Wonderful job on this mystery from someone I would love to hear in person! Highly recommend this.
Great read – The Violin Conspiracy/
Find Me Unafraid
What a great story. A story of love, and hope, and character – of ambition and determination and beating all odds. Of helping to save the world.
Well worth a read.
A More Perfect Union
A well, well done book taking place right here in Central Virginia – well written, great characters, good story. Just loved the fact it was set locally as well.
“Inspired by true events, A More Perfect Union is an epic story of love and courage, desperation and determination, and three people whose lives are inescapably entwined…
Henry O’Toole sails to America in 1848 to escape the famine in Ireland, only to face anti-immigrant prejudice. Determined never to starve again, he changes his surname to Taylor and heads south to Virginia, seeking work as a traveling blacksmith on the prosperous plantations.
Torn from her home and sold to Jubilee Plantation, Sarah must navigate its intricate hierarchy. And now an enigmatic blacksmith is promising her not just the world but also her freedom. How could she say no?
Enslaved at Jubilee Plantation, Maple is desperate to return to her husband and daughter. With Sarah’s arrival, she sees her chance to be reunited at last with her family—but at what cost?”
Her Hidden Genius
While fiction, this is an exceptional book based on the life of Rosalind Franklin and her scientific research into DNA. It had intrigue, challenges, a tiny bit of romance, but mostly a fantastic tale of a woman’s perseverance in a man’s world and all the challenges she faced and how she met them. Really good, highly recommend this.
I Must Betray You
Definitely a five star read here – set in Romania in 1989, this is a historical fiction about a teenage boy and his family and how living under Ceausescu’s dictatorship makes him question everything and everyone. Well written and great character development; it’s always an eye opener to read what’s happening elsewhere in the world as many of us in the US focus on minutiae. I have also read Between Shades of Gray and Salt of the Sea by Sepetys and rated both as five stars as well, so give her a try if you haven’t already and if you like historical fiction!
The Last House on the Street
Great author (Diane Chamberlain) who handles a sensitive subject and time frame with grace. The topic is upsetting (prejudice and violence) but it is well done through switchbacks of the present with the past and all centered around a neighborhood and its houses. This is the third five star I have read by Ms. Chamberlain, the others being The Dream Daughter and Necessary Lies. Well done.
The Horse Dancer
JoJo Moyes doesn’t disappoint in this one, another five star (she has many in my opinion). Unlike a few of them that despite being excellent were huge heart tuggers, this one, while having a few spots that might bring a tear, does end up tied with a red bow. The plot a novel one and a horse of course – no animal abuse here – if you love horses, and are familiar at all with dressage, you can absolutely picture the well described scenes in the book. Set in London and the countryside which also pulled a heart string, I highly recommend this one (as well as her others if you haven’t read them!)
The Fountains of Silence
This is the third five star book I’ve read by this author, Ruta Sepetys. The other two books, Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Grey were also excellent. This is a historical fiction set in Madrid in the late 50’s under the dictatorship of Franco. Daniel is a photographer from a wealthy oil family in Texas who visits with his family and experiences the realities and discrepancies between culture, privilege and government suppression.
Becoming Mrs. Lewis
What a great story. I loved this because: a), the writing. Very well written with the description and the dialogue. b) the story – a quirky hard to believe story that is c) historical fiction which is just plain fun and my favorite when you are reading about something that really happened and has clearly been well researched. Great book, great job.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars
One of my newly preferred authors, The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel is a solid coming of age story set during WWII, loosely based on the families of Jews that hid in the Eastern European forests during the Nazi occupation and how they survived the challenges. While it took me a little while to get engrossed in the story, once the premise was established it was a book I couldn’t put down with both a good twist and some good opportunities to reflect on what’s important and who your family is. Five stars for the Forest of Vanishing Stars.
