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The Sunflowers Babushka Planted by Beatrice Rendon. Illustrated Children’s book.

32 pages ages 5-9 Capstone Editions Jan 1,2024 publish date grades K-3

About The Book

“When Tania was six years old, she and her parents fled Ukraine during World War II. For years they were refugees in Europe, displaced and without permanent residence. Finally, they found safe housing in a refugee camp, but what about home? Day by day, they stitched together new lives, but it wasn’t until a memory of Tania’s babushka and her beloved sunflowers that the family at last began to rebuild a sense of home.

This true account about debut author Beatrice Rendón’s grandmother offers a universal story of hope for refugees around the world.”

MY THOUGHTS

Based on the author’s family history from many years ago.
A young girl named Tania lives a simple life with her parents who live with her grandmother.

Their home is in Ukraine. When a war starts in Ukraine Tania becomes a refugee fleeing Ukraine with her parents for their families’ safety. Grandmother, too elderly to travel stays behind.

Wandering through Europe for years as displaced people during WWII, they wondered if they’d ever be able to go back to their country.

Sad but realistic we get a child’s eye view of the war with her thoughts. We see just how fragile and scary life can be for its youngest members.

For comfort Tania thinks about the sunflowers her grandmother has planted for beauty, Ukraine’s national flower.

Well executed story showing the fragility and uncertainty of times for children. This child was well loved and felt secure with her parents and was able to return to a normal life after the war. Beautifully illustrated which adds to the validity of the story.

Pub Date 01 Jan 2024
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR

About the Author 

Beatrice Rendón was born and raised in the Midwest. She grew up hearing her family’s stories and how their resourcefulness and resilience helped them survive. She is a former classroom teacher and a lifelong lover of children’s literature. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and their cat. This is her first book.

About the Illustrator

Originally from Poland, Olga Baumert studied fine art and jewelry-making before moving to the UK and earning a degree in graphic design and illustration from De Montfort University. Her art is inspired by great stories, interactions between people and nature, and open landscapes—especially ones with tiny figures hiding in them. Olga lives in Leicestershire, England, where she uses a mix of traditional techniques, including gouache, watercolor, acrylics, and colored pencils, to make her art.

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The Heirloom: (Prequel to The Shunning, An Amish Christian Fiction Book)

327 pages Sep. 12,2023 publish date Bethany House Publishers

SYNOPSIS

This heartwarming prequel to The Shunning is a tender story of love, belonging, and the courage to move forward.

After her widowed father remarries, nineteen-year-old Clara Bender is no longer needed to help run his household. Marriage seems like her best hope of moving out, but there are few young men in her tiny Indiana Amish community. When she comes across letters from her mother’s aunt Ella Mae Zook, she sets off to visit Lancaster County’s Hickory Hollow to decide where her future lies.

Ella Mae is not quite ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband spent over fifty happy years, but her children are eager to resettle her, making Clara’s visit seem like an answer to prayer. The two women form a warm bond while restoring an heirloom wedding quilt and sharing their lives, with Ella Mae confiding about a tragedy from her courting years. Eventually, Ella Mae suggests Clara stay for the summer, allowing Ella Mae more time with her and giving Clara an opportunity to meet the area’s eligible young men. But when the unexpected happens, will Clara find where her heart truly belongs?

MY THOUGHTS

I have read this author’s books since she started writing them. She is the one who started me reading Amish fiction. What I like about her books is how realistic they are. I love her writing style. The situations portrayed are realistic and believable. And I can always learn something about the Amish culture from her books. They are always very well researched.

Having read her book The Shunning and the rest of that series when it was first published many years ago, I was thrilled to see a prequel to this series in The Heirloom.

Clara Bender lives in Hickory Hollow, Indiana, and her widowed father is newly remarried. I didn’t like her new stepmother when we first met in the book. Her character is portrayed as unlikeable, as many stepmothers are portrayed. She doesn’t make much of an effort to get along with Clara or empathize with her.

Missing her mother, Clara reads some letters that were bundled away and sent from her aunt to her mother over the years. The two had a close and loving relationship. Clara contacts her aunt about a visit, as she wants to get to know her and hear more about her mother in her younger years.

I loved it when letter writing was popular and used to write and receive letters from my grandmother. The pretty stationery was always a treat to see. Clara’s father isn’t crazy about her going to visit her aunt because it’s a different church district and the rules are different in that district. He relents when she makes plans to stay for a short amount of time.

Once arriving, I enjoyed getting to know the aunt, and we see a bit of a timeslip as we are taken back in time to her aunt’s youth and get to meet some of the youngsters her aunt knew. Just like with today’s youth, there were the reliable and steadfast youth and the braggarts and show-offs. We see from this why the bishop back then made the rules so strict after some mishaps, and this explains why Clara’s aunt is the way she is and also why she doesn’t speak of this time period with anyone.

I enjoyed reading about fixing the heirloom quilt and its repair process.

After acclimating herself to her new homestead in the Lancaster area, she and her aunt would like her to stay longer. Also, the new beau she has wants to grow closer to her. He is a strong man of faith. I enjoyed seeing how Clara and her aunt drew closer in their relationship with each other and with God. Clara goes through some uncertainty when she decides she wants to make this her permanent home, and her father can’t agree to her staying in Lancaster for many reasons. Because of her upbringing, she will not disobey her father. But God always has our best interests and will bring us through our trials and tribulations.

This is an excellent book. This author, with her steadfast faith, never fails to write an inspirational book.

I was given a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Beverly Lewis (beverlylewis.com), born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, has more than 19 million books in print. Her stories have been published in 12 languages and have regularly appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today. Beverly and her husband, David, live in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, making music, and spending time with their family. –This text refers to an alternate kindle edition edition.

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The War Librarian-Captivating historical fiction by Addison Armstrong-Review

383 pages G.P. Putnam’s Sons Publisher August 09,2022 Publish date

About The Book

The Paris Library meets The Flight Girls in this captivating historical novel about the sacrifice and courage necessary to live a life of honor, inspired by the first female volunteer librarians during World War I and the first women accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy.

Two women. One secret. A truth worth fighting for.

1918. Timid and shy Emmaline Balakin lives more in books than her own life. That is, until an envelope crosses her desk at the Dead Letter Office bearing a name from her past, and Emmaline decides to finally embark on an adventure of her own—as a volunteer librarian on the frontlines in France. But when a romance blooms as she secretly participates in a book club for censored books, Emmaline will need to find more courage within herself than she ever thought possible in order to survive. 

1976. Kathleen Carre is eager to prove to herself and to her nana that she deserves her acceptance into the first coed class at the United States Naval Academy. But not everyone wants female midshipmen at the Academy, and after tragedy strikes close to home, Kathleen becomes a target. To protect herself, Kathleen must learn to trust others even as she discovers a secret that could be her undoing.

Grab A Copy Here

My Thoughts

Following up after the popularity of The Light of Luna Park, the author has once again released a compelling read we can get lost in.
This dual timeline is divinely researched as the author combines fact and fiction in the time periods of 1918 and 1976.
Strong, empowered women lead in firsts including WWI women librarians and the first class of women to attend the United States Naval Academy. I found it fascinating how each timeline is a standalone but so seamlessly meshes at the end of the book with the characters from the first timeline finding their way into the second timeline.
The book shows resilience the women show during hardships. I also enjoyed the inclusivity shown by the book club created during WWI that included ALL soldiers regardless of color. Soldiers of color were often not treated until all whites were treated regardless of injury and oftentimes it was too late for them as evidenced by the author's writing.
Very authentic feel to this writing. I will be on the lookout for more by this author.

Pub Date 09 Aug 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

Born in The United States

Website

http://www.addisonarmstrong.com

Genre

Historical Fiction

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A Christmas Deliverance, A satisfying Christmas mystery novella by Anne Perry-Review

About The Book

A courageous doctor and his apprentice fight to save London’s poor—and discover that the hearts of men can be colder than a winter chill—in this gripping holiday mystery from New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.

“Perry’s Victorian-era holiday mysteries [are] an annual treat.”—The Wall Street Journal

Scuff has come a long way from his time as a penniless orphan scraping together a living on the banks of the Thames. Now he’s studying medicine at a free clinic run by Dr. Crowe, a thoughtful if stoic mentor. But lately Crowe has been distracted, having witnessed an altercation between a wealthy former patient of his named Ellie—a woman that he not only treated but developed unacknowledged feelings for—and her controlling fiancé. It seems someone is forcing Ellie to marry the man. When Crowe’s emotions come flooding back, he sets out to uncover the troubling connection between Ellie, her father, and her betrothed.

With Crowe engrossed in his investigation just weeks before the holidays, Scuff is left to run the clinic on his own, treating London’s poor and vulnerable. In the holiday spirit,  he offers Mattie, a young girl in need, a warm place to stay as the winter chill sweeps through the city. Together, Scuff and Mattie must also fend off the police, who are growing suspicious of Crowe’s amateur sleuthing. Will Crowe be able to help Ellie, and will Scuff be able to ensure that he and Mattie—and all of their patients—have a safe and peaceful Christmas?

Grab A Copy Here

My Thoughts

This is a wonderful mystery book with a Vintage Christmas vibe.
An old-time doctor, along with his apprentice that was an orphan he took in off of the streets and taught him everything he knows, have a free clinic set up on the Banks of the Thames.
He is a no-nonsense doctor but kindly, accepting fish wrapped in newspaper, whatever fruit is in season or odd jobs done for him. He knows not to make the poor feel unworthy or they won’t come to his clinic until it’s too late.
There is the sweetest little street urchin in the story, just five years old and she brings a kitten barely weaned as payment for taking care of her cut. She shows such bravery and even helps out the old doctor handing him towels and doing other small chores and in return gets delicious and nutritious meals.
There is just enough of a mystery to keep the reader reading and intrigued.
The setting feels as though you are watching a feel-good old-time movie.
The author has many books out, but I’ve only read two of them, both Christmas mysteries.
I really do need to read more of her books, they are so well written.

Pub Date 08 Nov 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

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#Bookouture Blog Tour for Christmas In The Little Irish Village by Michelle Vernal

Christmas in the Little Irish Village: A page-turning Christmas romance to fall in love with by Michelle Vernal

Welcome to the little Irish village where Christmas celebrations are in full swing! Twinkling lights, cosy fires and big mugs of hot chocolate are in abundance as Shannon Kelly returns home to the Shamrock Inn. Will this be the year she finds the man of her dreams or is she destined to be forever unlucky in love?

Thirty-four-year-old Shannon is heartbroken following an unexpected break up. Seasonal joy is the last thing on her mind, as she wonders if she’ll ever find the kind of long-lasting love she’s always dreamed of. Even the comforting distractions of her big Irish family can’t cheer her up. Then things get even worse when Shannon slips over on the ice and finds herself red-faced in the arms of a gorgeous American man…

Despite the embarrassing encounter, Shannon can’t help wondering who the handsome stranger is. She soon finds out when James Cabot takes a room at the Shamrock Inn. Their second meeting is equally disastrous when she gives James the tour – without realising her skirt is tucked into her knickers! Shannon isn’t sure how she’s going to survive living under the same roof when she has such a talent for making a complete eejit of herself, and resolves to avoid their new guest at all costs.

But when Shannon discovers James is in Ireland because he’s claiming to be the long-lost grandson of her elderly neighbour, Maeve Doolin, she is immediately suspicious. Shannon has known kind Maeve since she was a little girl and feels protective of her, so she’s determined to find out the truth. Even if it means spending more time with James…

The two of them end up getting closer than she’d bargained for when they take a tour of Emerald Bay and end up snowed in together. But just as James begins to make Shannon’s heart melt with his cheeky grin and awful carol singing, a shocking secret threatens to shatter the growing romance between them.

Can Shannon trust James? And will she get the happily-ever-after she’s been hoping for this Christmas?

This gorgeous festive romance is the perfect cosy read to snuggle up with this Christmas. Fans of Nicola May, Trisha Ashley and Debbie Macomber will love this wonderfully uplifting novel.

Buy link: https://geni.us/B0BBNGK43Bsocial

My Thoughts

You will get the full Irish experience while reading this one. Being that my ancestors came over on a boat from Galway I knew this one was the perfect read for me.
You’ll be immersed in the authenticity of the Irish humor,foods and settings.
An American guy,an Irish gal snowed in together with an elderly neighbor it looks like love may be a blooming in this charming rom-com. When secrets are revealed though it just may send that fledgling romance south . This book is just lovely, so entertaining. The humor is great and had me laughing out loud. Heart-warming and charming, so looking forward to the next in this series.

Pub Date 14 Oct 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own. 

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About The Author

Michelle Vernal is a New Zealand author who writes stories that will take you onto the page with her characters and make you feel part of their lives. She writes with humour and warmth, and her readers describe her books as unputdownable, feel good and funny. Her writing has been likened to Maeve Binchy but with a modern-day vernacular. In 2015 she was shortlisted for the Love Stories Award. In 2020 she won the Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal Award for Chick lit, and in 2021 was shortlisted for the Page Turner Book Awards.

Author social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleVernal

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellevernalnovelist/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellevernalnovelist

Website: https://www.michellevernalbooks.com/

Newsletter sign up: https://www.bookouture.com/michelle-vernal

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The Last Dress From Paris by Jade Beer-Book Review

My Review

This is a most delightful book with it’s dual time-line you’ll get pulled into two delightful stories that just seamlessly mesh.
Lucille has a special and loving relationship with her Grandmother Sylvie and will do anything for her.
When her grandmother asks her to go from England to Paris to find a priceless Dior dress she believes she’ll be home quickly and easily with the task completed.
What she doesn’t count on is needing to rent a French apartment and finding a side of her grandmother she had never know about.
The book kept me spellbound while reading about the 1950’s glamour of the fashionable Dior gowns,an opulent lifestyle a forbidden affair,well kept secrets and a heartbreaking betrayal.
So many glamorous Dior gowns each representing a special time. You can practically feel the heaviness and sumptuousness of the velvet and other lush materials of the vintage gowns in your hands.
Secrets and heartbreak comes alive in this book I was unable to put down!

Pub Date: 21 Jun 2022
I received a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

GoodReads Synopsis

London, 2017. There’s no one Lucille adores more than her grandmother. So when her beloved Granny Sylvie asks for Lucille’s assistance with a small matter, she’s happy to help. The next thing she knows, Lucille is on a train to Paris, tasked with retrieving a priceless Dior dress. But not everything is as it seems, and what Lucille finds in a small Parisian apartment will have her scouring the city for answers to a question that could change her entire life.

Paris, 1952. Postwar France is full of glamour and privilege, and Alice Ainsley is in the middle of it all. As the wife to the British ambassador to France, Alice’s job is to see and be seen–even if that wasn’t quite what she signed up for. Her husband showers her with jewels, banquets, and couture Dior dresses, but his affection has become distressingly elusive. As the strain on her marriage grows, Alice’s only comfort is her bond with her trusted lady’s maid, Marianne. But when a new face appears in her drawing room, Alice finds herself yearning to follow her heart…no matter the consequences.

The City of Light comes alive in this lush, evocative tale that explores the ties that bind us together, the truths we hold that make us who we are, and the true meaning of what makes someone family. 

Grab A Copy Here

About The Author

Hello!

I’m Jade. I’m a novelist, a mother to two young daughters and I live in the beautiful English countryside. After decades working in glossy magazines in London, I now live in the Cotswolds. It’s where my husband and I used to spend romantic weekends plotting our future together, long before children came along, and is now where I write my books.

My latest novel, The Last Dress From Paris, is inspired by a visit I made to the Victoria & Albert museum back in January 2019 for the Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition. When I left the museum that day, I knew so much more about the work of Christian Dior and how he defined an era of fashion. Much has been written of his legacy. But what of the women he dressed, I wondered. What happened to all of them and their beautiful gowns when they left the boutique for the final time? What would the women, Dior’s clients, whisper from behind the glass cabinets if they could? What would they tell me about the occasion on which they wore these dresses?

Women have always fascinated me. I think it comes from seeing first-hand how truly brilliant we can be and how wonderfully flawed. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some incredibly talented women throughout my career as a journalist and editor – ones who juggle the most all-encompassing careers with family and friendships and everything else that life throws at them. They often make it look so easy. But we all know it’s not. And that need to present one version of yourself to the world, while keeping the grittier, less polished reality under wraps, is a thread that runs strongly through all my novels and especially The Last Dress From Paris.

In my former job as the editor of Conde Nast Brides, I shared my working life with editors of some of the glossiest magazines in the world – Vogue, Tatler, Glamour – and I had the enormous privilege of travelling the world and sitting front row at beautiful fashion shows and working with the world’s leading florists, cake makers and stylists. But I also took a daily peek into the lives of young women who were experiencing one of the most intense times of their lives – planning their wedding days. This, above everything else, was the fascinating bit. Hearing their thoughts, fears, worries and ambitions for the future. This really powerful cocktail of glamour and reality is there, I hope, on the pages of all my books.

Take a peek inside my life on Instagram @jadebeerbrides or at http://www.jadebeer.com

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The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers Book Review

I lived in North Carolina for a little while but it was not near the tobacco fields.

My Review

The tobacco industry rules in the 1940’s in Bright Leaf, North Carolina.
From the field workers to the women working in the tobacco manufacturing factories to the doctors recommending it even to expectant and new mothers to calm the nerves.
They all benefit financially from it. The tobacco wives are married to the big wigs in the tobacco industry, all smoke and are looked up to for their immaculate houses and gorgeous gowns made by a very talented seamstress.
Doctors and scientists are coming into knowledge of tobacco being detrimental to the health but deny any knowledge of the scientific findings.
What happens when they are called out on it though with concrete evidence backing up the failing health of residents and miscarriages linked with smoking?
Very eye opening and informative. Very well developed story by a debut author. I’ll be on the lookout for more from this author.

Pub Date 01 Mar 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

GoodReads Synopsis

For the audience of Fiona Davis and Lisa Wingate, a vibrant historical debut set in 1946 North Carolina following a young female seamstress who uncovers dangerous truths about the Big Tobacco empire ruling the American South.

“Myers brilliantly seduces us with her setting—a North Carolina town of beautiful socialites, opulent dresses, and elegant soirees—before revealing a terrible secret that threatens the entire community. This is a story of courage, of women willing to take a stand in the face of corporate greed, and most definitely a tale for our times.” —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue

Maddie Sykes is a burgeoning seamstress who’s just arrived in Bright Leaf, North Carolina—the tobacco capital of the South—where her aunt has a thriving sewing business. After years of war rations and shortages, Bright Leaf is a prosperous wonderland in full technicolor bloom, and Maddie is dazzled by the bustle of the crisply uniformed female factory workers, the palatial homes, and, most of all, her aunt’s glossiest clientele: the wives of the powerful tobacco executives.

When a series of unexpected events thrusts Maddie into the role of lead dressmaker for the town’s most influential women, she scrambles to produce their ornate gowns for the biggest party of the season. But she soon learns that Bright Leaf isn’t quite the carefree paradise that it seems: A trail of misfortune follows many of the women, including substantial health problems. Although Maddie is quick to believe that this is a coincidence, she inadvertently uncovers evidence that suggests otherwise.

Maddie wants to report what she knows, but in a town where everyone depends on Big Tobacco to survive, she doesn’t know who she can trust—and fears that exposing the truth may destroy the lives of the proud, strong women with whom she has forged strong bonds.

Shedding light on the hidden history of women’s activism during the post-war period, at its heart, The Tobacco Wives is a deeply human, emotionally satisfying, and dramatic novel about the power of female connection and the importance of seeking truth. 

Tobacco barn in North Carolina field

About The Author

Adele Myers grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and has a journalism degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently works in advertising and lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, son, and their rescue dog, Chipper. The Tobacco Wives is her first novel. Learn more at http://www.adelemyersauthor.com

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