Review: The Girl in the Shadows by Marion Kummerow

The Girl in the Shadows

by Marion Kummerow

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 290

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  1943, Germany: Two years ago, fate gave a beautiful young Jewish woman named Margarete Rosenbaum the chance to survive the Nazis, by pretending to be one of them, hiding in plain sight. Now she must make a terrifying decision…

Margarete lives as Annegret Huber would have, in a beautiful rural mansion by a forest in northern Germany. She is the heiress to the entire Huber fortune—one which she has devastatingly discovered includes a factory and Nazi prison camp. Margarete has done everything she can to help improve conditions there, and to reduce suffering for the prisoners who remind her so much of her own lost family and friends.

However, as the war rages on and the Nazis become more brutal in their treatment of Jews, she realizes she must do more. She has to help the prisoners escape to real safety, because they will never survive in Hitler’s Germany.

She’s heard of a route to freedom through Sweden. Although that means secretly reaching out to the resistance. With the risk of betrayal at every turn, her enquiries lead her to a man named Stefan, who she instantly feels a powerful connection to. But she fears he will never trust her… unless she reveals the secret that keeps her safe.

At the same time, a Nazi officer begins to show romantic interest in her, making it harder to keep her identity a secret. His loyalty to the party is beyond question, so if he finds her out, not only will her plan be at risk, but also her life and those of everyone she cares for.

But can she let that fear stop her from saving others? Because she knows she herself could so easily be one of the faces on the other side of the fence. And that, in the darkest times, sometimes the only person who can rise up is the girl in the shadows…

Kritters Thoughts:  The third book in a series that I highly recommend starting at the beginning as these book build on each other.  And in that note - spoilers for book one and two could be below.

In this book Margarete is still living in the country and hiding as a German heiress.  She feels responsible for the lives of those who work at her family's factory and while the Nazis are getting more obsessed about getting rid of the Jews, she employs quite a few and is hoping to save each and every one of them.  Margarete can't hide in this book and instead has to put on a brave face and host events and act like the German heiress she is trying to be.  

Marion Kummerow has created such a great series that shares some interesting perspectives on World War II and for those who are faint of heart, I appreciate that this book doesn't show some of the more harsh realities of this war.  Instead she concentrates on the small towns and how they tried to make an impact on the war effort in any way they can.  

While this is book three and most series end here, I hope that Marion has more about this character as I love to follow her efforts in this time and place.   

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2022 Challenge: 22 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: After the Wedding by Laura Elliot

 

After the Wedding

by Laura Elliot

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 346

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Everyone said she was the prettiest flower girl. But now her dress lies on the floor. It’s wet and torn, her shoes are lost. ‘Where did you go?’ her daddy asks. She shakes her head. All she can remember are the red rose petals scattering like drops of blood spilling to the ground.

When Christine Lewis was a little girl, she witnessed something terrible at a wedding and buried it so deep in her memory, she managed to forget it ever happened.

Jessica Newman was a baby when she and her father came to live in an isolated cottage on the Irish island of Cullain with Margaret – the woman who loved Jessica as if she was her own. Until the day Jessica and her father left, and she never saw Margaret again.

Years later, Christine and Jessica cross paths working at the advertising agency Christine runs with her husband. These two women are about to uncover the dark secrets of their own traumatic pasts. But they have no idea that they are connected.
The shocking truth of what happened at the wedding all those years ago, and what became of Margaret, is going to blow their lives apart in more ways than each of them could ever have imagined…

Kritters Thoughts:  A young flower girl is rescued and while this incident seems isolated, it will ripple and come back up and after a trip with a therapist, the memories will come back and Christine's life will be upended.  

This was such a fun read - it felt like two mysteries for the price as one as the clues from Christine's childhood are being revealed while the mystery of her and husband's advertising agency's demise.  Of course, since this has all sorts of clues and things in this book, I don't want to share too much and give anything away, but I have to say the way that this book unfolded was just genius.  

The characters in this book were built so well.  I both trusted them and questioned them at the same time!  I loved following Christine's pursuit for the truth and her wanting to find out the details as to what happened to her when she was young and to find out what all was going on around her that at a young age she would have never known.  

I was surprised to find out after finishing this book that I have a lot of Laura Elliot's books on my TBR, but this was the first one I have read.  With her pacing being on point and her characters having such depth, I am even more excited to read Laura Elliot's other books.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2022 Challenge: 20 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Curfew by Jayne Cowie

Curfew

by Jayne Cowie

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 320

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Imagine a near-future Britain in which women dominate workplaces, public spaces, and government. Where the gender pay gap no longer exists and motherhood opens doors instead of closing them. Where women are no longer afraid to walk home alone, to cross a dark parking lot, or to catch the last train.

Where all men are electronically tagged and not allowed out after 7 p.m.

But the curfew hasn’t made life easy for everyone. Sarah is a single mother who happily rebuilt her life after her husband, Greg, was sent to prison for breaking curfew. Now he’s about to be released, and Sarah isn’t expecting a happy reunion, given that she’s the reason he was sent there.

Her teenage daughter, Cass, hates living in a world that restricts boys like her best friend, Billy. Billy would never hurt anyone, and she’s determined to prove it. Somehow.

Helen is a teacher at the local school. Secretly desperate for a baby, she’s applied for a cohab certificate with her boyfriend, Tom, and is terrified that they won’t get it. The last thing she wants is to have a baby on her own.

These women don’t know it yet, but one of them is about to be violently murdered. Evidence will suggest that she died late at night and that she knew her attacker. It couldn’t have been a man because a CURFEW tag is a solid alibi.

Kritters Thoughts:  What if you lived in a world where men had a curfew and could be punished for being outdoors between certain hours?  Would this be a place you would want to live?  When I first read the synopsis and before I started reading, I thought this could be interesting if you thought about it, but then as the book started and the logistics of how this could affect life really made me wonder if I would want to live in a place like this.  

Told through multiple perspectives, but all from female points of view - these women are all affected positively and negatively from the curfew that they lived with.  I appreciated that the author really gave diverse points of view from a teenager who is questioning why these rules are in existence from a woman who needs them for her own safety.  I found myself really appreciating seeing the different people and their thoughts on the rules of their world.  

This book is the kind of "post apocalyptic" kind of book that I like to read.  I like to think about what if our world was different and would I like the different rules or would I wish for the old world!  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2022 Challenge: 19 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

Another busy week, but a quieter weekend of garden prep and reading!


A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

What Animals Want by Julie McLaughlin

Summer on the Island by Brenda Novak

A Family Affair by Robyn Carr

Scarlet Carnation by Laila Ibrahim

Oh What Fun by Chandler Baker

Currently Reading:

The Pilot's Girl by Catherine Hokin

Next on the TBR pile:

At Any Cost by Andrea Kane

Review: The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery

The Summer Getaway

by Susan Mallery

Publisher: HQN

Pages: 416

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  With her divorce settlement about to run out and a mortgage she can’t afford, Robyn Caldwell needs a plan for her future. She nurtured her family and neglected herself. But how’s she supposed to think when her daughter has become the most demanding bride ever, her son won’t even consider college, her best friend is on the brink of marital disaster and her ex is making a monumentally bad decision that could bring everything crashing down on Robyn’s head? So when her great-aunt Lillian invites her to Santa Barbara for the summer, Robyn hops on the first plane.

But it’s hard to run away when you’re the heart of the family. One by one, everyone she left behind follows her across the country. Somehow, their baggage doesn’t feel as heavy in the sun-drenched, mishmash mansion. The more time Robyn spends with free-spirited Lillian, the more she sees the appeal in taking chances—on dreams, on love, on family. Life is meant to be lived on purpose. All she has to do is muster the courage to take a chance on herself.

Kritters Thoughts: Robyn Caldwell is in that next phase of life where her children don't need her every day and instead need her during the big decision moments and her ex husband is fully an ex and she hasn't quite moved forward since they divorced.  This may sound a little weird, but this book felt as though it was a coming of age for a woman entering the second half of her life - she is coming into her new age!

There was one character that for me, I didn't enjoy her storyline and thought the book could have done without her - the friend, Mindy.  From page one, I didn't love her, but I was glad to keep reading and find that she wasn't involved in the heart of the story, but she sure was distracting and I could have loved the book more without her.  

I tend to love Susan Mallery's stand alones and I did like this one, but this wasn't one of my favorites that I would widely recommend.  If you have read her others, you will love how she builds strong women and sends them down interesting paths.  

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2022 Challenge: 18 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Nazis Knew My Name

The Nazis Knew My Name

by Magda Hellinger, Maya Lee and David Brewster

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 320

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In March 1942, twenty-five-year-old kindergarten teacher Magda Hellinger and nearly a thousand other young women were deported as some of the first Jews to be sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The SS soon discovered that by putting prisoners in day-to-day charge of the accommodation blocks, they could deflect attention away from themselves. Magda was one such prisoner selected for leadership and put in charge of hundreds of women in the notorious Experimental Block 10. She found herself constantly walking a dangerously fine line: saving lives while avoiding suspicion by the SS and risking execution. Through her inner strength and shrewd survival instincts, she was able to rise above the horror and cruelty of the camps and build pivotal relationships with the women under her watch, and even some of Auschwitz’s most notorious Nazi senior officers.

Kritters Thoughts:  A non-fiction story that read like fiction, which for me is always a plus in that the book doesn't read like a textbook!  Maya Lee, the daughter of Magda Hellinger has always been fascinated by the few details that her mother and father would give her of their time in concentration camps.  Both shared little and even with Magda writing a book, Maya came to find out that there were many details left out, so she went on a mission and this book is the outcome of her wanting to flesh out her mother's story.  

While I am not naive of the concentration camps during World War II, it is hard to read about them and I tend to try to find books set during this time, but not in this place.  For some reason this book while horrific in so many ways, knowing it was true made it feel more special and valuable of a read.  I also had no idea that some of the Jewish people were put in charge of "blocks" and even had to inflict discipline on their own family, friends, neighbors and so on.  

If you think you have read all you can/want of World War II, I would challenge you to add this one.  Maya does such a fantastic job of honoring her mother's legacy and giving the reader another story of survival and hope during a time where both were limited.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A half day on Friday, a weekend with snow and cold weather means a few books were consumed this week!


A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

The Shop on Royal Street by Karen White

Raised Bed Gardening by CaliKim

The Girl in the Shadows by Marion Kummerow

Home or Away by Kathleen West

Currently Reading:

What Animals Want by Jacqueline Pearce

Next on the TBR pile:

Summer on the Island by Brenda Novak

Review: This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel

This Might Hurt

by Stephanie Wrobel

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 336

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Welcome to Wisewood. We'll keep your secrets if you keep ours.

Natalie Collins hasn't heard from her sister in more than half a year.

The last time they spoke, Kit was slogging from mundane workdays to obligatory happy hours to crying in the shower about their dead mother. She told Natalie she was sure there was something more out there.

And then she found Wisewood.

On a private island off the coast of Maine, Wisewood's guests commit to six-month stays. During this time, they're prohibited from contact with the rest of the world--no Internet, no phones, no exceptions. But the rules are for a good reason: to keep guests focused on achieving true fearlessness so they can become their Maximized Selves. Natalie thinks it's a bad idea, but Kit has had enough of her sister's cynicism and voluntarily disappears off the grid.

Six months later Natalie receives a menacing e-mail from a Wisewood account threatening to reveal the secret she's been keeping from Kit. Panicked, Natalie hurries north to come clean to her sister and bring her home. But she's about to learn that Wisewood won't let either of them go without a fight.

Kritters Thoughts:  A pair of sisters, each responded differently to the childhood they endured, one tried to overcome it and one was drowning until she found a safe place to recenter and work on creating a new path.  

Coming from a pair of sisters, I love to read books about sisters as I may be partial but I think a sister relationship is quite unique to the other two kinds of sibling relationships.  Having two females that can sometimes be compared to each other and are in the same family competing for time and attention can be very difficult.  I love when the sisters have the same childhood, but come out very different and then must figure out how and why they are who they are.  

Another storyline wove in and out of the Kit and Natalies.  A young girl who is unknown until the connection is made, tells the origin story of a woman who also had a hard childhood and once the reader finds out who is who, all the pieces come together.  I didn't love the chapters of this young girl as much as Kit and Natalie story, but once I found out who this person is, it definitely made the puzzle feel complete.  

This book also had a creepy mystery element to it that kept the pacing moving forward.  I would recommend this to readers, but with the warning that if you are sensitive to stories with cult like vibes, then this may not be up your alley.  I studied religion in college and love reading books about a group of people getting behind a person or idea and becoming a following and what all that looks like!  This was an interesting one!!    

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2022 Challenge: 17 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Moment in Time by Suzanne Redfearn

Moment in Time

by Suzanne Redfearn

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 288

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It’s been eight years since a tragic accident changed Mo Kaminski’s and Chloe Miller’s lives forever. Now in their midtwenties, they’re sharing an apartment in San Francisco and navigating the normal challenges of early adulthood. Along with their roommate, Hazel, they are making their marks on the world—Mo revolutionizing the news with her media start-up, Hazel using her big brain to anticipate the future, and Chloe rescuing abandoned strays in the city.

But when Hazel disappears after being sexually assaulted, Mo’s and Chloe’s lives are again suddenly ripped apart. And when the perpetrator turns up drugged and beaten, the mystery of where Hazel is deepens. Intensely worried and desperate to discover the truth, they set out to find Hazel and bring her home.

Mo and Chloe are no strangers to tragedy, but this journey will test them in ways they never imagined. The stakes are high; the future uncertain; the need for justice essential.

Will their commitment to their friend bring them closer together—or ultimately drive them apart?

Kritters Thoughts:  Three friends and roommates have been living and loving San Francisco when one night two of the three go out to celebrate a work accomplishment, the one night will change their lives forever.  Mo and Hazel meet up with some of Mo's friends and Hazel is sexually assaulted and Mo and Chloe vow to avenge what happened to her.  

A hard book to read as a serial rapist has gotten away with this so many times due to a "lack of evidence" and to watch these two friends try to find the best solution to help Hazel, but also to find justice.  This book took so many twists and turns and I think I even gasped at one moment!  A story of women friendship, a little mystery and revenge all wrapped up in one cover and ended up being an extremely wild ride.  

I have only read two Suzanne Redfearn's book, but after this one I will automatically read her books, no questions asked!  She created three women characters that were dynamic and interesting and she showed how woman can and do show up for each other for the little and the big things.  While the subject matter was hard to read at times, I kept reading to see how these women would come together to bring evil down.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2022 Challenge: 16 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

The Golden Couple

by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Publisher: St Martin's Press

Pages: 336

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  If Avery Chambers can’t fix you in 10 sessions, she won’t take you on as a client. Her successes are phenomenal--she helps people overcome everything from domineering parents to assault--and almost absorb the emptiness she sometimes feels since her husband’s death.

Marissa and Mathew Bishop seem like the golden couple--until Marissa cheats. She wants to repair things, both because she loves her husband and for the sake of their 8-year-old son. After a friend forwards an article about Avery, Marissa takes a chance on this maverick therapist, who lost her license due to controversial methods.

When the Bishops glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two main women in this twisting and turning story.  Avery is as of recently an unlicensed therapist and she claims that she can fix all the things in just 10 themed sessions.  Marissa is married with a young son and has recently cheated on her husband and needs Avery to help her fix the marriage that she wishes to stay in.  This is just the beginning.  

Told in alternating perspectives, each Avery and Marissa tell the story from their point of view and I am so glad we the reader got both!  While this story does revolve around cheating and I don't tend to read that, I am a Sarah Pekkanen fan and will give anything she writes a chance and yes cheating is what brought Avery and Marissa into each other's lives, there was more mystery and intrigue that kept the story going and I was so glad.  The story ended up being a who dun it of sorts and I loved reading that part of the book.  

I may be sensitive to this, but I appreciated that Avery's storyline really centered around her work.  I find that a lot of fiction doesn't always show women working and as a working woman myself, it is nice when the whole storyline revolves around a woman and her profession.  

While maybe not my favorite of Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks' work, I would recommend this to readers who are not sensitive to cheating storylines as I am.    

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2022 Challenge: 15 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from St Martin's Press.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

Very thankful for some quiet time this weekend to curl up with a book or two!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Curfew by Jayne Cowie

After the Wedding by Laura Elliot

The 4% Fix by Karma Brown (audiobook)

Currently Reading:

The Shop on Royal Street by Karen White

Next on the TBR pile:

The Girl in the Shadows by Marion Kummerow

Review: Smile and Look Pretty by Amanda Pellegrino

Smile and Look Pretty

by Amanda Pellegrino

Publisher: Park Row

Pages: 368

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Online they're the Aggressive One, the Bossy One, the Bitchy One and the Emotional One. In real life, best friends Cate, Lauren, Olivia and Max all have one thing in common--they're overworked, overtired and underpaid assistants to some of the most powerful men in the entertainment industries. When they secretly start an anonymous blog detailing their experiences, their posts go viral and hundreds of other women come forward with stories of their own. Confronted with the risks of newfound fame and the possibility of their identities being revealed, they have to contend with what happens when you try to change the world.

Kritters Thoughts:  Four executive assistants have been meeting for drinks and sharing stories for a long time until one comes up with an idea where they create a website where they can share their stories with the internet and it easily spirals out of control!  

As an executive assistant I debated about reading this one, would it hit too close to home OR would it be entertaining reading about women in my profession and seeing their stories!  It was both!  I read this on a weekend when my job was quiet and it felt fun to see some fictionalized horror stories that I know are not blown too far out of proportion!  There were a few moments that really made me giggle because they weren't far from experiences I had and I wanted to join these ladies at a happy hour to swap stories.  

I would absolutely recommend this book, whether you are an EA OR you have an EA in your life.  I think many people don't know what the EA role can and does entail, so to see the spectrum through these ladies and other's eyes, I think would be enlightening to many.  

I loved this debut and hope that Amanda has many more to come, even if they aren't in the same vain.     

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2022 Challenge: 14 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Hello Sunshine by Laura Dave

Hello Sunshine

by Laura Dave

Publisher: Simon Schuster

Pages: 256

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Sunshine Mackenzie has it all…until her secrets come to light.

Sunshine Mackenzie is living the dream—she’s a culinary star with millions of fans, a line of #1 bestselling cookbooks, and a devoted husband happy to support her every endeavor.

And then she gets hacked.

When Sunshine’s secrets are revealed, her fall from grace is catastrophic. She loses the husband, her show, the fans, and her apartment. She’s forced to return to the childhood home—and the estranged sister—she’s tried hard to forget. But what Sunshine does amid the ashes of her own destruction may well save her life.

Kritters Thoughts:  Sunshine Mackenzie has been an online personality that went viral and is about to make the move to traditional media with a food show on tv, but her personality has been built on a complete lie and it is all going to be exposed.  On the way to a birthday party, Sunshine's twitter is hacked and all the secrets are revealed and it send her life on a completely different path.  

I flipped and flopped on this book.  There were moments when I loved Sunshine's story and I was excited to see how she would recovery and redeem herself and then there were times where I didn't like her at all and she would do something that was completely unappealing and I sort of pulled for the person that outed her.  I felt as though Sunshine felt flat a lot and she didn't have depth and I was worried she wouldn't be able to learn from this life blunder.  

I like Laura Dave's work and while this may not be my favorite, I am still excited to get caught up on her backlist and anticipate what is to come.

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

February - for the love of books

source

A solid month of reading, but was hoping for more. A little behind on my goals, but only two months into the year!

1. The Duchess Countess by Catherine Ostler

2. The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti by Jennifer Probst

3. My Mother, Munchausen's and Me by Helen Naylor

4. This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg

5. Smile and Look Pretty by Amanda Pellegrino

6. The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

7. Moment in Time by Suzanne Redfearn

8. The Nazis Knew My Name by Magda Hellinger and Maya Lee

9. Lucky Leap Day by Anne Marie Walker

10. This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel

11. Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave

12. Sleep Deprived by Therese Heckenkamp

13. Christmas Kisses by Judith Keim

14. The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery

Total pages read, clicked and flipped: 4,096

Where Have I Been Reading?:

Italy 

California (2)

New York City 

Washington, DC 

San Francisco, CA

Auschwitz, Germany

Ireland

Maine

Hamptons