Everything Sirious
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh my! What a great great book. Couldn’t put it down. Really enjoyed this. Well written and such an interesting topic. And based on a true story, even better. Everything from the characters to the setting and the plot were well described; had the tiniest bit of a questionmark at the ending but certainly not impossible.
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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?”
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.
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.
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.
