The Search by Dewayne Rahe

Published Feb.6, 2024-Palmetto Publishing-304pp-American Historical Fiction

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-search-dewayne-rahe/1144669803

Book Summary

Journey into 1910 Iowa: Where Mystery, Adventure & Destiny Collide in Fred Schmidt’s Pursuit of Life’s True Purpose in The Search.

In rural Iowa, 1910, Fred Schmidt faces life’s pivotal question: How should he live his life? This compelling historical fiction transports readers into a world bursting with real and mystical characters. Teamed up with Artie Holberg, the ambitious son of a renowned horse trader, Fred embarks on an enthralling adventure-from a daring scheme in Minnesota to a treacherous escapade in pre-World War I Europe. Encounters with enigmatic figures like Count Von Drathen and the beautifully captivating Baroness Van Essen weave a tapestry of suspense, mystery, and revelation.

Dewayne Rahe, inspired by the rich background of his cultural heritage and history, masterfully blends history, destiny, and adventure in The Search. A tale about finding oneself amid life’s mysteries, this riveting narrative beautifully encapsulates the universal struggle of choosing one’s own path.

A must-read for fans of historical fiction, journey with Fred as he navigates the intricate map of destiny, love, and intrigue. Will the mystical voice guiding him reveal the truth he seeks? Dive in to uncover the thrilling conclusion. Don’t just read a story, experience the search for destiny.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Search is an extension of Last of the Wild, about the Pioneers that settled Northeast Iowa. Rahe continues the saga in 1910 as Fred Schmidt is coming of age, making decisions, and learning life lessons as he navigates the workings of the Holberg Horse Trading Company. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about finding family, heritage, and purpose.

There are elements for readers of all ages to appreciate. The omniscient counselor that whispers in the wind lends a mystical, magical thread that will enthrall younger readers. Rahe expertly weaves the concept of gathering advice and opinions from parents and grandparents, suggesting searching for wisdom from those with life experiences. Fred learns that people do misrepresent themselves, promises aren’t always kept and it’s necessary to figure out who to trust. Fred is not always successful, which is certainly real life! He experiences amazing travel opportunities along with the complexities of family responsibility and the impact of birth order on personalities. There are emotions to explore such as fear, guilt, and regret surrounding personal and business decisions. Fred also faces conundrums, situations where a difficult decision will have lasting, ripple effects. Rahe handles these situations with grit and finesse. His characters are well developed through dialogue and scenes are filled with detailed descriptions and historical background. The Scotsman farmer, Thomas Ferguson and his Clydesdales, David and Goliath, along with his meal of haggis is a perfect example.

The Search is a novel of suspense and adventure laced with pearls of wisdom; filled with anticipation and surprises right to the last whistle.

Dewayne Rahe, a retired Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and author of Last of the Wild, resides near Dyersville, Iowa. Influenced by his rich cultural heritage and history, Dewayne writes captivating stories, seeking to share wisdom and guidance, especially for his ten beloved grandchildren. His books are highlighted with illustrations by his artist wife, Krystal. Beyond writing, Dewayne enjoys spending time with his family, gardening, biking, and traveling to his grandchildren’s numerous athletic events.

The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson

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Publication April 23, 2024-Kensington Books-Historical Fiction-Teens/YA-368pp

Book Summary

Daisy Flowers is fifteen in 1978 when her free-spirited mother dumps her in Possum Flats, Missouri. It’s a town that sounds like roadkill and, in Daisy’s eyes, is every bit as dead. Sentenced to spend the summer living with her grandmother, the wry and irreverent town mortician, Daisy draws the line at working for the family business, Flowers Funeral Home. Instead, she maneuvers her way into an internship at the local newspaper where, sorting through the basement archives, she learns of a mysterious tragedy from fifty years earlier…

On a sweltering, terrible night in 1928, an explosion at the local dance hall left dozens of young people dead, shocking and scarring a town that still doesn’t know how or why it happened. Listed among the victims is a name that’s surprisingly familiar to Daisy, revealing an irresistible family connection to this long-ago accident.

Obsessed with investigating the horrors and heroes of that night, Daisy soon discovers Possum Flats holds a multitude of secrets for a small town. And hardly anyone who remembers the tragedy is happy to have some teenaged hippie asking questions about it – not the fire-and-brimstone preacher who found his calling that tragic night; not the fed-up police chief; not the mayor’s widow or his mistress; not even Daisy’s own grandmother, a woman who’s never been afraid to raise eyebrows in the past, whether it’s for something she’s worn, sworn, or done for a living.
Some secrets are guarded by the living, while others are kept by the dead, but as buried truths gradually come into the light, they’ll force a reckoning at last.

Inspired by the true story of the Bond Dance Hall explosion, a tragedy that took place in the author’s hometown of West Plains, Missouri on April 13, 1928.The cause of the blast has never been determined.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab Read and Reviewed for BookBrowse: First Impressions Program

This debut historical fiction novel based on the tragic Bond Dance Hall explosion of 1928 is a multigenerational masterpiece. Anderson populates Possum Flats with a cast of endearing characters living out their lives with painfully deep emotional and physical scars from that fateful night. The devastating, mysterious details of the tragedy are revealed through flashbacks by the twin Flower sisters, Rose and Violet, and other prominent townspeople. Now 1978, Rose’s granddaughter, Daisy, an intern for the town paper, is obsessed with getting the scoop on the dance hall explosion for the 50^th anniversary. Through interviews Daisy delves into the compelling backstory on the upbringing and choices of the victims and survivors of the 1928 explosion. The Flower Sisters, a twisting, psychological mystery, is a study of twin connections, the search for identity, and survivor guilt. The tragic lesson is that consequences from split second decisions can ripple for a lifetime. Captivating. Surprising. Haunting.

This is an informative site that describes the event: https://www.unlocktheozarks.org/local-communities/west-plains-mo/bond-dance-hall-explosion/

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

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Publication April 2, 2024-Atria Books-Historical Fiction-Paperback-384pp

**Magical Website:** https://www.patticallahanhenry.com/the-secret-book-of-flora-lea

Book Summary

In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the kind Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son, Harry, in a charming stone cottage along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days with walks and games to distract her young sister, including one that she creates for her sister and her sister alone—a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own.

But the unthinkable happens when young Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance, and she carries that guilt into adulthood as a private burden she feels she deserves.

Twenty years later, Hazel is in London, ready to move on from her job at a cozy rare bookstore to a career at Sotheby’s. With a charming boyfriend and her elegantly timeworn Bloomsbury flat, Hazel’s future seems determined. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the imaginary world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Patti Callahan Henry’s dual time-line novel begins with the 1939 evacuation of children out of London known as Operation Pied Piper. Hazel Linden and her five-year-old sister, Flora Lea, have travelled by train to Oxford to escape the predicted London bombings. The lush description of the cottage at Binsey, the surrounding woodlands near the Thames, and the warm reception by Bridgette Aberdeen and her son Harry, allow readers a deep breath of relief. The sisters are distracted from the fears of war by “Bridie’s” daytime adventures, but at night with love and warmth, Hazel creates a fairy tale with a secret realm to comfort Flora Lea. The late-night imaginings whimsically named Whisperwood and the River of Stars, become the sisters’ personal, secret lifeline to survival. Patti Callahan Henry has created a mystical, magical, mystery within a mystery. In the depths of this novel’s soul is the disappearance of a fairy tale, Whisperwood and the River of Stars, along with Flora, into the river Thames.

Patti Callahan Henry transports readers from the banks of the Thames in 1940 to Hogan’s Rare Book Shoppe in Bloomsbury, London, 1960. Hazel has spent these last twenty years working and searching for Flora Lea, never giving up hope that she was alive. Then on Hazel’s last day at the book shop before her dream job at Sotheby’s Auction House begins, a parcel arrives from America, an illustrated children’s book with the exact title of her secret realm; Whisperwood and the River of Stars.

The characters PCH creates make surprising choices and keep secrets out of love and protection from the truth. Realizing that “grief, confessions, and memories remain long, and dark and cold,” Henry’s readers learn the fear of discovering truth and who to blame creates trauma and its effect called memory reframing. As the mystery unfolds readers hopes are lifted and dashed as Hazel attempts to find the sender of the parcel, hoping, and praying the creator is Flora Lea. This novel is filled with heartbreak and hope; how to overcome fear, loneliness, loss, and find renewal, but most of all to hold tight and “never surrender to anyone else’s idea of who and what you should believe.”

The beloved, elderly owner of Hogan’s Rare Book Shoppe once told Hazel, “Stories and books always find their rightful owners.” Life will become magical as rightful owners discover Patti Callahan Henry’s The Secret Book of Flora Lea.

Highly recommended; 5 magical stars!

A New York Times Bestselling Author
Co-creator and co-host of the weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction. Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sixteen novels and podcast host. A full-time author, mother of three, and grandmother of two, she lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama with her husband, Pat Henry. Her newest novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, is set outside Oxford in the hamlet of Binsey, and will be released on May 2nd, 2023 with Simon & Schuster Atria.

What the Mountains Remember by Joy Callaway

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Publication April 2, 2024-Harper Collins-Historical Fiction-368p

Book Summary

At this wondrous resort, secrets can easily be hidden in plain sight when the eye is trained on beauty.

April 1913—Belle Newbold hasn’t seen mountains for seven years—since her father died in a mining accident and her mother married gasoline magnate, Shipley Newbold. But when her stepfather’s business acquaintance, Henry Ford, invites the family on one of his famous Vagabonds camping tours, she is forced to face the hills once again—primarily in order to reunite with her future fiancé, owner of the land the Vagabonds are using for their campsite, a man she’s only met once before. It is a veritable arranged marriage, but she prefers it that way. Belle isn’t interested in love. She only wants a simple life—a family of her own and the stability of a wealthy man’s pockets. That’s what Worth Delafield has promised to give her and it’s worth facing the mountains again, the reminder of the past, and her poverty, to secure her future.

But when the Vagabonds group is invited to tour the unfinished Grove Park Inn and Belle is unexpectedly thrust into a role researching and writing about the building of the inn—a construction the locals are calling The Eighth Wonder of the World—she quickly realizes that these mountains are no different from the ones she once called home. As Belle peels back the facade of Grove Park Inn, of Worth, of the society she’s come to claim as her own, and the truth of her heart, she begins to see that perhaps her part in Grove Park’s story isn’t a coincidence after all. Perhaps it is only by watching a wonder rise from ordinary hands and mountain stone that she can finally find the strength to piece together the long-destroyed path toward who she was meant to be.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Grove Park Inn, known in 1913 as the “eighth wonder of the world,” draws readers to Asheville, North Carolina, in the glorious Blue Ridge Mountains. Asheville’s mountain setting and fresh air has become known as the perfect place for sanatoriums for tuberculosis patients. Edwin Grove and his son-in-law, Fred Seely, are investing in an amazing hotel hoping to secure Asheville’s future by recentering the economy on tourism.

At the core of Callaway’s story is the actual building of Grove Park Inn, the plight of hundreds of laborers, and a tuberculosis pandemic. Callaway lays a solid foundation of the area’s rich history filled with well researched details walled in by Belle and Worth’s intriguing social conundrums. Belle realizes her dream of following in her father’s footsteps and accepts the task of writing the story of Grove Park Inn. With this self-discovery she is immediately transfixed by the craftsmanship that this “marvel upon marvel” will require. Joy Callaway intricately dovetails details of stone masons fitting boulders into the walls of the Great Hall and descriptions of rebar and scaffolding involved in tiled roofing, with the comedic contests of the Vagabonds and the outlandish “camping” scenes of the elite socialites and the waitstaff.

A theme of unconditional love is deeply forged into the relationship of Belle and her mother, Grace. They live in fear of their past being discovered by Grace’s new husband and Belle’s betrothed, Worth Delafield. Callaway’s development of the mother/daughter relationship of secrecy and deceit is layered on top of Belle’s skewed perspective of how she views marriage and family, neither involving love. This view creates a lot of angst, frustration, and tense social scenes. Worth Delafield, dealing with the tragic loss of his family, is also operating out of fear. This plot line winds up and down the mountain roads and into the hills. Belle’s faux life also involves the villain, Marie Austen, her self-centered, irritating, deceiving “best friend.” In the midst of the marriage matches and mismatches, the Grove Park Inn is getting closer and closer to completion! Callaway creates anticipation as exhilarating as the mountain air! Finding purpose and truth is at the heart of What the Mountains Remember.

Joy Callaway is an international bestselling author of historical fiction and southern contemporary romance. She formerly served as a marketing director for a wealth management company. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Public Relations from Marshall University and an M.M.C. in Mass Communication from the University of South Carolina. She resides in Charlotte, NC with her husband, John, and her children. Joy’s beautiful website: https://www.joycallaway.com/

GROVE PARK INN-LINK TO HISTORY & VIDEO TOUR

The Grove Park Inn History: https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/asheville-grove-park/property-details/history

These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas

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Publication April 2, 2024-Bethany House-Christian-Historical Fiction-Romance-368pp

Book Summary

Set in the shadow of Biltmore Estate, a poignant tale of friendship, restoration, and second chances.

Seven years ago, a hidden betrayal scattered three young friends living in the shadow of the great Vanderbilt mansion. Now, when Biltmore Industries master weaver Lorna Blankenship is commissioned to create an original design for Cornelia Vanderbilt’s 1924 wedding, she panics knowing she doesn’t have the creativity needed. But there’s an elusive artisan in the Blue Ridge Mountains who could save her–if only she knew where to begin.

To track down the mysterious weaver, Lorna sees no other way than to seek out the relationships she abandoned in shame. As she pulls at each tangled thread from her past, Lorna is forced to confront the wounds and regrets of life long ago. She’ll have to risk the job that shapes her identity, as well as the hope of friendship–and love–restored.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

George Washington Vanderbilt III first welcomed family and friends to the sprawling Biltmore Estate on Christmas Eve, 1895. Author Sarah Thomas ushers readers across the threshold of the estate twenty-eight years later; after the premature death of George Vanderbilt in 1914 and the North Carolina flood of 1916. These catastrophic events form the breathtaking, dramatic backdrop of These Tangled Threads.

George’s widow, Edith and 14-year-old daughter, Cornelia, forged ahead, running the estate and its eighty person staff. George had established Biltmore Village in 1889, which included a school, a church, hospital, and cottages to house and support the laborers and artisans working on the estate. By 1901 the Vanderbilts had created Biltmore Industries, the apprenticeship program designed to teach woodworking and weaving. This is where fictional characters Lorna, Arthur and Gentry learned their trades. The devastating flood of 1916 created a financial burden for the Vanderbilt estate, forcing Edith to sell Biltmore Industries in 1917, to Fred Seely of nearby Grove Park Inn, which had opened in 1913.

Sarah Thomas deftly weaves daily life at Biltmore House, the Village, and the Industries, with the life altering effects of the flood of 1916. Thomas uses Lorna’s deceit and guilt, Gentry’s loneliness and search for her mother, and Arthur’s rejection as a child to reveal identifiable and relatable emotions through memories and thoughts. They have endured family challenges, the loss of loved ones, and decisions made either out of love and desperation or selfishness and pride. Thomas creates angst and suspense as the defining threads in the lives of the characters unravel through heartbreak, reflection, and regret. By Lorna’s “reckoning day” the threads of illumination and understanding are rewoven into a glistening tapestry of confession and forgiveness. Through loving, compassionate conversations Sarah Loudin Thomas effectively and passionately shares that God’s grace is not earned, it is a gift. A gift of Amazing Grace. These Tangled Threads: Uplifting and Redeeming

Sarah Loudin Thomas (sarahloudinthomas.com) is the author of numerous acclaimed novels, including The Finder of Forgotten Things, The Right Kind of Fool, winner of the 2021 Selah Book of the Year, and Miracle in a Dry Season, winner of the 2015 INSPY Award. She worked in public relations for Biltmore Estate for six years and is now the director of Jan Karon’s Mitford Museum. A native of West Virginia, she and her husband now live in western North Carolina.

Facts and Photos to extend the visit to Asheville, North Carolina

The settings of Biltmore House, Biltmore Village, and Biltmore Industries each play a key role in the novel. Here are a few facts about Biltmore House.

**Written by Rachel D. Carley, Rosemary G. Rennick, ISBN 1-885378-01-7**-Published by The Biltmore Company-116p-Softcover

“On Christmas Eve, the country retreat George Vanderbilt has spent so long planning is marvelously decorated and full of festivity. The finished home contains more than four acres of floor space, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. ” A wonderful site for history & timeline: https://www.biltmore.com/our-story/biltmore-history/estate-timeline/

Building Biltmore=Over a thousand artisans and six years

Naming Biltmore- “Bildt”-Dutch town of George’s ancestors, “More”-old English for open, rolling land.

Designing Biltmore-Richard Morris Hunt-architect for The Breakers and Marble House, Newport, RI, the main façade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, pedestal for Statue of Liberty and Biltmore Estate

Landscaping Biltmore-Frederick Law Olmstead-Landscape Architect- New York Central Park, U. S. Capitol grounds, Stanford University campus, Biltmore Estate

Gardening at Biltmore-Chauncey Beadle-Canadian Horticulturist remained on the estate for 60 years.

Celebrating Biltmore-Opened Christmas Eve 1895

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive.” Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field, Sir Walter Scott The famous quote aptly represents the theme of this novel.

Novels Set at Biltmore House Reviewed by Grateful Reader

Under a Gilded Moon by Joy Jordan Lake : https://gratefulreader.home.blog/2021/12/01/under-a-gilded-moon-by-joy-jordan-lake/

The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey https://gratefulreader.home.blog/2022/03/29/the-wedding-veil-by-kristy-woodson-harvey/

Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki

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Publication March 19, 2024-Random House, Ballantine-Historical Fiction-416pp

Book Summary

Massachusetts, 1836. Young, brazen, beautiful, and unapologetically brilliant, Margaret Fuller accepts an invitation from Ralph Waldo Emerson, the celebrated “Sage of Concord,” to meet his coterie of enlightened friends shaping a nation in the throes of its own self-discovery. By the end of her stay, she will become “the radiant genius and fiery heart” of the Transcendentalists, a role model to young Louisa May Alcott, an inspiration to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s character of Hester Prynne and the scandalous Scarlet Letter, a friend to Henry David Thoreau as he ventures into the woods of Walden Pond . . . and a muse to Emerson himself. But Margaret craves more than poetry and interpersonal drama, and she finds her restless soul in need of new challenges and adventure.

And so she charts a singular course against a backdrop of dizzying historical drama: From Boston, where she hosts a women-only literary salon for students like Elizabeth Cady Stanton; to the editorial meetings of The Dial magazine, where she hones her pen as its co-founder; to Harvard’s library, where she is the first woman to study within its walls; to the gritty New York streets where she spars with Edgar Allan Poe and reports on the writings of Frederick Douglass. Margaret defies conventions time and again as an activist for women and an advocate for humanity, earning admirers and scathing critics alike.

When the legendary Horace Greeley offers an assignment in Europe, Margaret again makes history as the first female foreign news correspondent, mingling with luminaries like Frederic Chopin, Walt Whitman, George Sand, and more. But it is in Rome where she finds a world of passion, romance, and revolution, taking a Roman count as a lover—and sparking an international scandal. Evolving yet again into the roles of mother and countess, Margaret enters a new fight for Italy’s unification.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

I requested this novel because of the former writings of Allison Pataki, not because I knew immediately who Margaret Fuller was or what the title “finding” Margaret Fuller meant! I was surprised, impressed, and somewhat incensed that I’m just learning about her. I know of Pataki’s impeccable research from previous historical fiction novels, the latest, The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post. Finding Margaret Fuller is likewise educational, entertaining, and even befuddling. Readers will remember Ralph Waldo Emmerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Louisa May Alcott from high school English, but why not the name of Margaret Fuller? She was central to the Transcendentalist movement, an author, the first woman to study in the halls of Harvard, the first female foreign news correspondent, and part of an international scandal! So, why haven’t we read about her life accomplishments or studied her writings?

Allison Pataki begins with the end in mind, revealing Margaret Fuller’s tragic fate in the opening prologue. Margaret’s search for identity unfolds in five parts, told in first person. This provides an emotional connection so readers feel personally involved as Pataki recounts the bold, daring life of an educated, brilliant, single female in the mid-nineteenth century. The descriptive settings, like characters themselves, transport readers from the wooded lanes, wildflowers, and rivers of Massachusetts to the streets of NYC; from radical conversation salons for women in Boston, through Europe as a war correspondent and governess and finally, to the revolution in Italy. Margaret Fuller lived an amazing life; just not long enough. One writer explained her well, “How do you describe a Force?”

So, thank you to Allison Pataki for “finding” Margaret Fuller, a trailblazer a century ahead of her time.

Allison Pataki is a writer of adult fiction, adult nonfiction, and children’s books. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages and is popular in more than twenty countries.

A former news writer and producer, Allison has written for The New York Times, ABC News, The Huffington Post, USA Today, Fox News and other outlets. She has appeared on The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, Good Day New York, Good Day Chicago and MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

WOMEN IN HISTORY: Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray

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Publication March 12, 2024-Berkley Publishing-528p

"One of the most consequential women of modern history the you might not know about!" — **“One of the most consequential women of modern history the you might not know about!”**

Book Summary

American heroine Frances Perkins

Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference.

When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with whom she falls deeply in love.

But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. She thinks he’s a rich, arrogant dilettante who gets by on a handsome face and a famous name. He thinks she’s a priggish bluestocking and insufferable do-gooder. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House.

Frances is destined to rise in a political world dominated by men, facing down the Great Depression as FDR’s most trusted lieutenant—even as she struggles to balance the demands of a public career with marriage and motherhood. And when vicious political attacks mount and personal tragedies threaten to derail her ambitions, she must decide what she’s willing to do—and what she’s willing to sacrifice—to save a nation.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

This is a compelling behind the scenes look at the life of Frances Perkins on her way to becoming the first female presidential cabinet member serving as Secretary of Labor through all four of FDR’s history making terms as president of the United States. A chance meeting of FDR at an afternoon society tea-dance is the turning point in Perkins’ career. Stephanie Dray’s impeccably researched novel keeps the reader’s focus on work-life balance as Frances juggles her burgeoning social and political activities with her family life.

I was enthralled with Frances Perkins’ determination and resolve to bring the horrid, unsafe working conditions in factories to the government’s attention and her tireless work to pass legislation calling for vast improvement in safety conditions and limiting work weeks to fifty-four hours. Dray’s unforgettable details and descriptions of a monumental time in U.S. history include tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, the Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the Great Depression, FDR’s rise in the Democratic Party, Women’s Suffrage, and World War 11. I was most impressed with the courage and fortitude shown by Frances Perkins as she forged her place in history as a woman with a brilliant mind who became advisor, and confidant to our 32^nd president. Her service to the U. S. is most evident in the New Deal and the Social Security Act which she was instrumental in convincing Congress to implement.

Stephanie Dray’s Becoming Madam Secretary is a terrific force, very much like Frances Perkins and her infamous tricorn hat.

The Author’s Note is filled with pages and pages of delicious details and facts that are not included in the novel. Stephanie poured over the 5000 page transcript of Frances Perkins’ oral history, newspaper headlines, appointment books and even interviewed her grandson! The novel left me so impressed and thirsting for even more background and news that I watched FDR, a documentary in three episodes. Yes, Frances Perkins is right there in the photographs!

https://francesperkinscenter.org/learn/her-life/rances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and the first woman to serve as a cabinet secretary, was the driving force behind the New Deal, credited with formulating policies to shore up the national economy following the nation’s most serious economic crisis and helping to create the modern middle class. She was in every respect a self-made woman who rose from humble New England origins to become America’s leading advocate for industrial safety and workers’ rights. More about Frances Perkins here: https://francesperkinscenter.org/learn/her-

STEPHANIE DRAY is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author of historical women’s fiction. Her award-winning work has been translated into many languages and tops lists for the most anticipated reads of the year. Now she lives in Maryland with her husband, cats, and history books.

The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan

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Publication March 12, 2024-Random House, Ballantine-368pp.

Book Summary

When the Blitz imperils the heart of a London neighborhood, three young women must use their fighting spirit to save the community’s beloved library in this heartwarming novel based on true events from the author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.

When new deputy librarian, Juliet Lansdown, finds that Bethnal Green Library isn’t the bustling hub she’s expecting, she becomes determined to breathe life back into it. But can she show the men in charge that a woman is up to the task of running it, especially when a confrontation with her past threatens to derail her?

Katie Upwood is thrilled to be working at the library, although she’s only there until she heads off to university in the fall. But after the death of her beau on the front line and amid tumultuous family strife, she finds herself harboring a life-changing secret with no one to turn to for help.

Sofie Baumann, a young Jewish refugee, came to London on a domestic service visa only to find herself working as a maid for a man who treats her abominably. She escapes to the library every chance she can, finding friendship in the literary community and aid in finding her sister, who is still trying to flee occupied Europe.

When a slew of bombs destroys the library, Juliet relocates the stacks to the local Underground station where the city’s residents shelter nightly, determined to lend out stories that will keep spirits up. But tragedy after tragedy threatens to unmoor the women and sever the ties of their community. Will Juliet, Kate, and Sofie be able to overcome their own troubles to save the library? Or will the beating heart of their neighborhood be lost forever?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Blitz Spirit of 1940 comes alive in a London underground tunnel. This endearing nod to the power of books and reading is based on the true account of the bombing of the Bethnal Green Library only a few weeks into the London Blitz. Jennifer Ryan’s characters have an indomitable spirit that shines brilliantly in the darkest hours of London’s history. Told from the point of view of three young women, each with a personal need for escape in order to survive, Ryan drops readers into the routine of nightly air raids, grabbing blankets and rations, praying to survive another night of bombing. She brings each young girl’s journey to a crucial turning point and as their paths cross, they join in a common goal. Juliet is really the main character who brings everyone else together through her love of books. The novels Juliet loves to curl up with include secrets, suspense, mystery, history, and even romance. She would adore The Underground Library! Characters include key young men who are away at war, Mrs. Ottley, the Miss Ridley’s, and Marigold, each adorable quirky “readers” Juliet adds to her book club, and who play a significant role in saving the underground library. This novel is a glorious homage to reading and how it changes perceptions, broadens minds, and creates a supportive and nurturing community.

I am in awe of the spirit and human connection created in the underground communities in the tube stations all over London. These stations provided all kinds of services, theater and musical entertainment, childcare and medical facilities. The Underground Library is just like every library: a place to celebrate each other and the power of the human spirit through reading.

Jennifer Ryan is the author of National Bestseller THE CHILBURY LADIES’ CHOIR, THE SPIES OF SHILLING LANE, THE KITCHEN FRONT, THE WEDDING DRESS SEWING CIRCLE, AND THE UNDERGROUND LIBRARY. Her writing has featured in Literary Hub, Moms Don’t Have Time to Write, The Daily Mail, The Irish Times, The Express, BBC Online, YOU Magazine, The Simple Things Magazine, and Good Reading Magazine. Previously a book editor with The Economist, DK, and the BBC, she moved from London to Washington, DC after marrying, and she now lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two children. Her novels are inspired by her grandmother’s tales of the war in Britain.

Further Reading-This is just one example. Jennifer’s Author’s Note is filled with amazing stories and suggestions for further reading. Always a favorite part of a book for the Grateful Reader!

The London Transport Museum: https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/

From the website: “This photo of people sheltering from an air raid in Piccadilly Circus station was taken by Tunbridge Sedgwick.

During the intensive bombing of the Blitz from September 1940 to May 1941, thousands of people flocked to shelter in deep level Tube stations, bedding down for the night on walkways, platforms and even de-electrified tracks.

This photo is on display in our new exhibition Echoes of the Blitz, which highlights the parallels between underground sheltering in London during the Second World War and in Ukraine today.”

The Memory of Lavender and Sage by Aimie K. Runyan

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Publication March 5, 2024-Harper Muse Romance-Women’s Fiction-400pp

Book Summary

Food critic Tempèsta Luddington has always felt like the odd person out in her family, ever since she lost her beloved mother at the tender age of thirteen. When her workaholic father passes fifteen years later, Tempèsta is not surprised that the majority of the considerable family money will pass to her dutiful younger brother, Wal. Still, she is left a modest remembrance from her mother, and for the first time Tempèsta has a world of choices before her.

Lost in grief and hoping to reconnect with her memories and her mother’s past, she uses the money to buy a ramshackle manor house in Sainte-Colombe, a small village in Provence, where her mother had grown up. But she is greeted with more questions than answers. Her welcome, especially by the town’s stodgy mayor, is cold at best, and she finds herself wondering if the entire experiment was a mistake.

Yet she stays, stubbornly sticking it out, slowly learning that her mother’s legacy was more than just a nest egg. Through her mother and the village, Tempèsta learns the value of community and friendship, the importance of self-confidence, and the power of love and trust. What’s more, she sees for herself that there is magic and beauty in the everyday—even something as simple as a sprig of lavender and sage.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Provence on a plate! Aimie Runyan delivers a delectable novel filled with flavorful characters searching for family and identity. Readers travel to Sainte-Colombe in the rolling hills of Provence to villages lined with terra-cotta tiled roofs and brightly painted shutters; housing families that have lived here for generations. The villagers have locked away grief, rejected family expectations, and the need for change.

Main character, Tempesta’s only connection to her late mother is a quilt and the memory of her scent, lavender and sage. Runyan’s descriptions of the landscapes are filled with the same vibrant colors that make up the quilt. Sainte-Colombe, declining in population, is a village with a café, a kitchen shop, and an outdoor market on Fridays. The history of the old language, Occitan, the suspicions and beliefs of villagers, and the challenges of accepting the past are revealed through colorful, endearing villagers who are helping Tempesta adjust from the hurried life of a NYC restaurant critic to a life where the “soil vibrates with potential.” Readers will relax as seeds of hope are sown in the characters. Tempy’s greenhouse filled with herbs is the perfect place for reflection as Runyan uses analogies of growing and plants to enrich the story.

The Memory of Lavender and Sage is a novel of contemporary fiction filled with optimism and finding joy in making things new again. Experience village life in Provence and the sheer beauty in rolling hills of lavender. But best of all become aware of the delicious aroma of herbs mingled with revelations that come from discovering one’s true gift.

Memory of Lavender and Sage takes a trip to Lavender Ridge Farms near Gainesville, Texas-Products similar to Tempesta’s! https://www.lavenderridgefarms.com/

The Romanov Brides: A Novel of the Last Tsarina and Her Sisters by Clare McHugh

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Publication March 12, 2024-William Morrow-384pp

Book Summary

From the author of A Most English Princess comes a rich novel about young Princess Alix of Hesse—the future Alexandra, last Empress of Imperial Russia—and her sister, Princess Ella. Their decision to marry into the Romanov royal family changed history. They were granddaughters of Queen Victoria and two of the most beautiful princesses in Europe. Princesses Alix and Ella were destined to wed well and wisely. But while their grandmother wants to join them to the English and German royal families, the sisters fall in love with Russia—and the Romanovs. Defying the Queen’s dire warnings, Ella weds the tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Serge. Cultivated, aloof, and proud, Serge places his young wife on a pedestal for all to admire. Behind palace gates, Ella struggles to secure private happiness. Alix, whisked away to Russia for Ella’s wedding, meets and captivates Nicky—heir apparent to the Russian throne. While loving him deeply, Alix hears a call of conscience, urging her to walk away. Their fateful decisions to marry will lead to tragic consequences for not only themselves and their families, but for millions in Russia and around the globe.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Students of history have read factual accounts of the tragic fate of the Romanovs and historical fiction novels filled with hope and the possibility that some may have survived. The Romanov Brides focuses on two granddaughters of Queen Victoria and the beginning of their journey as brides to the foot of the Russian Orthodox altar.

The opening pages are thankfully filled with the family trees of English Queen Victoria and Russian Tsar Alexander 11. I referred to these often while reading and have such respect for experts on British and Russian history. Princess Elisabeth, “Ella”, and her younger sister, Alix, “Sunny,” are the central characters, though there is detail about the lives of the other 5 siblings. Clara McHugh’s extensive research is based on the sisters’ diaries and letters, and those of people closest to them. Readers know the outcome from history, but the intrigue, manipulation and interference by Queen Victoria and the oversight of the Russian royals, add to the surprising and often maddening choices and plot lines. I felt a closeness to Ella’s many fears: the vastness of Russia, the immense palaces, a foreign tongue, the prospect of leaving her family and denouncing her religion. The descriptions and dialogue evoke all the senses and an array of feelings, from grief and despair to giddy first love sensations. Clara McHugh portrays compassionate insights into the contemplations and intense loyalties Alix deals with as she waivers back and forth in deciding whether to wed Nicky and denounce her Lutheran faith for the Orthodox doctrine.

I found myself caring deeply for both sisters and wishing someone would’ve convinced them to make different choices, though certainly not any of Queen Victoria’s suggestions, which were mostly first cousins. To Ella and Alix’s credit they marry for love and devote their short lives to being supportive wives and mothers. Clara McHugh’s The Romanov Brides gave me that curious feeling one gets upon discovering a diary, giving an over the should look to see if anyone’s watching and then opening it up for just a quick peek!

Born in London, Clare McHugh grew up in the United States and graduated from Harvard University with a degree in European history. She worked for many years as a newspaper reporter and later magazine editor. She has also taught high school history and reviewed books for the Wall Street Journal and the Baltimore Sun. The mother of two grown children, she lives with her husband in Washington, DC, and Amagansett, New York.

Further research led to Clare McHugh’s informative website with backstory and details on her writing. McHugh’s first novel, A Most English Princess, is also featured. https://www.claremchugh.com/

“Behind the Book – More about the characters, the setting, and the “truth” of The Romanov Brides“

“WHO WERE IRENE, VICTORIA, ELLA AND ALIX OF HESSE?“

The Trouble With You by Ellen Feldman

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Publication February 20, 2024-St. Martin’s Press-Historical Fiction-368pp

Book Summary

Set in New York City in the heady aftermath of World War II when the men were coming home, the women were exhaling in relief, and everyone was having babies, The Trouble With You is the story of a young woman whose rosy future is upended in a single instant. Raised never to step out of bounds, educated in one of the Sister Seven Colleges for a career as a wife and mother, torn between her cousin Mimi who is determined to keep her a “nice girl”—the kind that marries a doctor—and her aunt Rose who has a rebellious past of her own, Fanny struggles to raise her young daughter and forge a new life by sheer will and pluck. When she gets a job as a secretary to the “queen” of radio serials—never to be referred to as soaps—she discovers she likes working, and through her friendship with an actress who stars in the series and a man who writes them, comes face to face with the blacklist which is destroying careers and wrecking lives. Ultimately, Fanny must decide between playing it safe or doing what she knows is right in this vivid evocation of a world that seems at once light years away and strangely immediate.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Trouble With You is about choosing. Making choices best for oneself or for the influencers of those decisions. Readers are swept along the bustling sidewalks of 1940’s New York City when radios were the focus for home entertainment and news. The radio series or ‘soaps’ is where Fanny finds herself working as a secretary.

Author Ellen Feldman’s narrative is filled with conflict between characters through Fanny’s personal interactions and business relationships. Feldman does an excellent job illuminating the struggle Fanny experiences in finding a personal and work life balance, connecting with modern day dilemmas. Fanny’s daily and long-term choices are influenced by her daughter, Chloe, her cousin, Mimi, and her Aunt Rose. Feldman overlaps these familial influences with social, cultural, and political events of the 1950’s and ‘60’s. The evolving popularity of television replacing radios for entertainment and news sources and the fear of polio has a direct impact on decisions involving Chloe. The mainstream news reporting on Senator Joseph McCarthy and the undercurrent of suspicions circulating in NYC and Hollywood regarding a Blacklist of alleged Soviet spies and sympathizers by the House Un-American Activities Committee, HUAC, has immediate and lifelong impact on Fanny’s decisions when/if she chooses a husband and how she declares her independence.

Feldman creates tension and relief through dialogue, activities, and decisions with the men in Fanny’s life, Max, Ezra, and Charlie. Max is the love of Fanny’s life and is an omniscient character with great influence over Fanny’s relationships. Will Fanny make her choice based on what’s best for herself or for others? In this post World War ll novel, Fanny is “raising the future” while forging a new life.

Ellen has lectured extensively around the country and in Germany and England, and enjoys talking to book groups in person or via the web.

She grew up in northern New Jersey and attended Bryn Mawr College, from which she holds a B.A. and an M.A. in modern history. After further graduate studies at Columbia University, she worked for a New York publishing house.

Ellen lives in New York City and East Hampton, New York, with her husband and a terrier named Charlie.

The Women by Kristin Hannah, Healing Wounds-Cpt. Diane Evans

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Publication February 6, 2024-St. Martin’s Press-Historical Fiction-480p

Book Summary

The missing. The forgotten. The brave… The women.

From master storyteller Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, comes the story of a turbulent, transformative era in America: the 1960s. The Women is that rarest of novels—at once an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics, of a generation both fueled by dreams and lost on the battlefield.
“Women can be heroes, too.”

When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on the story of all women who put themselves in harm’s way to help others. Women whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has all too often been forgotten. A novel of searing insight and lyric beauty, The Women is a profoundly emotional, richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose extraordinary idealism and courage under fire define a generation.

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Women tells the story of a generation of young men and women grieving the loss of their innocence in Vietnam and the bonds of female friendship created between the nurses who served.

Kristin Hannah relaxes readers in the tropical setting of the lush, privileged lifestyle in Coronado, California in the late 1960’s. Just as readers are settled into the lavish parties, simple childhood activities like bonfires, beach rides and surfing, Hannah’s main “woman” Frances McGrath decides to become a nurse and follow her brother, Finley, to Vietnam. The gut punch descriptions of disgusting conditions at the Thirty-Sixth Evac hospital suck readers right in with the hot, sticky, bug ridden, rat infested living quarters. Readers will be squirming, squealing, and gagging along with the nurses as Frankie’s days and nights run into each other and she evolves into a highly regarded combat nurse. The historical background supported by Hannah’s years of research is evident in the intricate details of the jungles, scenes from helicopters, and villages visited for medical assistance, including the lifesaving operations and amputation scenes. The actual names of identifiable places are retained in the novel; Saigon, Ho Chi Minh Trail, Pleiku, Base Long Binh, and the hospitals. Hard to read; harder to believe that soldiers, doctors, and nurses had the courage and stamina to survive and endure. The turbulent world comes alive, and readers will need a break along with the nurses and doctors!

The plot continues with Frankie returning to the U. S. after two tours in Vietnam. At the airport she is shamed and spit upon and readers relive the protests, sit-ins, and despicable treatment of the returning veterans. Hannah reveals the maddening and frustrating responses during the post-war years as Frankie seeks help with anxiety, anger and guilt. The development of Frankie’s mom, “held together with vodka and hairspray,” and her guilt-ridden, workaholic dad takes readers to the depths of grief from a parent’s point of view, while they grapple with Frankie’s depression and addictions. Strong plot threads are of Frankie’s relationship with her parents, the unwavering support and encouragement from her “women” from Vietnam, Ethel and Barb, and the loves of her life.

Kristin Hannah recreates this world of the late 60’s, early 70’s as she weaves social, political, and historical details of American culture into the plot smoothly and seamlessly. “Back in the world” as the Vietnam soldiers referred to the U. S, a few of the pop music icons were Elvis, The Beach Boys, and The Beatles. Long hair, moustaches, and polyester leisure suits on men, and miniskirts, hot pants, and ironed straight hair on women were the thing! The papers were filled with the latest Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton feud, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr, the election of Nixon, the first landing on the moon, the Paris Peace Accord, and the trial of Lt. William Calley at My Lai.

There are gaping wounds because of the treatment of the women and men who served our country during the Vietnam War. Reading The Women will certainly be a reminder to acknowledge men and women soldiers with, “Thank you for your service,” no matter when or where they have served.

Freedom is bought with sacrifice. The Women-5 Stars

Songs and Artists from The Women:

East Coast Girls, These Boots are Made for Walking, Monday-Monday, Come on Baby Light My Fire, When a Man Loves a Woman, Happy Together, Leaving on a Jet Plane, Purple Haze, Good Lovin, We Got to Get Out of This Place, Hey Jude, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Born to Be Wild, John Denver, American Pie, Nights in White Satin, Elvis, Time in a Bottle, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Roberta Flack, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Hooked on a Feeling

HEALING WOUNDS BY CAPTAIN DIANE CARLSON EVANS

https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Wounds-Vietnam-10-Year-Washington/dp/1682619125

What is the price of honor? It took ten years for Vietnam War nurse Diane Carlson Evans to answer that question—and the answer was a heavy one.

In 1983, when Evans came up with the vision for the first-ever memorial on the National Mall to honor women who’d worn a military uniform, she wouldn’t be deterred. She remembered not only her sister veterans, but also the hundreds of young wounded men she had cared for, as she expressed during a Congressional hearing in Washington, D.C.: “Women didn’t have to enter military service, but we stepped up to serve believing we belonged with our brothers-in-arms and now we belong with them at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. If they belong there, we belong there. We were there for them then. We mattered.”

In the end, those wounded soldiers who had survived proved to be there for their sisters-in-arms, joining their fight for honor in Evans’ journey of combating unforeseen bureaucratic obstacles and facing mean-spirited opposition. Her impassioned story of serving in Vietnam is a crucial backstory to her fight to honor the women she served beside. She details the gritty and high-intensity experience of being a nurse in the midst of combat and becomes an unlikely hero who ultimately serves her country again as a formidable force in her daunting quest for honor and justice.

CPT Diane Carlson Evans, Army Nurse Corps, Republic of Vietnam (born 1946) is a former nurse in the United States Army during the Vietnam War and the founder of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial located at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Evans initiated and led the effort to completion. A two minute video of the memorial: https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-reb-ext_onelaunch&ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-ext_onelaunch&hspart=reb&p=Healing+Wounds+By+Captain+Diane+Carlson+Evans&type=0_1025_102_1080_107_221027#id=3&vid=accceef0292120b06e9e52977e17a05b&action=click

The Queens of London by Heather Webb

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Publication February 6, 2024-Sourcebooks-Historical Fiction 368p

Book Summary

Maybe women can have it all, as long as they’re willing to steal it.

1925. London. When Alice Diamond, AKA “Diamond Annie,” is elected the Queen of the Forty Elephants, she’s determined to take the all-girl gang to new heights. She’s ambitious, tough as nails, and a brilliant mastermind, with a plan to create a dynasty the likes of which no one has ever seen. Alice demands absolute loyalty from her “family”—it’s how she’s always kept the cops in line. Too bad she’s now the target for one of Britain’s first female policewomen.

Officer Lilian Wyles isn’t merely one of the first female detectives at Scotland Yard, she’s one of the best detectives on the force. Even so, she’ll have to win a big score to prove herself, to break free from the “women’s work” she’s been assigned. When she hears about the large-scale heist in the works to fund Alice’s new dynasty, she realizes she has the chance she’s been looking for—and the added bonus of putting Diamond Annie out of business permanently.

A tale of dark glamour and sisterhood, Queens of London is a look at Britain’s first female crime syndicate, the ever-shifting meaning of justice, and the way women claim their power by any means necessary, from USA Today bestselling author Heather Webb.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Queens of London is based on real life Diamond Annie, her gang the Forty Elephants, and first female detective Lilian Wyles- or Inspector Wyles, as she quickly corrects. Readers get a sneak peek behind the swinging doors of pubs in the East End and posh entries into the shops of Mayfair. The suspenseful plot is advanced by four main characters.

The antics and heists of the female gang, the Forty Elephants, with Diamond Annie as the Queen, continue to be a major focus for Scotland Yard in 1925 London. The main character is based on the real-life Alice Diamond. Webb develops Annie so deeply that I changed from being dubious of her motives to being very anxious that she might get caught and be sent back to prison! Somewhere, deep down, Annie does have a heart covered by years of scars. Inspector Lily Wyles is also based on one of the first female detectives. She begins at Scotland Yard with “womanly duties” such as watching for shoplifters and orphan chasing. As the plot progresses this former nurse begins to question justice and her rigid rule following. Her tolerance for finding logic relaxes in a very satisfying turn of events.

Dorothy, a vibrant, unique, shop girl and aspiring designer, reveals her dreams of moving out from her mum’s flat to an independent lifestyle. A fictional character, filled with angst at finding a husband or following her dreams, she’s very typical of young girls of that time. The development arc is deftly drawn and will keep readers engaged and cheering for Dorothy.

The ten-year-old beautiful, brown skinned Hira Wickham is a heart stealer who reads etiquette books, deals with her wealthy, hateful uncle, and makes gut-wrenching decisions. Hira is smart, brave, and with her lovable, street-smart dog, Biscuit, tugs at all the emotional heartstrings.

Diamond Annie and the Forty Elephant’s next major heist is just the case that could change everything for the female crime syndicate and Inspector Wyles. An immensely nerve wracking but exhilarating chase!

Heather Webb is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of nine historical novels, including her up and coming Queens of London set to release in 2024, and her most recent novels, The Next Ship Home and Strangers in the Night. In 2015, Rodin’s Lover was a Goodread’s Top Pick, and in 2018, Last Christmas in Paris won the Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR Award. Meet Me in Monaco, was selected as a finalist for the 2020 Goldsboro RNA award in the UK, as well as the 2019 Digital Book World’s Fiction prize. Three Words for Goodbye was a Prima Magazine’s 2022 Book of the Year. To date, Heather’s books have been translated to seventeen languages. She lives in New England with her family and a mischievous kitten. (Books in bold are books I’ve read and loved!)

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester

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Publication: January 30, 2024-Forever (Grand Central)-Historical Fiction-496pp

Book Summary

“Vogue meets Daisy Jones & the Six,” says New York Times bestseller Kate Quinn, in this bold novel of feminism and fashion set in 1970s New York City and the historic designers’ showdown in Versailles.

Everyone remembers her daringly short, silver lamé dress. It was iconic photo capturing an electric moment, where emerging American designer Astrid Bricard is young, uninhibited, and on the cusp of fashion and feminism’s changing landscape. She and fellow designer Hawk Jones are all over Vogue magazine and New York City’s disco scene. Yet she can’t escape the shadow of her mother, Mizza Bricard, infamous “muse” for Christian Dior. Astrid would give anything to take her place among the great houses of couture–on her own terms. I won’t inspire it when I can create it.

But then Astrid disappeared…

Now Astrid’s daughter, Blythe, holds what remains of her mother and grandmother’s legacies. Of all the Bricard women, she can gather the torn, painfully beautiful fabrics of three generations of heartbreak to create something that will shake the foundations of fashion. The only piece missing is the one question no one’s been able to answer: What really happened to Astrid?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Three generations of Bricard designers take to the runway in Natasha Lester’s intriguing mystery of a famous designer’s disappearance from the Palace of Versailles’s Hall of Mirrors in 1973. Leaving only a blood-stained white dress as a clue, the missing designer, Astrid Bricard, remains the central character as her mother, Mizza, muse to Christian Dior, and Blythe, Astrid’s daughter, reveal their own stories in alternating chapters. There are many questions to be answered and Lester’s plot unfurls like chiffon from its bolt. The patterns seem to be set, only to be redesigned and refit depending on the Bricard women’s level of guilt, pain, and pure stubbornness. Lester’s vivid settings of underground escape tunnels in Paris, the Viet Nam War, and the Equal Rights Amendment sink readers into the political events of the early years of WWll and the 1970’s. The rich and famous Jackie Kennedy, Princess Grace of Monaco, and the Duchess of Windsor make appearances at events and in the current magazines of the day, Vogue and Life. Lester capturesJohn Fairchild’sintolerable personality and keeps readers infuriated with his “In and Out” column. Scenes at real venues, Electric Circus and Cheetah, with ever present paparazzi trying to get a picture of Astrid in the silver lamé dress, along with pop culture icons Mick Jagger and Bianca, depict the ‘breakneck, brash’ vibe of NYC in contrast with the ‘sultry, aloof’ streets of Paris. Lester’s research into the details of the famous competition involving designers, situations, and interactions revealing their personalities is a treat for fashionistas as American designers Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, and Halston match wits and design creativity against French icons Yves St. Laurent, Christian Dior, and Givenchy. Changing the show order and screaming shout downs were part of the toxic atmosphere at Versailles! Was it a French or American designer? More importantly, what happened to Astrid Bricard?

Enter the strange and mysterious world of fashion as Natasha Lester’s designing women of three generations, each an expert at leaving, create their own “pièce de résistance.”

I always look forward to the author’s notes where the author separates fact from fiction. Natasha Lester’s note includes many interesting bits, so don’t skip it. She recommends the 2016 documentary Battle at Versailles for a real live look at the famous competition.

Do you remember wearing hotpants or kneeling on the floor to have the length of your skirt measured? The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard was written with you in mind!

Natasha Lester is the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Seamstress, The Paris Orphan and The Riviera House, and a former marketing executive for L’Oréal. Her novels have been translated into many different languages and are published all around the world.
When she’s not writing, she loves collecting vintage fashion (Dior is a favorite!), practicing the art of fashion illustration, learning about fashion history—and traveling to Paris. Natasha lives with her husband and three children in Perth, Western Australia.

Daughters of Green Mountain Gap by Teri M. Brown

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Publication Jan. 23, 2024-Atmosphere Press-Historical Fiction-315pp

Book Summary

An Appalachian granny woman. A daughter on a crusade. A granddaughter caught between the two.

Maggie McCoury, a generational healer woman, relies on family traditions, folklore, and beliefs gleaned from a local Cherokee tribe. Her daughter, Carrie Ann, believes her university training holds the answers. As they clash over the use of roots, herbs, and a dash of mountain magic versus the medicine available in the town’s apothecary, Josie Mae doesn’t know whom to follow. But what happens when neither family traditions nor science can save the ones you love most?

Daughters of Green Mountain Gap weaves a compelling tale of Maggie, Carrie Ann, and Josie Mae, three generations of remarkable North Carolina women living at the turn of the twentieth century, shedding light on racism, fear of change, loss of traditions, and the intricate dynamics within a family. Author Teri M. Brown skillfully navigates the complexities of their lives, revealing that some questions are not as easy to answer as one might think.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A mother-daughter “tug of war” with a triumphant winner! Through the emotions and guilt laden struggles of single parenting, nurse Carrie Ann butts heads with her mother Maggie, a granny woman or healer, as they navigate the hills and hollers of North Carolina in the 1890’s. Maggie’s skills are backed by the folklore of previous generations and years of learning from the local Cherokee medicine man. Carrie Ann believes her higher-level education and medical training far outweigh the herb medicines from plants and roots, along with chanting of songs her mother uses. Deftly woven into the plot is the bigotry of Carrie Anne and her neighbors against the Cherokee, their traditions, and the trust Maggie has placed in their methods. Author Teri M. Brown captures the innermost feelings of guilt and self-doubt when disease spreads and deaths result as mother and daughter each defend their own approaches to healing. In the middle of this battle is Carrie Anne’s own daughter, Josie Mae, who was raised by Maggie, and has developed an interest in becoming a healer like her grandmother.

The chapters presented from each of the three women’s point of view journal the diseases, pregnancies, and even the seasons on Green Mountain from 1893-1926. Brown does an excellent job persuading readers with convincing situations and outcomes, that each approach-modern medicine or the granny woman- is the right one. When certain death is on the horizon Brown triumphantly illuminates the magical ingredient needed in the gift of healing. Along with it, readers will also find forgiveness and understanding steeped into the healing broth of Daughters of Green Mountain Gap.

Born in Athens, Greece as an Air Force brat, Teri M. Brown now calls the North Carolina coast home. In 2020, she and her husband, Bruce, rode a tandem bicycle across the United States from Astoria, Oregon to Washington DC, successfully raising money for Toys for Tots. Teri’s debut novel, Sunflowers Beneath the Snow, is a historical fiction set in Ukraine, her second, An Enemy Like Me, is set in WWII, and her third, Daughters of Green Mountain Gap, is a generational story about Appalachian healers.

Links to Purchase:

Author’s Website: https://www.terimbrown.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Daughters-Green-Mountain-Teri-Brown/dp/B0CM7W7JHQ/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144304086?ean=9798891320567

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/daughters-of-the-green-mountain-gap-teri-m-brown/20744004?ean=9798891320567

Diva by Daisy Goodwin

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Publication January 23, 2024-St. Martin’s Press-Historical Fiction-336 pp.

Book Summary

New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin returns with a story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world.

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas was known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she was the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. But her fame was hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, she learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends.

When she met the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she’d found someone who saw the woman within the legendary soprano. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then suddenly, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The curtain rises in 1940’s Athens, the house spotlight on awkward 16-year-old Maria Callas. Daisy Goodwin introduces Maria’s main influencers through flashbacks to her childhood and how she felt exploited and unloved. Maria’s future successes and travels around the world are woven into her life story through memories and perspectives of Elvira de Hidalgo, her singing teacher, Franco Zeffirelli, her director and close friend, and the veteran of society, Elsa Maxwell. It was Elsa’s orchestrations that brought the two famous Greeks, Aristotle Onassis, and Maria Callas, together, as they bonded over troubled childhoods. Readers are gently introduced to Greek terms and operas like Carmen, Tosca, and Traviata through the “queen of opera’s” voice challenges and points of view of singer and director.

From the October 1968, Onassis/Kennedy wedding, across continents, islands and opera houses, this novel is filled with movie stars, royalty, famous political figures, and the performance details of JFK’s iconic 45^th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden.

Maria sometimes doubted the support of her family, her husband, and Ari, her lover, but she never doubted her own talent. Was she manipulated? Does Maria end up like the characters she portrays, dying for love in the third act or does she find her own ending?

Daisy Goodwin’s Diva, presented in operatic performance format, will have readers anticipating the encore and counting the curtain calls- Bravo!

Daisy Goodwin is a writer and television producer. In 2005 she started Silver River productions, which she sold to Sony in 2012. Alongside her tv work , Daisy has written a memoir, Silver River and two novels My Last Duchess Uk/The American Heiress US and The Fortune Hunter, which were both New York Times bestsellers. In 2014 Daisy decided to concentrate on writing full time and was commissioned to write her first screenplay, Victoria, an 8 part series about the early life of Queen Victoria for ITV and WGBH Masterpiece Theatre. She is now working on Season 2. Daisy lives in London with her three dogs, two daughters and one husband.

The Seamstress of Acadie by Laura Frantz

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Publication January 9, 2024-Revel-Chistian, Historical Fiction-416pp

Book Summary

As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada’s Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family–French-speaking Acadians wishing to remain neutral–are caught in the middle, their land positioned between two forts flying rival flags. Amid preparations for the celebration of Noël, the talk is of unrest, coming war, and William Blackburn, the British Army Ranger raising havoc across North America’s borderlands.

As summer takes hold in 1755 and British ships appear on the horizon, Sylvie encounters Blackburn, who warns her of the coming invasion. Rather than participate in the forced removal of the Acadians from their land, he resigns his commission. But that cannot save Sylvie or her kin. Relocated on a ramshackle ship to Virginia, Sylvie struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. When her path crosses once more with William’s, they must work through the complex tangle of their shared, shattered past to navigate the present and forge an enduring future.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A major theme in this accounting of the Acadians in Nova Scotia is “Where is God in the midst of suffering and tragedy?” Declaring themselves neutral between the French and English, the Acadians are forced by the British onto ships bound for Williamsburg, Virginia, or French held Louisiana. Some may remember this event from the famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie, read in a literature or history class. The Great Upheaval of 1755, which forced the Acadians from their homeland, is told by Acadian seamstress, Sylvie Galant, and British Major William Blackburn, a character based on real life Robert Rogers. Each action-packed chapter opens with a quote from literary treasures such as Rousseau or Molière, and is filled with anticipation, hatred, trepidation, and relief. Frantz’s novel, fraught with significant details of military strategy and descriptions of beauty and peace, is also laced with compelling metaphors and foreshadowing that keeps readers in suspense. The turning points: the arrival of the English fleet, shipwrecks, and later smallpox and a kidnapping, propel the plot and keep the love story alive; all the while scattered with hope, love, and pink and white apple blossoms.

My ancestors are Acadians, and I am a seamstress like Sylvie. As she stitched hope into her ball gown, I truly felt the angst and determination of the Acadians as they searched for beauty, peace, and possibilities.

The Wonder of it All by Barbara Taylor Bradford

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Published December 5, 2023-St. Martin’s Press-368pp

Book Summary

James Falconer–a tycoon and a self-made man–seems to have the world in the palm of his hand. But the Great War looms, and James decides to fight for king and country. The fighting is bloody and brutal, and James returns a changed man, with wounds both physical and mental. His beloved wife is dead, but a new woman returns to help nurse him back to health.

Georgiana Ward once held James in her thrall, but years have passed, and bitterness has set in. Still, the old attraction is there, and James is determined to make amends to both Georgiana and his child Leonie–now a grown woman and someone he hasn’t seen in decades. Leonie is having none of it and is embarking on a dangerous journey with a man who might very well destroy her. As James fights to return to the man he once was, he needs to find a way to heal his body, soul, and family.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Wonder of it All is the 40^th novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford and concludes the sweeping Victorian family saga her fans know as The House of Falconer trilogy. The main character, James Falconer, and all his family connections are listed immediately to refresh reader’s memories. That was an especially welcoming segment. The novel is divided into six parts; each appropriately named and indicative of coming events. The saga continues with the fate of James, injured at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, grieving his late wife, Alexis. Readers follow Major James Falconer from Kent, 1917 through his relationship struggles with his estranged daughter, Leonie, her mother Georgiana Ward, and the nasty villain Leonie has married. Another intriguing thread is anticipating how James will overcome his past in order to have a future, avoid the toll of the postwar economic downturn, and find business solutions needed to maintain the success of his diversified company in 1919.

Barbara Taylor Bradford weaves hope, family heritage, suspense and mystery while connecting emotionally with readers through rejection, acceptance, and forgiveness. As always, vivid descriptions and period detail provide a true sense of place and the development of strong male and female characters with integrity, ambition, and drive appeals to generations of readers. Worth the wait!

**Book 2 In the Lion’s Den Review:** https://gratefulreader.home.blog/2020/09/14/in-the-lions-den-by-barbara-taylor-bradford/

Barbara gets awarded OBE from Her Majesty The Queen

Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE was born and raised in England. She left school at 15 for the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post. At 16 she was a reporter, and at 18 she became the paper’s first woman’s page editor. Two years later, aged 20, she moved to London and became a fashion editor and columnist on Fleet Street. Barbara started writing fiction when she was just seven-years-old and sold her first short story to a magazine for seven shillings and sixpence when she was ten. She published her first novel, A Woman of Substance, in 1979. It went from bestseller to super seller within its first year and stayed on the New York Times’ list for 43 weeks.

Barbara’s beautiful website:
https://barbarataylorbradford.com/about/

The Lost Gift to the Italian Island by Barbara Josselsohn

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Publication December 4, 2023-Bookouture-Historical Fiction-

Book Summary

Italy, 1943. With tears in her eyes, Giulia listens out for the sound of bombers flying overhead and thinks of the baby growing inside of her. Through the fabric of her lace dress her fingers touch the cold bullets carefully sewn into the seams. Luca might never forgive her, but she has to do this…

New York, present day. When Tori Coleman discovers that her mother was adopted, her whole world shatters. Jeremy, her boyfriend, wants to get married, but how can Tori commit when she doesn’t know who she truly is? The only clue to the identity of her biological family is a mysterious postcard with a photograph of an ornate wedding dress her grandmother Giulia made, which she’s told was gifted to a museum on an Italian island…

Tori arrives on Parissi Island, surrounded by turquoise Mediterranean waters, with the sweet smell of orange blossom filling the air. She soon finds the museum and learns that Giulia was Jewish, and secretly lived there during World War Two. She thought her grandmother abandoned her mother, but was she forced to leave and give up her child?

Just as she’s getting closer to answers, an unexpected call from Jeremy stops Tori in her tracks. As he passionately urges her to find out the truth, suddenly Tori wishes he were in Italy by her side, ready to propose again.

But then Tori is shocked to find bullets sewn into the lining of one of Giulia’s dresses and a notebook claiming she did something terrible during World War Two. Will the secrets in her family help her follow her own heart, or send her home from Italy with it finally broken forever?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab-(Link to Review of Book 1 Below Author Bio)

The Lost Gift to the Italian Island, Book #2 in the Sisters of War, follows the plight of Giulia, as she escapes Parissi Island during the Nazi invasion and becomes entangled in the Italian Resistance. Barbara Josselsohn’s dual timeline alternates between 1943, Italy, and present-day New York City with several threads of mystery, betrayal, and secrecy. Josselsohn explores themes of following one’s passion and understanding identity through main character, Tori, a seamstress with goals of opening her own studio. A client sends Tori a postcard from a museum in Italy with a picture of the perfect wedding dress; some would believe this a coincidence, others God’s plan. As the designer and seamstress of my own wedding gown, this was the hook for me. Tori decides a trip to Italy to discover her past is manageable if she treats it as a dress pattern, one step at a time- the perfect analogy. Sensory descriptions of the castle, Parissi Island, and the Mediterranean are the ultimate setting as Tori discovers that mistakes and misunderstandings are the pieces to her past.

While life lessons like choose life-give the future a chance, and the antidote to mistrust is connection, are important, I believe the key to The Lost Gift of the Italian Island is that “love transcends everything.” Tori’s promise from her mother is one that connects us all. “Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”

Memorable historical details of situations with uplifting outcomes. Highly recommended.

A best-selling novelist with a background in newspaper reporting, Barbara Josselsohn loves crafting stories about protagonists facing a fork in the road. She is the author of six novels and has also written hundreds of articles and essays in major and regional publications about family, home and relationships. Barbara’s stunning website: https://barbarajosselsohn.com/

https://gratefulreader.home.blog/2023/05/11/secrets-of-the-italian-island-by-barbara-josselsohn/

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

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Book of the Month Club Pick, Indie Next Pick, Publishers Lunch Buzz Book, Top 10 Washington Post- Publication November 7, 2023-Zibby Books-Women’s Fiction-376pp

Book Summary

Kate is a bit of a mess. Two years after losing her young husband Cameron, she’s grieving, solo parenting, working like mad at her university fundraising job, always dropping the balls—and yet clinging to her sense of humor. Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she also navigates an overbearing mom and a Tinder-obsessed best friend who’s determined to matchmake Kate with her hot new neighbor. When an in-flight problem leaves Kate and her boss, Hugh, stranded for a weekend on the east coast of Australia, she finally has a chance, away from her son, to really process her grief and see what’s right in front of her. Can she let go of the love of her life and risk her heart a second time? When it becomes clear that Hugh is hiding a secret, Kate turns to the trail of scribbled notes she once used to hold her life together. The first note captured her heart. Will the last note set it free? The Last Love Note will make readers laugh, cry, and renew their faith in the resilience of the human heart—and in love itself.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Last Love Note is considered a rom com, but that pigeonhole is not a good fit for me. This novel is about losing. Losing love, jobs, babies. Sounds depressing right, but the novel is about so much more. The setting is Australia, so the places were unfamiliar, but Emma Grey’s sense of place takes over! At the novel’s core is the journey of a widow through grief, the understanding and acceptance of the self-sacrificing actions of others, and the mosaic of the human heart. There are secrets, low points and turning points-all revealed through love notes. Readers will long remember the overall theme that ‘love outlives death.’ This novel is full of humor and scaffolded grief shrouded in wisdom.

Emma is a novelist, feature writer, photographer, professional speaker and accountability coach.
She has been writing since she first fell for Anne of Green Gables at fourteen and is the author of YA fiction, memoir, and nonfiction. She wrote her first adult novel, The Last Love Note, in the wake of her husband’s death. It’s a fictional tribute to their love, an attempt to articulate the magnitude of her loss and a life-affirming commitment to hope. Emma lives just outside Canberra, where her world centers on her two adult daughters, young son, loved step-children and step-grandchildren, writing, photography and endlessly chasing the Aurora Australis.

Here is the link to the Zibby Media page featuring Emma Grey and The Last Love Note. Readers will find the book club kit, bonus content, a play list and much more! https://zibbymedia.com/blogs/our-books/the-last-love-note

To Spark a Match by Jen Turano

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Publication November 14-Bethany House-Historical Romance-Gilded Age, Inspirational Fiction- 368pp

**SERIES:** **THE MATCHMAKERS (BOOK 2)**

Book Summary

After five unsuccessful Seasons on the marriage mart, Miss Adelaide Duveen has resigned herself to the notion that she’s destined to remain a spinster forever–a rather dismal prospect, but one that will allow her to concentrate on her darling cats and books. However, when she inadvertently stumbles upon Mr. Gideon Abbott engaged in a clandestine activity during a dinner party, Adelaide finds herself thrust into a world of intrigue that resembles the plots in the spy novels she devours.

Former intelligence agent Gideon Abbott feels responsible for Adelaide after society threatens to banish her because of the distraction she caused to save his investigation. Hoping to return the favor, he turns to a good friend–and one of high society’s leaders–to take Adelaide in hand and turn her fashionable. When danger surrounds them and Adelaide finds herself a target of the criminals in Gideon’s case, the spark of love between them threatens to be quenched for good–along with their lives.

Grateful Reader Review

Jen Turano, known for funny, quirky historical romance, has paired Adelaide, a breath of fresh air, with Gideon, an intense detective involved in a dangerous lifestyle. Adelaide is a 23-year-old lover of spy novels with no feminine skills or fashion sense, and a collector of cats! Adelaide nor her mother is looking forward to yet another New York Season of matchmaking. Turano steers readers from velvet curtained libraries and glittering dining rooms to a dusty, old bookshop with a circular staircase. Filled with witty humor, she deftly weaves society balls and incidents worthy of Adelaide’s spy novels with Gideon’s real life detective agency.

Bainswright Books, with its scent of old leather and dust, is Adelaide’s’ favorite bookshop. Turano’s vivid descriptions of the rambling rooms crammed full of tables laden with piles of books draws readers into Gideon’s quest to uncover a criminal organization. This is a perfect match for Adelaide’s obsession with spy novels and her detective skills. Customers, Vernon and Leopold, darling widowed matchmakers, add an extra measure of spice and cunning to the story.

Society’s perception is that Adelaide needs a “reputation restoration.” Turano’s depictions of Adelaide’s hilarious antics, the Savage Swans and the Bustle Uprising, might at first bring readers to the same conclusion. But Adelaide is genuinely brilliant, not at all shallow. As she swirls across the dance floor, she quickly discerns the false intentions of suitors as Turano is extremely adept at revealing honest human nature in each of her characters. Gideon’s genius introduction of a custom saddlebag for cats will have pet lovers falling for him along with Adelaide!

As the Season unfolds, Adelaide finds no satisfaction when she realizes another unfortunate young lady will take her place among society’s unacceptable. Lessons of compassion, kindness, and understanding portrayed through Adelaide’s treatment of others shine welcome beams of light into Jen Turano’s To Spark a Match.

A Gilded Age Romance filled with delightful, humorous banter and spy novel worthy detectives!

JEN TURANO

Named one of the funniest voices in inspirational romance by Booklist, Jen Turano is a USA Today bestselling author known for penning quirky historical romances set in the Gilded Age. Her books have earned Publishers Weekly and Booklist starred reviews, top picks from RT Book Reviews, and praise from Library Journal. She’s been a finalist twice for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards and had two of her books listed in the top 100 romances of the past decade from Booklist. She and her family live outside of
Denver, Colorado. Jen’s delightful website: https://jenturano.com

Purchase Links & Formats: Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Match-Matchmakers-Book-ebook/dp/B0BW12TFMC

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-spark-a-match-jen-turano/1142992266

Chasing Eleanor by Kerry Chaput

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Published October 2023-Black Rose Writing-Historical Fiction YA-277pp

**Historical Novels Review Magazine-Editor’s Choice**

Book Summary

Newly orphaned Magnolia Parker must protect her sick little brothers, but when the authorities send the boys to an unknown orphan asylum, Magnolia calls on her unwavering grit to bring them home. She’s lost everything but still has a secret weapon-a promise from Eleanor Roosevelt, the most famous woman in America. Setting out on a cross country quest, she befriends two unlikely travelers: Hop, a migrant worker with a big heart, and Red, a young girl traumatized into silence. Hunger and dust storms aren’t the only dangers this found family faces on the rails. After an assault, they’re forced to outrun the police, all while trying to track down the First Lady. But time is running out and Magnolia’s chance to reunite her siblings depends on one thing-finding Eleanor.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

First Published in Historical Novels Review Magazine-November 2023- Editor’s Choice Award

During the Great Depression in 1935, riding the rails and standing in breadlines was part of daily life. Kerry Chaput’s main character, Magnolia Parker is consumed with hate and fear as she lives to protect her brothers, seven- year- old “cute as a bug” Johnny, and tender hearted, twelve- year- old Oscar. Magnolia’s determination not to fail her brothers is fueled by her father’s abandonment, the accidental death of two-year-old Emily, and ultimately the death of her mother.

Chaput’s prose is boiling over with Magnolia’s sense of anger, drenching her with determination. After Chaput’s eloquent foreshadowing of the family being splintered apart Magnolia gains the strength and fortitude to search for her brothers, wondering if finding them will make her worthy. Penniless, overwhelmed with disappointment, and desperate, Magnolia finds work as a maid at the Pilot Butte Inn. A life-changing conversation with Eleanor Roosevelt leaves Magnolia finally feeling seen by Eleanor’s discerning heart and later a promise to help find the boys. Readers ride the rails from Oregon to Georgia with teens Magnolia, Hop, an Italian migrant worker, and Red, a traumatized run-away. Always searching for clues to trust each other, the teens’ pact and Eleanor’s promise to help, increases their resolve to find the brothers. Chaput’s narrative is packed with harrowing, gut-wrenching adventure and encrusted with pearls of wisdom Magnolia gathers from Eleanor’s MyTime column and newspaper articles. “Meet each struggle one at a time” jump starts Magnolia’s chase to find the First Lady. Chaput emboldens her characters with optimism, emotional intelligence, and wisdom gained over a lifetime.

The core theme in Kerry Chaput’s Chasing Eleanor is learning that forgiveness is a gift to yourself. Chaput’s novel, a love letter to Eleanor Roosevelt, reflects “Learning to love is an education in itself.” Highly recommended.

KERRY CHAPUT: All my stories explore the journey of young women, found family, and first love. I blend history, adventure, and magic into my own version of historical fantasy. I believe in inclusion and exploring the broad range of experiences with young women so my readers may see how truly diverse women’s history is. Born a California girl, I now live in Bend, Oregon where I can be found hiking and enjoying the amazing trails of the Pacific Northwest. I live with my husband, two children, and two dogs, sharing the love of Oregon and finding inspiration in the world around me. I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I love writing them. https://www.kerrywrites.com/

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A Christmas Vanishing by Anne Perry

Publication: November 7, 2023-Random House-Ballantine-Historical Mystery

Book Summary

Charlotte Pitt’s clever grandmother investigates the sudden disappearance of her dear friend in this chilling holiday whodunit by New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.

Mariah Ellison, Charlotte Pitt’s grandmother, accepts her longtime friend Sadie’s gracious invitation to spend Christmas with her and her husband, Barton, in their picturesque village. But upon arrival, Mariah discovers that Sadie has vanished without a trace, and Barton rudely rescinds the invitation. Once Mariah finds another acquaintance to stay with during the holiday season, she begins investigating Sadie’s disappearance.

Mariah’s uncanny knack for solving mysteries serves her well during her search, which is driven by gossip as icy as the December weather. Did Sadie run off with another man? Was she kidnapped? Has someone harmed her? Frustratingly, Mariah’s questions reveal more about the villagers themselves than about her friend’s whereabouts. Yet in the process of getting to know Sadie’s neighbors, Mariah finds a kind of redemption, as she rediscovers her kinder side, and her ability to love.

It is up to Mariah to master her own feelings, drown out the noise, and get to the bottom of what occurred, all before Christmas day. With the holiday rapidly approaching, will she succeed in bringing Sadie home in time for them to celebrate it together—or is that too much to hope for?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A Christmas Vanishing takes place during a miserable winter, outside foggy, sooty London, around the turn of the century. Anne Perry’s vivid descriptions of the English countryside whisk readers by train to a quaint village green with decorated shop fronts, the aroma of roasting chestnuts, and church bells that peal to gather the townspeople. Main character, Mariah, is escaping demons from her past, an unhappy marriage, and the person she has become. Anne Perry’s ability to peer deep into Mariah’s past and express her heartfelt misgivings and admitted mistakes, illuminates human frailties in Mariah, the townspeople, and in ourselves. Who invites a guest for Christmas and then disappears? Sadie, Mariah’s confidant from decades past, is described as spirited and engaging. The severe cold, approaching Christmas Eve, and her place in village society makes Sadie’s disappearance quite disturbing and mysterious. Is Sadie being selfish or is she desperate? Will the townspeople solve the mystery in time for Christmas? Anne Perry’s A Christmas Vanishing deals with mistakes, repaying old debts, and forgiveness. Listen for the church bells!

Anne Perry passed in April 2023. I’ve enjoyed reading and reviewing her annual Christmas novels for many years. Read about her incredible career in her own words: https://anneperry.us/about-me/

Anne Perry : 28 October 1938 – 10 April 2023

Anne’s publishing career began with The Cater Street Hangman. Published in 1979, this was the first book in the series to feature the Victorian policeman Thomas Pitt and his well-born wife Charlotte. This is arguably the longest sustained crime series by a living writer. Murder on the Serpentine is the latest (32nd) in the series. She has now started a series featuring their son Daniel, beginning with 21 Days (2017).

In 1990, Anne started a second series of detective novels with The Face of a Stranger. These are set about 35 years before and features the private detective William Monk and volatile nurse Hester Latterly. The most recent of these (24th in the series) is Dark Tide Rising.

Hidden Truths by Elly Swartz

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Publication October 31, 2023-Random House Children’s -Middle Grade-272pp

Book Summary

How far would you go to keep a promise? Told from alternating points of view, Hidden Truths is a story of changing friendships, the lies we tell, the secrets we keep, and the healing power of forgiveness.

Dani and Eric have been best friends since Dani moved next door in second grade. They bond over donuts, comic books, and camping on the Cape. Until one summer when everything changes.

Did Eric cause the accident that leaves Dani unable to do the one thing in the world she most cares about? The question plagues him, and he will do anything to get answers about the explosion that injured her. But Dani is hurting too much to want Eric to pursue the truth—she just wants to shut him out and move on. Besides, Eric has a history of dropping things he starts. Eric knows that and is determined that this will be the one time he follows through.

But what if his pursuit brings him into direct conflict with another friend? Where does Eric’s loyalty really lie?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The middle grade novel Hidden Truths by Elly Swartz is about the forever people in our lives. Loving them. Forgiving them. Fighting for them. It’s also about chasing dreams, finding your superpower, and forgiveness.

Elly Swartz hit a homerun with Hidden Truths. Parents, teachers, and students will become ardent fans of the main character Dani, who truly loves baseball, (it’s not just a phase), and her best friend since second grade, Eric, who loves crossword puzzles and has worn the same swim trunks for two years. (Yes, he’s smart, skinny and gets bullied at school.) The novel is told from alternating points of view, with a signed baseball for Dani’s chapters, and a crossword puzzle for Eric. Kids will love that!

Dani and Eric learn that friends can be jerks, friends lie, friends use you. Both fans of superheroes and shapeshifting, they learn that superpower is not so great among friends. An accident happens and Elly Swartz helps young readers navigate the emotions of guilt, making mistakes, and the consequences of lying or telling the truth. Readers are faced with characters who are brave, reckless, scattered (ADHD), and sideways; but all friends grow and change. Are they who we think they are? Readers will eagerly follow Dani and Eric onto the baseball field, down the school hallways, and out to the Cape to find out how Elly Swartz solves this best friend dilemma.

Readers of all ages are reminded that goodbyes are hard, not everything can be fixed with cookies and donuts, (but they help), and we all need forever people. Insightful. Enlightening. A homerun!

Elly Swartz grew up in Yardley, Pennsylvania, where she lived a happy childhood filled with laughs, family dinners, and crooked birthday cakes. She studied psychology at Boston University and received a law degree from Georgetown University School of Law. The mother of two grown sons, Elly now lives in Massachusetts with her husband.https://ellyswartz.com/

Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl by Renée Rosen

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Publication April 2023-Berkley-432pp

Book Summary

It’s 1938, and a young woman selling face cream out of a New York City beauty parlor is determined to prove she can have it all. Her name is Estée Lauder, and she’s about to take the world by storm, in this dazzling new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Social Graces and Park Avenue Summer.

In New York City, you can disappear into the crowd. At least that’s what Gloria Downing desperately hopes as she tries to reinvent herself after a devastating family scandal. She’s ready for a total life makeover and a friend she can lean on—and into her path walks a young, idealistic woman named Estée. Their chance encounter will change Gloria’s life forever.

Estée dreams of success and becoming a household name like Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Revlon. Before Gloria knows it, she is swept up in her new friend’s mission and while Estée rolls up her sleeves, Gloria begins to discover her own talents. After landing a job at Saks Fifth Avenue, New York’s finest luxury department store, Gloria finds her voice, which proves instrumental in opening doors for Estée’s insatiable ambitions.

But in a world unaccustomed to women with power, they’ll each have to pay the price that comes with daring to live life on their own terms and refusing to back down.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab : This review was first published in the May 2023 issue of Historical Novels Review magazine.

New York City and its fashionable department store Saks Fifth Avenue is the setting for Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl. A chance encounter at a local beauty parlor turns into a complete makeover for Estée Lauder, Gloria Downing, and the cosmetic industry of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Rosen’s novel is written from fictional friend Gloria’s perspective as she is interviewed for an unauthorized biography of lifelong friend Estée Lauder. Rosen’s unique hook in the prologue is a question of whether Gloria will tell the truth or lie. Because Gloria knows everything.

Readers are familiar with the major names in the early cosmetic industry, Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Revlon. Estée’s goal is to become a household name. She mixes skin care products in her tiny kitchen and Gloria, due to a family scandal is reinventing herself and looking for a job. Estée’s natural beauty and charisma paired with Gloria’s fashion sense make for a dynamite team and over the decades an explosive relationship develops.

Rosen’s well researched anecdotes highlight how the unlikely friends complement each other’s weaknesses with support and encouragement. Rosen accurately depicts Estée’s brash, tenacious personality which adds humor to unlikely, sometimes awkward situations on the beaches of Florida or the executive offices in NYC. The choices and expectations of women during the depression are perfectly blended with each young woman’s dreams, giving readers insights into how they each become independent and self-sufficient. Gloria goes out of her way to avoid men, and Estée runs toward them, providing readers situations for personal analysis and discussion.

Estée Lauder’s pioneering spirit and ingenuity have certainly had a lasting impact on the cosmetic industry. In Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl Renée Rosen’s themes of friendship, reinvention and family relationships are explored like the layers of a fine perfume.

COMPANION READ:

A Beautiful Rival by Gil Paul – The story of Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein; household names by the time Estee Lauder was mixing creams in her kitchen! Here’s the Grateful Reader review for readers:

https://gratefulreader.home.blog/2023/09/05/a-beautiful-rival-by-gil-paul/

The Porcelain Maker By Sarah Freethy

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Publication Nov.7, 2023-St. Martin’s Press-Historical Fiction-Romance-416pp

Book Summary

Two lovers caught at the crossroads of history.
A daughter’s search for the truth.

Germany, 1929. At a festive gathering of young bohemians in Weimar, two young artists, Max, a skilled Jewish architect, and Bettina, a celebrated avant-garde painter, are drawn to each other and begin a whirlwind romance. Their respective talents transport them to the dazzling lights of Berlin, but this bright beginning is quickly dimmed by the rising threat of Nazism. Max is arrested and sent to the concentration camp at Dachau where only his talent at making exquisite porcelain figures stands between him and seemingly certain death. Desperate to save her lover, Bettina risks everything to rescue him and escape Germany.

America, 1993. Clara, Bettina’s daughter, embarks on a journey to trace her roots and determine the identity of her father, a secret her mother has kept from her for reasons she’s never understood. Clara’s quest to piece together the puzzle of her origins transports us back in time to the darkness of Nazi Germany, where life is lived on a razor’s edge and deception and death lurk around every corner. Survival depends on strength, loyalty, and knowing true friend from hidden foe. And as Clara digs further, she begins to question why her mother was so determined to leave the truth of her harrowing past behind…

The Porcelain Maker is a powerful novel of enduring love and courage in the face of appalling brutality as a daughter seeks to unlock the mystery of her past.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

This dual timeline novel carries all the emotional and physical burdens of World War ll, the Holocaust, and the impact of these events on relationships and families. The porcelain figurines found at auction in Cincinnati,1993, represent the tension and anxiousness fired into Sarah Freethy’s characters. From the opening of the novel in Germany,1929 when the main characters meet, through America, 1993, when Clara is searching for clues to her past, readers will experience love and marriage consequences, the Allach Porcelain Factory and the concentration camp in Dachau, along with frightening rescue attempts.

The climax of the plot is set in the basement of the porcelain factory. As an escape plan is formed Freethy’s chilling descriptions, plot twists, and courageous characters keep suspense at a peak. The porcelain making techniques and regimens of the prisoners, aside the brutal treatment and plight of the Jews makes this an emotionally challenging and demanding novel. Sarah Freethy’s The Porcelain Maker is a work of art. And as “The Porcelain Maker of Dachau” believes, “Art should serve a purpose beyond beauty.”

Allach porcelain (pronounced ‘alak’) a.k.a. Porzellan Manufaktur Allach was produced in Germany between 1935 and 1945. After its first year of operation, the enterprise was run by the SS with forced labor provided by the Dachau concentration camp. The emphasis was on decorative ceramics —objets d’art for the Nazi regime. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allach_(porcelain)

**Available for purchase on Amazon**-Book Description below:

“For the first time, the brief nine year history of SS Allach Porcelain (1936-1945), the infamous nazi run porcelain factory, is presented in this new two volume reference. Explored in detail is the fascinating array of sculptures made by Allach, and also the historical significance as to why each category of porcelain was established. Close-up views of figures show the skilled artistry of some of Germany’s greatest sculptors, potterers and painters including Theodor Karner, Ottmar Obermaier and Richard Forster. And why this little known porcelain factory named Allach may be considered the producer of some of the finest porcelain the world has seen to this day. This two volume reference is the result of many years of painstaking research and collecting. No expense was spared to bring the facts to all Allach Porcelain collectors and porcelain aficionado’s alike. The books feature over 600 photographs, including many never before seen porcelain figures, and comprehensive text.” From Amazon site.

The Other PRINCESS a novel of Queen Victoria’s Goddaughter by Denny S. Bryce

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Publishing October 3, 2023- William Morrow-Historical Fiction-400pp

Book Summary

A stunning portrait of an African princess raised in Queen Victoria’s court and adapting to life in Victorian England—based on the real-life story of a recently rediscovered historical figure, Sarah Forbes Bonetta.

With a brilliant mind and a fierce will to survive, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a kidnapped African princess, is rescued from enslavement at seven years old and presented to Queen Victoria as a “gift.” To the Queen, the girl is an exotic trophy to be trotted out for the entertainment of the royal court and to showcase Victoria’s magnanimity. Sarah charms most of the people she meets, even those who would cast her aside. Her keen intelligence and her aptitude for languages and musical composition helps Sarah navigate the Victorian era as an outsider given insider privileges.

But embedded in Sarah’s past is her destiny. Haunted by visions of destruction and decapitations, she desperately seeks a place, a home she will never run from, never fear, a refuge from nightmares and memories of death.

Grateful Reader Review & Companion Read by Dorothy Schwab

This four-part saga is told in first person and based on the life of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, an African princess who became the ward of Queen Victoria. Author Denny Bryce has completed impeccable research to bring this little-known historical figure to life. Bryce uses a blue pendant throughout the novel as a tangible, emotional touch point connecting readers to the haunting, tragic loss of the royal family of the princess. Bryce’s vivid descriptions of West Africa, Windsor Castle, Sierra Leone and Lagos Colony take the reader from the brink of seven-year-old Princess Aina’s execution to Queen Victoria’s death almost six decades later. Fans of the PBS series, Victoria, will appreciate the vivid details of Queen Victoria’s household, including the death of Prince Albert, and the wedding of Princess Alice. The superb storytelling, analogies, and wisdom expressed through Sarah’s thoughts and travels across continents reveals the rich history and political situations in Africa and England spanning 1843-1900. Denny S. Bryce has created a gripping account of an intelligent young girl with no choices who becomes a royal insider; a bold woman fighting for independence, love, family, and home.

Denny S. Bryce is a best-selling, award-winning author of historical fiction. A former dancer and public relations professional, Denny is an adjunct professor in the MFA program at Drexel University, a book critic for NPR, and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in USA Today and Harper’s Bazaar. She is also a member of the Historical Novel Society, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Tall Poppy Writers. Originally from Ohio, she likes to call Chicago her hometown but currently resides in Savannah, Georgia. You can find her online at DennySBryce.com.

Companion Read: At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England by Walter Dean Myers-139pp

A perfect companion read would be At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England, by Walter Dean Myers, published by Scholastic, Inc. in 1999. I purchased this at the completion of The Other Princess after reading the author’s note. At Her Majesty’s Request, is based on letters, filled with illustrations, photos and even a map, which is always appreciated! This book-4th-8th grade, is a great example for teaching first and secondary sources in research. Due to the audience, the descriptions of the attack on the royal family are much less graphic. Here are a few pictures from the book. I highly recommend The Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce and At Her Majesty’s Request by Walter Dean Myers.

Walter Dean Myers: August 12, 1937 – July 1, 2014) was an American writer of children’s books best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but was raised in Harlem. A tough childhood led him to writing and his school teachers would encourage him in this habit as a way to express himself. He wrote more than one hundred books including picture books and nonfiction. He won the Coretta Scott King Award for African-American authors five times.^[1] His 1988 novel Fallen Angels is one of the books most frequently challenged in the U.S. because of its adult language and its realistic depiction of the Vietnam War. From Wickipedia

Brilliant Bites

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75 Amazing Small Bites for Any Occasion by Maegan Brown-The BakerMama

Published September 2023-Rock Point-200pp

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

This will be your new “go to” handbook when planning a kid’s party, a holiday gathering, or figuring out what to take to the next tailgate or book club meeting. The cookbook is divided into six categories: Party, Holiday, Breakfast, Snack, Dessert, and Savy Sips. Each family friendly recipe includes notes on make ahead tips and how to store-SO helpful for busy schedules. The index is especially helpful since it’s arranged by ingredient, not alphabetical by recipe title. For instance, bacon is followed by ten recipes and page #’s that use bacon! Perfect for fall football, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas-just around the corner!

Since Halloween is creeping up on us, here’s a couple of spooky ideas for your kids’ special night. Pictured below: The Jack O’ Lantern Mac ‘n Cheese Bites is a quick make ahead recipe with elbow macaroni, cheese and egg baked in a muffin pan, decorated with sliced pepperonis. Great activity for the kiddos! The Mummy Meatballs are a freaky addition. These use premade meatballs wrapped in a couple of fettuccine noodles, baked in some marinara sauce. The fun part for the kids- add a dab of ricotta cheese and a snip of black olive for eyes.

Another favorite is the Enchilada Egg Roll-classic TexMex ingredients; shredded chicken, cheese, and enchilada sauce wrapped in a wonton wrapper and baked. This is on my menu for the next football game! Also stalking the Buffalo Chicken Celery Bites… Buy Brilliant Bites and you’ll be all set for the next party!

Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

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Publishing September 26-St. Martin’s Press-288pp

Book Summary:

From Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author of The Santa Suit, comes a novella celebrating the magic of Christmas and second chances.

Newly single and unemployed Kerry Tolliver needs a second chance. When she moves back home to her family’s Christmas tree farm in North Carolina, she is guilt tripped into helping her brother, Murphy, sell trees in New York City. She begrudgingly agrees, but she isn’t happy about sharing a trailer with her brother in the East Village for two months. Plus, it’s been years, since before her parents’ divorce, that she’s been to the city to sell Christmas trees.

Then, Kerry meets Patrick, the annoying Mercedes owner who parked in her spot for the first two days. Patrick is recently divorced, a father to a six-year-old son, and lives in the neighborhood. Can Kerry’s first impressions about the recently divorced, single father, and–dare she say, handsome–neighbor be wrong?

Surrounded by warm childhood memories, sparkling possibility, and the magic of Christmas in the City, will Kerry finally get the second chance she needs to find herself… and maybe even find love?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Ignore the Halloween décor already crowding the store aisles and cozy up with MKA’s Christmas novella. The setting is a street corner in magical New York City where the Tolliver’s Christmas Tree lot is located each year. The tiny 1963 Shasta trailer that Kerry and Murphy squeeze into after driving 700 miles from North Carolina takes center stage as tough competition, social media miracles, and the scary search for a missing friend add to the frantic countdown to Christmas Eve. MKA tucks a quirky, wise old man, a generous, considerate group of neighbors, some nasty competition, and a handsome single dad and his adorable son, into a Christmas story fit for a snow globe scene. Bright Lights, Big Christmas unwraps the true gifts of the season; loyal friends, devoted family, and discovering love-all on a Christmas tree lot in the middle of New York City. (Cue the twinkle lights and hot chocolate!)

MKA and her family divide their time between Atlanta and Tybee Island, GA, where they cook up new recipes in three restored beach homes, The Breeze Inn, Ebbtide, and Coquina Cottage—all named after fictional places in Mary Kay’s novels, and all available to rent through Tybee Vacation Rentals. In between cooking, spoiling her grandkids, and plotting her next novel, Mary Kay is an intrepid treasure hunter whose favorite pastime is junking and fixing up old houses. The link to MKA’s website and all her wonderful books! https://marykayandrews.com/

Cover Reveal: Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

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Coming May 14, 2024-St. Martin’s Press-Historical Fiction-336pp.

Book Description

In 1955, Vivien Lowry is at a crossroads in life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Vivien’s last chance for theatrical success. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecittà Studios. There she finds a vibrant moviemaking scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeate the very soul of Italy.

As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also searches for the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the fate of her deceased fiancé lost in battle. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a bold and moving exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls. (Every Time We Say Goodbye is linked to The Jane Austen Society, & Bloomsbury Girls by characters, but is a stand-alone novel.)

Natalie Jenner is the internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls, which have been translated into more than twenty languages worldwide. Born in England and raised in Canada, Natalie has been a corporate lawyer and career coach and once owned an independent bookstore in Oakville, Ontario,
where she lives with her family and two rescue dogs. Natalie’s beautiful website: https://www.nataliejenner.com/

Buy Links to Pre-order Every Time We Say Goodbye: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Every-Time-We-Say-Goodbye/dp/1250285186

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/every-time-we-say-goodbye-natalie-jenner/1143881682

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Davy in the Snow by Brigitte Weninger, Illustrated by Eve Tharlett

Publication: September 12, 2023-NorthSouth Books-Children’s Fiction-32pp

Book Summary

A deep blanket of snow covers the wintery forest! Davy and Mia are unstoppable. They set out with their sled and a cake to visit their grandparents. Grandpa Rabbit tells Davy the story of when he and his brother were lost in the snow, while Grandma Rabbit plays a game with Davy’s sister. Davy and his sister head home with a warm send off of cookies and juice. But when they tumble out of their sled, the way home becomes confusing in the deep snow. Luckily, big brother Davy remembers Grandpa Rabbit’s wise advice—stay in one place, keep warm, help will come soon. And so, cozy and warm, under a large fir tree with glowing branches, Davy and Mia tell stories and sing songs. Until at last—the family tracks down the two snow bunnies. Davy worries that it’s his fault, but his parents praise him for his responsible decisions.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A heartfelt story of survival bundled with a helpful, compassionate sibling relationship. The lesson learned while Davy and Mia visit grandparents is relatable for all ages. The story is full of encouraging words from Davy and the helpful lesson learned in the great-snow adventure from Grandpa is key for survival in the winter storm. Author Brigitte Weninger keeps young listeners intrigued as the siblings discover foxfire in the woods and Davy tells the longest enchanted-forest story to entertain his little sister. Eve Tharlet’s enchanting illustrations are the “icing on the cake” for this comforting addition in the endearing Davy series.

Avocado Magic by Taltal Levi

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Publishing March 5, 2024-North South Books-Children’s Fiction-48pp

Book Summary

Avocado seeds and slow growing! A young girl’s impatience turns to wonder as she and her avocado tree gradually change and grow in this story inspired by Israeli artist Taltal Levi’s childhood.

Ellie is sulking—she celebrated her birthday yesterday under the old avocado tree. But she’s not even a little bit taller today! Dad tells Ellie a secret. She is like the pit of an avocado, he explains, small and full of magic. Together they put an avocado seed in a glass of water by the window and watch as both Ellie and her avocado plant grow, take root, and eventually bring new life.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab with Leona Claire!

A book for budding scientists and plant enthusiasts!

Leona Claire is my seven-year-old granddaughter. She is a second grader who loves to read, her favorite subject is science and after school takes art lessons. We read the digital copy of Avocado Magic but I’ll definitely order the hardback for her school library! The following comments are from my discussion with Leona Claire :

When asked about the illustrations, Leona Claire gave a solid 10 out of 10! “She (Taltal Levi) used the body’s simplest form to make Ellie look real. With just one line in her eyebrows Ellie looked mad or happy and her crossed arms showed her disappointment.”

When Ellie was frustrated, her dad felt Ellie and the avocado seed needed cheering up. She used puppets, played the saxophone, danced, and tried magic!

Other likes: The rhyme her dad repeated in the story, the magic stirring, and the avocado seed pictures.

“The details in words and pictures made me feel like I could jump into the story!” Leona Claire

Favorite line from the text: “You are like an avocado seed; small but full of magic…”

**Illustration from *Avocado Magic* by Taltal Levi © NorthSouth Books, an imprint of NordSüd Verlag.**

**Experiment complete- set in a sunny window**

**Later we opened another seed to find it had sprouted!**

A Beautiful Rival by Gil Paul

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Publication September 5-William Morrow-384 pp

Gill Paul is the bestselling author of twelve historical novels, many of them about real women from the past whom she thinks have been marginalized or misjudged by historians. Her novels have reached the top of the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Toronto Globe & Mail charts, and have been translated into twenty-two languages. Gill’s beautiful website has previous book summaries, fabulous reviews for this current novel, and an author’s note you have to read! http://gillpaul.com/

BOOK SUMMARY

“They could have been allies: two self-made millionaires who invented a global industry, in an era when wife and mother were supposed to be the highest goals for their sex. Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein each founded empires built on grit and determination…and yet they became locked in a feud spanning three continents, two world wars, and the Great Depression.

Brought up in poverty, Canadian-born Elizabeth Arden changed popular opinion, persuading women from all walks of life to buy skincare products that promised them youth and beauty. Helena Rubinstein left her native Poland, and launched her company with scientific claims about her miracle creams made with anti-ageing herbs.

And when it came to business, nothing was off-limits: poaching each other’s employees, copying each other’s products, planting spies, hiring ex-husbands, and one-upping each other every chance they had. This was a rivalry from which there was no surrender! And through it all were two women, bold, brazen, and determined to succeed—no matter the personal cost.”

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A Beautiful Rival is the story of two women trying to be something they were not. Elizabeth Arden from Canada, trying to pass as upper class and Helena Rubinstein from Poland, pretending to have a medical degree, were both competitive and devious. This journey to America through the world of skin care reflects a view of America from the turn of the twentieth century through the Great Depression and World War 11.

Gil Paul’s flawless character development is presented in the alternating perspectives of Helena Rubinstein, Queen of Beauty Science, and Elizabeth Arden, known for upmarket packaging and the iconic red door. The “gloves are off” when it comes to business transactions like buying salons, building factories, adding products, spying, and stealing strategies in advertising. The tension and financial stress are undeniable through betrayals, lovers, and divorces. Helena and Elizabeth’s constant obsession to outdo each other in business is deftly concealed by the numerous skin care products being developed at the time: antiaging creams, tanning lotions, leg film when stockings were in short supply, hormone treatments and even waterproof mascara for the World’s Fair!

Gil Paul enmeshes readers in world events, introducing political figures on both sides of the Atlantic, and through Red Cross Balls and various weddings involving influential women such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Wallis Simpson. As treatment girls become known as beauticians, female clients in the salons discuss current stock market trends and financial investments, dropping names like General Motors, General Electric, and Sears & Roebuck.

From extravagant purchases to crossing boundaries in interviews, readers will get an authentic sense of the world of beauty represented by the beautiful rivals, Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden.

Elizabeth Arden (born Florence Nightingale Graham; December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966), also known as Elizabeth N. Graham,^[2] was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. By 1929, she owned 150 salons in Europe and the United States. Her 1,000 products were being sold in 22 countries. She was the sole owner, and at the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.

Helena Rubinstein (born Chaja Rubinstein; December 25, 1872 – April 1, 1965) was a Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorporated cosmetics company, which made her one of the world’s richest women.^[3]

End Credits-How I Broke Up with Hollywood by Patty Lin

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Published August 29, 2023-Zibby Books-Memoir-376pp

A great interview from Chicago’s WGN9 https://wgntv.com/morning-news/end-credits-how-i-broke-up-with-hollywood/

Summary:

The only script you can really write in life is your own.

What if achieving your professional dreams comes at too high a personal cost? That’s what screenwriter Patty Lin started to ask herself after years in the cutthroat TV industry. One minute she was a tourist, begging her way into the audience of Late Night with David Letterman. Just a few years later, she was an insider who–through relentless hard work and sacrifice–had earned a seat in the writers’ rooms of the hottest TV shows of all time. While writing for Friends, Freaks and Geeks, Desperate Housewives and Breaking Bad, Patty steeled herself against the indignities of a chaotic, abusive, male-dominated work culture, not just as one of the few women in the room, but as the only Asian person.

This funny, fresh, eye-opening, and inside-Hollywood story will resonate with anyone trying to please their parents, maintain a love life, and find their way in the world–and will inspire countless dreamers to listen to their inner voices and know when it’s time to get out.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“Patty Lin, a former TV writer and producer, chronicles her agonizing ten-year relationship with a dysfunctional industry she says is filled with egotistical bosses, office politics, and casual incidents of sexism, racism, and cruelty.”

Chicago’s WGN9 Robin Baumgarten & Dan Ponce:

As one of the few women and the only Asian American in the writers’ rooms, Patti Lin reveals how her relationship with her parents, a decade long boyfriend, and being a writer in Hollywood impacted her life. Patti’s words of wisdom and lessons learned are highlights throughout this memoir. The accurate descriptions of writing rooms with tedious, exhausting schedules certainly makes one wonder how or why she stuck with it so long. The LA partying, name dropping, and TV shows Patti worked on has a People magazine feel. Names like Adam Sandler, David Letterman, and Jerry Seinfeld, along with shows Freaks & Geeks, Friends, and Desperate Housewives will hold anxious readers’ attention while Patti waits for return calls from directors, her agent, and of course, her mom. Writing terms like “page-one rewrite,” “bible,” and “presentation vs. pilot” are scattered throughout. The progress in her parental relationship through hard work and painful conversations is rewarding and offers encouragement to readers. Patti Lin admits that “writing a memoir is like reliving all the worst parts of your life-voluntarily.” Like eyeing the weekly People and feeling the curiosity of “what’s the scoop?” – TV and Hollywood trivia fans will find End Credits-How I Broke up with Hollywood engaging and irresistible.

A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K. Runyan

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Published Aug. 1, 2023-William Morrow-Historical Fiction-384pp

Book Summary

From the author of The School for German Brides, this captivating historical novel set in nineteenth century and post–World War II Paris follows two fierce women of the same family, generations apart, who find that their futures lie in the four walls of a simple bakery in a tiny corner of Montmartre.

1870: The Prussians are at the city gates, intent to starve Paris into submission. Lisette Vigneau—headstrong, willful, and often ignored by her wealthy parents—awaits the outcome of the war from her parents’ grand home in the Place Royale in the very heart of the city. When an excursion throws her into the path of a revolutionary National Guardsman, Théodore Fournier, her destiny is forever changed. She gives up her life of luxury to join in the fight for a Paris of the People. She opens a small bakery with the hopes of being a vital boon to the impoverished neighborhood in its hour of need. When the city falls into famine, and then rebellion, her resolve to give up the comforts of her past life is sorely tested.

1946: Nineteen-year-old Micheline Chartier is coping with the loss of her father and the disappearance of her mother during the war. In their absence, she is charged with the raising of her two younger sisters. At the hand of a well-meaning neighbor, Micheline finds herself enrolled in a prestigious baking academy with her entire life mapped out for her. Feeling trapped and desperately unequal to the task of raising two young girls, she becomes obsessed with finding her mother. Her classmate at the academy, Laurent Tanet, may be the only one capable of helping Micheline move on from the past and begin creating a future for herself.

Both women must grapple with loss, learn to accept love, and face impossible choices armed with little more than their courage and a belief that a bit of flour, yeast, sugar, and love can bring about a revolution of their own.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

This review was first published in the Historical Novels Review magazine, August 1, 2023, for the Historical Novel Society.

A little bakery in the heart of Montmartre is the way forward for Aimie K. Runyan’s dual timeline set in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and post-World War 11. Lisette Vigneau is the fiercely independent, mostly ignored daughter of wealthy parents living in Place Royal in 1870. On an unlikely errand Lisette meets Theodore Fournier, a young National Guardsman. Runyan develops a believable, understandable relationship between Lisette and Theo, a revolutionary and believer in a Paris of the People, that forever changes Lisette’s destiny. During the Prussian siege the main supply lines were blocked, causing famine and leading Lisette to open a bakery to feed her starving neighbors.

The second character is Lisette’s nineteen-year-old great-granddaughter, Micheline Chartier, now living in the same narrow, crooked streets of Montmartre in 1946. Micheline, raising two sisters since her father’s death and her mother’s disappearance, is befriended by her mother’s friend and neighbor, Madame Dupuis. Central to Micheline’s future, Madame Dupuis lends wisdom and encouragement by sharing memories, cookbooks, and providing tuition for baking school. Runyan’s key plot ingredient is the discovery of Micheline’s great-grandmother’s red leather-bound journal of recipes and kitchen notes. Lisette’s journal connects the timelines in the narrative by transporting readers with practices of bakeries in nineteenth century Paris.

Runyan uplifts characters through meaningful, sympathetic dialogue that is endearing and emotional. Especially well scaled is Pierrine, an acerbic prostitute Runyan develops into a surprising and supportive sister for Lisette; one to celebrate. Runyan brings Micheline’s war-ravaged emotions full circle from abandonment issues, jealousy, and guilt to a need for forgiveness. Through the dark green door of A Bakery in Paris readers will discover chaotic political scenes, second chances at life and love, and the choices and courage of two young women facing the consequences of war.

The First Ladies by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

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Published June 27, 2023-Berkley-Biographical Historical Fiction 352pp

Book Summary

A novel about the extraordinary partnership between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary McLeod Bethune refuses to back down as white supremacists attempt to thwart her work. She marches on as an activist and an educator, and as her reputation grows she becomes a celebrity, revered by titans of business and recognized by U.S. Presidents. Eleanor Roosevelt herself is awestruck and eager to make her acquaintance. Initially drawn together because of their shared belief in women’s rights and the power of education, Mary and Eleanor become fast friends confiding their secrets, hopes and dreams—and holding each other’s hands through tragedy and triumph.

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected president, the two women begin to collaborate more closely, particularly as Eleanor moves toward her own agenda separate from FDR, a consequence of the devastating discovery of her husband’s secret love affair. Eleanor becomes a controversial First Lady for her outspokenness, particularly on civil rights. And when she receives threats because of her strong ties to Mary, it only fuels the women’s desire to fight together for justice and equality.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

This review was first published in the Historical Novels Review Magazine, August 2023 issue, for The Historical Novel Society

The First Ladies is a riveting look at Eleanor Roosevelt’s political rise to First Lady and her eyebrow raising friendship with civil rights activist, Mary McLeod Bethune. From their first awkward meeting at a national luncheon for the heads of women’s clubs in 1927 to the joyous day the two united to vote for the Charter of United Nations in June 1945, authors Benedict and Murray are successful in capturing the emotional connection between these two impactful women.

Told in alternating points of view, readers come to know Eleanor and Mary as their relationship blossoms. Mary, born of enslaved parents, became a supporter of education, a builder of schools and hospitals. A calm, understated, burning desire is exposed in Mary to show her indelible spirit and confidence as she garners well known businessmen to serve on boards and contribute to her causes. Meanwhile, readers are provided with detailed historical background leading to Eleanor becoming the First Lady. By 1927 Eleanor’s painful memories of Franklin’s affair with her social secretary Lucy Mercer, have them unified only in beliefs. Taking a tactful and delicate approach to Eleanor’s relationship with a female journalist, she is portrayed unlike any other First Lady.

Historic and political events are recounted as the “first ladies” memories are used to fill in background. Readers experience Mary’s pain in racially explosive situations but also appreciation for her ultimate poise and absolute pride in her beliefs. The scene of Eleanor and Mary at Tuskegee Army Airfield highlighting the discrimination of blacks in the military, though hypothetical, is superb and the outcome rewarding. The concluding historical notes are informative and supportive of this extraordinary partnership.

The First Ladies friendship helped form the foundation for the modern civil rights movement. Historically illuminating; for fans of The Personal Librarian by Benedict and Murray.

THE FIRST LADIES

“First Lady of the World” Eleanor Roosevelt used her platform as First Lady of the United States and as a member of the wealthy and prominent Roosevelt family to advocate for human and civil rights. She was a prolific author, speaker, and humanitarian, and chaired the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission. She connected with the public through a popular syndicated column, ‘My Day,’ in which she recounted her daily adventures from 1935 until her death in 1962.” By Debra Michals, PhD | 2017 Read complete article from the National Women’s History Museum: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/eleanor-roosevelt

The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary Jane McLeod Bethune became one of the most important Black educators, civil and women’s rights leaders and government officials of the twentieth century. The college she founded set educational standards for today’s Black colleges, and her role as an advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave African Americans an advocate in government. Edited by Debra Michals, PhD | 2015 Read the full article from the National Women’s History Museum here: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mcleod-bethune

Victoria Christopher Murray, Marie Benedict , Previous joint novel The Personal Librarian

Blog Tour: What Would Jane Austen Do? by Linda Corbett

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Published June 16, 2023-Harper Collins, UK-One More Chapter-Contemporary Romance, Austenesque Fiction, RomCom, 384pp, eBook, Audiobook

Book Summary:

It’s a truth often acknowledged that when a journalist and Jane Austen fan girl
ends up living next door to a cynical but handsome crime writer, romantic sparks
will fly!
When Maddy Shaw is told her Dear Jane column has been cancelled she has no choice
but to look outside of London’s rental market. That is until she’s left an idyllic country
home by the black sheep of the family, long-not-so-lost Cousin Nigel.
But of course, there’s a stipulation… and not only is Maddy made chair of the committee
for the annual village literary festival, she also has to put up with bestselling crime
author –and romance sceptic – Cameron Massey as her new neighbor.
When Maddy challenges Cameron to write romantic fiction, which he claims is so easy
to do, sparks fly both on and off the page…

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Despondent, Newly Fired Agony Aunt, Maddy Shaw vs. Grumpy, Crime Fiction Author, Cameron Massey

Maddy Shaw, love and relationship correspondent, admits in an interview with best-selling crime author, Cameron Massey, that “it’s not the guaranteed happy ending that readers enjoy most, It’s the journey the couple go on.” Corbett’s journey, like a layered tea tray, is laced with family mystery, romantic suspense, and plenty of “Austenesque” advice. Corbett’s musing, witty, sometimes soul-searching dialogue between the cracking characters on the festival committee is endearing as she deftly reveals failings, flaws, and family histories.

From the Jane Austen quotes opening each chapter to the myriad Austen character references, this present-day romantic journey is set amidst the hectic planning of the Cotlington Literary Festival 2022. Readers will have definitive responses to What Would Jane Austen Do?

As in the quintessentially British tradition of high tea-Linda Corbett’s What Would Jan Austen Do? suits a variety of readers, “those looking for four-star luxury with champagne or a simple spread in a local village pub.”

Like high tea-from the first morsel of scone to the last sip of tea-simply delightful.

Linda Corbett lives in Surrey with her husband Andrew and three permanently hungry guinea pigs. As well as being an author, Linda is treasurer and fundraiser for Shine
Surrey – a volunteer-led charity that supports individuals and families living with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. For many years she also wrote a regular column for Link, a
disability magazine, illustrating the humorous aspects of life with a complex disability and she is a passionate advocate of disability representation in fiction. Love You From
A-Z is her first published novel. Linda’s website: https://guineapighotel.wordpress.com/

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/What-Would-Jane-Austen-Do-ebook/dp/B0B7VBBKGQ

BARNES & NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-would-jane-austen-do-linda-corbett/1141898159?

Daughter of the Shadows Defying the Crown Series-Book 2

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By Kerry Chaput

Published March 30, 2023-Black Rose Writing-314pp

Book Summary

1667 Quebec. Committed to a double life to save her fellow Protestants, Isabelle turns spy against her deceitful Catholic husband. When he devises a ruthless plan to imprison and torture her people, Isabelle learns to fight from a brave young Huron woman. Isabelle seizes the opportunity to undermine her husband’s efforts by escorting him to France. There, she plays the doting wife while she secretly works to subvert the Catholic Church and plot his demise. But Paris is full of poisons, street gangs, and cruel nobility who threaten to destroy all Isabelle has worked to protect. With her found family on the line, Isabelle must challenge the most powerful man in France—King Louis XIV.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Daughter of the Shadows was first published in the Historical Novels Review Magazine on August 1, 2023 for the Historical Novel Society.

The saga of Isabelle Collette continues in Daughter of the Shadows, second in Kerry Chaput’s IPPY award winning Defying the Crown series. In book #1, Daughter of the King, Isabelle, a French Protestant branded with an H for Huguenot, worships in secret, fears the King and the Catholic law of France. In 1661, she crosses the ocean from La Rochelle, France to the snowy forests of colonial Quebec to become a daughter of the king; promised a dowry, a farm, the opportunity to choose a husband and payment for each baby.

Chaput’s gripping adventure continues in 1667, as Isabelle who denied her faith to become a Catholic, is living with nightmares and guilt. Well-developed characters Antoinette, Catholic childhood friend and James Beaumont, Isabelle’s husband by marriage contract, have become antagonists as she leads a double life to help Protestants escape prosecution in France. Chaput supports and improves Isabelle’s spy training and chance of survival with breathtaking descriptions of Naira, a native Huron skilled hunter who teaches lifesaving skills; using senses and mental acuity to overcome enemies. Adding to the suspense is Isabelle’s dangerous return to Paris as a daughter of the shadows. She encounters liars in Louis XIV’s court, Parisian poisons, and the prison walls of the Bastille.

Kerry Chaput creates suspense and anticipation through the schemes and secret agendas involving Isabelle and conniving, greedy husband James. Between graphic descriptions of the horrors in La Rochelle, training with Naira, and fights for survival, there is humorous relief in banter between Isabelle and fellow conspirator, Andre. Within a narrative froth with twists and turns Chaput’s dialogue exudes frustration, anger, tension, and pain.

The Protestant children of France are our past and our future. Which Huguenots will Isabelle save? Book #3- Defying the Crown coming March 2024.

Kerry Chaput is an award-winning historical fiction author. Her love of the past inspires her action-adventure stories which focus on young women from history, first love, found family, and a touch of magic.

Born and raised in California, she now lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, a common setting for her novels.

The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel

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Published June 6, 2023-Gallery Books-Historical Fiction-384pp

Book Summary

Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change.

When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.

More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble—and Juliette nowhere to be found. What happened to her daughter in those last, terrible moments? Juliette has seemingly vanished without a trace, taking all the answers with her. Elise’s desperate search leads her to New York—and to Juliette—one final, fateful time.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Paris Daughter Review was first published in the Historical Novels Review Magazine, August 1, 2023 for the Historical Novel Society.

The Paris Daughter opens in 1939, days before Hitler invades Poland, as two fellow Americans cross paths in a Paris suburb. Elise LeClair, on a life changing walk in the park to escape her demanding artist husband Olivier, meets grieving Juliette Foulon, owner of the Bookshop of Dreams. Kristin Harmel sets the stage for a lifelong friendship and emotional turmoil between the mothers and their newborn baby girls, while drawing sharp contrasts in the personalities and political beliefs of their husbands. Elise is feeling invisible as Olivier becomes passionately, overtly Communist, endangering daughter, Mathilde. Meanwhile, Juliette lives a quiet life in the bookshop with protective husband Paul, baby Lucie, and two sons. By the time the playmates are 3 years old, political and world events have led to Elise’s excruciating decision that to protect Mathilde, she will take on a new identity and leave her daughter to live in relative safety with Juliette’s family.

Harmel’s plot revolves around innocent civilians being bombed then living with fear and helplessness; exploring how Juliette and Elise survive the aftermath of war through 1960. Following the plight of Jewish widow, Ruth Levy, separated from her children and the ensuing search, the narrative reveals the inner strength required to endure trauma and face adversity. Connecting readers to current events in Ukraine, a key historical thread is that of orphanages established to reunite children with their families. Themes of home, family, and the mystery of survival strategies are emphasized.

Divided into three parts and based on the real-life Allied bombing raids of the German-controlled Renault factory in Paris, Harmel’s historical mystery crisscrosses the Atlantic, focusing on how coping with loss and grief is personal and individual. Strong character development, emotional, compelling plot twists, supported by superb historical research.

Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling, USA Today bestselling, and #1 international bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars, The Book of Lost Names, The Winemaker’s Wife, and a dozen other novels that have been translated into more than 30 languages and are sold all over the world.

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Mrs. Porter Calling by AJ Pearce

Publishing August 8, 2023-Scribner-Historical Fiction 320pp

Book Summary:

“Heartwarming, funny, and joyfully uplifting, the third novel in the Emmy Lake Chronicles is a moving tribute to friendship and overcoming adversity.

London, April 1943. A little over a year since she married Captain Charles Mayhew and he went away to war, Emmy Lake is now in charge of “Yours Cheerfully,” the hugely popular advice column in Woman’s Friend magazine. Cheered on by her best friend Bunty, Emmy is dedicated to helping readers face the increasing challenges brought about by over three years of war. The postbags are full and Woman’s Friend is thriving.

But Emmy’s world is turned upside down when glamorous socialite, the Honorable Mrs. Cressida Porter, becomes the new publisher of the magazine, and wants to change everything the readers love. Aided by Mrs. Pye, a Paris-obsessed fashion editor with delusions of grandeur, and Small Winston, the grumpiest dog in London, Mrs. Porter fills the pages with expensive clothes and frivolous articles about her friends. Worst of all, she announces that she is cutting the “Yours Cheerfully” column and her vision for the publication’s future seems dire. With the stakes higher than ever, Emmy and her friends must find a way to save the magazine that they love.”

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Mrs. Porter Calling is the third novel in the Emmy Lake Chronicles by A.J. Pearce. Set in Central London, in 1943, Emmy Lake and her best friend Bunty share a home in Pimlico and are still volunteering at the local fire station as telephonists. On staff at Woman’s Friend magazine, Emmy responds to letters for her popular advice column, Yours Cheerfully, with compassionate, helpful ideas. When Mrs. Porter arrives on the scene as the new owner and publisher, the daily lives and schedules of the staff go rather sideways. Pearce compares time with Mrs. Porter to working with a Lancaster bomber in a hat, and as Mrs. Porter aptly put it herself, “Meetings are not my thing.” Mrs. Porter wreaks havoc on Woman’s Friend, sending the magazine circulation into a downward spiral.

A.J. Pearce develops the plot through quirky, witty characters, who become a close-knit team as they pull together to save Woman’s Friend and outwit Mrs. Porter. Columns such as What’s in the Hot Pot and On Duty for Beauty add ingenious ideas and giggly humor for readers along with columnist Pamela Pye’s penchant for French. Back at home, Emmy and Bunty are trying to “Stay Calm and Carry On” in true British fashion. The men in their lives are at war but friends and colleagues from the fire station fill in when needed. The addition of friend Thelma and her three children add to family dynamics of cooking with ration coupons, acquiring pets, and providing unexpected emotional support. Pearce highlights the stamina, patience, and love required of families to endure the war years.

Mrs. Porter Calling is chocked full of hilarious British humor, iconic pearls of wisdom, and laugh out loud dialogue interspersed with personal and social situations that strike all the emotional chords. This novel is a comfort; as Thelma often reminded her children, “You are safe, and you are loved.”

Wine People by Michelle Wildgen

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Publishing August 1, 2023-Zibby Books-General Fiction-304pp

https://www.michellewildgen.com/

Book Summary:

What happens when two ambitious young women, opposite in every way, join forces in a competitive male-dominated industry?

Wren and Thessaly collide when they land coveted jobs at a glamorous New York City boutique wine importer. Hardworking, by-the-book Wren comes from a modest background and has everything to prove while Thessaly hails from a family of prestigious California growers—but she is plagued by self-doubt. Thrown together at work, where they’re expected to have exquisite palates, endless tolerance for alcohol and socializing, and the ability to sell, sell, sell, they regard each other with suspicion.

It’s only on an important European business trip—with everything on the line for both of them—that they unexpectedly forge an alliance that will change the course of their careers and personal lives.

With mouth-watering descriptions of food and wine, Wine People takes readers from France, Germany, and Italy to the Midwest and Sonoma. An utterly entertaining page-turner that explores how close friends can both misjudge and uplift each other.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Wine People is an eye-popping, intuitive glimpse into the business of importing wine, the pursuit of friendship, and the underlying impact of alcoholism. Michelle Wildgen, like a personal guide through wine country, melds operating and financing in the wine import industry with tasting rooms and vignerons. Learning about a myriad of wines along with the stock wine types in the industry are a bonus to the central plot.

Through main characters Thessaly and Wren, Wildgen creates tension and empathy, but also the stress of mixing competition in business with burgeoning friendships. Thessaly, daughter of a Sonoma grower, golden girl of the industry and wine importing’s version of a supermodel is competing against Wren, with only five years restaurant experience, no special memories of food or childhood, but desperate to learn from observation. Both young women are coping with father issues. Wildgen uses Wren’s absent, alcoholic father and Thessaly’s famous father’s ‘nothing ever good enough’ approach to illuminate their anxiety, fears, and dependencies. Wren’s mask is competitive forthrightness and Thessaly’s excessive drinking.

Thessaly and Wren: “lifers” in the wine industry, learning to trust each other, eager to beat the ‘great men’. Ambitious, aggressive “Women in Wine.”

Wine People by Michelle Wildgen, highly recommended and enjoyed reclining on a chaise with a chilled Rosé.

Michelle Wildgen is the author of the novels Wine People (August 2023, Zibby Books— Pre-order here!), You’re Not You, But Not For Long, and Bread and Butter, and the editor of the food writing anthology Food & Booze. A former executive editor with the award-winning literary journal Tin House, she is a freelance editor and creative writing teacher in Madison, Wis. Since 2013 she and novelist Susanna Daniel have run the Madison Writers’ Studio, offering a variety of creative writing workshops and classes.

Work Jerks How to Cope with Difficult Bosses and Colleagues

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Published June, 2022-She Writes Press-261pp

Work Jerks are EVERYWHERE: Corporate America, WFH, Board or Committee Members for Church, School, or Community

Book Summary:

If you’re stressed and unhappy because of problems with a boss or colleague, you pay a price. Not only can your mental and physical health suffer, your nearest and dearest get sick of hearing about it. Going to bed angry and waking up only to dread a new workday is a terrible way to live.

Remote work may have lessened the impact of annoying colleagues for a while, but they can still find ways to irritate. If you’re co-located, the “mute” and “stop video” buttons don’t exist to diminish your exasperation. Not all jerks are the same; the person you find to be a nightmare may be perfectly acceptable to others. And, astonishingly, someone else may even think you’re the jerk!

Author Louise Carnachan has the credentials and experience to make her an expert in this area, but more importantly, she’s been in the trenches herself. With an emphasis on the positive actions you can take while being attentive to your specific situation, Work Jerks provides practical advice on how to deal with a variety of problematic coworkers—whether in-person or remotely—so work can stop being something you dread and start being something you enjoy.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Work Jerks is not about changing or fixing the person causing you problems, but it is about changing what you think, say, and do. Louise Carnachan has been a trainer, coach, and employee for over forty years. The book, organized by “Jerketypes,” compares figuring out a problem person to shoe shopping: you must try on, walk around, then make up your mind. The Table of Contents names ten types of Jerks along with the last chapters on toxic work culture and a summary on how to see results and take action. The reader should attempt to narrow down the most obvious issues of the problem person, realizing that there are a lot of overlapping characteristics and even variations or a spectrum within each jerk category.

Each chapter is divided into types, traits of each, a case study, and a set of questions and practical advice for a manager, a coworker, or maybe the description is of YOU! My favorite chapters are #4 The Incompetent Jerk and #8 The Jokester Jerk, but really once you start reading the traits and case studies, the analysis and advice is so compelling you’ll keep reading and remembering past bosses or colleagues, wishing you’d had Work Jerks in your desk drawer!

For over forty years, Louise Carnachan has worked as a trainer and organization development consultant helping thousands of leaders and staff members achieve interpersonal success with challenging work relationships. She has worked in manufacturing, education, healthcare, and scientific organizations. As a consultant, her clients have included Head Start programs, PNW Fertility, Bastyr University and Clinic, VA Puget Sound Health Care, a variety of Washington State departments, Boeing, McDonalds Corporation, Starbucks, University of Washington Medical Center, and the Port of Seattle. She is former adjunct faculty at Seattle Pacific University and Seattle Community College and taught a course for the University of Washington’s MBA program. Currently, she is a semi-retired coach for leadership clients and pens a workplace advice blog on her website (with debatable input from her feline office mates). She lives in a suburb of Portland, Oregon and enjoys Powell’s Books, coastal beach towns, and her local library, where she can most often be found browsing the mystery section. http://www.louisecarnachan.com.

The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey

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Publishes July 11, 2023-Gallery Books-Women’s Fiction-368pp

Book Summary

Four women come together to save the summer camp that changed their lives and rediscover themselves in the process in this moving new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil and the Peachtree Bluff series.

Nearly thirty years ago, in the wake of a personal tragedy, June Moore bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a thriving summer haven for girls. But now, June is in danger of losing the place she has sacrificed everything for, and begins to realize how much she has used the camp to avoid facing difficulties in her life.

June’s niece, Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart, during a fateful summer at camp. They’ve all helped each other through hard things, from heartbreak and loss to substance abuse and unplanned pregnancy, and the three are inseparable even in their thirties. But when attorney Daphne is confronted with a relationship from her past—and a confidential issue at work becomes personal—she is faced with an impossible choice.

Lanier, meanwhile, is struggling with tough decisions of her own. After a run-in with an old flame, she is torn between the commitment she made to her fiancé and the one she made to her first love. And when a big secret comes to light, she finds herself at odds with her best friend…and risks losing the person she loves most.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Summer of Songbirds is an homage to summer camp memories, childhood joys and forever friendships. The setting is Camp Holly Springs where three little girls, now three young women, have returned to relive their childhood summers and try to save the beloved camp from developers.

Kristy Woodson Harvey tells the story from four points of view. The three campers who are now grown: Daphne-a lawyer, Lanier-a bookstore owner, Mary Stuart- a master at public relations and the Camp Holly Springs owner, Daphne’s Aunt June. KWH’s vivid descriptions of the camp, cabins, dining hall and all the daily activities will rekindle readers’ memories of campouts, talent shows, friendship bracelets, and stories around the campfire. Friendship dilemmas now involve career crossroads, trouble with a fiancé, a wedding rendezvous with an Ex, and family secrets between friends. KWH creates anticipation, disappointment, and finally hope surrounding each character. Her prose includes a poignant analogy that the river is like humans, carrying secrets, scars, joy, and hope. Added is the wisdom that we can’t control the wind, but we can adjust the sails, and of joy and sadness; you cannot have one without the other. This is “a book to lose yourself in, then find yourself again.” Welcome to Camp Holly Springs and The Summer of Songbirds. As Kristy Woodson Harvey says, “It’s always summer somewhere!”

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of ten novels including Under the Southern Sky, The Peachtree Bluff Series, The Wedding Veil and The Summer of Songbirds. Her Peachtree Bluff Series is currently in development with NBC with Kristy as co-writer and co-executive producer. She is the winner of the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing, a finalist for the Southern Book Prize, and her books have received numerous accolades including Southern Living’s Most Anticipated Beach Reads, Entertainment Weekly’s Spring Reading Picks, and Katie Couric’s Most Anticipated Reads.

But in spite of their personal problems, nothing is more important to these songbirds than Camp Holly Springs. When the women learn their childhood oasis is in danger of closing, they band together to save it, sending them on a journey that promises to open the next chapters in their lives.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

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Publishes July 11, 2023-St. Martin’s Press-Romance-336pp

https://katherinecenter.com/hello-stranger/

Book Summary

Love isn’t blind, it’s just a little blurry.

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life―placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition―the next, she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. This is Sadie’s new reality with every face she sees.

But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues, and take care of her beloved dog, Peanut, she falls into―love? Lust? A temporary obsession to distract from the real problems in her life?―with not one man but two very different ones. The timing couldn’t be worse.

If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to find her way. But perceiving anything clearly right now seems impossible. Even though there are things we can only find when we aren’t looking. And there are people who show up when we least expect them. And there are always, always other ways of seeing.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A humorous yet poignant view of a struggling portraitist and her startling diagnosis after brain surgery. Readers will “see” Katherine Center’s Sadie though the foggy lens of face blindness. Through therapy with Dr. Nicole, Sadie and readers learn about confirmation bias, how to let friends help, and how to face tough truths about life, ourselves and healing family hurts.

Another recognizably memorable reminder of Katherine Center’s ability to help us see ourselves in the reflections of others. Find truth and hope in Hello Stranger.

Katherine Center is the author of How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire—both instant New York Times bestsellers—as well as The Lost Husband (now a movie starring Josh Duhamel), and five other bittersweet comic novels. She writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks us down—and how we get back up. Katherine has been compared to both Nora Ephron and Jane Austen, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.

Henderson House by Caren Simpson McVicker

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Publishing Aug. 1, 2023-Inkshares-Historical Fiction, Romance- 434pp

Henderson House was provided by Galley Match for The Book Club CookBook

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Henderson House is a relaxing respite from the busy world we live in. Caren Simpson McVicker’s debut novel is a flashback to 1940’s Bartlesville, Oklahoma and the simpler life of Wednesday night church suppers, Saturdays at the local cinema, and Sunday walks in the park after church. Based on family history and stories, Caren’s main character, Mildred Henderson, turns her grand home into a boarding house after the unexpected death of her husband. Mrs. H. and her beagle, Louie, captivate readers as she uses her special gifts- sensing houses and seeing a person’s color along with an interview checklist to choose her tenants. Frank Davis, a newly hired petroleum engineer at Philips Petroleum, checks all the boxes, changing the lives of the other boarders, the Blackwell family. In a few weeks’ time readers fall in love with Mrs. H.’s wisdom and Frank’s mild-mannered, genuine interest in the family, but most importantly his attraction to spinster Bessie, and where their friendship might lead.

Our group especially enjoyed the storytelling Caren weaves into the plot, along with the suspense of family secrets and sister loyalty. One of the threads in the novel is women in the workplace in the early 1940’s. We discussed jobs women from our past generations have held, from millinery shops in south Texas to restaurants in Germany! We shared our own versions of “self-talk,” kitchen ladies from church, and the supporting roles of the “menfolk” and their impact on the story. Dinners around the table with boarders recounting the day’s activities, special recipes shared, and even cooking lessons, make food and conversation a tantalizing feature.

Our menu from Caren’s Henderson House Recipe Collection: Appetizers- The Oklahoma Club Special drink, Edna’s Award-Winning Deviled Eggs, and Corn & Bean Salad w/lime dressing. Main course three salads-Waldorf, Cucumber & Tomato, and Chicken salad. Dessert- Mrs. H’s White Cake cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting. The “take-away” gift, a Boarder Interview Kit: a teapot filled with a stack of homemade almond shortbread cookies and lemon tea.

We unanimously loved Henderson House and are anxiously awaiting the sequel.

A Delectable Recipe for Summer Reading: A copy of Henderson House by Caren Simpson McVicker, two shortbread cookies, one cup of tea. Timeless storytelling perfection. Dorothy Schwab, Hostess

Born in Oklahoma, Caren lives in Vermont with her hubby, rescue pup, and barn cat turned happy house kitty. Caren is also a mom to two incredible humans and is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. Henderson House is her first novel.

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

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Publication June 13, 2023-Penguin Group-Historical Fiction-368p

A LibraryReads Hall of Fame June pick
A Book of the Month Add-On
Recommended by Goodreads • New York Post • POPSUGAR • Reader’s Digest • AARP • SheReads

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Fiona Davis mesmerizes her fans with another novel set in an iconic building in New York City. In The Spectacular, Radio City Music Hall and the Rockettes take center stage. The opening act stars fifty-five-year-old Marion Brooks on moving day as she’s packing to leave her childhood home. That same evening in 1992, Marion is an honored guest at the 60^th Anniversary of the Rockettes Celebration. Through a flashback of memories Marion shares the story and impact of her exhilarating time as a Rockette.

The Spectacular immerses readers in the1950’s frenzy and euphoria of the famous sisterhood known as the Rockettes. Packed with research and history, she illuminates the try-outs, grand tours, and dance moves with optical illusions. From Radio City to the Rehearsal Club, a boardinghouse for girls in the performing arts to the family home in Bronxville, Davis choreographs a romance, a coming-of-age story, and the sixteen-year mystery of the famous “Big Apple Bomber.” The social and political handling of the manhunt and lack of success highlights the introverted Dr. Peter Griggs’ struggle to convince the police to use early psychological profiling. The male perspectives of Marion’s father and Nathaniel, her boyfriend create an emotional bridge connecting readers to the limited choices and infuriating parameters of young women in the 1950’s.

This novel is about suffocating family dynamics, suppressing individuality while sacrificing dreams and the consequences, decisions that protect those we love, and taking a leap late in life. At the last curtain, The Spectacular earns Five dazzling stars!

F I O N A D A V I S is the New York Times bestselling author of seven historical fiction novels set in iconic New York City buildings, including The Spectacular, The Magnolia Palace, The Address, and The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which was a Good Morning America book club pick. Her novels have been chosen as “One Book, One Community” reads and her articles have appeared in publications like The Wall Street Journal and O the Oprah magazine.

She first came to New York as an actress, but fell in love with writing after getting a master’s degree at Columbia Journalism School. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages and she’s based in New York City. Photo Credit Deborah Feingold

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Hedge by Jane Delury

Published June 6, 2023-Zibby Books-

Hedge was highlighted by Oprah Daily as one of the Best New Books for Spring and by PEOPLE Magazine as one of the Best Books For Summer!

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

In 2012, Maud is in a disintegrating marriage balancing the demands of motherhood. As a landscape historian in California, she takes on the restoration of Montgomery Place, a 19th century estate in New York’s Hudson Valley, which becomes a geographical and marital separation. Delury’s novel is filled with intricate historic gardening details and planning as Maud’s summer contract involves working with Gabriel, an archaeologist opening a dig in the same area. Reuniting at the end of their California school session, daughters Ella and Louise join Maud at Montgomery Place. The angst and instability of teenage daughter Ella adds a layer of turmoil to Maud’s developing relationship with Gabriel. Funding future projects depends on another budding relationship between wealthy recluse Alice Lincoln and Maud. Each of Delury’s slow growing, needy characters create emotional suspense layered with a hedge of secrecy.
Delury’s plot, twisting and turning like the garden labyrinth at Montgomery Place, sheds light on therapy for teenage fears and anxieties, marital communication and counseling, truth and trust in relationships, forgiveness, and finding a satisfying life path.

Jane Delury holds a BA in English and French literature from UC Santa Cruz, a maîtrise from the University of Grenoble, and an MA from the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars. A professor at the University of Baltimore, she teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts and directs the BA in English. She lives in Baltimore with her daughters and her partner, the writer Don Lee.

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“Behind the Book – More about the characters, the setting, and the “truth” of The Romanov Brides“

“WHO WERE IRENE, VICTORIA, ELLA AND ALIX OF HESSE?“

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Chicago’s WGN9 Robin Baumgarten & Dan Ponce:

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