🌪️ Unleash the Storm of Suspense and Rebellion! 🌪️
Prepare yourself for a heart-pounding journey into a world of deception, determination, and daring courage in Silent Blue, the electrifying sequel to JD Steiner’s Wreckleaf series. The saga continues as the tempestuous aftermath of the Season’s explosive finale thrusts Nerissa John into a whirlwind of danger and discovery, where silence is no longer an option.
💥 Survival Against All Odds 💥
Awakening to a brutal reality after the gripping conclusion of the Season, Nerissa John finds herself ensnared in a web of captivity. The battle she thought was won has merely transformed into an even more treacherous struggle for survival. Witness as she evolves from a vulnerable captive to a fierce warrior, confronting manipulation, torture, and despair head-on.
🔍 Unmasking Shadows Beneath the Surface 🔍
Beneath the gilded surface of the opulent Panacea lies a labyrinth of dark secrets. Nerissa refuses to be silenced, determined to expose the truth that threatens to shatter the illusions of society’s elite. As the stakes grow higher, she races against time to unveil the corruption hidden behind the luxurious façade—even if it means sacrificing herself in the process.
Silent Blue, by JD Steiner is the sequel to the unique fantasy thriller novel, Wreckleaf. (See my review of Wreckleaf here.) The tale in Book 2 picks up where the Book 1 left off. Steiner has created a villian in Colonel William Banks to rival the worst of them in diabolical cruelty, but Narrisa won’t give up her quest to stop him, even when it seems all is lost. And Steiner has created a world in which it seems no one cares to stop him.
Even after destroying his laboratory compound, Banks manages to gain the upper hand and forces Narrissa to surrender to save her people, the Dulhuphemale, a hybrid breed that isn’t supposed to exist. Narrissa is a strong willed female Dulhuphemale, determined to uncover the truth, even it it means her own death. She rebels even as she cooperates, knowing that he holds the fate of her family, her people, in his hands. Along the way, she finds unexpected allies and learns she’s not alone, but by joining forces their lives are endangered as well. Filled with twists, turns and surprises, this YA fantasy is one you won’t want to put down.
You’ll be rooting for Narrissa all the way, in this delightful fantasy. I give Silent Blue five quills.
Katie Connell is happily married and living the island life on St. Marcos. Just when she thinks life is settling down with her dream man and their gorgeous children, they learn a stranger died at the front gate of their jumbie house. After the victim’s well-connected employer hires Katie and Nick to investigate, they discover a horrifying secret about the place they call home.
Before Katie can process the information, her husband doesn’t return home one night. As if that weren’t enough, the uncooperative police chief counters Katie’s plea for help with a threat to seize their home out from under her. Can Katie track down her husband alone before his trail goes cold, or will powerful forces at work send her to an early grave?
I listened to Finding Harmony, by Pamela Fagan Hutchins, narrated by the author. Finding Harmony is the third book in Hutchins’ Katie Connell Caribean Mystery. (I listened to another audiobook by this author, Fighting for Anna. and you can read my review here.)Her accents and island dialects are wonderful, making it easy to tell who is speaking from the dreadlocked island native Rashidi to her New York proper father-in-law, Kurt. I must applaud her.
Katie Connell is a strong female protagonist who is very relatable. All she wants is a happy life in their haunted island estate with her wonderful husband and beautiful children, and she’s pleased to extend her family, including her in-laws in the household. She’s used to Estate Annalise communicating its needs in poltergisty ways and comforted in the knowledge that the house will protect her and her family.
What she isn’t used to is a man dying in her driveway, her husband’s plane disappearing with him in it, and the local law enforcement threatening her children with harm instead of helping her to locate her husband. With no one else to count on, and convinced that her husband is still alive somewhere, Katie sets out to find him with her father-in-law, but it looks like they’re on their own. The task grows even bigger as they learn that a Mexican drug cartel is involved and is determined to stop them from uncovering the truth, but Katie holds her own.
Throughly entertaining, from the first page to the last. I was rooting for Katie all the way, and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. I give Finding Harmony five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review here.
All through the month of November, I was busily working on Sarah, the second book in my Women in the West adventure series. I have a Kickstarter campaign planned for this book in January, and it will be released through distributors in March. I have to say that I was on a roll during the first three weeks, only missing the daily goal of 1667 words on all but three of those days. On the 21st, I registered over 35,000 words, with nine days left to reach the overall goal of 50,000.
Then, my computer screen gave up the ghost, and I had no image to work with, bringing me to a grinding halt. I couldn’t retrieve or back up my document, let alone write more.
Fortunately, I have a guardian angel and life long friend, who values my writing and may very well be my biggest fan. She made sure I had a new laptop coming as soon as she heard about my dilemma, in the hopes of saving the day. She is my oldest and dearest friend, and I always seem to hear from her just when I need her. This Thanksgiving session I made sure to offer up special thanks for her friendship.
WordCrafter Holiday Book Extravaganza
You won’t want to miss the WordCrafter Book Extravaganza when you’re looking for those perfect holiday gifts. December 1st – 22nd all books on the WordCrafter Press backlist will be available for under $3 each. The perfect prices for the perfect gifts, because we all know that books make wonderful gifts! Or, you can pick up those titles that have been sitting on your tbr list for yourself, so you’ll have plenty of stories to entertain you during the holiday season.
Books included in the Extravaganza:
Doubling Down on Book Reviews
Starting in November, I’ve posted extra Saturday Book Reviews to get in all the reviews I’ve committed to done before the end of the year. But I discovered that I had so many reviews that I was behind on, that one extra review a week wasn’t enough. So, in December I will also be posting Sunday Book Reviews as well. And I may even post some random extras, if I get all the way caught up. That’s right. All through December you can catch at least three book reviews per week, and just in time for the holiday season, because we all know books are the best gifts for friends and loved ones, or even just to treat yourself.
Her touch could save multitudes. But even with superhuman powers, will one high-school senior survive a battle with almighty deities?
Seventeen-year-old Hope wishes she could heal every wound. But after a heartbreaking ordeal during a hospital visit, her walk home turns into a fight for survival when she’s attacked by a two-tailed demon cat. And though she tries to shake off the incident, the sudden arrival of a pair of overly curious new classmates sets off the miracle-worker’s alarm bells.
Working hard to keep a low profile, she’s horrified when one of the handsome duo tricks her into mending his wounds after a schoolyard brawl. But when the two boys reveal their divine origins and her fated destiny, Hope plunges into a race to unlock her mystic potential before hellish forces turn them all to ashes.
As the veil between life and death unravels, can she claim her future and shield humanity?
The Healer is the action-packed first book in The Healer YA fantasy series. If you like empowered heroines, Asian gods, and romance that lasts through the ages, then you’ll love C. J. Anaya’s stunning coming-of-age tale.
Buy The Healer today to take a wild supernatural ride through history!
The Healer, by C.J. Anaya is a delightful Y.A. paranormal fantasy novel about Hope, a 17-year-old girl with healing abilities which is intricately woven into Japanese folklore. Hope would heal the entire world if she could, or would she?
On the one hand, Hope is an average teenaged girl, with average teenaged problems. But Hope has a side which she keeps secret, even from her best friend, Angie. Only she, her father, and the young leukemia patient whom she’s been trying to heal unsuccessfully and has built a friendship with. But when two students show up at her school, who seem to know of her healing abilities, things begin to get weird.
Hope finds herself strangely attracted to both Tie and Victor, although she doesn’t trust either. They are not your typical high school students. Only by discovering her true past, will Hope uncover the mysteries of her abilities and learn of the prophecy regarding her fate. When she does, she is faced with a decision. Is it really her destiny to save the world, or will Hope choose to follow her heart and chose her own fate?
A beautifully crafted coming of age story. I give The Healer five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review here.
Imagine a community full of rainbow families where everyone comes together in the spirit of equality and fraternal love.
Shy pastor’s daughter Marceline and her new husband Jim Jones found Peoples Temple in the face of rampant hostility and aggression in 1950s segregated AmeriKKKa.
They give hope to the poor, the miserable, the alienated and disenfranchised of all colors, and build a commune in the jungle of British Guyana.
But this Eden too has its serpent. One who is also jealous of God, and where he goes, everyone must follow, even to the grave.
I was 14 years old in 1978, when the Reverend Jim Jones ordered the members of his congregation to drink a poisonous mixture and follow him to their deaths. He ordered them to give the same mixture to their children, and they blindly followed after him. I remember hearing about it on the news, and as a teenager, I couldn’t understand how something like this could happen. I wondered why a holy man would sacrifice his flock; why someone would follow aan like that, even when they had to realize what the results would be. What makes a man like Jones? Why would he lead those he claimed to love down a road to death? And why would all those people follow him blindly down that road? Were they deceived? Did they go willingly?
It bothered me, but time went on and other sensational events replaced it as the top story, and I didn’t think too much about it. Every once in awhile it would be mentioned on the news, such as when Waco was compared to Jonestown, and I’d think about it then, and it still bothered me. I still didn’t understand. And there was a part of me that needed to understand.
So when Annie Dawid asked me to review her novel about Jonestown, Paradise Undone, I jumped at the opportunity. Dawid has been working on this book since the event occured, so I knew it had been thoroughly researched, because I reviewed her collection of essays, Put Off My Sackcloth Essays, back in 2022. Her need to understand, to make some kind of sense of this horrendous event, was akin to my own, except hers drove her to act. And to make her offer even sweeter, she offered to send me a print copy. Yes please.
In Paradise Undone, by Annie Dawid, the author has written fictional accounts of a factual event. Her characters were all real people, although some of the names have been changed. Dawid offers up several perspectives of the event, sprinkled with actual quotes made by Jim Jones. She offers a glimpse into the minds of those involved, and their stories are told based on the facts that she uncovered through decades of research.
The plot for this story was written back in 1978, and the author doesn’t veer from known facts, all though she sets the records straight in some respects. Much of the tale she weaves is spun from actual Jonestown documents. Dawid presents the events through the eyes of those that were there or were members of The People’s Temple, and the aftereffects of this unthinkable event.
It is a sad and tragic tale, and there are no happy endings. We all know how the story ended. 918 people dead in the jungle of Guyana. But Dawid has offered us a glimpse into the humanity of the situation, enabling us to see that there were real people involved, people who loved and had hopes and dreams, although perhaps misguided.
I found myself relating to the character of Marceleine Jones, who hid behind behind a veil of feined ignorance as events spiraled out of control as a means of denying culpability. I think it is a common reaction of many women to ignore the traits in their partners which they otherwise could not tolerate in order to maintain the status quo and hold onto the lives that they’ve built for themselves. Marceleine ignored the intolerable until it had spiraled out of her control. The realization of what she’d allowed to happen and her inability to stop it was enough to motivate her drink the Fla-Vor-Aid.
I hope that through her research, Annie Dawid found the answers she was searching for. And me? Well, I’m still in awe that a catastrophic event such as this could occur. Although I’m not sure why it shocks me so much, when madmen are shooting up schools, theaters, and churches, or bombing public events so often that it has nearly become a part of normal life for many. But there is something even more disturbing about Jonestown for me, because Jim Jones gained the trust of his flock and then turned that trust against them. That, in itself, amplifies his crimes tenfold above the shooters of Columbine, the Aurora movie theater killer, the Boston Marathon bomber, with their random acts of violence.
Dawid has done her research and recreated this horrific event for us in stunning vividness. I give ParadiseUndone five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review here.
A whole new series from the world of the Echo Trilogy.
Three years ago, the gods abandoned us. We’ve been alone ever since.
Kat Dubois is immortal, and she’s retired. She’s long since hung up her sword and left assassinating immortals to someone else…anyone else. She’s now a hard drinking, sass-flinging Seattle tattoo artist with the innate ability to read people’s fortunes using her charmed deck of tarot cards. Her days of bloodshed are over, and she has nothing but time – an eternity, in fact – to hide from her past.
Until someone from her past shows up on her doorstep with news that her beloved older brother and mentor, Dominic, has gone missing. Kat may be the only person with the right skills – and access to the right magic – to track him down. She must confront her past if she’s to have any chance of finding and saving her brother. She must fight her demons. She must embrace the power within her.
I listened to the audiobook, Ink Witch, by Linsey Farleigh. Julia Whelan does a smashing job of narrating this urban fantasy novel about an immortal tattoo artist, Kate Dubois, whose magic is in her ink. Well, not really. The magic is inside of her, but when Kate inks up, watch out. Kate plays the reluctant heroine, coming out of retirement to find and save her brother, who has gone missing, along with others, both magical and mortal. But there’s more to it than at first meets the eye, and the danger ratchets up as Kate uncovers the pieces that will uncover an evil and diabolical plot to take unchallenged control of the magical realm. Her inky magic is just what’s called for to battle the forces of evil, but can she stop her adversaries before their plan can be carried out?
Original and entertaining to the utmost. A fun urban fantasy adventure. I give Ink Witch five quills.
Gio Fortuna, a boy spurned by his parents for being “slow,” is raised by his grandfather in the ways of the Practice, a rich esoteric discipline drawing upon mystic traditions passed down over thousands of years from a multitude of cultures. Written in five parts chronicling Gio’s life, The Shaman sees Fortuna embark on a journey from initiate to adept, young boy to old man, as he navigates a network of teachers, each with their own unique lessons and challenges. Steeped in wisdom applicable to all, The Shaman is an inspiring story that proposes a unique path to self-discovery and growth unlike anything written before.
I received an ARC copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The Shaman, by Joseph Carrabis is an adventure into the human coondition and beyond. I’ve learned more about myself from this book than I ever have from any work of fiction. A journey into the magical worlds of world cultures, this tale uses magical realism to guide us through an amazing adventure. As always, Carrabis is a master at lining his fiction with valuable lessons for all of us.
The magic of shamans lies within Gio Fortuna and Shaman is the story of his journey to discover the magic within himself, learn to use it, and teach others who are eagar to learn. But as he learns, others don’t understand, and they fear him for what he does. Feeling outcast and trying to find his place in life, Gio is on an amazing life-long journey of self-discovery. He learns something new with every interaction, whether they be teacher or student. For Gio, the incredible is ordinary, although most everyone else is left in awe.
Carrabis skillfully crafts his tale into life lessons learned by his character, Gio. As Gio ventures through life on a soul searching journey, each lesson is portrayed in a way which leaves them open to interpretation, for the reader to attach their own meanings. If you read this book, you will, too, without even realizinng that you’re doing it. I read chapters over repeatedly in order to grasp the meanings that were waiting there for me, although sometimes differing from their meanings for Gio.
I have always been interested in the mystical, but it hasn’t come naturally to me. I’ve never truly been able to meditate, and often fallen asleep during my attempts at it. Gio shows me what I need to do, but I need to learn to do it: lower – center – relax -breathe. The lessons which Gio learns and teaches are within the grasp of us all, and the author kindly lists them at the back of the book, where they can be referred to easily. As for the rest, we must each seek out our own path in our own way.
A spiritual oddesy in human nature, with so many lessons inside. I give The Shaman five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review here.
#1 Bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson is known for his grand science fiction sagas, his epic fantasies, his fast-paced adventures, or his steampunk Clockwork chronicles.
But Kevin J. Anderson also has a lighter side. You’ll laugh so hard, brains will come out your nose.
What happens when—
A wimpy, henpecked man finds an enchanted loincloth that turns him into a real jungle Ape Man?
A stranded alien uses his advanced technology to fool audiences as a stage magician?
A frustrated monster-movie actor uses a gypsy witch’s special makeup to turn into a real werewolf when the cameras start to roll?
A group of heavy-metal fans finds a spell on the internet to raise their favorite dead rock star from the grave for a final encore?
A vampire, just minding his own business, wakes from his coffin to find he’s being stalked through his own castle by an over-enthusiastic vampire hunter?
A futuristic law firm uses time travel as a legal loophole to win their client’s case?
Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. takes on the Boogeyman for a client, or is hired out to save a sacrificial Aztec Christmas turkey?
These twenty stories cover a range of slapstick, subtle, short-short, and groaner humor. The Funny Business also includes for the very first time the scripts of the hilarious comic miniseries Grumpy Old Monsters, never before published.
Beware—silliness ahead. Open the book, and prepare to snicker!
The Funny Business, by Kevin J. Anderson is a collection of 20 totally silly stories, which entertain and elicit chuckles, including a few that he wrote with wife, Rebecca Moesta or other co-authors.
With so many stories, I’m not going to talk about them all. But I will mention those which particularly stuck out for me.
“Frog Kiss” is a classic fairytale turned upside down and a lesson in appreciating what life offers.
“Special Makeup” is werewolf story that proves you should be careful what you wish for.
“Bump in the Night” is a short Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. adventure, when Dan is hired by the Boogyman to protect him from his overbearing aunts. Dan Shamble as always, is good for a few laughs.
“Paradox & Greenblatt, Attorneys at Law” are legal beagles specializing in time-travel dilemmas. By the time the case is through Paradox’s defense tactics may leave your head tied in ridiculous knots of possibilities and probabilities.
“Eighty Letters, Plus One” (with Sarah A. Hoyt), tells the tale of a misguided inspector with his priorities terribly twisted. The final letter offers a final ironic twist to this tale.
“The Sacrifice” brings us a village virgin awaiting the dragon to come for his ritual sacrifice, harboring a secret that may put the joke on the dragon.
“Technomagic” is a story about what happens when an alien being is stranded on Earth for twenty-seven years. The report he gives upon rescue may surprise you.
“Dark Carbucle” ( with Janis Ian), is a story of a rock stars personal hell.
“Cold Dead Turkey” is another Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. story. Always a favorite for me. I love the antics of Dan and the antics of the unnatural quarter. In this one, an Aztec mummy hires him to track down his stolen wish turkey. ( I told you many of these tales were just plain silly… but really fun.)
“Loincloth” (with Rebecca Moesta), is the story of a timid little man who uses Tarzan’s loincloth to bring out the beast in him.
Of course, there are many more, including a comic strip script for “Grumpy Old Monsters” (with Rebecca Moesta), which is a different kind of reading, but funny just the same.
Twenty stories that will tickle your funny bone, I give The Funny Business five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review here.
The world is full of conflict currently, and this has been the case throughout the reign of ‘civilized man’ on this beautiful planet of ours.
According to save the children US, a total of 93,236 children have been killed or maimed in conflicts in the last ten years (this figure is from November 19, 2020 before the two recent conflicts centering around Ukraine and Israel), which equates to 25 children (an averaged size school classroom) of children every day.
These children were mainly victims of airstrikes, shelling, landmines, and other explosive weapons used in populated areas.
War and conflict is a very real factor of human society. Wars displace people and create refugees; people who are unable to continue living in their homes and carrying on with their daily lives because of violence. Refugees are a huge concern and area of focus in Western society.
With these thoughts and figures in mind, I ask, should children read books about war?
My answer is yes. Books and stories are a way of teaching empathy, understanding, and raising awareness.
Jennifer Armstrong is quoted as saying: “if we don’t encounter war in the safe way, by experiencing it through literature and art, how will we be moved to avoid the real thing? Reading about was doesn’t imply an endorsement of it: it’s a way of acknowledging part of the human experience that has been with us since the days of the Trojan War and long before. If you really want to teach young readers about peace, give them books about war.”
Jennifer Armstrong is the author of over 50 books for children from kindergarten through to high school. She is best known for writing historical fiction. You can read more about Jennifer Armstrong here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Armstrong
To:You
Mon 2023/11/06 09:29
Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote: “Children think about and ponder such matters as justice, the purpose of life, the why of suffering. They often find it difficult to make peace with the idea that animals are slaughtered so that man can eat them. They are bewildered and frightened by death. They cannot accept the fact that the strong should rule the weak.” You can read more about Isaac Bashevis Singer here: https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/hebrew-literature-biographies/isaac-bashevis-singer
I’ve always been fascinated by war and have been reading about children and adults in war situations since I was a young girl. These are a few of the books about war and conflict situations I was given by Sister Agatha when I was a young student (10, 11 and 12 years old) at Holy Cross Convent in George in the Western Cape of South Africa:
Discovered in the attic where she spnt the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.
In 1942, as Nazis occupied Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the secret upstairs rooms of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death.
In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, Anne’s account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.
David escapes from the concentration camp where he has spent his entire life and flees across Europe. He is utterly alone – who can he trust? What will await him? And all the while, how can he be sure that they won’t catch up with him…David learns that his polite manner, his haunted eyes and his thin features are strange to other people. He must learn to fend for himself in this strange new world.
This semi-autobiographical classic, written by the beloved Judith Kerr, tells the story of a Jewish family escaping Germany in the days before the Second World War.
This beautiful new edition celebrates the fifty year anniversary of an adventure that Michael Morpurgo called “The most life-enhancing book you could ever wish to read.”
Suppose your country began to change. Suppose that without your noticing, it became dangerous for some people to live in it any longer, and you found, to your surprise, that your own father was one of those people. This is what happened to Anna in 1933.
Anna is too busy with her schoolwork and tobogganing to listen to the talk of Hitler. But one day she and her brother Max are rushed out of Germany in alarming secrecy, away from everything they know. Their father is wanted by the Nazis. This is the start of a huge adventure, sometimes frightening, very often funny and always exciting.
Judith Kerr wrote When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit fifty years ago, based on her own journey, so that her own children would know where she came from and the lengths to which her parents went to keep her and her brother safe. It has gone on to become a beloved classic that is required reading for many children all over the world and is an unforgettable introduction to the real-life impact of the Second World War.
A powerful story set in Nazi occupied Denmark in 1943. Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen is called upon for a selfless act of bravery to help save her best-friend, Ellen – a Jew.
It is 1943 and for ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen life is still fun – school, family, sharing fairy stories with her little sister. But there are dangers and worries too – the Nazis have occupied Copenhagen and there are food shortages, curfews and the constant threat of being stopped by soldiers. And for Annemarie the dangers become even greater… her best-friend Ellen is a Jew. When Ellen’s parents are taken away to be ‘relocated’ by the Nazis, Ellen is taken in by Annemarie’s parents and suddenly Annemarie’s family are under threat too. Annemarie has to call upon all her resources for courage and bravery as she helps her friend make a daring escape. A Newbery Medal winner by an acclaimed author *For readers from 8 to 12 *
I still enjoy reading children’s books about war, and have written one, While the Bombs Fell, myself. These are few I’ve enjoyed.
Michael Morpurgo has a number of children’s books that centre around war and conflict situations. This blurb is for War Horse.
An unforgettable tale of war, redemption, and a hero’s journey. It is 1914, and Joey, a farm horse, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of World War I on the Western Front. When Joey is dragged away, his heart aches for Albert, the farmer’s son he is forced to leave behind. In the army the beautiful red-bay horse is trained to charge the enemy, drag heavy artillery, and carry wounded soldiers not much older than Albert off the battlefields. Amongst the clamoring of guns, and while plodding through the cold mud, Joey wonders if the war will ever end. And if it does, will he ever find Albert again? War Horse joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!
It’s April of 1917, and World War I has reached Elizabeth’s family on their wheat farm in North Dakota. Although the battles are being fought overseas, the war has affected her in ways she couldn’t have imagined. Elizabeth is thrust into a new role after her brother and father leave the farm to do their part in the war. And she’s only eleven years old! Having almost died as a toddler, Elizabeth has been babied most of her life. Now she must learn to help out around the farm; cooking, cleaning, and tending to the garden and livestock. No longer can she run from her responsibilities, as she did when her horse Rosie was giving birth. There were complications during the delivery, and Elizabeth panicked and froze. The foal didn’t make it. Elizabeth faces her biggest challenge yet as a huge Christmas Eve snowstorm rages outside, cutting her family off from any help; and her mother is about to have a baby! Her brother and sister are laid up with chicken pox. Does Elizabeth face her fears or run from them? Can she help her family, who need her more now than ever? Or will she retreat like she did when Rosie needed her?
My Gentle War: Memoir of an Essex Girl by Joy Lennick
The affection Joy Lennick nee Mansfield felt and feels for Wales is immediately evident in this charming memoir. Separated in World War 11 from her parents – with her father serving in the Royal Air Force abroad and her mother working in munitions – she finds herself living on a mountain with her two brothers. It is a world away from the cosy environment of her home in Dagenham, Essex.
What was it like for children growing up in rural Suffolk during World War 2? Elsie and her family live in a small double-storey cottage in Bungay, Suffolk. Every night she lies awake listening anxiously for the sound of the German bomber planes. Often they come and the air raid siren sounds signalling that the family must leave their beds and venture out to the air raid shelter in the garden. Despite the war raging across the English channel, daily life continues with its highlights, such as Christmas and the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt, and its wary moments when Elsie learns the stories of Jack Frost and the ghostly and terrifying Black Shuck that haunts the coastline and countryside of East Anglia. Includes some authentic World War 2 recipes.
Award-winning, bestselling author, Robbie Cheadle, has published fifteen children’s book and two poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
The eleven Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie and Michael’s new Southern African Safari Adventures series is aimed at teaching young children about Southern African wildlife in a fun and entertaining way. Each book contains a rhyming verse story about a particular animal, as well as illustrations by Robbie Cheadle, photographs and links to video footage about that animal.
This debut novel is an indelible portrait of family love, trust, commitment, and unrelenting prejudice. A stirring tale that rides the line between historical fiction and romance., inspired by a famous musician’s hidden secret in Germany.
Three Years of Her Life, set in New England and Central Europe, is similar in concern and significant issues to bestselling America epic books of the Great Depression, The Great War and the U.S. South. People and places focused, the novel’s heartwarming and heart wrenching themes mark history in unsettled times.
My Review
The first thing that struck me about Three Years of Her Life, by C.E.Robinson, was the gorgeous cover. I was fortunate to have a print copy gifted to me by the author, which is always a treat. Most of the historical romance I read are westerns, but when well written, I have a taste for it at times. As her debut novel, C.E. Robinson has done a smashing job with this one. This novel was engaging, never losing my interest and I enjoyed every turn of the page. I found myself creating extra opportunities to read this print edition.
A romance set in the 1960s, ventures deeper into the past as Elizabeth and Erik delve into the hidden secrets of Elizabeth’s grandfather, to unravel a mystery dating back to Nazi Germany. What they uncover could unravel her whole family as old predjudices simmer just below the surface, and sometimes boil over into the public eye. Then the past reaches out to touch them both, when Erik is detained in East Germany as they raise the Berlin Wall, and Elizabeth, pregnant with their first child, journeys to West Germany to somehow bring him home. A tale of true love of the purest kind, as Elizabeth does what she must to keep the man she loves.
Mystery, intrigue and danger. Three Years of Her Life has all that and more. This historical romance is thoroughly engaging. I give it five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review here.
