Fascinating and engaging book reviews and encouragement you'll want to read.
Author:deanne01
I am an avid reader and reviewer. I am open for review requests please contact me at Cnnamongirl at aol dot com. I work with big name publishers and indie publishers alike. I am on launch and street teams and have MANY NetGalley and GoodReads reviews up. I love all animals and I am a vegetarian. Thank you for joining me here.
6-12 years 108 pages Lenox Street Press March 30, 2020 publication date
ABOUT THE BOOK
NATIONAL INDIES EXCELLENCE AWARD 2020MOM’S CHOICE AWARD RECIPIENT 2020 FOREWORD INDIES BOOK OF THE YEAR FINALIST 2020 The Garden and the Glen is about the magic that finds us when we’re brave enough to be our unique selves.A tiny blue butterfly is chased out of a yellow garden because she does not blend in. She flees to the nearby forest glen, where she encounters a colorful band of woodland creatures-all of them expelled from the garden for the same reason-being different. The glen provides safety, friendship, and acceptance. However, it’s the garden that holds the blue butterfly’s true destiny. A Queen, a mystical potion, and the fate of their natural world hang in the balance. The blue butterfly, and what makes her different, holds the key.
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MY THOUGHTS
A tiny blue butterfly is chased out of a yellow garden. There are yellow leaves, flowers, animals and butterflies. In and of itself the yellow garden is beautiful but full of sameness.
The blue butterfly is sad and flits away visiting other animals and insects that have had the same experience, being chased out of the yellow garden. These animals are beautiful and come in a rainbow of colors. In this magical and beautiful garden full of uniqueness he finds acceptance.
Back in the yellow garden the Yellow Queen needs a magical potion for healing and the blue butterfly holds the key to procuring it for her. After being snubbed in the yellow garden should he snub the queen, and the ones sent to bring him back for her magical cure?
Despite his being wrongly treated he is not bitter and happily accepts the queens request for help. A beautiful story for children showing that just because someone is different that it doesn’t make them bad or strange and to embrace uniqueness and learn from it.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
This book began many years ago as a short bedtime story. Elizabeth Moseley’s then-young daughters loved hearing stories at the end of the day. Elizabeth was happy reading their favorite books, but found her greatest joy in creating original fiction. A lifelong fan of Aesop and mythology, her tales often featured some magic, and always a happy ending. At the urging of her now-grown daughters, she has finally written one down. Elizabeth holds an M.A. in English Literature from Georgetown University.
304 pages Bethany House Publishers March 04,2025 publication date
ABOUT THE BOOK
Heartache has left them emotionally desolate, but traces of love and healing could forge a future.
In the wake of a harsh winter, Micah Hamilton and Charlotte Aldrich are grappling with loss and guilt after the disaster that took the lives of their loved ones. Struggling to cope with his grief, Micah abandons his father’s dreams of a prosperous ranch and cuts himself off from the rest of the world.
Charlotte has loved Micah her entire life and is determined not to lose him as well. With her mother’s help, she begins coaxing Micah to live again. Despite their enduring heartache, the affection between them deepens, but just as Charlotte thinks her dreams may come true, a scorned suitor threatens everything she holds dear. Micah and Charlotte must embark on a journey of healing and renewal to build a life founded on faith, hope, and love.
MY THOUGHTS
I am always excited to see a new book by the author and this is the first in The Hope of Cheyenne series.
Micah Hamilton and Charlotte Aldrich have known each other since childhood, and she has loved him just as long. Even as a child she said she was going to marry him someday, but her father has other plans and makes plans for her to marry a man who she doesn’t love. He thinks he is doing the right thing as this man has money and will take her away from the ranch and give her a life of luxury. All she wants is to run a ranch along with her husband and be a rancher’s wife, just like her mother who has happily lived this lifestyle.
The winter of 1887 outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming was particularly rough, not fit for man or beast. Devastatingly a significant number of open range cattle died due to record breaking temperatures and heavy snow in the Great Plains region. The author described this very well, the tragedy and many ranchers and their hands died as well trying to save the cattle. This time period is referred to as “The Great Die-Up.”
After the death of Max’s father during this time period he becomes a shell of himself. Dealing with grief, second chances, and sweet romance and is a Christian fiction historical romance.
The restorative power of faith in a well-developed story line with characters I’ll look forward to reading more about in the next book in the series.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than one hundred books. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.
382 pages Bookouture publisher September 10, 2021 publication date
ABOUT THE BOOK
Italy, 1943. In the hills outside Naples, the silver moon shines brightly on a whitewashed farmhouse. An urgent knock on the door breaks the silence: and in that moment, one young woman’s act of incredible bravery changes the course of the war.
For Carmela del Bosco, a farm girl in a remote Italian village, sheltering an English spy is the most dangerous thing she could do. If she’s caught by the fascists it would be the end, especially for her beloved grandmother sleeping soundly upstairs. But taking in the pleading brown eyes of the man calling himself Sebastiano slumped at her door, and his terrible injuries inflicted by the Nazi occupiers, Carmela remembers how Nonna always taught her right from wrong. Risking everything, she hides him in a ruined tower on the edge of the farm.
Each day Carmela tends his wounds, and the passion that kindles between them is a light in the darkest time. Sebastiano has information that could end the war, and needs her help to send it. But tracking down fellow members of the resistenza in the mountains meansrisking her life and bringing danger to everyone she knows.
Carmela knows she must find the courage to do what’s right for her country. But if she leaves the farm, will she ever see her beloved nonna again? And will her sacrifice tear her away from the only man she’s ever loved, forever?
An absolutely stunning and heartbreaking historical novel about the impossible choices people are forced to make in wartime. Fans of The Nightingale, All the Light We Cannot See and Rhys Bowen will be captivated.
MY THOUGHTS
Italy, 1943. In the hills outside Naples. Carmela del Bosco must forget, what has happened seems a lifetime ago but that’s easier said than done.
Her slumber disturbed in the early morning at her Nonna’s farm where she lives, a man, badly beaten, an English spy on the run from Nazi occupiers. Calling himself Sebastiano, Carmela hides him in a ruined tower on the farm property. His discovery could put not only her but her Nonna and all residents of the farmhouse in grave danger.
As time goes on, they admit to having feeling for each other. He begs her to leave the farm and get a message out that could end the war. She’ll need to track down fellow members of the resistenza leaving her family members alone and vulnerable especially her Nonna. Will she ever see her again or her new love?
Danger abounds, found around every corner. The tension doesn’t let up over the whole book. Utterly heartbreaking. The author grabs your attention and doesn’t let go.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Natalie is a RITA nominated, USA Today best-selling author of ten historical novels: The Dress Thief, The Milliner’s Secret, The Wardrobe Mistress, A Gown of Thorns, The Secret Vow and The Paris Girl (featuring sisters, Katya and Tatiana.) Two further novels are set in southern Italy: Into the Burning Dawn and The Italian Girl’s Secret, both featuring young women facing tough choices.
The Girl with the Yellow Star takes the reader to wartime Cornwall and introduces Gwenna and little Lotti, the motherless child who comes unexpectedly into her life. The Locket is a split timeline novel featuring Irene, a country girl living next door to a new American airbase and her grandaughter Ruby who uncovers Irene’s lost past. The Paris Inheritance is her latest novel, a split timeline between an English painter caught in Paris by enemy occupation and Hope, an Englishwoman who comes to France looking for a new life. Both women are on the knife edge of life-changing events. Natalie writes page turning stories of wartime, love and challenging choices.
From February 2025, look out for Natalie’s country house crime novels under the name Kay Blythe. One and the same, Natalie/Kay aims to delight the reader with immersive, twisty historical adventure. Happy reading!
449 pages Bookouture publisher July 9, 2021 publication date
ABOUT THE BOOK
As a terrible war creeps ever closer, one young woman desperately tries to protect those she loves…
1940. When Rosie loses her mother and is sent to Sri Lanka to live with her mother’s friend Silvia and her three sons, her world changes in a heartbeat. As she is absorbed into the bosom of a noisy family, with boys she loves like brothers, she begins to feel at home.
But the war in Europe is heading for Asia. Searching for comfort from the bleak news and the bombings, Rosie meets a heroic soldier on leave, and falls in love for the first time. Yet the war will not stop for passion; he must move on, and she must say goodbye, knowing she might never see him again.
Meanwhile, one by one, the men she considers brothers leave to fight for their island paradise. As she waits in anguish for letters that never come, tortured by stories of torpedoed ships and massacres of innocent families, she realises that she, too, must do her bit.
Rosie volunteers to work in military intelligence, keeping secrets that will help those she loves and protect her island home. But then two telegrams arrive with the chilling words ‘missing believed captured’ and ‘missing believed dead’. Who of those that she loves will survive the devastating war, and who will she lose?
An emotional and heartbreaking read with rich historical detail set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka during World War Two. Fans of Hazel Gaynor, Fiona Valpy, Kristin Hannah and Clare Flynn will be swept away by Those I Have Lost.
MY THOUGHTS
Taking place in India and what we now know as Sri Lanka. 1940 India. This is Rosie’s story. She has suddenly lost her mother as a young girl. This coming-of-age story is a heartbreaker. Her father cannot properly care for her, and she is sent to live with a woman, her mother’s best friend “Aunty” and her three sons in Sri Lanka.
Told in time periods before and during the war. The men, some gladly leave the island to do their part as Europe is being torn apart by the maddening bombs flying.
Devastated, her first love is mia and she feels as though life for her will never be the same. When all she has known winds up in chaos and devastation can she possibly go on? Secrets are sometimes more hurtful when found out. Tragic but beyond the darkness is another day, another day full of hope and the possibility of light shining again.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Sharon Maas was born into a prominent political family in Georgetown, Guyana, in 1951. She was educated in England, Guyana, and, later, Germany. After leaving school, she worked as a trainee reporter with the Guyana Graphic in Georgetown and later wrote feature articles for the Sunday Chronicle as a staff journalist.
Her first novel, Of Marriageable Age, is set in Guyana and India and was published by HarperCollins in 1999. In 2014 she moved to Bookouture, and now has ten novels under her belt. Her books span continents, cultures, and eras. From the sugar plantations of colonial British Guiana in South America, to the French battlefields of World War Two, to the present-day brothels of Mumbai and the rice-fields and villages of South India, Sharon never runs out of stories for the armchair traveller.
Life is a journey and the learning never ends. Of which I am glad because I find it fascinating to learn new things every day.
The latest thing I’ve learned though is my cats really don’t know how to tell time. If I get up at 3 a.m. to use the bathroom they’ll meow at me for food but if I sleep in til 5 or 7 a.m. they’re still meowing at me for breakfast. They’d have you convinced I’m starving them. 🤣🐾😹😍
Iris didn’t want the grilled cheese but she sure enjoys sniffing all my food.And I’m sure you’re convinced this boy misses a lot of meals.Hmmm, I’m not too sure this is comfortable for me.Will this bring my dinner any faster?
400 pages Bethany House publishers Publication date December 3, 2024
ABOUT THE BOOK
A surprise homecoming tests the bonds of sisterhood as a hidden past comes to light . . .
Disgraced eldest sister Claire Summers has been living in exile as companion to a stern great-aunt in Scotland. About to lose her place and longing to be reconciled with her estranged family, Claire sees an advertisement from someone looking for a “respectable female partner” in a Sidmouth boarding house. Is it a sign? She answers the ad, hoping she has not made another reckless mistake. When she meets the handsome, secretive proprietor, she wonders what he’s hiding and if he’s any more trustworthy than the nobleman who betrayed her years ago. Claire is drawn to him even though she fears he will reject her when he discovers her genteel façade hides a less-than-respectable past.
Meanwhile, the Summers family learns their great-aunt has died and Claire has disappeared without a word. The sisters rally together to find their lost sibling, but will their unexpected reunion heal old wounds and rekindle their bonds . . . or deepen the divide?
Return to the captivating Devonshire coast as the Summers sisters navigate romance, second chances, and the enduring strength of sisterhood in the face of adversity.
MY THOUGHTS
t’s always such a treat to read a book by the author and I’m already looking forward to the Christmas release in this series coming out in September. This is the third of what I believe to be a four-book series.
I’ve enjoyed getting to know the five sisters and their widowed mother. I’d suggest reading the other two books in the series to catch up on the back story, meeting all the sisters and getting to know their personalities. The author’s books are wonderful, and her storytelling abilities have evolved over the years making for such compelling stories that I’m sure not to miss.
How exciting that the book started out taking place in Scotland. I’ve really enjoyed the Regency spin she puts on her books. We have romance, forgiveness, strong faith. We have a reunion with the oldest sister and after a troubling past it was so nice to see such strong sisterly bonds are still there as they are there to support her.
Great descriptions and as with the other books I could imagine the rugged seaside coast. Looking forward to the other sister’s stories soon. Great wrap up of this story as it kept me glued to its pages.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own
MEET THE AUTHOR
Julie Klassen loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. She worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. Three of her novels have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. She has also won the Minnesota Book Award, the Midwest Book Award, and Christian Retailing’s BEST Award. Julie is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota. Visit http://www.julieklassen.com and talesfromivyhill.com for more information.
416 pages Publisher Revell Publication date January 21, 2025
ABOUT THE BOOK
Virigina plantation life is all she has ever known. But could the life she was meant to live be waiting on a distant shore?
In 1774, Juliet Catesby lives with her father and sister at Royal Vale, the James River plantation founded by her Virginia family over a century before. Indigo cultivation is her foremost concern, though its export tethers her family to the powerful Buchanan clan of Glasgow, Scotland.
When the heir of the Buchanan firm arrives on their shores, Juliet discovers that her father has arranged for one of his daughters to marry the Scot as a means of canceling the family’s crippling debt. Confident it will be her younger, lovelier sister, Juliet is appalled when Leith Buchanan selects her instead.
Despite her initial refusal, Juliet realizes that fleeing Virginia is her only choice after finding herself in the midst of a scandal. The ship just leaving the harbor for Glasgow is her only hope. But she will soon realize that being part of the complex and calculating Buchanan clan is not the sanctuary she imagined–and the man who saved her from ruin is the very one she must now save in return.
MY THOUGHTS
What an exciting journey I took while reading this book. The author always writes fascinating well researched historical fiction this one taking us from the tobacco fields of Virginia to Scotland.
Rich in history, the James River plantation in Virgina is home to Juliet Catesby, her sister and father. Indigo is cultivated on their plantation along with other crops common in 1774. Unknown to Juliet the plantation is not faring well, and her father is in terrible debt.
A member of the Buchanan clan of Glasgow, Scotland arrives on the shores to marry one of the plantation daughters. Juliet surely believes it’ll be her younger sister.
Leith Buchanan is a widower with two young children after his wife’s passing, he knows he will not marry without love this time. The sea voyages I really enjoy reading about. Lots of detail that could have you envisioning yourself on this long journey.
As Juliet and Leith spend more time in each other’s company we can see this will become a lifelong journey of faith, love and hope. Another excellent story by the author.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Bestselling, award-winning author, Laura Frantz, has been writing stories since age seven. She is passionate about all things historical, particularly the 18th-century and her novels often incorporate Scottish themes that reflect her family heritage. She is a direct descendant of George Hume, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland, who was exiled to the American colonies for his role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, settled in Virginia, and is credited with teaching George Washington surveying in the years 1748-1750. Proud of her heritage, she is also a Daughter of the American Revolution. Though she will always consider Kentucky home, she and her husband live in Washington State.
According to Publishers Weekly, “Frantz has done her historical homework.” With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, she is represented by Janet Kobobel Grant, Literary Agent & Founder, Books & Such Literary Agency of Santa Rosa, California. Foreign language editions include French, Dutch, Spanish, Slovakian, German & Polish.
*Subscribe to Laura’s seasonal newsletter and receive new release information, news about contests, giveaways, and reader events, sneak peaks and teasers, signings and appearances, and more! To subscribe, copy and paste this into your browser’s address window:
384 pages Gallery Books Publication date July 6, 2021
ABOUT THE BOOK
The New York Times bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (People) The Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis—until a secret from her past threatens everything.
After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what’s happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest—and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything.
Inspired by incredible true stories of survival against staggering odds, and suffused with the journey-from-the-wilderness elements that made Where the Crawdads Sing a worldwide phenomenon, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a heart-wrenching and suspenseful novel from the #1 internationally bestselling author whose writing has been hailed as “sweeping and magnificent” (Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author), “immersive and evocative” (Publishers Weekly), and “gripping” (Tampa Bay Times).
MY THOUGHTS
My heart just aches for these characters. Another WWII book heavily researched based on facts. This one takes place mainly amongst the forest of Poland.
Yona was just a babe at two years old when she was stolen from her crib in her nursery from her wealthy German parents by an old woman of the forest. As she grew, she only knew living off the land and spent her life with only her kidnapper who trained her up in her ways. The woman was Jewish but not overly religious.
It was fascinating reading how they lived in seclusion in the woods moving from spot to spot often so as to stay undetected. Eating mushrooms, berries and drinking from freshwater streams sometimes two miles away. The forest animals were her playmates. She was trained in herbal healing and how to defend herself with a knife if needed.
Asking about her parents her kidnapper only tells her that her parents were evil. After her captor dies, she is curious about human company and goes to the edge of the forest where she sees Jews from the ghetto, some are hurt. She has healing powers and knows her herbs. This group is fleeing for their lives from the Nazis, and she promises to teach them all she knows as they escape into the forest. Feeling kinship with the Jews as she was raised by one though German herself.
I have never read a book with so many wilderness aspects, the book was absolutely mesmerizing, and I couldn’t put it down. Being in isolation for so many years she makes some unexpected discoveries about herself as she helps this group of people.
Will she ever want to return to civilization though? Once again, I learned so much from the author’s notes in the back of the book about the Polish people and their struggles during WWII. Such heroes selflessly giving of themselves for the good of all. Just amazing!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Kristin has been writing professionally since the age of 16, when she began her career as a sportswriter, covering Major League Baseball and NHL hockey for a local magazine in Tampa Bay, Florida in the late 1990s. In addition to a long magazine writing career, primarily writing and reporting for PEOPLE magazine (as well as articles published in numerous other magazines, including American Baby, Men’s Health, Woman’s Day, and more), Kristin was also a frequent contributor to the national television morning show The Daily Buzz. She sold her first novel in 2004, and it debuted in February 2006.
Kristin was born just outside Boston, Massachusetts and spent her childhood there, as well as in Worthington, Ohio, and St. Petersburg, Florida. After graduating with a degree in journalism (with a minor in Spanish) from the University of Florida, she spent time living in Paris and Los Angeles and now lives in Orlando, with her husband and young son. She is also the co-founder and co-host of the popular weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction.
March is a great month to read historical fiction, and I hope you’re enjoying the books I’m choosing. Have a wonderful day.
371 pages Thomas Nelson publisher Publication date June 1, 2021
ABOUT THE BOOK
Libraries are being ransacked. France is torn apart by war. A French librarian is determined to resist. Told through smuggled letters to an author, an ordinary librarian describes the brutal Nazi occupation of her small coastal village and the extraordinary measures she takes to fight back.
Saint-Malo, France: August 1939. Jocelyn and Antoine are childhood sweethearts, but just after they marry, Antoine is drafted to fight against Germany. As World War II rages, Jocelyn uses her position as a librarian in her town of Saint-Malo to comfort and encourage her community with books. Jocelyn begins to write secret letters smuggled to a famous Parisian author, telling her story in the hope that it will someday reach the outside world.
France falls and the Nazis occupy Jocelyn’s town, turning it into a fortress. The townspeople try passive resistance, but the German commander ruthlessly begins to destroy part of the city’s libraries. Books deemed unsuitable by the Nazis are burnt or stolen, and priceless knowledge is lost.
Risking arrest and even her life, Jocelyn manages to hide some of the books while desperately waiting to receive news from her husband Antoine, now a prisoner in a German camp.
Jocelyn’s mission unfolds in her letters: to protect the people of Saint-Malo and the books they hold so dear. Mario Escobar brings to life the occupied city in sweeping and romantic prose, re-creating the history of those who sacrificed all to care for the people they loved.
Includes discussion questions for book clubs, a historical timeline, and notes from the author.
World War II historical fiction inspired by true events.
MY THOUGHTS
I have read many of the author’s books. They are incredible. Incredible sounds like such a lame word to use to describe the author’s books though, they are just that great and I highly recommend all of them.
World War II historical fiction inspired by true events. Many of the characters are also based on actual people just with the names changed. There are thousands of WWII books, and this is one of them but no matter how many I read I find deep satisfaction in them because I love history and always learn something new about this subject as each book seems to cover a different angle of the war and it’s going on’s.
Saint-Malo, France: August 1939: With her husband away at war against the Germans, French wife Jocelyn is meticulously dedicated to her position as a librarian in her town of Saint-Malo. She encourages others to find comfort in the books as their librarian when they’re not in shelters as the bombs rain down.
As with all wars there is a madman in charge, Hitler who commands his puppets to do his dirty work. They feel so powerful abusing commoners and kidnapping the Jews. They think nothing of abusing women and children. There really are a lot of heartbreaking scenes in the book, but it’s all based on fact and is something we should never forget as we honor those who gave their lives in one way or another during the war or just helping others out around them.
Librarian Joycelyn writes letters of her life to an author of her ordinary life before and after the Nazi occupation so though she may not escape the terror her letters will, and others may know how she fought for all and the importance of her library.
It also broke my heart to read of the brutality she faces many times over by the Nazis as she tries to protect the books banned by the Germans. These books faced being ripped up, bombing and fire. The author really brings these troubling times to life as we see terror but also so much bravery despite knowing what they would face. Excellent!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Mario Escobar has a master’s degree in modern history and has written numerous books and articles that delve into the depths of church history, the struggle of sectarian groups, and the discovery and colonization of the Americas. Escobar, who makes his home in Madrid, Spain, is passionate about history and its mysteries.
Autor Betseller con miles de libros vendidos en todo el mundo. Sus obras han sido traducidas al chino, japonés, inglés, ruso, portugués, danés, francés, italiano, checo, polaco, serbio, entre otros idiomas. Novelista, ensayista y conferenciante. Licenciado en Historia y Diplomado en Estudios Avanzados en la especialidad de Historia Moderna, ha escrito numerosos artículos y libros sobre la Inquisición, la Reforma Protestante y las sectas religiosas.
Ganador Premio Empik 2020
Publica asiduamente en las revistas Más Allá y National Geographic Historia
Apasionado por la historia y sus enigmas ha estudiado en profundidad la Historia de la Iglesia, los distintos grupos sectarios que han luchado en su seno, el descubrimiento y colonizacíón de América; especializándose en la vida de personajes heterodoxos españoles y americanos.
Su primera obra, Conspiración Maine 2006, fue un éxito. Le siguieron El mesías Ario (2007), El secreto de los Assassini (2008) y la Profecía de Aztlán (2009). Todas ellas parte de la saga protagonizada por Hércules Guzmán Fox, George Lincoln y Alicia Mantorella.
Su libro Francisco. El primer papa latinoamericano ha sido traducido a 12 idiomas, entre ellos el chino, inglés, francés, italiano, portugues, japonés, danés, etc.
Sol rojo sobre Hiroshima (2009) y El País de las lágrimas (2010) son sus obras más intimistas. También ha publicado ensayos como Martín Luther King (2006) e Historia de la Masonería en Estados Unidos (2009). Los doce legados de Steve Jobs (2012). La biografía del papa Francisco. El primer papa latinoamericano (2013). La Saga Ione (2013) o la Serie Apocalipsis (2012).Saga Misión Verne (2013)El libro más exitoso en España es El Círculo (Top 10 de Amazon).
384 pages Simon & Schuster Canada publisher Pub Date Apr 27 2021
ABOUT THE BOOK
Inspired by a little-known chapter of World War II history, a young Protestant girl and her Jewish neighbour are caught up in the terrible wave of hate sweeping the globe on the eve of war in this powerful love story that’s perfect for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
If you’re reading this letter, that means I’m dead. I had obviously hoped to see you again, to explain in person, but fate had other plans.
1933
At eighteen years old, Molly Ryan dreams of becoming a journalist, but instead she spends her days working any job she can to help her family through the Depression crippling her city. The one bright spot in her life is watching baseball with her best friend, Hannah Dreyfus, and sneaking glances at Hannah’s handsome older brother, Max.
But as the summer unfolds, more and more of Hitler’s hateful ideas cross the sea and “Swastika Clubs” and “No Jews Allowed” signs spring up around Toronto, a city already simmering with mass unemployment, protests, and unrest. When tensions between the Irish and Jewish communities erupt in a riot one smouldering day in August, Molly and Max are caught in the middle, with devastating consequences for both their families.
1939
Six years later, the Depression has eased and Molly is a reporter at her local paper. But a new war is on the horizon, putting everyone she cares about most in peril. As letters trickle in from overseas, Molly is forced to confront what happened all those years ago, but is it too late to make things right?
From the desperate streets of Toronto to the embattled shores of Hong Kong, Letters Across the Sea is a poignant novel about the enduring power of love to cross dangerous divides even in the darkest of times—from the #1 bestselling author of The Forgotten Home Child.
MY THOUGHTS
Letters Across the Sea is an incredible historical fiction book based on actual events in history. We start off in 1933, Told from the point of view of Molly Ryan’s family and mainly Molly herself. Molly’s family is Protestant, but she has many friends and neighbors who are Jewish.
Times are carefree with her brother’s playing baseball and her best friend’s brother Max having caught her eye. This carefree time doesn’t last long and Molly longs to be a journalist but must take any low paying job she can get her hands on as the Depression settle in. Signs warning the Jews not to apply for a job there litter Toronto’s city streets.
Hitler’s hateful ideas have filtered in and unrest has run rampant with disastrous results for both Max and Molly’s family. The ill-equipped and unprepared Canadian military was sent to Hong Kong without proper training or ammunition. Those who didn’t die were to become prisoners of war.
I have read many WWII books but none that have so completely covered this angle of it. Finely researched the sacrifices these men and women made are heartbreaking, but we see such resilience from them. I learned so much from this book.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Genevieve Graham is the Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, and USA Today bestselling author of several novels, including #1 INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLERS Letters Across the Sea and The Forgotten Home Child—which was #1 across Canada for 11 weeks in 2020, and became the #5 bestselling Canadian fiction novel of 2020.
Genevieve graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Music, worked in advertising, marketing, and fundraising, then became a stay-at-home mom. In 2007, Genevieve decided to try writing a book using everything she’d learned from years of reading, focusing on historical fiction. Upon moving to Nova Scotia, she was suddenly surrounded by Canadian history she knew nothing about. Alarmed by what she’d never learned, she has made it her mission to bring Canadian history to life, writing one book per year. Bluebird, publishing April 2022, will be her 7th novel. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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