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Reviews by Cheryl P. (Lebanon, PA)

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Two Storm Wood
Two Storm Wood: A Novel
by Philip Gray
Heart Wrenching (1/5/2022)
A very compelling story of WWI. I have read quite a few historical fictions of this time period, but this one stands out. A very heart-wrenching story of love and loss. The author told the story in a way that the characters and the landscape descriptions came alive in your mind. Never knew too much about trench warfare and the aftermath of war and trying to identify those lost.
Sisters of the Great War
Sisters of the Great War: A Novel
by Suzanne Feldman
Sisters of the Great War (10/25/2021)
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. Quite the page turner of finding love and strength in the chaos of war.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars
The Forest of Vanishing Stars: A Novel
by Kristin Harmel
The Forest of Vanishing Stars (6/1/2021)
Applause to Kristin Harmel this is one book that is extremely difficult to put down after reading the first page. I loved how she brought the characters in the story together to fight for survival amongst enemies around every corner. I believe this book would be a great selection for a book club, so many thoughts and opinions can be generated from this book. Very well written, transported you to a different time of hate and violence where acts of kindness were extremely difficult to find.
The Widow Queen
The Widow Queen: The Bold #1
by Elzbieta Cherezinska
The Widow Queen (12/30/2020)
If you are a fan of royalty, blood lines, and human chess games for power, you will enjoy this book. It took a while to build up to the stories of the characters and how their lives intertwine. But overall a good read.
Daughter of the Reich
Daughter of the Reich: A Novel
by Louise Fein
Daughter of the Reich (4/21/2020)
This book was beautifully written about a dark and violent time in history. To follow the growing pangs of innocence and growing threat of war these main characters will enter into your heart. You feel their pain and their joy of their relationship. This story will leave you breathless.
Patsy
Patsy: A Novel
by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Patsy (7/4/2019)
Equally tragic as it was inspiring. In the thought of leaving a poor country like Jamaica to find love and wealth in America, Patsy was misguided and disillusioned. Her daughter that was left behind had to swallow her tears and let the fear of abandonment eat away at her until she decided her life just didn't matter. Life and love find both mother and daughter in the end.
The Night Tiger
The Night Tiger: A Novel
by Yangsze Choo
The Night Tiger (1/2/2019)
Dressmaker by day and dance hall gal by night. This story swept you through the maturing life of Ji Lin. A coming of age story about a young lady in 1930s Malaysia and her journey through coming to terms with her family life and step brother while trying to solve a mystery. The mystery involves a young man by the name of Ren, a night tiger, a long black train, and an ever evolving list of unforgettable characters. The story was well written and allowed your imagination to wander into the tropical word that the author has created.
The Kennedy Debutante
The Kennedy Debutante
by Kerri Maher
The Kennedy Debutante (6/18/2018)
A marvelous and insightful read to the life of Kick Kennedy. I was intriqued by the family history and the pull of the Catholic Church in her decision if she dare follow her heart.
The Girl Who Smiled Beads
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
by Elizabeth Weil, Clemantine Wamariya
The Girl Who Smiled Beads (3/8/2018)
This was a very thought-provoking book that made you search for the good in this world. Opened my eyes to world events that I heard of, but didn't pay attention to. Because it wasn't here in my safe country. Horrors like this are hard to imagine. The story wove in and out of present time. This just added to the "traveling" and "searching" that the author was always needing to do to find peace, to remember, to feel secure.
As Bright as Heaven
As Bright as Heaven
by Susan Meissner
As Bright as Heaven (10/25/2017)
A beautifully written story of the life of the Bright sisters and their family. I love how the author brought the story to life by each of the sisters and their mother. The struggles they faced before and after they moved to Philadelphia and how they each grew independently but connected to each other by such a force of undeniable love. Love, tragedy, heart-ache, death, renewal, it is all here. Was very insightful to a time of Pennsylvania history I didn't know much about.
Stay with Me
Stay with Me
by Ayobami Adebayo
Gripping (9/7/2017)
From the first sentence, "I must leave this city today and come to you", I was reeled in. Poignant love story - the characters are real and their pain and loss is felt with every turn of the page. Fascinating how the characters evolved throughout the story. This love story of this young Nigerian couple has no boundaries. Nigerian customs, cultural norms, and language bring this book to life. Yejide and Akin just want to be a young, happily married couple but then then fate turns them a cold shoulder and shadows them with deceit, death, heartache, and infidelity. Their story takes a turn towards hope and new life in the end. Just excellent.
The Twelve-Mile Straight
The Twelve-Mile Straight: A Novel
by Eleanor Henderson
The Twelve Mile Straight (5/25/2017)
The Twelve Mile Straight left me with twelve miles of different emotions and thoughts about the book. The book was amazing in how the author intertwined the characters lives and their individual stories to come to settle in this impoverished town of Cotton County, Georgia.
My Last Lament
My Last Lament
by James William Brown
My Last Lament (3/16/2017)
A beautiful written story about young love, devotion, heart-break, and courage while trying to survive in a country torn apart by war. I was wrapped up in all three of the main characters and how they learned to survive and depend on each other. There was no pause in this story it flowed effortlessly. It was so hard to put down because you were right there in the story shadowing this orphaned family.
The Typewriter's Tale
The Typewriter's Tale
by Michiel Heyns
The Typewriter's Tale (1/11/2017)
Thoroughly entertaining front cover to cover.
Caught in the Revolution
Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 - A World on the Edge
by Helen Rappaport
Caught in the Revolution (11/9/2016)
Riveting. A very eye opening account of a very dark period of Russian history. Very well written.
Miss Jane
Miss Jane
by Brad Watson
Miss Jane (5/10/2016)
Miss Jane was a walk through Mississippi before and after the Great Depression. It was an eye opening read about the life and times of the people in the south during this time period. Miss Jane herself had to grow up learning how to love others and herself during a very difficult time. She found love in nature and all things around her in the midst of dealing with a genital birth defect that made her "unusual and strange" in a small town that wasn't often very sympathetic. The rural doctor who was beside her as she grew into a young woman wanting to love, but not able to understand the complexity of that, was a very integral part of this story. Beautifully written and very thought provoking about our ideas of love of the physical nature.
The Railwayman's Wife
The Railwayman's Wife
by Ashley Hay
The Railwayman's Wife (2/10/2016)
The quote by Stephen Edgar that the author mentions, sums of the book for me. "It's not what we forget, but what was never known we most regret. Discovery of." Anikka, who has just become a widow, must rediscover herself and must learn to live through the regret. Through various circumstances she learns things about her late husband that she never knew. She must learn how to push through this and still love the man he was. I felt that she was so wrapped up in reliving the past trying to remember certain parts of her last husband that she didn't see the love growing for her from another man.
Hunters in the Dark
Hunters in the Dark
by Lawrence Osborne
Hunters in the Dark (11/24/2015)
Lawrence Osborne did a wonderful job in keeping you guessing of who was going to be the next victim in this game of passing identities and bad karma. The author did an interesting job of incorporating the history of the territory into the story. Hunters in the Dark is a great title for this story in how it represents the emotions and the histories of the characters.
The Devil in Jerusalem
The Devil in Jerusalem
by Naomi Ragen
The Devil in Jerusalem (7/17/2015)
Naomi Ragen wrote a novel that was both horrific in nature but eye opening as well. Religious cults are not something that is broadcast in the media every day, so we as a society are not aware of the mind manipulation that people are subjected to. This was a page turner that kept you wanting redemption for these poor children chapter after chapter. I'm curious as to how the story would have evolved if we had learned more of Shlomie's side of the events leading up to the hospitalization of the children. It brings to mind a phrase I heard long ago: There is his side of the story, there is her side of the story, then there is the truth.
Fishbowl
Fishbowl: A Novel
by Bradley Somer
Fishbowl (5/28/2015)
A very interesting read. Not my normal genre of reading, but enjoyed nonetheless. All of the characters of the book really came into their own at the end of Ian's journey. Each person that enters our life for whatever reason has an impact. It is what we choose to do with that experience that changes us. Everybody has a story, and that is what really intrigued me about this story and how the author weaved different tenants in the Seville on Roxy together. Those tenants that were missing something from their lives gained something from each other. Fishbowl was cleverly written about a goldfish's journey that actually became a journey of the tenants as well. I found myself intrigued about what was going to happen to each of these tenants as the story progressed. This would be a great book to read for a summer book club.
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