The Portrait by Emilia Kelly | Book Review

Posted March 16, 2023 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 4 Comments

The Portrait by Emilia Kelly | Book ReviewThe Portrait by Emilia Kelly
Published by Self on September 13, 2022
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 305
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
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For fans of Kate Morton and Daphne Du Maurier comes the tale of a woman enchanted by the past until it threatens her future. The Portrait is a captivating debut filled with new love, old secrets, and a mysterious missing woman, all set against the vibrancy of 19th-century London and the construction of the Crystal Palace.

"Atmospheric and gripping, The Portrait deftly weaves Victorian details, Brontë-esque romance, and riveting suspense." -Emily Inouye Huey, author of Beneath the Wide Silk Sky

Every work of art tells a story. And every story has its secrets.

London, 1850. Iris Sheffield has plenty of people to worry about in her life: Hope, the ailing younger sister for whom Iris feels responsible. Winston, Iris's fiancé, who is consumed with his work. And James, the handsome but arrogant artist painting Iris’s portrait, with whom she is forced to spend countless, awkward hours.

But when Iris finds the diary and photograph of a mysterious young woman, she can’t stop wondering who the woman is and what has become of her. The more questions Iris asks, the more she suspects someone does not want her to discover the answers.

Exploring themes of sisterly bonds, familial obligations, and the lengths we go to for those we love, The Portrait illustrates the surprising and frightening ways a work of art can tell a story.

The Portrait was a surprise for me! I was immediately drawn to the beautiful book cover, and then the synopsis grabbed me and I had to dive in right then. I love Gothic stories, told in the style of Daphne Du Maurier, but I will admit to being concerned that her name was mentioned in this synopsis just because those are big shoes to fill! But I really loved this, and can see readers of her work enjoying The Portrait as well.

It’s been a week or so since I finished The Portrait, and I keep thinking about it. The atmosphere was slightly ominous and mysterious without keeping me up at night with the lights on, but just enough that I craved getting back to it when I wasn’t reading. I minored in art history in undergrad, so I loved all the discussions surrounding art and portraiture. I loved brooding James, and the quiet attraction he feels for Iris. The stolen glances and the unspoken thoughts felt dangerous and utterly romantic, in a very subtle way. There’s a mystery that gripped me and held on until the exciting climax at the end. The writing is beautiful and enchanting. I found myself getting lost in the words as they floated around, enveloping me in a cozy blanket to protect me from the chill of the story. Honestly, I was intoxicatingly captivated and remember that feeling I had while reading more than the elements of the story itself. It felt like a dream, and it’s hard to really describe my thoughts because of it.

I highly recommend this to those who are looking for an atmospheric mystery with a subtle hint of romance, steeped in art and secrets. It’s for those who want to feel a little unsettled, but not scared. Emilia Kelly is an author to watch, for sure!


Top Ten Books on My Spring 2023 To-Read List

Posted March 13, 2023 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 19 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! Happy seasonal to-read list day to all who celebrate! Spring is coming in just a week, which means it’s that time again! I love writing these lists up, even if I don’t stick to them 100%. I think it’s really fun to make goals and share what I’m excited about. I also really love seeing what you’re all excited to read, too! I think I’ve got a nice mix of books releasing between now and June 21st and older titles, plus a nice sprinkling of books available through Kindle Unlimited, which I’m really enjoying right now. So here we go!

Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke

Fans of Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn will adore this opposites-attract romance featuring a dashing duke, a shy bookshop owner, and a wager that will change their lives forever.

Evie Harlow runs a quaint little bookshop in London, which is the biggest adventure an unmarried woman with no prospects could hope for. Until Maximillian Shaw, Duke of Westbourne, saunters into her shop with a proposition: to win a bet with his friends, he’ll turn her into the diamond of the season. The duke might be devilishly attractive, but Evie has no intention of accepting his ludicrous offer. When disaster strikes her shop, however, she’s left with little choice but to let herself be whisked into his high-society world.

Always happy to help a lady in distress, Max thinks he’s saving Evie from her dull spinster’s life. He’ll help her find a husband and congratulate himself on a job well done. But as shy Evie becomes the shining star he always knew she could be, she somehow steals his heart. And when her reputation is threatened, can Max convince her to choose a glittering, aristocratic life with him over the cozy comfort of her bookshop?

Falling for Your Fake Fiancé by Emma St. Clair

What happens when the man I love to hate becomes the man I must pretend to love?

I can’t seem to escape Thayden Walker and his infuriating charm.

Even his mother and his Great Dane seem bent on playing matchmaker.

But I’m totally immune.

Until I’m presented with an offer that puts my ability to withstand him to the test.

If I marry Thayden, all my student debt goes poof, and he’ll take over the family firm.

There’s so much more at stake than money or a job, especially when I start to see the man beneath the mask.

Playing house with Thayden is the most dangerous game of all.

And we’re both set up to lose more than we could ever win.

Unless we’ve been on the same side all along …

Sweet Right Here by Jenny B. Jones

Twice jilted, I’ve sworn off love forever.
But Miller James might be the one man to change my mind.

Newly un-engaged, I’ve returned to Sugar Creek to the welcoming arms of my family to make a fresh start. While I have a reputation for being unlucky in love, I’ve just scored the career coup of a lifetime—to work at Hope Farms, a therapy ranch for military veterans. The problem? The owner is the arrogantly handsome Miller James. He might be an old friend, but Miller’s all grown up now and made it clear I’m not welcome. I’ve got six months to make my program a success, but it’s hard to help others heal with Miller’s interference—and the return of someone from my past.

Miller’s got some secrets of his own. After a family tragedy rocked his world, the entrepreneurial genius left his first class life behind to open Hope Farms. And maybe everything Miller touches does turn to gold, but when my sisters recruit him in their pursuit of my next Mr. Right, Miller gets a little too involved. The lines are blurring between work and romance, and my boss has ideas that make me question his strategies—and his heart.

Can two broken people mend enough to heal together? Nothing’s fair in love and farming, but can Miller James and I harvest our own happily ever after?

The Paris Deception by Bryn Turnbull

From internationally bestselling author Bryn Turnbull comes a breathtaking novel about art theft and forgery in Nazi-occupied Paris, and two brave women who risk their lives rescuing looted masterpieces from Nazi destruction.

Sophie Dix fled Stuttgart with her brother as the Nazi regime gained power in Germany. Now, with her brother gone and her adopted home city of Paris conquered by the Reich, Sophie reluctantly accepts a position restoring damaged art at the Jeu de Paume museum under the supervision of the ERR—a German art commission using the museum as a repository for art they’ve looted from Jewish families.

Fabienne Brandt was a rising star in the Parisian bohemian arts movement until the Nazis put a stop to so-called “degenerate” modern art. Still mourning the loss of her firebrand husband, she’s resolved to muddle her way through the occupation in whatever way she can—until her estranged sister-in-law, Sophie, arrives at her door with a stolen painting in hand.

Soon the two women embark upon a plan to save Paris’s “degenerates,” working beneath the noses of Germany’s top art connoisseurs to replace the paintings in the Jeu de Paume with skillful forgeries—but how long can Sophie and Fabienne sustain their masterful illusion?

French Holiday by Sarah Ready

One (crumbling) French castle. Two enemies-at-first-sight. The holiday of a lifetime.

Merry DeLuca has a problem—a big problem. Her sister just married her best friend and the only man she’s ever loved. Her life is rapidly spiraling down the drain and she doesn’t have an escape plan.

So when Merry is offered a three-month holiday living in a romantic castle in the French countryside she leaps at the chance. Merry knows her French holiday will fix everything—there will be mouthwatering pastries, delicious (meaningless) flirtations, and languid strolls through vineyards at sunset. Her holiday will be perfect.

At least, Merry believes that until she arrives and finds Noah Wright—the best man at her sister’s wedding and the worst man she’s ever known—staying in her castle.

Famous travel documentarian by day and arrogant devil by night, Noah refuses to leave the castle. Which means that Merry and Noah are stuck together in France, in a crumbling castle, in a holiday where nothing goes right. Not for Merry and not for Noah.

So they strike a truce—they’ll live as cohabitating friends for three-months, and then they’ll amicably part ways, never to see each other again.

But the thing about friendship? Sometimes secrets are uncovered. Mysteries revealed. Hearts laid bare. And friendship can start to feel a lot like caring. A lot like love. It can even make you wish that the holiday never has to end.

Where Are the Children Now? by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

The legacy of the “Queen of Suspense” continues with the highly anticipated follow-up to Mary Higgins Clark’s iconic novel Where Are The Children?, featuring the children of Nancy Harmon, facing peril once again as adults.

Of the fifty-six bestsellers the “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark published in her lifetime, Where Are the Children? was her biggest, selling millions of copies and forever transforming the genre of suspense fiction. In that story, a young California mother named Nancy Harmon was convicted of murdering her two children. Though released on a technicality, she was abandoned by her husband and became such a pariah in the media that she was forced to move across the country to Cape Cod, change her identity and appearance, and start a new life. Years later her two children from a second marriage, Mike and Melissa, would go missing, and Nancy yet again became the prime suspect—but this time, Nancy was able to confront the secrets buried in her past and rescue her kids from a dangerous predator.

Now, more than four decades since readers first met Nancy and her children, comes the thrilling sequel to the groundbreaking book that set the stage for future generations of psychological suspense novels. A lawyer turned successful podcaster, Melissa has recently married a man whose first wife died tragically, leaving him and their young daughter, Riley, behind. While Melissa and her brother, Mike, help their mom, Nancy, relocate from Cape Cod to the equally idyllic Hamptons, Melissa’s new stepdaughter goes missing. Drawing on the experience of their own abduction, Melissa and Mike race to find Riley to save her from the trauma they still struggle with—or worse.

Just like the original, Where Are the Children Now? keeps readers guessing and holding their breath until the very last page.

The Foxglove King by Hannah F. Whitten

In this lush, romantic new epic fantasy series from New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten, a young woman’s secret power to raise the dead plunges her into the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King’s royal court.

When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.

Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die.

Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne’er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society.

But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.

Gilded by Marissa Meyer

Long ago cursed by the god of lies, a poor miller’s daughter has developed a talent for spinning stories that are fantastical and spellbinding and entirely untrue.

Or so everyone believes.

When one of Serilda’s outlandish tales draws the attention of the sinister Erlking and his undead hunters, she finds herself swept away into a grim world where ghouls and phantoms prowl the earth and hollow-eyed ravens track her every move. The king orders Serilda to complete the impossible task of spinning straw into gold, or be killed for telling falsehoods. In her desperation, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious boy to her aid. He agrees to help her… for a price.

Soon Serilda realizes that there is more than one secret hidden in the castle walls, including an ancient curse that must be broken if she hopes to end the tyranny of the king and his wild hunt forever.

Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times-bestselling author, returns to the fairytale world with this haunting retelling of Rumpelstiltskin.

Haley and the Yeti by Laura Langa

Her grumpy neighbor wasn’t part of the plan.

After her soul-crushing breakup, Haley Kineman is stepping out of her comfort zone, moving to sunny Tucson, Arizona, and shooting for the stars—literally. When she’s not working as a phlebotomist, Haley’s striving to meet her celebrity crush who’s filming locally.

Haley has even enlisted her grumpy next-door neighbor—affectionately nicknamed Yeti—to help her get onto the movie set. With his long enviable locks, masculine beard, and alpine mountain physique, he’s an obvious choice for an ally.

All Yeti wants is to quietly develop software in his home office, but Haley throws his protective nature into overdrive after being injured in an incident. Then Yeti has no choice but to accompany Haley on her sight-seeing, thrift-shopping, iguana-saving adventures.

But Haley’s bright demeanor keeps messing with his head, making him consider things that aren’t possible. Because with Yeti’s damaging past, no woman would want him.

As their friendship deepens, Haley’s not sure if she should stick to her star-studded plan, or if a real love story is closer to home.

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand

Lady Gemma Ashbourne seemingly has it all. She’s young, gorgeous, and rich. Her family was Anointed by the gods, blessed with incredible abilities. But underneath her glittering façade, Gemma is deeply sad. Years ago, her sister Mara was taken to the Middlemist to guard against treacherous magic. Her mother abandoned the family. Her father and eldest sister, Farrin—embroiled in a deadly blood feud with the mysterious Bask family—often forget Gemma exists.

Worst of all, Gemma is the only Ashbourne to possess no magic. Instead, her body fights it like poison. Constantly ill, aching with loneliness, Gemma craves love and yearns to belong.

Then she meets the devastatingly handsome Talan d’Astier. His family destroyed themselves, seduced by a demon, and Talan, the only survivor, is determined to redeem their honor. Intrigued and enchanted, Gemma proposes a bargain: She’ll help Talan navigate high society if he helps her destroy the Basks. According to popular legend, a demon called The Man With the Three-Eyed Crown is behind the families’ blood feud—slay the demon, end the feud.

But attacks on the Middlemist are increasing. The plot against the Basks quickly spirals out of control. And something immense and terrifying is awakening in Gemma, drawing her inexorably toward Talan and an all-consuming passion that could destroy her—or show her the true strength of her power at last.


My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh | Book Review

Posted March 9, 2023 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 2 Comments

My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh | Book ReviewMy Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh
Series: Holidays With Hart #1
Published by Sweethaven Press on February 8, 2023
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 373
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
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A chance meeting. A hunky hockey player. A fake romance.
Hardly an ordinary day in the life of Poppy Hart.

My days usually consist of agonizing over my failing restaurant, worrying about my mountain of debt and nursing my broken heart.

Everything changes when I bump into a man in the coffee shop and claim him as my new boyfriend. To my absolute horror, he turns out to be hockey’s most renowned bad boy, Dallas Burke. To my absolute delight, he goes along with my story.

When his no-nonsense manager and meddling grandmother jump in the picture, they see a win-win solution for my failing restaurant and Dallas’s less-than-stellar reputation.

A full-fledged fake romance complete with contract negotiations, pretend dates and phony PDA.

But as I get to know the real Dallas Burke, who is not the man the press says he is, it becomes clear that if this isn’t real. . . someone better tell it to my heart.

My Phony Valentine is my first book by Courtney Walsh, but it definitely will not be my last! I absolutely loved this story! If you’re in the mood for a sweet, romantic, fauxmance between a chef and a bad boy hockey player looking to spruce up his image, look no further! Poppy and Dallas are just the two love birds you need. They have the cutest, cringiest meet-cute ever in a coffee shop, where Poppy grabs onto the first guy she sees and claims him as her boyfriend when the local mean girl decides to rewind all the way back to high school. Dallas plays along, and pretty soon they strike up a deal to fake a romance. Poppy could use a little publicity for her ailing restaurant, and Dallas could use some good news associated with his name for once. It’s the perfect plan, and the small town of Loveland is just the place to get the rumors flying. Throw in a meddling grandmother and a loveable, yet pushy publicist and pretty soon Poppy and Dallas are gracing the front pages of magazines and online gossip columns, and catching some real feelings along the way.

I really loved reading about Poppy and Dallas! They’re both very sweet, wholesome cinnamon rolls who have some trauma in their pasts that give them depth and a reason to root for their happiness. I loved the small town vibes and Poppy’s cute restaurant. I loved Dallas’s Gram, who Poppy cooks for as she recovers from hip replacement surgery. She is spunky and caring. I loved going to hockey games and meeting Dallas’s teammates and their wives. What I loved most of all, though, is the conversations Dallas and Poppy have in the kitchen while she cooks and he watches (and then insists on cleaning up after). I enjoyed their time watching movies and accidentally falling asleep on the couch together. This is a closed-door romance, and I am finding myself loving these more and more as I continually find such lovely ones. There are some pretty amazing, toe-curling kissing scenes, which gave me all the swoons without the steam. And sometimes that’s exactly what I want! There’s also no strong language, another win for me.

All in all, My Phony Valentine was a delight! I loved Poppy’s sisters, and I have a feeling they will each be getting a book in this series in the future. Although. I really hope some of Dallas’s teammates get books as well. I loved them. If you loved The Cheat Sheet, you’ll love this too! Can’t wait for more Courtney Walsh!


The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn | Book Review

Posted March 2, 2023 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 6 Comments

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn | Book ReviewThe Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
Published by HarperAudio on March 29, 2022
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 448
Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
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The New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code returns with an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet bookworm who becomes history's deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story.

In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kiev (now known as Kyiv), wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son--but Hitler's invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper--a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.

Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC--until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness. But when an old enemy from Mila's past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life.

Based on a true story, The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever.

Hello. I am speechless. Kate Quinn is turning me into a historical fiction lover. Both books of hers that I’ve read have been 5 stars, and this one is even better! The Diamond Eye is stunning, riveting, exciting, suspenseful, romantic, heartbreaking, inspiring, hopeful, and compulsively readable. The audio version is fabulous. I could end my review right here but I probably shouldn’t. As always, my main points are bolded.

1. The Diamond Eye is based on true events. Mila Pavlichenko was a real person, and her personal memoirs were used to write much of this book. That just makes this so much better for me, because she is amazing! The synopsis is great, so I’m not going to go into all the particulars of her life, but Mila is so brave, honorable, and caring. She’s a cold sniper who has no trouble downing an enemy, but she also loves fiercely. She loves her son more than anything. She’s given her own platoon of soldiers to train and lead, and she loves them so much. She loves her sniper partner. She’s patient, sometimes laying in a hidden nest waiting for her target for days, and she’s got a steady hand. She’s cool under pressure, loyal to her country, and extremely talented at her job. She knows her worth as a woman and doesn’t let her male peers or superiors push her around or take advantage of her. She also doesn’t let the reporters get away with asking disrespectful questions. She joined the war in her very young 20s, and I’m in awe of her. She made a famous statement at a conference in the USA during her diplomatic tour that I just love:

“Gentlemen,” she said, “I am 26 years old and I have killed 309 fascist invaders by now. Don’t you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?”

2. The supporting characters were wonderful as well. Well, except for Mila’s slimy husband who seduced her and got her pregnant when she was barely 15, before abandoning both her and their son. She can’t get rid of him, though, and she runs into him a lot during her time on the battlefield. She has a bit of a romance with an officer, which I loved reading about. She has a nurse friend who takes care of her when she’s injured. Her platoon adores and respects her, which was so refreshing to see during this time period. I loved the strong bond she had with her sniper partner, Kostia. They had each other’s backs and trusted each other so intensely. During a time of war and loss, so many beautiful relationships were formed. (Since I listened, I have no idea how to spell most of the names in this book.) I also enjoyed her friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. It was quite sweet and tender, and lasted long after their respective countries no longer recognized each other as allies.

3. The battlefield scenes were so interesting. I loved reading about how Mila scouted out locations to make her sniper’s nest, the camouflage she spent hours meticulously constructing, the dummies she set out as decoys for the enemy, her checklist for how to take out a target, her rituals, and the toll it took on her mind and her body to do this. She’s spent hours hidden in a tree and days laying under leaves and branches in trenches.

4. Mila’s diplomatic tour was also very interesting to read about. She wanted nothing to do with the diplomatic life, the questions, the traveling, even the gifts. She wanted to be in her uniform in the trenches, not in a satin gown at another stuffy event. And honestly, I liked those parts of the book better than reading about her time in the USA. But the things she said in her speeches and the way she carried herself were impressive, and I really respect her.

5. There’ a LOT of suspense in this book, and it was gripping.

6. The reality of war means that some of the relationships Mila forms cause immense heartbreak in the end, and boy did I feel a lot of things during the course of this book. If you’re worried at all, know that I did not cry once. And I cry all the time. The Book Thief made me cry, but this book did not. There’s a lot of happy in the end.

7. The writing is stunning! So many passages took my breath away. 

8. Definitely listen to the audio if you can. Saskia Maarleveld does accents and tone so perfectly that I could not stop listening to her.

9. The author’s note at the end of the book is absolutely essential, and tells which parts of the book are taken directly from Lyudmila’s personal memoirs and where Kate Quinn used her artistic license. Do not skip this part!

All in all, The Diamond Eye is a new favorite novel of mine! I’m not a fan of historical fiction, but I love Kate Quinn’s books. The word I keep thinking of when I think of this book is “stunning”. Everything about The Diamond Eye left me breathless and wanting more. From the cold battlefields of Sevastopol, to the glittering city of New York, I could not pull myself away from Mila’s story.  I’ve just added Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin’s Sniper by Lyudmila Pavlichenko to my to-read list. I want to learn more about her! And I can’t wait to read more from Kate Quinn!


Top Ten Historical Fiction Novels I Want to Read

Posted February 27, 2023 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 52 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is a genre freebie, and I’m going to surprise you all and not write up a post about romance! I know I’m known for my love of romance novels, but I actually love a lot of different genres! I’ve surprised myself recently, though, and am devouring historical fiction for the first time in my life. I discovered Kate Quinn’s books last year when I read and loved The Huntress. I just finished The Diamond Eye, which was fabulous, and now I’m reading The Alice Network. I just love her books! So now I’m on the hunt for more historical fiction novels like these, and today I’m sharing ten that I’m excited about. If you have any recommendations for books I might like, please share in the comments below!

1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb. . . .

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

2. The Fortune Teller by Gwendolyn Womack

Semele Cavnow appraises antiquities for an exclusive Manhattan auction house, deciphering ancient texts—and when she discovers a manuscript written in the time of Cleopatra, she knows it will be the find of her career. Its author tells the story of a priceless tarot deck, now lost to history, but as Semele delves further, she realizes the manuscript is more than it seems. Both a memoir and a prophecy, it appears to be the work of a powerful seer, describing devastating wars and natural disasters in detail thousands of years before they occurred.

The more she reads, the more the manuscript begins to affect Semele’s life. But what happened to the tarot deck? As the mystery of her connection to its story deepens, Semele can’t shake the feeling that she’s being followed. Only one person can help her make sense of it all: her client, Theo Bossard. Yet Theo is arrogant and elusive, concealing secrets of his own, and there’s more to Semele’s desire to speak with him than she would like to admit. Can Semele even trust him?

The auction date is swiftly approaching, and someone wants to interfere—someone who knows the cards exist, and that the Bossard manuscript is tied to her. Semele realizes it’s up to her to stop them: the manuscript holds the key to a two-thousand-year-old secret, a secret someone will do anything to possess.

3. The Address by Fiona Davis

When a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house the Dakota, leads to a job offer for Sara Smythe, her world is suddenly awash in possibility—no mean feat for a servant in 1884. The opportunity to move to America. The opportunity to be the female manager of the Dakota. And the opportunity to see more of Theo, who understands Sara like no one else…and is living in the Dakota with his wife and three young children.

One hundred years later, Bailey Camden is desperate for new opportunities: Fresh out of rehab, the former interior designer is homeless, jobless, and penniless. Bailey’s grandfather was the ward of famed architect Theodore Camden, yet Bailey won’t see a dime of the Camden family’s substantial estate; instead, her “cousin” Melinda—Camden’s biological great-granddaughter—will inherit almost everything. So when Melinda offers to let Bailey oversee the renovation of her lavish Dakota apartment, Bailey jumps at the chance, despite her dislike of Melinda’s vision. The renovation will take away all the character of the apartment Theodore Camden himself lived in…and died in, after suffering multiple stab wounds by a former Dakota employee who had previously spent seven months in an insane asylum—a madwoman named Sara Smythe.

A century apart, Sara and Bailey are both tempted by and struggle against the golden excess of their respective ages–for Sara, the opulence of a world ruled by the Astors and Vanderbilts; for Bailey, the nightlife’s free-flowing drinks and cocaine—and take refuge in the Upper West Side’s gilded fortress. But a building with a history as rich, and often as tragic, as the Dakota’s can’t hold its secrets forever, and what Bailey discovers inside could turn everything she thought she knew about Theodore Camden—and the woman who killed him—on its head.

4. The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang

Two hearts. Twice as vulnerable.

Manhattan, 1850. Born out of wedlock to a wealthy socialite and a nameless immigrant, Cora Lee can mingle with the rich just as easily as she can slip unnoticed into the slums and graveyards of the city. As the only female resurrectionist in New York, she’s carved out a niche procuring bodies afflicted with the strangest of anomalies. Anatomists will pay exorbitant sums for such specimens—dissecting and displaying them for the eager public.

Cora’s specialty is not only profitable, it’s a means to keep a finger on the pulse of those searching for her. She’s the girl born with two hearts—a legend among grave robbers and anatomists—sought after as an endangered prize.

Now, as a series of murders unfolds closer and closer to Cora, she can no longer trust those she holds dear, including the young medical student she’s fallen for. Because someone has no intention of waiting for Cora to die a natural death.

5. What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon

In an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything…

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.

The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.

As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?

6. The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister

A dozen women join a secret 1850s Arctic expedition–and a sensational murder trial unfolds when some of them don’t come back.

Eccentric Lady Jane Franklin makes an outlandish offer to adventurer Virginia Reeve: take a dozen women, trek into the Arctic, and find her husband’s lost expedition. Four parties have failed to find him, and Lady Franklin wants a radical new approach: put the women in charge.

A year later, Virginia stands trial for murder. Survivors of the expedition willing to publicly support her sit in the front row. There are only five. What happened out there on the ice?

Set against the unforgiving backdrop of one of the world’s most inhospitable locations, USA Today bestselling author Greer Macallister uses the true story of Lady Jane Franklin’s tireless attempts to find her husband’s lost expedition as a jumping-off point to spin a tale of bravery, intrigue, perseverance and hope.

7. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

Paris, 1939. Odile Souchet is obsessed with books and the Dewey Decimal System, which makes order out of chaos. She soon has it all – a handsome police officer beau, an English best friend, a beloved twin, and a job at the American Library in Paris, a thriving community of students, writers, diplomats, and book lovers. Yet when war is declared, there’s also a war on words.

Montana, 1983. Widowed and alone, Odile suffers the solitary confinement of small-town life. Though most adults are cowed by her, the neighbor girl will not let her be. Lily, a lonely teenager yearning to break free of Froid is obsessed by the older French woman who lives next door and wants to know her secrets.

As the two become friends, Odile sees herself in Lily – the same love of language, the same longings, the same lethal jealousy. The Paris Library’s dual narratives explore the relationships that make us who we are – family and friends, first loves and favorite authors – in the fairy tale setting of the City of Light. It also explores the geography of resentment, the consequences of unspeakable betrayal, and what happens when the people we count on for understanding and protection fail us.

The wit, empathy, and deep research that brings The Paris Library to life also brings to light a cast of lively historical characters and a little-known chapter of World War II history: the story of the American librarian, Miss Reeder, who created the Soldiers’ Service to deliver books to servicemen, and who later faced the Nazi ‘Book Protector’ in order to keep her library open. She and her colleagues defied the Bibliotheksschutz by delivering books to Jewish readers after they were forbidden from entering the library.

8. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of East-End London poverty, works the legendary code-breaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.

1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter—the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger—and their true enemy—closer…

9. The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson

An uplifting and inspiring novel based on the true story of a librarian who created an underground shelter during World War II, perfect for readers of The Paris Library or The Last Bookshop in London.

London, 1944 : Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While war ravages the city above her, Clara has risked everything she holds dear to turn the Bethnal Green tube station into the country’s only underground library. Down here, a secret community thrives with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café, and a theater—offering shelter, solace, and escape from the bombs that fall upon their city.

Along with her glamorous best friend and assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women’s determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive.

10. The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

The New York Times bestselling author of the The Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis—until a secret from her past threatens everything.

After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what’s happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest—and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything.

Inspired by incredible true stories of survival against staggering odds, and suffused with the journey-from-the-wilderness elements that made Where the Crawdads Sing a worldwide phenomenon, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a heart-wrenching and suspenseful novel.

Have you read any of these?
Any recommendations for me?