Love Finds You in Poetry, Texas, by Janice Hanna is a delightful read with great word play and ties to the town’s name: Poetry. The stores are named Bonnets and Sonnets, Poetic Notions and such. The main character uses poetry to woo women to come to Texas as potential brides for the town’s many bachelors. In the process, she learns of her own feelings for the town barber. This story flowed nicely, but it had so many characters, I honestly got a bit lost at times. There were some characters that were truly unforgettable and it all came together nicely in the end. I would have liked to see a...
Review: Sarah’s Key
Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2008) is a World War II epic that will stick with you long after you finish the last page. The story weaves in the 1942 roundup of French Jews by the French Vichy Police and their expulsion to their deaths in Nazi camps. Sarah, a ten-year-old French Jew, leaves her little brother locked in a secret cabinet when the police come for her family. She believes he’ll be safe there until they return. Sixty years later, Julia is researching the roundup for an article and the two tales converge and weave together in a way that changes the lives of all...
Book Review “Shorts”
No, I’m not fashioning some sort of clothing item called “book review shorts…” What I mean is, here is a quick rundown of what I’ve been reading in the past few weeks. Each definitely deserves its full review and lengthy description, but I hope to include more in my blog than just book reviews! Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana by Trisha Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss (Summerside Press, 2009), is a heart-warming tale about a woman who escorts several children on an “Orphan Train” out west and ends up unknowingly “sold” to a man who claims he’s now her husband. She finds refuge in a circuit preacher, but until...
Review: A Distant Melody
Synopsis Never pretty enough to please her gorgeous mother, Allie will do anything to gain her approval–even marry a man she doesn’t love. Lt. Walter Novak–fearless in the cockpit but hopeless with women–takes his last furlough at home in California before being shipped overseas. Walt and Allie meet at a wedding and their love of music draws them together, prompting them to begin a correspondence that will change their lives. As letters fly between Walt’s muddy bomber base in England and Allie’s mansion in an orange grove, their friendship binds them together. But can they untangle the secrets, commitments, and expectations that keep them apart? A Distant Melody is the...
Review: Plain Pursuit
When I read the synopsis for “Plain Pursuit” by Beth Wiseman (Thomas Nelson, 2009), something seemed to hook me. Not sure if it was the fact that the protagonist is a journalist, but that is a definite possibility. Either way, I dove into the novel a little wary of Amish fiction to begin with. I’ve read very few Amish novels since Beverly Lewis’ “The Shunning,” so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I found myself drawn in from page one and unable to put the book down. Instantly, the reader is drawn to every single character and though there is a strong thread of romance, there are so many...