Answering Liberty’s Call: (Ladies of the Revolution Book 1) by Tracy Lawson – #BookReview – Military Historical Fiction

Answering Liberty’s Call by Tracy Lawson

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

In 1778, war is men’s business. That doesn’t stop Anna Stone from getting involved in the fight. As the wife of a preacher-turned-soldier, a healer, and mother of three, Anna knows her place in this world. She tends to things at home while her husband and brothers fight for liberty. But when her loved ones face starvation at Valley Forge, she refuses to sit idly by. Armed with life-sustaining supplies, Anna strikes out alone on horseback over 200 miles of rough and dangerous terrain. Despite perilous setbacks along the way, sheer determination carries her toward her destination. When she learns of a plot to overthrow General Washington, her mission becomes more important than ever. With the fate of the American Revolution in her hands and one of the conspirators hot on her trail, Anna races to deliver a message of warning to Valley Forge before it’s too late. Based on events in the life of the author’s sixth-great-grandmother.

His Review:

The best spies and couriers are those that are invisible or fade into the background. Women during the Revolutionary War were almost invisible and considered only good for cooking, cleaning, and childbearing. It is almost unheard of to have a woman leaving her home, let alone ride hundreds of miles to deliver messages to the patriotic armies.

The nearly criminal ineptitude of those individuals tasked with supplying arms and foodstuffs to our troops is unbelievable. Congress and others tasked with supporting the army were, at times, grossly and criminally negligent in the prosecution of their duties. Wagons full of clothing, munitions, and food stuffs were often abandoned along the road or kept in warehouses without a thought to distribution. Men starving at Valley Forge without proper food or clothing were enduring this due to the quartermaster’s inefficiency and neglect.

Her husband and some of Anna’s brothers were in Valley Forge where they were wounded or killed. Anna cannot stand by and watch the carnage continue. Benjamin Harrison asks her to take an encoded message to General Washington in Valley Forge. She leaves her children with family and sets out on the journey from Virginia to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania.

Both Tories and Loyalists are against the Revolution and are supporting King George the Third and his armies. General Gates is openly opposing General Washington. Congress barely voted to have Washington be the Commander in Chief and Gates feels he is more qualified. Since many military commissions were bought rather than earned, the conflict was ever present. Meanwhile, Washington had proved himself with a successful career in the French/Indian War among other conflicts. Anna is ruthlessly pursued by the enemy throughout her ride.

The exploits of Benedict Arnold are well known but Anna Stones’ contributions were nearly lost to history. Thanks to Ms. Lawson for the extensive research and tenacious enthusiasm for the truth. Anyone who enjoys and embraces history will find this book engaging and entertaining as well as informed. 5 stars – CE Williams

We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions and we are looking forward to Book 2.

Book Details:

Genre: Military Historical Fiction, War Fiction, US Historical Fiction
Publisher: Gray Lion Books
ASIN: B09VLLD67C
Print Length: 340 pages
Publication Date: March 29, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Answering Liberty’s Call [Amazon]

The Author: Once upon a time, Tracy Lawson was a little girl with a big imagination who was obsessed with telling stories. Her interests in dance, theatre, and other forms of make-believe led to a twenty-five-year career in the performing arts, where “work” means she gets to do things like tap dance and choreograph musicals.

Though teaching dance and choreographing shows was a great outlet for her creativity and boundless energy, Tracy never lost her desire to write. Faced with her only child leaving for college and her husband’s simultaneous cross-country job relocation, it seemed she’d found the perfect time to switch her focus.

[truncated—please read her author’s page to read her full bio.]

Her two most recent works are historical fiction. The main character in The Red Thread (2021) co-authored with Rebekah Pace, is a Holocaust survivor who, after living an unfulfilled life, reconnects with his lost sweetheart in dreams, becomes convinced she is alive–and sets out on an epic journey to find her.

Answering Liberty’s Call (2021) set during the winter of 1778, is based on events in the lives of Tracy’s 6x great grandparents. When Anna Stone hears of the privations at Valley Forge that threaten her soldier husband and brothers, she sets out alone on horseback with supplies. Along the way, she is swept up in the events of a conspiracy to remove General Washington from the commander in chief post, and risks her life to carry a message warning the general of the plot.

Tracy, who is married with one grown daughter and two spoiled cats, splits her time between Dallas, Texas and Columbus, Ohio.

Chill--It's Sunday

Warrensburg by Fleury Sommers – #BookReview – #historicalfiction

Warrensburg by Fleury Sommers

Book Blurb:

How far will a family go to protect one of their own against injustice? What will it sacrifice?

Moonshiners and small farmers, the Warrens are stunned when the state moves to sterilize one of their own for the “perversion” of epilepsy. Aided by a few close allies, the family fights back in the only way it knows. The price: jail, the breakup of the family, loss of home and farm, cross-country flight, and finally triumph.

His Review:

The Warrens had lived in Warrensberg since the Revolutionary War. Their daughter Millie had a difficult birth and was considered slow by the Warrensburg health officials. Because of her perceived disability, the County Health Officials decided that it would be best if she were sterilized. There was little empathy for poor mountain folk in the hollers of West Virginia.

The family knew that she was very smart and sociable and had no intention of having her “fixed” to satisfy some over-stepping county officials. After WWII her father was only getting $.54 a bushel for his corn crop. Even in good years this was not enough to put food on the table and maintain the farm. There was one product though that her papa made that was profitable and well received in the community. Moonshine!

The corn he raised was much more profitable if turned into the moonshine. The Revenuers were excited to catch him and destroy his still but everyone in the county enjoyed his product. The local sheriff looked the other way when the moonshine went to market after receiving his gallon.

The local storeowner had a number of folks who would buy all of the product papa produced. Prohibition had been enacted and the local city fathers and mothers wanted to capture the product and destroy the still. Most of the mountain people were producing similar products, however, Millie’s papa’s product was considered among the finest in West Virginia.

This story follows closely the plight of the poor mountain people in West Virginia and the ability of the local health departments to meddle in people’s lives. Keeping ahead of “The Revenuers” and the county welfare officials was a constant struggle for the family. The saga is a good exposé of government overstepping its’ authority and trying to control citizens lives.

I read this book with interest in both topics. Overreach by government and the dangers to people with disabilities rang true to my experiences as a child. Anyone who acted out of the ordinary or even got a divorce could expect interference from county officials. I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Coming of Age Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Quality Books
ISBN: ‎ B09TYH2M67
ASIN: B09VDR4J24
Print Length: 349 pages
Publication Date: March 11, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Warrensburg [Amazon]

Fleury Sommers - author — Fleury Sommers

The Author: My grandmother came from a ranching family in Montana. She was proud of her heritage and loved to travel. Mother kept many of her artifacts, including cowboy chaps, Japanese kimonos, tortoise shell cigarette cases, photographs of stern settlers who survived Indian attacks and others. These objects, belonging to and used by real men and women, suggested to me that history was more than the simple and dry facts we were encouraged to memorize in school.

Later, I began to read history more seriously. I don’t suggest in any way that I’m a scholar, but it does strike me that many of the cruelties inflicted on people derive from rancid ideas, ideas that are popularly supported – at least for a time. The next question, of course, is what happens when people are confronted by such an idea and its consequences. When and how does the little guy take a stand?

I became a professional writer, first in newspapers where I won a couple of awards, and later in public relations where I received no recognition except for an ability to “bat out” copy on demand, a valuable asset in a busy shop. Later, my husband founded a public relations firm specializing in energy affairs and generously credited me as “co-founder,” although my role (and my value) remained much the same.

Years ago the narrator in a Jodi Picoult book (I forget which one) mentioned in passing that a character was a candidate for involuntary sterilization in Vermont. “Vermont?!!” I thought. “Couldn’t be.” I’d assumed those laws were primarily passed and enforced in Southern states. That thought stayed with me and was the germ that resulted in “Warrensburg,” a tale of a moonshining Virginia family’s fight against the eugenics movement when it threatened one of their own. “Warrensburg” will be published soon.

I don’t remember the precise genesis for “Beautiful Angels,” except that blaming the Jews for the bubonic plague was a popular idea embraced against all rationality and in the face of clear evidence of innocence. Yet, the embrace of this “truth” resulted in thousands of deaths by starvation and burning all across Europe. “Beautiful Angels,” is the story of a small group of unlikely allies, united only by their common humanity, who take a stand against the mob in their own small village.

My favorite books are those that are entertaining, but also resonate in some way—just like those chaps and tortoise shell cigarette cases did with me so long ago.

For more, visit my website at http://fleurymillssommers.com
https://www.goodreads.com/Fleury_Sommers

Have a great weekend!

The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family by Ron Howard and Clint Howard – #Audiobook Review – Biographies of Celebrities & Entertainment Professionals

The Boys by Ron Howard and Clint Howard

Best Biographies & Memoirs (Audiobook)

in Biographies of Movie Directors (Kindle)

Book Blurb:

“What was it like to grow up on TV?” Ron Howard has been asked this question throughout his adult life. in The Boys, he and his younger brother, Clint, examine their childhoods in detail for the first time. For Ron, playing Opie on The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days offered fame, joy, and opportunity – but also invited stress and bullying. For Clint, a fast start on such programs as Gentle Ben and Star Trek petered out in adolescence, with some tough consequences and lessons.

With the perspective of time and success – Ron as a filmmaker, producer, and Hollywood A-lister, Clint as a busy character actor – the Howard brothers delve deep into an upbringing that seemed normal to them yet was anything but. Their Midwestern parents, Rance and Jean, moved to California to pursue their own showbiz dreams. But it was their young sons who found steady employment as actors. Rance put aside his ego and ambition to become Ron and Clint’s teacher, sage, and moral compass. Jean became their loving protector – sometimes over-protector – from the snares and traps of Hollywood.

By turns confessional, nostalgic, heartwarming, and harrowing, The Boys is a dual narrative that lifts the lid on the Howard brothers’ closely held lives. It’s the journey of a tight four-person family unit that held fast in an unforgiving business and of two brothers who survived “child-actor syndrome” to become fulfilled adults.

Happy Days, The Andy Griffith Show, Gentle Ben – these shows captivated millions of TV viewers in the ’60s and ’70s. Join award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard and audience-favorite actor Clint Howard as they frankly and fondly share their unusual family story of navigating and surviving life as sibling child actors.

My Review:

Who doesn’t love Opie (if you are old enough to remember him) or Richie Cunningham (still not old enough?)? How about the movies Night Shift, Splash, Apollo 13, or The Da Vinci Code? There are literally so many awards and nominations, they have to be broken down into tables for acting, directing, writing, Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Golden Globe Awards. A tremendous life achievement.

So when I saw The Boys in audiobook format, I had to give it a listen. Gees, what a charmed life! I gotta say, he was one extremely lucky kid. Not to say he hasn’t worked hard for it. He has—from the time he was a small boy. I must say also that it is a powerful story of his parents and I was awestruck repeatedly at the wisdom, sacrifice, and love his parents showered on their two boys.

Yes, two boys, and I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t know Clint Howard as a name or as Ron’s brother, but as a character actor. I do recognize his face though again, he’s not been leading man material.

As you might expect, Ron Howard delivers his memories with an easy, relaxed, and sincere tone. The stories for the most part were uplifting, revealing, and confirmation of the “what you see is what you get” person. It’s personal. Interesting in that even with the obvious spread in ages between the brothers, there were times when they remembered the situation differently. Their points of view shaded by their own memories and experience.

Clint’s memories and experiences as he grew older took a darker path, not that his moral compass tilted so much as his temperament was 180 degrees from that of his big brother—and his delivery reflects some of the lack of power he wielded under the shadow of Ron.

Not always in chronological order, the narration caught backstories as a way of leading into the next event that took their lives through the process of becoming major name-worthy persons. They both did some mighty sacrificing for a normal childhood and still managed to reap the kind of knowledge you don’t get in a book.

Clint lacked the focus, the drive to go behind the scenes that Ron had and as an actor sweated in each and every role.

Not delivered with the dynamics and sense of humor that Matthew McConaughey threw into his memoir, (McConaughey is an in-your-face actor), the brothers nonetheless combined their memories in a loving memorial for their dad (more so than their mother), who in his turn sacrificed his own acting career for that of his boys whom he carefully nurtured, guided, and protected in their road to the pinnacle of Hollywood. You couldn’t hope for a more powerful legacy.

I downloaded this audiobook from my lovely library and thoroughly enjoyed the journey of child actors that have endured through sixty-plus years of growth in the entertainment industry.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Rich & Famous Biographies, Biographies of Celebrities & Entertainment Professionals
Publisher: HarperAudio
ASIN: B092BB6JSF
Listening Length: 13 hrs 18 mins
Narrator: Ron Howard, Clint Howard, Bryce Dallas Howard
Publication Date: October 12, 2021
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Boys [Amazon]

The Authors:

(No listed bios on either Amazon or Goodreads author pages.)

Ron Howard (L) (1954-), born in Duncan, OK. Director, producer, screenwriter, actor. Married to Cheryl since 1975. First known as Opie from the Andy Griffith Show from 1960 through 1968. He also starred in American Graffiti and then Richie Cunningham in Happy Days. His heart, however, was in directing and he has an impressive list of credits. He has four children. For more information, see Wikipedia.

Clint Howard – (1959-), born in Burbank, CA. American actor, writer, and producer. Character actor best remembered for his role in Gentle Ben and later in Star Trek. Married to Kat. For additional information on Clint Howard, see his biography.

happy thursday!

Gambling with Murder: A Southern California Mystery by Lida Sideris – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

A late-night call is all it takes for rookie lawyer Corrie Locke to kiss her day job at the movie studio goodbye, and do what she does best: flex her sweet P.I. skills and go undercover to find a senior who’s missing from a posh retirement community. One small stumbling block: skirting past security to gain inside access to the exclusive Villa Sunset. Time to call in the heavy artillery. Besides former security guard turned legal assistant—now wannabe P.I.—Veera, Corrie relies on a secret weapon: her mother, a surprisingly eager addition to Corrie’s team. Armed with enough pepper spray to take down a band of Navy Seals, Mom impersonates a senior to infiltrate the Villa, Corrie and Veera in tow. Turns out the job’s not as easy as they’d thought. These seniors have tricks tucked up their sleeves and aren’t afraid of using them.

The action gets dicey when the missing senior case turns into attempted murder by a criminal mind who’s always one step ahead. Corrie’s hot on the trail, but finds more than she bargained for…when her mother becomes a target.

My Review:

Oops! The fifth in the series and my first. I think I may have missed something. Wannabe PI Corrie Locke (also a newly minted lawyer) is trying her chops at finding a missing person. Villa Sunset is an exclusive retirement home in Santa Barbara and, yes, that is a gorgeous, very expensive area of southern California. The author sets the reader up for beautiful views, ocean-scented air, and palms swaying in the gentle breeze.

The novel is a cozy mystery and moves at a laid-back pace. Corrie is joined by her best bud, Veera, a former security guard, and apparently this entry to the series, Corrie’s mother, who proves to be the interesting character (for me). Because it’s a senior community, they need her mother to be their “in.” It appears to work as she is readily accepted and they “temporarily” tag along.

It is supposed to be a senior community, but these seniors are apparently not only “active” but bored and tend to come off more as “geriatric delinquents” than seniors. But nothing is simple, even in a cozy mystery, and things begin, slowly, to become more complex adding characters to the plot, threads, and twists.

The author writes with wit, coining some interesting and funny phrases:

“…he regarded me with the disdain reserved for a virgin eggnog.”

“I can spot a liar like a hawk can spot a grasshopper.”

“I’m not doing it. I’d stick out like a raisin in a jar of mayonnaise.”

At about seventy percent, the narrative begins to heat up and the pacing finds the gas pedal. At this point, there are a lot of issues to clarify which do get ironed out in conclusion following a fairly low-key climax.

I’m not sure whether it was because I started well into the series or there was just too much minutia that didn’t help keep the plot on track, but I found it too slow for me. The dialogue could be humorous at times, however, there were occasions when action got a bit over the top and the residents too juvenile. I am a senior but these characters didn’t ring true for me.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Three-point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women Sleuths
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B09QYW2VYG
Print Length: 318 pages
Publication Date: March 29, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Lida Sideris’ first stint after law school was a newbie lawyer’s dream: working as an entertainment attorney for a movie studio…kind of like her heroine, Corrie Locke, except without the homicides. Lida was one of two national winners of the Helen McCloy Mystery Writers of America Scholarship Award for her first book and a Killer Nashville, Silver Falchion Award Finalist for her fourth book – Slightly Murderous Intent. Lida lives in the northern tip of Southern California with her family, rescue dogs and a flock of uppity chickens.

“A smart caper with a heroine to match.” – Kirkus Recommended Review

“…An excellent read. It has everything needed for a cozy afternoon curled up on the sofa – murder, mystery, humor, and plenty of action. The plot is extremely detailed and so well written that I found myself hooked on page one.” – Readers’ Favorite

Bio for The Cookie Eating Fire Dog:

Lida Sideris loves baking and eating all kinds of cookies. Never, ever leave her alone with a batch of fresh baked cookies…if you want any left for yourself. She is the author of a Southern California Mystery series. This is her first book for children. When she’s not writing, she’s running a legal non-profit in Southern California. Lida is a lawyer and mother of two human and two canine kids. She is an avid supporter of the three R’s: reading, writing and rescue dogs.

“The story is charming and readers will love Dan.” – Readers’ Favorite

“If you have any little aspiring firefighters at home, Lida Sideris has penned an adorable and motivating tale that is just perfect for them…the lesson is solid, and as Dan learns the value of selfless acts, so will many young readers” – IndiesToday

#TuesdayBookBlog

Last Night with Tokyo Rose: (Nisei War Series Book 1) by Alexa Kang – #BookReview – #historicalfiction

Last Night with Tokyo Rose by Alexa Kang — Last Night with Tokyo Rose – Lakewood Press – publisher’s banner

Book Blurb:

The land of the rising sun . . .
. . . Or the land of the free
Their survival hinges on his choice

Like any other American man, all Tom Sakai wants is a good life and a decent job. But in 1941, a Nisei son of Japanese immigrants could never be American enough. Frustrated, he leaves Seattle, his hometown. He sets out to sea, searching for his place in the world.

In Manila, he meets his soulmate, Fumiko, a Nisei from Los Angeles with a heartbreaking past. Together, they begin a new life, leaving behind the path of prejudice they walked at home.

Until the Pearl Harbor attack shatters their dreams.

Their dual identity now forces them to take a side. The wrong choice could cost them their lives.

Stranded in occupied territory, Tom must now decide where his loyalty lies. Should he swear his allegiance to Imperial Japan, the instigator of war and violence?

Or America, the country that deserted him when the world’s darkest hour begins?

His Review:

As a boy, I remember our war games were always against the Japanese or Germans. I harbored a definite dislike for the people who had initially bombed us. I felt self-righteous indignation towards both nationalities but particularly the Japanese. Then I was stationed in Japan on my first tour of duty in the navy and discovered quite a revelation.

Tomio Sakai is a second-generation American of Japanese descent who is marooned in the Philippines after the attack on Pearl Harbor. His parents were sent to an internment camp for the duration of the war. The Japanese had been denied citizenship during the 30s and although Tomio was born in America he had received real prejudice from the people in Seattle because of his heritage.

In the Philippines, he is commandeered by the Japanese to help interrogate and spy upon the U.S. military. General MacArthur had promised to return. But when? Nisei or second-generation U.S. Japanese were considered viable spy conscripts. Therefore, they were segregated and treated poorly. Japan considered them Japanese citizens no matter where they lived. Tomio and his lady friend Fumiko work for the Japanese as disaffected American citizens.

This well-written story points out the prejudice encountered by second-generation Japanese-Americans. Stranded in foreign occupied countries, they were disillusioned by their treatment and the encampment segregation of their families. As with many of them who discover they have no choice, Tomio and Fumiko become embroiled in a class struggle. They do not see America as supportive of them or their families as citizens.

I felt sympathy for these characters recalling my time in Japan and my initial prejudice and animosity towards that country. An engrossing and entertaining read, atmospheric, with strong characterization. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Japanese Fiction, Historical Asian Fiction, Historical World War II Fiction
Publisher: Lakewood Press
ASIN: B08S36L6FL
Print Length: 438 pages
Publication Date: January 22, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Links: Last Night with Tokyo Rose [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble

The Author: Alexa Kang is an author of WWII and 20th century historical fiction. Her works include the novel series “Rose of Anzio”, an epic love story that begins in 1940 Chicago and continues on to the historic Battle of Anzio in Italy; and the “Shanghai Story” trilogy, a saga chronicling the events in Shanghai leading up to WWII and the history of Jews and Jewish refugees in China. Her current work, the “Nisei War Series”, is a collection of stories about second-generation Japanese-Americans in war situations around the world during WWII. Alexa’s other works include the WWII/1980s time-travel love story “Eternal Flame” (a tribute to John Hughes), as well as various short stories, including those in the fiction anthologies “The Darkest Hour” (a USA Today Bestseller”), “Pearl Harbor and More: Stories of December 1942”, “Christmas in Love”, and “Wartime Christmas Tales”.

You can sign up for Alexa’s newsletter for new release announcements, sales, and special content at her website: http://alexakang.com/newsletter

You can also contact Alexa and her team at info@alexakang.com

Alexa grew up in New York City and has traveled to more than 150 cities, and she loves to explore new places and different cultures. She loves writing larger-than-life love stories and 20th century historical fiction, and hopes to bring you many more.

Have a Happy Mother's Day!

Somewhere in the South Pacific (The Todd Ingram Series Book 7) by John J Gobbell – #BookReview – #historicalthrillers

Somewhere in the South Pacific by John J Gobbell

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Inspired by the true story of John F. Kennedy’s daring naval mission at the height of World War II, this historical thriller brings the unanswered question of the past to life with fast-paced action and vivid detail.

After surviving a near suicidal mission on Mondo Mondo Island, Lieutenant Commander Todd Ingram is sent back to the States on a thirty-day leave—but the war waits for no one, and trouble is already rippling through the Pacific Theater.

Fresh from Stateside training, Lieutenant JG John Kennedy takes command of the PT 109, a torpedo boat in desperate need of repairs, for the upcoming mission to retake the Western Solomon Islands. But the war isn’t the only thing on Kennedy’s mind: he’s torn between his family’s expectations and his forbidden love for Inga Arvad, a beautiful Danish columnist who narrowly escaped Nazi occupied Germany.

When a disastrous attempt to interrupt Japanese supply lines slices Kennedy’s PT 109 in half, Ingram and his six destroyers must pick up where Kennedy left off. Can Ingram save Kennedy and his stranded men while defeating the Japanese? Ingram is prepared to fight to the end, but victory comes at a steep price behind enemy lines…

His Review:

Nineteen hundred forty-three is a major turning point in the war in the Pacific. John Gobbell writes a very interesting account of the PT boats which attacked and harassed Japanese shipping around the Solomon Islands. This narrative focuses on the cadre of officers and men who executed this part of the war. They were in wooden ships approximately 30 feet at beam and 80 feet long. With a complement of thirteen men, they had to be mostly self-sufficient.

Among these was a young Lieutenant Junior Grade named John Fitzgerald Kennedy. This account of his service cast an entirely new light on President Kennedy and his actions in the South Pacific! He was a bit of a rounder and a rascal taking care of his boat and shipmates with the actions of a scrounger.

Being assigned to the PT 109 was being assigned to a boat that was dry-docked with holes in the hull and many operational issues. Thirty-plus days were required to get her sea-worthy. Lt. J.G. Kennedy replaced the boats’ three Packard 1600 engines with those pilfered in shipping crates at the naval repair docs. Nothing seemed to be nailed down where Kennedy was concerned. He took care of his craft and crew like a jealous mother-in-law took care of her daughters.

Jack Kennedy was rather irascible in the treatment of others. He finally had his tail feathers clipped when a senior officer informed him that he was headed to the brig if any further ordinance or supplies were purloined from the supply area. By this time the PT 109 was one of the best equipped of the PT boats. This served him and his crew admirably in the months to come.

The function of the PT boats was to harass and attempt to sink Japanese shipping going through the slot in the Solomon Islands. This sea corridor was a major route for the Japanese supplying their troops in the Pacific theatre and sinking Allied Ships. Many islands in this island chain had thousands of Japanese entrenched in the hills and mountains through this passage.

CE Williams The author has painted John F. Kennedy as a very likable commander and a champion for his men. He was also a very tenacious practical joker. The Japanese found him a worthy foe. The book is fun to read and shows another side of our very famous 35^th president. I could not put it down. 5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Book Details:

Genre: Sea Adventures Fiction, Historical Thrillers, War Fiction
Publisher: Severn River Publishing
ASIN: B09KMHG4MS
Print Length: 404 pages
Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Somewhere in the South Pacific [Amazon]

The Author: JOHN J. GOBBELL is a former Navy Lieutenant who saw duty as a destroyer weapons officer. His ship served in the South China Sea, granting him membership in the exclusive ATonkin Gulf Yacht Club.@ As an executive recruiter, his clients include military/commercial aerospace companies giving him insight into character development under a historical thriller format. A Code For Tomorrow is the second of four stand-alone novels in the Todd Ingram series. Altogether, he has written six novels involving U.S. Navy action and is currently at work on his seventh. He and his wife Janine live in Newport Beach, California. He can be reached at john@johnjgobbell.com

Have a great weekend!

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – #Audiobook Review – #TBT

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Best Literature & Fiction

Rosepoint Publishing: Five stars

Book Blurb:

Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”

My Review:

Elsa Martinelli got sick when she was a teenager and though she survived, the family kept her at arm’s length and isolated until too late for marriage, she is overwhelmed and succumbs to the attention of the first man to notice her, the son of landowners, a Texas farmer.

Her urban family, wealthy and more worried about appearances than the love of their daughter, dumps her at the porch of the boy’s family. Rafe’s family has no alternative other than to take her in and teach her about the farm where she must learn to (gasp!) work. But they are good people, as we used to say “the salt of the earth.” Rafe does what he must with a shot-gun marriage and gives up his dreams of college.

There is much to learn on the farm and the years pass, now with two children, and a tenuous marriage, but his parents come to embrace Elsa as the daughter they never had and love their grandchildren. When the drought hits and hits hard several years after the Great Depression started, the struggle to make severe changes in an effort to survive wears on all of them.

Rafe’s parents are determined to stay on their land, but Rafe is ready to head west. When their son confronts a devastating lung disease born of the Dust Bowl situation, Rafe has enough and he leaves them all in the dead of night. Elsa makes the difficult decision to head west, alone, with her two children hopefully to save her son.

But the harrowing drive alone to California is just the beginning of more years of extreme poverty, struggle, and the overwhelming competition for manual labor work with the many thousands who’ve also left their own Dust Bowl states to find a better life. It’s not.

My father’s family were among those who left for California (from Missouri) in 1938 and lumped in with the cruel denigration of “Okies” (Oklahoma). The staggering numbers of the destitute overwhelm the state and the farmers quickly take advantage of the infinite labor pool setting outrageously low levels of pay for back-breaking work sun-up to sun-down.

Emigrant camps blossom the length of every fertile valley with crops to tend including cotton, which when ready to pick is cruelly heavy with thorns as well as cotton bolls. The author paints a grim picture of the unsanitary conditions of tent and cardboard camps, lacking any potable water and tied to the “company store” where more money is deducted from paltry wages.

There are themes of love—the love given to each other in extreme situations—family, the love of a mother for her children, hopeless conditions, and those who overcome and who don’t. It’s not that hard to imagine the same can happen to anyone. The haves and have-nots and those who take advantage of the victims.

“Doom and gloom and agony on me” says the little ditty riddled throughout the old “HeeHaw” variety show. But can there be any light at the end of the tunnel?

The author does an amazing job of describing the devastation wreaked by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, the thousands of migrants that choked California’s economy, services, and infrastructure. The characters are so well fleshed you can smell them, see the cardboard in their shoes, and wonder how much longer they can live on stone soup, their ribs prominent.

In the end, this is not a totally depressive narrative but one of triumph over all the odds and ultimately the indomitable spirit of human nature.

Book Details:

Genre: Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B0882VNQKS
Listening Length: 15 hrs 2 mins
Narrator: Julia Whelan
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Four Winds [Amazon]

The Author: Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale, which was named Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People’s Choice award for best fiction in the same year. It was also named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week. In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.

The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstore’s bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and The Book Of the Month club.

The Nightingale is currently in production at Tri Star, with Dakota and Elle Fanning set to star. Tri Star has also optioned The Great Alone and it is in development. Firefly Lane, her novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix show around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke and Season Two is currently being filmed.

www.kristinhannah.com

Book hangover

The Trouble With Secrets: The Kilteegan Bridge Story by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

The Trouble with Secrets by Jean Grainger

Happy Release Day!

in contemporary British & Irish Literature

Book Blurb:

Kilteegan Bridge, County Cork 1958

For eighteen year old Lena O’Sullivan, life is predictable and dull. A future of hard work, marriage to a local boy, and a family of her own one day is all she has to look forward to. People from her background know not to expect too much, but Lena yearns for something different.

Malachy Berger was different, for him, the world is at his feet. An only child of a wealthy, if peculiar father, a large inheritance, a beautiful house and a fine education are his due.

Nobody is in favour of Lena and Malachy’s friendship, but why not? What harm are they doing? Why is everyone so dead set against it?

Then fate takes a hand, and Lena realises that secrets and lies have bound her and Malachy in an impossible situation. And their future seems determined by events that happened long before they were born.

From rural Ireland to post-war Cardiff, Lena and Malachy’s story winds its way back to wartime Germany and occupied France in a web of deceit that threatens to destroy them both.

My Review:

It’s a given that if Jean Grainger comes out with a new book, I’m going to be reading it—having done so for most of her books, series or standalones. Of course, I have my favorites.

This one tells the story of Lena O’Sullivan and her family in the Irish countryside of Kilteegan Bridge and is one of the reasons I love the author’s books so much—the authentic atmosphere she brings to her storytelling. It’s palpable. It’s the late 1950’s and apparently as in America during that time, a young lady finding herself in a family way, unmarried, was dealt with in one of several (often severe and) shameful ways.

Lena was luckier than most, however, having a loving father, Paudie, who took good care of his wife who would probably now be diagnosed as bi-polar. She tended to have manic episodes and when Paudie dies in a tragic accident, Lena is left with her fragile mother and siblings.

The baby’s daddy comes from a well-to-do family who has familial problems of their own and resides in Kilteegan House. Malachy Berger’s father carries a vendetta against the O’Sullivan’s and makes sure Malachy won’t be involved further with Lena.

I loved most of the support characters, railed against the Berger father who made a despicable antagonist and loved the character of Doc, Lena’s godfather. Eli made a great character, but almost too good to be true, and it was fun to watch Lena’s maturation process.

The trouble with secrets is that they almost always are exposed (sooner or later). The journey through the process of devising a credible story to satisfy the people of the village is an interesting one—but one I fear hangs like a loose tooth. And I have a feeling we haven’t truly gotten the whole story yet.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Contemporary British & Irish Literature, Historical Irish Fiction, British & Irish Literary Fiction
ASIN: B09V5MWCP5
Print Length: 313 pages
Publication Date: May 2, 2022
Source: Author
Title Link: The Trouble with Secrets [Amazon]

The Author: JEAN GRAINGER

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS.

WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR’S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE

Hello and thanks for taking time out to check out my page. If you’re wondering what you’re getting with my books then think of the late great Maeve Binchy but sometimes with a historical twist. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1971 and I come from a large family of storytellers, so much so that we had to have ‘The Talking Spoon’, only the person holding the spoon could talk!

I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 200 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world’s smallest dogs, called Scrappy and Scoobi..

My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, ‘The Tour’. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose. It’s a fictional story set on a tour bus but many of the characters are based on people I met over the years…

[Truncated. Please read her full bio on her Amazon book pages.]

My current series, The Queenstown Series, centres on twelve year old Harp Devereaux and her mother Rose and the first book opens on the day Titanic sails from Queenstown, Co Cork on her last fateful journey. It is a bestselling series and people really seem to connect to the precocious Harp and her hard-working mother as they battle to survive in a society where conforming and playing by the rules was paramount. It is so far a three book series, The West’s Awake, and The Harp and the Rose being the next two books but I’m currently writing book four.

Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that’s wonderful for me to hear because that’s how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I’m very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don’t, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.