authentic reviews and insightful interviews for inquisitive readers
Title: The Black Swan of Paris Author: Karen Robards Series: n/a Rife with tension, heartache, and hope I would like to thank Karen Robards, Harlequin MIRA, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also thanks to Justine Sha for inviting me to participate in the blog tour. Don’t take my 4-star rating to heart; I wasn’t the ideal audience for this type of book. I wanted to read this because it …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is a must read for anyone who has never read this historical novel that was first published in 2015. While people are locked down they might want to pick up this novel, which is very relevant to today considering that Yom HaShoah, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes Remembrance Day, has just been observed. The plot has two sisters who are both heroic and martyrs for their unselfish acts. Vianne …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Accomplice by Joseph Kanon shows why he is one of today’s best espionage writers. Not only is the story thrilling but it also explores some very moral questions. The plot opens in 1962, seventeen years after the defeat of the Nazis. As Nazi hunter Max Weill is in a café with his nephew Aaron, he spots the notorious concentration camp doctor Otto Schramm, who worked with Mengele, “The Angel of Death.” Max spots …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Storm Over Paris by William I. Grubman takes place in Nazi occupied France during 1942. It paints a vivid picture of Jewish life under Nazi rule. The story centers around the stealing of art from Jewish collectors. Maurice, known as Mori Rothstein is an art dealer, who Hermann Goering, head of the Gestapo, commands to evaluate a huge selection of paintings in the Nazi-occupied Jeu de Paume Museum. Given the choice of appraising …
Find an interview with the author here. Elise Cooper: Victoria, thank you for sitting down to this interview. Since you are in constant danger, I promise I will not publish this until after the war. I hope we can meet up again if you survive the war. It is very brave of you and your four counterparts to be willing to be sent by the OSS into Nazi occupied Paris. Dragonfly is an interesting code name for the group since …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Dragonfly by Leila Meacham is a spellbinding novel. The story from the very first line pulls readers into the mystery: which of the five American spies embedded in Nazi occupied Paris has survived? The dramatic scenes are riveting as each character plays a cat and mouse game with the Nazis. In 1942, Americans Brad, Bridgette, Bucky, Chris, and Victoria have been recruited as spies for the CIA’s Office of Special Services. They are recruited …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper In Another Time by Jillian Cantor is a love story. Hanna Ginsburg is in love with Max Beissinger but also is in love with her music. She has hopes and desires to become a concert violinist. This story shows how the rise of Hitler affected people’s hopes and dreams. Even though Max and Hanna have fallen in love they cannot marry because in Hitler’s Germany marriage between a Jew and Christian has been outlawed. …
Book Review by Elise Cooper The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer delves into how loved ones are never forgotten within the backdrop of WWII. At the drop of a hat someone’s life can change all of sudden, which is what happened to a family after the Nazis occupied Poland. Based on her own family, Rimmer tells how “my grandparents were Polish Catholic. They never spoke a lot about what happened to them before they immigrated to Australia. We …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Sky Above Us by Sarah Sundin is a historical romance novel focusing more on the history than the romance. Throughout this series she intertwines World War II military history with a developing relationship. The series follows three brothers who are all fighting in Normandy. The first book highlighted Wyatt Paxton, the oldest, who joined the navy. This one is about Adler Paxton, the middle brother, who enlisted in the Air Force, and the …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Annelies by David R. Gillham has Anne Frank surviving the Holocaust. As the “what if” comes true, the book presents a story of hope, survival, trauma and redemption. But it is also a reminder of what was lost during the Holocaust: how many of those lives taken away had such promise. Gillham gives Anne Frank’s life back to her, a life brutally cut short by the Nazi monsters. Gillham skillfully transforms Anne from a …