Paris, 1942: It’s been two years since Major Saxe-Mullenheim arrived at Maison Blue and changed the lives of the Daisy Sisters Justine and Ève BeauforParis, 1942: It’s been two years since Major Saxe-Mullenheim arrived at Maison Blue and changed the lives of the Daisy Sisters Justine and Ève Beaufort and attacked Justine and kidnapped her.
Justine is now his unwilling mistress and doing her best to protect her baby daughter and working as a double agent. Ève is fighting with the French resistance, blowing up trains and printing and distributing flyers. Unfortunately French women are still being threatened and their families by the Germans, abused, sexually assaulted and murdered.
An unlikely truce has been formed between the sisters, and they're both waiting for the right time to take back control, get revenge on the Germans and justice for Justine.
To do this Justine has to stop hating herself, thinking that what happened to her was somehow her fault and change her mind set and it’s not easy to do. Justine worries about her daughter being taken to Germany and given to another family to raise and Ève moves around a lot, trying to stay one step ahead of informants and the Gestapo.
I received a copy of Sisters of the Resistance from NetGalley and Boldwood Books in exchange for an unbiased review. The narrative continues on from the first book Sister at War, Jina Bacarr doesn't stop stressing in the plot how women who have been assaulted and violated need to overcome shame and fear and it’s hard to do and with the culprits still prowling the streets of France and they worry about it happening again, how strong and brave they are and eventually they fought and won the battle.
I felt the second book by Ms. Bacarr really explained what life was like in Paris during the Second World War, shortages of food and basic necessities, the tension and uncertainty, fear and suffering, and women were forced to do things to survive, face being either being tortured by the Gestapo or sent to a camp and it makes you think what you would do if you found yourself in the same situation?
I highly recommend both books in The Wartime Paris Sisters Series however you must be prepared to read about sexual assault during war and unfortunately it’s still happening, and the Sisters of the Resistance is due to be released on the 29th of September 2024 and four stars from me....more
Jana Hajek and her father live in a flat above a bookstore and it was once run by her deceased mother. Jana keeps the shop open, it’s not easy as the Jana Hajek and her father live in a flat above a bookstore and it was once run by her deceased mother. Jana keeps the shop open, it’s not easy as the Germans have banned so many books and she has to stock a section for them. To boost moral Jana has a children’s reading time and she decides to hold a book exchange club for women and it’s a place for them to come together and take their minds off the occupation.
Jana helps three Jewish children, and she meets Captain Kovar when he searches the shop, at a time when she doesn’t know who she can trust and the Czech police are working for the Germans. Jewish people are being rounded up and sent to camps, everyone’s starving, tired and exhausted.
Jana employed as a part time cleaner at Prague Castle, the chance arises to help the resistance and the bookshop is the perfect cover. The windows can display signs when it’s safe to enter, and Jana hides secret codes in bookmarks she makes and she's keeping track of the movements of a high ranking German officer. The resistance and Czech citizens are waiting for the right time to rise up and fight the Germans and take back their city.
I received a copy of The Last Bookshop in Prague from Boldwood Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The narrative it set from 1942 to 1945 and constructed perfectly to give readers an idea of what it was like to live in Prague during the German occupation and leading up to liberation.
The story is engaging and gripping, Helen Parusel easily achieves what she set out to do, and that’s write a historical fiction novel about war, bravery, helping others and taking risks and the power of books and people, and five stars from me....more
Jessica Sabatini is getting ready for her wedding, when an accident rips her family apart, she can’t cope with the loss and leaves Silverton Shores anJessica Sabatini is getting ready for her wedding, when an accident rips her family apart, she can’t cope with the loss and leaves Silverton Shores and moves to Florence, Italy.
Nine years later she works as a waitress at her nonno's restaurant, Sabatini’s and has a daughter Chiara. Jess returns to Queensland for her brother Roberto's wedding and her former fiancé Morgan Savage will be his best man. Arriving home, Jess realises just how much she's missed Australia, Silverton Shores, her brother and sister Annie, and best friend Shanti.
When Jess left Morgan and ran off to Italy he was shattered, he now works for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and on the family property. He’s not sure how he feels about seeing her, can he risk having his heart broken again, should Morgan forgive Jess and can they be good friends?
The pre-wedding plans bring them together, the chemistry between Jess and Morgan hasn’t diminished, but both have long kept secrets and if the truth is revealed and they worry about the repercussions.
I received a copy of Silverton Shores from Harlequin Australian from NetGalley and in exchange for an unbiased review. Mandy Magro is one of Australia’s best rural romance authors, as always her writing style is entertaining, the characters are interesting and I really enjoyed reading about Morgan and Jess living on the farm and the setting is appealing, the stunning scenery, how Jess enjoyed cooking and sharing a meal with Morgan and it really made her think about what she’s missed out on and is it too late.
Five stars from me and I would highly recommend Silverton Shores to fans of polished and well written Australian romantic fiction, and the narrative focuses on living in tropical Queensland, family, secrets, complicated and painful relationships, chemistry and connection and second chances....more
Margot and her older sister Rosalyn have lived in the town of Jesserton in the Adelaide Hills most of their lives, their family was one of the first tMargot and her older sister Rosalyn have lived in the town of Jesserton in the Adelaide Hills most of their lives, their family was one of the first to settle in the area and the sisters are close and not just because they share a fence line.
When their neighbour Gunter dies, in his will he states that his house and vineyards will be sold and for Roslyn to donate the money to a charity and it’s to be a secret, between her, his sons and lawyer.
Margot and her husband Dennis had let Gunter know, if he ever wanted to sell they would be interested and his property borders theirs. Margot finds out a developer wants to buy the land and build a luxury hotel, she’s worried it will not only spoil her view and the peace and quiet and she’s concerned about the environmental impact. Margot decides to join the running to be the new Mayor, but she’s surprised when not everyone in Jesserton thinks building a new fancy hotel with accommodation is a bad idea and it divides the residents of the town.
Rosalyn has a different opinion to her sister, she can’t share with her what believes and her involvement with Gunter’s legacy. A young and pregnant women called Amber arrives in Jesserton, this gives Rosalyn an idea of what to do with Gunter’s money and it opens her eyes and mind to the plight of women less fortune, escaping abuse and what help is available to them locally.
In all small country towns, people take sides, it creates friction and tension, a petition against possible building of the hotel is created and distributed, things are said in the heat of the moment, and rumours spread like wildfire.
I received a copy of Head to the Hills from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia in exchange for an unbiased review. Tricia Stringer has given readers an idea of what’s it like to live in a small Australian country town in the Adelaide Hills, and believe me it’s extremely accurate. The well written and engrossing narrative highlights the division and differences between communities, people, families and those with wealth and others who are just barley scraping by and the preconceived judgement young and pregnant women still get and many are escaping domestic violence.
This is my tenth book I have read by Tricia Stringer and I understand why she's one of Australia's bestselling fiction authors, I certainly had warm and fuzzy feelings while reading it and made me think about people who are struggling and what I can do to help and I highly recommend....more
Julia Hudson is married to Mike and they have identical adult twin daughters Arabella and Florence and a grandson Kayden. Julia’s a rather forceful anJulia Hudson is married to Mike and they have identical adult twin daughters Arabella and Florence and a grandson Kayden. Julia’s a rather forceful and blunt person, and she travels back and forwards between Melbourne and Canberra for her job for a government bureau. Julia's involved in a terrible car accident, she has swelling on the brain and a broken leg and lacerations. Mike, Ari, Flo and their grandmother Gigi take it in turns sitting at Julia’s bedside in ICU, they discover Julia has been keeping a secret, one that changes their family and they no longer know what to believe.
Ari and Flo have always been close, but Flo has been keeping secrets of her own, when it’s revealed it effects the sister's relationship, and just when they need to stick together and a wedge is driven between them. With Julia in a coma, the whole family is falling apart, she started keeping journals thirty two years ago, they wonder if the truth is hidden between the pages and hold the answers they need. Instead what’s uncovered is more secrets and lies, has Julia been manipulating her family for years and getting away with it.
I received a copy of A Mother’s Betrayal by Louise Guy from Boldwood Books and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. The gripping narrative is set in the leafy streets of Melbourne, I was hooked by the end of the first chapter, and the ending wasn't predictable. Full of lots of twists and turns and about the complicated relationships between the members of the Hudson family, and a mother should support and defend her daughters no matter what, and can Ari and Flo ever trust and forgive her?
I really enjoyed the mix of characters in the story, they really made it and it certainly gives the reader a roller coaster ride of emotions, covers all sorts of issues, topic, possibilities and scenarios. Five stars from me, the twins had great taste in music and I’m very keen to read other books by Louise Guy....more
Dr Enya Pickering is married to fellow GP Alexander and has a teenage son Finn. One night in December she's driving home, the weather is terrible and Dr Enya Pickering is married to fellow GP Alexander and has a teenage son Finn. One night in December she's driving home, the weather is terrible and visibility is poor, when she finds a boy in the middle of the road, she gives him CPR while a taxi driver calls an ambulance. The teenager reminds her of her son Finn, what's he doing on a remote mountain road near Dublin and it appears to be a hit and run?
Enya’s life has been spiralling out of control for a couple of months, she feels trapped in her marriage, and her once happy and loving son spends most of his time in his room. Enya moves to a remote a village called Abbeydooley in the Irish Midlands for a break and to think, she rents the former doctors house and surgery.
Enya's expecting peace and tranquillity, instead it's pitch black outside, spooky and a tree branch keeps scraping the window. The Hawthorn Tree or Rag Tree is sacred, a ritual going back to Celtic times, it’s believed if a person ties the cloth to the tree, whatever sickness or ailment their suffering from will fade away as the rag rots and they will be healed.
I received a copy of Into the Storm from HarperCollins Publishers Australia and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have been a big fan of Cecelia Ahern's books and writing style for years, but her latest novel left me feeling somewhat perplexed and confused. I think it’s a story about dysfunctional families, not dealing with the loss of a loved one, superstition, making bad choices, secrets, mental illness and regret?
Three stars from me, I do understand both Irish and Scottish people believed in folklore and have done for centuries, my mother’s from Scotland and the information about the Rag Tree is interesting and please read this book for yourself and see if it makes any sense to you!...more
Dutch sea captain Douwemout van der Meer sailed to Calcutta aboard the Knappenhof, on his last voyage for the Dutch East India Company he returned homDutch sea captain Douwemout van der Meer sailed to Calcutta aboard the Knappenhof, on his last voyage for the Dutch East India Company he returned home to Rotterdam, with his cargo hold filled with luxury goods, and on the deck he had a baby orphaned Indian rhinoceros he saved. Douwe and his young friend Zubin toured Europe with Clara, people had never seen a rhino before, they know she’s will be in danger when she reaches adulthood, her horn will be 22.5 inches long and even a priest thinks she’s evil and people should follow god and not creatures.
The story has a dual timeline, its starts in 1740, told mainly from Douwemout van der Meer point of views and later in 2022 from animal lover and college student Andrea Clarkson’s.
American Andrea Clarkson arrives in Holland after a failed marriage proposal, she’s staying in Leiden and she finds hidden in secret desk drawers two hundred and eighty year old documents. As part of her Historical studies she and her colleagues are relocating eighteenth-century graves from being flooded and one of the markers has an animal carved into it and it’s a rhinoceros. Angela want's to solve the mystery of why the headstone has a rhino on it and she discovers the horns are still valuable and people would do anything to get their hands on one.
I received a copy of The Rhino Keeper from NetGalley and History Through Fiction in exchange for an honest review. The author Jillian Forsberg has done considerable research to write an interesting narrative based around the true story of a Dutch sea captain and an orphaned rhinoceros he saved and toured Europe with. Clara was famous, poems and songs were written about her, and she was painted by artists and patted by royals.
The Rhino Keeper is a story about exotic and rare animals and the impact they had on people and still do. An uplifting and hope filled tale for animal lovers and I really liked the parts set in the 18th century, and it’s truly amazing and fascinating how they managed to get a rhino to Holland and I highly recommend this book and five stars from me....more
Ruth Clancy moved to Cutlers Bay, on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula from Adelaide to open her own coffee shop and she’s put a lot of effort into buRuth Clancy moved to Cutlers Bay, on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula from Adelaide to open her own coffee shop and she’s put a lot of effort into building up her business. Ruth loves Rosie’s Café, but after five years she starting to feel tired and she’s wondering when to retire. Ruth knows she has to make some changes, it’s not easy running the café on her own with only part time help and otherwise she will burnout.
Hamish Adams worked as a diesel mechanic in the bush, he’s retired and built his dream apartment in North Adelaide and now that it’s finished he doesn’t feel content and fulfilled. When his elderly father dies, Hamish travels to Cutlers Bay to settle his estate and go through the contents of the house and shed. Hamish isn’t much of a cook, and he enjoys a coffee and breakfast at Rosie’s Café and where he meets Ruth. Hamish decides to not only clean out the house, but give the old place a lick of paint and tidy up the yard. The longer he's in town, the more Cutlers Bay starts to grow on him and feel like home and the flash apartment in the city doesn’t.
The narrative highlights important issues and topics, like the loss of a parent or family member, how hard and time consuming it is to run a small business and the sacrifices owners make, the advantages being part of a community and friendship, rediscovering yourself and what you want out of life, what the future holds and considering the possibility of dating and being in a relationship after a long drought and is it easier to stay single.
Meredith Appleyard’s books are packed full of little details and it made me feel a real connection to the characters and story-line. The topics are relevant, and thoroughly researched and executed and I have owned and run a small café and everything mentioned in the narrative was spot on. I really liked the characters of, Ruth and Hamish, Allie and Mia, Laurie and Pete and catching up with Angie and Zach from the author’s previous novel, All about Ella.
I received a copy of The Seachangers by Meredith Appleyard from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review. Ms. Appleyard has written another winner, about new beginnings in your 60’s and five stars from me. ...more
England 1914: Lady Lucinda McFarlane is about to be presented at court and start her first season as a debutante and her mother is keen for her to makEngland 1914: Lady Lucinda McFarlane is about to be presented at court and start her first season as a debutante and her mother is keen for her to make a good match. Sir David Melcome is a Baronet and he’s a Major in the Dragoon Guards, his regiment has recently returned from India and he sees Lucy at a ball.
Mable Oakley lives with her mother Alice, disabled father Andrew and her brothers Edward and Stephen. Mable was once Lucy's maid and a rather reluctant one and she hated being in service. Mable inherited a printing business from Mr. Clarke, he thought Mabel had more potential and he’s right and she’s smart and has a mind for business and is determined to succeed in a man’s world.
Lucy’s mother is busy planning her wedding to Sir David Melcome, when he finds out he's being sent to France, the couple are madly in love, and they have to decide if they bring the wedding forward or wait and many couples find themselves in a similar situation.
I received a copy of The Girls Who Dared to Love from Aria & Aries and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Diney Costeloe has a writing style that embraces the time period the narrative is set in and gives the reader a realistic idea of what it’s like to live in England and during The Great War.
As we know it brings about huge changes, the futures of a whole generation and creates so much uncertainty and they have no idea how long it will last. Out of the two main characters, Mable has always been mature for her age and young ladies of Lucy's class are extremely sheltered and lived in a bubble and it's about to burst. The story mentions topics such as love, engagements and marriage, how single women who rent are vulnerable and they face homelessness and violence against women and trying to break the cycle.
This is a different type of war, troupes have to dig in and take cover in trenches and English hospitals fill up quickly with wounded, and once released those without family have nowhere to stay, recuperate and will have difficulty finding work and suffer from shell shock.
I shed quite a few tears while reading this story and it made me feel really emotional and five stars from me. I look forward to the next book in the series and I highly recommend both The Girls Who Dared to Love and the author's previous novel, The Girls Who Dared to Dream....more
Geraldine Fitz-Herbert lives in Badcombe House, Cambridgeshire with her father, step-mother and younger brother. Fitz is rather headstrong, she’s beenGeraldine Fitz-Herbert lives in Badcombe House, Cambridgeshire with her father, step-mother and younger brother. Fitz is rather headstrong, she’s been having flying lessons at the local airfield in a Tiger Moth and here she feels free. When the war breaks-out Fitz works at a nearby farm, but she decides to join the Air Transport Auxiliary, and she ferries planes from one base to another. She meets American Flight Officer Sam Carter at RAF Tangmere, they fall head over heels in love, something Fitz has never experienced before, she gets scared and the reality of war hits very close to home.
Fitz speaks fluent French and German thanks to all of the governesses she had as a child, she's recruited to be a SOE or a Special Operations Executive, her first mission is in Brittany, when the plane lands it goes badly, the Germans are waiting and Fitz escapes. She has no choice but to continue on, Fitz has no idea if the final location and mission has been compromised. Along the way Fitz comes across a dog she nicknames Scout and a little girl called Yvette and she takes both of them with her and while she tries to stay one step ahead of the Germans.
I received a copy of The Girl in the Sky by Suzanne Fortin from Embla Books and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Using real facts about an American Pilot who joined the British Air Force and was an gold Olympic medalist, the Air Transport Auxiliary, the RAF base at Tangmere and Westhampnett, and Bignor Manor House where agents stayed prior to being flown to France as inspiration.
Ms. Fortin has written an interesting story about the Second World War, the high mortality rate of pilots, and how dangerous it was to be an SOE. Told from the main female characters point of view and you get an idea of what it was like for women at the time, was it a good idea to fall in love during a war, and Fitz defiantly has issues with dealing with her emotions, all types personal relationships and she later understands why.
I found some parts of Fitz being an SOE a little far-fetched and unbelievable, the rest of the narrative I enjoyed and especially how Fitz grew up, matured as a person, looked at life differently and her relationship with her step-mother Camilla improved. Four stars from me and I have read and would recommend the authors previous novel, The Dancer Teacher of Paris....more
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