352 pages Bethany House Publishers Publication date January 21, 2025
ABOUT THE BOOK
In a world on the brink of war, two hearts must navigate shadows of uncertainty.
Inga Klein’s carefree life in New York takes a dramatic turn when she sails for Berlin, Germany, to serve as the secretary for America’s ambassador. Amid the glamour of life at the embassy, she continually finds herself at odds with the straitlaced and imposing Benedict Kincaid, the diplomatic chief of staff who harbors deep misgivings toward the German-born Inga.
As Europe hurtles toward World War I, Benedict’s determination to keep America out of the conflict adds to the already tense atmosphere. Despite their relentless sparring, Inga and Benedict succeed in keeping the embassy afloat through one crisis after another. But when they run out of diplomatic options, a marriage of convenience may be Inga’s only hope of escape from the impending war.
MY THOUGHTS
One thing I love about the author’s books are the historical details given in each book, the more the better. I can so easily visualize what is happening in each of her books and it makes the stories come alive for me. From all over New York to Germany there is a lot of adventure to be had for our main characters. Oh, so many adventures some delightful some taken warily as WWI is about to happen. Twists and turns happening that had me even thinking about the book while not reading it. The most unlikely couple you could think of, an opposites attract team really, hit it off though we wouldn’t think it so at first. A high energy keep my attention book which I really loved!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Camden is best known for her historical novels set in gilded age America featuring clever heroines and richly layered storylines. Before she was a writer, she was an academic librarian at some of the largest and smallest libraries in America, but her favorite is the continually growing library in her own home. Her novels have won the RITA and Christy Award, and she lives in Florida with her husband who graciously tolerates her intimidating stockpile of books.
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).
Phoebe is a volunteer nurse at a Base Hospital in Étaples, France, treating men who’ve served on hte Western Front. Their courage and resilience inspires her, and though she’s meant to keep her distance, Captain Archie Bailey soon captivates her heart.
Her younger sister Celia is a nurse at a POW camp on the island of Jersey. These men fight for the forces that bombed her brother and parents, but long hours spent healing them shows her they aren’t the monsters she expected.
Despite the miles between them, both Celia and Phoebe come to see the commonality in their experiences – the sense of community and friendship, the unexpected moments of love and laughter, and a bond so strong that even war can’t break it…
MY THOUGHTS
I enjoyed this historical fiction book and found it interesting and informative.
Phoebe, volunteer nurse at a Base Hospital in Étaples, France. Matron does her best to keep the nurses minds occupied with just nursing but there’s no counting on where the heart will lead. Phoebe soon finds herself falling in love with patient Captain Archie Bailey. Planning a life together after the war when he’s well enough he gets sent to the frontline then goes missing in action, presumed dead.
Celia is a nurse at a POW camp on the island of Jersey. She knows the men she is nursing back to health are from the same unit that killed her brother and parents. After getting to know these men she realizes they are just regular men with hopes, dreams and fears just like all of us. Falling in love with one of them shouldn’t have happened, but it has.
Phoebe and Celia are sisters with many similarities, they understand what the other is going through and know the fears they face. Heartbreaking……. there are no real winners in war, it just causes some to die earlier than others. Kept my attention as you can only pray for the best. The author writes such realistic work I could vividly imagine the scenes playing out as I read.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Deborah Carr is a USA TODAY bestselling author of historical fiction. She was born and lives on the island of Jersey, in the Channel Islands where she sets most of her books.
Her first book, Broken Faces was runner-up in the Good Housekeeping Novel Writing Competition in 2012 giving her the confidence to keep going. Her WW1 novel, The Poppy Sisters was an Amazon First Reads Editor’s Pick and The Poppy Field and An Island at War were USA TODAY bestsellers.
The Channel Islands was the only place in the British Isles occupied by German forces during WW2. This dark time in the island’s history is the setting for her latest novel, Neighbours at War. An Island at War and part of The Beekeeper’s War was also set during the Jersey Occupation.
She is the author behind the Mrs Boots trilogy inspired by Jersey woman, Florence Boot, the woman behind the Boots empire.
Deborah lives near the beach and begins each day walking by the sea with her three rescue dogs before sitting down to write.
368 pages Harper Muse publisher November 19, 2024 publication date
ABOUT THE BOOK
MY THOUGHTS
This is one not to miss. A truly beautifully written book. One scarf from a humble and simplistic background links together three women during WWI. This scarf sees it through three couples in time of heartbreak and woven in joy.
Messages stitched with hope into the fabric of the scarf. I loved meeting the couples and felt the emotions they went through the resilience and fortitude on the front line of not only the battlefield but also life. The three stories are beautifully woven together and full of detail. A must read again book.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
324 pages Lake Union Publishing November 8,2022 publication date
About The Book
From the bestselling author of The Last Correspondent comes a remarkable story of three young women who defy the bombs to do their bit for Britain. Will they survive the dark streets of London to see the Allies win the war?
London, 1941. The Blitz. When a Royal Navy memo arrives at head office, requesting female recruits to sign up as motorcycle dispatch riders, delivering highly classified orders across the country, three women jump at the chance to sign up for the most dangerous jobs in London.
Olivia grew up riding motorcycles with her brothers, and with them fighting abroad she feels it is her duty to join up. The thrill of adventure draws Ava, but with more enthusiasm than skill, will she learn to navigate the treacherous London streets safely? Having lost her family during one of the first air attacks, Florence knows how important it is to have help arrive on the scene—fast—and so she steps up, outmanoeuvring the men behind the wheel of an ambulance. When Olivia, Ava and Florence meet for the first time they know they have found something all of them need—family.
As bombs fall, decimating the city they love, these three brave women build a sisterhood amid the rubble, facing down anyone—even their own families—who objects to their service. And while romances bloom and fade, their connection grows ever stronger. But none of them dare consider the terrifying reality that one night Florence’s ambulance may be rescuing someone she loves…
My Thoughts
Once again, another fabulous book based on real people and events which I find so interesting and informative. This type of historical fiction always draws me in. 3 women who didn’t know each other before they joined the WRENS .
The Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS), also known as the Wrens, was formed in 1917 during the First World War, as a branch of the Royal Navy.
The initial intention behind the Wrens was that the service would free up men for frontline action by serving in roles such as cooks, dispatch riders and sail-makers.
Olivia, Ava, and Florence come from different backgrounds and home lives but after joining the WRENS they wanted to do all they could for their country and signed up to be motorcycle dispatch riders. Navy dispatch riders, all women who deliver urgent orders and messages between headquarters and military units. These women performed bravely and heroically in London. The women willingly risk life and limb for their country.
Pub Date 08 Nov 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
About The Author
Soraya M. Lane graduated with a law degree before realizing that law wasn’t the career for her and that her future was in writing. She is the author of historical and contemporary women’s fiction, and her novel Wives of War was an Amazon Charts bestseller.
Soraya lives on a small farm in her native New Zealand with her husband, their two young sons and a collection of four legged friends. When she’s not writing, she loves to be outside playing make-believe with her children or snuggled up inside reading.
416 pages Bethany House Publishers January 24,2023 publication date
About The Book
In two world wars, intelligence and counterintelligence, prejudice, and self-sacrifice collide across two generations In 1942, Evie Farrow is used to life on Ocracoke Island, where every day is the same–until the German U-boats haunting their waters begin to wreak havoc. And when special agent Sterling Bertrand is washed ashore at Evie’s inn, her life is turned upside down. While Sterling’s injuries keep him inn-bound for weeks, making him even more anxious about the SS officer he’s tracking, he becomes increasingly intrigued by Evie, who seems to be hiding secrets of her own.
Decades earlier, in 1914, Englishman Remington Culbreth arrives at the Ocracoke Inn for the summer, never expecting to fall in love with Louisa Adair, the innkeeper’s daughter. But when war breaks out in Europe, their relationship is put in jeopardy and may not survive what lies ahead for them.
As the ripples from the Great War rock Evie and Sterling’s lives in World War II, it seems yesterday’s tides may sweep them all into danger again today.
How do I even begin a review for this absolutely incredible book? Not much got done yesterday, I can tell you that. I read it all in one day.
We visit the Outer Banks in North Carolina several times a year and was so excited to see this took place there in Ocracoke Island, NC. I have been reading this author's books for years and she is an automatic read. I cannot resist her books. Her other books have been fabulous, I've loved them all but with this one she's totally blown it out of the water.
Taking place in two time periods, 1918 and 1942, it's always a treat to read a book taking place in multiple time periods with multiple points of view.
There is so much happening in each time period.
This historical fiction starts out in 1942 and I learned so much about this time period.
I found it fascinating to learn about the HMT Bedfordshire an armed naval ship in the service of the Royal Naval Patrol during WWII. It was sunk by the German submarine U-558 on May 11, 1942, off the coast of Ocracoke Island. It was staffed by British and Canadien crew.
Fascinating history switching between WWI era and WWII time periods the thread runs with the same family and includes not able to put it down action, heart-wrenching family drama, suspense and romance. There is a mixed-race relationship that leads to racism and discrimination which the author deals with carefully and respectfully.
I loved the book and am eagerly awaiting what this author puts out next.
Pub Date 24 Jan 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
About The Author
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at http://www.RoseannaMWhite.com.
Have you read this author yet? What are your favorite books by her?
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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.
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.
She paid a terrible price to keep her sister’s secret…
Florrie and Edith, two devoted sisters, have lived in their little house with threadbare carpets in the East End of London since they were children in the war. But while their neighbours know Florrie as a bright-eyed, kind elderly lady, they always wonder why Edith never leaves the house.
Years later, Kate, their great niece, comes to sort out their things. Kate is running from a broken relationship, and as she sits amongst the dusty furniture, looking at old photos of Florrie during the war, she recognises the change in her aunt – from a carefree young girl laughing with her friends to a young woman with dark sad eyes, always by herself.
Desperate to find out more about Florrie and Edith, Kate is shocked to discover an untouched wedding dress wrapped in tissue paper in a bottom drawer and a locked room at the end of a passage upstairs without a key. What could her aunts have been hiding?
And as she reads entries from her great-aunt’s diaries she is transported back to a time where the German bombs rained down on London and a seventeen-year-old girl was forced to give up everything to keep her sister’s secret. Can Kate ever understand the darkness that has bound her family together? And if she does, will she be able to move on from it?
A heartbreaking historical novel of war, tragedy and the sacrifices we make for those we love. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Kristin Hannah and Victoria Hislop will be hooked by The Shut-Away Sisters.
The Shut-Away Sisters by Suzanne Goldring is my first read by this author.
It is absolutely a heart-breaking read and leaves you questioning why life can be so unfair sometimes.
A dual timeline, we find ourselves spending time with Kate in modern times, she has just gotten out of a bad relationship and taking a break from a workhorse of a boss to clear out her recently deceased aunt Florrie's house for her father.
In past times her father grew up as the youngest child with two older sisters, that are seven years apart. When Florrie was fifteen years old her older sister Evie's beau Frank goes off to fight in WWI leaving her sad, lonely and waiting for him. The waiting turns into years and Evie becomes reclusive, rarely leaving her room, eating little while writing letters to her beau and poetry.
Years go by the parents pass away, the brother goes off to fight in the war and Florrie becomes the caretaker of Evie who has become an invalid. Florrie has a chance at marriage but feels obligated to care for her older sister as they spend the rest of their days together in this house.
It is an intriguing book to read as we see Kate discover a locked door in her aunt's house. What secrets will she uncover upon entering the unknown room. Very suspenseful book, the more I read the more I discovered and the more my heart broke.
I need more books by this author, NOW. All the rest of her books are on my wish list.
Pub Date 29 Jun 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
About The Author
Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Her debut novel MY NAME IS EVA draws on her experience of volunteering in a care home and was partially inspired by a cache of wartime love letters which were saved from the flames. Her second novel, BURNING ISLAND, is set in Corfu, a place of fun and beauty but also tremendous tragedy.
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