Cilka's Journey (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #2) by Heather Morris - 5 Stars!

Cilka's Journey (The Tattooist of Auschwitz #2) by Heather Morris 

I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz before I read this book and found both fascinating.  After I finished the book which was so well written, well researched, the people and descriptions of the camps seemed so real I have to hand it to the author she did a great job.  I read about how she traveled to camps and in writing her first book she kept coming up with information about Cilka’s life.  She wrote about her, weaving in as much truth about her life as she was able to find.  I have always been fascinated with this time period in the world and have read many books on Auschwitz, reading about the second camp in Siberia was very interesting and finding that anyone could come through all that she did in order to survive as well as find love after all that she went through was just amazing.  This book is a must read for anyone who enjoyed reading about the Tattooist of Auschwitz, or even if you haven’t.  Great read!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”  I received the kindle copy of this book from Netgalley.  #Cilka’sJourney.  #TheTattooistofAschwitz2. #HeatherMorris.  #Netgalley.

Description as found on GoodReads:

From the author of the multi-million copy bestseller, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, comes the new novel based on an incredible true story of love and resilience.

Her beauty saved her life - and condemned her.

Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, in 1942. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival.

After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to Siberia. But what choice did she have? And where did the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was sent to Auschwitz when still a child?

In a Siberian prison camp, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she makes an impression on a woman doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing. Cilka begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions.

Cilka finds endless resources within herself as she daily confronts death and faces terror. And when she nurses a man called Ivan, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love.

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding - 5 Stars!

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The Arrangement by Robyn Harding – 5 Stars!

Wow I loved this book. I could hardly put it down. I received a kindle version through Netgalley.com.  I did not see the ending coming. I did I knew what was supposed to happen I just didn’t see how it did happen.  The book was so interesting. The author sure did her research!  She even signed up on a web site so she could speak with some Sugar Babies.  She found out about alternate forms of Sugar Daddies such as Splenda Daddies, etc.  I won’t go into the a description of the book as it is found below.  I just want to say how well written the book was, it was totally an unputdownable, and the characters were well written.  The story was fascinating even though it was totally fiction there are actually people who do this to get by, get a Sugar Daddy to help them with their finances in exchange for favors.  If you love romance, mystery and a new world you haven’t read about before then you definitely need to pick up this book!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.” I received the book through NetGalley.com.  #TheArrangement. #RobynHarding. #NetGalley.

Description as found on NetGalley.com

Natalie, a young art student in New York City, is struggling to pay her bills when a friend makes a suggestion: Why not go online and find a sugar daddy—a wealthy, older man who will pay her for dates, and even give her a monthly allowance? Lots of girls do it, Nat learns. All that’s required is to look pretty and hang on his every word. Sexual favors are optional.

Though more than thirty years her senior, Gabe, a handsome corporate finance attorney, seems like the perfect candidate, and within a month, they are madly in love. At least, Nat is…Gabe already has a family, whom he has no intention of leaving.

So when he abruptly ends things, Nat can’t let go. She begins drinking heavily and stalking him: watching him at work, spying on his wife, even befriending his daughter, who is not much younger than she is. But Gabe’s not about to let his sugar baby destroy his perfect life. What was supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement devolves into a nightmare of deception, obsession, and, when a body is found near Gabe’s posh Upper East Side apartment, murder

The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmell – 5 Stars!

This book was about two couples who were living on an estate where they produced wine.  It was interesting to learn about the winemaking process as well as how the lives of the people who lived there were affected by the Germans during World War II.  It was well researched and historically correct I believe. I enjoyed it very much.  I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read stories about people living during this time.  I am not going to give a description of the book as it is shown below as found on GoodReads. 

I received this book in the mail one through a contest on Goodreads.  I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #TheWinemakersWife. #KristinHarmell. #Goodreads.

Description as found on Goodreads:

The author of the engrossing international bestseller The Room on Rue Amélie returns with a moving story set amid the champagne vineyards of northern France during the darkest days of World War II, perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale.

Champagne, 1940: Inés has just married Michel, the owner of storied champagne house Maison Chauveau, when the Germans invade. As the danger mounts, Michel turns his back on his marriage to begin hiding munitions for the Résistance. Inés fears they’ll be exposed, but for Céline, half-Jewish wife of Chauveau’s chef de cave, the risk is even greater—rumors abound of Jews being shipped east to an unspeakable fate.

When Céline recklessly follows her heart in one desperate bid for happiness, and Inès makes a dangerous mistake with a Nazi collaborator, they risk the lives of those they love—and the champagne house that ties them together.

New York, 2019: Liv Kent has just lost everything when her eccentric French grandmother shows up unannounced, insisting on a trip to France. But the older woman has an ulterior motive—and a tragic, decades-old story to share. When past and present finally collide, Liv finds herself on a road to salvation that leads right to the caves of the Maison Chauveau.

The Sisters Of Summit Avenue by Lynn Cullen - 4 Stars

The Sisters Of Summit Avenue by Lynn Cullen – 4 Stars

Two sisters in this novel set in the Midwest during the Great Depression.  Each sister has something that she wishes she had, that her sister has.  Neither is truly happy.  Their Mother finds a way to bring them together after years of not seeing each other and hopes that she can restore peace between these two, but Mom has her own secrets.  One of the sisters’ husband has the infamous “sleeping sickness” which was a real thing I’d never heard of.  The other married to a doctor works as a Betty, one of the many “Betty’s” working in Betty Crocker’s test kitchen which was another thing I didn’t know was such a big deal back in the day.  The book was an interesting read, but it didn’t pull me in and keep me so interested that I couldn’t put it down.  It may have been me, I had injured my leg and was recovering while trying to read the book, picking it up and putting it down.  The book was good, historically correct, very interesting.  I did like the book!

This book was received through NetGalley.com in the kindle format. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.  #TheSistersOfSummitAvenue. #Netgalley #LynnCullen.

Description

From Lynn Cullen, the bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and Twain’s End, comes a powerful novel set in the Midwest during the Great Depression, about two sisters bound together by love, duty, and pain.

Ruth has been single-handedly raising four young daughters and running her family’s Indiana farm for eight long years, ever since her husband, John, fell into a comatose state, infected by the infamous “sleeping sickness” devastating families across the country. If only she could trade places with her older sister, June, who is the envy of everyone she meets: blonde and beautiful, married to a wealthy doctor, living in a mansion in St. Paul. And June has a coveted job, too, as one of “the Bettys,” the perky recipe developers who populate General Mills’ famous Betty Crocker test kitchens. But these gilded trappings hide sorrows: she has borne no children. And the man she used to love more than anything belongs to Ruth.

When the two sisters reluctantly reunite after a long estrangement, June’s bitterness about her sister’s betrayal sets into motion a confrontation that’s been years in the making. And their mother, Dorothy, who’s brought the two of them together, has her own dark secrets, which might blow up the fragile peace she hopes to restore between her daughters.

An emotional journey of redemption, inner strength, and the ties that bind families together, for better or worse, The Sisters of Summit Avenue is a heartfelt love letter to mothers, daughters, and sisters everywhere.

Wish Me Home by Kay Bratt - 5 Stars! If You Are A Twin Or Know Some...Read This Book!

Wish Me Home by Kay Bratt!  5 Stars!!

I loved this book so very much.  This book is about a woman on a journey, one in which she is fleeing a situation which her twin sister created.  The story is about all of the people she meets along the way and how they affect her life, helping her out before sending her back on her journey, some trying to harm her and the dog she meets at the beginning who she ends up taking along with her because he won’t stay behind.  This book was heartwarming, and engrossing and the characters so well thought out.  In the end it is also about the sister and her twin she left behind, and their relationship as twins.  The book had me thinking of my own sisters who are twins, the relationship I never really understood because I am not a twin.  We lost one of my sisters a couple of years ago and I was thinking of her a lot while reading this book at one point it had me almost in tears.  I don’t need to give you the description it is shown below.  I read about the author after I finished the book, she is a twin and her Mom was a twin.  I guess you could say she understands twins far more than I. 

I can only say this book was so well written that you want cheer the woman on when things go her way and you want to grieve with her when she is having a struggle and the ending is so very well written.  If you are a dog person this story really will lift your heart also.  I loved the way the story is written around Hemingway also, and the quotes of his sprinkled through the story.  I’ve never been to the Florida Keys but feel as if I had visited them through this book.  For all of those reasons you should pick up this book and read it.  It won’t let you down!

I received this book through Netgalley.com in the kindle format. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #WishMeHome.  #NetGalley #KayBratt

Description as found on Netgalley:

In her first work of contemporary women’s fiction, bestselling author Kay Bratt draws on her own life experiences to create a raw, yet inescapably warm, novel about friendship and a wary heart’s unexpected capacity to love.  A hungry, stray dog is the last thing Cara Butter needs. Stranded in Georgia with only her backpack and a few dwindling dollars, she already has too much baggage. Like her twin sister, Hana, who has broken Cara’s heart one too many times. After a lifetime of family troubles, and bouncing from one foster home to another, Cara decides to leave it all behind and strike out alone—on foot.

Cara sets off to Florida to see the home of her literary hero, Ernest Hemingway, accompanied only by Hemi, the stray dog who proves to be the perfect travel companion. But the harrowing trip takes unexpected turns as strangers become friends who make her question everything, and Cara finds that as the journey unfolds, so does her life—in ways she could never imagine.

Dear Grandchild, This Is Me – A Wonderful Book To Give Any Grandparent

Preserving A Legacy:

I was part of the launch party for this book put out by: waterbrookmultnomah.

I am not a Grandmother, but I just lost my Grandmother of 104 this year. I am 60.  I was blessed to have a Grandmother who kept a journal and she borrowed my typewriter and wrote a book about her life.  I was blessed to have spent a lot of time in both of her homes, when I was young as well as the last few years before she died.  We also sat and asked her about her life and caught it all on video my Mother and I.  I had a special friend who was becoming a Grandmother for the very first time.  She knew what my Grandmother meant to me.  I told her she needed to fill this book with many memories in case she didn’t live a really long life, so that her new Grandson Caden and the children to come, would know everything about her and her family as well as her extended family. I told her to be sure to put many stories and pictures inside because it would be treasured for years to come beyond her life.  I know my husband never met his Grandparents.   I never met any Grandparents on my Fathers side.  I actually was blessed to have two Fathers and never met any parents in those families.  This book is such a present to give to your grandchildren and I can only encourage you to buy one and fill it with stories for your grandchildren for years to come. Keep adding to it.  It will be so treasured.  My Grandmother blessed me, I can only say you really need to bless your Grandchildren by purchasing this book and filling it in.  It has suggestions, questions places to put pictures or discs.  Watch the video I put on Facebook that tells about the book.  I thought it was fabulous and recommend it highly.

Here is the information that I received in an email about the launch of this great book:

About Dear Grandchild, This Is Me

Preserving a family legacy can feel like a daunting task, but this new keepsake journal makes it easy for grandparents to capture memories, wisdom, and stories in one beautiful package.

Being a grandparent is an incredibly rewarding experience. Dear Grandchild, This Is Me--designed for any grandmother or grandfather to complete--will allow grandparents to collect these priceless memories in one heartfelt keepsake.

Special Features:
  •  Built-in envelopes to stash special, private letters for specific occasions in your grandchild's future.
  •  A sheet of adhesive photo corners to adhere photographs and special memories throughout.
  •  Off-the-record questions to prompt fun stories.
  •  A family tree to track your ancestry.
  •  Space to share your favorite recipes, or those passed through the generations.
  •  A world map to showcase your travels.

Within these pages you'll find a place to answer questions that speak to a grandchild of any age from the simple questions about favorite things to deeper questions about childhood memories, identity, and faith. This book will be a tangible way to keep a loved one close at all times.

About WaterBrook

Everything Beautiful includes illustrations from nine artists, offering a variety of styles to suit the tastes of a wide audience. Featured illustrators include Holly Camp, Jennifer Tucker, Lisa Shirk, Ann-Margret Hovsepian, Katie Howe, Terra Cypher, Cari Logston, Jenny Stewart, and Laura Marshall.

Christian Auther about 9 Pioneer Couples Risk All for Love and Land! 4 Stars!

9 Pioneering Couples Risk All for Love and Land

by Mary Connealy; Darlene Franklin; Ruth Logan Herne; Carla Gade; Pam Hillman; DiAnn Mills; Erica Vetsch; Becca Whitham; Kathleen Y'Barbo

Christian Romance

Nine compelling stories about women who end up as homestead brides.  Each story is different and all of them were well written I did enjoy them.  I’ve always loved reading about the people who lived years back and were those who built houses some made of sod, lived with almost nothing compared to what we all have today and built lives that were strong in faith and love.  These romance stories were all Christian based.  There was no strong language or hot love scenes, these are simpler stories that are sweet and easy to read.  I enjoyed each of the stories in a different way.  I’m not going to rate each story separately. I won’t describe each story as the description is detailed below as found on Netgalley.com

I received the collection through Netgalley.com in the kindle format.  I like to read books by new authors, several different genres, and I like to post my opinions on the books to be helpful to the authors, the publishing houses and to Netgalley.com.  I do also post reviews on Facebook, my blog and Amazon.  #TheHomesteadBridesCollection. #Netgalley.com.

Below are the descriptions of the books included in the collection:

Love Stakes a Claim on the Great Plains

Through nine historical romance adventures, readers will journey along with individuals who are ready to stake a claim and plant their dreams on a piece of the great American plains. While fighting land disputes, helping neighbors, and tackling the challenges of nature the homesteaders are placed in the path of other dreamers with whom romance sparks. And God has His hand in orchestrating each unique meeting.

Homestead on the Range by Mary Conneally
Widower Elle Winter meets new homesteader Colin Samuelson on the Nebraska prairie, but the attraction between them is soon dampened by the discovery that they have seven children between them. Soon their children are working against them to bring the two families together.
 
Priceless Pearl by Darlene Franklin
Rick Eady grew up knowing how to make do with little, while America Barton grew up having plenty. When they secure claims near each other in the Oklahoma Land Rush, Rick often comes to the aide of the inept Barton family and their pretty daughter.
 
Proving Up by Carla Olson Gade
Elsa Lindquist applies her scientific theories to growing trees on the Nebraska plains, intruding on a handsome homesteader’s hard work and experience. Will their dreams come to ruin, or will love prove their success?
 
Prairie Promises by Ruth Logan Herne
Jack O’Donnell storms onto the Nebraska homestead determined to take his widowed mother back East with him. But he finds her fit and determined to stay; plus she has taken a pregnant widow—rumored to be crazy—under her wing who wouldn’t survive without his mother’s help.
 
This Land Is Our Land by Pam Hillman
Caught in an early blizzard, orphan Mollie Jameson is frantic to make it to Lincoln, Nebraska, to claim land her father homesteaded six months ago. If she can’t get there in time, her family will be homeless. Then in steps a foot-loose and fancy-free cowboy willing to help them along the trail, but can they trust him to race for the land office with their deed?
 
Flaming Starr by DiAnn Mills
Starr Matthews arrives at her Texas homestead only to find it already claimed by a widower and his children, who have been praying for a mother. Starr has money, but she has no skills; while Aaron Conrad has the homesteading skills, but no money for supplies. Can they work as a team?
 
A Palace on the Plains by Erica Vetsch
Julie Farrington arrives at a Nebraska homestead as hired seamstress for an upcoming wedding. Cyrus Haskell is content being a widowed father and doesn’t need to be distracted by who he considers a high-falutin’ city girl—until a natural disaster puts her worth to the test.
 
Waiting on a Promise by Becca Whitham
Marta Vogel’s fiancé left over a year ago to claim land in Oklahoma, and she is tired of his excuses that keep her from joining him. Karl Reinhart is locked in a bitter land dispute. When Marta arrives uninvited and unannounced, her presence is more than a trifling distraction. She just may cause him to lose everything.
 
The Bogus Bride of Creed Creek by Kathleen Y'Barbo
The last thing Iz McBride expects to find when he returns home to his Texas ranch is a pregnant wife. Apparently, his pregnant wife. Yet everyone in Creed Creek seems to love Cora McBride. The only trouble is, she’s an imposter. Now Iz must decide whether to evict the woman or marry her.

Yours Truly Thomas – Christian Author Rachel Fordham – 5 Stars!

For three years Penny Ercanbeck has worked in the dead letter office.  She loves what she is doing…..she has to open others mail if there are no clues to the correct address on the outside of the mail.  She comes across letters from a man who is real pain who writes to his sweetheart, and always signs the letter “Yours Truly Thomas”.  Penny has no idea Thomas had no intention of the letter reaching the recipient.  He just wants to get his pain, anguish and sadness for a sweetheart.  His pain touches Penny so much she actually travels to the town to try and find the recipient.  She finds out there is no way to send the letter on.

She comes up with the idea to track Thomas down.  He isn’t where he planned on traveling to.  He was going out west but he got stuck in Azure Springs.  Penny wants to find this man to tell him why his letters are not being answered.  She has no idea how she’ll be received and she is going against every rule they have at the post office by going to Azure Springs.  She doesn’t know exactly where it is he lives but knows he had to stop and ended up staying in Azure Springs.  Great book fast read, couldn’t put it down.  I loved the ending.  The author developed the characters well and wrote a well-researched story.  I don’t want to put any spoilers in here.

I received this book in kindle format from #Netgalley.com “I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Description as found on NetGalley -

For three years, Penny Ercanbeck has been opening other people's mail. Dead ends are a reality for clerks at the Dead Letter Office. Still she dreams of something more--a bit of intrigue, a taste of romance, or at least a touch less loneliness. When a letter from a brokenhearted man to his one true love falls into her hands, Penny seizes this chance to do something heroic. It becomes her mission to place this lost letter into the hands of its intended recipient.

Thomas left his former life with no intention of ending up in Azure Springs, Iowa. He certainly didn't expect a happy ending after what he had done. All he wanted to do was run and never look back. In a moment of desperation, he began to write, never really expecting a reply.

When Penny's undertaking leads her to the intriguing man who touched her soul with his words, everything grows more complicated. She wants to find the rightful owner of the letter and yet she finds herself caring--perhaps too much--for the one who wrote it.