Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines in #1 New York Times bestseller Louise Penny's latest spellbinding novel.

You're a coward.

Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache.

It starts innocently enough.

While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request.

He's asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting professor of statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university.

While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is, until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture.

They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson's views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion, are so confused it's near impossible to tell them apart.

Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold.

Abigail Robinson promises that if they follow her, ça va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone.

When a murder is committed, it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion.

And the madness of crowds.

Review:

There's so much to love in this latest installment of the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny.  All our favorite characters, Ruth, and her swearing duck, Gabri and Olivier, Myrna, Clara, and Armand's wife, Reine-Marie are all back and in fine form.  Plus, this is the first novel I've read that addresses the recent pandemic.  Those real-life events are not the focus of the book, but they bring forth many ethical questions which are at the heart of the mystery.  This was a wonderful addition to this series.

What I Liked:

Addressing The Pandemic:

In the novel the pandemic is over, but there are references to the terrible price society has paid.  Besides acts of neighborly kindness, we hear of older people being abandoned and left to die in retirement communities.  I don't believe there was an actual case of this happening, but 80 % of Canadian COVID deaths in the early part of the pandemic were in nursing homes.  It has caused a reckoning in Canada.

Themes:

Along these lines, the main theme of the book revolves around a controversial doctor who advocates for forced "mercy" killings of older adults, and children with disabilities.  Most people find this horrifying.  But others buy into the fear that the doctor creates saying that Canada will collapse unless drastic measures are taken.  With such a wild claim, can you guess who is the target of the murder in the story?

Characters:

As always, I adore all the occupants of Three Pines.  The villagers have such an easy rapport with each other that I wish this were a real place I could move to.  When a new person is introduced into the mix, a young woman who seems to be modeled after Malala Yousafzai (the Pakistani activist who was disfigured for the sin of wanting to go to school), the group is excited to meet her and rolls out the welcome mat.  What they find is a bitter, unpleasant young woman who doesn't seem to respond to kindness.  They are confused, at first.  But eventually, they realize how different this woman's life has been from theirs, and they try to find some compassion.

Story:

As always, there is a complex mystery at the center of the novel.  I really liked the twists and turns in the plot, which I will not spoil here.  What I will say is that the investigation reveals the dark secrets of some of the villagers.  And it brings forth some very uncomfortable truths about Canada's participation in CIA-sponsored research into psychological torture techniques (something that actually happened).  This novel has so many elements of real-life issues interwoven into the story, that I felt it packed a huge punch.  Through her books, Louise Penny confronts what it means to be a civil society in an ever-changing world.  This is why I will want to visit the fictional village of Three Pines over and over again.

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  August 24th, 2021

Author:  Louise Penny

Publisher:  Minotaur Books

Genre:  Mystery

Page Length: 436 Pages

Source:  Public Library

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  The first novel to address the pandemic, this is one of the best in the Inspector Gamache series.  I highly recommend this book.

Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

For all of Emory's life she's been told who she is. In town she's the rich one--the great-great-granddaughter of the mill's founder. At school she's hot Maddie Ward's younger sister. And at home, she's the good one, her stoner older brother Joey's babysitter. Everything was turned on its head, though, when she and Joey were in the car accident that killed Candy MontClaire. The car accident that revealed just how bad Joey's drug habit was.

Four months later, Emmy's junior year is starting, Joey is home from rehab, and the entire town of Mill Haven is still reeling from the accident. Everyone's telling Emmy who she is, but so much has changed, how can she be the same person? Or was she ever that person at all?

Mill Haven wants everyone to live one story, but Emmy's beginning to see that people are more than they appear. Her brother, who might not be cured, the popular guy who lives next door, and most of all, many ghostie addicts who haunt the edges of the town. People spend so much time telling her who she is--it might be time to decide for herself.

Inspired by the American classic Our Town, You'd Be Home Now is Kathleen Glasgow's glorious modern story of a town and the secret lives people live there. And the story of a girl, figuring out life in all its pain and beauty and struggle and joy.

Review:

I had the pleasure of meeting author Kathleen Glasgow several years ago when she was promoting her debut novel, Girl In Pieces.  She was so kind, and open about her life struggles.  Her books pack an emotional punch that can be difficult to take sometimes.  However, like her first novel, You'd Be Home Now, is worth it.  I think I like it even better than her previous work because it is very relatable for most people.  I think nearly everyone knows someone who has struggled with addiction.  By looking at this topic from the viewpoint of a relative, the author shows us how the opioid epidemic effects not just the user, but their entire family, as well.  I really hope this novel finds an audience, despite the challenging topic, as it is so important for teens to find stories and characters that they can identify with.  This is a very special novel.

What I Liked:

Themes:

The theme of the book is that everyone has hidden addictions.  Some addictions are more obvious than others, but everyone has something.  While her brother Joey's addiction to drugs takes center stage, Emory is struggling with an addiction of her own.  She craves attention from a boy so much, she is willing to do what she is not comfortable with, just to be with him.  

The other theme of the book is that addictions affect everyone in a family and in a community.  Even if you don't know anyone personally who has gone through this, you can see the aftermath of addictions:  poverty and homelessness.  This is another thing I really liked about the novel.  The author shows how easy it is to dismiss the people who are homeless as somehow broken, and not in need.  But the characters learn to see the people in these encampments as individuals who are worthy of respect and help.

Characters:

Emory is kind of a mess, but it's understandable for a teen in her situation.  Because her brother has taken up all the oxygen in the room for so long, she is mostly overlooked by her family.  But they do rely on her way too much to be her brother's keeper.  This is such an unfair and unhealthy burden to place on a sibling.  It's no wonder she acts out in other ways.  But what seems harmless to Emory, at first, becomes her own addiction.

Joey is the older teen who is struggling with drug addiction.  His is a cycle of using, guilt, contrition, and then back to using again.  He is not a bad person.  He has an illness.  But it's easier for his parents, and others, to just tell him he's selfish and weak.  It lessens his parents own responsibility for how he became addicted in the first place.  This novel really shows how people can go to rehab and be so full of hope and good intentions.  But then, the pressure to follow so many rules proves to be too much, and Joey backslides into using again.  I think this book makes a good case that there should be more than one approach to handling addiction.  While rules help with accountability, the pressure it creates might be just the thing that puts someone over the edge.

Story:

The story follows Emory as she recovers from a terrible accident (not caused by drugs) where a popular girl at school was killed, and her brother Joey almost dies of an overdose.  While Joey goes to rehab, Emory must physically recover from breaking her knee.  But she also has to deal with other people blaming her and her brother for the car accident.  It wasn't their fault.  But Emory is in no position to argue the point.  Everyone knows that her brother is a heavy drug user, and they make the easy assumption that he is to blame.

As the story progresses, the novel also shows how many people in this small town are affected by drugs, and addictions.  The homeless population keeps growing, but people who can offer help, like her mother who is on the city council, turn a blind eye.  As is so often the case, Emory's parents are only moved to do something when it affects them directly.  When Joey goes missing, they start to see that he could be one of those faceless people under a bridge.  

The novel also deals with Emory's addiction to the attention of a boy.  Together they get more and more sexually involved.  But he doesn't want to acknowledge her to his friends.  Red flag if I every saw one!!!  Later she is slut-shamed for some of the things she does, while the boy comes off unscathed.  Sadly, this is reality.  But I like how the author shows Emory working through her embarrassment.

What I Didn't Like:

The book is promoted to be inspired by the Play, Our Town, by Thornton Wilder.  This is one of my favorite plays.  If you hadn't told me that it was "inspired" by Our Town, I never would have known it.  I was a little disappointed because I was expecting this to be Our Town, with drugs.  But it was nothing like the wholesome play that explores life and death in a small town.  But the only resemblance to that famous show is that this story takes place in a small town, and that some of the character's names are similar to those is the play.  That's it!  

Trigger Warnings for Drug Use

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  September 28th, 2021

Author:  Kathleen Glasgow

Publisher:  Delacorte

Genre:  Contemporary YA Fiction

Page Length:  400 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-book

Recommendation:  This is a book filled with characters who will haunt you.  I think many teens and adults will relate to the situations in this novel.  I highly recommend this book.

Please Note:  I received an advance audio copy of this book from Libro.fm (and a print version from NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Thirteen-year-old Anna, an orphan, lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople in a house of women who make their living embroidering the robes of priests. Restless, insatiably curious, Anna learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds a book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. This she reads to her ailing sister as the walls of the only place she has known are bombarded in the great siege of Constantinople. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, miles from home, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the invading army. His path and Anna’s will cross.

Five hundred years later, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno, who learned Greek as a prisoner of war, rehearses five children in a play adaptation of Aethon’s story, preserved against all odds through centuries. Tucked among the library shelves is a bomb, planted by a troubled, idealistic teenager, Seymour. This is another siege. And in a not-so-distant future, on the interstellar ship Argos, Konstance is alone in a vault, copying on scraps of sacking the story of Aethon, told to her by her father. She has never set foot on our planet.

Review:

All The Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, is one of my favorite books of recent years.  So when I heard the author had finally written another book, I was eager to get my hands on it.  I was not disappointed.  This book is a slow burn.  There are really four stories going on here.  Each storyline is completely different from the others.  They take place at different times, and places, and are filled with vibrant characters.  You know that they are related somehow, but it takes reading most of the book to understand how all the pieces fit together.  I did find it frustrating, at first, because I couldn't understand the structure of the novel, as it does jump around quite a bit.  But I stuck with it and was rewarded with a rich tapestry of people, eras, and stories that are expertly woven together by the author.  

I think it's worth listening to the audio version over the print version, as it has wonderful production values, and clues that I picked up that I know I would have missed if I had only read the words on the page.

This is a truly special book.

What I Liked:

Audiobook Narration:

The book is narrated by Marin Ireland who does a wonderful job with three of the four stories.  She inhibits such a variety of characters from a fifteenth century nun to a sullen modern-day teenage boy.  With each person, she finds just the right voice to fit the character.

Cloud Cuckoo Land (in the book) is presented as a story from ancient times that one of the characters in another story has translated.  Simon Jones is an inspired choice to narrate this fantastical story within the story.  This is the actor who was the original Arthur Dent of BBC Radio's version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and he brings the same sense of wonder and awe into this story.  Also, as his style is completely different from Marin Ireland's, it is an easy reminder for the reader that these sections in the book are a fable, and not actually happening.

Characters:

There are so many characters to love in this novel, but Zeno, the translator, is my favorite.  We meet Zeno as an old man.  The novel opens in 2020, as Zeno assists a group of fifth graders in putting on a play at the local Idaho library.  The play is, of course, Cloud Cuckoo Land.  As the story unfolds, we learn about Zeno's life as a young immigrant to America, to a POW in the Korean War, to his finding his life's work, translating Cloud Cuckoo Land from ancient Greek.

Zeno has had quite a life, but he has also squandered many opportunities for happiness.  As a man learning he is gay in nineteen-fifties America, Zeno has lived with fear all his life.  He is constantly trying to find a way to pass as straight.  When he meets the love of his life in the POW camp, he can't really bring himself to show his feelings.  But all is not lost for Zeno.  Through Rex, the man he loves, he develops a love of ancient Greek, and for translating.  This becomes his life's work.

I also loved Constance, another character who lives on a space ship sometime in the future.  She was born on the ship, and later learns that the journey she is on will take hundreds of years.  She will never live to see the final destination.  While the ship is filled with all the knowledge of the Earth, will it be enough?  If it isn't, how can she find a way to accept this?

I thought Constance (who we see from about age nine through about age fourteen in the story) shows a tremendous range of feelings and maturity.  She is faced with the fact that her life is but a stepping stone for future generations.  But isn't that what all our lives are, really?

Themes:

The themes of this book concern the enormity of time and how we confront that in each of our lives.  The author does this through the vehicle of a book, Cloud Cuckoo Land, that moves across all the stories over hundreds (and thousands) of years. Cloud Cuckoo Land is a story of a journey, rather like Homer's, The Odyssey.  It shows a rather silly man dreaming of a better life, if he could just become a majestic bird.  The story is filled with magic, and is diverting for the other characters in the other stories who read it.  Each person who encounters Cloud Cuckoo Land, comes to cherish it, and fights to preserve it.  But can a book, made of paper and ink, survive the ravages of time?  Won't all material things disintegrate over the centuries?  

For the characters, how do they find meaning when, eventually, everyone is forgotten?  What is important to the characters (family, position, wealth) will not continue on after they die.  Can anything last over time?  I think the author sees stories, and the task of preserving them, as a means to immortalize those who lived before us, and to continue the journey for those who will come after us.

About Libro.fm

This is a wonderful audiobook subscription service!  Instead of supporting billionaires who want to cosplay being astronauts, you can actually support your local independent bookseller!  Part of the subscription prices goes to support the independent bookseller of your choice.  You get one book credit per month, plus 30% off other audiobook purchases.  If you're interested, please use my link, and I will get a credit if you sign up.

http://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm75477

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  September 28th, 2021

Author:  Anthony Doerr

Genre:  Literary Fiction

Print Publisher:  Scribner

Page Length:  640 Pages

Audio Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Audio

Audio Length:  14 Hours, 51 Minutes

Narrators:  Marin Ireland & Simon Jones

Format: Audio Book (and print)

Source:  Libro.fm, and Netgalley

Recommendation:  This is a complex book that may try your patience at first.  But stick with it.  All the stories come together to create a masterful novel.  I highly recommend this book.

Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Review:

Any time author T.J. Klune releases a book, I am eager to read it.  All of Klune's books have running themes about found family and acceptance.  Under The Whispering Door, Klune's latest offering, explores similar topics. Like his other adult novel, The House in the Cerulean Sea, the main character questions valuing work above relationships.  Of course, in this novel, it's too late for Wallace.  He's already dead.  Although this book is about death (and begins with a trigger warning about suicide), the story is full of whimsy, with wonderful characters, and a powerful message about what life should be all about.  I loved it.

What I liked:

Themes:

I can't help but think the pandemic influenced the author's message.  At a time when we all are re-evaluating what's important to us, the book illustrates how people, driven to achieve material success, lose sight of what is truly meaningful in life: kindness, forgiveness, and connecting with others.  Wallace may have been a wealthy lawyer in life, but (as his sparsely attended funeral indicates), no one will miss him in death.  

Characters:

Wallace is an extremely unlikable person at the beginning of the book.  He is outraged that few people go to his funeral, where his ex-wife goes on and on about what a terrible husband he was!  When he is taken to Hugo's tea shop (a way station between earth and the beyond), he is predictably angry and rude to everyone.  But I loved that he changed.  By seeing how Hugo and Mei show unwavering patience and compassion for everyone who's journey brings them to the tea shop, Wallace starts to understand and forgive himself for his selfishness.  

Hugo and Mei are humans, but they work to help recently deceased people transition to the Door (where people will go to the next step in their journey).   They know that people who have died are in denial, are angry and will lash out.  So they don't take it personally.  But Mei is not all sugar and sunshine with living people.  She can be rude, especially when she sees others being deceitful or cruel.  But her righteous anger is done with lots of humor, so the reader can't help but love her!

Two other characters that I adored were Nelson, Hugo's grandfather, and Apollo, Hugo's dog.  Both are ghosts, but refuse to go through the door because they want to stay and support Hugo.  This was really so beautiful, and made me think about relatives of mine who have died.  How comforting to think that they might stick around to watch over me.  Both Nelson and Apollo offer up lots of comic relief as well.

Trigger Warning for Suicide:

The most serious moments in the book have to do with a character who has died by suicide.  If you are not triggered by that topic, I think you will find that thread in the story to be moving.  The character in question killed himself after his boyfriend dies from an illness.  He just can't handle the pain.  He also has to dig out of his self-loathing, and find a way to heal in order for him to move on.  His pain made me cry, but his healing gave me hope. 

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  Sepetember 21st, 2021

Author:  T.J. Klune

Publisher:  Tor Books

Genre:  Fantasy

Page Length:  384 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  This is a book for adults, or very mature teens.  Although many of the topics are heavy, there is also an optimism that ultimately creates a positive outlook.  I highly recommend this book.  

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

In 1942, London, Nancy Mitford is worried about more than air raids and German spies. Still recovering from a devastating loss, the once sparkling Bright Young Thing is estranged from her husband, her allowance has been cut, and she’s given up her writing career. On top of this, her five beautiful but infamous sisters continue making headlines with their controversial politics.

Eager for distraction and desperate for income, Nancy jumps at the chance to manage the Heywood Hill bookshop while the owner is away at war. Between the shop’s brisk business and the literary salons she hosts for her eccentric friends, Nancy’s life seems on the upswing. But when a mysterious French officer insists that she has a story to tell, Nancy must decide if picking up the pen again and revealing all is worth the price she might be forced to pay.

Eighty years later, Heywood Hill is abuzz with the hunt for a lost wartime manuscript written by Nancy Mitford. For one woman desperately in need of a change, the search will reveal not only a new side to Nancy, but an even more surprising link between the past and present…

Review:

Although I already posted an excerpt from this book as part of a blog tour, I wanted to make sure and post a review as well.  I found The Bookseller's Secret, by Michelle Gable, to be a wonderful mix of historical and contemporary. We learn so much about an author who is becoming popular again, thanks to an recent adaptation of her most famous book, The Pursuit of Love.  Nancy Mitford's life was full of larger than life people, and events.  She and her family were the Kardashians of their day. The six sisters were mostly famous for being beautiful, and for courting controversy.  Several of them wrote books, with the most famous author amongst them being the oldest daughter, Nancy.

I really enjoyed learning about Nancy and her family, as well as the contemporary story of Katie, an American author looking for inspiration, as she looks into letters that Nancy wrote.  The historical details were rich, and the characters were well drawn in both time periods.  Along with the characters, the romances were wonderful.  The only thing I could have liked better, was if the pace was a bit quicker.  But, as author Michelle Gable says at one point, what's important is the journey, not the destination.

What I Liked:

Historical Details:

I really didn't know anything about Nancy Mitford's life, or the so-called Bright Young Things that she and her friends had been referred to in their youth.  Nancy's portion of the novel takes place in her middle years, after all the escapades of her twenties.  Her contemporaries were some of the most celebrated writers of the age, including, Evelyn Waugh, who wrote Brideshead Revisited.

But, aside from all the small details about life in England during WWII, what really caught my attention was how the author captured the attitudes of many of these elites.  I've always thought that, since England was at war with Germany, nearly all British people hated the Nazis.  I've heard rumors about the former King Edward VIII being a Nazi sympathizer.  But he seemed to be an outlier.  Apparently, that was not the case.  Many people of Nancy' social class admired Hitler, and didn't understand why his persecution of the Jews was such a big deal.  I found this quite shocking!  But, I think it rings true.  

Characters:

Nancy is the oldest of seven children, six of whom are female.  In her family, if you wanted to be noticed, you had to do something outrageous.  By the time we meet Nancy in middle age, one sister is in jail for being a fascist, another is an outspoken communist, and still another had been a mistress of Hitler!  While Nancy had written a few books, she hadn't really hit her stride yet as an author.  With such familial chaos, and a world at war, Nancy starts to finally understand that she wants to live life on her own terms.  That means finding love outside of her loveless marriage, and devoting the rest of her energy to writing.  This means bucking social expectations just as much as her infamous sisters do, which is terrifying.

Katie, the American in the modern part of the story, is also in transition.  She is reeling from a broken engagement, and can't find any ideas for her next book.  After one solid hit publication, she is under immense pressure to churn out a sequel.  But she bristles at the idea.  She has always been a fan of Nancy Mitford, so when she has the chance to read her letters, and solve a mystery surrounding her life, Katie jumps at the chance.  While Katie isn't faced with the same rigid social expectations that Nancy had in her day, she still has set the bar pretty high for herself.  And her family is almost as messed up as Nancy's was!  

Romances:

Both Nancy and Katie find love in unexpected places.  Nancy meets a French military man who, while not attractive in the traditional sense, is immensely charming and full of confidence.  Nancy has never had any qualms about having an affair.  But she finds such a connection with this man, that she realizes that her marriage is intolerable.  She has to fight her husband on getting a divorce, or at least letting her go.  It's a pretty brave struggle at a time when men considered their wives to be practically their property.

Katie, who has been with the same man since they were children, doesn't even know how to rebuild her life.  Given that everyone in her family worshipped her fiancé, it took a lot of guts for her to realize that they weren't really a good match, after all.  Then she meets an Englishman who is as obsessed with Nancy Mitford as she is.  He is trying to find a lost memoir that Nancy allegedly wrote during the war.  But why is he looking for it?  Their romance happens so quickly that Katie doesn't quite know if she can trust her feelings.  Also, if they stand any chance of a long term relationship, she would need to move to England.  How is this going to work?  Love will find a way. 

What I Was Mixed About:

Pacing:

As I said in my introduction, the book moves very slowly, particularly in the WWII portion.  While a lot of time passes over the course of the war, not much happens to Nancy herself.  To be fair, writing a novel is not an exciting, heart-racing endeavor.  It take time to gather ideas, write, and then polish a manuscript.  But, there are many long scenes with dialogue between Nancy and her writer friends, and little else occurring.  I wish there were more about her childhood and her wild sisters, the inspiration behind her most famous novel, The Pursuit of Love.

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date: August 17th, 2021

Author:  Michelle Gable

Publisher: Graydon House

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Page Length:  400 Pages

Source:  Publisher Blog Tour

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  If you are interested in Nancy Mitford, this book will whet your appetite for reading more about her.  A very enjoyable, but slow, read. 

Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Three women. One mission. Enemies everywhere.
May 1944. When spy Elisabeth de Mornay, code name Cécile, notices a coded transmission from an agent in the field does not bear his usual signature, she suspects his cover has been blown– something that is happening with increasing frequency. With the situation in Occupied France worsening and growing fears that the Resistance has been compromised, Cécile is ordered behind enemy lines.
Having rendezvoused with her fellow agents, Léonie and Dominique, together they have one mission: help the Resistance destabilise German operations to pave the way for the Normandy landings.
But the life of a spy is never straightforward, and the in-fighting within the Resistance makes knowing who to trust ever more difficult. With their lives on the line, all three women will have to make decisions that could cost them everything - for not all their enemies are German. 

Review:

I read author Mara Timon's previous novel, City of Spies, last year.  Although it doesn't advertise it as such, Resistance, her latest book, is a sequel to that WWII spy thriller.  And I couldn't be more pleased!  Elisabeth de Mornay's first adventure takes her to Portugal, where she met (and married) a German officer.  She gets sent back to England, leaving her new husband behind.  Now she's back in the thick of the action in France.  Pretending to be a German, she is actually working with the Resistance.  But will someone recognize her from Portugal?  And where has her husband gone to?

This novel was filled with action, and heart-stopping suspense.  The story follows Elisabeth, and two other women who must each pretend to be helping the Germans.  But how far does one go for the cause?  There are no right or wrong answers, but each woman's ethics are constantly challenged.  If you love spy thrillers, you are sure to enjoy this book!

What I Liked:

Historical Details:

All the details about the Resistance, from how the group operated, to what precautions they took to keep themselves from discovery were fascinating.  There were codes used to check each other's identities (how else can a wireless operator authenticate the information they are receiving?), and backstories to fool the Germans and locals alike.  

The author also doesn't shy away from how challenging these situations were.  Just parachuting in to France, Elisabeth nearly breaks her ankle.  She then must devise a plausible explanation for her injury.  There are also wounds that must be dealt with (often without a doctor), diseases to avoid, and the constant lack of food that made performing at one's best difficult.

Characters:

Elisabeth is a practical person.  She has a mission and will do almost anything to see it through.  But, inside, she is not pleased to be pretending to be a German.  She knows how much she is hated by the local French people.  But she knows that her skills as a wireless operator are invaluable to preparing the Allies to invade France.  I loved how strong she was, but she wasn't a perfect super spy!  She takes a lot of chances that puts the mission in jeopardy when she meets someone from her past.  Her hatred of Germans is also strong enough to cloud her judgement at times.  

Léonie and Dominique, her fellow spies, are also working hard for the Resistance.  Each has strong motivations for hating the Nazis.  And both are even more ruthless than Elisabeth when it comes to getting the job done.  Léone, in particular, is hell bent on revenge.  She is so lost in her hate that she has no plans for the future, other than stopping the war.  When your that driven, you have nothing to lose.

Although this is a female driven novel, this is not a heart-warming story of female friendship.  I believe this is due to each of the women having their own private agendas for being spies.  But what I did like about their interactions was that, like good co-workers should, they kept each other accountable.  They each questioned one another when someone was taking too many risks.

Story:

The story takes place in France just before the Allied invasion in 1944.  As a reader, you know what they don't know:  the invasion will commence soon.  It's critical that the Allies get information on what the Nazis are doing prior to the attack.  I loved the suspense of knowing that time is not on their side. 

Two of the three women (Elisabeth and Léonie) are pretending to be German.  Dominique is posing as a collaborator.  It's fine that they are actually helping the French and English. But who is going to know this when the bullets start flying?  There is a real possibility that the locals, who are unaware of their true allegiances, will kill the women for helping the Nazis.  So while the invasion is wonderful and exciting, it is the most dangerous time for these spies.  

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  September 2nd, 2021

Author:  Mara Timon

Publisher:  Zaffre

Genre:  WWII Historical Fiction/Spy novel

Page Length:  432 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  This book was exciting, fun, and made me stay up very late on a week night because I couldn't put it down.  If spy thrillers are your thing, you are going to love this book. 

Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Raised by conservative parents, 18-year-old Meg Hennessey just found out her entire childhood was a lie. Instead of taking a gap year before college to find herself, she ends up traveling north to meet what’s left of the family she never knew existed.

While there, she meets Micah Allen, a former pastor’s kid whose dad ended up in prison, leaving Micah with his own complicated relationship about the church. The clock is ticking on Pastor Allen’s probation hearing and Micah, now 19, feels the pressure to forgive - even when he can’t possibly forget.

As Meg and Micah grow closer, they are confronted with the heavy flutterings of first love and all the complications it brings. Together, they must navigate the sometimes-painful process of cutting ties with childhood beliefs as they build toward something truer and straight from the heart.

In Erin Hahn’s Never Saw You Coming, sometimes it takes a leap of faith to find yourself.

Review:

Erin Hahn is quickly becoming one of my go to authors.  If I see she has written a book, I will immediately make plans to request a review copy and/or buy it.  Why, you may ask?  Because this is one author who knows how teens think and behave.  Her books are honest, and don't settle for a quick resolution in order to make a happy ending.  While still being lots of fun, her novels are realistic about the issues facing young people.

Never Saw You Coming is set in the same universe as Erin Hahn's previous book, More Than Maybe, with a few characters from that book making an appearance in this new one.  This story follows Meg (the best friend of Veda, the main character in More Than Maybe).  Meg has been raised in a very conservative environment.  She has been homeschooled, goes to church often, and tries to dress modestly as her church has taught her.  But when several revelations about Meg's parents surface, she is thrown for a loop, and she begins to question everything she has been taught to believe.

Meg travels to a new town to meet her great-grandmother, and sort out her feelings.  While she's there, she also meets Micah.  Micah is a year older than Meg, and has had a tough time due to his father's illegal behavior.  He had looked up to his dad, and now with his illusions shattered, he feels completely alone.  When Meg and Micah meet, you just know something wonderful will happen.

I loved this book for it's honest look at the transition from teen to adult.  From being spoon-fed your values to deciding them for yourself.  This book shows how important religion is in some teen's lives, and how those beliefs are often re-examined as teen's get older.  With wonderful characters, and an straight-forward look at teen sexuality, this is a very special novel.

What I Liked:

Characters:

While Meg's situation is extreme, the influence of most parents starts to diminish after their kids graduate from high school.  Young people begin to think for themselves and they may not see eye to eye with their parents values.  That is what much of this book is about.  Meg must find a way to balance how she's been raised with how to live her religious beliefs as an adult.

As she begins to fall for Micah, Meg wonders how she can be "pure" while also being attracted to her boyfriend, and this causes lots of guilt. She also starts to notice how girls are shamed in her church.  Why are girls taught to be modest?  So boys won't be tempted.  She starts to understand how this kind of teaching removes a boy's responsibility for their own behavior, and puts the onus, and blame, solely on girls.

Micah, the other main character, also is dealing with looking at his parents realistically.  His dad, a pastor, is in prison for a number of crimes, and his family has been ostracized by the community.  Aside from the betrayal of his father, he also feels betrayed by his church.  But he still has a strong faith.  Can he forgive his father?  More importantly, should he forgive his father?  

Meg's uncle James is a youth leader in his church. They don't know each other very well.  But as Meg gets to know him, she finds him to be very supportive of Meg and Micah.  But he is still a pastor.  When someone accuses Meg of having sex, James shames her instead of hearing her side of the story.  James is a man in his thirties, and dates women, staying out late himself.  Hypocrisy much?

Teen Sexuality:

While most religions teach that sex is only okay inside a marriage, the author takes an honest look at a teen's emerging sexual feelings.  This is not a book that is trying to show that sex is either good or bad.  It is just another aspect of a person's life.  Meg, having been taught that sexual feelings are sinful, feels very conflicted about her feelings.  But I wouldn't say that the moment she gets a boyfriend that she abandons her beliefs.  She needs to come to terms that her feelings are normal, and not to feel guilty about it.

Story:

I enjoyed how Meg becomes her own person throughout the book.  From making the decision to reach out to her newly found relatives, to getting a job and a place to live, Meg is a person who gets things done!  Micah is also blazing his own path, training to be a search and rescue worker (along with his awesome dog!).  Seeing how these two people find each other, and support each other was really fun and romantic!

Religion:

Religion plays a key role in this book.  And while the book points out much of what is wrong with religion (shaming girls, using guilt to control others), it balances this with the many positives that Meg and Micah feel.  They each find great comfort in prayer, and church music.  And while the community can be very judgemental, it also can provide support.  

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  September 7th, 2021

Author:  Erin Hahn

Publisher:  Wednesday Books

Genre:  YA Contemporary

Page Length: 320 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  I loved this book so much for its honesty about teen sexuality and how it can clash with a religious upbringing.  I highly recommend this book. 

Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Millie Mosbach and her brother David escaped to the United States just before Kristallnacht, leaving their parents and little sister in Berlin. Now they are both back in their former hometown, haunted by ghosts and hoping against hope to find their family. Millie works in the office responsible for rooting out the most dedicated Nazis from publishing. Like most of their German-born American colleagues, the siblings suffer from rage at Germany and guilt at their own good fortune. Only Millie’s boss, Major Harry Sutton, seems strangely eager to be fair to the Germans.

Living and working in bombed-out Berlin, a latter day Wild West where the desperate prey on the unsuspecting; spies ply their trade; black markets thrive, and forbidden fraternization is rampant, Millie must come to terms with a past decision made in a moment of crisis, and with the enigmatic sometimes infuriating Major Sutton who is mysteriously understanding of her demons. Atmospheric and page-turning, The Living and the Lost is a story of survival, love, and forgiveness, of others and of self.

Review:

I think one of the things that draws me to WWII historical fiction is that there are so many different perspectives that an author can write from.  I've read WWII books about soldiers, civilians, female spies, families, the LGBTQ+ community, and more.  But, as with her previous novel, Paris Never Leaves You, author Ellen Feldman focuses on those who escaped Nazi Germany to start a new life in America.  I wasn't overly fond of Paris Never Leaves You because (to be honest) the protagonist was a German woman who pretended to be Jewish in order to immigrate to the U.S.  I found it hard to have empathy for her.

The Living and the Lost is a tale of a woman learning empathy for everyone affected by the war.   I found the characters complex and the story to be haunting.  The book did not make me feel sorry for Nazis.  But it did show the protagonist, Millie (as well as me), that no one was untouched by the war.  Some scars are obvious, while many more are psychological.  And each person shows their trauma in a different way.  As one character tells Millie, "Don't be so quick to judge others".  Clearly I need that reminder, as well.

What I liked:

Setting:

The majority of the book takes place in post-war Berlin.  Millie, a German-Jew who escaped to America in 1938, returns to her hometown to help with the rebuilding efforts.  She left Germany during the oppression of Jews, but before the war.  So she can hardly recognize the city.  Many of the buildings are destroyed, and the once proud German people are starving, fighting over anything to eat, or to sell on the black market.  But how do you figure out who are the civilians and who are the Nazis?  Who is deserving of sympathy and who should be put on trial for war crimes?

Characters:

Most of the American characters in Germany are German-born Jews who fled to the U.S. years earlier.  But all have lost family members who couldn't get out in time.  They have a lot of survivors guilt, and anger with the German people.  Each person has their own reasons for returning.  Some are looking for lost relatives, while others want revenge for what happened to their family.  Some genuinely want to reclaim Germany and show that Jews could not be eliminated.  For most, it's a mixture of each.

Millie and her brother left Germany and were hopeful that her parents and youngest sister would join them.  But they never did.  David, Millie's brother became a soldier so he could fight in the war, and kill some Nazis.  That is how he begins to deal with the guilt.  But Millie doesn't have that option.  Instead, she goes to college and, when the war is over, returns to Germany as a translator.  She is part of a team of investigators who interview Germans seeking to work in the media.  The United States doesn't want former Nazis in these highly coveted positions, so her mission is to weed them out.

Even though Millie wasn't in a concentration camp, she still is traumatized by the what lead to her leaving her family behind.  And she can't forgive herself for surviving when her parents and sister did not.  This comes out in several ways.  Even though the city has changed, Millie still has panic attacks in places like the main train station.  She looks at children and swears she sees her sister.  And she has immense anger towards Germans.

Other characters, like her brother David, and her boss Harry, feel they need to do as many good deeds as possible to justify their survival.  Other characters are so filled with rage that they will beat up Germans at the slightest provocation.  What I was really surprised about was the rage that the German civilians felt.  These people were not Nazis, but they also didn't exactly jump in to defend their Jewish neighbors either.  Nevertheless, these were people who also lost loved ones, who were terrorized by nightly bombings, who were brutally raped by Russian soldiers.  And they knew that no matter what they suffered, they were not allowed to receive sympathy.  The world was holding every German accountable for the atrocities done to the Jews.  For Millie, as well as other Jewish characters in the book, finding a way to, while perhaps not sympathize, but at least empathize with these Germans was a challenge.

Story:

The story follows Millie and her fellow German-Jews, on a path of survival, and then the guilt that follows.  Each character must face the fact they they made it through, but most of their family did not.  What a horrible feeling to lose everyone you love to war.  

With such complex characters, it was so helpful to have the many flashbacks to their different experiences getting to America, and dealing with being German (and Jewish) during the war.   At times, other Americans treated them as dirty Jews, not letting them into restaurants and hotels.  Other times, they were treated as German spies who couldn't bee trusted.  It was a no win situation.  But Millie and her brother know that no matter how hard they have it, the Jews left in Germany had it worse.

I think that is the big takeaway I had from the book.  Anyone who has been through trauma can remember that someone, somewhere else, has had worse things happen to them.  But, that doesn't mean that their suffering is any less.  People tend to compare suffering, but we shouldn't.  

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  September 7th, 2021

Author:  Ellen Feldman

Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Page Length:  352 pages

Source:   NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  A complex novel of survivorship, this is an historical fiction that you will remember for a long time.  Highly recommended.

Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in Exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder--Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.

Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.

DI Matthew Venn returns in The Heron's Cry, in Ann Cleeves powerful next novel, proving once again that she is a master of her craft.

Review:

The first Ann Cleeves novel I ever read was The Long Call (book 1 in this series).  But most people will know the author from her very popular crime novels that have been made into hit British television series such as Vera.  I enjoyed The Long Call, but I think I like this next book, The Heron's Cry, even more.  Much like Louise Penny (author of the Inspector Gamache series), Ann Cleeves creates a whole town full of characters and relationships that become richer with each successive novel.  With it's small seaside town setting, wonderful characters, and a mystery that is compelling, this was a winning reading experience.

What I Liked:

Setting:

North Devon is a seaside community that get's lots of tourists each summer.  With beaches and smart cafes, it's a popular destination. But for the locals, there is also lots of traffic, and busy restaurants to contend with.  While the characters make their irritations clear, they have also created places that are more for the townspeople.  There is the Woodyard, a community center where people can meet for a coffee, or a yoga class in the daytime, and then see a theatre production there at night.  There's also a thriving arts community.  With a mix of lifelong locals, and London transplants, this is certainly a town I would want to live in.  But even an Idyllic town has its share of crime,,,

Characters:

The author not only has a great cast of characters who are police detectives, but also a wonderful mix of spouses, as well.  Matthew Venn, the lead detective at the local police force, is a quiet, serious person who is married to Jonathan, who is more of a free spirit.  Considering how important Matthew's job is (catching killers), it's no wonder that Matthew is so controlled with his emotions.  Jonathan has no such constraints.  He is more impulsive and more open with his emotions than Matthew.  They are usually a good balance for each other, but not always.  They often miscommunicate.

Jen, another police officer in the group, is a single mom with two teenage kids.  She is often overworked and stressed.  This leads her to make some poor choices in her off hours, when she just wants to relax.  But the demands of the job make this understandable.

Ross is the third person on the team.  I found him harder to like, as he is more of a traditional male.  He thinks he is better than Jen, and always wants to be praised for his work.  But, I understood him too.  He is married, but seems to struggle with understanding his wife.  I think he really wishes this were the 1950's, where he could be the "breadwinner" and his wife would stay at home and cater just to him.  But you can see that this is how he was raised.  He knows that times have changed, and he is (mostly) willing to have more of a partnership with his wife.

Story:

The story centers around a murder at a farm where an eccentric rich man has surrounded himself with artists, and artisans.  Like every small town, there are a lot of people who are related to each other, and this complicates Matthew's investigation.  

I enjoyed reading about how the detective and his team went about piecing everything together.  There were some interesting twists and turns, such as a previous suicide and a possible connection with the murder.  This leads to a look at how stretched the National Health Service is, especially in regards to dealing with mental health issues.  This is an issue in the U.S., as well. 

Trigger Warning for Suicide

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  September 7th, 2021

Author:  Ann Cleeves

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Genre:  Murder Mystery

Page Length:  400 pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  I really enjoyed this book.  But start with the first in the series, The Long Call, to get the whole scope of the town and characters.  I can't wait for the next installment of the series.