The Love Letter | Rachel Hauck

Title: The Love Letter

Author: Rachel Hauck

Length: 352 pages

Publication date: June 12, 2018

Genre: Adult fiction

Rating: 3.5/5

With the colonies at war and his country divided, Hamilton Lightfoot must choose sides: Fight for the British Crown or for the Independence of America. But after witnessing the death of his family at the hands of redcoats, he fears he’ll fight for revenge instead of honor. On the verge of a great battle, he pens a letter to Esther, the woman he loves. Esther Longfellow is in love with Hamilton, but her father is a loyalist, living in upcountry South Carolina and working for a wealthy British lord. When the Revolutionary War comes to her doorstep she is forced to choose between devotion to her father and her love for Hamilton.
Chloe Daschle is the daughter of Hollywood royalty—a great director and an Oscar-winning actress. Yet her career has taken an unexpected turn: She’s the queen of death scenes. Trying to break out, she accepts a supporting role in a revolutionary war film. But she longs for the perfect role and the perfect real-life romance. Does happily ever after only exist in the movies? After a life-changing tragedy, MIT graduate Jesse Gates decides to leave his life behind and move to LA to try his hand at acting and screenwriting. When he finds a page from one of his ancestor’s letters, he becomes consumed with the love he finds there.  Determined to help his grandfather find happiness at the end of his life, Jesse writes and sells a screenplay based on the events surrounding the lost love of previous generations.
When Jesse meets the woman he has cast to play Esther Longfellow—his grandfather’s one true love—the stories of all four collide across time and space. The love letter from the past might have more power to affect the future than any of them could have imagined.

I generally enjoy stories that have two timelines that weave together, but I usually end up preferring one timeline to the other. The Love Letter was no exception. Not that one was worse than the other one, but I did prefer the contemporary portion to the historical portion. I just liked those characters better. One thing I liked in the book were the relationships - I think Rachel Hauck really understands how to write realistic relationships. The way the romances bloomed and the emotions that went along with those developments were well done, in my opinion. I did enjoy the theme of the story as well, especially in the contemporary timeline. The faith element was well done as well. I've read Christian romance in the past where the characters went to church once or twice, but their lives didn't really reflect a relationship with Christ. In this one, I felt that while the characters had their (realistic) flaws, the faith element wasn't watered down. And that ending was just too sweet, it melted my heart. Overall, this was an enjoyable Christian romance!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Dear Mrs. Bird | AJ Pearce

Title: Dear Mrs. Bird

Author: AJ Pearce

Length: 281 pages

Publication date: July 3, 2018

Genre: Adult historical fiction

Rating: 4.5/5

London 1940, bombs are falling. Emmy Lake is Doing Her Bit for the war effort, volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. When Emmy sees an advertisement for a job at the London Evening Chronicle, her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent seem suddenly achievable. But the job turns out to be typist to the fierce and renowned advice columnist, Henrietta Bird. Emmy is disappointed, but gamely bucks up and buckles down. Mrs Bird is very clear: Any letters containing Unpleasantness—must go straight in the bin. But when Emmy reads poignant letters from women who are lonely, may have Gone Too Far with the wrong men and found themselves in trouble, or who can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she is unable to resist responding. As the German planes make their nightly raids, and London picks up the smoldering pieces each morning, Emmy secretly begins to write letters back to the women of all ages who have spilled out their troubles. Prepare to fall head over heels with Emmy and her best friend, Bunty, who are spirited and gutsy, even in the face of events that bring a terrible blow. As the bombs continue to fall, the irrepressible Emmy keeps writing, and readers are transformed by AJ Pearce’s hilarious, heartwarming, and enormously moving tale of friendship, the kindness of strangers, and ordinary people in extraordinary times.

I am such a sucker for WWII fiction, and I absolutely loved Dear Mrs. Bird! The writing was excellent for a debut novel. The premise totally drew me in: I loved seeing a story set from a perspective of every day life. These people were being bombed at night and going to work the next morning. They still had to pay rent and get food, and they wanted to go dancing on Friday nights to take make their lives feel normal again. I loved the characters and how they related to each other. I'm already itching to read this book again. I highly recommend the audiobook as well - it's narrated by Anna Popplewell, who played Susan in the Narnia movies! I very much recommend this for fans of historical fiction.

The Other Einstein | Marie Benedict

Title: The Other Einstein

Author: Marie Benedict

Length: 304 pages

Publication date: October 18, 2016

Genre: Historical fiction

Rating: 3/5

I find it kind of interesting that there's basically a genre of fiction books about women who were married to famous men in the early 1900s. I've read The Paris Wife, which is about Ernest Hemingway's first wife Hadley Richardson, and I have Z, which is about Zelda Fitzgerald, waiting on my TBR shelf. When I first started reading The Other Einstein, I didn't know that's what I was getting into.

The Other Einstein is a fictional account from the perspective of Mileva Maric, who was Albert Einstein's first wife. They met in the late 1890s in a physics class. Mileva was the only woman in the program, and that's where she caught Albert's eye. They formed an intellectual connection first, which eventually led to a romantic relationship. The book essentially starts right when they meet and goes through their relationship and marriage. It was really fascinating because Mileva was a female physicist at the turn of the century, when women still weren't accepted in those fields at all. There isn't a lot actually known about her influence on her husband's theories, but this author speculates that she had a large role in his most famous work. The story doesn't get very technical about it (which I appreciated ha) but it was still interesting. I didn't feel super connected to the story, and there were parts when I could tell that it was a debut novel, but I still thought it was an interesting account. I would recommend if you're a fan of this "genre" of historical fiction.

Between Shades of Gray || Ruta Septeys

Title: Between Shades of Gray

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Length: 344 pages

Publication date: March 22, 2011

Genre: YA historical fiction

Rating: 5/5

When I finished reading Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, I made a comment to my husband that my heart was not okay. He asked why I felt like that, and I had to think about it for a moment. I think it's because the effect this story had on me reaches farther than just a fictional story.

I find myself constantly reaching for stories set in WWII, and most of them take place in Nazi Germany. This one was a first for me. This book is from the point of view from Lina, a 15 year old girl living in Lithuania in 1941, which is when Stalin was in power of the Soviet Union. Lina's family ends up getting deported for "crimes" against the Union, and they are put on trains headed to labour camps in Siberia. This is a story of their survival amidst the most deplorable and loathsome conditions, and them holding on to hope of being able to go home soon.

Sometimes I try to figure out why I like to read these kinds of stories so often. Of course, they are based on real life occurrences, and to read about the evil ways these people were treated makes me sick. It breaks my heart to think about how people are able to convince themselves that certain groups are not even human anymore and treat them worse than animals. (Reminds me of our society's attitude toward abortion, but this isn't about that.) It's just horrible to think about, and yet to see how Lina's family and their group of people banded together was so incredibly beautiful. In the midst of inhuman conditions, they showed each other such kindness. They banded together and became a fortress among themselves, and it was so beautiful.

This book was incredible, just incredible, and I want everyone to read it now. I could go on and on, but I want to you experience it for yourself. I borrowed this from this library and I'm going to be buying a copy for myself, this is something I can see myself reading again and again.

At the Water's Edge || Sara Gruen

Title: At the Water's Edge

Author: Sara Gruen

Length: 348 pages

Publication date: January 1, 2015

Genre: Adult historical fiction

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Madeline Hyde, a young socialite from Phiadelphia, reluctantly follows her husband and their best friend to the tiny village of Drumnadrochit in search of a mythical monster - at the same time that a very real monster, Hitler, wages war against the Allied Forces. What Maddie discovers - about the larger world and about herself - through the unlikely friendships she develops with the villagers, opens her eyes not only to the dark forces that exist around her but to the beauty and surprising possibilities. (summary from Netgalley)

I am a sucker for fiction set in WWII, so this sounded like it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it didn't really do the trick for me. For the majority of the book, it felt like nothing was happening. It felt like the author didn't know what kind of book she wanted to write, so she mixed a few different books together, which made things feel disconnected at times. The characters felt flat for me for most of the book as well. The last third of the book vastly improved, and I actually started to care about what was going on, but it couldn't redeem the rest of the reading experience that much. I've never read anything else by Sara Gruen, but if you like her previous books, you might like this one as well. Overall, I would give this a pass. There are a lot of great books out there more worth your time.


I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

The Last Heiress || Mary Ellis

Title: The Last Heiress

Author: Mary Ellis

Length: 304 pages

Publication date: February 1, 2015

Genre: Historical fiction

Rating: 3.25/5

English heiress Amanda Dunn sets sail from England for Wilmington, North Carolina, where she hopes to somehow restore shipments of raw materials for her family's textile mills, which have been severely disrupted by the American Civil War. She also anticipates spending time with her twin sister Abigail and Abigail's husband, who happens to be in the cotton industry himself. While working on her business dealings, she also meets a young grocer who catches her eye, and suddenly business isn't the only thing on her mind...

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would! It wasn't without flaws, but I liked the story. It is a historical romance, but it didn't feel like the romance wasn't the extreme focus above everything else, and I didn't find it annoying. 

I've not really read anything set during the Civil War, so I don't know much of the history and details of it. This provided enough detail of what was going on without confusing me with names too much, but it did sometimes assume that the reader had at least a rudimentary knowledge of the war, which I wouldn't stay I have. It was interesting to learn some more about it. 

I have mixed feelings about the characters. They didn't feel very complete sometimes, just like simple characters. In the last quarter of the book the main characters each went through changes that didn't have much lead up, so the changes felt very abrupt. However, the characters weren't boxed into a single trope either. I think the potential was there for the author to do more with them. They weren't bad characters, just nothing really deep. The faith part of this story was very surface level, just casual mentions to God. It could hardly be called a Christian fiction.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, and I would recommend it for fans of romance or people interested in American history. 


I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

The Invention of Exile || Vanessa Manko

Title: The Invention of Exile

Author: Vanessa Manko

Length: 304 pages

Publication date: August 14, 2014

Genre: Historical fiction

Rating: 2/5

Austin Voronkov is a Russian immigrant to Connecticut in 1913. As an inventor and engineer, he loves the opportunities he has in the United States. He has met a beautiful American woman named Julia, who agrees to become his wife. But Austin is wrongly accused of being an anarchist, and as a result he and his wife are deported to Russia. Over the next several years, they move from place to place in Europe, having 3 children along the way. Because of the Russian civil war and unrest in Europe, the family decides to go to Mexico, where they will try to get permission to go back to the US. Julia and the children are eventually able to return to their home, while Austin must stay behind in Mexico. Over the years of their separation, Austin must deal with his feelings of isolation from what he knows, and struggles to stay connected to his family.

This book had a lot of promise. The summary sounded really interesting to me, right up my alley. I really enjoy historical fiction and I hadn't read anything set in this situation. However, basically everything about his book was a big disappointment. The writing seemed like the author was attempting to be very poetic, but it just came across as scattered. There were SO many sentence fragments, I couldn't even handle it by the end. The scattered writing also made the story feel horribly repetitive; in fact, if it had been written/edited properly, it probably would have lost 50 or 60 pages.

The dialogue was another problem for me. It was often strained, and not because of Austin's grasp of English. The characters felt quite disconnected from each other, like they were strangers being forced to interact, or bad actors without chemistry. I will say that the author was very good at painting a picture of the setting. I really did feel like I was in Mexico with Austin. Unfortunately, as this was a character based story, that wasn't able to carry the story.

I also had a problem with how the author handled the characters. A few side characters were introduced, and then dropped with no mention again. There is a significant antagonist of the story, a character that causes Austin incredible amounts of stress, to the point where he looks over his shoulder all the time for this character. This character seems like a big deal, yet two-thirds of the way through the book, it seems like the author literally forgot about him! He, the huge problem for Austin, just stops being mentioned at all. He doesn't have any last lines, Austin stops giving him any thought, and it makes you wonder if he was even in the book at all?

The ending was horrific - it was such an anticlimactic letdown! I actually kept trying to turn the page on my ereader because I could not accept that I had reached the end! It felt like a section of pages had to be missing! I was so upset because after struggling through the story, I didn't even have a good ending to show for it!

Now, in full disclosure, I did have a galley of it, and I truly hope that there were things legitimately missing from it that are in the final copy of the book. The story truly did have a lot of promise, but the writing was too weak to pull it off. This is a debut novel, and I feel like if the author keeps working at it, she could have some wonderful stories in the future. I also feel like a strong editor might have made all the difference with this book.


I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.