Publisher: Berkley Books

#BookReview Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner @SusanMeissner @uplitreads #onlythebeautiful #authorsusanmeissner #uplitreadscampaign

#BookReview Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner @SusanMeissner @uplitreads #onlythebeautiful #authorsusanmeissner #uplitreadscampaign Title: Only the Beautiful

Author: Susan Meissner

Published by: Berkley Books on Apr. 18, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 10/10

A heartrending story about a young mother’s fight to keep her daughter, and the winds of fortune that tear them apart by the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things and The Last Year of the War.

California, 1938—When she loses her parents in an accident, sixteen-year-old Rosanne is taken in by the owners of the vineyard where she has lived her whole life as the vinedresser’s daughter. She moves into Celine and Truman Calvert’s spacious house with a secret, however—Rosie sees colors when she hears sound. She promised her mother she’d never reveal her little-understood ability to anyone, but the weight of her isolation and grief prove too much for her. Driven by her loneliness she not only breaks the vow to her mother, but in a desperate moment lets down her guard and ends up pregnant. Banished by the Calverts, Rosanne believes she is bound for a home for unwed mothers, and having lost her family she treasures her pregnancy as the chance for a future one. But she soon finds out she is not going to a home of any kind, but to a place far worse than anything she could have imagined.

Austria, 1947—After witnessing firsthand Adolf Hitler’s brutal pursuit of hereditary purity—especially with regard to “different children”—Helen Calvert, Truman’s sister, is ready to return to America for good. But when she arrives at her brother’s peaceful vineyard after decades working abroad, she is shocked to learn what really happened nine years earlier to the vinedresser’s daughter, a girl whom Helen had long ago befriended. In her determination to find Rosanne, Helen discovers that while the war had been won in Europe, there are still terrifying battles to be fought at home.


Review:

Poignant, insightful, and incredibly absorbing!

Only the Beautiful is a heart-wrenching, compelling tale that sweeps you away to California between the late 1930s to late 1940s and into the lives of Rosanne, a young girl who, after falling pregnant, is sent by her wards to an institute to not only have her baby removed from her care and adopted out when it’s born, but also where for the good of society they perform forced sterilization, and Helen Calvert, a kind, generous woman who after spending the entirety of the war overseas trying to save children with disabilities from Hitler’s horrifying T4 program returns home only to discover she has a niece she’s never met and thus a new mission to find where she ended up and provide her with the best life possible.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are genuine, sympathetic, and vulnerable. And the plot is a masterfully woven, captivating tale about life, loss, love, heartbreak, courage, hope, manipulation, power, ethics, morality, motherhood, and the unconscionable theory of eugenics.

Overall, Only the Beautiful is an emotional, heartbreaking, beautifully written tale by Meissner that immerses you so thoroughly into the lives, feelings, and personalities of the characters you never want it to end. It is, without a doubt, one of my favourite novels of the year, and it really shouldn’t be missed.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Uplit Reads for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Susan Meissner

Susan Meissner is a USA Today bestselling novelist with more than half a million books in print in fifteen languages. Her critically acclaimed works of historical fiction have been named to numerous lists including Publishers Weekly’s annual roster of 100 best books, Library Reads Top Picks, Real Simple annual tally of best books, Goodreads Readers’ Choice awards, Booklist’s Top Ten, and Book of the Month.

She attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego and is a former managing editor of a weekly newspaper. Susan’s expertise as a storyteller and her thoroughly researched topics make her a favorite author of book clubs everywhere. Her engaging and warm speaking style appeal to all manner of women’s groups, literary organizations, libraries and learning institutions, and service clubs.

When she is not working on a new novel, she enjoys teaching workshops on writing and dream-following, spending time with her family, music, reading great books, and travelling.

Photo courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview That Summer in Berlin by Lecia Cornwall @Leciacornwall @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #ThatSummerinBerlin #LeciaCornwall #UplitReads #gifted

#BookReview That Summer in Berlin by Lecia Cornwall @Leciacornwall @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #ThatSummerinBerlin #LeciaCornwall #UplitReads #gifted Title: That Summer in Berlin

Author: Lecia Cornwall

Published by: Berkley Books on Oct. 11, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 464

Format: Paperback

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 9/10

In the summer of 1936, while the Nazis make secret plans for World War II, a courageous and daring young woman struggles to expose the lies behind the dazzling spectacle of the Berlin Olympics.

German power is rising again, threatening a war that will be even worse than the last one. The English aristocracy turns to an age-old institution to stave off war and strengthen political bonds—marriage. Debutantes flock to Germany, including Viviane Alden. On holiday with her sister during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Viviane’s true purpose is more clandestine. While many in England want to appease Hitler, others seek to prove Germany is rearming. But they need evidence, photographs to tell the tale, and Viviane is a genius with her trusty Leica. And who would suspect a pretty, young tourist taking holiday snaps of being a spy?

Viviane expects to find hatred and injustice, but during the Olympics, with the world watching, Germany is on its best behavior, graciously welcoming tourists to a festival of peace and goodwill. But first impressions can be deceiving, and it’s up to Viviane and the journalist she’s paired with—a daring man with a guarded heart—to reveal the truth.

But others have their own reasons for befriending Viviane, and her adventure takes a darker turn. Suddenly Viviane finds herself caught in a web of far more deadly games—and closer than she ever imagined to the brink of war.


Review:

Compelling, vivid, and absorbing!

That Summer in Berlin is a captivating tale predominately set in Berlin in 1936 that takes you into the lives of two main characters; Viviane Alden, a young woman who turns down the marriage to a duke in order to pursue her passion for photography, and Tom Graham, an undercover journalist and illegitimate son of a Scottish Earl who under the guise of reporting on the Summer Olympics, recruits his friend and fellow British acquaintance to help him secretly spy and discover if Germany is slyly preparing to start another world war.

The prose is rich and expressive. The characters are independent, spirited, and brave. And the plot is an evocative tale of life, loss, love, self-discovery, war, secrets, friendship, determination, betrayal, family, espionage, and romance.

Overall, That Summer in Berlin is an intriguing, absorbing, atmospheric tale by Cornwall that does a lovely job of blending historical events, intense emotion, and thought-provoking suspense.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Uplit Reads for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lecia Cornwall

was born in the wrong century. I must have been. I’ve always been more comfortable with history than modern life—except for essential modern conveniences like flush toilets, hot running water, immersion blenders, and iPads.
Originally from Ontario, I now call the foothills of Canada’s Rocky Mountains home. I am the author of sixteen novels. The Woman at the Front (October 2021) was my first historical fiction title. It is being followed by That Summer in Berlin, coming this October! I write full time, love gardening (though many plants come to my house just to die), knit (and purl!), adopt stray creatures (usually cats), and create magical worlds from cardboard, paint, and glue. If I’m not at my desk working on my next book, you can find me walking my dog ( Andy, the indefatigable chocolate Lab) by the Bow River, or volunteering at a local museum.

Photo credit: Laurie MacBrown

#BookReview The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #themagicoflemondroppie #rachellinden #uplitreadscampaign

#BookReview The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #themagicoflemondroppie #rachellinden #uplitreadscampaign Title: The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie

Author: Rachel Linden

Published by: Berkley Books on Aug. 2, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 10/10

An uplifting novel about a heartbroken young pie maker who is granted a magical second chance to live the life she didn’t choose. . . . from the bestselling author of The Enlightenment of Bees.

Lolly Blanchard’s life only seems to give her lemons. Ten years ago, after her mother’s tragic death, she broke up with her first love and abandoned her dream of opening a restaurant in order to keep her family’s struggling Seattle diner afloat and care for her younger sister and grieving father. Now, a decade later, she dutifully whips up the diner’s famous lemon meringue pies each morning while still pining for all she’s lost.

As Lolly’s thirty-third birthday approaches, her quirky great-aunt gives her a mysterious gift–three lemon drops, each of which allows her to live a single day in a life that might have been hers. What if her mom hadn’t passed away? What if she had opened her own restaurant in England? What if she hadn’t broken up with the only man she’s ever loved? Surprising and empowering, each experience helps Lolly let go of her regrets and realize the key to transforming her life lies not in redoing her past but in having the courage to embrace her present.


Review:

Charming, hopeful, and tender!

The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie is a touching, uplifting tale that takes you into the life of Lolly Blanchard, a young woman who gave up her own dreams ten years ago to come home and run the family diner and help take care of her younger sister after her mother died, as she embarks on a journey to complete at least one of her teenage goals before her upcoming thirty-third birthday of living in another country, owning her own restaurant, falling in love, helping her family be happy forever, or owning her own horse with a little help from three magic lemon drops courtesy of her Aunt Gert which will transport her to another time and place and allow her to live another life for one day.

The prose is heartfelt and smooth. The characters are multilayered, genuine, and conflicted. And the plot is an absorbing tale about life, loss, love, grief, family, friendship, relationship dynamics, introspection, heartbreak, and hope, all interwoven with a thread of magical realism.

Overall, The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie is a beautifully written, must-read book that tugs at the heartstrings, makes you think of all those what ifs, and reminds you that life is complicated, love is powerful and everlasting, and things often happen for a reason.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

 

Thank you to Uplit Reads for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Rachel Linden

Rachel’s taste for adventure and interest in people first led her to a career as an international worker with a faith-based aid organization, and her experiences living and traveling in more than fifty countries around the globe continue to provide excellent grist for her stories. She loves writing novels that combine so many of her favorite things – strong women facing big challenges, food, travel, and second chances at love. Rachel enjoys crafting bittersweet stories of struggles and triumphs infused with a touch of magical realism and with ultimately happy, or at least very hopeful, endings.

Currently Rachel lives with her husband and children on a sweet little island near Seattle. When she’s not dreaming up a new story, she enjoys camping with her family in their pop top campervan, exploring the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, eating sushi, and having grand adventures in far flung places.

#BookReview The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White @KarenWhiteWrite @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #TheAtticonQueenStreet #KarenWhite #TraddStreet #UplitReads #gifted

#BookReview The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White @KarenWhiteWrite @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #TheAtticonQueenStreet #KarenWhite #TraddStreet #UplitReads #gifted Title: The Attic on Queen Street

Author: Karen White

Series: Tradd Street #7

Published by: Berkley Books on Nov. 2, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Women's Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: Hardcover

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Return to the house on Tradd Street for one last time as the bestselling series featuring psychic medium Melanie Trenholm comes to a hauntingly spectacular finale.

After the devastating events of the past few months, the last thing Melanie Trenholm wants is to think about the future. Why, when her husband, Jack, has asked for a separation—a separation that might have been her fault? Nevertheless, with twin toddlers, a stepdaughter leaving for college soon, a real estate career to resume and a historic home that is still being restored, Melanie doesn’t have much time to wonder where it all went wrong—but that doesn’t stop her from trying to win her husband back.

Their relationship issues are pushed aside, however, when longtime nemesis, Marc Longo, comes to them with a proposition: allow their Tradd Street house to be used as the filming location for the movie adaptation of Marc’s bestselling book, and he will help Jack re-establish his stalled writing career. Despite Melanie’s hesitation, Jack jumps at the chance. But Melanie’s doubts soon prove to be well founded when she uncovers ulterior reasons for Marc wanting to be back in their house—reasons that include a hidden gem so brilliant that legend links it to the most infamous jewel of all, the Hope Diamond.

But Melanie has an unexpected ally in protecting the house and its inhabitants—the ghost of a Civil War era girl warns her of increasing threats to her family. But she’s not the only spirit who is haunting Melanie. A malevolent ghost seems determined to stop Melanie from investigating the decades-old murder of a friend’s sister, and this spirit will stop at nothing to protect its secrets—even from beyond the grave.

Melanie and Jack must work together to find the answers before evil spirits of past and present destroy everything they love.

 

Review:

Rich, atmospheric, and satisfying!

The Attic on Queen Street is a quirky, mysterious, entertaining tale that takes us back into the lives of Melanie, Jack, and the whole Trade Street gang, including a few intriguing newcomers, as they work on repairing fractured relationships, begrudgingly allow a movie production crew onto their property, and use the help and guidance from those long past once again to solve and close some tragic, unfinished cases.

The prose is vivid and descriptive. The characters are eccentric, lovable, and clever. And the plot is a well-paced, quirky tale full of amateur sleuthing, scandalous behaviour, treasures, ghosts, history,  suspects, deduction, and an abundance of southern charm.

The Attic on Queen Street is the seventh and last novel in this wonderful series by White. And even though it is a little bittersweet to say goodbye to the lovely gang we’ve come to know and love over the last seven novels, it has been an absolute pleasure to be able to indulge in all the mystique, adventure, mishaps, and romance that’s happened on Tradd Street over the entire series.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Uplit Reads for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Karen White

Karen White is the New York Times bestselling author of 28 books, including the Tradd Street series, Dreams of Falling, The Night the Lights Went Out, Flight Patterns, The Sound of Glass, A Long Time Gone, and The Time Between. She is the coauthor of All the Ways We Said Goodbye, The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room with New York Times bestselling authors Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig. She grew up in London but now lives with her husband near Atlanta, Georgia.

Photo by Marchet Butler.

#BookReview The Last Night in London by Karen White @KarenWhiteWrite @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #TheLastNightinLondon #KarenWhite #UplitReads #gifted

#BookReview The Last Night in London by Karen White @KarenWhiteWrite @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #TheLastNightinLondon #KarenWhite #UplitReads #gifted Title: The Last Night in London

Author: Karen White

Published by: Berkley Books on Apr. 20, 2021

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 480

Format: Hardcover

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 8.5/10

New York Times bestselling author Karen White weaves a story of friendship past and present, love, and betrayal that moves between war-torn London during the Blitz and the present day.

A captivating story of friendship, love and betrayal – and finding hope in the darkness of war.

London, 1939. Beautiful and ambitious Eva Harlow and her American best friend, Precious Dubose, are trying to make their way as fashion models. When Eva falls in love with Graham St. John, an aristocrat and Royal Air Force pilot, she can’t believe her luck – she’s getting everything she ever wanted. Then the Blitz devastates her world, and Eva finds herself slipping into a web of intrigue, spies and secrets. As Eva struggles to protect everything she holds dear, all it takes is one unwary moment to change their lives forever.

London, 2019. American journalist Maddie Warner travels to London to interview Precious about her life in pre-WWII London. Maddie, healing from past trauma and careful to close herself off to others, finds herself drawn to both Precious and to Colin, Precious’ enigmatic surrogate nephew. As Maddie gets closer to her, she begins to unravel Precious’ haunting past – and the secrets she swore she’d never reveal …


Review:

Captivating, enigmatic, and absorbing!

The Last Night in London is a mysterious, dual-timeline tale set in London during WWII, as well as 2019, that takes you into the lives of two main characters; Maddie Warner, a young journalist who unexpectedly stumbles across an intriguing story involving long-buried secrets and complex relationships after travelling to the home of a distant relative to write an article about wartime fashion, and Precious Dubose, a 99-year-old former model with a story to tell that involves more than just designers and styles but one that is also brimming with heartbreak and deception.

The prose is expressive and rich. The characters are determined, resilient, and brave. And the plot is an alluring tale full of twists, turns, drama, duplicity, emotion, betrayal, family, friendship, life, loss, romance and mystique.

Overall, The Last Night in London is a bittersweet, evocative, compelling tale by White that illuminates the enduring passion and power of unconditional love and is certainly the perfect choice for historical fiction lovers and long-time fans of Karen White’s work.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Uplit Reads for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Karen White

Karen White is the New York Times bestselling author of 28 books, including the Tradd Street series, Dreams of Falling, The Night the Lights Went Out, Flight Patterns, The Sound of Glass, A Long Time Gone, and The Time Between. She is the coauthor of All the Ways We Said Goodbye, The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room with New York Times bestselling authors Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig. She grew up in London but now lives with her husband near Atlanta, Georgia.

Photo by Marchet Butler.

#BookReview The Girl in His Shadow by Audrey Blake @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheGirlinHisShadow #AudreyBlake #bookmarkedbylandmark

#BookReview The Girl in His Shadow by Audrey Blake @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheGirlinHisShadow #AudreyBlake #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: The Girl in His Shadow

Author: Audrey Blake

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on May 4, 2021

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 9/10

The story of one woman who believed in scientific medicine before the world believed in her

Raised by the eccentric surgeon Dr. Horace Croft after losing her parents to a deadly pandemic, the orphan Nora Beady knows little about conventional life. While other young ladies were raised to busy themselves with needlework and watercolors, Nora was trained to perfect her suturing and anatomical illustrations of dissections.

Women face dire consequences if caught practicing medicine, but in Croft’s private clinic Nora is his most trusted–and secret–assistant. That is until the new surgical resident Dr. Daniel Gibson arrives. Dr. Gibson has no idea that Horace’s bright and quiet young ward is a surgeon more qualified and ingenuitive than even himself. In order to protect Dr. Croft and his practice from scandal and collapse Nora must learn to play a new and uncomfortable role–that of a proper young lady.

But pretense has its limits. Nora cannot turn away and ignore the suffering of patients even if it means giving Gibson the power to ruin everything she’s worked for. And when she makes a discovery that could change the field forever, Nora faces an impossible choice. Remain invisible and let the men around her take credit for her work, or let the world see her for what she is–even if it means being destroyed by her own legacy.


Review:

Multilayered, alluring, and incredibly absorbing!

The Girl in His Shadow is a fascinating, immersive tale set in London in the mid-1840s at a time when women were still forbidden to practice medicine, reproduction and childbirth still had high mortality rates, studying the dead was an underground, backdoor activity, and contemplating open surgery on the stomach was not only frowned upon but considered a death wish.

There are three main memorable characters in this novel. Dr Horace Croft, a renowned, unconventional surgeon whose reputation precedes him, Dr Daniel Gibson, a newly trained assistant with a desire to learn and discover, and Miss. Nora Beady, a young woman who, after spending her formative years under the care of the eccentric doctor and his housekeeper, is secretly a skilled and talented illustrator and surgeon in her own right.

The prose is eloquent and rich. The characters are intelligent, strong, and independent. And the plot is an engrossing, suspenseful tale of life, loss, duty, friendship, family, romance, determination, courage, and the evolution and procedures of early medicine.

The Girl in His Shadow is an atmospheric, evocative, beautifully written novel by the writing duo known as Audrey Blake that grabs you from the very first page and does a remarkable job of blending historical facts with compelling fiction that’s both informative and wonderfully captivating.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Audrey Blake

Audrey Blake has a split personality-because she is the creative alter ego of Regina Sirois and Jaima Fixsen, two authors who met online in a survivor style writing contest. They live 1500 miles apart, but both are prairie girls: Jaima hails from Alberta, Canada, and Regina from the wheat fields of Kansas. Both are addicted to history, words, and stories of redoubtable women, and agree that their friendship, better and longer lasting than any other prize, is proof that good things happen in this random, crazy universe.

#BookReview The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner @SusanMeissner @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #TheNatureofFragileThings #SusanMeissner #UplitReads #gifted

#BookReview The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner @SusanMeissner @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #TheNatureofFragileThings #SusanMeissner #UplitReads #gifted Title: The Nature of Fragile Things

Author: Susan Meissner

Published by: Berkley Books on Feb. 2, 2021

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: Hardcover

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 10/10

April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin’s silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin’s odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn’t right.

Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.

The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.

From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.


Review:

Rich, tortuous, and absorbing!

The Nature of Fragile Things is a captivating, mysterious tale set during 1906 that takes you into the life of Sophie Whalen, a young, Irish Immigrant who after answering a newspaper ad for a bride travels from New York to San Francisco to become the wife of widower Martin Hocking and the mother to his five-year-old daughter Kat. But things aren’t as straightforward as they first appeared, and as an earthquake destroys the very foundation of the city and fires rage for days, malicious actions will be hidden, long-buried secrets will finally be uncovered, and unexpected, unbreakable friendships will be forged.

The prose is vivid and expressive. The characters are brave, resourceful, and dependable. And the plot is an enigmatic tale full of twists, turns, surprises, deception, betrayal, danger, family, friendship, life, loss, heartbreak, bigotry, and survival.

Overall, The Nature of Fragile Things is a skillfully crafted, perfectly plotted tale by Meissner that highlights once again her ability to write immersive, atmospheric, beautifully written novels that are moving and unforgettable.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Uplit Reads for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Susan Meissner

Susan Meissner is a USA Today bestselling novelist with more than half a million books in print in fifteen languages. Her critically acclaimed works of historical fiction have been named to numerous lists including Publishers Weekly’s annual roster of 100 best books, Library Reads Top Picks, Real Simple annual tally of best books, Goodreads Readers’ Choice awards, Booklist’s Top Ten, and Book of the Month.

She attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego and is a former managing editor of a weekly newspaper. Susan’s expertise as a storyteller and her thoroughly researched topics make her a favorite author of book clubs everywhere. Her engaging and warm speaking style appeal to all manner of women’s groups, literary organizations, libraries and learning institutions, and service clubs.

When she is not working on a new novel, she enjoys teaching workshops on writing and dream-following, spending time with her family, music, reading great books, and travelling.

Photo courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati @akaSaraDonati @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA

#BookReview Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati @akaSaraDonati @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA Title: Where the Light Enters

Author: Sara Donati

Series: The Gilded Hour #2

Published by: Berkley Books on Sep. 10, 2019

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 672

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the international bestselling author of The Gilded Hourcomes Sara Donati’s enthralling epic about two trailblazing female doctors in nineteenth-century New York

Obstetrician Dr. Sophie Savard returns home to the achingly familiar rhythms of Manhattan in the early spring of 1884 to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. With the help of Dr. Anna Savard, her dearest friend, cousin, and fellow physician she plans to continue her work aiding the disadvantaged women society would rather forget.

As Sophie sets out to construct a new life for herself, Anna’s husband, Detective-Sergeant Jack Mezzanotte calls on them both to consult on two new cases: the wife of a prominent banker has disappeared into thin air, and the corpse of a young woman is found with baffling wounds that suggest a killer is on the loose. In New York it seems that the advancement of women has brought out the worst in some men. Unable to ignore the plight of New York’s less fortunate, these intrepid cousins draw on all resources to protect their patients.


Review:

Multilayered, fascinating, and incredibly absorbing!

Where the Light Enters is a gritty, compelling tale set in New York City in the mid-1880s at a time when the island was bustling, female doctors were still discounted and frowned upon, reproduction and childbirth still had high mortality rates, and women looking for help with unwanted pregnancies had little or nowhere to go.

There are two main memorable characters in this novel; Dr. Sophie Savard, a young multi-ethnic obstetrician who returns to the United States to open a scholarship program and home for girls looking to study medicine after her husband succumbs to Consumption; and Dr. Anna Mezzanotte, a young surgeon who spends her days operating on those less fortunate and helping her detective husband Jack as he hunts for a serial killer who preys on women seeking an abortion.

The prose is eloquent and rich. The characters are strong, independent, intelligent, and genuine. And the plot using an intriguing mixture of narration, letters, newspaper articles, and reports immerses you in a riveting, suspenseful tale of familial dynamics, duty, friendship, passion, loss, love, sexism, violence, murder, and the roles and struggles faced by female physicians in early medicine.

Where the Light Enters is once again another hefty novel by Donati, with just under 700 pages, but it is so remarkably atmospheric and beautifully written that before you know it the story is finished and you’re yearning for more.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                            

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sara Donati

Sara Donati is the pen name of Rosina Lippi, a former academic and tenured university professor. Since 2000 she has been writing fiction full-time, haunting the intersection where history and storytelling meet, wallowing in nineteenth-century newspapers, magazines, street maps, and academic historical research. She is the internationally bestselling author of the Wilderness series (Into the Wilderness, Dawn on a Distant Shore, Lake in the Clouds, Fire Along the Sky, Queen of Swords, and The Endless Forest) as well as The Gilded Hour, the first in a new series following the descendants of characters from the Wilderness series. She lives between the Cascades and Puget Sound with her husband, daughter, Jimmy Dean (a Havanese), and Max and Bella (the cats).

Photograph courtesy of penguinrandomhouse.com

#BookReview Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins @Kristan_Higgins @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA

#BookReview Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins @Kristan_Higgins @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA Title: Life and Other Inconveniences

Author: Kristan Higgins

Published by: Berkley Books on Aug. 6, 2019

Genres: Women's Fiction

Pages: 448

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

From the New York Times bestselling author of Good Luck with That comes a new novel about a blue-blood grandmother and her black-sheep granddaughter who discover they are truly two sides of the same coin.

Emma London never thought she had anything in common with her grandmother Genevieve London. The regal old woman came from wealthy and bluest-blood New England stock, but that didn’t protect her from life’s cruelest blows: the disappearance of Genevieve’s young son, followed by the premature death of her husband. But Genevieve rose from those ashes of grief and built a fashion empire that was respected the world over, even when it meant neglecting her other son.

When Emma’s own mother died, her father abandoned her on his mother’s doorstep. Genevieve took Emma in and reluctantly raised her–until Emma got pregnant her senior year of high school. Genevieve kicked her out with nothing but the clothes on her back…but Emma took with her the most important London possession: the strength not just to survive but to thrive. And indeed, Emma has built a wonderful life for herself and her teenage daughter, Riley.

So what is Emma to do when Genevieve does the one thing Emma never expected of her and, after not speaking to her for nearly two decades, calls and asks for help?


Review:

Graceful, nuanced, and moving!

Life and Other Inconveniences is a beautifully written, affecting story that immerses you into the lives of the London family, especially three strong, determined women, and all the secrets, wounds, smiles, tears, strength, and compassion that surround them.

The prose is effortless and expressive. The characters are authentic, angry, lovable, and stubborn. And the story is an exceptionally touching tale about life, loss, love, grief, forgiveness, familial drama, friendship, courage, hope, and the unbreakable ties that bind us as family.

Overall, Life and Other Inconveniences is another absorbingly insightful, skillfully plotted, multi-generational, family saga by Higgins that reminds us that life is complicated, messy, challenging, short, heartbreaking, as well as all those other wonderful things, lovely times, and special moments that happen in-between.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                             

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kristan Higgins

Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of 18 novels, which have been translated into more than two dozen languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. Her books have received dozens of awards and accolades, including starred reviews from Kirkus, The New York Journal of Books, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and Booklist. Her books regularly appear on the lists for best novels of the year. Kristan is also a cohost of the Crappy Friends podcast, which discusses the often complex dynamics of female friendships, with her friend and fellow writer, Joss Dey.

The proud descendant of a butcher and a laundress, Kristan lives in Connecticut with her heroic firefighter husband. They own several badly behaved pets and are often visited by their entertaining and long-lashed children.

Photograph by Kristan Higgins.

#BookReview A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne @john_boyne @PenguinRandomCA

#BookReview A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne @john_boyne @PenguinRandomCA Title: A Ladder to the Sky

Author: John Boyne

Published by: Doubleday Canada on Nov. 13, 2018

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

The new novel from the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Heart’s Invisible Furies, a seductive Highsmithian psychodrama following one brilliant, ruthless man who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of fame

Maurice Swift is handsome, charming, and hungry for success. The one thing he doesn’t have is talent – but he’s not about to let a detail like that stand in his way. After all, a would-be writer can find stories anywhere. They don’t need to be his own.
Working as a waiter in a West Berlin hotel in 1988, Maurice engineers the perfect opportunity: a chance encounter with celebrated novelist Erich Ackermann. He quickly ingratiates himself with the powerful – but desperately lonely – older man, teasing out of Erich a terrible, long-held secret about his activities during the war. Perfect material for Maurice’s first novel.
Once Maurice has had a taste of literary fame, he knows he can stop at nothing in pursuit of that high. Moving from the Amalfi Coast, where he matches wits with Gore Vidal, to Manhattan and London, Maurice hones his talent for deceit and manipulation, preying on the talented and vulnerable in his cold-blooded climb to the top. But the higher he climbs, the further he has to fall…


Review:

Dark, seductive, and skillfully menacing!

A Ladder to the Sky is a character-driven, psychological thrill ride involving the ruthlessly ambitious Maurice Swift who has no qualms about using his handsomeness, charm, lack of conscience, and sociopathic tendencies in his ceaseless pursuit to become the world-class, successful writer he knows he can be.

The prose is unsettling and controlled. The characters, including the sinister, impulsive protagonist are consumed, complex, and vulnerable. And the brilliantly crafted plot builds nicely to create the perfect amount of tension and suspense as it unravels all the duplicitous motivations, manipulative actions, questionable personalities, and parasitic relationships within it.

A Ladder to the Sky is an eerily compelling, darkly humorous, tragic novel that transports you to some of the biggest cities in the world and immerses you in a tale full of creative, eccentric, often self-absorbed characters that will keep you enthralled from start to finish. It’s a truly memorable novel by Boyne that highlights his extraordinary talent as a storyteller and his uncanny ability to lay bare humanities weaknesses and emotional vulnerabilities while still poking fun at an industry very close to his heart.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                        

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About John Boyne

John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, five for younger readers and a collection of short stories. His 2006 novel The Boy In the Striped Pajamas sold 9 million copies worldwide and has been adapted for cinema, theatre, ballet and opera. John has won three Irish Book Awards and many other international literary awards and his novels are published in over 50 languages. He lives in Dublin.

Photo by Rich Gilligan.