1979. Grace who lives in Bellgrove, Long Island and Anh a woman who escaped Communist ruled Vietnam meet at the end of a long day. Grace finds a young1979. Grace who lives in Bellgrove, Long Island and Anh a woman who escaped Communist ruled Vietnam meet at the end of a long day. Grace finds a young boy in the street, she takes him home and calls the police. Grace discovers his name is Bao, he’s staying at Our Lady Queen of Martyr Convent, with his aunt Anh and other Vietnamese refugees or boat people.
Grace is married to Tom and he owns a clock and watch repair shop called the Golden Hours, and the couple like to help people and are kind. Tom comes to the aid of a severely wounded Vietnam veteran Jack, he lives above the shop and is a recluse and he works repairing time pieces after hours. Grace decides to volunteer at the convent, the nuns are run off their feet and she and Anh become friends.
All of the characters have experienced a life changing tragedy, Jack’s draft number came up in the draw and he’s one of the thousands of young American men sent to fight in Vietnam, and when he’s injured and thinks his life is over. Anh and her nephew have a chance to escape Vietnam and they take it, their family unit couldn’t comprehend how long boat journey to America would take, how risky it was and it’s like living in another world. Grace’s younger sister passed away when she was a child, and she feels guilty and it’s impacted her relationship with her own daughters.
I received a copy of The Time Keepers from Edelweiss Plus and Union Square & Co in exchange for an honest review. Alyson Richman uses the real stories of a Vietnamese refuge and a Vietnam veteran as a basis her latest novel, it’s a gripping and engrossing narrative, I cared about the characters, I rode every high and low with them and I cried my eyes out.
A story about love, loss, longing, unexpected friendships, kindness and compassion, and I discovered details about the Vietnam War that I will never forget, and those poor young men were only a year older than my son and it broke my heart.
The message and meaning I got from the best historical fiction book I have read this year is, people come into our lives for a reason, time doesn’t stop for anyone, and don't underestimate how working with your hands could have healing powers and five stars from me. If you enjoyed The Women by Kristin Hannah and I suggest you reading The Time Keepers by Alyson Richman and in my opinion it knocks it out of the park!...more
On the 20th of October, 1811, Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt with her husband Nicholas and toddler daughter Roselta leave Pittsburgh aboard his invention a sOn the 20th of October, 1811, Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt with her husband Nicholas and toddler daughter Roselta leave Pittsburgh aboard his invention a steam driven paddle-boat. Lydia and her husband travelled the waterways of the mighty Mississippi River on a flatboat, during their honeymoon and in preparation for this journey.
Lydia’s half her spouse’s age, her father architect Benjamin Latrobe wasn’t keen on her marrying an older man, but Lydia loved Nicholas and she waited and eventually he gave his blessing. Lydia isn’t the only woman aboard and accompanying her are nurse maids Sarah and Bessie, but the three ladies are friends and Lydia is eight months pregnant.
The steamboats final destination is New Orleans, if it’s a success, it will bring about faster travel and trade routes, open up the West for expansion and people will no longer have to make the return journey via sailboat and go around the very tip of Florida.
As they set off on the New Orleans people are sceptical, they think the Roosevelt’s are crazy and will fail. The steamboat has to travel the tributaries of the Mississippi River, stopping along the way to pick up fresh supplies, wood for the firebox, they charge and show curious onlookers the boat and with its timber lined men’s cabin.
Lydia and Nicholas know it won’t be an easy trip, they plan on making it to a town for her to give birth and fear delays, The Shawnee Indians, they have to navigate the hazardous Falls of the Ohio, a sixty-foot drop, making sure they have enough clearance and watching out for debris and rocks in the water.
I received a copy of Follow the Stars Home by Diane C. McPhail from Edelweiss and Kensington Publishing Corps in exchange for an unbiased review. What an interesting story about an inspirational woman and mother Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt, she was brave, courageous and unwavering in her love and support for her husband Nicholas.
The couple, their cook and servants know they face the possibility of illness, accidents, a difficult birth and child bed fever, and they have no idea Mother Nature will add in fog, low water levels, whirlpools, cross and reverse currents, log jams, and a natural disaster.
Five stars from me, I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend Follow the Stars Home and Diane C. McPhail’s previous novel, The Seamstress of New Orleans....more
Sarah Harper lives in Manhattan, New York, she has recently separated from her husband Jack, she’s going home to Boston for Christmas and instead SaraSarah Harper lives in Manhattan, New York, she has recently separated from her husband Jack, she’s going home to Boston for Christmas and instead Sarah boards a plane to the West Coast of Ireland. Sarah rents a cottage in Thornwood, one night while suffering from an anxiety attack, she goes for a run and finds tin hidden in a tree and inside it is a one hundred year old diary.
The story has a dual timeline, it’s told from the two main characters points of view Sarah in 2011 and Anna in 1911 and I had no trouble following it.
Anna lives with her parents and siblings on Butler’s farm near the village of Thornwood, in County Clare and she’s surprised when her mother allows her to translate Irish to English for American Harold Griffin- Krauss, as she very strict about Sarah having a good reputations and single women don't normally travel with men and Harold's writing his thesis on Celtic folklore and fairies.
Thornwood House is the nearby estate, the English owner cut down an ancient Hawthorn tree, which belongs to the fairies and this means he and his family will be unlucky.
Anna and Harold interview locals who believe in fairies, some have seen them, they live in Hawthorn trees and in circular earthen mounds. Sarah's captivated by Anna’s diary, and it helps her overcome her personal issues and grief. Anna is caught between two worlds, she had her own experience with a fairy and she’s hasn’t shared it with Harold and a terrible act will cause a series of events and change the course of her life, and it’s the reason why her diary is hidden in the tree.
I received a copy of The Story collector by Evie Woods from HarperCollins and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. I’m usually not a fan of magical realism but I really enjoy this novel, and it combines well the everyday and the otherworldly, the Irish people’s belief mythology, fairies, and Celtic folklore. Five stars from me, I learnt some fairies are good and others are bad and I’m keen to read Ms. Woods previous book, The Lost Bookshop....more
1942. Ava Delaney after a quick courtship marries Richard and before he’s sent to Hawaii and she’s upset when he’s killed during the Japanese attack o1942. Ava Delaney after a quick courtship marries Richard and before he’s sent to Hawaii and she’s upset when he’s killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Ava is now stuck living with her grumpy mother-in-law on farm in Tennessee and a very different life she and her husband planned together. Finances are tight, Ava applies for a job at Camp Forest, a nearby military base that’s being used to hold men who were living in America and are now classed as enemy aliens. Here, Ava meets Gunther Schneider, he was once studying to be a doctor, Ava can’t understand why he’s been treated this way, his skills are being wasted and most people don’t think like she does.
The dual timeline story is told from the two main character points of view Ava and Mattie, both are caught up in a war and twenty seven years apart.
1969. Mattie Taylor is furious when her twin brother Mark is killed in Vietnam, she’s lost her womb mate and best friend and leaves the families horse farm straight after his memorial service. Mattie's been gone a year and she receives a message her mother sick and asking her to come home. Mattie isn’t sure what sort of reception she’s going to get when she arrives from her father, she blamed him and Mark’s best friend for not telling him it was a terrible idea to join the Marines. Her mother’s dying wish is for Mattie to read some old letters stored in a trunk, from people Mattie doesn’t even know and she insists they hold the answers her daughter is searching for. Mattie’s finds a way to help those who have been injured in the war, discovers why her father has always been distant and wonders if they can repair their relationship.
I received a copy of All We Thought We Knew from Tyndale Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Michelle Shocklee's well written narrative focuses on the two women having to face their own thoughts, feelings, fears and how they deal with a war, family, the loss of a loved one and illness, anger, regret, secrets and memories and keep their faith.
I’m sure all people question why God doesn't stop wars from starting and why does it keep happening, I certainly have and Ms Shocklee explores this and more in her latest Historical Christian Fiction novel All We Thought We Knew, and I think fans of Melanie Dobson would enjoy this book just as much as I did and five stars from me....more
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