Great story of Egypt and the people who excavate, a young woman marries, objects stolen from the tombs, boat sinks, husband and daughter lost? Years later working at the Met another artifact stolen and the hunt begins. Two stories really but easy to follow and enjoy.

American heiress can only claim her money if she marries a "title", goes to England to make her match, he has a title but no money.

young woman looking for anything after the deaths of her family in a fire she accidentally started, meets a young woman and her brother who happens to be a weaver, they take her in without knowing her whole story and she worries that she causes bad luck to those around her. Ireland.

Bk.2 governess who works for woman (dove) who exposes the elite who murder or scheme. This governess is a brain at math, works for a man who worked his way from poverty to become the wealthy owner of a gaming hell. Fun read! Love this new series.

young woman running away from her stepmother and her plans, seeks a job with a doctor, she becomes his herbalist in his practice, murders, wagers, good new series.

Fun new series, governess who works for the Dove solving murders. She has several secrets of her own. Meets wealthy self made detective who rose up from the slums. Going to be a fun new series.

Young woman and her sister move to Scotland with the oldest sister becoming the bride to a man willing to payoff her father's debts. Just before war breaks out between England and the states. Slow start but gets better once they arrive in Scotland. Past marriage and murder charges but HEA for both sisters.

Start of a new series about a Scotland Yard detective and a woman who works at the morgue helping her uncle. Her family was murdered and she survived but has no details although she has a photographic memory. He was taken in off the streets by a kind inspector so they have ties to each other from when they were kids. Now she helps him solves murders.

This is the type of story I have been enjoying lately. It takes place in London during the 1800's. The story starts with the finding of a body in a box. The body of a young girl. At the same time a widow living with her brother, who is a P.I., have been hired to find a missing young girl. Could the girl in the box be their missing girl? I like stories that involve women and men both working on cases that also involve their servants and street urchins for help. The deeper they investigate the more crimes come to light. So a lot going on but I found the conversations between brother and sister too light. Putting things off while thinking about how to proceed or having tea first or waiting until the next day. Or the sister going into a dangerous situation and the brother only saying to be careful. The story was a good story but I just felt the conversations were too light for a serious investigation. I would read another book by this author if this becomes a series. I just hope the conversations become more serious or mature.

Book 2 and another very enjoyable read. I love these stories of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

This book stars Nell(who works at a movie studio) trying to reach her boyfriend Luke who is off fighting in WWII. Top secret work so she doesn't know how to reach him with important news about an inheritance.

It's the story of Bogart and his meeting and falling in love with Betty (Lauren) Bacall.

We spend our time on the Hollywood sets with all the famous stars, directors, PR personal, anyone connected with the making of movies from this era. Hedda Hopper and the gossips. A story that you can get lost in with believable people that the author has dreamed up working side by side with the real stars of old Hollywood.

If you enjoy stories about the Golden Age of Hollywood I would recommend reading all of this authors works. Fun, really good story lines with people you come to know and love mixed in with real Hollywood stars.

I loved this story!

I've read several books set during WWII but this was a fresh take. The story of Lucie an American living in Paris. A dancer for the Paris Opera Ballet. Never advancing up the ranks but loving to dance. Her parents moved back to NY several years earlier but Lucie stayed behind in the care of good family friends who ran a bookstore in Paris, so that she could still attend the ballet school. When war broke out, with the Nazi's approaching Paris the bookstore owners decided to leave Paris and Lucie bought their bookstore giving them the money they needed to go back to the states. Lucie knew they wouldn't just take money from her and she hoped that after the war she could return their bookstore to them.

Paul and his young daughter live in Paris where he owns a car factory. Paul's wife died and he wasn't willing to leave the factory to the Germans. So he stays and also being American felt he and his daughter would be safe since America hadn't entered the war (as yet).

Paul meets Lucie when he takes his daughter Josie to Green Leaf Books.

Lucie "falls' into the resistance movement by accident but then willingly participates. Paul is doing his part after his company is taken over by the Germans but his involvement must be kept top secret working in the war effort.

Several tense moments throughout the story. Misunderstandings and finally love. Escape after the US enters the war and again tense times praying they'll make it safely back to the US. Separation and show more trusting in God.

Good story about a lot of brave people putting their lives at risk for freedom. So glad I read this book. show less

I loved this story!

I enjoyed reading about chocolate, about the ships out to sea, the love that Esmee and Henri still had for each other 10 years after they had broken up over his need to go back to sea and her wanting him to stay with her in their coastal Virginia town. I enjoyed reading about the sisters so different. The lighthouse and the fear of the French and Indian War.

I liked that after 10 years Esmee and Henri still loved each other and that even during tense times the story didn't become too dramatic. Problems were solved, their faith in God kept them "afloat". A lot happening in this story but never making me feel like "all is lost". A good solid read that I really enjoyed.

So much talk about chocolate did make me stop reading long enough to make a batch of brownies!

It was good from start to finish. 1800's Washington State.

It's the story of a young woman determined to climb Mt.Rainier/ Mt Tacoma...both names were bantered about, in order to draw attention to the Tacoma Women's Suffrage Association trying to gain support for women's right to vote.

She enlists the aid of Nathan Hardee and his partner Waldo to guide her and her stepfather to the summit. He takes some convincing but finally agrees, much to the disappointment of her mother. Coraline's mother has plans for Coraline to marry a man she thinks fits societies rules. Coraline doesn't wish to displease her mother but she can't stand the man her mother has chosen and Coraline wants to achieve the climb for herself as well as the Women's Suffrage movement.

The trip is on and the story mostly surrounds the beautiful scenery and the climb. We watch as Nathan and Cora fall in love with each other and for Cora a totally new life. There is a background story of Nathan's old life and why he left it for the mountains.

An enjoyable read with pitfalls thrown in the way and help from God. It's a 3 book series and I look forward to book 3.

Another great read from Martin Turnbull. I love his old Hollywood stories.

This book tells the story of a young man from New York who makes his way to Hollywood to return a prop from the movie Casablanca.

His background story is full of twists and turns and you read about his new life in old Hollywood, working for Bogart.

Another fun and totally entertaining read that is the start to a new series.

It took me awhile to really get into this book. I'm not much for ballet and all the dance terms didn't help my "find" the story. Once I did get into the "story" it was really quite good though.

So it involves a young girl living with her mother and her (not really) sister. London in the 1800's. The daughter Ella wants to be a ballerina like her famous mother, Delphine had been. Her mother carries the scars from the fire at the ballet company and never steps foot outside of the house and to the world she died in this mysterious fire.

That is the beginning of the story where it really takes off as we unravel the mysterious fire that killed famous ballerina Delphine, Ella's mother. The story takes many twists and turns but how else can we discover all the secrets and hidden lies. Ella's passion for dance and always wanting to do the right thing. Not knowing the whole story or mystery of her mother's life. All the people wrapped up in this mystery and the part that they played. I loved Jack! The person Ella finally let into her life gradually. Jack who was always there and the person who helped her discover her true self and finally brought the mystery to a beautiful end.

This really is a great read....the ballet company, jealousy, Ella's father, her grandfather, her terrible secret, the real Delphine, who started the fire and wonderful Jack.

I've been lucky enough to receive all of Joanna Davidson Politano's books from Early Reviewers and then in turn I end up buying her show more stories for my Kindle as well. Her first book is still my favorite but she always tells a great story! show less

This story is set in rural Kentucky during the Great Depression.

Tansy Calhoun gets a job as a pack horse librarian. Tansy has always had a love of books. Her father takes off looking for work leaving the rest of the family to make do on their small farm. Living like most "hill" people just barely surviving. Instead of getting help from the county these jobs were setup to get books in the hands of people living all over the back country and paying a wage to the pack horse librarians. Books were hard to come by with some of the librarians making books and writing stories to pass along.

Life is hard and we meet a few of the families on Tansy's route struggling through life. The book moved rather slowly for me.

We have an older cranky woman living on her own until a young woman, pregnant and unwed shows up on her doorstep. Then the house burns down and they end up moving in with Tansy's family. A city boy shows up wanting to write stories of the hill people, so Tansy is asked to take him on her route. We have Caleb who moves back home and has always loved Tansy. A man they call Preacher is in the mix and the story revolves around mainly these people. Life is hard and the story moved slow.

Another great read from Kate Quinn.

This book tells the story of 3 young woman who worked at Bletchley Park during WWII. Mainly the stories of Osla, Mab and Beth. Three very different women doing a top secret job. It must have been so hard to work during the war decoding messages and not being able to tell anyone what you did. Men and women both doing this mind boggling job and not being able to talk about it to anyone not even the other code breakers. What amazing people.

The story isn't "dry'. It really is a great story about the women in their off hours and personal lives. One woman dates Prince Philip (yes the one who marries the Queen), another a poet but has a secret in her personal life that makes it hard for her to trust men and then we have quiet Beth who has a a horrible mother.

Who can you trust when you discover a traitor in the mix and that person turns things around making you look crazy? Life after the war and you finally figure out who the traitor is but you have to have proof which means breaking another code. Can you count on old friends to come to your aid after all that has happened?

I loved this story.

What a great story. I really enjoyed this book.

It's the story of a young woman who recently graduated and was ready to start her first teaching job in Boston. Then her mother dies.

Her mother lived in Ireland before moving to America and she wanted Moira to start her teaching career in Ballymann, Ireland, a small village where her mother was living before some scandal broke out. She would like Moira to clear her name. But Moira has no clue as to what her mother is talking about. Should Moira move to Ireland after her mother dies?

After much praying and having "dreams" Moira decides to take the teaching job in Ballymann.

The story moves along quickly and village life is not so easy for a girl from Boston in the early 1900's. She meets a few welcoming people but being a small village she is also met with many who remember and believe the scandal.

God plays a big role in this book. Ireland sounds beautiful, many superstitions, the Irish Gaelic language is spoken, romance blooms, hurt comes from gossip, the scandal is finally put to rest and this was a really good story!

Another thoughtful and entertaining book. I've read all of her books and they never fail to move me. I think I teared up most reading this book.

It's the story of a young woman who wants to not marry but would rather help all people by becoming a doctor. This is unheard of in the 1800's. Women doctors? Willa's father is a doctor and she wants to continue helping him but as a doctor. He wants her to marry.

Willa finds a sealed letter in an old desk that was given to her years ago by the Gresham family of Crestwicke Manor. Should she read the letter? Of course.

She decides after reading this beautiful love letter that she must give it to the person to which it was intended. So begins a whole lot of misunderstandings as she travels to Crestwicke Manor and the letter becomes lost and found by various people in the household. All longing for love and thinking that the letter is intended for them.

This was a great story and watching the true story unfold made for a beautiful read just like the love letter.

I didn't really care about this story. It started out interesting enough. Julie and her friends going on vacation only to be sidetracked into looking for her missing uncle. She finds the uncle and her friends are happy to stay put at this beach instead of moving on to their original plans. I thought the book dragged a bit with the "mystery" behind what Lucky was up to. I was just glad the have the book end.

I feel like another reviewer. I really enjoyed the book but after about 2/3 through I was ready for it to be over.

Becky lives in a small Illinois town. She's a whiz at all math but can't afford to go to collage. She gets a job working at City Hall and before long becomes the towns financial officer. She handles all the money issues and soon has discovered how sloppy the bookkeeping has been. It doesn't take much to start "borrowing" sums of money to purchase art for her new passion. Becky lives a double life. Small town financial officer and big time art collector. Soon the small amounts "borrowed" from the city turns into millions and the town is going bankrupt. Becky finally gets caught but is she really sorry?

I'm sorry to say this book just wasn't for me. Tilly was just too broken and sad for me to really enjoy. Tilda wasn't any better. The book did have it's moments but not enough to keep me going.

Sad childhood. Troubled adulthood. Not for me.

I found this book to be a very interesting read.

The book takes place in England during WWII and tells the story from Queen Elizabeth's (later known as the Queen Mum) point of view.

Elizabeth Bowes Lyon was first in love with David/ Edward, Prince of Wales and later king until he abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson. Edward was quite the playboy and we learn of his ill treatment to Elizabeth while she thought she was in love with him..he is not a very nice person. He wasn't interested in her we discover. She does, after turning him down twice, marry the brother "Bertie" second in line to the throne who becomes King George VI after his brother abdicated the throne.

So many secrets we discover about the royal family. Secrets that slowly come to light. We live through the war with conversations with Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth, King George, their children Princess Elizabeth (the future queen), Princess Margaret.

I knew very little about the queen only seeing her as the beloved Queen Mum, mother of the present Queen Elizabeth.

So read the book to get the background story and a very interesting story it turned out to be.

Another book that leaves you thinking. How could this happen? What would you do?

Hetty and her brother Karl as children were friends with Walter, a Jewish boy. Then Nazi Germany starts it's rise to power and friendships are broken and forbidden. Hitler takes hold of the German people and all the evil spews forth.

Hetty's father is part of the Nazi movement and she too believes the Nazi propaganda. Hitler's pull to brainwash the youth. To control their thoughts and where to direct their hatred.

Hetty and her family are "good" German's. But at some point things start to change in Hetty's way of thinking. She runs into Walter and remembers his saving her from drowning as a child. How could Walter, a childhood friend be the "enemy" just because he is Jewish?

Hetty begins sneaking out to meet with Walter, knowing what will happen to both of them if they are found out. And so the story begins...

The author tells a very good story in that I got lost in the book. I could feel the tension, the fear,the sadness, the terror of what was happening. Putting the book down I still had this sense of dread and it was because I was caught up in the story.

A good book about a very hard subject to read about.

This book makes you think.What would you do if running a major iron works company in Germany during the war. Your father is German and your mother is English.

WWII and Clara has taken over the running of her father's iron works companies. You have Nazi contracts to fill but you also have empathy for your workers, many of which are forced labor.

The story takes place after the war and Clara has a British officer after her for war crimes. So far she has been able to elude capture.Until she returns to Essen in search of her missing friend.

The story takes twists and turns with family secrets brought to light. Who can you trust when being hunted?

A different post WWII story that I enjoyed reading.

This is the story of Alla Nazimova. If you have read the Garden of Allah novels her name will be known to you.

I wasn't sure about this book when I first started reading Alla's story. In the book series she was a woman of glamour, mystery who turned her private estate into the Garden of Allah Hotel and I kind of liked her that way. So it took me awhile to feel comfortable peering into her background and her life. Sounds weird....but once the door was cracked opened in I went.

Hollywood during the silent screen era wasn't easy for a woman. Alla or Madame as she became known, did alright as long as her movies made money for the studios but once you have a few flops your star dims pretty fast. So this book gives us her background and her life navigating through Hollywood during prohibition, all male studio heads, scandals, reporters, morals of 1920's, her friends and her lovers. And how her private estate became a hotel.

This was a good read but I couldn't get the main characters of the book series out of my head while reading this book.

I'm not sure what I expected when I requested this book. I'm on the fence with this one.

The story/chapters go back and forth from then to now. Robin is in her early teens when a BIG scandal hits her family. She is sent off to live with her grandmother and she changes her last name. Her life in a new town is hard living with what she knows but is trying to keep secret. Her grandmother lives next to a cemetery and that is where she meets Peter. They begin a friendship revolving around books but Robin is still telling so many untruths to protect herself. She eventually lets Peter into her real life story but feels betrayed at one point and has the need to run.

Present day Robin is still trying to keep the past in the past and never feels she can trust anyone. She opens a bookstore in the town where she first met Peter. So many secrets and trust issues that it's no wonder Robin is messed up. I'm having trouble writing this review and not being able to mention what the scandal is/was or the reasons behind her suddenly receiving copies of the exact books and poems she shared only with Peter. How do you review a book when you can't mention a lot of what you have read? So the short summary on the back of the book sucked me into wanting to read the book. There are twists and turns and I guess that's about all I can say.

Another good read.

In this new book we meet Raina, a rag woman living in London. Raina has been in love since childhood with Sully. But Sully has gone to sea and Raina fears he is dead. When a well dressed man approaches her with an offer to take her away from the squalor of London by offering her a position at Rothburne Abbey what will she decide. She is skeptical of this offer but the man assures her she can leave at anytime. Overnight she decides to accept this offer. After arriving at Rothburne Abbey and assuming the "role" of the Countess of Enderly the story begins to unfold.
We have secrets and unanswered questions. Blackmail and mystery as well as romance.

I have to agree with another reviewer, in that I wasn't really sure about this book when I first started reading. I didn't really feel that connection with Blanche and Claude. Their becoming man and wife so soon after meeting. Claude, the true Frenchman, marrying this "flighty", American, young woman. The focus in the beginning of the story surrounds their marriage and Claude becoming manager of The Ritz in Paris. Claude is totally "The Ritz" and Blanche feels "second fiddle". Throw in Claude's mistress and you know Blanche isn't okay with that!

The story moves back and forth from the 1920's to 1940's, when Germany invades France and Paris becomes under Nazi control including The Ritz. The war years put different pressure on the marriage of Claude and Blanche. We also meet Lily who weaves in and out of the picture. Claude becomes involved with the Resistance not letting Blanche know because he is trying to protect her but also he is worried that Blanche is reckless when drinking and he never knows what she will say. Blanche also becomes involved with helping the Resistance with her friend Lily but doesn't tell Claude what she is doing. So here they are both working for the Resistance but with the other not knowing. As a reader we also know that another secret is being kept by Claude and Blanche.

So for much of the book I was interested but it was the last few chapters that totally grabbed me and I really felt the story. The emotions hit me full on and this went from a show more good read to a great story. The book is based on real people, Blanche and Claude Auzello. It's well worth reading their story. show less

What a great story. I've read several books that take place during WWII but never have I read one that takes place mostly in Shanghai. All new history for me.

As others have stated the book takes place during WWII and back to present day. The story is about a Jewish family living in Austria but having to leave once Hitler invades their country. Escaping is not easy and the family ends up in Shanghai but not before one son is killed by the Germans and another son spends the war in Dachau. Romy and her parents arrive in Shanghai and become good friends with the Ho family who have a son and daughter. How they lived their daily lives always living with fear and uncertainty.

In present day Alexandra, Romy's granddaughter, is wanting to know more about her Chinese adopted mother. Alexandra's parents died while Alexandra was a child and she was raised by her grandparents. Alexandra goes to Shanghai hoping to discover more about her mother.

There is a lot going on in this book and I went through quite the emotional roller coaster. I wish I could do the book justice. All I can say is read the book. It's a book I'll be thinking about and one that I will be reading again. On a second reading I'll be taking my time and savoring each page.