⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Georgia Hunter has done it again—and honestly, I liked One Good Thing even better than We Were the Lucky Ones. The story follows Lili and Esti, two Jewish friends in 1940s Italy, whose lives flip upside down when Mussolini’s Racial Laws and the German occupation force them into hiding. When Esti is brutally attacked, she begs Lili to take her young son, Theo, and run. And so begins an unforgettable journey across a war-torn country, where danger is everywhere and love is the only currency they can still count on. What struck me most is Lili’s quiet bravery. She’s not fearless—far from it—but her love for Theo keeps her moving, step by terrifying […]
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A Brisk, Banter-Filled Spy Romp Through Wartime Lisbon
Evelyne Redfern returns in Julia Kelly’s A Dark and Deadly Journey, a smart, stylish mystery set amid Lisbon’s glittering wartime underworld. Fresh off recovery from a gunshot wound, typist-turned-spy Evelyne is eager to rejoin Britain’s Special Investigations Unit. When a British informant vanishes in Portugal after hinting at intelligence that could alter the course of the war, Evelyne and her infuriatingly charming partner, David Poole, are sent to track him down. But before they even leave the airport, a fellow passenger turns up dead and Evelyne stumbles upon a diary linking the murder to their missing contact. Kelly layers her plot with hidden identities, stolen jewels, and coded messages while keeping the […]
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A Love of Books Amid War and Ideology
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars) Madrid, 1934. Bárbara, a young German woman fleeing the rise of Nazism, opens a small bookstore in Spain—a sanctuary for dreamers as political tensions mount. When the Spanish Civil War erupts, her bookshop becomes a fragile refuge for hope and love, even as hatred threatens to consume the country. Her passion for literature and her relationship with a young Republican keep her fighting for a future built on words instead of war. Mario Escobar’s research is excellent, and I appreciated the Spanish Civil War setting—a refreshing departure from the many WWII novels I’ve read. The story’s message about the power of books and human resilience is uplifting. […]
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A Love Story Etched in War: The Courage of a Nurse, the Secrets of a Lifetime
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I rarely cry when I read a novel, but The Lies We Leave Behind completely undid me—I was a sniveling mess by the ending. This sweeping WWII story follows Kate Campbell, a fearless flight nurse who risks everything to save others. From the blistering skies over the Pacific to the misty fields of England, Kate’s journey is one of heartbreak, duty, and unrelenting courage. After an injury grounds her from active service, she’s reassigned to a quieter post in the English countryside. There, she meets William, a wounded officer with a quick wit and a tender soul. Their bond offers Kate her first glimpse of peace—but secrets from her […]
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From POW Camps to Code Rooms: Hold Strong Reveals the Brutal Truth of War
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 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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When Truth Glitters: Friendship, Betrayal, and Survival in Hitler’s “Model” Settlement
⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5 stars) rounded up to 5 Before reading this book, I wasn’t very familiar with Theresienstadt. The Nazis portrayed it as a “model ghetto,” but in truth it was a stage-managed prison where starvation, fear, and deportation loomed over daily life. Jennifer Coburn tells this story through two women who once shared a childhood bond. Hannah Kaufman, a Jewish girl stranded in Prague with her grandfather, is swept into Theresienstadt and forced to survive inside the Nazi illusion. Her former best friend, Hilde Kramer-Bischoff, a war widow and German national, sees the Reich as her only chance at status and belonging. When their paths collide, both must decide whether […]
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Secrets, Sisterhood, and Spies on Martha’s Vineyard
Martha Hall Kelley, one of my favorite historical fiction novelists, delivers another captivating tale in The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club. The title is a bit misleading—it isn’t really about a book club—but what unfolds is far richer and more intriguing. The dual timeline begins in 2016, when Mari Starwood travels from California to Martha’s Vineyard with nothing but a name on a scrap of paper. There she meets Elizabeth Devereaux, a reclusive painter whose family story reshapes Mari’s understanding of her own past. The heart of the novel, though, lies in 1942. Sisters Cadence and Briar Smith struggle to hold their farm together while U.S. troops train on […]
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Books, Blackouts, and a Mother’s Choice
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Madeline Martin’s The Booklover’s Library drops us into Nottingham during WWII, where widow Emma Taylor faces an impossible choice: risk keeping her daughter Olivia in a bombing zone or send her off to live with strangers in the countryside. With little hope and even fewer job options—married and widowed women were barred from most work—Emma persuades Boots’ lending library to hire her. There she finds unlikely friendships, quirky patrons, and a reminder that books can keep people afloat when the world is sinking. What caught me most wasn’t the “library angle” (frankly, I’m getting a little worn out on book-about-books stories), but the history tucked inside. I had never heard of […]
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A Haunting Farewell for Maisie Dobbs
⭐⭐⭐⭐ In The Comfort of Ghosts, Jacqueline Winspear gives Maisie Dobbs one final case—and it’s a poignant one. Set in post-WWII London, the story centers on four adolescent orphans squatting in a crumbling Belgravia mansion. Traumatized, street-smart, and fiercely loyal to one another, the teens are under the watchful eye of a wounded ex-soldier and a troubled nurse. When Maisie is asked to intervene, she uncovers secrets about the house, the young squatters’ pasts, and a wartime murder that still casts a shadow. As always, Maisie brings empathy as much as intellect to the investigation. Alongside her inquiries, she’s grappling with big life decisions—about love, family, and her future. Familiar characters […]
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Three Timelines, One Tough Choice
★★★★½ Gabrielle Meyer’s In This Moment is book two in the Timeless series, and once again, she nails it. Maggie lives three full lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001—waking up in a different era each day. She’s a nurse in every life, but each role comes with its own joys and heartbreaks. On her 21st birthday, she must choose just one life to keep… and lose the other two forever. No pressure. These books are always so heartwarming. Meyer writes with such heart and care, I wish she could crank them out faster. Her ability to make each timeline feel vivid and authentic is impressive—she clearly did her homework on […]
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