Reading Excursions

MY REVIEW Series:  Tattooist of Auschwitz (Book 2) Hardcover:  352 pages Publisher:  St. Martin's Press (October 1, 2019) Language:  English ISBN-10:  1250265703 ISBN-13:  978-1250265708 Click picture for more information “ Her beauty saved her ― and condemned her. Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1942, where the commandant immediately notices how beautiful she is. Forcibly separated from the other women prisoners, Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly taken, equals survival. When the war is over and the camp is liberated, freedom is not granted to Cilka: She is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to a Siberian prison camp. But did she really have a choice? And where do the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was send to Auschwitz when she was still a child? In Siberia, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unw

MY REVIEW Series:  American Wonders Collection (Book 1) Paperback:  384 pages Publisher:  Revell (October 1, 2019) Language:  English ISBN-10:  0800736397 ISBN-13:  978-0800736392 “ Meg Pero has been assisting her photographer father since she was big enough to carry his equipment, so when he dies she is determined to take over his profession--starting with fulfilling the contract he signed to serve on an Army survey of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 1871. What she doesn't realize is that the leader of the expedition is none other than the man she once refused to marry. Captain Ben Coleridge would like nothing more than to leave without the woman who broke his heart, but he refuses to wait even one more day to get started. This survey is a screen for another, more personal mission, one he cannot share with any member of his team. As dangers arise from all sides, including within the survey party, Meg and Ben must work together to stay alive, ful

MY REVIEW Hardcover:  336 pages Publisher:  Ballantine Books (July 16, 2019) Language:  English ISBN-10:  0399181334 ISBN-13:  978-0399181337 Click Picture for Purchase Information “Jenna Boltz’s life is at a crossroads. After a messy divorce from her surgeon husband nearly twenty years ago, she raised her two children on her own, juggling motherhood with her beloved job as a Seattle intensive-care nurse. Now that Paul and Allie have gone to college and moved out, Jenna can’t help but wonder what her future holds. Her best friend, Maureen, is excited for Jenna’s newfound independence. Now is the perfect time to finally book the trip to Paris they’ve been dreaming of since their college days. But when it comes to life’s other great adventure—dating—Jenna still isn’t sure she’s ready to let love in . . . until an unexpected encounter begins to change her mind. When Jenna’s elderly mother breaks her hip, Dr. Rowan Lancaster saves the day. Despit

MY REVIEW Series:  Eddie Flynn (Book 3) Hardcover:  336 pages Publisher:  Flatiron Books (August 13, 2019) Language:  English ISBN-10:  1250297605 ISBN-13:  978-1250297600 Click Picture for Purchase Information “ It’s the murder trial of the century. And Joshua Kane has killed to get the best seat in the house – and to be sure the wrong man goes down for the crime. Because this time, the killer isn’t on trial. He’s on the jury. But there’s someone on his tail. Former-conman-turned-criminal-defense-attorney Eddie Flynn doesn’t believe that his movie-star client killed two people. He suspects that the real killer is closer than they think – but who would guess just how close ?” The serial killer isn’t on trial. He’s on the jury With that, Cavanagh begins this tale of the Eddie Flynn series. When I decided to borrow this book, I had NO idea it was part of a series. And, while some “series” books can be read as a standalone, this would prob

MY REVIEW Series:  Love Comes Softly (Book 1) Paperback:  240 pages Publisher:  Bethany House Publishers; 40th Anniversary ed. edition (August 6, 2019) Language:  English ISBN-10:  0764234382 ISBN-13:  978-0764234385 “ Marty and Clem set out for the pioneer West full of hopes and dreams. They would stake a claim of their own on the new frontier, and build a home for themselves and their family. But just after they'd arrived and Clem had chosen the perfect setting for their new home, an accident took his life...leaving Marty alone and pregnant. Then, on the day of his funeral, Clark Davis came along...and asked Marty to marry him! Marty was infuriated -- but with no money, no shelter, and a baby on the way, what choice did she have? Besides, Clark said he only wanted her to be a mama to his baby girl, Missie. If Marty was still unhappy come spring, he would pay for her ticket back East. Determined not to be a burden to Clark, and intending only to e

MY REVIEW Hardcover:  352 pages Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; First Edition edition (April 9, 2019) Language:  English ISBN-10:  1328663817 ISBN-13:  978-1328663818 Click Picture for Purchase Information “ Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden, and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers. What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888. The person responsible was never identified, but the character created by the press to fill that gap has become far more famous than any of these five women. For more than a century, newspapers have been keen to tell us that "the Ripper" preyed on prostitutes. Not only is this untrue, as historian Hallie Rubenhold has discovered, it has prevented the real

MY REVIEW Paperback:  224 pages Publisher:  Thomas Nelson; Gld edition (February 13, 2018) Language:  English ISBN-10:  0785216731 ISBN-13:  978-0785216735 Click Picture for Purchase Information “ The captivating story behind the bestselling single in the history of Christian music—and the man who wrote it MercyMe’s crossover hit, “I Can Only Imagine,” has touched millions of people around the world. But few know about the pain, redemption, and healing that inspired it. Now Bart Millard, award-winning recording artist and lead singer of MercyMe, shares how his dad’s transformation from abusive father to man of God sparked a divine moment in music history.  Go behind the scenes of Bart’s life—and the movie based on it—to discover how God repaired a broken family, prepared Bart for ministry through music, and wrote the words on his heart that would change his life forever. I Can Only Imagine is a front-row seat to witnessing God’s presence throughout Bar

MY REVIEW Hardcover:  288 pages Publisher:  Harper (September 4, 2018) Language:  English ISBN-10:  006287067X ISBN-13:  978-0062870674 Click Picture for Purchase Information “ In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows