#historicalfiction – Page 2 – Rosepoint Publishing

The Paris Express: A Novel by Emma Donoghue #AudiobookReview #WorldLiterature

Book Blurb:

Based on an 1895 disaster that went down in history when it was captured in a series of surreal, extraordinary photographs, The Paris Express is a propulsive novel set on a train packed with a fascinating cast of characters who hail from as close as Brittany and as far as Russia, Ireland, Algeria, Pennsylvania, and Cambodia. Members of parliament hurry back to Paris to vote; a medical student suspects a girl may be dying; a secretary tries to convince her boss of the potential of moving pictures; two of the train’s crew build a life away from their wives; a young anarchist makes a terrifying plan, and much more.

From an author whose “writing is superb alchemy” (Audrey Niffenegger, New York Times bestselling author), The Paris Express is an evocative masterpiece that effortlessly captures the politics, glamour, chaos, and speed that marked the end of the 19th century.

My Review:

Oh, mercy, I’m so not a fan of slow burn starts, and this one is a bit angonizing—at least for me.

I usually enjoy historical fiction and have read and reviewed a couple books recently on disasters (both manmade and natural) in the US. Thinking this would read roughly the same, managed this audiobook from my local library.

This novel recounts the disastrous train crash packed with people riding the rails into Paris back in 1895. There are characters I specifically enjoyed, including two of the train crew, but as the storyline progressed and the addition of more characters jammed the train, their voices created a cacophony that was a bit difficult to separate.

The characters are persons from countries as far away as the US and Russia and those innocent to the sinister, one of whom has hatched a deadly plan and is simply waiting for the most appropriate time to implement it.

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue — The Paris Express – UK Kindle cover

Because of the divergence in persons (including historical figures), their backgrounds are examined along with their purposes for traveling to Paris. As the train hurtles toward a shocking but not unexpected end, the pace speeds up as well, and the explanation of the mechanics of the old train, obviously well researched and quite spellbinding, provides a heart-pounding account of the speed, power, and limitations of the locomotive.

The characters drive the dialogue from the political to economics and the reader is offered a peek into some long and plot grinding discussions. There is tension building in those discussions, although for some of the lesser interesting easy to read-skip over. The thoughts of the anarchist who is now seeing individuals, rather than a faceless body of persons, revealed just the tiniest stumble of well laid plans.

In the end, I found it a bit anti-climactic and rather abrupt and was caught off guard even as I was speeding along with it to the station at Montparnasse knowing the outcome. Not a wholly satisfying denouement. But then, again, it is an historical event. How else?

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: World Literature, Historical Fiction, Genre Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
ASIN: B0D67V6PQL
Listening Length: 7 hrs 15 mins
Narrator: Justin Avoth
Publication Date: March 18, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Born in Dublin in 1969, Emma Donoghue is a writer of contemporary and historical fiction whose novels include the international bestseller “Room” (her screen adaptation was nominated for four Oscars), “Frog Music”, “Slammerkin,” “The Sealed Letter,” “Landing,” “Life Mask,” “Hood,” and “Stirfry.” Her story collections are “Astray”, “The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits,” “Kissing the Witch,” and “Touchy Subjects.” She also writes literary history, and plays for stage and radio. She lives in London, Ontario, with her partner and their two children.

Audiobooks

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

An atmospheric tale of life and love in a Depression-era traveling circus.

Nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski reflects back on his wild and wondrous days with a circus. It’s the Depression Era and Jacob, finding himself parentless and penniless, joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. There he meets the freaks, grifters, and misfits that populate this world. Jacob introduces us to Marlena, beautiful star of the equestrian act; to August, her charismatic but twisted husband (and the circus’ animal trainer); and to Rosie, a seemingly untrainable elephant.

Beautifully written, with a luminous sense of time and place, Water for Elephants tells of love in a world in which love’s a luxury few can afford.

My Review:

Oh, wow. I loved this audiobook. Two narrators; the young one and the nonagenarian. They were wonderful!

No doubt everyone knew about this book except myself that not only became a movie but a successful Broadway production. The prologue sets up the 90-something with his memories of the years with the Benzini Brothers—the Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It’s hard core exposé behind the scenes are probably what most people view as the reality of not only the animals but the persons involved from trainers to clowns.

And it’s not a pretty picture.

Jacob Jankowski is ready to sit his final exam as a veterinary student when his parents are killed and he discovers they pulled out all their financial stops to get him through school, leaving nothing upon their death. Indeed, the bank will take everything. With no where to live, no obvious means of support, and a bankrupt economy as well with few options, he hops aboard the first train he sees. It’s a circus train and it’s 1931.

Now, and throughout the novel, the reader is flipped from the twenty-something to the ninety-something reliving those years with the circus and his attraction to Marlena, the wife of the sadistic ringmaster owner-operator August. The introduction of Rosie the elephant comes late into the book just about the time I was beginning to wonder when she would appear.

The author weaves a raw, emotional story of the young man as he gradually meets and gets to know the characters of the circus and the animals whom he is now charged with their care. The compelling characters are outstanding, well developed, come alive through the voices and their varied positions within the circus.

No, I never saw the 2011 movie with Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christopher Waltz, but now that it’s on my radar, I will. I’m a big fan of both Witherspoon (who performed all her own stunts) and Waltz, an amazing actor who nails his parts so convincingly you want to kill him bare-handed.

Yes, it’s frankly honest, can be cruel and disturbing. But the tale it tells is mesmerizing, page-turning, and tension-filled right up until the rewarding denouement. If you haven’t had the opportunity to read or listen (the latter of which I’d highly recommend), now is the time. Already read it? Did you love it? Or not. I’d love to know.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: 20^th Century Historical Romance, Coming of Age Fiction
Publisher:
HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
ASIN: B000G12CEK
Listening Length: 11 hrs 26 mins
Narrator:
David LeDoux, John Randolph Jones
Publication Date: May 24, 2006
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Water for Elephants – Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Sara lives in America with her husband, three children, two dogs, two cats, three goats, and a horse. She already has her eye on another horse and a donkey. [Amazon author page]

Sara Gruen is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of five novels: AT THE WATER’S EDGE, APE HOUSE, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, RIDING LESSONS, and FLYING CHANGES. Her works have been translated into forty-three languages, and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS was adapted into a major motion picture in 2011 starring Reese Witherspoon, Rob Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz, and then into a smash Broadway musical, currently running at the Imperial Theatre, written by Rick Elice and PigPen Theatre Co. and directed by Jessica Stone.

She lives in Western North Carolina with her husband and three sons, along with their dogs, cats, horses, birds, and the world’s fussiest goat. [Goodreads author page]

#ThrowbackThursday

All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

When Mattie Taylor’s twin brother was killed in Vietnam, she lost her best friend and the only person who really understood her. Now, news that her mother is dying sends Mattie back home, despite blaming her father for Mark’s death. Mama’s last wish is that Mattie would read some old letters stored in a trunk, from people Mattie doesn’t even know. Mama insists they hold the answers Mattie is looking for.

1942. Ava Delaney is picking up the pieces of her life following her husband’s death at Pearl Harbor. Living with her mother-in-law on a secluded farm in Tennessee is far different than the life Ava imagined when she married only a few short months ago. Desperate to get out of the house, Ava seeks work at a nearby military base, where she soon discovers the American government is housing Germans who they have classified as enemy aliens. As Ava works to process legal documents for the military, she crosses paths with Gunther Schneider, a German who is helping care for wounded soldiers. Ava questions why a man as gentle and kind as Gunther should be forced to live in the internment camp, and as they become friends, her sense of the injustice grows . . . as do her feelings for him. Faced with the possibility of losing Gunther, Ava must choose whether loving someone deemed the enemy is a risk worth taking, even if it means being ostracized by all those around her.

In the midst of pain and loss two women must come face-to-face with their own assumptions about what they thought they knew about themselves and others. What they discover will lead to a far greater appreciation of their own legacies and the love of those dearest to them.

My Review:

It hasn’t been that long since I read and reviewed Appalchian Song in August 2024, my first from this author. She used a dual timeline then, as in this novel as well, dividing two main POVs between WWII and Vietnam. Seems I always gravitate more to one timeline and character than the other, and in the case, it was the 40s with Ava Delaney.

Guard Tower at Camp Forrest courtesy US Air Force and Densho Encyclopedia

Ava Delaney is the more liberal, befriending a German classified as an enemy alien during WWII. She secured a job at Camp Forrest in Tullahoma following her husband’s death at Pearl and finds herself attracted to Gunther (who for a short time has his own POV), a medical student prior to his delivery to the internment camp that was part of the massive base in Tennessee. Granted, she didn’t really know her husband and honest in her reason for the marriage, was more for security than love.

Mattie Taylor loses her twin brother to the war in Vietnam a little more than a generation later. She left her parents’ home shortly after the funeral, furious with their lack of opposition to his joining the Marines with his best friend through childhood. Her brother doesn’t come home, his best friend does but with the loss of an arm.

She has returned home following time on the West Coast where she had turned on, tuned out, and dropped out as so many did during the 60s in protest to the war most thought we had no business being in. More than bitter, she seethes fury at anyone backing the government’s involvement that led to her brother’s death and except that she returned to say goodbye to her now terminal mother, would otherwise have continued the life of a “hippie” in a San Francisco commune.

She is developed as petulant, spoiled, ignorant, selfish, and lacking the ability to support anyone other than those who agree with her ideology, which she repeats—more than once.

(This one hits hard since I lost a brother and both he and my husband were conscripted at the same time. Not like they had a choice back then. Whether or not we agreed with the US position (and we didn’t), we tried hard to support our boys, which was made difficult by those who didn’t.)

So, yeah, I did get very weary of Mattie’s position; the loss is devastating no question. But she got very tiresome.

What I did enjoy was the slow discovery of Amy’s story. Again, not sure I could put myself in those shoes, but the measured delivery of how it all came together became obvious.

The writing style is gripping. There are a few twists. There are themes of the futility of war, the physiological and psychological damage to those involved and the resulting damage to the family unit as well as the community, terminal illness, and hope.

Does Mattie ever relax that resentment, begin to see others first, discover ways she can make a difference in their lives as well as her own? You’ll have to read the book and determine for yourself. It just might be the binge-reader you’ve been looking for!

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: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Southern United States Fiction, Southern Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
ISBN: 1496484177
ASIN: B0CW1M4P8D
Print Length: 359 pages
Publication Date: October 1, 2024
Source: Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS, winner of the 2023 Christianity Today Book Award in Fiction, and UNDER THE TULIP TREE, a Christy Award and Selah Award finalist. As a woman of mixed heritage–her father’s family is Hispanic and her mother’s roots go back to Germany–she has always celebrated diversity and feels it’s important to see the world through the eyes of one another. Learning from the past and changing the future is why she writes historical fiction.

With both her sons grown, Michelle and her husband make their home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about.

Michelle loves hearing from readers! Connect with her at http://www.MichelleShocklee.com

Graphic courtesy Canva.com

History’s Pages: The Knocknashee Story – Book 3 by Jean Grainer #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

in Historical Irish Fiction

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

In the tumultuous year of 1940, an extraordinary friendship spans the Atlantic. Grace Fitzgerald, rooted in the seemingly peaceful Irish village of Knocknashee, and Richard Lewis, an intrepid war correspondent from Savannah, Georgia, share a connection that transcends simple categorization as World War II rages on.

As Europe burns and America deliberates its involvement, Grace and Richard find themselves witnessing history from vastly different vantage points. While the tight-knit community of Knocknashee anxiously monitors “the Emergency” from neutral Ireland, Richard brings the harsh realities of war to life through his reports from bomb-ravaged London.

Though each explores romantic possibilities closer to home, Grace and Richard’s bond remains unmatched—a connection that defies distance and circumstance. But as the world plunges deeper into conflict, they face crucial choices that could alter their lives forever. Can their unique relationship withstand not only separation, but also the life-changing decisions each must make in a world torn apart by war?

“History’s Pages,” the captivating third installment of the Knocknashee Story, weaves a tale of deep friendship, personal choices, and resilience against the sweeping canvas of history. Perfect for fans of “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” and “The Nightingale,” this novel will transport you to a world where ordinary people navigate extraordinary challenges, and where the most profound connections often defy simple definition.

My Review:

Oh my goodness, can Ms Grainger weave a tale or what?

I am loving this series, I swear her best one yet, and this one particularly grips with graphic inclusion of the escalating war weaving in and out of the quiet Irish village of Knocknashee where Grace is headmistress.

Grace Fitzgerald and Richard Lewis missed each other on her trip to the states with Declan as I mentioned in Book 2, Yesterday’s Paper. The year is 1940 and with Hitler on the march and Europe descending into continent wide war, Richard, with his sister Sarah and boyfriend and budding war photographer Jacob Nunez, are finding success with their articles and photos sent home for their U.S. paper.

Between their experience in France and then London, Richard finally gets a hasty chance to run to Knocknashee to meet Grace. It was a fast and furious, emotionally charged meeting between the two, leaving far more emotive glances than words. Opposites in every way from his old money background and masculine physicality to her simple and poor childhood. a bandy leg legacy of the polio suffered as a young girl. Still…The attraction couldn’t be denied.

Their correspondence continues but on a cautious level. The Irish village men and women are shocked when a beloved priest is sent away to make room for the canon no one wished to see back. While Ireland maintains their neutrality, the war continues to escalate with Richard and his crew seeing first-hand how Londoners dig in to combat the conflagration inflicted nightly on their city.

The author turns on that strong sense of ironic humor as she moves her women through the awakening of male dominated jobs that become easily performed out of necessity by the absence of men during war time. The scarcity of food and supplies become a matter of money and coupons. More than goods, services are increasingly dear—including the delivery of mail—which complicates the relationship even further.

This juxtaposed against the strict moral codes dictated by the church and imposed even as the world outside a cloistered setting crumbled daily.

So much going on in these tales, the depth of “the Emergency” creating havoc and modification to daily life everywhere.

Loved the new characters introduced, including the Cockney girl, Pippa, and the sophisticated Swiss miss, Virginia. Again, the contrast between the characters astonishing yet so well developed.

The third installment hooks and doesn’t disappoint, ending too quickly and looking for the next. Her writing style is compelling, endearing, and unique, assuming a kinship with her reader. She loves her work, obviously inspired with this storyline, well researched and authentic. It shows. I hope you didn’t miss Book 1 and 2. You may wish to start at the beginning but should not miss this episode.

While I was hooked and flipping pages, my only negative would be the full repeat of a few of those letters. Still, the storyline kept me so captivated and flipping pages, it didn’t become a big issue. I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Irish Fiction, Historical British & Irish Literature, Friendship Fiction
ASIN: B0DGFZ94G5
Print Length:
Publication Date: January 28, 2025
Source: Author

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK

The Author: Jean Grainger is a USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction, acclaimed for her authentic portrayal of Irish life and history. Born in Cork, she draws from her experience as a history lecturer, teacher, and tour guide to craft engaging narratives. Grainger’s works span multiple series and standalone novels, covering significant periods in Irish history, including World War I, the 1916 Easter Rising, World War II, and the mid-20th century. Her stories often intertwine historical events with personal journeys, exploring themes of family, friendship, and human resilience. Grainger’s writing style, characterized by its warmth and authenticity, has earned her comparisons to renowned Irish authors like Maeve Binchy. Her dedication to research and character development has resulted in a loyal readership who feel deeply connected to her stories and characters.

Icon courtesy Freepik.com

The Phoenix Crown: A Novel by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang #AudiobookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Best Literature & Fiction

Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Historical Fiction (2024)

Book Blurb:

From bestselling authors Janie Chang and Kate Quinn, a thrilling and unforgettable narrative about the intertwined lives of two wronged women, spanning from the chaos of the San Francisco earthquake to the glittering palaces of Versailles.

San Francisco, 1906. In a city bustling with newly minted millionaires and scheming upstarts, two very different women hope to change their fortunes: Gemma, a golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano whose career desperately needs rekindling, and Suling, a petite and resolute Chinatown embroideress who is determined to escape an arranged marriage. Their paths cross when they are drawn into the orbit of Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate whose extraordinary collection of Chinese antiques includes the fabled Phoenix Crown, a legendary relic of Beijing’s fallen Summer Palace.

His patronage offers Gemma and Suling the chance of a lifetime, but their lives are thrown into turmoil when a devastating earthquake rips San Francisco apart and Thornton disappears, leaving behind a mystery reaching further than anyone could have imagined . . . until the Phoenix Crown reappears five years later at a sumptuous Paris costume ball, drawing Gemma and Suling together in one last desperate quest for justice.

My Review:

While I’m totally mystified by the genre this title falls under, I’m a solid Kate Quinn fan and waited my turn for the library audiobook. This time around, Quinn collaborates with Janie Chang and between the two have seamlessly taken a number of different period stories and created The Phoenix Crown. Actually, that artifact only came up a few times in the story and it was near the end of the book.

My grandfather was caught in this earthquake. I wish I had gotten more stories from him but I do know he sustained a broken hip in the massive earthquake that wrought so much damage that the fire it started burned for three days.* The storyline counts down to the event in April 1906. On the San Andreas fault, the earthquake was felt as far north as the Oregon border, to the east as far as the Nevada border, and to the south in Las Angeles. Chinatown was burned to the ground as was Nob Hill and most SF landmarks.

There are several POVs including Gemma, Suling, and Alice. Their stories are linked by antagonist Henry Thornton. Not the first book I’ve read of the plight of the Chinese immigrants of the time given their role in the construction of the railroads. Suling becomes my favorite character as she relates her circumstances, a strong woman who doggedly plugs along on her quest for freedom when she is orphaned and third uncle is prepared to marry her off. She works for the family’s laundry but is a talented embroideress and it is that talent that helps to catapult her into independence.

Gemma has a gorgeous voice but is relegated to the backup voices or choir as she confronts debilitating migraines if faced with solos. She meets Thornton who sweet-talks her into believing he’ll make her a star. Uh huh. Of the three, she is weakest.

Alice Eastwood is a botanist and based on a real person of the time who still has her work displayed in the de Young Museum (read the epilogue and author’s notes at the end for how this all came together and that’s a fascinating account in itself).

The tension builds in the countdown to the earthquake. The three women unite in an effort to survive Thornton and the quake but five years later as realization hits that the Phoenix Crown survived, they know they must find Thornton once and for all.

“It wasn’t enough for a woman to be talented, clever, or good. That wouldn’t save her.”

It’s a story of the strength of women, particularly when they work together, the hardships faced at the time, the lively and burgeoning city, and the arts. More than just the name of the Crown, there is a little play with the words Suling and Phoenix, both rising from the ashes.

I had a little problem keeping up with Suling, alternately called Susie and Gemma’s friend (who is the reason for her moving to San Francisco). I first thought a man, Reggie, but that name changed as the plot progressed into a sub-plot.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. Narrated in part by Saskia Maarleveld–also a big fan–she always does a super job. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: World War I Historical Fiction, Historical World War I Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio
ASIN: B0BSP718CY
Listening Length: 11 hrs 35 mins
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld, Katharine Chin
Publication Date: February 13, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: The Phoenix Crown – Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Authors:

Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with “The Alice Network”, “The Huntress,” “The Rose Code,” “The Diamond Eye,” and “The Briar Club.” She is also a co-author in several collaborative novels including “The Phoenix Crown” with Janie Chang and “Ribbons of Scarlet” with Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, Eliza Knight, Sophie Perinot, and Heather Webb. All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in Maryland with three rescue dogs.

Janie Chang‘s historical novels have been critically-acclaimed Canadian national bestsellers. Her novels THREE SOULS and DRAGON SPRINGS ROAD were long listed for the International Dublin Literary Award. Her third novel THE LIBRARY OF LEGENDS was a Book of the Month Club pick. Her fourth novel, THE PORCELAIN MOON, was named one of the 5 Top Historical Novels of 2023 by the Toronto Star. THE PHOENIX CROWN, a novel co-authored with Kate Quinn, released in February 2024.

Her stories often feature a family connection, drawing from a family history with 36 generations of recorded genealogy and stories about life in a small Chinese town in the years before the Second World War, including tales of ancestors who encountered dragons, ghosts, and immortals.

Born in Taiwan, Janie has lived in the Philippines, Iran, Thailand, and New Zealand. She now lives on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada with her husband.

Have a merry Tuesday!

*SF pic by Travel Channel

Hold Strong: A Novel by Robert Dugoni, Jeff Langholz, Christ Crabtree #BookReview #HistoricalBiographicalFiction

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

From Robert Dugoni, Jeff Langholz, and Chris Crabtree comes an epic and inspiring novel—based on true events—about love, heroism, and resilience during the darkest chapters of World War II.

Sam Carlson is a projectionist in small-town Minnesota, where fantasies unspool in glorious black and white—for him and for his sweetheart, college-bound math whiz Sarah Haber. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Sam is sent to the Philippines and captured as a POW. Brutalized but unbroken by the Bataan Death March and POW camps, Sam is one of eighteen hundred starved and weakened prisoners herded into the cargo hold of a barbaric hell ship called the Arisan Maru, his survival doubtful.

Determined to use her math skills on the home front, Sarah is recruited to Washington, DC, into the covert field of code breaking. When Sarah intercepts a message about a Japanese convoy, the US Navy’s mission is clear: sink the Arisan Maru and send it to the bottom of the South China Sea. Now, the lives of the two young lovers are about to inadvertently collide in one of the most shocking acts of World War II.

Anchored in an extraordinary true story and breathlessly re-created, Hold Strong is a one-of-a-kind novel that explores faith, courage, survival, and coming home against insurmountable odds.

His Review:

The United States was neutral before the WW II. Our military was at peace and the port of Pearl Harbor was enjoying leave for the majority of its sailors and soldiers. The Philippines had a large contingent of U.S. military stationed near Clark Air Force Base and the island of Corregidor. After the attack at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese immediately attacked the bases in the Pacific and in the Philippines.

The bases were quickly overtaken because the military lacked shells and bullets. The entire contingent of men was forced to march nearly 3,000 miles in extremely hot and humid weather. Many of the men collapsed from the lack of food and water and were shot or bayonetted where they lay. Also, the prisoners were beaten and stabbed on the march. The Japanese were cruel and ruthless.

This story chronicles the terrible conditions they faced both during the “Battan Death March,” and the trip aboard the Arisan Maru. Eight thousand troops were forced into the ships’ hold with no place to sit or lay down. No fresh air was piped into the hold and many died of starvation or thirst. The Japanese commander was educated in the United States and loathed the Americans from Bataan and Corregidor.

Many perished aboard this terrible Japanese freighter and were simply thrown overboard without ceremony. Burial at sea duties were carried on by the prisoners without any coverings for the bodies. The Japanese allowed the prisoners half a cup of watery rice per day as food. All of the prisoners lost weight until they looked like walking skeletons. Many tried to help their fellow prisoners of war until they were so emaciated they could hardly walk themselves.

This novel highlights the plight of these 8,000 troops and the brutality that was inflicted by their Japanese captors. The Japanese felt the Americans were not good soldiers and sailors and would cave under the pressure. The average walk per day was around 30 miles. Food supplied by the Red Cross was enjoyed by the Japanese and never shared with the captives.

This novel would be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates historical biographical fiction or biographical fiction of WWII. There are times you can feel the heat and the desperate attempt at life, knowing the odds are against you. The descriptions bringing the scene to life are all too real. It’s crushing. Look for the release of this one in late January or pre-order now to enjoy massive savings. 5 stars – CE Williams

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.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Biographical Fiction, Biographical Fiction, Historical World War II Fiction
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
ISBN:1662516304
ASIN: B0CW1FVMPG
Print Length: 503 pages
Publication Date: January 28, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble

The Authors:

Robert Dugoni is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite series; the Charles Jenkins series; the David Sloane series; several standalone novels, including A Killing on the Hill, The World Played Chess, and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell; and coauthor of the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Book Award for fiction, a multi-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest, and a finalist for many other awards [including the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award.

Robert Dugoni’s books are sold in more than forty countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages and have reached millions of readers worldwide.

Visit his website and follow him on Amazon, Goodreads, twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok and other social media sites]. For more information, visit robertdugonibooks.com.

Dr. Jeff Langholz is an award-winning teacher, researcher, entrepreneur, and writer whose work has appeared in more than 250 media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, National Geographic, and the Economist. His adventures span five continents and include stints as a rice farmer in West Africa with the Peace Corps, a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa, a salmon fisherman in Alaska, a tree farmer in Central America, and a mediator in New York. He lives along Monterey Bay in California [with his wife, dog, and two semiferal cats].

Chris Crabtree teaches middle and high school English language arts and literature at Costa Rica International Academy in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Chris and his wife, Vera, live in a rustic, rural town on the outskirts of Santa Cruz, Costa Rica, with their dogs Bety and Bruno.

From Indiana, Chris Crabtree attended the Indianapolis high school named after one of Hold Strong’s most heroic characters. His personal connection to the story also includes time spent in The Philippines, where the story starts. Chris served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa, where he and Jeff forged their decades-long friendship. He is an award-winning high school History and Literature teacher at Costa Rica International Academy in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Enjoy Your Sunday with a good book!

It’s Time to Vote in the Goodreads Choice Awards! #TuesdayBookBlog

My Goodreads Choice Awards for 2024

I’ve mentioned the Goodreads Choice Awards in previous years as it’s one of my favorite places to look for trending novels and authors, often finding my next book or audiobook.

I vote in each level from the opening round to the final round and some years score more winners than others. It’s fun to see how many of my reads, whether gleaned from Goodreads suggestions, publishers and authors, or NetGalley made it to the finals and, if so, where they came in. (Number 1?)

As of the prep for this post, there were already 2,736,392 votes cast in fifteen categories. Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Romance, Romantasy, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Debut Nove, Audiobook, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, History & Biography.

Romantasy? New last year? My favorite categories are Mystery & Thriller, Historical Fiction, Fiction, and Crime Fiction, but also read Humor, Memoir, Biography, Nonfiction, and Debut novels. Of course, the CE adds his own brand of reading usually of more masculine novels with action-adventure.

Up for consideration this year are eight of the books read in 2024 that landed on the list in the following categories: (Links are to my reviews which list sales info as well as the Goodreads link.)

Is one of these nominees yours?

Fiction

Here One Moment – Liane Moriarty* (audiobook)
Margo’s Got Money Troubles – Rufi Thorpe (audiobook)

Historical Fiction

The Women – Kristin Hannah*
The Frozen River – Ariel Lawhon (audiobook)

Mystery & Thriller

Darling Girls – Sally Hepworth* (audiobook)
The Heiress – Rachel Hawkins (audiobook)
First Lie Wins – Ashley Elston (audiobook-Reese’s Book Club selection)

Audiobook

The Women – Kristin Hannah*
Here One Moment – Liane Moriarty (audiobook)
Funny Story – Emily Henry (audiobook)
First Lie Wins – Ashley Elston (audiobook-Reese’s Book Club selection)

*My vote

(I’m rather surprised so many are from my audiobook selections.)

Last year, my Memoir & Autobiography vote went to Spare by Prince Harry, but surprised Britney Spears won for The Woman in Me (did you read that one? I read it but preferred Spare.) I did, however, pick the winner for the History & Biography category, The Wager. Gees, that was good and so glad it won!

There are 300 nominees this year across the 15 categories, but I swear a couple of those are new and a few categories were eliminated from previous years (poetry, middle grade and children’s, comic novels and graphics). The opening round of voting is between November 12 until November 24, so you still have time to make your voice heard.

Did one of your favorite books land in the nominees? Vote for it! The final round starts November 26, ends December 1. Winners are announced December 5.

So I have to ask:

How many of the above did you read?
In how many different categories do you participate?
Do you look for reading ideas from the Goodreads winners?
What is your source for 2025 trending books?
And, lastly—have you gone to any movies or viewed series based on one of your choices?

I’ve always appreciated Goodreads for the extensive resources they provide. I often check their New Releases section under “Browse” as well as Recommendations and crosscheck those against the offerings in NetGalley. If I cannot find the book in NetGalley, I check my local library and look for the audiobook first.

What is the book you are hoping to see listed in those nominees?

#TuesdayBookBlog

Yesterday’s Paper: The Knocknashee Story by Jean Grainger #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

#1 Best Seller in Historical British & Irish Literature

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

As storm clouds of war gather over Europe, Grace Fitzgerald in Ireland and Richard Lewis in the United States find their lives irrevocably altered by the looming conflict.

Ireland’s neutrality offers little shelter from the war’s far-reaching impact, and across the Atlantic, Richard witnesses a nation divided on intervention. Meanwhile, in sleepy Knocknashee, a twelve-year-old mystery surrounding a stolen child resurfaces, shattering long-held beliefs.

Fate seems determined to keep Grace and Richard apart, thwarting their plans to meet, and the vast Atlantic is not the only thing separating them. From the gentle green hills of Ireland, to the busy newspaper rooms of New York, from a London bracing for war to a Paris on the brink of invasion, “Yesterday’s Paper” continues the sweeping saga of Grace and Richard as they navigate love, loss, and the turbulent tides of history.

In this gripping tale of resilience and romance, the personal and the political collide, weaving an unforgettable tapestry of lives caught in the crosswinds of a world at war.

My Review:

Totally caught up in the story of Grace Fitzgerald, school teacher and now headmistress of Knocknashee, Cork County, Ireland, and Richard Lewis of Savannah, Georgia, USA, I couldn’t wait for installment two of the series and this doesn’t disappoint.

From Lilac Ink we learned Richard is the privileged son of a wealthy Savannah family, expected to follow in his father’s footsteps and instead would prefer becoming a journalist. His best friend Jacob Nunez is an aspiring photographer and together they have been scheming on a way to get to Europe to write stories and submit pictures for the home papers regarding Hitler’s growing intrusion into “neutral” countries.

Richard had become a pen pal of Grace, when in a fit of despair with her despicable sister Agnes, wrote her frustrations about the situation and enclosed it into a bottle which, thrust into the ocean, found its way to Georgia where Richard found it. He finds a way to bend the story to his political purposes and gains an editor who sends both he and Jacob to Europe.

Grace had hoped she and Richard could meet in America when she accompanied Declan to New York, but they were two ships that passed in the night.

The author always manages to weave complex stories into her plots with multiple layers of interest and well-developed characters. Declan’s possible connection to family in America, meeting pen pal Richard, and the advance of Hitler and the entry to WWII are part of a focus brought forward from book one. A lot of research into the position of both countries, the growing fear of the people of Europe, and the stark differences in the lives of the people in both countries as well as the tension-filled atmosphere of France keep the reader flipping pages.

Will Grace and Richard ever meet up? Will Richard and Jacob make it home safely in the massive exodus of the Jewish community? What will happen to that piece of baggage left with them on the train in their escape from Paris?

After the death of Agnes and her indoctrination of Grace, can Grace ever come to peace with her appearance, put the onus of her gimpy polio leg behind her, and accept the advances of her newly recognized male suitors?

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

Book Details:

Genre: Friendship Fiction, Historical British & Irish Literature, Historical Irish Fiction
ISBN:1915790778
ASIN: B0D27P1Y46
Print Length: 296 pages
Publication Date: November 10, 2024 Just released!
Source: Author