The Underground Sisters by Soraya M. Lane

 

My thoughts

This author never disappoints. Her historical fiction/based on true events, always deliver. I always learn something from them. I enjoyed this book through a lot of tears and heartbreak. Getting to know what happened to thousands of women and children at Ravensbruck concentration camp was heartbreaking. The horrors of what happens in camps is beyond overwhelming. No matter where they are. 

This story is fiction based on true events. The author did a great research job. She always does. At the end be sure to read Author's Notes. Info worthy of reading for sure. 

When the Nazi's took over and started arresting people for not being pure, for being a different race, for just being someone that Hitler didn't approve of, hated actually, also arrested were resistance fighters. People who did not approve of the things the Germans were doing. Who just wanted to help innocent people survive. There were people who were against the things that Hitler and his people did. When caught they were either killed or imprisoned. 

This is the story of a young lady, Aletta,  and her mother, Emma, who were imprisoned for helping. Also the story of just one of the internment camps where not only Jews, but French, Polish, Dutch and Norwegian women. 

These two females were befriended by Chloe who had already been at Ravensbruck and seen many killed. She had refused to be friends with the other prisoners because of the pain of losing anyone, but she did become great friends with Emma, then Aletta. Emma was like the mother she didn't have. Aletta like a sister. 

You get to know these women and how they tried to make like a little better. Teaching the children. In secret of course or they would have been severely punished. How Chloe wrote things down. From recipes to conditions. She didn't want it forgotten what happened there. 

These things do need to be told. Always. Never let it be forgotten what the Nazis did. Never let it happen again. Though I do believe it is happening in so many ways and in so many places....

Thank you Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union, Brilliance Audio, for the arcs.

5 stars 

About

From the bestselling author of The Secret Midwife comes a story of selfless sacrifice, women’s bravery and the importance of keeping memories alive.

We’ll make sure they never forget. We’ll make sure that every recipe, every poem, every note is remembered, and never, ever forgotten. Even if it takes me a lifetime, I promise you that no one will forget…

Amsterdam, 1940: Schoolteacher Aletta knows the war will soon reach her and the Jewish children in her class. When her family hide an injured Allied airman in their home, they must how much will they risk when resistance could prove deadly?

Paris, 1940: Since her mother’s death, Chloe has dedicated herself to protecting her brothers. So when the SS accuses Claude of being in the Resistance, she sacrifices herself to save him.

Forced together in Ravensbrück concentration camp, Chloe, Aletta and her mother, Emma, forge an unbreakable bond. Surrounded by unimaginable cruelty, they mount their own kind of resistance—secretly teaching children and preserving fellow prisoners’ precious memories. In a place designed to strip away humanity, their friendship becomes an act of defiance, their determination to bear witness a lifeline of hope.

As the war rages on and whispers of a longed-for liberation grow, can their courage and sisterhood see them through to freedom? And if they survive, how can they ever be the same?

Based on true events, this is an inspiring testament to the power of friendship and the resilience of the human spirit.

Night Witch by Jaymin Eve

 

My thoughts

I enjoyed the first book and this one was also good. I did have a problem with a couple of things though. I thought if I heard Logan Kingston say "Precious" one more time I would scream. Needless to say he said it throughout the book. It was grating. Enough already. Also how did he suddenly turn into the perfect mate. I understand that he loved Paisley but good grief. He told her when to eat. When to sleep. He kept taking over in so many places. And to top off all of his perfections, Logan was also in a band. A very famous band. Yet Paisley and her friends never heard of them. Never saw them. Had no idea. 

The scenes between Paisley and Logan were at times hot but it was usually him just pleasing her. At least until much later in the book. That was ok but not realistic at all. Considering what we find out later. 

Paisley has the best friends anyone could ever hope for. She has the perfect family and "mate." She has it all. Except maybe she doesn't. At the end I gasped at what happened to her. I was not at all ready for that.

I listened to the audio while reading the book. Savannah Peachwood did great. She had a great voice and could change for each character perfectly. I had a problem with Jason Clarke though. He sounded much older than he should have. I know his character acted like someone in their forties, or possibly older, but he was suppose to be in his twenties. 

Everything Logan did was more like an older man. There were time when I loved him but also times when he got on my nerves so bad.  

I enjoyed the book but wish there were a few things done differently. Just me maybe...

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and Harlequin Audio for the ARCs. 

4 stars 

About

Night Witch is the sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller Spellcaster with an intense enemies-to-lovers arc, a steamy heat level, magical creatures, super high stakes, and an epic family saga.

Be careful what you witch for.

Welcome to year two at Weatherstone College…

Last year, after coming face to face with darkness and lethal monsters, Logan Kingston, my sworn enemy and sometimes ally, brought my first year to an explosive ending. There’s a bond between us that I can’t explain, but I just know he’s hiding something. Maybe I don’t fully trust any spellcaster, but there’s no denying my draw to him.

I’m not going to lie, I haven’t felt myself since then, and I’m dreading returning to Weatherstone.

Perfect if you love:
• Sexy Stalking + Dirty Talking
• He Gives Her His Clothes
• Forbidden Romance
• Touch Her & D!e
• Elemental Magic
• Dark Academia
• "Mine"

Heather by Caitlin Mullen

 

My thoughts

This is one book that I highly recommend. It is very sad so be warned. It's also beautifully written. This author's last book, "Please See Us', was also excellent. 

This one is about two young girls. Two young girls who are left to their own devices. To fend for themselves. In a big house. Whose mother left. Whose dad is never around. He is a pair of books left at the door. A little money left for them to buy food. Two young girls who have been abandoned by the towns adults. Their teachers. This is the story of Annabelle and Sabrina. Twins. Just barely teens.

There is also Callie. Callie moved back to her hometown of Pine Lakes to help her best friend Jane. Jane is married to the former police chief's son. Callie becomes the police chief. She is in law enforcement and well qualified for the job. Her best friend was struck by a car and hurt pretty bad. She can barely walk and has a three year old daughter. 

There is a lot of back story and it's very good. This story goes back and forth between Callie and Annabelle. Annabelle's story is thirty years old. Callie is looking into the disappearance of Annabelle and her twin Sabrina. 

This is a story of how Callie and her own mother get along. What happened to Callie's mother Jenna was a single mother. She was not the best mother but she stayed. And she drank...

I loved how this story came to be called Heather. Sad but also beautiful. A strong story of learning to deal with your life choices. Learning how starting over can come back to bite you. How finding justice is not always what you think it is. How young girls deal with what older men do. And how older men deal with threats.... 

I didn't want to put this one down. It was heartbreaking and a beautiful story at the same time. Beautiful in the sense of innocence. Heartbreaking in the exact same sense....

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for this ARC. Thank you to Celadon Books for ths physical copy.

This one will stick for a good long while. 

The narrators did a wonderful job of bringing this story to life. Of differentiating the characters. Of holding my attention all the way through. Great job!!

5 big stars and it's in the top of my books for the years. 

About

For readers of Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods, a small-town detective reopens an unsolved case, sending shock waves across generations of women in this gripping new mystery from the Edgar Award–winning author of Please See Us.

1994. In the myth-riddled woods of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, sixteen-year-old Annabelle Riley’s twin sister, Sabrina, has been having an affair with a mysterious older man, and Annabelle is determined to uncover what’s going on. Then, inexplicably, both sisters disappear.

In this same town years later, newly instated Police Chief Callie Hauser makes an arrest that unexpectedly resurrects details from a heartbreaking cold case. As she digs deeper, the past and the present collide, challenging everything Callie believes about right and wrong, about who she is, and about the town she’s always called home.

A propulsive mystery as incisive as it is forgiving, Heather bears a visceral reminder that the truth of a woman’s life is often complicated and unknowable—to those on the outside, and sometimes even to herself.

When No One Else Will by Amanda Skenandore

 

My thoughts

I was truly shocked by how good this book was. Not because the author writes bad books. Quite the contrary. Her books are excellent. This was a touchy subject but one that needs to be talked about. After how women are being treated now because of abortion laws being overturned it's even more important. This story was told with a lot of grace and honesty. A lot of heartache and tears. It was well researched and based on facts. Though it's a work of fiction it's also true. A very true story. 

The women in this story are all strong and seem to have high morals. The main character, Mimi, has a family. Two children, a husband, and a mother in law from another planet. I laugh typing that but it's true she's awful. I really liked Mimi. She had backbone. Her husband made me so mad through most of the book. He and his mother finally came around to my good graces but good grief it took forever. 

This is a story about an illegal abortion clinic. A family. A lot of women who had good reason for not wanting a pregnancy. Times were hard. A war was on the brink of starting. So many things were expensive. Food was not that easy at that time. Another hungry child..... No.

This book is not for everyone but also everyone should be aware. It's a good one told from Mimi's POV. Mimi is a nurse. Her husband was injured playing baseball and can no longer play. Yet he can't seem to get off his lazy butt and get a job. Mimi has no choice but to work. She doesn't want to lose her home. She doesn't want her two children to go hungry. 

Be sure and read Author's Note at the end. It explains a lot and is very good. 

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and Highbridge Audio for the ARC.

4.75 stars...

About

Based on the true story of an illegal women’s clinic at the center of a high-profile trial in 1940s Chicago and the nurse who risked her safety and freedom to work there, a thought-provoking, powerfully timely novel of courage, sisterhood, and women’s healthcare for readers of Kristin Hannah, Kerri Maher, and Audrey Blake.

In the fall of 1939, while Europe grapples with the outbreak of war, Mimi Lukas wages a private battle in her Chicago neighborhood. Her husband, Stan, once a promising White Sox player, has been sidelined by a broken leg. His hopes of returning to baseball are dwindling along with their savings. As Stan sinks into inertia, Mimi resolves to go back to nursing.

When a friend tells her of a women’s clinic in need of a nurse, Mimi hesitates. Such places are illegal and at odds with her religious upbringing. But Dr. Gabler’s office isn’t the dingy establishment Mimi envisioned. The space is clean, bright, and welcoming, the staff skillful. Patients are treated with dignity and compassion, even as they are sworn to secrecy about what happens within its walls.

The patients, too, are not who Mimi expected. Some are heartbreakingly young. Most are married, and many already have children. Police and state prosecutors are paid handsomely to turn a blind eye. As Mimi finds kinship with her colleagues and with an officer on retainer, she begins her own private reckoning between what is legal and what is necessary, no matter how painful or inconvenient.

But Mimi senses the tide turning against them. She knows, too, that soon she must decide how much she will risk to defend the ideals she’s come to embrace through hard-won experience . . .

Poignant and insightful, here is a story of courage and empathy, as timeless as it is timely.

The Museum of Lost Dreams by Christine Nolfi

 

My thoughts

Each book this author writes becomes my favorite. This one is the best yet. It's such a good story. A family drama with lots of misunderstandings. So much hurt but so much love too. A story to make you stop and think. 

Told from two timelines. By two women. One a grandmother to the other. A child left basically to her own devices. Bess didn't have the love of her parents. They were too busy. Busy destroying their own lives. Bess's grandmother Valerie thought she was the best part of life. Bess also thought her grandmother was the best. 

After losing her parents Bess has the responsibility of taking care of her teen twins. Casey is angry. Caleb has a traumatic brain injury from a boating accident that involved Bess three years earlier. She blames herself.

I adored these characters. Luke is the love of Bess's life. Caleb and Casey are her twin teen siblings. Valerie her late grandmother. 

Valerie left her estate to Bess. Her mother, Shayla could not be trusted with that much money. Bess did a great thing with it. 

This story will keep you turning the pages. You get to know each character. Also a few more characters come to light. It's just one that will hold your heart hostage until the very end. 

Thank you Lake Union and Brilliance Audio for the arcs. Both the book and the audio are perfect. The narrators did a great job of making you feel emotion. Of keeping each character separate. They are to be commended for their wonderful job. 

About

Returning to her fractured past, a woman is determined to end a cycle of heartbreaks in a moving novel about family, sacrifice, and redemption by the bestselling author of The Secret Library of Hanna Reeves.

When Bess Rollins’s parents die in a tragic accident, she is forced to abandon her dream job overseas. After three years away, she returns to her family’s estate in the Finger Lakes, a veritable monument to her brilliant late grandmother, and a reminder of the wreckage Bess left behind.

There’s the guilt over leaving her younger twin siblings, Casey and Caleb, and she struggles to rebuild a bond that may be irrevocably broken. Amid the grief, resentment still looms toward her reckless and self-indulgent mother and father. And then there’s Luke Monticelli, the devoted man Bess walked out on but never stopped loving.

Haunted by her regrets at every turn, Bess soon realizes that the past is far more complicated than she ever knew. With each secret that she uncovers about her family, Bess comes closer to healing their wounds, seizing a second chance at love, and fulfilling dreams that can lift them all—right here at home, where she belongs.

The Shrouded Queen by Ashley Tropea

 

My thoughts

I had such high hopes for this book. I was sorely disappointed. It was just ok. Good in some parts but dragged on in others. It has taken me over a week to read and I do not like when a book does that. If it held my attention and kept me wanting to get back to it that would be different. This one was just not what I had hoped for. 

Two girls. One a princess and the other her slave. A mean cruel princess at that. 

Amunet Khada is a princess. When the kingdom is overrun and her father is killed she becomes queen. I tried to like Amunet a few times but she was just not likable. 

Samira is Amunet's slave. Amunet has been very cruel to her. Samira seems to think it's ok for her princess to treat her this way. Food and water are both very scarce and a slave can be killed if caught stealing either. Seems they go a long time without either. 

When the kingdom is overrun Amunet leaves Samira to stand in her place. To be taken. 

Now you get to see what happens to each of these girls. What all they go through and how they survive. Or don't survive....

This was a well written story. It could have been a very good one for me. It was just to slow. A very slow burn. At least for me. It is part love story. A shifter story. A princess/queen/imposter story. There is a lot going on. Fairly easy to follow but when things happened at the end I was caught off guard. I still don't get it. Who was the man. Why was Samira taken. 

I really didn't enjoy this one. It was a BOTM choice too.

Thank you Gallery Books for this ARC.

About

In the first book in this romantasy duology inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology, a slave and a princess switch places during an enemy attack, igniting parallel journeys of love and survival.

As a slave to the Ashoran royals, Samira has always known she was expendable. So when the vicious Kaldfolk attack the palace, she is ready to die as a decoy for her princess. But when she’s captured instead, she’s forced to impersonate the princess and survive through brutal trials designed to awaken her divine powers—all under the watch of her dangerously intriguing, shape-shifting captor.

Amunet Khada—now queen of Ashorah—is on the run following the king’s death. With only her guard-with-benefits, Jasim, by her side, she must evade treacherous allies while racing to contact her father—the god of the underworld—before her long-promised powers slip beyond reach.

While Amunet embarks on a quest through the wastelands, Samira learns the true reason for the attack and unlocks secrets in her past that could change everything. And with threats growing on all sides, Samira and Amunet must decide...who can they trust?

A Spell for Saints and Sinners by Emily Carpenter

 

My thoughts 

I enjoyed this gothic, witchy, family drama, mystery thriller, fiction, book so much. It had so much to enjoy. 

Emily Carpenter wove a story for the age in this one. Great writing. Great drama, and what a setting. Savannah, GA.  

When Ingrid's grandmother Edie died she promised to never do anything bad. No black magic. No bad spells. Little did Ingrid know what was going to happen in her life. Bills coming out of everywhere and no money to speak of. But when Ingrid meets Sailor all her problems seem to go away. Sailor and Ingrid became fast friends. Though Sailor was from the most prominent family in the area she didn't try to make Ingrid feel less than.

As she is drawn into the Loeffler’s family much changes for Ingrid. Most good. Her shabby home is redone. Her taxes all paid off. Property taxes that is. But is this going to last? Will Sailor remain Ingrid's friend even when Ingrid does almost what Sailor asked her to do? Or will things change. Not for the good either. 

There is a lot going on but this story is so well written. It's one that pulls you in and doesn't want to let you go. Everything you expect in this genre is there. From old friendships to new ones. You get a bit of Ingrid's backstory also. Of a time when she was a bullied child. 

This is a very dramatic story. A family who don't seem to even like each other all that much even though they are filthy rich. A friendship based on lies and secrets. A couple of murders. A false arrest. This one was good from the very beginning. I loved it....

You'll feel like you are walking the streets of Savannah, GA right along with Ingrid. And the graveyard felt so real and spooky. 

Thank you Kensington Publishing, RBMedia, and NetGalley for this ARC...

Five big stars 

About

Like a gender-flipped You but dripping with Southern Gothic atmosphere, a young psychic on the verge of losing everything becomes obsessed with a wealthy, beautiful heiress in this clever, darkly atmospheric novel of psychological suspense set amid the lush, moss-draped beauty of Savannah.

In front of an elegantly shabby townhouse on a Savannah side street sits a hand-painted Miss Edie, Psychic. Ingrid White inherited the house and business from her beloved grandmother, a local celebrity in town. But unless Ingrid can find a way to pay for crushing property taxes and mounting repairs, she’s going to lose them both.

Ingrid has faith in the homespun witchcraft Edie passed down to her, yet hope and clients are dwindling. . . . Until Sailor Loeffler’s bachelorette party changes everything. Sailor is local royalty—part of the vast “Savannah Sauce” empire, beautiful and wealthy beyond imagining—and Ingrid’s reading is so accurate that she becomes the bride-to-be’s confidante. To keep that access and all the privileges it brings, Ingrid relies more and more on hexes and dark spells—using the baneful magic Edie always warned her against.

As Ingrid works even riskier spells, she is drawn further into the Loefflers’ inner circle and the obstacles in her path melt away. But is it witchcraft or other, more earthbound forces? Ingrid can feel the lines blurring even as her powers seem to grow, until she must confront the truth about just how far some people, including herself, will go to keep the life they’ve always wanted . . .