#BookReview: The Berlin Sisters by Soraya M. Lane

Soraya Lane Goes *There*. Particularly in the current era of American politics, with “both” sides (rightfully, in certain aspects) comparing each other to the Third Reich, I don’t think you’re going to find an American author with the balls to take a high ranking Nazi official’s family – in Joseph Goebbel’s inner circle, no less! – and make them a sympathetic and even heroic unit.

Enter New Zealander Soraya M. Lane.

Lane, whose last WWII historical novel – The Secret Midwife – tackled the horrors of Auschwitz directly, now takes an entirely different tack and places us in the political intrigue of 1944 Berlin, when the only Jews left in the city were in hiding and SS officials – along with their Fuhrer – were becoming ever more suspicious of everyone. When the White Rose was openly defying the Reich and Sophie Scholl and others paid the ultimate price for this defiance – an event that is discussed among our characters here. When other resisters inside Germany were actively looking for – and ultimately attempting an ill-fated attempt at – a way to assassinate the very Fuhrer in question and attempt to restore some degree of sanity to their government. An event that plays directly into the story here.

The story here, with the real world knowledge of what was going on and what was to come, is so tense you would need a space laser to cut through it – and Lane manages to ratchet the tension up so high that you’re going to be afraid of giving yourself a heart attack reading this tale.

Yet ultimately this *is* a tale of hope and survival. That even in the darkest, most desperate times, when survival for anyone is in doubt and the smallest misstep could get you and everyone you know or who knows of you at all killed, there are still those willing to take those risks to do what is right. That no matter how evil a group may be, this does not mean that every single member of that group is equally evil. That no matter how vile you think someone is because of some aspect you’ve been taught to believe about what you think they believe, there are still those within that out group that are truly *noble* and truly trying to do the right thing, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Indeed, with all of the fighting in America today noted at the top of this review, this may be one of the more interesting and essential fictional tales for Americans to read leading into the 2024 Presidential election that will be in a period of less activity when this book releases in mid May.

Truly one of Lane’s strongest works to date, and very much recommended.

This review of The Berlin Sisters by Soraya M. Lane was originally written on March 9, 2024.

#BlogTour: The Sapphire Daughter by Soraya Lane

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an interesting and intriguing series continuation with great foreshadowing for a future story in the series. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Sapphire Daughter by Soraya Lane.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Solid And Interesting Series Continuation. This is one of the more interesting entries in this loosely coupled series (that can mostly be read as standalone, but characters from prior books are showing up with more frequency in each book along with at least some spoilers about their own stories) in that unlike so many romance novels out there – even within this series – our lead female here truly doesn’t actually need *anything* from the man who is about to rock her world. There is zero discussion of kids in this particular romance (yay for the child free! :D), so even that motivation for “needing a man” isn’t actually in the text at hand. Her job in particular is rare enough to be intriguing, even as someone who has some knowledge of that field.

Instead, this tale yet again combines both of Lane’s contemporary romance and historical fiction worlds (and yes, as such has a dual timeline), though the emphasis in this particular tale does lean more towards the contemporary romance rather than the historical one.

One of the more intriguing bits here is the continued foreshadowing of the tale that started the entire series – will Lane wait to *end* the series with that particular tale as well, or will we get it at some point in between? For now, only Lane knows. For the rest of us, it will be interesting seeing just where Lane takes this series next.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Sapphire Daughter by Soraya Lane”

#BlogTour: The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman

For this blog tour, we’re looking at one of those WWII Paris tales that is familiar in that it has been done so often before, yet also very tense and very real because this particular entry into that space is done so well. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Tense Yet All Too Real. “Book 0” of this series, The Paris Orphans, does a much better job of setting up the overall series than this particular book does – and yet this particular book actually does a far better job of showing what we’re in for with the rest of the series. Here, we get an all too real world in both WWII era Paris and 2010s era England. Yes, this is a dual timeline, and yes there are the usual linkages there. There are also multiple character perspectives, but both timelines and perspectives are switched well. The tension throughout both timelines, though wildly divergent (and appropriate for the given timeline) is done quite well, with brief moments of reprieve sprinkled throughout the story before the tension is ratcheted up even higher. The setup for Book 2 is sprinkled in later in the text here, but the Epilogue is essentially a stinger to make you want to pre-order Book 2 immediately. (Which I don’t even think is possible as I write this review on release day.)

Overall a solid tale of its type, with an intriguing twist of the idea of having s linked series of sisters and their tales during the war (along with, presumably, a post-war dual timeline of some form). Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman”

#BookReview: The Messy Life Of Jane Tanner by Brenda Novak

Solid Series Continuation. This is one of those books where you thought the author was doing a trilogy… and yet with the story herein, perhaps the author plans to continue coming back to this rural small western town. Both female leads from the first two books, as well as the male lead from the first book, play prominent roles in this tale as we learn of the mess one of their friends has truly gotten herself in. The ending is perhaps a bit rushed and maybe even, arguably, “tacked on” feeling, as though perhaps Novak had a page target, realized she still needed to wrap up the tale, and squeezed into that target. Still, the tale to that point is solid, and even the mad dash to wrap up the book mostly works within the story told here. Note that for those wishing to avoid all versions of pregnancy tales, this is absolutely one of those – and it absolutely works for the character as portrayed within this tale. Overall a solid tale of its type, but absolutely read the first two books in this series first. Then speculate along with me whether Novak plans to continue this series or not. Very much recommended.

This review of The Messy Life Of Jane Tanner by Brenda Novak was originally written on February 23, 2024.

#BookReview: The Summer Book Club by Susan Mallery

Perfectly Within Expectations. Susan Mallery has a type of tale, at least over these last few years at minimum. It isn’t quite “Hallmarkie” in that it generally features a group of female leads that share the spotlight, but those who enjoy the Hallmarkie type will likely also enjoy this type of book – particularly the women it is clearly catered for. Yes, the male characters can be a bit wooden and one dimensional, but again, Mallery knows her target audience well, is clearly very popular within it, and clearly these benign affronts work within this space for this author – and aren’t ever really “offensive” to anyone. They’re simply too cardboard to have any real agency or motivations of their own, and mostly exist to affirm whatever the women in their lives are doing in the moment / serve whatever emotional or physical needs the woman they are paired with may have. Again, perfectly in line with what Mallery’s audience clearly expects, and a perfectly fine tale within these confines. If this type of casual, non-preachy, female friendship type of tale is what you’re after, you’ve found a great book within that space. If you’re looking for something *more*, no matter how you define “more”… you need to look somewhere else. This is one of those books that isn’t really going to challenge anyone or anything, it is more of a comfort read. I won’t necessarily say “vacation” read and I despise the term “beach read” because not everyone reads any given type of book at the beach and whatever book you may be reading at the beach is by definition a “beach read”, and at 400+ pages it would need to be a decently long vacation for anyone to read this book while on vacation. Still, it is that same kind of relaxing type of read that many ascribe to those scenarios, so perhaps for some it will truly be a “beach read”. Very much recommended.

This review of The Summer Book Club by Susan Mallery was originally written on February 23, 2024.

#BookReview: Where Butterflies Wander by Suzanne Redfearn

My Scars Remind Me That The Past Is Real. Wait. Sexton. You’re quoting *Papa Roach* to title your review of an emotional women’s fiction tale? I mean, you’ve done some crazy shit in your reviews over the years, but come on, dude. Really??

Yes, really, because ultimately this is a tale of scars and the beauty and pain of healing from them – and of allowing them to get you stuck in the first place. Pretty well everyone in this tale has lost loved ones. For many of the perspectives we live in through this tale – a family who recently lost one of their youngest members – the scars are on the inside, and are eating them alive in various forms. For another of the perspectives we live inside in this tale, the scars are much more open and visible, though even these hide just as many internal scars.

And yet, with her usual skill, Redfearn once again turns in an excellent story of healing and hope, even in some of the darkest times unfortunately far too many face. Hopefully, you, the reader of my review, won’t actually have these *exact* scars and thus the exact particulars here won’t resonate *as* much with you. Read this book anyway, as it could well provide at least a touch of catharsis and magic for even your own scars, no matter what they may be.

And if you *are* one of those who happens to have some remarkably identical scars to our characters here… you have my sympathies and condolences. Read this book anyway as well, and perhaps find at least a modicum of healing and hope in these fictional words. Hell, maybe even learn a lesson from our family here and use this tale as a catalyst to talk to others about your pain and perhaps heal even more from that.

No rooms ever got particularly dusty while I was reading this tale, but I’m also not one who has suffered these particular kinds of scars. Still, the overall quality of the tale and the writing of it is Redfearn’s usual excellence, and ultimately the story is truly quite good on so many levels. Very much recommended.

This review of Where Butterflies Wander by Suzanne Redfearn was originally written on February 10, 2024.

#BlogTour: The Uncharted Flight Of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman

For this blog tour, we’re looking at . For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Solid Dual Timeline Tale Featuring Unique And Unexplored Moment In History. This particular tale was inspired by and set within a real world event in the early days of human flight, back in the years before intercontinental air travel had become trivial and long before the era of GPS. A time when doing something as routine – in 2024 – as flying from SFO (San Francisco, California) to HNL (Honolulu, Hawaii) was so fraught with danger that not everyone made it, for a variety of reasons. A time when women had only recently won the right to vote in the United States and were still searching for any modicum of equality in the work force. A time when Hawaii itself was still a US territory governed by the US military more as a forward operating base than as an actual place to live. Within this world, we find a female who will do whatever it takes to become a pilot, and not just any pilot – the *best* pilot anywhere near her, in the capacities she can fly in at all. Here we get much of the excitement and wonder of the book.

Decades later, in the other timeline, her exploits have long been forgotten – indeed, her own contributions were never actually known, thus forming the core mystery of the book. Stumbling into the mystery we get another much more modern woman, currently quite down on her luck. Taking a last ditch *now routine* flight from California to Hawaii, she discovers a land she had forgotten and a particular piece of it she had never known – and within that piece, the mystery begins. Will this modern woman find her peace? Did the earlier woman ever find hers? What has happened to the earlier woman? What will happen to the newer woman?

All this and so much more… in this pulse pounding emotional rollercoaster of a tale.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Uncharted Flight Of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman”

#BookReview: For Roger by Laura Drake

If You Only Read One 2023 Release, Make It This One. Wow. Phenomenal. I’m writing this review roughly 12 hrs after finishing the book, and I am still in awe of what Drake was able to do here. When I first encountered her books, Drake was writing cowboy romances. She’s extended into women’s fiction more recently and done a great job with it, and this one I would assume would mostly classify within that space as well.

But let me be clear: This book has a LOT going on, a lot that places Drake writing about very serious issues and very different spaces. We get medical discussions and specifically discussions around terminal illness, suicide, assisted suicide, and related issues. We get a legal courtroom thriller that dives deep into questions of justice vs mercy vs the letter of the law and even into what are laws and why do we have them. We get open discussions of how to make different spaces better and more responsive, and in these areas Drake shows several practical ideas that could genuinely work – even though this is a fictional tale. Throughout all of this. Drake proves herself capable of at minimum holding her own with even the masters of these spaces who only write explicitly within them, such as John Grisham’s legal thrillers.

And then there are the more traditional women’s fiction aspects, the relationships that make this book truly sing throughout all the heaviness of the above discussions. The loving wife who is barely older than her stepdaughter, despite being in absolute love with her husband. The stepdaughter who resents the stepmother being so very close to her own age. The brilliant husband who dearly loves his wife *and* daughter. The best friend who happens to be the Governor of Texas, with all the behind the scenes politicking that entails. The mother who loves her daughter no matter what. The misunderstood older sister. And yes, in a nod to Drake’s real life (as anyone who follows her socials will know), a mischievous and nearly scene-stealing cat named Boomer.

In telling such a moving story, Drake truly masters bringing in such difficult discussions that *need* to be held at every level and in every corner of this great land.

Issues of how to handle terminal illness within a marriage – how far is each willing to go? What is the loving thing to do? Do the local statutes matter when it comes to trying to make the right decision? What *is* the right decision?

Issues of criminal justice as it relates to terminal illness, echoing at a societal level the same types of questions every relationship needs to answer within itself.

Issues of what we expect from our penal system – can people be rehabilitated, or should they be exclusively punished? Is there a difference between someone committing suicide, their spouse helping them, their doctor helping them, another person outside of a legally protected relationship helping them? Does the situation itself matter, and if it does, what do we condemn and what do we excuse?

All of this and so much more, Drake crafts into a moving and poignant tale of one particular family struggling to navigate these very complicated and delicate issues.

Read this book. Think about how *you* would handle these things. Think about how *we* should handle these things…

Or not. Maybe you jus need to cry, or even bawl your eyes out. Maybe these issues aren’t theoretical for you – maybe they’re as real for you as they are for the characters in this book. Maybe you’re just trying to find answers yourself.

Read this book too. And may you find comfort within its words even in the midst of your own storm.

But read this book, regardless. Very much recommended.

This review of For Roger by Laura Drake was originally written on November 20, 2023.

#BlogTour: The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a solid Hallmarkie Christmas tale, perhaps with a not-as-typical feature. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Solid Hallmarkie Christmas Movie. The main way you’re at least somewhat positive Viola Shipman wrote this particular one is that it is set in her (his) beloved Michigan. Beyond that, this is a fairly standard and typical Hallmarkie type Christmas tale of the young girl who loves the magic of Christmas growing up into a successful business tycoon before coming back to her small hometown for Christmas. Indeed, probably the one thing that makes this one at least a *touch* different is that our heroine is *also* (theoretically) the villain…

Filled with the wonders of Christmas as portrayed in the US 1970s ish, complete with department stores sending out toy catalogs at Christmas and the ubiquitous Boris Karloff How The Grinch Stole Christmas, this is yet another tale that so many fans of Hallmark Christmas movies will absolutely love – and those who despise those types of tales will most likely not like much at all. And yes, there is a loveable and old dog.

Overall a solid tale of its type, if not a particularly standout “Viola Shipman” novel. Still, very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book excerpt, book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman”

#BookReview: When We Were Enemies by Emily Bleeker

Strong Growth All Around. While this book is no WRECKAGE – Bleeker’s debut that was also her most gut-wrenching to date – as someone recently said on social media, authors have an entire lifetime to craft a debut novel – and then the lucky ones are expected to crank out a new one every year thereafter (or even more often).

Here, Bleeker actually shows remarkable growth in her writing even from her previous, also dual-timeline, tale. While yes, her direct family still plays a role in even this tale (which I suspected while reading certain parts of this tale, and Bleeker confirms in the author’s note), here it is a bit more oblique, with lots of extra research thrown in. And speaking of the research – Bleeker manages to bring forth both the era of the book remarkably well *and* the particulars of a particular section of WWII that most outside of the town Bleeker set this tale in are likely unaware of. Specifically, the treatment of Italian POWs in prison camps within the US prior to Italy’s defeat and switching sides late in WWII. In both her treatment of these characters and in her detailed view of the world they live in, Bleeker shows here that she can do full historical fiction with the best in that space – and combined with her sense of drama, arguably better than many within it.

But Bleeker’s growth as a storyteller isn’t the only story here – indeed, it is more of an “long timer” view that even really allows one to see that particular story. No, the actual story here shows remarkable growth within two key characters the book uses as its endpoints – grandmother Vivian in 1943 (when my own eldest uncle was born, adding a touch of the truly “real” for this particular reader) and granddaughter Elsie in more present-day times. Both live fully in their worlds with all of their relevant struggles, but both show how those struggles can be overcome – and how essential friends are, no matter the period you find yourself living in.

Overall truly a remarkable work, and a truly easy Amazon First Reads selection, for those so inclined to participate in that program. Very much recommended.

This review of When We Were Enemies by Emily Bleeker was originally written on November 1, 2023.