Wow, was this book well researched and the life of women under Nazi occupation meticulously documented! I don't think I have ever seen this much data accumulated and presented in just under 400 pages outside of academia. While I greatly appreciated getting a detailed look at the very complicated, stressful and dangerous situation of living in Paris during this time frame,

With presentation of this massive amount of data comes complications, some of which Anne Sebba did not overcome. Because she chose to tell the story in almost strict chronological order, the stories of individuals were at times disconnected and hard to follow. Because there were literally hundreds of stories, facts and names of individuals, I found it hard at times to follow the thread of connection. She also, at times, used French phrases without translations or a context that I understood, which I found very distracting. And at times put in a quote, from some one famous at the time, which I found did not add any better understanding to the story she was trying to tell.

Even with those criticisms, I felt I learned a lot about an incredibly sad period in our history. These are the types of stories that need to be told and retold, so that we never forget.

Wow! This second book by Antonia Hodgson is just as good as her first. I came to respect all these characters in all their faults. Her character development is deep and complex. This era was very different than any of our experiences. She provided me with a vivid picture of the every day life, culture and moral code of those times. So well researched. The plot twists just kept coming and I eagerly read each page. And then the surprise ending! She is an author I intend to follow.

It took me a little while to get into this book as I had a hard time understanding how some of the characters were going to finally intersect. I also did not have an instant liking for the mother or her child.

But, the characters and the story grew on me. As I continued to read, I started to feel their pain, confusion and apprehension. The writing is lyrical and full of great word pictures. Sharon Guskin allowed me to experience all the characters ups and downs, their fears and joys and I came to love each of them.

The story, the writing and the theory of reincarnation could make great discussions for a book club.

I considered this book to be mildly interesting. My first complaint is that it continuously inserts short snippets (paragraphs) of information about someone's relationship or an action that seems irrelevant to the main story thread at the time. It also meanders around a bit in a seemingly distracted way.

It is written more like a stream of conscious than a well planned outline of two famous individuals and their love and trials with each other and others.

Liberally sprinkled through out are names of individuals - many famous, some infamous and the then the not so famous. I actually grew tired of trying to remember who all these people were and why they were added to the story.

It did give me a feeling for the life actors/actresses lived under the "studio" system. It also provided a picture of how hard and sad life could be for a star that did not know how to manage their own life properly.

The Wild Girl is written about Doutchen Wild, the future wife of Wildhelm Grimm (one of the Grimm brother of fairytale fame). Her life was hard and at times very sad, but the book well chronicled the times and political realities of living during the Napolianic period.

Though I sometimes found gaps in the writing flow, I particularly enjoyed seeing how some of the tales were developed and changed over time. I am now going back to read some of the Grimm's tales with a new view.

I think this would make good reading for a book club that was interested in researching the different versions of a couple of stories.

This book could have been great. But it came across as dispassionate and cold. It was a good look into how we as a society treated (both medically and personally) the mentally ill during most of the 20th century. It's descriptions of his treatments should have left me disturbed and angry, instead I was analyzing why the doctors felt this was the right choice. I should have felt sympathy for his daughter who spent years not seeing or knowing what was going on with her father. Instead I felt disappointed that she took the obscure answers her mother gave with out pressing harder. I did feel that I gained some understanding of how our knowledge and treatment of the mentally ill has thankfully changed.

For me the book started slow and rather cumbersome. It took a while to sort out all the characters into major and minor roles. But the stage was set for an enjoyable read. About half way through (as Maude was emerging from her near death experience) I felt like this was the natural end was near. But oh no, the story just got more interesting. The book it very well researched, written and the characters well developed. Even minor characters had me either loving them or hating them. The ending (including the Epilogue) did a good job of tying up the loose ends and providing a perspective on all that had occurred.

I had a very limited and shallow knowledge of the actual purpose and conditions in London's debtors prisons. This Historical Fiction story set in one the most infamous of them, is a page turner. The plot is tight and focused, even if at times it felt forced to facilitate the story. The descriptions of physical conditions, individual's motivations, and the political realities of this time are detailed and graphic while still drawing you on toward the surprise conclusion.

This is a book I would recommend for a book club. The moral questions faced by characters set in difficult and hard circumstances, should allow for lively and thoughtful conversation. Would we be able to do things differently if put in these circumstances?

At first, I did not find the book to my liking. But as I moved through the first part I found myself rushing to find out what would happen next.The author deftly switches from 2010 to 1610, while keeping the reader totally focused on what is being read at the moment. Even though the plot felt a little "improbable" and the language a little "dumbed down", it did not deter my enjoyment and excitement as I moved into the evil world of the Bathory's. It would make a great Halloween read for a book club.

Louise Penny is a new author for me, so I am very pleased to find her and her series of mystery novels with Chief Inspector Gamache. The plot at first appears simple with seemingly unconnected crimes. But it moves quickly to a fast paced and intricate story line. The characters are very well developed and I grew to really like the "good guys". It was like I wanted to reach thru the pages and give them a hug and say "It's OK, it will all turn out right." Which it did, and I took away a warm feeling for that lasted for several days. There are great moral questions presented here that will make for fascinating conversations at book club meetings.

Fever is very well written and easy to follow. Unexpectedly I came to like Mary Mallone. Mary, like so many of us,long denied truths that were evident to most others. She made me stop and take a look at my life, wondering what I might be denying about my self. Mary Best Keane did a great job of researching the culture of the era as well as medical and social issues. She helped me to feel like I was living in the early 20th century. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Historical Fiction and to book clubs that like discussing moral and ethical issues posed in books of this type.

Indiscretion is a book that I enjoyed but found some of the plot (especially toward the end) to be most improbable. The three quarters of the book kept me reading, even though I felt the story was mostly predictable. The characters were generally well developed and mostly believable. My biggest quibble is with the individual that was telling the story. I found him weak, at times unpassionate and I just don't believe the situation as it fully played out was realistic.

This is not a book for some one who isn't interested in history or who likes a book with only words that are familiar. In this day, when most books are written at what I consider a middle-school level, several times, I had to stop and look up the meaning of words used by the author. It was also not an "easy" read because of the use of foreign names, titles and other words. Some of this may be attributed to the fact that in many places she used original quotes from letters, diaries, etc. as part of her text. Those personal issues aside, I found it very well written and quite engaging and by the end, I had a great affection for the characters. The story telling from both the view point of Count Axel von Fersen and his sister Sophie, allowed for quite a different (and intimate) view of the French Monarchy before and during the French Revolution. The story felt well researched while the writing felt done with true affection for the historical individuals described.