35. The Enemy's Daughter. Anne Blankman. 2025. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [MG Historical fiction, MG coming of age, MG fiction,  3 stars]

First sentence: Marta leaned back against the ship's railing as far as she could go without falling over the side.

Premise/plot: Marta and her father are Germans aboard the Lusitania--secretly. Though not spies, they know that using their own papers to travel would be problematic--to say the least. They had been in America visiting family and now with the war--World War I--they are having difficulty traveling back safely. The sinking of the ship coincides with their discovery. Soon, Marta finds herself in England on her own. Her father is imprisoned and/or detained. Somewhere. She has no way of knowing where he is or what steps to take to find out where. Essentially on her own in a foreign country with whom she has some biases. Germany and England are at war after all. Germany is right all the time, isn't it? So what's a girl to do to survive without her identity becoming known?

My thoughts: I wanted to love this one. I did. I wanted to feel swept up, up, and away. I wanted to feel it to be an incredibly compelling stories where I cared deeply about the characters. And there is a chance--since reading is subjective--that it may be exactly that for another reader. I felt strangely detached from the characters and the story. I don't know if it was all me or if the book perhaps is more tell than show. (As opposed to more show than tell). One thing I can still appreciate is that Marta's friendship comes through a shared love of books. With that I can relate 100%. Books can build bridges across cultures, etc. And a shared love of specific stories can help encourage friendship to bloom. 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism. John U. Bacon. 2017. 418 pages. [Source: Library] 

First sentence: On Thursday, December 1, 2016, the people of Boston slogged through a drizzly day with temperatures in the 40s--neither fall nor winter, the kind of cold that gets deep in your bones and stays there.

Premise/plot: Narrative nonfiction covering the Halifax Disaster of December 1917. The book provides context, context, more context. But there does seem to be a point--not details for the sake of details. For example, it provides several chapters on the history of Halifax--including Halifax's complex relationship with the United States. There's also context about the First World War (aka the War to End all Wars or The Great War). The book chronicles the disaster through the eyes of a dozen or so people. 

My thoughts: I definitely appreciated this one more than the first book I read on this topic. The first book I read, Shattered City, was a bit dry at times and the book wasn't always great at connecting the dots and showing the relevance or significance of the facts it was sharing. 

I don't know exactly why this topic/subject has become of interest to me. It was in a fiction book--Christian fiction--book I read earlier this year. I then came across a movie on Tubi. I'll probably read more on the subject--fiction or nonfiction. 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion and the Road to Recovery. Janet Kitz. 2010. 351 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: My interest in the Halifax Explosion began in 1980, sparked by research for an anthropology paper at Saint Mary's University.

Premise/plot: Shattered City is a nonfiction book for adults about the Halifax explosion (which occurred on December 6, 1917). It starts off by explaining the research process and project. Talking about the ways information for the book was gathered and collected, what resources were examined. It then begins chronicling the event. The section of the book that chronicled the day of the disaster was intense yet intriguing. It was packed with what appear to be firsthand accounts. This section is where there is a human element. It isn't so much that there's a consistent cast of [real life] characters to follow, but even spending a few paragraphs with a family is something more personal. The 'aftermath' section which is "the road to recovery," is perhaps less personal, less human-interest, more facts and statistics. (Though not always.) For example, reading about the reconstruction of houses, streets, neighborhoods is less personal and more matter-of-fact. Or reading about the weekly allotment of financial assistance to buy food and how that was determined. But there were also updates on schools for the blind and how adults and children were learning or relearning necessary skills for beginning to live life again. So there were occasional moments of high interest. 

My thoughts: This book should NOT be confused with a movie with the same name. That is how I came across this book. It is not the author's fault--nor the book's fault--that the movie about the Halifax explosion shares the same name. The movie chronicles ONE family and a small cast of characters. It builds up to the explosion over several days. You get attached to the characters. There is intensity and suspense. There is heartbreak. It is super-absorbing and compelling. This book....isn't. The first part is definitely more interesting than the second part. But it is also very technical. I'm not expressing it in the right words. Human interest. This one doesn't always stay focused on a 'human interest' perspective. The facts may be of great interest to the right reader. But if you care more about people than supplies of food or lumber...then you might find yourself a bit bored now and then.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Canary Girls. Jennifer Chiaverini. 2023. [August] 432 pages. [Source: Library] [historical fiction; world war I; adult fiction]

First sentence: Lucy rested the heavy sack of vegetables and paper-wrapped meat on her hip, reluctant to set it down at her feet beside her suitcase despite the ache in her arms. 

My thoughts, part one: I love historical fiction (most of the time). I dislike sports (most of the time). If I had known ahead of time that this newest one features sports--football (aka soccer)--so heavily, so front and center, I probably would have passed on reading this one. 

Premise/plot: This newest novel by Jennifer Chiaverini has multiple narrators. Each narrator is affiliated with the same munitions factory. (One is married to the boss, but oversees here and there some of the concerns of the female workers; she is also involved in the sports team, the Thornshire Canaries.) The others work in the Danger Building doing the most dangerous work--involving potentially deadly chemicals. The factory workers are all experiencing health problems--hair turning ginger, skin turning yellow, sore throats, coughs, etc. The list goes on and on of their symptoms. But the pay is good and the motivation--to end the war quickly--is strong. All have loved ones in the war overseas. No sacrifice is too big when it comes to ending the war. Yes, the characters have names. No, the voices are not unique. 

My thoughts: I do enjoy reading fiction and nonfiction about the Great War (aka World War I, the War to End All Wars). I don't necessarily enjoy reading books with multiple narrators particularly when the voices are so similar and all the characterization blends together. I don't know if it is characters blending together OR if all the characters are drawn so shallowly that it seems to blend together. The book is essentially about their friendships--they work together, they sport together, they care about one another. 

I skimmed ALL sport-related sections. 

Obviously, if you like sports fiction OR enjoy watching sports in real life, then perhaps this one would hold greater appeal. 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Switchboard Soldiers. Jennifer Chiaverini. 2022. 464 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Marie glowed with pride and anticipation as her mother took her customary place in front of the gleaming grand piano in the gracious parlor of their Mount Auburn home. 

Premise/plot: Switchboard Soldiers is Chiaverini's newest historical novel. It is set during the first world war, or "the Great War," or "the war to end all wars." The prologue is set in August 1914, but for the most part it spans 1917-1919 [spring 1919]. There are three "main" characters [aka narrators] Grace Banker, Marie Miossec, and Valerie DeSmedt. But there are SO, SO, SO many other characters. The book chronicles the experiences of super-skilled-and-talented [female] telephone operators who served their country. Not only did they need to know the switchboard system well, they needed to be fluent in French. On top of the dangers of war--at the front lines and in a country at war facing bombing attacks--but there was also the dangers of the Great Influenza [aka the 'Spanish' flu]. 

My thoughts: This one had all the elements I typically look for in historical fiction. Yet it is definitely an "almost" from me. I know, in part, this disconnect [pun intended] is my fault. I was reading the library copy and didn't finish in time. I had to wait for my turn to come back around. [Which was about three weeks]. I had marked down my place exactly, but, my interest had cooled by the time I picked it up again. But I do think that alternating narrators might have still allowed for some disconnect. Some. There were SO many names, so many characters, so many off-to-the-side characters. [Like brothers or random soldiers with the potential to be love interests]. I felt a consistent vague-ness. I was never quite sure who was who. Not enough to be actively disgruntled or out of sorts. Just a vague un-easiness that I was not getting the most out of the story because I'd missed too many little things along the way. 

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Light Beyond the Trenches. Alan Hlad. 2022. [March] 362 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: On the eve of the war crime, Max Benesch was crouched in a trench on the western front.

Premise/plot: A Light Beyond the Trenches is set (mainly) in Germany during the First World War (aka the Great War, aka The War to End All Wars). There are three primary narrators: Anna, Bruno, and Max. Anna is a Red Cross nurse engaged to a soldier, Bruno. During her time as a nurse, she has the opportunity to become involved in the very first guide dog school. They will be pairing German shepherds with blinded veterans and training them on how to function in the world so they can have some independence. This was a novel idea at the time. Max is a blind veteran who boards with Anna. He is paired with a dog Anna nursed back to health, Nia. Life in Germany during the war is rough--to say the least--starvation seems inevitable with so few supplies and resources. But Anna, Max, and Nia are finding the light in a very dark situation. Bruno's chapters counterbalance that light. He is still on the front.

My thoughts: You don't have to worry about the dog. There's that at least. But I was seriously not expecting this one to be....what it was. It was an intense, emotional read. I found the story unfolding in such a way that I just had to keep saying one more chapter, one more chapter, just one more chapter. It was new to me. I don't think I've read about the first world war from a solely German perspective. I definitely want to read more of this author's work. He was new to me.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Lines of Courage. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2022. 400 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Deep inside, Felix knew something was wrong.

Premise/plot: Lines of Courage is historical fiction (middle grade audience) set during the first world war. The novel opens on June 28, 1914 and concludes on November 11, 1918. The novel doesn't only span the entire war, it also spans Europe. There are FIVE protagonists--five protagonists from five different countries, from both sides of the war. The protagonists are Felix (from Austria-Hungary), Elsa (from Germany), Kara (from Britain), Juliette (from France) and Dimitri (from Russia). (At first I was skeptical as to how these separate stories could come together cohesively. But by the end, I saw.)

My thoughts: At first I was skeptical about having FIVE protagonists. That is a LOT of narrators for readers to have to get to know, to come to care for, to become engaged with. It is a big undertaking. For better or worse--my opinion better--the chapters do not alternate. The book is divided into five sections. Each narrator has his or her own section, and narrates a portion of the war. At the end, readers revisit all five protagonists on Armistice day (November 11).

My expectations were different coming into this one. I expected ONE narrator, one story. But by the end, I'd come around to HOW this story is told. I think it works. It may not have had me at hello, but, slowly but surely I came to care for this story. The war is bigger than one person's story. 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Dear Miss Kopp (Kopp Sisters #6). Amy Stewart. 2021 [January] 320 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: May 2, 1918 Dear Norma, You’re a terrible correspondent and there’s no excuse for it. Fleurette and I are left stateside while you march off to France. We had a few decent letters when you were in Paris and a passable selection when you arrived at your secret location, but lately you’re sending us nothing but an occasional “I am well” to let us know that you’re alive. Are words also being rationed overseas, even short ones?

Premise/plot: Dear Miss Kopp is the sixth book in the series starring the three Kopp sisters: Constance, Norma, and Fleurette. World War I has the sisters separated--but they are able to keep in touch via letters. This sixth installment is the wartime correspondence of the sisters. Constance is working for the Bureau of Investigation; Norma is overseas in France; and Fleurette is touring the nation still with May Ward. The book has two primary mysteries--one in France, and one in the United States. A few new characters are introduced--as you'd expect. Notably, Norma's friend, Aggie, a nurse. Readers are treated to her letters because she is a much better correspondent than Norma. And the sisters rely on her to keep them up to speed on Norma's adventures and misadventures. Laura--the parrot--is also introduced.

My thoughts: I really LOVE this series. I do. Reading them in order is a must however. If this was your first introduction to the series it would probably be a confusing mess! But if you've read and enjoyed them all, this one is a treat. I don't normally "love" epistolary novels, but it makes sense in this context.

My favorite quotes:

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

We Also Served: The Forgotten Women of the First World War. Vivien Newman. 2014/2021. 224 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: I have always known about my grandfathers’ First World War service. Her father’s photograph was on my mother's bedside table, his eyes, haunted by all he had seen, staring into the middle distance. He was a Royal Army Medical Corps surgeon, specialising in abdominal wounds, and he served in France from November 1914. Like so many who returned, he spoke little about his war service, although post-war he worked with those still suffering from shell shock–teaching my mother to drive in the grounds of one of the ‘lunatic asylums’ he visited weekly. 

Premise/plot: We Also Served is a nonfiction book about the many women--who served in many different ways--their countries during the First World War. (The book mainly--though not exclusively--focuses on the British Empire, so women from Great Britain, Canada, Australia. I believe a handful of Americans are mentioned but in very small numbers proportionally speaking.) The book is arranged/organized by the ways women served. 

For example, the first chapter is about the women being brave enough to send their boys/men off to war; the campaigning that went on to make sure mothers and wives WOULD strongly encourage/support their men to go. But that isn't all it's about. It has a lot of KNITTING as well. In addition to knitting, women could WRITE LETTERS to boost morale and be supportive during the war.

But the book goes on in its chapters to focus on nurses, ambulance drivers, and the occasional doctor or surgeon. Not to mention the factory workers--especially in munitions but not only in munitions. Then, of course, there were the land girls--women involved in farming/harvesting. And then there was the occasional spy behind the enemy lines...

Some who served were involved in private enterprises--not forbidden by the government but not necessarily supported by the government and run by the government. There were private nursing units and more official government-sponsored nursing units for example. 

The last two chapters focuses on women who died serving their country AND the women who mourned losses from the war. There were memorials and monuments to men who served and died--less honor was given to the women who died. They weren't exactly forgotten and dismissed altogether. But less was done to commemorate, recognize, and pay tribute to their service. Perhaps the least recognized of all were the women who died working in munitions. These deaths were purposefully not recorded or published. 

ALL OF THE CHAPTERS were wonderful in that all are drawn from primary sources. Diaries. Letters. Journals. Memoirs. Oral Histories. Each chapter has at least one--if not dozens--of personal stories giving readers a behind the scenes glimpse of what it was like--their actual experiences. 

My thoughts: I really found this one fascinating and well-researched. I read one chapter a day and enjoyed (if enjoyed is the right word???) each day's reading. I love it when nonfiction relies primarily on primary sources. I love hearing these stories, these experiences from firsthand sources--the women who were actually there. I would definitely recommend this one. 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call. Claudia Friddell. Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley. 2021. [February] 40 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Grace Banker opened the newspaper on a brisk December morning in 1917--the world was at war, and General John J. Pershing, the commander of US troops across the Atlantic, was calling for female telephone operators to join the fight against Germany. 

Premise/plot: This nonfiction picture book biography stars Grace Banker one of the female telephone operators recruited to serve overseas in France during World War I at great risk to her own life. (She became the Chief Operator of the 1st Unit of World War I telephone operators.)

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this one! I had not heard of Grace Banker or the 'Hello Girls.' (Earlier this year or maybe late last year I came across a sentence or two in another book mentioning telephone operators during the first world war, but I had no idea really about what these women experienced.) I found the story fascinating. It is a well written narrative--well researched too. I loved all that back material which provided more context for understanding their place in history.

© 2020 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Beauty Among Ruins. J'nell Ciesielski. 2021. [January] 368 pages. Thomas Nelson. [Source: Review copy]

 

First sentence: CREEPING THROUGH THE BACK DOOR, LILY DURHAM slipped across the black-and-white tiled kitchen and checked the hallway before scurrying up the stairs to the main floor.

Premise/plot: Lily Durham, our heroine, finds herself a nursing aid during the first world war after her parents ship her off to England for her 'rebellious' suitor-repelling attitude. Lily and her cousin Bertie are nurses--or a nurse and a nurses aide--at a convalescent home in Scotland. There are many, many, many rules for them to live by--for all the nursing staff--but one is not to enter the private quarters of the family. How many guess that Lily will 'accidentally' break that rule a few times!

Alec MacGregor, our hero, is struggling...with many things. The future of his estate is in doubt for the debts are monstrous. And he's being haggled--pestered--by a no good reporter with a grudge against his family. His mother has disconnected from life; his sister is so ill she hasn't left her room in years. The last thing he's looking for is a beautiful young woman taking an interest in his well being...in his family's well being.

My thoughts: This one definitely has vibes of Beauty and the Beast. I haven't decided if this was intentional or not. (Not that Lily is Belle with her head stuck in a book. Perhaps just the setting of a crumbling castle with a super-cranky-grumpy master. Perhaps the thawing or breaking down of wall...) I loved the setting. I loved the Scottish hero. (You pretty much have me at hello anytime there's a Scottish hero!) I loved the setting of World War I.

 There were many things I enjoyed about this one. I loved the characterization of Lily and Alec. But the characterization of most if not all the other characters is on the weaker side. In particular, her parents are particularly one dimensional and just plain old MEAN without any real reason. They're just stereotypically opposed to anything that might bring their daughter happiness. I couldn't understand her mother...at all. The plot could also get a bit melodramatic in places. I could have used a little less drama. Sometimes I feel romance novels over-push it in the drama department when it comes to inventing obstacles to make it difficult to get to a happy ending. I think the war offered enough natural obstacles without so much more going on in the background.

Still all that being said, I definitely enjoyed it more than not. I really liked the romance. 

 

 

© 2020 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Kopp Sisters on the March (Kopp Sisters #5) Amy Stewart. 2019. 355 pages. HMH. [Source: Library] [Genres: Historical]

First sentence: Beulah knew it was over when she returned from lunch to find her desk cleared and a little box placed on the seat of her chair like a gift.

Premise/plot: This is the fifth book in the series following the adventures and misadventures of the Kopp sisters. Previous books in the series stuck a little closer to what we know about the actual Kopp sisters. This one takes a few more liberties perhaps but it also features some other real life women whose stories are fascinating. Namely Beulah Binford and Maude Miner.

So what is it about? The Kopp sisters are attending a training camp, a National Service School camp. One that will train or “train” them for serving in France. Norma wants the army to use trained messenger pigeons. (They’re slow to respond to her good suggestions.) But the women will be trained in cooking for large numbers, making bandages, knitting socks, making beds, marching, etc. Some women are there for amusement—perhaps shock value to family. But others mean business and are slightly disappointed that the training isn’t more intense and useful.

The Kopp sisters become acquainted with Beulah (calling herself Roxanne) and Maude Miner...

My thoughts: By this point you are either invested in the series and all in...or you stopped reading a couple of books ago. I am all in. I do truly care about the story, the history behind the story, separating truth from fiction. I think she’s a compelling writer. I thought Beulah’s story completely stole the show for better or worse. Perhaps because we don’t really know what the Kopp sisters were actually doing in 1917 (the pigeon story is pure fiction) but we do know about Beulah. Overall I enjoyed this one.

© 2020 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Christmas at the Foyles Bookshop. Elaine Roberts. 2019. 297 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Victoria Appleton’s slender fingers clutched the brown envelope in her coat pocket, while the other hand gripped the wooden handle of her black umbrella.

Premise/plot: This historical holiday-themed romance has a light and breezy feel to it despite its world war one setting. Readers should know from the start that it is the third book in a series. The Foyles Bookshop Girls, The Foyles Bookshop Girls At War and then Christmas at the Foyles Bookshop. There is a cast of characters that I'm guessing appear in all the books. The three "main" characters are Victoria, Molly, and Alice. Molly and Alice are married and engaged or engaged and married. One is married with one child and another on the way. The other is engaged and very soon to be married. By the end of the book, she's married. Sadly, I can't really remember which is which.

Victoria, the primary main character, is going through her parents' belongings (after seven years of waiting for no particular reason), volunteering at a local hospital for wounded/recovering soldiers, missing her one-true-love that stopped writing her ages ago, and enjoying her new responsibilities at the bookshop.

The book focuses on the daily lives of the characters. Very little "big" happenings occur. Many, many "teeny-tiny" ones do. For some readers, this means NOTHING happens. But not all readers, perhaps. Sometimes you go on journeys WITH the characters as company.

My thoughts: I didn't mind the slow pacing. I didn't. What I minded a little more was the constant changing focus. I'm not sure you'd say this one has multiple point of view characters. But I'm not sure you wouldn't couldn't say that. It was a bit of a guess at any time WHO the focus would be on and why. This being the third book in the series there wasn't much attachment to any of the characters, especially at the beginning. If I had read the previous two books, I imagine that I would CARE from page one and be instantly drawn into the story. I saw the plot twist coming from miles and miles away. I think any reader could. The book lacks all subtlety there. But even so, I won't spoil the book here in the review. It takes the characters in the book a couple of hundred pages to know what readers essentially know from the first few chapters.

I liked the focus on daily life. I liked the small details, the small things that make life, LIFE. If I had access to the previous two books via library, I would definitely read those and catch up on their lives. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

 Miss Kopp Just Won't Quit (Kopp Sisters #4) Amy Stewart. 2018. 309 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: On the day I took Anna Kayser to the insane asylum, I was first obliged to catch a thief.

Premise/plot: Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit is the fourth in the Kopp series by Amy Stewart. Constance Kopp is still a lady deputy, but how long can she hold onto the job and its responsibilities during an election year. Sheriff Heath her long-time friend, supporter, and boss is running for Congress. Whoever wins the race for sheriff, change is a coming for Constance. The country itself is changing. Should America be busy preparing for war? Should America even consider entering the war?

My thoughts: I am just loving this historical series that is based on true people and events—as taken from the headlines of the times. Of course there is a good blend of fiction as well. I love these characters. I am sad that there is just one book left for me to read. Hopefully the series will continue on with a new book every year. It’s been a great couple of months!

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions. (Kopp Sisters #3) Amy Stewart. 2017. 374 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: On the morning of her arrest, Edna Heustis awoke early and put her room in order.

Premise/plot: Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions is the third novel in Amy Stewart’s historical mystery series starring Constance Kopp. Kopp is kept busy in this one between her time as deputy sheriff, jail matron, and older sister. She becomes increasingly alarmed at several arrests of young women whose only crime is leaving home and living on their own—without their parents’ blessing. In the case of Edna, she’s over eighteen, working at a factory doing her part for the war, living in a respectable boarding house. Minnie Davis, on the other hand is under eighteen, living with a young man under the guise of being his wife. There is a phony marriage license. Though the stories are quite different, Constance feels for them both. Why should women be arrested for “immortality” but not the men? The real interest, however, comes in when she’s given an opportunity to practice what she preaches. Fleurette runs away to joins May Ward’s vaudeville troupe.

My thoughts: I missed Norma and Fleurette in the second novel. I did. So I was thrilled to see so much of them in this one. Kopp is not handling cases with dangerous, hardened criminals. Instead she is challenging the system. There’s a law in effect that is unjust or unfair. Kopp feels that if you are going to go after—arrest, send to trial, sentence, punish—immorality, then both parties not just the women should be targeted. To live on one’s own and work should not automatically be deemed immoral. Lives are being ruined because women often can’t hire a defense.

This one—out of the three I’ve read—has dealt most with the Great War. Edna is desperate to do something for the war effort. At first she thinks this means working in a factory. But then she hears about a project where women can go to France and volunteer for the Red Cross. It won’t be easy for Edna to get there, but her life has a new purpose.

The books still are based on true stories from the headlines.



© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Lady Cop Makes Trouble. Kopp Sisters #2. Amy Stewart. 2016. 310 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: I handed the newspaper back to Mrs. Headison. “I suppose you replied to the box-holder?”

Premise/plot: Will she or won’t she be hired on as deputy?! That is the underlying question throughout the second book in the Kopp sisters series by Amy Stewart. Constance, Norma, and Fleurette are the Kopp sisters. The first book ended with Constance searching for a job. She has now found work as an unofficial-almost deputy to Sheriff Heath and matron of the jail. Her official job has her overseeing the female prisoners. Her unofficial job has her hunting down big time fugitives. Can she prove her worth and get the job done?

My thoughts: This book like Girl Waits with Gun is based on true people and events as reported in newspapers of the time. It even includes a photograph of the real Constance Kopp. I loved, loved, loved the first book which focused more on her relationship with her sisters. It had plenty of action and adventure. This second book focuses almost exclusively on her professional life. I liked it. I did. But maybe not quite as much. I would still recommend the series. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Girl Waits With Gun. (Kopp Sisters #1) Amy Stewart. 2015. 408 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Our troubles began in the summer of 1914, the year I turned thirty-five. The Archduke of Austria had just been assassinated, the Mexicans were revolting, and absolutely nothing was happening at our house, which explains why all three of us were riding to Paterson on the most trivial of errands.

Premise/plot: The world may be heading towards war—the war to end all wars—but Constance and her two sisters, Norma and Fleurette, are heading for a war of their own. To say the book begins with a crash, boom, bang would not be an exaggeration. The sisters carriage is hit by an automobile filled with hooligans. Henry Kaufman may come from a well-to-do family, but he is a number one jerk. Soon after she sends him a civil letter asking that he pay for damages, the threats start. Will she be able to keep her sisters safe on the family farm?! Should she go to the police? Get a lawyer? Should she shut up or speak up?!

My thoughts: I absolutely loved loved loved this one! It had me hooked from the first page. It kept me turning pages. One thing I could never have guessed is that it is based on a true story or sequence of events. Though some elements are pure fiction. I wouldn’t change a thing about this lovely historical suspense.
© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Lovely War. Julie Berry. 2019. 480 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: It is early evening in the lobby of an elegant Manhattan hotel.

Premise/plot: The novel opens during the second world war. A husband has caught his wife having an affair: an impromptu trial results. That husband? His name is Hephaestus. That wife? Her name is Aphrodite. The lover? Ares. If those names sound at all familiar to you--and they should--then it is because they are gods and goddesses. Aphrodite asks to tell a story of LOVE and WAR. That story is set during the Great War, the first World War.

Hazel Windicott, one of our heroines, is a young and talented pianist. She's playing at a dance when a young soldier--a young, about-to-ship-out-overseas soldier--James Alderidge sees her and falls in love with her. The two only share three days together, but oh what wonderful days. Both feel that this could be LOVE, the once-in-a-lifetime true love. He will be serving in France.

Aubrey Edwards, one of our heroes, is a young and talented ragtime (and jazz) musician. (He does play piano, but he doesn't only play piano.) He's a black man serving overseas in France. (He's a soldier and an entertainer.)

Hazel follows her heart across the channel and volunteers in France with the YMCA as an entertainer. She becomes quite chummy with our other heroine, Collette Fournier, another entertainer--a singer/dancer. Her story is quite tragic. She's the sole survivor of her family; she's a Belgian war orphan/refugee. She has known great love and great loss. Her heart has given all it can, or has it?

Hazel knows that it is against all the rules for her and Collette to socialize with the black soldiers. (Probably with any of the soldiers. It wouldn't be proper. But there is a definite extra stigma of prejudice going on as well.) Likewise it is against the rules for black soldiers like Aubrey to sneak out from camp and visit with women. But these three are drawn together--powerfully connected--by music.

Will Hazel and James get their happy ending? Will Aubrey and Collette? What price will the war demand of their love? And what impact will these stories have on the gods and goddesses?

My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. It was such an incredibly well-told story. I loved the dual settings. We get flashes of England and France during the Great War, the first world war. Our flashes of the second world war perhaps lack some of the perspective, being that they are all within a hotel room in New York. BUT. I think it still works overall pulling readers far enough away to see the bigger picture. There is no war to end all wars; war will always be; war will always destroy and kill, pull apart. Yet where there is love there is hope and goodness. I don't always love, love, love stories within stories, BUT this one was absolute perfection.

James "Jim" Europe and the 15th New York

I love the mythological touch. This is something that I would have never, ever, ever, ever thought of on my own. Adding Greek goddesses to a compelling war story very much grounded in reality. (The characters are fictional, of course, but James Reese Europe, one of the characters, was very much a real person.)

I love the importance and significance of music (and to some degree other arts). The beauty of music, of love, of life, of friendship provide an important--crucial--contrast against the ugly brutality of war. Both Aubrey and James are changed by seeing action at the front, changed by the training (or lack of training in some cases), that they receive while in France. No one can return home from war unchanged. And yet, and yet life still goes on. Beauty remains though perspective changes.
 
I love that hope resonates. It isn't that Aubrey and Collette and James and Hazel are absolutely guaranteed happily-ever-after endings with neat, perfect little bows and ribbons. It isn't that there's a guarantee against sadness, heartbreak, doubts, fears, disappointments, frustrations. But love HOPES and TRUSTS.

I love the writing, the language. It could be giddy-making in a romantic way. It could be quite funny.

"If I'm not a secret," he said, "what am I?"
"You're a brand-new piece of sheet music," she said slowly, "for a song which, once played, I'd swear I'd always known." (48)

"All I'm saying"--Apollo is still chewing--"is that my little flu virus, in its microscopic, contagious way, was a thing of beauty." He smacks his lips. "Annihilation has its own je ne sais quoi. We're all guilty of it. So spare me the sermons."
"I'm not guilty of it," says Aphrodite. "Destruction has nothing to do with me."
The male gods stare, then explode laughing. Aphrodite turns her back on them all.
"Then there's the poetry," says Apollo. "Another reason to love war. Why in the Great War...Not since the Trojan War has a conflict inspired such verse. Here, let me recite for you--"
"No!" Three divine voices sound together, for once in perfect accord.
Apollo looks genuinely surprised. "You don't want me to?" He plucks a ukulele out of the air. "Well, I'll be darned. Anyway," he says, "there was the music. The Great War lit a musical fire that engulfed the world." (59)

I also loved that it was written in five acts. It added just the right amount of DRAMA and TENSION.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Victory Garden. Rhys Bowen. 2019. 368 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: My dear Clarissa, Thank you very much for your long letter.

Premise/plot: The Victory Garden is set in England during the last year of the first world war--1918. Emily Bryce, our heroine, has wanted to do something for the war effort; however, her parents would not allow it. After her twenty-first birthday, Emily volunteers for the Women's Land Army. She has a slight ulterior motive: her secret boyfriend--an Australian pilot--is recuperating near where she'll be training. Her parents disapprove of him as a companion let alone as a boyfriend!

A romantic weekend with her boyfriend, Robbie Kerr, leads to the unexpected--a marriage proposal and a baby out of wedlock. Will Emily be brave enough to let her parents know? Or will she try things her own way?

My thoughts: I liked this one. I didn't love, love, love it. Emily must be one of the most likeable human beings in the world because she was able to charm just about anybody she met. Well, perhaps with the exception of one or two people. This works out nicely since she's soon to be a single mother on her own.

I was interested in Emily's story--for the most part. But I didn't care for the subplot concerning the herb garden and the hidden journals. I think the part that irritated me the most was Emily's "saving" the "entire village" from the great influenza because of her herbal potions. I cringed when Emily was congratulating herself on doing that. It just didn't seem realistic.

Several potentially big plot twists were thrown in towards the last bit of the novel. It seemed odd to wait until the last twenty or so pages to try to add some drama and mystery. Like the book was trying to throw off the romance novel vibe at the last second. This one is clearly a romance--though perhaps not a straightforward one. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Crossing Stones. Helen Frost. 2009. FSG. 184 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: You'd better straighten out your mind, Young Lady.

Premise/plot: Crossing Stones is a historical verse novel set during World War I in a small community. Two families are super-super close: the Jorgensens and the Normans. Everyone expects Muriel Jorgensen to one day marry Frank Norman. Ollie Jorgensen is definitely hoping to one day marry Emma Norman. But plans and expectations have little place in a world turned upside down by war.

Frank isn't at home. He's a soldier getting ready to be shipped overseas when the novel opens. Ollie is a few years younger but his mind is filled with the war too. He wants to be a part of it with Frank. Where Frank goes he wants to follow. That's the familiar way of things.

Muriel wants nothing to do with the war and not because she's like Scarlett O'Hara. Muriel is an opinionated young woman not at all convinced of the merits of this war--or any war. She has little interest in becoming a wife and mother. She may follow in the footsteps of her suffragette aunt.

As for Emma...she's got a brother and an almost sweetheart in the war.

My thoughts: I first read Crossing Stones in October 2009. At the time I loved it. Did I love it just as much the second time around? Not really. Oh, I still liked it. I enjoyed spending time with the characters. My favorite characters are by far Emma and Ollie. I need them to get a happily ever after. Or at least a semi-realistic version of that. After all, if these two do marry they'd likely have children just the right age for being drafted into the second world war. And then there's the Depression to consider. There lives wouldn't be challenge-free by any extent. But. I think Ollie and Emma could handle what life gives them and find a way together.

 But I didn't like Muriel nearly so much this time around. I found her opinionated voice to be pessimistic and at times unfeeling. Muriel is well on her way to an unconventional life. Perhaps she'll become a 'wild' girl in the big city.

War disrupts lives, changing everything. This is very much an anti-war novel. I don't have a problem with the message in general. It just left me sadder this time around.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews