicine. The second is Dr. Crofts�� young associate Dr. Daniel Gibson her boyfriend and hopefully future husband.
It does not come as a surprise when Nora faces bigotry and discrimination from most of her professors and fellow students. Though more knowledgeable and talented than most, she is seldom selected for procedures and often derided when she advocates for herself. This begins to change when Dr. Magdalena Morenco, returns from a trip to Cairo. Dr. Morenco is a pioneer of Caesarian sections. This procedure so common and safe today was at that time considered barbaric and gruesome. It also had a low success rate. Dr. Morenco plans to change that. Soon Nora is working with her and has found in her a mentor.
Though it sounds like I have given away the whole story in truth I’ve only scratched the surface. It’s a wonderful historical fiction with some romance and even some suspense replete with a villain.
I do have to place a caution here though. The subject matter contains many descriptions of medical procedures that today are seen as brutal. But remember the medical field truly was in it’s infancy. Doctors were just beginning to use Ether as an anesthesia, prior to this, as described in the book, nothing was used. Pain management wasn’t even thought about let alone practiced. And the use of sterile technique was years away from discovery as was the knowledge that microorganisms caused disease and infection. The book describes much of this and though I personally found it all fascinating not all will.
Though I cannot praise the writing skill enough I do have one small complaint about some of the terminology used. For example, the book describes a late term abortion of a fetus to save the mothers life as a craniotomy I can find no such reference in my personal library of medical history books or on the internet. I believe the proper term is cranioclast. It is for this and several other inconsistencies that I have dropped a half a star.
I do not know if this will be an ongoing series but if so I will definitely continue. I will also be reading the first book and will probably reread this one after.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, RB Media and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.
]]> 17286848
Sandra Dallas once again delivers a page-turner filled with mystery, intrigue, and the kind of intricate detail that truly transports you to another time and place.����

��]]> 352 Sandra Dallas 1250030935 Cathy 0 to-read 3.43 2013
author: Sandra Dallas
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 43521682 A saga of honor, glory, and warfare, The Bone Ships is the launch of a new fantasy from R.J. Barker.

Two nations at war. A prize beyond compare.

For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war.

The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted.

Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favour. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war.]]> 512 R.J. Barker 0316487961 Cathy 0 to-read 3.98 2019
author: R.J. Barker
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59949718 From the bestselling author of The Lost Vintage, a rare and dazzling portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier's college year abroad in postwar Paris, an intimate and electrifying story of love and betrayal, and the coming-of-age of an American icon - before the world knew her as Jackie.

In August 1949 Jacqueline Bouvier arrives in postwar Paris to begin her junior year abroad. She’s twenty years old, socially poised but financially precarious, and all too aware of her mother’s expectations that she make a brilliant match. Before relenting to family pressure, she has one year to herself far away from sleepy Vassar College and the rigid social circles of New York, a year to explore and absorb the luminous beauty of the City of Light. Jacqueline is immediately catapulted into an intoxicating new world of champagne and châteaux, art and avant-garde theater, cafés and jazz clubs. She strikes up a romance with a talented young writer who shares her love of literature and passion for culture �� even though her mother would think him most unsuitable.

But beneath the glitter and rush, France is a fragile place still haunted by the Occupation. Jacqueline lives in a rambling apartment with a widowed countess and her daughters, all of whom suffered as part of the French Resistance just a few years before. In the aftermath of World War II, Paris has become a nest of spies, and suspicion, deception, and betrayal lurk around every corner. Jacqueline is stunned to watch the rise of communism �� anathema in America, but an active movement in France �� never guessing she is witnessing the beginning of the political environment that will shape the rest of her life—and that of her future husband.

Evocative, sensitive, and rich in historic detail, Jacqueline in Paris portrays the origin story of an American icon. Ann Mah brilliantly imagines the intellectual and aesthetic awakening of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, and illuminates how France would prove to be her one true love, and one of the greatest influences on her life.]]> 352 Ann Mah 0062997017 Cathy 0 to-read 3.62 2022
author: Ann Mah
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59348307
As Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help.

Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America.

As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories. Dorothy endeavors to break the cycle of pain and abandonment, to finally find peace for her daughter, and gain the love that has long been waiting, knowing she may pay the ultimate price.]]> 362 Jamie Ford 1982158212 Cathy 0 to-read 3.84 2022
author: Jamie Ford
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 165149


Then the war ends.����Out come the colorful Korean silks and bags of white rice.����But Communist Russian troops have taken control of North Korea and once again the family is suppressed.����Sookan and her family know their only hope for freedom lies in a dangerous escape to American-controlled South Korea.



Here is the incredible story of one family's love for each other and their determination to risk everything to find freedom.]]> 169 Sook Nyul Choi 0440407591 Cathy 0 to-read 3.87 1991
author: Sook Nyul Choi
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57764307 In an empire controlled by bone shard magic, Lin, the former heir to the emperor will fight to reclaim her magic and her place on the throne.

The emperor's reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire's many islands.

Lin is the emperor's daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright - and save her people.]]> 449 Andrea Stewart 0316541443 Cathy 0 to-read 4.04 2020
author: Andrea Stewart
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 1245530 The New York Times bestselling novel from Dennis Lehane is a gripping, unnerving psychological thriller about the effects of a savage killing on three former friends in a tightly knit, blue-collar Boston neighborhood.

When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened -- something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever.

Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective. Jimmy is an ex-con who owns a corner store. And Dave is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay -- demons that urge him to do terrible things. When Jimmy's daughter is found murdered, Sean is assigned to the case. His investigation brings him into conflict with Jimmy, who finds his old criminal impulses tempt him to solve the crime with brutal justice. And then there is Dave, who came home the night Jimmy's daughter died covered in someone else's blood.

A tense and unnerving psychological thriller, Mystic River is also an epic novel of love and loyalty, faith and family, in which people irrevocably marked by the past find themselves on a collision course with the darkest truths of their own hidden selves.]]> 401 Dennis Lehane 0688163165 Cathy 5 4.20 2001
author: Dennis Lehane
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/08/02
shelves:
review:

]]> 58725016
Clytemnestra
The sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon - her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against them, and determines to win, whatever the cost.

Cassandra
Princess of Troy, and cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it. She is powerless in her knowledge that the city will fall.

Elektra
The youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, Elektra is horrified by the bloodletting of her kin. But, can she escape the curse, or is her own destiny also bound by violence?]]> 291 Jennifer Saint 125077361X Cathy 4
Elektra by Jennifer Saint is a retelling of the classic Greek myth of the same name. It is narrated by three women. First Clytemnestra, the sister of Helen of Troy, the woman famed for launching a thousand ships. She is also the wife of Agamemnon the king who leads this massive siege of Troy to retrieve Helen, the wife of his brother, Menelaus.Next we have Cassandra the princess of Troy who upon refusing the god Apollo’s advances was cursed to be able to foretell the future but never be believed. Finally we have Elektra the youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. She is fiercely loyal to her father and becomes bitterly estranged from her mother. Much is written of the men, gods and demigods who fought the 10 year Trojan war but very little is ever portrayed about the.women effected by it. By writing this utilizing the 3 female narrators we finally get the female perspective.
I’m Not going to summarize the book any further since it’s a well known story. Suffice it to say it is a twisted tale of vile acts committed and the subsequent feeliings of hurt and betrayal. But mostly it is the tale of revenges planned and executed that makes this a true Greek tragedy.
Due to the numerous storylines and characters involved the book could have become quite confusing. With Ms. Saints considerable writing skills the book avoids this problem and is clearly laid out and entertaining. Utilizing well defined, three dimensional characters and believable dialogue the book for the most part flows easily. Only in the lead up to the climax of the book did I find the story dragged a-bit and became boring.
I listened to Elektra on audiobook and liked this version quite well. I only have one small issue. I wished the chapters were given headings with the name of the speaker. I found that I had no problem discerning Clytemnestra’s voice as it is the voice of a mature woman. I did however have a fair amount of difficulty, in the beginning, determining which character was speaking Cassandra or Electra. I had to wait until enough narrative was given to identify which. I feel the voices of the two women were just too alike, both being young and having a similar tone to their voices.
Despite these minor issues, being a lover of Greek mythology I truly enjoyed this novel and can confidently recommend it.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.]]> 3.65 2022
author: Jennifer Saint
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/28
date added: 2022/08/02
shelves: arc, audiobook, general-fiction, read-2022
review:
3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Elektra by Jennifer Saint is a retelling of the classic Greek myth of the same name. It is narrated by three women. First Clytemnestra, the sister of Helen of Troy, the woman famed for launching a thousand ships. She is also the wife of Agamemnon the king who leads this massive siege of Troy to retrieve Helen, the wife of his brother, Menelaus.Next we have Cassandra the princess of Troy who upon refusing the god Apollo’s advances was cursed to be able to foretell the future but never be believed. Finally we have Elektra the youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. She is fiercely loyal to her father and becomes bitterly estranged from her mother. Much is written of the men, gods and demigods who fought the 10 year Trojan war but very little is ever portrayed about the.women effected by it. By writing this utilizing the 3 female narrators we finally get the female perspective.
I’m Not going to summarize the book any further since it’s a well known story. Suffice it to say it is a twisted tale of vile acts committed and the subsequent feeliings of hurt and betrayal. But mostly it is the tale of revenges planned and executed that makes this a true Greek tragedy.
Due to the numerous storylines and characters involved the book could have become quite confusing. With Ms. Saints considerable writing skills the book avoids this problem and is clearly laid out and entertaining. Utilizing well defined, three dimensional characters and believable dialogue the book for the most part flows easily. Only in the lead up to the climax of the book did I find the story dragged a-bit and became boring.
I listened to Elektra on audiobook and liked this version quite well. I only have one small issue. I wished the chapters were given headings with the name of the speaker. I found that I had no problem discerning Clytemnestra’s voice as it is the voice of a mature woman. I did however have a fair amount of difficulty, in the beginning, determining which character was speaking Cassandra or Electra. I had to wait until enough narrative was given to identify which. I feel the voices of the two women were just too alike, both being young and having a similar tone to their voices.
Despite these minor issues, being a lover of Greek mythology I truly enjoyed this novel and can confidently recommend it.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.
]]> 560535 "Another splendid tale of India." (Wall Street Journal)

]]> 803 M.M. Kaye 0553137522 Cathy 0 to-read 4.20 1956
author: M.M. Kaye
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1956
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 10218 553 M.M. Kaye 0553253115 Cathy 0 to-read 3.98 1963
author: M.M. Kaye
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1963
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 674749
"This delightful fairy tale is sure to please young romantics . . . Neither Kaye's princess nor her book should be considered ordinary." ( School Library Journal )]]> 112 M.M. Kaye 0142300853 Cathy 0 to-read 4.20 1980
author: M.M. Kaye
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32718027
But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for...]]> 532 S.A. Chakraborty 0062678108 Cathy 0 to-read 4.12 2017
author: S.A. Chakraborty
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60523279 368 Sarah Shoemaker 0063254271 Cathy 0 to-read 3.77 2022
author: Sarah Shoemaker
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54362408 Beneath a Scarlet Sky comes a new historical novel inspired by one family’s incredible story of daring, survival, and triumph.

In late March 1944, as Stalin’s forces push into Ukraine, young Emil and Adeline Martel must make a terrible decision: Do they wait for the Soviet bear’s intrusion and risk being sent to Siberia? Or do they reluctantly follow the wolves—murderous Nazi officers who have pledged to protect “pure-blood�� Germans?

The Martels are one of many families of German heritage whose ancestors have farmed in Ukraine for more than a century. But after already living under Stalin’s horrifying regime, Emil and Adeline decide they must run in retreat from their land with the wolves they despise to escape the Soviets and go in search of freedom.

Caught between two warring forces and overcoming horrific trials to pursue their hope of immigrating to the West, the Martels�� story is a brutal, complex, and ultimately triumphant tale that illuminates the extraordinary power of love, faith, and one family’s incredible will to survive and see their dreams realized.]]> 458 Mark T. Sullivan 1503958760 Cathy 0 to-read 4.34 2021
author: Mark T. Sullivan
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40546098
The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.

As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?]]> 406 Amy Harmon 1542040078 Cathy 0 to-read 4.21 2019
author: Amy Harmon
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58889695 “I was in Mexico City for three months, and yet returned to England on the same day that I left…��

Through her time-travel research, physicist Dr Sofia Ustinova has attracted the interest of higher beings from a distant galaxy��

Luna, a porcelain-skinned teenager, lives alone in a Danish forest where she guards an astonishing secret��
Pablo, an optimistic shoeshine boy, struggles to earn a living on the sweltering streets of Mexico City��

Meanwhile, Hugo Wilde, a British secret agent, embarks on a mission to kill a Russian assassin, unaware that his life is about to change in ways he could never have imagined…]]> 388 Kevin Ansbro 1914083229 Cathy 0 to-read 4.33 2021
author: Kevin Ansbro
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54717137 The story of one woman who believed in scientific medicine before the world believed in her

Raised by the eccentric surgeon Dr. Horace Croft after losing her parents to a deadly pandemic, the orphan Nora Beady knows little about conventional life. While other young ladies were raised to busy themselves with needlework and watercolors, Nora was trained to perfect her suturing and anatomical illustrations of dissections.

Women face dire consequences if caught practicing medicine, but in Croft's private clinic Nora is his most trusted--and secret--assistant. That is until the new surgical resident Dr. Daniel Gibson arrives. Dr. Gibson has no idea that Horace's bright and quiet young ward is a surgeon more qualified and ingenuitive than even himself. In order to protect Dr. Croft and his practice from scandal and collapse Nora must learn to play a new and uncomfortable role--that of a proper young lady.

But pretense has its limits. Nora cannot turn away and ignore the suffering of patients even if it means giving Gibson the power to ruin everything she's worked for. And when she makes a discovery that could change the field forever, Nora faces an impossible choice. Remain invisible and let the men around her take credit for her work, or let the world see her for what she is--even if it means being destroyed by her own legacy.]]> 384 Audrey Blake 1728228727 Cathy 0 to-read 4.09 2021
author: Audrey Blake
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40239155 432 Sarah J. Maas 1526605287 Cathy 0 to-read 4.27 2012
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Cathy
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59314696 Acclaimed author of Island Queen Vanessa Riley brings readers a vivid, sweeping novel of the Haitian Revolution based on the true-life stories of two extraordinary women: the first Empress of Haiti, Marie-Claire Bonheur, and Gran Toya, a West African-born warrior who helped lead the rebellion that drove out the French and freed the enslaved people of Haiti.


Gran Toya: Born in West Africa, Abdaraya Toya was one of the legendary minos--women called "Dahomeyan Amazons" by the Europeans--who were specially chosen female warriors consecrated to the King of Dahomey. Betrayed by an enemy, kidnapped, and sold into slavery, Toya wound up in the French colony of Saint Domingue, where she became a force to be reckoned with on its sugar plantations: a healer and an authority figure among the enslaved. Among the motherless children she helped raise was a man who would become the revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines. When the enslaved people rose up, Toya, ever the warrior, was at the forefront of the rebellion that changed the course of history.

Marie-Claire: A free woman of color, Marie-Claire Bonheur was raised in an air of privilege and security because of her wealthy white grandfather. With a passion for charitable work, she grew up looking for ways to help those oppressed by a society steeped in racial and economic injustices. Falling in love with Jean-Jacques Dessalines, an enslaved man, was never the plan, yet their paths continued to cross and intertwine, and despite a marriage of convenience to a Frenchman, she and Dessalines had several children.

When war breaks out on Saint Domingue, pitting the French, Spanish, and enslaved people against one another in turn, Marie-Claire and Toya finally meet, and despite their deep differences, they both play pivotal roles in the revolution that will eventually lead to full independence for Haiti and its people.

Both an emotionally palpable love story and a detail-rich historical novel, Sister Mother Warrior tells the often-overlooked history of the most successful Black uprising in history. Riley celebrates the tremendous courage and resilience of the revolutionaries, and the formidable strength and intelligence of Toya, Marie-Claire, and the countless other women who fought for freedom.


]]> 480 Vanessa Riley 0063073544 Cathy 0 to-read 3.90 2022
author: Vanessa Riley
name: Cathy
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>