⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What an unforgettable book! Hold Strong is one of those rare novels that grips your heart from page one and doesn’t let go. Based on true events, it’s both a sweeping love story and a harrowing survival tale set against the darkest days of World War II. Sam Carlson, a small-town Minnesota projectionist turned soldier, endures the unimaginable—from the Bataan Death March to the horrors of Japanese POW camps. Meanwhile, his sweetheart Sarah Haber uses her brilliant math skills to become a wartime codebreaker in Washington, D.C. Their paths are worlds apart, yet fate ties them together in one of the most shocking and tragic episodes of the war. The authors […]
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My Favorite Reads of 2022
I read 106 books in 2022, so narrowing it down to my very favorites was a challenge. The list below comprises my crème de la crème in a great year of reading. You’ll find a variety of genres set in the United States, Mexico, Ghana, Ukraine, China, England, Poland, Austria, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, and Vietnam. Most of these were 5-star reads for me, but one was a 4.5 rounded up to 5. I hope you find something you love! Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid “We live in a world where exceptional women have to sit around waiting for mediocre men.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, Carrie Soto is Back. […]
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Amy’s February 2022 Book Reviews
I love it when literary luck has me reading several genres in any given month. In February, I enjoyed historical fiction, contemporary fiction, memoir. My absolute favorite was The World Played Chess. Read on to see my reviews: The World Played Chess By Robert Dugoni In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated from high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his last summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the […]
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The World Played Chess – Book Review
In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated from high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his last summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the lessons of that summer—Vincent’s last taste of innocence and first taste of real life—dramatically unfold in a novel about breaking away, shaping a life, and seeking one’s own destiny. Robert Dugoni has always been a superb storyteller, but this coming-of-age story was exceptional. The World […]
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April Reads
A new month is upon us, fellow bibliophiles, which means it’s time to post what I read in April. There weren’t any 5-star winners, but there were no real duds either. In all the years I’ve been rating books, I’ve only given two 2-stars reviews—one because of grammatical errors and the other because of objectionable content. As an author I know how hard it is to write a book, and I think most books deserve at least three stars (unless a book is self-published, and then it’s no holds barred). April turned out to be a wonderful mix of genres: mystery, thriller, historical fiction, and memoir. I laughed out loud, […]
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