March Read: The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes

 

Have you ever heard of the Armed Services Editions? They were paperbacks of novels that were shipped overseas to U.S. troops during World War 2. Many novels we consider classics were part of this giant effort to combat Nazi book burning and censorship. The books also provided soldiers with reading material to give them some relief from the constant stress of battle. 

Author Brianna Labuskes uses the ASE as a large part of her novel. Vivian Childs is living in New York City in 1944. Her husband has been killed in battle, and while mourning his loss, she's been working as the publicity director for the Council on Books in Wartime. She's working hard to keep books flowing into the hands of soldiers overseas, but has one Senator who is using his personal dislike of President Roosevelt to cripple the program. Senator Taft wants to censor the books, and if the amendment goes through, it means thousands of books will be banned from the program. 

The plot of the story also involves two women: Althea James and Hannah Brecht. Althea is a young American author who has been invited by Joseph Goebbels to Germany in a cultural exchange program in 1933. It's a thinly disguised attempt for the growing Nazi power to influence American minds. Althea is pretty naive and is excited to leave her small town in Maine. She's living in Berlin, is escorted around by a handsome young man, and has been exposed to Nazi idealism. 

Hannah Brecht is a Jewish woman living in Paris in 1936. The Nazis have not yet invaded France, but it's expected they will. Hannah has fled from Germany after a devastating event, and now works at a library that collects copies of the banned books students gleefully burned one night in May, 1933. She's haunted by the events of 1933 that left her feeling betrayed by those closest to her. 

All three stories connect together in New York, 1944 as Viv works to create a last ditch effort to bring awareness to Senator Taft's amendment.  The novel switches back and forth between 1933, 1936, and 1944. I didn't have any trouble following along, and each of the women were strong characters. I can't say I liked any one of them better than the other two. It was interesting to read about the same war from three different places and eleven years apart. I was especially interested in the ASE history and what it did to boost morale for soldiers. 

It took me a bit to get into this novel. Part of that was, as always, my reluctance to read about the rise of Nazi power and all of the horrible, horrible things that happened. What was interesting is the idea of book banning and censorship occurring here, in the U.S.  In light of what is currently going on in our schools and public libraries, this really hit home and because of that, this was a powerful, timely read for me. 

As someone who has worked their entire adult life selling books, talking about books, recommending books, reviewing books, selecting books for a library--I find censorship horrific. Banning books? Hell no. I speak from personal experience as a young reader who had books taken away from me because my mom didn't think they were appropriate. Over 40 years later, I remember every book and every time they were taken away from me. I remember being so angry about that, and telling myself I would never, ever do that to my future children. I still, deep down, carry that resentment. I am one of those kids who wasn't allowed to read what they wanted. It didn't stop me, instead it fired me up. Read with your child! Talk to them about why they're interested in reading a particular book. Don't ban a book because you don't like it. Don't keep your children from reading something that interests them.  As Hannah says in this novel

    I can tell you that banning books, burning books, blocking books is often used as a way to erase a people, a belief system, a culture. To say those voices don't belong here even when those writers represent the very best of a country.

Okay. I'll get off my soapbox. 

This novel has some interesting historical background, and if you're interested in learning more about the American Service Edition program, read  When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning. 

This would be a great book club selection with plenty to discuss. 

Rating: 4/6 for a novel about love, betrayal, censorship, apathy, and friendship. Historical fiction fans will be intrigued by the ASE program and the events of May, 1933 in Berlin. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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March Read: The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes

Summer Reading 2022: Gilt by Jamie Brenner

 

I discovered Jamie Brenner last summer when a book came across my desk at the library that featured a family vineyard and Jackie Collins novels. So of course I had to read it, and Blush was an unexpected surprise. You can read my review from last year here.  

Jamie returns this summer with Gilt, and I enjoyed this just as much. Centered around a family jewelry store in Manhattan, this is the tale of three sisters, one niece, a pink diamond engagement ring, and a family curse. 

The Pavlin family has been in the jewelry business for over a hundred years, and their famous store in Manhattan was the first to market diamond rings as engagement rings. They've ridden that marketing high for decades, but now Elodie, the great granddaughter of the founder of the company, knows the store is in trouble. People don't want to shop for jewelry in a store; they can buy online. Jewelry isn't what it used to be, and the store is in the red. Elodie's only way out is to have a big splashy auction to sell famous family jewelry pieces.

Only problem is she needs the okay of her surviving sister Celeste and her niece Gemma. 

Celeste lives in Provincetown and left the family decades ago. She owns an antique shop and lives with her love, Jack. Gemma's mother, Paulina, was the famous "it" girl of the 1990's; her beauty and endless travels around the world kept the Pavlin family in the news, and business was good. Her tragic death, along with her handsome husband, left Gemma without parents and being raised by her other grandparents, the Maybrooks. She has always felt resentment for the Pavlin family because they seemingly ignored her existence. 

Now Gemma is an adult and aspiring jewelry designer. She wants the one thing she was promised: the infamous Electric Rose diamond engagement ring her mother promised to her. That ring caused a huge rift between the three sisters: Elodie, Celeste, and Paulina. 

Elodie has her work cut out for her, and heads to Provincetown to convince Celeste to sign the papers approving the auction. Gemma ends up in Provincetown to meet her Aunt Celeste and find out more about the whereabouts of the Electric Rose. 

It's a summer of complicated family issues; each woman has a lot to work through. It's a crossroads for them all; a chance to look at life and figure out where to go next. And in the center of it all is Gemma and her budding jewelry business. Her desire to have the Electric Rose ring is palpable. Not for money, but because it was the one thing she remembers her mother always wearing. But Elodie isn't saying where it is, and Gemma refuses to sign the auction papers until she has the ring. 

I dived into the novel pretty quickly, and got to know all the characters. Provincetown sounds like a pretty cool place to spend the summer. The tensions between the sisters and their niece are definitely well drawn out; the other side stories keep everything balanced and give some relief to the family drama. An  unexpected romance, another chance at a broken romance, and ooh--will Celeste finally marry Jack? 

This would, of course, make a really good Netflix movie. Perfect summer read. 

Rating: 4/6 for a novel about a family broken apart, with a chance to heal old wounds. Moving from New York City to Cape Cod this tale of three women reuniting to become family was very entertaining. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Summer Reading 2022: Gilt by Jamie Brenner

A Cup of Silver Linings (Dove Pond #2) by Karen Hawkins

 

You know how you wait and wait for something, then it finally arrives, and instead of jumping on it and being happy it's finally here, you dink around and put it off for a bit? That's exactly what I did with this novel, the sequel to 2019's The Book Charmer (you can read my review here).  

I just can't get enough of novels that involve magic. Add in a small town and a family of sisters, and that's pretty much an irresistible trio for me. 

Even though I couldn't wait to read this, I started it earlier this month and didn't get far before I got distracted--and thought oh no! I'm not going to enjoy this. That lead me to setting it aside and reading a few other books. This past week I picked it up again and decided I was going to dive in and finish it before I read anything else. So I did, and it didn't take long before I got over my stuck-ness and bam! I was back in Dove Pond with the Dove sisters and right in the thick of things. 

This, the second in the series, focuses on Ava Dove. She's opening a new tea room and working hard to get it ready. Helping her is teen Kristen, who has just lost her mother Julie to cancer. Ellen Foster, Kristen's grandmother, has arrived and has told Kristen she's selling the house and Kristen will move back to Raleigh with her. Kristen, still deeply grieving her mother, is determined to never leave Dove Pond, nor the house she grew up in and holds so many memories of her mother. Ellen, estranged from Julie and Kristen for years, struggles to grieve and understand her granddaughter. It's a rocky road for the two of them. 

Ava, meanwhile, is having some issues because of a secret she's kept for years and years. That secret is in a box under her bed, wrapped in ribbon and bound tightly with some Dove magic. However, that box has been thumping, pounding, moving around, and causing Ava horrible headaches and sleepless nights. That secret wants to come out. Will Ava have the courage to spill her secret before something horrible happens? And what's going on with the special teas Ava creates for folks who have ailments (both physical and those of the heart)? Three people have returned teas saying they didn't work correctly and had some disastrous results. What could have gone wrong? Ava's reputation is on the line. 

Once I got past my reading block, I inhaled this novel. It took me a bit to familiarize myself again with the Dove sisters and the town. It wasn't hard, and you could read this without reading the first in the series. There are hints of potential romance, and a big change for Sarah and her painful reaction to the town sheriff. 

Themes in this novel involve grief, cancer, death, betrayal, secrets, looking for a biological parent, forgiveness, and friendship. It's a gentle read, and I loved it so much! It was wonderful to return to Dove Pond. I hope I can be patient and wait for the third in the series. There's quite a bit left to discover about the Dove sisters (there are 7 of them!) and the town of Dove Pond, North Carolina. 

Rating: 4/6 for a delightful sequel to The Book Charmer. Characters from the first novel appear, but new characters take center stage--and we find out a big secret that could change everything for Sarah Dove. 

Available in paperback, audiobook, and ebook.

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A Cup of Silver Linings (Dove Pond #2) by Karen Hawkins

A Column of Fire (Kingsbridge, #3) by Ken Follett

What does one do when given the opportunity to read Ken Follett's latest novel a few weeks before it is released by the publisher--and it's 928 pages?  

READ EVERY CHANCE YOU GET.  That's what I did, and managed to read this in a week on my Nook.  I even snuck in a few short reading breaks for a few other books I'm reading, too.  I finished last night, and had to take some time to absorb the spectacle of Ken Follett and Elizabethan England. This was an emotional journey all wrapped up in a wonderfully written novel.  

If you've ever read Mr. Follett's Pillars of the Earth, or World Without End, you know they are set in Kingsbridge, a fictional town in England that has a spectacular cathedral at the center of town.  The cool bit about the books is that they take place hundreds of years apart, so you can read each one without reading the others.  Each stands alone.  While you might be a bit apprehensive of the size (this book clocks in at 928 pages), I assure you it is well worth the effort.  It's the perfect book for a chilly evening because it's so weighty you quite happily sit for hours with it propped up on your lap. And, of course, a glass of wine at your side. 

Ken Follett's gift is his ability to make history come alive, and in such a way that you don't even realize how big his books are--pages speed by, and you'll find yourself reading 100-200 pages every evening; sometimes more if you've got the time.  His characters, both actual historical figures and fictional figures, are so well drawn that you'll become attached and your heart will leap when they're in danger, and cheer when things go right for them. The tale begins in 1558 and ends in 1620.  Who survives to the end?

So let's talk about the plot.  It begins in 1558, with a young Ned Willard sailing home to Kingsbridge after a year abroad.  He's eager to meet Margery Fitzgerald, a lovely young woman from a wealthy Catholic family in Kingsbridge. He hopes she hasn't forgotten him, because he's madly in love with her and hopes to marry her.  It would be a very good match--Ned's family is a prosperous one that has known the Fitzgerald family for years.  

Ned and Margery's hope for a future together is destroyed by her father and brother Rollo's ambitions: to be linked to the Viscount Shiring family through Margery's marriage to young Bart. Ambition and ruthlessness rule their world.  

The Fitzgeralds are a conniving family, and fervent Catholics.  Queen Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary) is a staunch Catholic and has been arresting and burning Protestants in England.  This is just the beginning of the decades long bloody struggle between Catholics and Protestants, not only in England, but in France, Spain, and the Netherlands.  The major players:  Queen Mary, Princess Elizabeth, and Mary, Queen of Scots (and eventual Queen of France); the Pope and King Philip of Spain are just part of the multiple story lines that weave themselves into one big glorious tale that begins in 1558 and ends in 1620.  

There are some devious, evil men that keep the story moving along across England, France, and Spain.  Pierre, a French man determined to rise through the ranks of the French monarchy is one of the biggest creeps around!  At first he's kind of charming, if smarmy, but he quickly progresses into a Catholic spy for the powerful Catholics, using his charm to gather information on Protestants who are worshipping in secret.  He's truly loathsome.  Rollo is another nasty man; his world eventually collides with Pierre's as they join forces to topple the fragile religious tolerance Queen Elizabeth has forged in England.  They won't rest until Mary, Queen of Scots is on the throne of England as the true and rightful heir.  

Oh, it's a mess.  Spies, treachery, murder, forbidden passion, betrayal...machinations every which way.  While I didn't know a lot about the struggle between Catholics and Protestants, I certainly got an education reading this novel.  Religious intolerance is a huge theme throughout the novel. That, and the belief by some people that Elizabeth was not the true heir to the English throne propel the plot through decades of bloodshed and political unrest.  

Argh!  I could go on and on.  I haven't even told you about some of the other characters that populate this epic tale.  Sylvie, for one--this woman is tough as nails and willing to risk her life every day for her beliefs.  She's one of my favorite characters in the novel.  Margery is also a tough cookie; she takes the cards she's dealt and makes a life that works for her.  "Nevertheless, she persisted" is so applicable to these two women--as well as the other strong women who make their mark in so many big and small ways.  You will root for the good guys, and be really pissed at the bad guys.  If anything, you'll have a better understanding of the complexities that fueled the upheavals of the sixteenth century.  Toss in the thrilling battle between the English Navy and the Spanish Armada, and you've got a fantastic read for September.  

A HUGE thank you to Viking Books for the opportunity to read and review A Column of Fire.  This made my year.  

Available September 12th in the United States in hardcover, ebook, and audio book.  

Rating:  6/6 for one amazing read.  Wow. 

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A Column of Fire (Kingsbridge, #3) by Ken Follett

Family Pictures by Jane Green

I read Jemima J years and years ago, and loved it.  It made me a Jane Green fan.  I haven't read all of her books, but quite a few.  I can say I'm a bit disappointed in Family Pictures.  There.  I said it.  

Family Pictures is about two women:  Sylvie and Maggie.  Sylvie lives in California with her teen daughter Eve, her husband Mark, and a lovely home.  Married eleven years, Sylvie is getting restless, knowing her daughter will be leaving for college soon.  An artistic and creative woman, Sylvie starts making homemade candles to give to her mother, a very narcissistic, demanding woman living in a nursing home.  Her marriage to Mark is good:  he travels to New York every week, and days will go by without Sylvie hearing from him--because he is so darn busy. She has no reason to suspect him of anything, because he is such a good guy.

Maggie lives in Connecticut, has three gorgeous kids, lives in a big house, and has been married to her husband Mark for 25 years.  She's worked hard to put her poor and abusive childhood behind her, and works day and night organizing charity functions, shopping, and looking good.  Her husband travels a lot to California.  Sometimes she can't get a hold of him for days.  But that's ok.  He's a wonderful man.  She's so lucky.

Husband.  Travels. A lot.  Is out of touch frequently.  Duh!!

So it's no surprise to find out Mark is married to the two women.  It all comes tumbling down when Eve visits a Facebook friend in New York, meets Grace (Mark and Maggie's daughter), and gets invited to her house.  And there Eve finds the horrible truth.  Doom, doom doom.

Ok.  There's a lot of stuff going on in this story, but I had a hard time not snorting over the unbelieveable ignorance of both women, and the fantasy lives they both lived.  Seriously! Do people live like this? I'll keep my tiny house, books, and small circle of good friends, thank you very much.  Mark's character just falls out of sight.  Once he's used to move the plot to its pivot point, he's out of the picture.  

I'm not telling you everything about this novel, because there is much more to discover.  I read it in a day, and must admit I had a hard time putting it down because it is such a fantasy world.  Too pat.  So read it for pure escapism and unfortunately, little else.  I will continue to read Jane Green, and hope this is just a one time not so hot novel.  

Rating:  4/10 for an completely unrealistic plot and characters who were just too good to be true.  

Available in paperback and ebook.
 

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Family Pictures by Jane Green