Review: The Maid

The Maid by Nita Prose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly's orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it's too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

Review: The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

Review: War Girl Anna

War Girl Anna by Marion Kummerow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Does the Greater Good justify all Sacrifices?

Nurse Anna knows from her own experience that war is an ugly affair.

Working in a Nazi concentration camp, she faces evil every day.
At night, she’s forced to service an SS doctor in other ways.

But just when her fate turns and she leaves the horrors behind, she finds out that human cruelty knows no limit.

Finally pursuing her dream career as a biologist, she discovers a ghastly secret the Nazis are hiding from the world.

Looking away won’t appease her conscience.
Not when she’s the one supposed to do their ugly bidding.

Now she faces the hardest choice of all...

Just love this series!!!

Review: War Girl Lotte

War Girl Lotte by Marion Kummerow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In this extraordinary book, USA Today Bestselling author Marion Kummerow weaves a story of strength, heartbreak, and coming of age in the Third Reich.17-year-old Lotte is headstrong and stubborn, impulsive and outspoken, and an avowed enemy to injustice. In Nazi Germany, this can cost you your life.Sent to the countryside by her mother to escape the worst of the war, Lotte longs to return to Berlin. Bored and lonely, she seeks an escape from the tedious daily routine of her remote hamlet.When four Jewish children turn to her for help, she finally finds a protect the children and help them to escape. Her act of humanity will cost her and those she loves, dearly.Because there are worse things than boredom. There is Ravensbrück.In the notorious concentration camp, girls die. Only women survive.Reader who loved reading War Lotte"I truly loved reading this superb story. The storyline held me captive from beginning to end." - Goodread Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"War Girl Lotte is a wonderfully engaging tale of resistance and resilience that echoes across the decades." - Amazon Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐A heart wrenching novel of courage – perfect for readers of The Book Thief, Diary of Anne Frank, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Review: War Girl Ursula

War Girl Ursula by Marion Kummerow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Berlin 1943: Compassion is a crime.
A prisoner escapes. A guard looks the other way.
Why does Ursula Hermann risk her life and brave the Gestapo to save a man she barely knows?
Ursula has always lived the law, never broken the rules in her life.
That is until the day she finds escapee British airman Tom Westlake and all the right she’s worked so hard to maintain goes wrong...
He runs.
And she does nothing to stop him.
Torn with guilt about what she did, Ursula battles with her decision when suddenly Tom returns, injured and pleading for her help.
This is her opportunity to make things right.
But shadows from the past tug at her heart, convincing her to risk everything, including her life, in order to protect a man from the nation her country is fighting. As they brave the perils and dangers of the ever-present Gestapo, will Ursula find a way to keep Tom safe?
Or will being on the opposite sides of the war ultimately cost both of them their lives?

Review: The Paris Library

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family, and the power of literature to bring us together, perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls and The Paris Wife.

Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal.

Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them.

A powerful novel that explores the consequences of our choices and the relationships that make us who we are—family, friends, and favorite authors—The Paris Library shows that extraordinary heroism can sometimes be found in the quietest of places.

Review: One Day with You

One Day with You by Shari Low My rating: 4 of 5 stars



One day, five lives, but whose hearts will be broken by nightfall?
It started like any other day in the picturesque village of Weirbridge.

Tress Walker waved her perfect husband Max off to work, with no idea that she was about to go into labour with their first child. And completely unaware that when she tried to track Max down, he wouldn’t be where he was supposed to be.

At the same time, Max’s best friend Noah Clark said goodbye to his wife, Mya, blissfully oblivious that he would soon discover the woman he adored had been lying to him for years.

And living alongside the two couples, their recently widowed friend, Nancy Jenkins, is getting ready to meet Eddie, her first true love at a school reunion. Will Nancy have the chance to rekindle an old flame, or will she choose to stay by Tress’s side when she needs her most?

One Day with You - two fateful goodbyes, two unexpected hellos, and 24 hours that change everything.