Thank you to Book Browse and W.W. Norton for an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Stolen Child by Ann Hood. Much of this novel addresses repercussions of decisions that the characters made in their pasts and how these actions haunted them throughout their lives. An unlikely duo get together to try and resolve the past before it is too late. In addition to a wonderful story that takes the reader from WWI to the 1970s, the author presents a travelogue describing the sights, food and art of France and Italy. Both of these lost characters help each other to heal and eventually find peace and love. I would have liked closure for all of the characters I met along the way but I appreciate that that would have been unrealistic. Hood did a particularly good job with the pacing of the story. She built up tension as the characters race against time to find resolution.

Thank you BookBrowse and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel. I hope the published edition includes author's notes telling of the research conducted to tell this story. I read historical fiction to learn about the world.This fiction novel feels so authentic . It tells, with intimacy and compassion, about the horrific policy in the 1970s of sterilizing young, poor, black women in Alabama. We follow two underage girls who were mutilated without their knowledge or informed consent. In Take My Hand, a strong black nurse organizes a movement to hold the powerful white lawmakers to account and through her actions she makes enormous changes. Although this is a work of historical fiction, I was reminded of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Our protagonist, Civil Townsend, is constantly made to tackle with the issue of doing good deeds that sometimes bring about unwanted outcomes. An older Civil is telling her daughter about her past. She was very young in this story and many of her acts and feelings show her immaturity. But as she matures, she can judge her behaviors objectively. Are acts of goodness altruistic or sometimes selfish? The characters are well-developed in this novel and I think you'll love them as much as I did.

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” This is the quote that comes to mind in my review of this new novel by the author of Tangerine, which was a favorite of mine. This thriller is very slow to unravel. Frankie, the protagonist suffered a breakdown a while ago and goes to Venice to a friend’s palazzo to recover and resurrect her faltering writing career. She is approached by a strange young woman who claims to be a huge fan. This stranger ingratiates herself into Frankie’s world. Frankie’s dearest friend Jack, the owner of the palazzo, is delayed in her plans to meet Frankie in Venice. Mangan drops tiny hints throughout the novel that make the reader question who are the good guys and who are not. The reader is stumped throughout most of the novel, never quite feeling sure what to believe. That constant feeling of doubt and suspense, created by the author is a sign of a good plot and great writing. The theme of ambition is well addressed in the novel. My rating is not higher due to some unresolved plot lines and a very unexpected ending.

Set against the backdrop of war, in the most devastating and dire conditions, mistreatment by sadistic guards, harsh weather and near starvation, Maggie Brooks tells a love story of maximum proportion. It is almost unbelievable, yet, this novel is based on a true story. To support this love story, Brooks conducted thorough research through interviews, documents, visits and tours to give us another World War II story from yet another perspective. Bill is a British POW and meets a young Czechoslovakian woman. They fall in love, marry and run off to join the Partisans. They are captured by the enemy and thus begins their harrowing experiences as prisoners. The author writes with increasing tension, sometimes from Izzy's point of view and sometimes from Bill's. This heightens the emotion for the reader as you are able to feel what each of the main characters feels. Brookes also draws out some of the experiences a little long but the effect on the reader helps to understand the despair that the characters experience. The book is full of characters that the reader is rooting for.

I was expecting to read an historical novel but instead found that Remembrance was more a mystical adventure story about slavery and the Underground Railroad. What I liked was the location which was a very new approach for me. I found myself in Haiti and for a short time in New Orleans during the time of slavery. The author beautifully described the setting in each location bringing the sights, smells and sounds to life. But unfortunately for me, the story took a turn to a more unrealistic narrative employing spirits and conjuring. There were several timelines and for a while I couldn't see how the author was going to bring them together but in the end I think she did a satisfactory job. I liked the beginning and the end but the middle of the book, on a tangent I didn't expect, and don't usually like, was a disappointment for me. If you approach this more as a magical enterprise with historic overtones, it might be what you're looking for.

The Guest Book was an ambitious undertaking by the author, Sarah Blake. It is a family saga spanning three generations in the early 1900s. There were many threads covering multiple chronologies told in alternating narrative voices. Blake has a lot of confidence in her readers' abilities to follow these threads and piece together hints and clues throughout the chapters.
What I liked: The writing is beautiful, poetic and descriptive. I enjoy historical fiction as a genre and especially like family sagas. Blake touches on the anti-Semitic and racist feelings among the elite upper crust society of this day in a poignant and aching way. This has relevance in today's culture as well. Many lessons to be learned.
What I didn't like: This book is too long. It got bogged down in too much minutiae. There are several characters named after relatives and sometimes it was confusing trying to figure out the timeline and narrator. The book could benefit from a family tree graphic, possibly making one available on a website. The chapters could be headed with a date or some other reference. Several details, although significant to the plot were so slightly developed that they could have been missed entirely by the reader. Some threads seemed to go nowhere, leaving some conclusions to the readers' imaginations.
That said, I was compelled to finish. I cared about the characters. Some I really liked. Some I really disliked, but I needed to know their stories. The author had some important points to make. The threads twisted and several remained unraveled in the end. I just wish the book could have been a little tighter and focused more on fewer story lines.

Thank you to BookBrowse for an ARC of this book. I LOVED it! We first meet Elise in 2010. She is experiencing the effects of Alzheimer's but she has one last task to bring closure to the events of the life she lived. The Last Year of the War is told in four parts through flashbacks. It is revealed from a mature perspective of Elise's younger life. We meet Elise as an ordinary school girl growing up in Iowa, then as an internee at Crystal City, later repatriated to Germany near the end of World War II and finally as she returns to the U.S. The thread is her friendship with Mariko, her best friend and fellow internee of Japanese descent. No spoilers here. We learn most of this at the beginning. I love when a book grabs me from page one, and better yet, never lets go. I first became aware of Crystal City from a non-fiction read a few years ago. Susan Meissner has brilliantly taken this dark period in America's history and made it accessible to the mainstream reader. It was a time when our government was so overcome with fear that it took it out on American citizens, simply because of the nations from which they descended. Fans of historical fiction are sure to love this exceptional novel and will add it to their favorites of the year.

The author, Keith O'Brien, could not have realized how timely this novel would be when he was conducting his obvious extensive research. Not only are we in the midst of the times up movement, but just this spring, a major airline disaster was averted due to the skill of its female pilot. O'Brien brilliantly details the history of females in aviation, highlighting 1927-1936. These women were brave and persistent. At times the book felt breathless as O'Brien takes us cross country or transcontinental in a race for speed and position. Not only does this story coincide with the women's suffragette movement but also with the Great Depression. It's a wonder that these women were able to accomplish what they did. The reader will learn about these heroes who changed our world. A fascinating story in great detail. Not to be missed.

I received an ARC for an honest review of this novel. I don't usually prefer dystopic novels but I found this topic intriguing. What if I, as a female, was limited to only 100 words a day. First I needed to allow my mind to accept the possibility that in the not too distant future, the government of the United States would accept an administration that wanted to revert back to a time when women had no role in business, education or rearing children. I also had to believe that men in this society would prefer these changes. This means no voice, no books, no technology. But what if the president now needs your help? Even being female would allow you to work the system. The one thing I have to say for this novel is, I couldn't put it down. I never knew where the author was going to end up. Many questions are raised. Among them, How far would you go to protect your family? Who can you trust? This book is intriguing, scary, timely, and layered. Could it happen. I hope not. History proves anything is possible.

While today, scientists are studying how to prolong life and delay death, Rachel, in Dara Horn's new novel, Eternal Life, is trying not to live any longer. She has lived now for 2000 years. She begins each new life as an 18 year old but she brings the memories of all those centuries with her. Be careful what you wish for. Rachel has watched her husbands, children and grandchildren die while she keeps living. The only person who knows her true secret is her first love, Elazar, who is blessed, or cursed, with the same ability. Horn tells us this story in beautiful prose. This book will have you asking many thought provoking questions. One is literally, what is the meaning of life? I'm sure book clubs will have a field day discussing many of the issues Dara Horn raises in a splendidly written novel.

Set between the two World's Fairs in Seattle, Ford tells a story of a young boy's arrival from China to Seattle's Red Light District. He creates a beautiful story of love between friends while giving a factual historical backdrop. In present day, Ernest's wife is suffering from dementia. His daughter is a journalist writing a story connecting the two world's fairs. It turns out to be Ernest's story. Does he want his wife to remember. Will it be painful or therapeutic for her? As we ask ourselves this question, Ford unravels the story for us. Chapters alternate between 1909 and 1962. Each chapter reveals something important to us, leaving us anxiously awaiting the next emotional detail. Readers are certainly going to be happy that Jamie Ford has given us another beautifully written novel.

The Imperial Wife weaves together two stories of Russian immigrant women in two different periods in history, their flirtations, their marriages, and their strong personalities. The author beautifully emerses the reader into the era of Catherine the Great as well as the Russian art world of present day. Her descriptions of art, food, fashion and decor are beautifully descriptive. This was a very enjoyable read.

What took so long for this literary gem to make it to the United States? This book is as much a love story between Ani and Mac as it is a love story between the the author and Australia. I would say, "Move over Nicholas Sparks." Some authors tell a great story with good writing. This a good story with great writing. I felt every emotion the characters felt. This a book to read slowly so you can savor every word.

I am sure there is an audience for this book, but it is not me. I was excited to read this arc. Who could not love a love story, especially when the characters have everything stacked against them? Having just had a relative in an assisted living situation, I found the descriptions of the facility and the residents extremely accurate. Hepworth did an excellent job writing these scenes. What I found unbelievable, however, was the responsibilities Eve was assigned in her new job and the role she adopted in caring for the residents. I feel that the author tried to tackle too broad a scope by telling too many story lines. Each was necessary to pull the plot along but none were developed enough. I do like the message however. We could all learn from this novel to scrape away all the surface nonsense in our lives, and appreciate the one great love we can feel for another.

Reader be warned. Make sure you have a box of tissues handy and a clear calendar for the next few days. You will not want to put this book down until the final page and even then the characters stay with you. Letters to the Lost is historical fiction meets love story meets mystery. The story is told partially through Stella's voice in the past, partially through Dan's letters and partially in present day. Unlike other novels written this way, there was no confusion. The characters are so well written that I feel as though I would recognize them on the street if they passed by. The pace of the book moves so well. Just as I was about to take the next step in a chapter, The author, Iona Grey, moved me from the past to the present or back again. I could hardly wait to see what would happen next. Grey hit one out of the park with this debut novel.