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Since the Day We Fell–sacrifices for love
Since the Day We Fell
by Kerk Murray
Is it possible to fall for someone so quickly and so thoroughly that you hardly know what is happening? It seems like that for Lisa and Noah, but Since the Day We Fell actually contains a slow burning romance as the two get to know each other as friends working on projects.
Noah comes to town trying to escape a bad relationship and finish writing his book. When he meets Lisa, his world changes and he decides her failing inn would provide the quiet and inspiration he needs as a writer. Lisa is desperate for guests at the run down inn after her mother passes. Things get worse when she discovers she only has a few months before the bank forecloses on the mortgage.
Noah tries to overcome his writer’s block and avoid paparazzi and his ex-girlfriend, the glamorous Sophia. Meanwhile, Lisa is grieving her mother’s death, trying to save the family inn and reputation, and avoid her abusive ex-husband. Help comes to both of them from an unexpected source, but there are plenty of bumps in the road to make the reader wonder if they will ever find their “happily ever after.” This book is a clean, feel good romance that explores love, friendship, and sacrifice. Although the community relies on tourists for its income, it embraces and supports its residents in ways that exceed expectations. Emma is Lisa’s best friend who will do anything for her. Daisy is a chocolate lab rescue dog that Lisa inherited from her mother. She is a sweet dog, but still puppyish and gets into mischief; her antics add fun and surprise to the story. Daisy’s name has a special, heartbreaking significance for Noah that is explained late in the book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: #2 in the Hadley Cove Sweet Romance series, but worked well for me as a standalone.
Publication: April 23, 2024—Books Go Social
Memorable Lines:
She moved through the world with a gentleness and authenticity that was as refreshing as a warm cup of tea on a rainy day.
The pier stretched out beneath them, a dazzling array of colorful lights twinkling like a scattering of fallen stars. Under the moonlight, the ocean’s surface shimmered in a ripping of silver and shadows.
Remember, when emotions are high, judgement is low.
love, unscripted–creating the perfect man
love, unscripted
by Denise Hunter
The “fake boyfriend/girlfriend” trope is a popular one, but it has never appealed to me. When Denise Hunter, an author I like, published one, I decided to give it a try.
In love, unscripted, Chloe has just published her first novel and it is a huge success. So successful that she already has sold the movie rights. Having been hurt and rejected by several men, including her father, Chloe has written a protagonist into her book who is heroic and “exhibits all the qualities that every woman yearns for in a partner.” Unfortunately, Liam, the actor chosen to play that role in the movie has a reputation as a handsome and charming lady’s man who moves quickly from one romantic interest to another. The tabloids love to use him for their headlines, and not everything they print is true.
Chloe’s first encounters with Liam are not positive, but they make a deal with each other. Her publisher wants her to increase her social media presence, and Liam’s publicists want him to shine up his image to fit the wholesome character portrayed in the movie. She agrees to pretend to have a relationship in exchange for his committing to work with her on his lines to better understand the character she created.
It’s easy to guess the direction the plot will take, but it is entertaining to watch their relationship develop. The hiccups along the way are caused by the paparazzi and by their own individual pasts which make it hard for them to trust others. Misunderstandings arise causing some hard lessons in forgiveness. Although this fake dating trope will never be my favorite, I did enjoy this clean romance with characters I liked. Most of the characters grew during the story, but realistically a few were unable to admit past mistakes or make good choices.
The events in the book take place over the course of three months showcasing how a movie is filmed, and I enjoyed participating vicariously in that process.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: no inappropriate language or sex
Publication: March 12, 2024—Harper Collins Christian Publisher/Thomas Nelson
Memorable Lines:
“When you reach a certain level of success, people often want something from you other than friendship. Sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s genuine and who’s not.”
She’d felt closer to him since their illnesses. There was something about seeing a person at his weakest—and being seen at your most vulnerable—that lowered a person’s walls.
“You’ve gotta get good at forgiving. “Cause believe me, you’ll be the one needing it the next time.”
Mistletoe Season —Three Christmas Stories
Mistletoe Season —Three Christmas Stories
Return to Mistletoe
by Kathleen Fuller
Emmy Banks owns Mistletoe Antiques in the little town of Mistletoe, Missouri, where she grew up. Her 21 year old adopted daughter Carina and Emmy’s best friend Sheryl help out in the shop. At Christmas time Mistletoe is even more magical than ever.
A Christmas surprise is in store for Emmy, Sheryl, and Sheryl’s mother Maggie when Kieran shows up after a twenty-two year absence from the U.S. Kieran is Sheryl’s older brother. Emmy had a crush on him in high school, but he left for Ireland immediately after he graduated. There he acquired an Irish accent and spent 15 years renovating the family castle. Did he feel anything for Emmy fifteen years ago? Is there anything left to be rekindled? Will he just escape again when life gets hard?
Novellas are hard to write as there is so little time for character development. Fuller made me happy with this one. She filled in all the blanks, solved some problems, and provided a clean, gentle romance all the in the space of one short novella.
A Mistletoe Prince
by Pepper Basham
Most little girls at one time or another want to believe in the fairy tale future of marrying a prince and becoming a beautiful princess. Hardworking Charlotte Edgewood, despite having been told all her life by her druggie mother that she wasn’t good enough at anything, had held on to the dream of a rescue by a prince—until she couldn’t anymore. Raised by her father and an extended family of Edgewoods in the Appalachian mountains, she became an introverted carpenter with the nickname Charlie. She is forced into a leadership position when the manager of the annual Christmas fundraiser for The Wish that raised funds for children who would have no Christmas had to step aside. Charlie had worked with the program, but not in a capacity that would require speaking and managing.
Prince Arran of Skymar arrives in the U.S. to work with Luke Edgewood, Charlie’s cousin who is married to Arran’s sister. His parents want to expose him to carpentry work and service with The Wish to pull him out of a disastrous two year slump with outrageous behavior in response to a failed romance.
When their paths cross, Arran is certainly not the prince of Charlie’s dreams. I’ll let the author tell you how they met and if they were able to overcome their initial inauspicious meeting.
A Mistletoe Prince is a fun, Christmas romance that will leave you smiling and wanting to read more by Pepper Basham.
Say No to Mistletoe
by Sheila Roberts
Hailey Fairchild feels like a fraud because she has a blossoming career as a romance author, but she doesn’t have a stable relationship in her own life. As she says, mistletoe is her kryptonite; a kiss under the mistletoe dooms any possible romance to failure going all the way back to her sophomore year in high school when her neighbor Carwyn kissed her under the mistletoe. Extremely shy and introverted, bullied at school, and crushing on Carwyn, Hailey is totally embarrassed.
Many years later, when Hailey returns home for the Christmas celebration, she still has feelings for Carwyn who remains both handsome and nice, but how does he feel about her? Hailey is feted as the hometown hero with a book signing and speeches. She is stunned to learn that her brother Sam is dating Gwendolyn, her high school mean girl bully who hasn’t changed. Hailey is a very likable protagonist, trying to get along with her brother’s girlfriend, but Gwendolyn is everything a nemesis should be. Still mean. Still vindictive. Still out to belittle Hailey.
Roberts tells the story with flair from Hailey’s point of view. We get to hear what Hailey says in conversations, but also what she thinks. There is also some insight into the workings of a romance author. Say No to Mistletoe is a fun short read. It is the perfect length for this story with its interesting plot. It doesn’t require a lot of background to set up the story, and there is sufficient time and space for all of the elements of a good tale without lengthy character development.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: As a rule, I find novellas lacking, usually in the area of character development. There is just not enough time.I expected Say No to Mistletoe, as the last of the three novellas in Mistletoe Season, to be the one I didn’t like because the other two were so good, but I was certainly wrong. When the publisher chose these three authors for a mistletoe theme, they selected three authors known for their work in romance. These ladies created success with their well-written stories with good plots and lots of fun.
Publication: October 8, 2024—Harper Collins Christian Publishing (Thomas Nelson)
Memorable Lines:
Return to Mistletoe: Her cheeks reddened, and he would have thought it was cute if the tension between them wasn’t as thick as a castle wall.
A Mistletoe Prince: But deep inside, she wondered if her tomboyishness had something to do with the fact that if she put forth effort to look attractive or poised, and failed…then she was only proving Mama right. That Charlie wasn’t enough. And proving her mama right was the last thing she ever wanted to do.
Say No to Mistletoe: Moving away and adulting is all well and good, but their excitement over welcoming me back into the nest, knowing they love me and always will, no matter what? That makes me go all mushy inside and happy to have flown back.
Murder Off the Books–so many suspects!
Murder Off the Books
by Tamara Berry
If you like “bookish” books, you’ll probably like Murder Off the Books. Tess has moved with her precocious, teenage daughter Gertie to an inherited, dilapidated property. In this book she is opening a bookstore and holding a release party for the her latest book on the same day. Tess is a mystery writer who finds herself all too frequently involved in murder investigations.
Tess has a surprise guest: her mother arrives for a visit at the same time a lothario arrives in town. He has been cleared of charges of murdering wealthy women, but Tess is afraid her mother will be next. Another visitor to the town is Neptune Jones, a very popular mystery podcaster. Why is she in little Winthrop, and why does the handsome sheriff invite Neptune to stay with him when he is quite brusque with Tess? It’s hard times for Tess when tourists flock to Neptune and a crime scene instead of Tess’ grand opening. She fears for both her mother’s life and the threat of her mother being arrested for murder.
Although the characters and setting are important, the mystery plot is the star and it is quite complex. Even Tess’ friends who are undercover FBI agents wonder if their case and the newest murder in town are somehow related. As sometimes happens in cozy mysteries, no sooner does the suspicion fall on one particular character, than he gets added to the RIP list. My favorite situation in the book is when Tess has to resort to hiring her elderly neighbor as a very temporary employee. My policy is “no spoiler” reviews so you’ll need to read this fun cozy mystery to find out how things work out with the new hire, the gruff sheriff, Tess’ FBI friends, and her mother.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #3 in the By the Book series. My advice is to start the series at the beginning.
Publication: May 30, 2023—Poisoned Pen Press
Memorable Lines:
Back in Seattle, she’d gone for months at a time without talking to her neighbors, her whole life a careful balance of curated appointments and spaced-out drinks with friends. Here in Winthrop, she couldn’t go five feet without running into someone she knew, owed a favor to, and/or had accused of murder at one time or another.
There was a reason she had thirty-five million downloads every month. Listening to her speak was like being dipped in a vat of chocolate before getting toweled off with crushed velvet.
“I’ve never known two people so whip-smart…and so determined that no one find out about it. Your grandfather hid his intelligence in a cabin in the woods. Your mom hides hers in irreverence.”
Reading for the Love of God–erudite and spiritual
Reading for the Love of God
by Jessica Hooten Wilson
I thought Reading for the Love of God would be the perfect book for me, channeling my reading choices in a way that points to God and shining a light on the spiritual connection of God and a reader. It did both of those things, but I have to admit that, as a whole, it was not the right book for me. Some of this well organized book was appropriate for the average reader, but much of it was clearly written by a professor with a strong background in both literature and theology. Perhaps it would be more appropriate for study in a college level course. Here is an example from the text that demonstrates the background knowledge needed to fully benefit from this book: “In Christian tradition, the anagogic sense refers to a text’s echo or reflection of the divine. Where do we see God here? Or we might equate the anagogical with the eschatological: Knowing that all will end in our death and Christ’s second coming, what matters in what we have read? It’s the cultivation of a sight that points our eyes ever upward toward heaven.”
On the other hand, Hooten presents a lot of interesting ideas about reading. She is quite knowledgeable and gathers information from and about many authors. The footnotes cover about twenty percent of the book. She extols the virtues of reading and rereading the classics, and she asserts that learning how to read various genres helps us learn to read Scripture. If we read other books than the Bible, even secular books, through the lens of Scripture, God can teach us. Even books that some Christians avoid reading (e.g. Harry Potter) can lead to examination and discussions of evil versus good, etc. We should both enjoy and use literature, but should not put the message above the story itself. She points out that there are many current and historical opinions about how to best read the Bible addressing issues such as meditation, interpretation, the role of allegory, the depths of word meanings, and symbolism.
The author carefully places essays in the book expounding on what we can learn from examining the writing and reading of St. Augustine, Julian of Norwich, Frederick Douglass, and Dorothy L. Sayers. After her Conclusion and Acknowledgments, she guides the reader through a practice session of analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s short story “The River.” O’Connor is a much referenced author in this book so this discussion seems quite appropriate. A section of Frequently Asked Questions is very practical and useful. It is followed by “Reading Lists of Great Books” which is grouped by ages. The next list is “Great Books: The Living Tradition” which contains classics sorted by time periods and followed by a list entitled “Writers Whose Works Touch the Sacred and the Profane.” I’m not sure what her criteria are for this list, but it includes authors such as Wendell Berry, Frederick Buechner, Willa Cather, G. K. Chesterton, and Dorothy Sayers.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Christian, Religion & Spirituality
Notes: As I think back over Reading for the Love of God, I find I am viewing it in a more positive light than when I was working my way through it. I am not recommending it to my book club as I initially thought I would do. I will be mulling her theses over and referring to her suggestions for reading selections as I expand my personal reading choices.
Publication: March 28,2023—Brazos Press (Baker Publishing Group)
Memorable Lines:
If we are going to read—the Bible included—we should learn how to read well. We should become readers who do not read for our own gain but who read as a spiritual practice, always open to how the Lord is planting seeds in our heart, teaching us more about him, and showing us ways of living more like Christ in the world.
But we should not read Virgil’s Aeneid in order that we may check a box on a great books list. Rather, a book such as the Aeneid is to be used—for pleasure and edification temporarily—and ultimately enjoyed in how it points us to God.
We read because without books our world shrinks, our empathy thins, and our liberty wanes. We read for the same reason that people have read—and shared poems or stories—for thousands of years because our eyes are not enough by which to see. The time and place in which we live blinds us to other perspectives and ways of being that are not of our own experience. We read because we have been given the gift of imagination and intellect, and we exhibit our gratitude by using it.
It Cannoli Be Murder–Italian food mystery
It Cannoli Be Murder
by Catherine Bruns
Isn’t this book’s title just too punny? I have to smile when I read it! Let me introduce its two main characters. Tess loves to cook. Food is her love language; she loves to see people enjoying the food she made. When It Cannoli Be Murder opens, Tess is in the restaurant she and her deceased husband dreamed of opening. She is cooking up fresh, from scratch foods. She enjoys making her own pasta. Can’t you just smell the aromas in her kitchen? Opening day is in two weeks, but she has no reservations booked so far. Will it be a flop before it even opens?
Gabby is Tess’ best friend and the owner of a new bookstore. Gabby has her own business crisis to deal with, but the two ladies try to help each other. Gabby is depending on a book signing to perk up her failing shop. She is in a “make or break” situation when Preston, the famous author, enters her bookstore with his entourage. They all treat Gabby as a servant, but there is clearly conflict among his helpers. When a murder occurs in the bookshop, Gabby and Tess are both implicated, and Gabby’s detective brother is not allowed to investigate the case because of their relationship.
Gabby and Tess predictably, for a cozy mystery, take it upon themselves to find the real murderer. They are warned off by the police because their actions are dangerous; they also receive warnings from an anonymous person who may have been involved in the crime. I enjoyed their antics and relationship, but they really did go over the line into illegality several times. There are any number of people who might want to kill the victim as she was a “mean girl” in high school (especially to Gabby and Tess) and hasn’t mended her ways as she grew older. Generally self-centered and narcissistic, she does have a good side which Tess discovers in the process of interviewing those who knew the victim. The murderer and the motive are a surprise, but the ending is satisfying.
You will certainly want to see Gabby and Tess succeed in their business ventures. There is a tad bit of romance along the way, but Tess’ husband died only 6 months prior to this story, so she is not ready to have a new relationship. Her priority is her restaurant. I enjoyed this cozy mystery and would love to have Tess, a trained chef with an Italian family background, cook some of her delicious Italian dishes for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #3 in the Italian Chef Mystery Series but can be read as a standalone as the author backfills information as needed. I had read #1, but not #2. Except for one event that I had forgotten from the first book in the series, there were no story gaps for me.
2. This book contains some delicious sounding recipes that Tess makes. Only one of them would be in the easy category, but they are all satisfying to read if you love food.
Publication: July 28,2020—Poisoned Pen Press
Memorable Lines:
A wave of anxiety passed over me. Sure, police weren’t supposed to be fuzzy and warm, but this guy’s demeanor was colder than a New York icicle in January.
The room was so quiet that you could have heard a chocolate chip drop.
“I’m an only child, and I wasn’t sheltered,” I reminded her. “You don’t count,” Gabby said. “In Italian families, it doesn’t matter whether there’s one kid or ten. Everyone gets suffocated equally.”
The True Love Bookshop–a Marine of honor
The True Love Bookshop
by Annie Rains
With themes of forgiveness and second chances, The True Love Bookshop invites you into the small town of Somerset Lake. The setting is predominantly Tess’ dream come true: her bookshop which she is trying to put her own stamp on by expanding the collection of books on offer and inviting authors for book signings. Unfortunately, she is still dealing with grief three years after her husband passed away.
The drama in Tess’ life ratchets up when River Harrison stumbles into the bookshop having suffered a knife wound. He is the man who ruined her wedding day nine years prior. Although she has never forgiven him for trying to break up the event, she agrees to take care of his dog Buddy while he is in the hospital. This simple act of kindness results in Tess and River teaming up to find out what her deceased husband Jared was doing in the neighboring town of Morrisville when he had the fatal car accident.
This romance has its share of ups and downs. Tess and River both deal with pains from the past. River was adopted as a two year old, but has done little to search for his birth parents. He is viewed as a loner, but he enjoys nature and is happy. There are devastating revelations in store for Tess. Both characters learn to redefine family and friendship.
I liked Tess and River; watching them reach out and grow emotionally and relationally was a pleasurable benefit of this romance. There were plot complications both for the couple and for the town whose festival had been ruined for the last two years by mischief. As a PI, River was hired to discover who was behind the problems.
This was my introduction to author Annie Rains, and I would definitely like to read more of her books. I appreciated that the author included multi-cultural friends and marriages and treated them as the norm.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. #3 in the Somerset Lake Series, but it worked fine for me as a standalone.
2. Includes excellent discussion questions.
Publication: July 7, 2022—Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Memorable Lines:
…the point of Tess’s book club…was friendship, food, and fiction. The best three f-words in the dictionary, if you asked Tess.
River believed in loyalty and honor, not just in the military, but in everything. And Jared believed in loyalty and honor only when someone else was watching.
…River had never believed in luck. He believed in right and wrong, in keeping your word, and helping others as much as possible. He couldn’t imagine ever falling into a pattern where he did the wrong thing and needed to search out lawyers to hide his secrets.
On Spine of Death–hidden bones
On Spine of Death
by Tamara Berry
Tess, a thriller writer, believes in using real life as an inspiration for her fiction. Sometimes that means investigating real murders that happen in her newly adopted small hometown, even on her own property. She also sets up scenarios to see if a situation is possible even if not probable. She is quite successful and has been able to renovate (i.e. make livable) a cabin she inherited from her grandfather. Newly divorced, she lives there with her teenage daughter Gertrude. In this book there are an assortment of interesting characters including two undercover FBI agents: Nikki who acts as a bookmobile librarian and Jared, a strapping young man who works construction for Tess as she tries to transform her grandfather’s wreck of a hardware store into a bookstore. Jared doesn’t do well as an undercover agent because he can’t “lie his way out of a paper bag.”
It is during the demolition of parts of the store that skeletons are discovered. Judging from similar hatchet marks on the bodies, it seems there has been a serial killer at work. The plot takes off from there as the story becomes more and more complicated. It appears the murderer has returned and is trying to frame either Tess’ family or the sheriff.
Woven through the mystery there is a lot of humor in situation and dialogue. There is also some romance and sabre rattling as Jared and Sheriff Boyd are both attracted to Tess.
The ending is dramatic and full of action. There is resolution of the mysteries but also a hook to make the reader want to read of Tess’ next adventures which will assuredly include some of both the romantic and investigative varieties. She may even find time to reach some of her publisher’s deadlines for her next book. Be ready to suspend reality and enjoy some over the top humorous situations in On Spine of Death.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #2 in the By the Book Mystery Series. I recommend reading this series from the beginning rather than trying to read this book as a standalone. It is a series where you will benefit from meeting the characters and watching their relationships develop.
Publication: November 29, 2022—Poisoned Pen Press
Memorable Lines:
She also knew that the more exhausted the sheriff was, the more likely he was to cave. That was a trick Gertrude used all the time. Requests for increases to her allowance always occurred with greater frequency whenever Tess was approaching a deadline.
There was no telling how or why rumors spread so quickly in a place like this, where social media existed mostly in the form of the church calling tree and chance encounters at the grocery store, but there was no denying that they did. No one went so far as to throw stones at her or start waving pitchforks in her face, but the hostility was palpable.
Tess had always assumed that hackers were social misfits, living off Mountain Dew and whole bags of Doritos in the dark. A humorous hacker who could manipulate her like playing a drum opened up a whole new world of possibilities.
The Healing of Natalie Curtis–destroying a culture by forbidding its music
The Healing of Natalie Curtis
by Jane Kirkpatrick
The Healing of Natalie Curtis is historical fiction based on a period in the life of Natalie Curtis, a classically trained singer and pianist during a time when women in music had few lifetime choices—remain single achieving success as a performer or marry and teach. After suffering psychological trauma which also affected her physically, her brother George, who had been cowboying in the Southwest, invited her to accompany him because living there had done wonders for his health.
Natalie embarked on a developing, many year journey to record the music and dances of many American Indian tribes. She was afraid their voices would be forever lost as the U.S. government had imposed a Code of Offenses forbidding native singing, dancing, and other customs in its desire to assimilate the “savages” into a white culture. If they broke the Code, their food rations were cut and penitentiary was a possibility. Horrified by the treatment of the Indians, she set about to respectfully learn their stories and compile them along with their music in a book. To do this meant she had to gain legal access which she obtained by letters petitioning President Theodore Roosevelt and finally getting personal appointments with him.
Political change was slow and Natalie had roadblocks along the way. Her family wanted her at home, and she needed benefactors to fund her project. She made many friends, both Anglo and Indian along the way. She and her brother spent many nights camping, and she had to learn to ride horses western style. Her wardrobe changed from that of a proper lady in the early 1900’s to outrageous split skirts for riding and plain dresses adorned with native jewelry.
Initially I was puzzled by Natalie’s illness and her abrupt abandonment of the music world for five years, but the causes were revealed as the story progressed. This book is as much about Natalie’s struggle to change attitudes toward the Indians and consequently treatment of them as about the music itself. She threw herself into this project with the same enthusiasm and drive that she had exerted in developing her music career. The book is very factually based except for conversations which had to be imagined but were based on the context of her known travels and meetings. By the time I finished reading The Healing of Natalie Curtis, I had ordered a copy of the book Natalie put together from her research, The Indians’ Book, which was a major resource for author Jane Kirkpatrick. My desire was to see the finished product of almost 600 pages. Wanting to make it clear that the book truly belonged to the Indians, she called herself the editor rather than the author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Historical Fiction
Notes: 1. In keeping with the times, Natalie Curtis, Jane Kirkpatrick, and I have used the designation “Indians” for the indigenous people living in the U.S. The various tribes all had names for themselves in their own languages which often translated as “The People.”
2. The end of the book contains: Suggested Additional Reading, Book Group Questions, and Author’s Notes that address cultural issues and the factual basis for the book.
Publication: September 7, 2021—Revell (Baker Publishing)
Memorable Lines:
This dismissiveness had happened before, mostly with professional men who saw any independent unmarried woman as lacking brains and capable of nothing more than sitting at Daddy’s table and taking nourishment from others.
“What I don’t understand,” Natalie said, “is how the Hopi are punished for practicing their religious customs, and those same songs and dances are advertised to bring people to see them. Burton approves because the railroad wants the business?”
This was what she was called to do, to save these songs and more, to give these good people hope that their way of life would not be lost to distant winds.
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM
THE INDIANS’ BOOK:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society–comeback from World War II
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I approach epistolary fiction with a bit of trepidation. Can a story really be told effectively through a series of letters? In the case of the unusually named The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, that is probably the best way to relate the events of the Nazi occupation of Guernsey and to present the characters and how the war affected them.
Juliet Ashton is a budding author with one successful book based on a column she wrote. Her publisher, Sidney, and his younger sister, Sophie, are friends of Juliet; their letters are part of the correspondence that moves the story along. The heart of this tale begins when a letter finds its way to Juliet in London from Guernsey where Dawsey Adams has bought a book by Charles Lamb with her name and address. Dawsey seeks more books by Lamb as well as information about him. Their correspondence leads to a discussion of the local book club which began during the Nazi Occupation.
Most of the book club characters are quite likable and work together because of, or in spite of, their idiosyncrasies and the hardships they have endured. They welcome the opportunity to share their stories with Juliet for potential publication. They are quite open to her personally as well. Juliet grows as a writer, her maternal instincts emerge, and she shows strength of character as she discovers what is important to her.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is well-written with detailed settings and empathy for the characters. It is both a gentle and a strong book and gives a fair depiction of Nazi soldiers, most of whom suffer deprivation in Guernsey along with the locals. Some Nazis are depicted as brutal and a few as humane. Some citizens are supportive of each other and a few are treacherous. The accounts also included Todt slaves, brought in by the Germans. They suffer the most in this book. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society has deservedly caused a lot of buzz among readers and has been made into a movie.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction
Publication: July 29, 2008—Dial Press
Memorable Lines:
I turned to a man sitting against a fence nearby and called out “We’re saved! It’s the British!” Then I saw he was dead. He had only missed it by minutes. I sat down in the mud and sobbed as though he’d been my best friend.
All those people I’ve come to know and even love a little, waiting to see—me. And I, without any paper to hide behind….I have become better at writing than living…On the page, I’m perfectly charming, but that’s just a trick I learned. It has nothing to do with me.
Dawsey was seeing to my bags and making sure that Kit didn’t fall off the pier and generally making himself useful. I began to see that this is what he does—and that everyone depends upon him to do it.
education pathways 