Review: The Light Over London

The Light Over London by Julia Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book intrigued me. A modern-day lady finds a diary and searches to find out who wrote it and what happened to her. Our WWII heroine...falls for a man...joins the war effort and goes through things that no woman should go through.

I really enjoyed my time spent with Louise (WWII) and Cara. There is a lot of beautiful exchanges between lovers and diary entries.

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Review: The Dakota Winters: A Novel

The Dakota Winters: A Novel by Tom Barbash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I stopped reading Dec 24, 2018, because I wasn't feeling the vibes of the book. The setting was nice, but I couldn't get into the characters. I plan on coming back at some point.

I did come back sooner than I thought. My friend had read this and really liked it. Since I trust her opinion I had to come back and see what I thought.

The Dakota has fascinated me since December 8, 1980. I have never forgotten seeing it for the first time and thinking what an interesting place that it must be. Over the years I have picked up any book that I see written on the famous/infamous structure. This one was a little different because it was the first told from a man's perspective.

This family was kind of screwed up (ok, whose family isn't? )...but they seemed like they were connected in some odd way. Everything seems to center around Dad's (Buddy) nervous breakdown. He is a famous interviewer that had his own tv show. Most of the book is how dad can get over this breakdown and get back on the air.

Along the way, we get to spend some time with the one and only John Lennon. We even get to take a trip with Lennon. On this trip, John will write a lot of the material that will become the Double Fantasy album. Some of the dialogue that Lennon says could really have come from his mouth. There is a neat reunion planned...a reunion that will make Buddy's career rebound and bring Lennon back out onto the top of the world with a dude named, Paul. It all ended on Dec 8, 1980. No reunion, Buddy's show will fail. Anton will have a breakdown. Everyone just falls apart.

It does end nicely. While not a book I will ever pick up again, I did enjoy the time spent within the walls of the Dakota. The cover was also very nicely done.


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Review: The Lost Girls of Paris

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book took me on a roller coaster of emotions. I hated a character, then I loved them and then I wanted to hug them. While some of the book's text is reminiscent of other WWII stories I have read, this one was very unique in its circumstances. I found myself caught up in the middle of the same emotions that the characters were feeling. There is one part that I was TERRIFIED!! (you will see what I mean).

I thought it was worthy of my time and enjoyed the ending. It wasn't a perfect read for me, but very good.

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Review: Dear Evan Hansen

Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been kind of obsessed about DEH for about a year now. I think the play and soundtrack are brilliant. Once I heard there was a book I just had to read it. I think I liked it even more. You don't have the music (being a musical nut, I thoroughly enjoy that part), but you have a GREAT story.

Without giving much away...Evan is kind of a mystery to his mom, friends, and the kids at school He has an absent father, a mom that has a job but goes to school and a therapist that makes him write letters to himself.
The death of a classmate changes Evan's whole world. He gets caught up in something he can't handle because he doesn't know how, and he has to face the facts of things that have happened in his own life.

It is a very quick read because the play itself is only about 2 hours.



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Review: The Parisians

The Parisians by Marius Gabriel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and I was thrilled because I had wanted to read this one!!

There is a lot going on in The Ritz hotel during WWII. For most of the book, the Nazis have taken over the hotel, leaving the regular residents either out of a home or in different quarters. It was odd to see a side of a famous designer, Coco Chanel that I had never seen. We also see a middle-aged actress, Arletty and her lovers. We see a chambermaid, Olivia, find love and risk everything for something she truly believes in. I hate to give away the plot because I am a person that hates spoilers, but I will tell you that some of the things are shocking!! The way the Germans could treat people will forever shock me no matter how many WWII books I read.

I enjoyed this book. My only issue with it is that it kept me up too late because I did not want to put it down.

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Review: The Only Woman in the Room: A Novel

The Only Woman in the Room: A Novel by Marie Benedict
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hedy has always fascinated me. Toted by the film studios as "the most beautiful woman in the world". Just look at her in Ziegfield Girl and you have to believe that statement is true. Then when I started studying old movies I discovered she was very smart too. NO FAIR! Brains and Beauty.

This story will show you both of the brains and beauty. We see Hedy trying to first please her family and then we see her try to save their lives and then she works on the lives of all Americans.

I knew she had been married many times, but never knew of the first one. I knew the first one came before she was a big star. This whole thing was very interesting and really may have gone down in the way depicted here.

This was a short read and you will get a nice story on The Most Beautiful Woman in the World.

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I am looking forward to the release of these books (in 2019)

This is a list of books on my TBR reading list. All of these will be released in 2019.  I am not sure if I will finish all of them, but I am going to give it my best shot.  I will add the synopsis after I read the book because I don't usually read them until after I have read the book. I am one of those that doesn't like movie trailers too.

The Gown by Jennifer Robson (released).  I have read this one it is magical.  Set in the embroidery shop that did Princess Elizabeth's (now Queen Elizabeth II) wedding gown.  A beautiful story.



















The Light Over London by Julia Kelly (this one has been released)

Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly (April)














The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict (released-I just finished this one)  A tale of Hedy Lamar before she was a famous movie star, how she got started, her first terrible husband and how she changed our world by creating technology you and I use every day.











The Age of Light by Whitney Sharer (February)













The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner (March)

When We Left Cuba by Chantel Cleeton (April)

American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt by Stephanie Marie Thornton (March)

The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams (July) The Wicked Redhead is slated to come out in May but I have seen no cover. I read every single book Beatriz releases.

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb (July)

Mistress of  the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin (May)

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis (July)

The Beautiful Strangers by Camilla Di Maio (March)

Dear George, Dear Mary: A Novel of George Washington's First Love (February)

The Wartime Sister by Lynda Cohen Loigman (January)

Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen (April)

In Another Time by Jullian Cantor (March)

American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo  Vanderbilt by Karen Harper(February)

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye (released)

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory (July)