I don't enjoy reading books that have non-English words. This book frequently had Spanish sentences. There was no translation.

Maggie is a 20 year old homeless girl living in San Francisco . She has three friends that she is close to Ash, Fleet, and Hope and a dog named Root. Without them it would be a very dangerous place. As a group they can look out for each other like not being robbed. They scrounge around for food sometimes getting meals at shelters. They scam people for money. Maggie found herself in this situation from having a seriously mentally ill mother and being put into a cruel foster care system. The frustrating thing for me was how Social Service agencies were always reaching out trying to help her and her rejecting ways to get off the street and have a meaningful life. One day Root runs off and Maggie follows and sees a young boy being murdered and the murderer sees her. She now is in survival mode because the murderer is after her. Then the police come after her as her being a witness and Shane, the murdered boy's parent's press her for information. She is not forthcoming and I felt frustrated with her as a person. I usually think that people that are homeless are homeless because they are mentally ill or victim of sexual or child abuse or drug abuse. It is hard to understand Maggie and her friends and to feel any sympathy for them.

If you are a fan of Jane Austin, I'm sure you will enjoy this book. This book starts out in March of 1840. A family friend has died and his belonging need to be gone through so the house can be emptied. Cassandra Austin shows up uninvited and proceeds to search the house top to bottom to find the letters. Eliza was Jane's close friend and they had written to each other for many years. While reading the letters Cassandra's mind would go back to the early 1800's and that is were the chapters went also. I always enjoy that back and forth with between time. This books really touches on Women's place in society. How restricted it was, How unmarried woman were women were considered a burden on the family. I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

Lillian a lower class girl is inseparable friends and high school boarding roommates with Madison who gets whatever she wants. Lillian gets kicked out of school and they don't have any contact with each other until Lillian receives a letter from Madison in her twenties. She is desperate for help, she needs a caretaker for her 10-year-old twin step-children. Then spontaneous combust when agitated. Lillian was the protagonist in this novel going nowhere, an angry, acerbic, bitter personality who saw the worse in people. But after a while, the boys and she warmed to each other. She changed. She helped the boys deal with their father, a hypocritical, self-serving man. The writing was witty, the humor was dark and thankfully no sex or violence. I would definitely recommend this book.

This book is about the time before D-Day and the year after. The Allied forces were losing the war. Winston Churchill decided to start a spy organization called SOE that would go into enemy territory. He recruited women. This book follows three women, Odette Sanson, Lise de Baissac and Andree Barrel. After the war, half of all the women were caught and one third didn't make it home. The French Resistance with the help of the women blew up bridges, train stations, supply trains, power plants, and troop movements. It is gratifying to know the next generation will know about these women and the French Resistance, All because after all these years WWII documents have been opened to the public. One of the problems I had with the book was Sarah Rose telling us what the women were thinking or feeling. I also thought the book was poorly written and disorganized. Even still I enjoyed reading it.

Elise was a typical 14 year old teenager in 1943 in Iowa. Then her father, a legal citizen for close to 20 yrs but originally from Germany, was arrested. The charges were suspicion of being a Nazi sympathizer. The family is sent to an interment camp in Texas. Elisa meets Mariko, a Japanese American from Los Angeles, CA and they become friends. They talk of the day when they will be set free and if they can rise above prejudice and hate and reclaim there own destines. After 60 years of not seeing Mariko, Elise wants to see her before she succumbs to her Alzheimer's disease. Anymore and I have given away the whole book. I think this would be an excellent book club read.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was so witty and well written. I think it would be an excellent book for book clubs. It is the story of a young woman who has an affair with a married congressman. They are found out and he gets off scott free and she is slut shamed and run out of town. She goes on to give a multi-generational perspective on these issues which I found very interesting. You'll have some laugh out loud moments and we find this a very enjoyable read.

I thought there was way too much unnecessary sex and cursing in this book. I didn't enjoy reading this book at all. There were too many plots going on to do any one of them justice.

I love historical mysteries most of all and this was one of the best. I think that this was based on a true story in incredible but as is often said true life is stranger than fiction. The letter and diary entries were such a great way to write this novel. When I finally found out who the babies father was I was shocked. How the diary helped heal the Hockaday's was a beautiful healing part for me. I would definitely recommend this to book groups and any one who loves historical mysteries - they'll love it!

I applaud Anne Sebba's meticulously researched work on this book. But the telling is too hard to follow and 100 people listed in the book isn't something most people can manage. It was wonderful to be able to get a glimpse into what the Parisian women went through during WWII and shortly after. I usually read historical fiction so that could be why I found this book so difficult to read. I especially didn't like the French language phrases and words with no translation. I would only recommend this book to a real history buff.

As soon as I received this book from Book Browse (Thank You very much) I got the first book The Devil in the Marshalsea. I enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed this one. As I was reading this novel I was worried there could be no sequel but was delighted when Yorkshire came into being. I hope this turns into a whole series. I don't think I have read a historical novel in Georgian London before. This gave me a true idea of what it was like with the porn (Thomas was writing) the fetish brothels (YUK!) and the ridiculous pomp and circumstances surrounding an execution, The novel showed how Thomas was a charming rake "gentleman" always looking for excitement that led to trouble. He had a sense of nobility about him though when he wouldn't foist the blame of the murder on innocent people. This novel had a plot full of thrilling twists and turns. A satisfying whodunit. I absolutely loved The History Behind The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins. Anybody who likes/loves historical novels/mysteries will love this.

As a Christian I am always a little put off by a book that has a casual attitude to promiscuity. But it was realistic for today's standards. I felt sorry that Hannah had gotten involved with a married man such a fruitless endeavor. What really surprised me is keeping her baby rather than getting an abortion. I am of course delighted being a right to life advocate. I like the idea of What if I had done that! I have certainly have had that though that many times. Even read a book titled What If. I picked this book from the choices because I enjoyed the movie with G. Paltrow Sliding Doors. Parallel universes really appealed to me.
The most beautiful sentiment was said by Gabby's husband. " What I am getting at here is that I know there may be universes out there where I made different choices that led me somewhere else, led me to someone else."
He looks at Gabby. " And my heart breaks for every version of me that didn't end up with you.". I read this over and over and read it to my husband and he agreed that it was beautiful and said the writer was so talented to be able to write something like that. I wanted Henry to be her husband.

I was enticed to read this book by the cover and the description. It turned out not to be a historical novel of WWII as I expected but a Romance set during the time of WWII. Reading about Sofia, the grandmother, was inspiring. You would expect her to crumple due to her pampered background instead she was courageous. Danielle was a phenomenally talented hard working woman. So it was not surprising that she was able to use that talent in all her circumstances. It was wonderful how Nicky was able to turn into a leader of other children and avoid German's. Danielle's marriage to Max seemed realistic but her second marriage to Cameron did not nor did her long running affair with Jon. The book had too many sub-plots is made for an annoying read. Even finding Nicky towards the end of the book was tying up loose ends with a tidy bow. The whole book was fantastic and improbable. I usually read a book in a day and a half. This book took days because I kept putting it down. If it wasn't a Book Browse book I wouldn't have completed it. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

I appreciate BookBrowse for giving me the opportunity to read an Arc of He Wanted the Moon. I requested this book because I am bi-polar with psychotic episodes. Mine is controlled with drugs but that unfortunately was not available to Dr. Perry Baird. He suffered terribly with his manic episodes that eventually took everything that mattered to him in his life away from him. A brilliant physician subjected to unbelievable indignities and torture. Being put in a straight jacket and tied to the bed for days. Having freezing bed sheets tightly bound on him for days. Being beaten, given little to eat at times. The Doctor in charge seemed to hate the mentally ill and feel that torturing them was how to make them better. But when you were finally let out of this nightmare you had to deal with everyone avoiding you. You had a big mark on you Mentally Ill and there was no getting away from the stigma of that. If I had been born twenty years earlier I would have lived at the State Hospital.

I think this book would be a good read for many people. For history buffs, those interested in mental illness and family dynamics.

I found this book to have a very slow start but once it got going it kept my interest. Emmy grew up in a strict Lutheran home with expectations for her future even a husband picked out for her. Her life was to be a farm wife. She broke free with good reasons and left home when she turned 18. She then found out for the first time her family was involved in the KKK and hated Mexican immigrants, Catholics and anyone different. She met relatives that she never knew about. Got a job at a Paper and became a cub-reporter. Her second fiancé was a Catholic and on the day she gets engaged she finds out he is gay. So much going on. Then we go into attempted murder. It is all interesting and a lot of things to talk about in a book group.

I read this book very quickly it held my interest throughout. I think it would be a good book for book clubs because it covers so many different things to talk about such as WWII and how it affected the civilians as well as the service men, the love affairs of Poxl, the death of the Jews and the loss of so many lives in the bombing's, consequences of abandonment, and can you really go home again? The book alternates between the protagonist, Eli, and his "uncle" Poxl West's memoir. Poxl is Eli's hero and then Poxl just abandons him. You get some historical data in this book which I found very interesting and the interplay between the characters was good. I definitely recommend this book.

I am glad I read this book alone. I cried throughout the book. I related most to Olivia because I was a victim of domestic abuse. I totally understood her mindset and how she didn't leave for so many years. I could only imagine Hannah and Olivia's horror as mother's going through what they did. The pain of losing a child and the pain of watching a child with a grave disease. Maddie was the most interesting character in the book for me. Her intelligence and good nature throughout her long illness was remarkable. It was no wonder that she finally was feeling some of the reality of her situation and having to deal with social situations that never had been an issue before.
There was so much material covered in this book, dealing with aging parents, grief, organ donation, domestic violence and abuse, family relationships, betrayal and friendship. Wow, that covers just about everything.
This book could be a YA book, also and a great book club book. I gave it a four because it is almost impossible to get a five out of me.