Tag: women empowered

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The Hidden Palace (The Daughters of War) (Book 2)

528 pages Publisher HarperCollins Publication date

November 22, 2022

ABOUT THE BOOK

An island of secrets. A runaway. And a promise…

A rebellious daughter
1925. Among the ancient honey-coloured walls of the tiny island of Malta, strangers slip into the shadows and anyone can buy a new name. Rosalie Delacroix flees Paris for a dancer’s job in the bohemian clubs deep in its winding streets.

A sister with a secret
1944. Running from the brutality of war in France, Florence Baudin faces a new life. But her estranged mother makes a desperate request: to find her vanished sister, who went missing years before.

A rift over generations
Betrayals and secrets, lies and silence hang between the sisters. A faded last letter from Rosalie is Florence’s only clue, the war an immovable barrier – and time is running out…

MY THOUGHTS

I don’t know the author but if I did, I would shake her hand, tell her how the book made me feel. This book is truly what historical fiction is, it’s makes you come alive, feel things.
This book takes place in 1925 and 1944. While the first book concentrates 0n the three sisters this one focuses on Florence the most though all three are included in it.
The book is about how the war affects them and the choices they make about the war affects them.
I don’t personally have anyone in my family that was in WW11 and I thank all who did serve for their sacrifices but that doesn’t mean I and others weren’t affected by this tragedy we call war.
This book is realism; this could easily have been a written portrayal of three sister’s lives that experienced this.
The mother is a focal point as well; she is desperate to find her sister who disappeared almost twenty years ago and only has an old, faded letter to go by to help locate her.
Life can never be compartmentalized, stuffed into a box and tried to be made neat.
This book is life, it’s also death, blood, violence, caring, making love, compassion, betrayal, fear, wanting to start over, unbelievable grief, associating with people quite a lot different than yourself ,caring for your neighbors as you would yourself, hiding, delicious meals with family and not knowing where your next meal is coming from, it’s ugly, it’s beautiful.
This book should win an award, it’s beyond amazing!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF – The Tea Planter’s Wife, The Sapphire Widow, Daughters of War, Night Train to Marrakech, The Greek House and six others.

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Forged In Love by Mary Connealy

About The Book

In 1870, Mariah Stover is left for dead and with no memory when the Deadeye Gang robs the stagecoach she’s on, killing her father and brother. As she takes over her father’s blacksmith business and attempts to move forward, the old-fashioned townspeople meet her new occupation with disdain.

Handsome and polished Clint Roberts escaped to Western Wyoming from the painful memories he left back east. In the hope of a new life, he opens a diner where he creates fine dishes, but is met with a harsh welcome from the townsfolk who prefer to stick to their old ways.

Clint and Mariah are drawn together by the similar trials they face in a new town, and Clint is determined to protect Mariah at all costs when danger descends upon her home. As threats pursue them from every side, will they survive to build a life forged in love?

Mary Connealy steals you away to the atmospheric American West with an adventure-filled, charming nineteenth-century tale.

My Thoughts

I have been reading this author’s books for years and have always enjoyed the strong faith message in them.
Mariah Stover is no shrinking violet, despite being on a stagecoach that was robbed and that took the life of her father and brother she knows she must go on. She is left with no memory of the incident. I enjoyed seeing Mariah cast as a strong woman taking over her father’s blacksmith shop, a job at this time period known to be a man’s job. The town’s people are not accepting of her doing this as they are used to seeing men do this and are stuck in the old way of thought.
Hoping to escape painful memories Clint Roberts comes to town for a new start and opens a diner but the townspeople are not accepting of him either.
Mariah and Clint become friends bound together by a common ground of nonacceptance and find they have a lot in common. Despite this closeness danger seems to follow Mariah. Is someone trying to eliminate a witness because she is still alive after the robbery?
This is a wonderful start to a new series and it’s so refreshing to see women doing male dominated jobs including her friend Nell who as a talented seamstress makes chaps for cowboys. This story taking place in Wyoming has such a wonderful description of the barren and dusty area that I can just picture it now.
I was going to give this book 4 stars but I am removing one star for it including animal abuse. I could never condone animal abuse and including it does nothing to enhance the story. There are several instances where a dog is abused, and I was so disappointed to read this.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House through Interviews & Reviews for my honest opinion.

About The Author

Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys always with a strong suspense thread. She is a two time Carol Award winner, and a Rita, Christy and Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist.
She is the bestselling author of 65 books and novellas.
Her most recent three book series are: Braced for Love, A Man with a Past and Love on the Range for Bethany House Publishing. She’s also written four other series for Barbour Publishing and many novellas and several stand-alone books for multiple publishers.
Mary will be a published author for ten years in 2017 with nearly a million books in print. She has a degree in broadcast communications with an emphasis in journalism and has worked at her local newspaper.