I discovered Vanora Lawless’ historical paranormal romances back in 2023 when I somehow stumbled upon Imperfect Illusions, a compelling, well-researched story featuring a superbly developed slow-burn romance between two men from opposite ends of the social spectrum who have been reluctantly drawn into fighting in World War One. I eagerly devoured the second book (Twisted…
Going to a different country for business and deciding to stay indefinitely certainly qualifies as a change of plans, so Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, first in the Maggie Hope series, made a perfect choice for this month’s TBR Challenge. After all, not only does the heroine stay on in England instead of returning to the United States to…
The Codebreaker’s Daughter tells the story of two generations of women who faced similar wars in very different ways. When we first meet Dinah Kendall she’s a volunteer for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). She arranges to casually encounter the spies they train away from their campus, masquerading as exactly what she is –…
Spies, lies & allies are what Midnight on the Scottish Shore, a rollicking ride into German espionage and British Counter Intelligence, is all about. Cilla van der Zee had not expected her mission to be so hard. As the sister of a Dutch Nazi, it should have been easy to gather information on the group…
The death of their mother forces two sisters to confront some hard truths about their lives, their relationships, and their pasts in Julia Kelly’s The Dressmakers of London. Sylvia Shelton Pearsall has married up. All the lovely things life can give one – a beautiful home, fashionable clothes, the right kind of friends – she…
Madeline Martin brings us to England for her latest look at bibliophiles facing war with The Booklover’s Library. A story about the love, growth and the joy of second chances, this novel is sure to delight the author’s many fans. Our story begins with a fire. Emma is reading upstairs when her father’s bookshop, located…
I like stories set in bookstores and libraries, so I was eager to try Madeline Martin’s The Booklover’s Library. According to the blurb, it’s the story of a mother and daughter who are torn apart by war, but brought together by, among other things, a shared love of books. Sounded like my catnip, so I…
One of my favorite books last year dealt with a killer using the backdrop of war to get away with his crimes, so when I saw Some Murders in Berlin I was excited to revisit that plot. Unfortunately, the author fails to make good use of the possibilities presented by such a setting and instead…
When one thinks of Maria von Trapp, an image of Julie Andrews spinning atop a plateau with the Alps in the background (as per the book’s cover), or successfully matching wits with Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music may well come to mind. Michelle Moran’s Maria shows that there was a lot more going…
Tomorrow is for the Brave is a beautifully written, mesmerizing story of a young woman coming of age against the backdrop of WWII. The blurb for this book provides information about events up to and including the forty-percent mark. Those wishing to avoid spoilers for such a large portion should probably not read this review…
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