Review: Last Train to Paris

Source:  TLC Book Tours

Last Train to Paris by Michele Zackheim
Genre:  Historical Fiction, WWII
Pages: 320 (ARC)
Author's Website |  Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

1935. Rose Manon, an American daughter of the mountains of Nevada, working as a journalist in New York, is awarded her dream job, foreign correspondent. Posted to Paris, she is soon entangled in romance, an unsolved murder, and the desperation of a looming war. Assigned to the Berlin desk, Manon is forced to grapple with her hidden identity as a Jew, the mistrust of her lover, and an unwelcome visitor on the eve of Kristallnacht. And . . . on the day before World War II is declared, she must choose who will join her on the last train to Paris.
This is a carefully researched historical novel that reads like a suspense thriller. Colette and Janet Flanner are only two of the well-known figures woven into the story. The parts they play will surprise readers. Last Train to Paris will enthrall the same audience that made In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson and Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky bestsellers

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Mini-Reviews: The Twilight of Avalon, Requiem, and The Things We Cherished (DISAPPOINTMENTS)

Here are a few reads I've been reluctant to share.  Each have disappointed me one way or the other so I decided to just group them.




Source: e-book shelf

The Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott
Series: Twilight of Avalon #1
Genre: Fantasy, Medieval, Historical Fiction
Pages:  448 (ebook)
Author's Website | Blog | Twitter
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

In Twilight of Avalon, Anna Elliott returns to the roots of the legend of Trystan and Isolde to shape a very different story -- one based in the earliest written versions of the Arthurian tales -- a captivating epic brimming with historic authenticity, sweeping romance, and the powerful magic of legend. Source

Review:  While grieving the death of her husband, King Constatine, Queen Isolde must also watch her back as she is sure Constatine was murdered.  A power struggle as erupted as many want both Constantine's thrown and Queen Isolde as a wife.  In the mean time, a different betrayal is brewing and the Queen must work to unveil the truth to save the lives of many.

This read was just okay for me.  It was longer than I wanted and I didn't get all the way into it.  I love historical fiction but I've always struggled with this time period.  The back-stabbing and mystery was interesting.  I expected this to be similar to Game of Thrones (which I've only seen and not read) so maybe that's why this one didn't meet expectations.  Here the drama was depressing and not exciting.  I wasn't rushing to get to the end and a few parts dragged.  This is one where the end doesn't matter as much as the path to get there.  If you like fantasy, you might like this one.

Review: The Bronze Horseman

Source: Bookshelf

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
Series: The Bronze Horseman #1
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Pages: 656 (ebook)
Author's Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler's armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad.

Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana--and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects--a secret as devastating as the war itself--as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.

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Review: Sarah's Key

Source: Bookshelf

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Genre: WWII, Historical Fiction
Pages: 294 (paperback)
Author's Website | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

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Review: The House at Tyneford (Audiobook)

The House at Tyneford (US)/The Novel in the Viola (UK) by Natasha Solomons
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Length: 14 hours and 11 minutes
Narrator: Justine Eyre
Source: eLibrary
Author's Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | Audiobook | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

It's the spring of 1938 and no longer safe to be a Jew in Vienna. Nineteen-year-old Elise Landau is forced to leave her glittering life of parties and champagne to become a parlor maid in England. She arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay, where servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn. But war is coming, and the world is changing. When the master of Tyneford's young son, Kit, returns home, he and Elise strike up an unlikely friendship that will transform Tyneford-and Elise-forever.

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Review: The Bungalow

The Bungalow by Sarah Jio
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Pages: 290 (eBook)
Source: Negalley
Author's Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

From Goodreads:

A sweeping World War II saga of thwarted love, murder, and a long-lost painting.

In the summer of 1942, twenty-one-year-old Anne Calloway, newly engaged, sets off to serve in the Army Nurse Corps on the Pacific island of Bora-Bora. More exhilarated by the adventure of a lifetime than she ever was by her predictable fiancé, she is drawn to a mysterious soldier named Westry, and their friendship soon blossoms into hues as deep as the hibiscus flowers native to the island. Under the thatched roof of an abandoned beach bungalow, the two share a private world-until they witness a gruesome crime, Westry is suddenly redeployed, and the idyll vanishes into the winds of war. A timeless story of enduring passion, The Bungalow chronicles Anne's determination to discover the truth about the twin losses-of life, and of love-that have haunted her for seventy years.

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Review: Next to Love

Next to Love by Ellen Feldman
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Pages: 260 (Ereader)
Source: Net Galley
Author's Website
Buy it: Amazon | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

A story of love, war, loss, and the scars they leave, Next to Love follows the lives of three young women and their men during the years of World War II and its aftermath, beginning with the men going off to war and ending a generation later, when their children are on the cusp of their own adulthood.

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Review: The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Genre: YA | Historical Fiction | WWII fiction
Pages: 418 (iPad Bluefire Reader)
Source: Purchased
Author's Facebook

Description:

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . . Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

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Review: More Than Words Can Say

More Than Words Can Say by Robert Barclay
Pages: 400 (ARC Paperback)
Source: TLC Booktours


 Description:
Chelsea Enright never expected to inherit her grandmother's lakeside cottage deep in the Adirondacks—a serene getaway that had been mysteriously closed up decades ago. This is no simple bequest, however, because when Chelsea finds her grandmother's WWII diaries, she's stunned to discover that they hold secrets she never suspected . . . and they have the power to turn her own life upside down. Even more surprising is the compelling presence of local doctor Brandon "Yale, and Chelsea soon finds her "short stay" has stretched into the entire summer. She cannot put this cottage and her family's past behind her easily—and the more she learns about the woman her grandmother truly was, the more Chelsea's own life begins to change . . . and nothing will ever be the same again.

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Review: The Postmistress

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
Genre: Historical Fiction, WW II novel
Pages: 336 (ebook)
Source: Purchased

From Amazon:

Those who carry the truth sometimes bear a terrible weight...

It is 1940. France has fallen. Bombs are dropping on London. And President Roosevelt is promising he won't send our boys to fight in "foreign wars."

But American radio gal Frankie Bard, the first woman to report from the Blitz in London, wants nothing more than to bring the war home. Frankie's radio dispatches crackle across the Atlantic ocean, imploring listeners to pay attention--as the Nazis bomb London nightly, and Jewish refugees stream across Europe. Frankie is convinced that if she can just get the right story, it will wake Americans to action and they will join the fight.

Meanwhile, in Franklin, Massachusetts, a small town on Cape Cod, Iris James hears Frankie's broadcasts and knows that it is only a matter of time before the war arrives on Franklin's shores. In charge of the town's mail, Iris believes that her job is to deliver and keep people's secrets, passing along the news that letters carry. And one secret she keeps are her feelings for Harry Vale, the town mechanic, who inspects the ocean daily, searching in vain for German U-boats he is certain will come. Two single people in midlife, Iris and Harry long ago gave up hope of ever being in love, yet they find themselves unexpectedly drawn toward each other.

Listening to Frankie as well are Will and Emma Fitch, the town's doctor and his new wife, both trying to escape a fragile childhood and forge a brighter future. When Will follow's Frankie's siren call into the war, Emma's worst fears are realized. Promising to return in six months, Will goes to London to offer his help, and the lives of the three women entwine.

Alternating between an America still cocooned in its inability to grasp the danger at hand and a Europe being torn apart by war, The Postmistress gives us two women who find themselves unable to deliver the news, and a third woman desperately waiting for news yet afraid to hear it.

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Teaser Tuesday: The Bronze Horseman

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

My Teaser: This teaser is from The Bronze Horseman.  Guess what? It's set during WWII.  Whoot!!  Whoot!!  I always start this book and then stop to let a review request.  I've heard so many good things that it is like I'm just looking for an excuse.  I'm kind of nervous to read it.  I hope I like it.

"Why did we spend two days fighting when we could have been doing this?" "That wasn't fighting, Tatiasha. That was foreplay." 

Anyone can play along!

Mini-Review: The Diplomat's Wife

The Diplomat's Wife by Pam Jenoff
Sequel to The Kommandant's Girl (Review here)
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII, Romance
Pages: 360 (paperback)
Source: Personal collection

How have I been lucky enough to come here, to be alive, when so many others are not? I should have died. But I am here.

My Rating:
Quick-Thoughts:  WWII meets romance and eye-spy.
I loved this book! This romance set during World War II is another story about perseverance, hardships, and hope. We see a bit (a lot) of romance, a bit of espionage, and lots of well-developed characters. Though it is a sequel to The Kommandant's Girl, it stands alone quite well.  While there are sad moments, it isn't depressing.  In fact, I think there are fewer sad moments than other novels set during WWII.  The ending is unrealistic and does the whole bow-tieing thing, but I didn't mind at all. Here's an inspiring story, with great characters, and exceptional writing.  Read this if you enjoy novels set during World War II and a bit of adventure.

Follower Appreciation Extravaganza (300): WWII Novels

As many of you know, I love reading novels set during World War II.  Why not have a giveaway sharing the love?

The Prize:  One winner will choose two of the following novels set during WWII

    

The Kommandant's Girl, Those Who Save Us, My Enemy's Cradle

Review: The Linen Queen

The Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII Fiction, Irish Literature
Pages: 297 (Ereader)
Source: Netgalley
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Description:

Abandoned by her father and neglected by her mother, Sheila McGee cannot wait to escape the drudgery of village life in Northern Ireland. Working in the local linen mill and living off the reluctant charity of relatives is well enough for her ma, but Sheila craves a place where she will get the attention and love she deserves. London may be under attack by the Germans, but it still offers far more opportunity for a clever and attractive young woman such as herself. Winning the title of Linen Queen doesn't just validate her self-confidence; the prize money provides the funds to get away. Though she's ready to leave immediately, her Ma has other plans for her money and it seems her looks aren't enough to get the necessary papers to enter England in the midst of the war.

Deferred but still determined, Sheila continues to look for a means of escape, and finds it in the arrival of American troops who set up base in her home town. At first Sheila sees only diversion and excitement in this new situation, and then maybe a different path to freedom in the form of an attractive Jewish-American army officer named Joel. But despite her intentions, Joel's affection and wisdom begin to affect Sheila. The arrival of a street-wise young evacuee from Belfast named Grainne, and her childhood friend, Gavin, further complicate her plans. As the war moves steadily closer to those she has grown to love, Sheila will not only confront more abandonment and loss, but also find true strength, compassion, and a meaning for her life outside of herself.

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Review: Between Shades of Gray

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Genre:  Historical Fiction, WWII
Pages: 344 (Hardback)
Website | Author's Website | Author's Facebook
Chosen because of Blogger Review (I don't remember who...sorry)

From the Front Flap:
Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth?  That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch.

In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina is preparing for art school, first dates, and all that summer has to offer. But one night, the Soviet secret police barge violently into her home, deporting her along with her mother and younger brother. They are being sent to Siberia. Lina's father has been separated from the family and sentenced to death in a prison camp. All is lost.

Lina fights for her life, fearless, vowing that if she survives she will honor her family, and the thousands like hers, by documenting their experience in her art and writing.  She risks everything to use her art as messages, hoping they will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive.

It is a long and harrowing journey, and it is only their incredible strength, love, and hope that pull Lina and her family through each day.  But will love be enough to keep them alive?

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Why I Love Wednesdays... WWII Novels

I am returning with my new feature... Why I love which takes place on Wednesdays.   Last week I discussed my favorite reading spot.  In the weeks before I discussed one of my favorite series, my favorite book institution,  types of characters, and one of my favorite genres.  This week's topic: favorite time period


If you want to play along, feel free to grab the image and link your post in the comments.

Why I Love... books set during WWII Novels

I think this is no surprise that this Why I Love post was on its way.  I kind of spoke of this topic when I discussed my love of historical fiction, but seeing as it is my favorite time period, let's discuss again :)

It would be quite redundant to say that I love books set during WWII, but since I love hearing myself talk/type... I ♥ WWII fiction novels!!  Books during this time period have common characteristics that manage to enthrall me every time.

I ♥ the Characters.  They all (as in most) have to be so strong because they are dealing with impossible situations mentally, physically, and emotionally.  They must make difficult decisions.  I can't help but be inspired by these characters.  One of my favorite WWII characters was Marta Nederman from The Diplomat's Wife who was rescued from a Nazi prison.  She sounds strong already right?  Oh no, it gets so much better.

I ♥ the different perspectives.  In real life (cause that's what I call it), this war ravaged so many counties.  So many were touched, which means there are so many different stories to be told and they don't take away from the other.  I learned about the small Guernsey island and the next week read a story set in Wales.  Next week?  Perhaps I'll read about a Lithuanian family that is sent to Siberia (sooo excited!).  How amazing is this?

Review: A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII, Coming of Age
Pages: 204 (paperback)

Description:

John Knowles' beloved classic has been a bestseller for more than 30 years and is one of the most moving and accurate novels about the trials and confusions of adolescence ever written. Set at an elite boarding school for boys during World War II, A Separate Peace is the story of friendship and treachery, and how a tragic accident involving two young men forever tarnishes their innocence.

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