࿔*:･ﾟ ❝We're always living days we can never get back. So we make new ones.❞ ･ﾟ:･*࿔
I'm absolutely blown away by this book; even more so than I was the
࿔*:･ﾟ ❝We're always living days we can never get back. So we make new ones.❞ ･ﾟ:･*࿔
I'm absolutely blown away by this book; even more so than I was the first time I read it. I'm blown away by stefania podgórska and everything she stood for and everything she did. I'm blown away once again by the sheer horror of how the jews were treated during wwII, something that no humans should have to go through. and I'm blown away by sharon cameron, her talent and tact at crafting such a meticulously researched and beautiful story. sharon cameron, it seems, understood stefania on a personal level. It truly felt like I was reading a diary or a memoir.
࿔*:･ﾟ ❝The world is beautiful, but people make it ugly.❞ ･ﾟ:･*࿔
imagine that you are living in a small apartment with an SS officer next door and two Nazi nurses sharing one of your two bedrooms. every day when you walk to work you see more officers, and occasionally you'll see the blue body of someone who was hanged for hiding jews. you constantly pass signs describing what will be done to jew sympathizers. your Nazi nurses are extremely annoyed by the rats in your attic.
except they aren't rats. You are hiding thirteen jews in your tiny attic, and you could be caught and shot through the head at any second.
such is the horror and fear that stefania podgórska experienced every day, at every second. It's a wonder she didn't buckle and break under the pressure; I certainly would have. and it's even more of a wonder how many close calls she somehow emerged from mostly unscathed. God had His hand on her, guiding her, and protecting her so she could save thirteen of His people.
࿔*:･ﾟ ❝It was wrong to paint all men the same color. Whether they were Jewish or Polish. Or even German.❞ ･ﾟ:･*࿔
someone without a bone of writing talent in their body could write about this and I would be mesmerized; the story is simply so astounding. But sharon cameron is one of the most talented authors I have read, and she tells this story better than I imagine anyone else could. every minute detail was researched and perfected by reading stefania's secret memoir and talking to people who knew stefania personally. stefania podgórska is the definition of a hidden hero in history, but this novel brings her story to light in a beautiful way. The Light in Hidden Places is a book that I think everyone should read, even if historical fiction isn't your preferred genre or even if you hardly ever read, because it's a story everyone should know.
࿔*:･ﾟ ❝The sky is is full and bright above us, shining down in all the hidden places. Because somehow, in some way, we are alive.❞ ･ﾟ:･*࿔
❝ Life is more interesting if you allow yourself to get lost every now and then. How else do you discover things? ❞
this was a wonderful conclusion! it❝ Life is more interesting if you allow yourself to get lost every now and then. How else do you discover things? ❞
this was a wonderful conclusion! it has just as much swoony romance as the other two in the series, and lots more danger and action regarding the Fire Eyes. They were more of a subplot in the first two, but in this book they were the main focus of the characters.
my favorite thing about this entire series is just how realistic the characters are. They aren't just young, perfect, untested young people falling in love with no strings attached. They're broken. They have messy pasts. Their sins are glaringly obvious. But they learn to love each other and the Lord despite it all, and it's beautiful.
I especially loved the romance in this one. Ella was one of my favorite characters in the first two books and I loved how her sunny personality compared with Cayton's grumpy one. They made for an adorable couple and definitely one of my favorites of Roseanna's so far!
╰› if you love Christian fiction, historical fiction, regency, romance, or all four, I highly recommend this series! it's well worth your time <3
❝ The rest of the world is filled to bursting with ill-tempered people. It is my solemn duty not to be one of them. ❞
—content and trigger warnings (minor spoilers!): this series dealt with a lot of heavy topics. In the second installment, the main character was a victim of sexual assault. there's nothing quite as drastic in this one, though it does mention sexual assault a few times, but everything else is kept to a minimum. one of the characters with a mini pov was a mistress, but it never shows or directly mentions anything remotely explicit. a woman suffers from losing an infant to a crib death. a woman dies in childbirth. One of the men is revealed to be a bloodthirsty psychopath who has an obsession with injuring people. The main character is kidnapped by a man who believes himself to be in love with her (he never inappropriately touches her). Basically, if you've had any past experiences with sexual assault or losing a child or mother in childbirth, I'd say tread carefully with this series. stay safe and ily all!! ...more
❝ We're all good. We're all bad. The hero in our own story. The villain in someone else's. ❞
The one time I bought a book without reading it firs2.75 ⭐
❝ We're all good. We're all bad. The hero in our own story. The villain in someone else's. ❞
The one time I bought a book without reading it first. *loud tsk-ing*
This was not a bad book by any means; Mrs. White is a very talented author. But the plot was very sparse and slow-paced. Aside from mini villain pov, there wasn't even really a plot for the main characters until the climax. It's mainly a romance. Which would have been fine, since I adore character-driven stories, if the romance hadn't been blander than unsalted mashed potatoes and if the main character wasn't the most infuriating character since Alina Starkov.
Let me introduce Margot De Wilde's character to you. Margot is almost eighteen, but she has the mind of an extremely intelligent elderly gentleman. She sees the world as an equation to be solved. She's so dang smart that she literally thinks and prays in numbers. She works as a codebreaker in a secretive Room 40 with a bunch of ✨men✨, creatures likeminded to her just not as smart, obviously. Margot eats lunch alone, because everyone expects her to eat with the fellow young woman who work as secretaries, but she despises them because they're all brainless gossips with only room in their head for fluff and fashion and she's the first female to ever exist who every had any common sense.
Then Drake Elton comes along. Drake is very hot, and he asks very good questions, and he can't resist any challenge. He immediately is smitten with the very quick-witted and sarcastic and hilarious Margot De Wilde. Everything she does becomes even more annoying from his pov because he is obsessed with her and thinks she's ✨really great✨.
As you might have guessed, after lots of flirtation and Margot being too good for Drake, they fall in love.
Now people, I really wanted to like Margot. She had her moments, such as this one:
"wait just a blighted moment. Do you mean to tell me-" "Shut up, Camden. My feeble feminine intelligence requires a bit of quiet for such tasks."
But overall, she made me want to punch her in her super-smart face. Which made her romance, while still cute, overall very meh for me, and I thought Drake deserved a lot better than he was getting with her.
I expected a bit more from Roseanna, especially after just previously reading The Reluctant Duchess (which was beautiful and gripping), but the next book in the series (about different characters thank goodness) looks good so I'll probably still pick that one up.
❝ I love to watch you and try to imagine the thoughts pouring through your mind... I picture them like a whirlwind, each thought a bejeweled raindrop. Beautiful storms of brilliance. ❞
happy reading my loves <33 remember to stay safe and drink enough water!! ...more
❝ Life gave us plenty of opportunities to be afraid, and an equal number of chances to punch those fears in the nose. ❞
I become more and more of a sta❝ Life gave us plenty of opportunities to be afraid, and an equal number of chances to punch those fears in the nose. ❞
I become more and more of a stacey lee fan with every book I read from her. She has such a unique and beautiful writing voice, sprinkled with metaphors and spins on old sayings, that sparks life into every story she creates.
kill her twice is her first foray into the murder mystery genre, and it added some maybe darker elements to her usually lighthearted style. This book is set in 1932 Los Angeles, with a murder of hollywood star lulu wong. The story itself is fun and easy to follow, though the plot dragged a bit in the middle in regards to the actual murder plot. but there were enough other subplots going on that it was never boring.
I adored the characters here. This book has the dual pov of two very different sisters; dutiful, meek May, the oldest child, and free-spirited Gemma, the sometimes problematic middle child (coming from a middle child myself). I loved them both equally, how they had such a beautiful relationship, and how they perfectly balanced each other out. They were amazing leads.
My one complaint is the ending, which I’ve noticed is stacey lee’s weakest point in multiple books of hers. The climax was satisfying, but the ending itself felt quite abrupt and multiple plot threads were not fully wrapped up— including the romance! You have to give us a resolution for the romance! my hopeless romantic heart was not satisfied ...more
❝Perhaps they were none of them more than what their darkest moments made them...and how they emerged from it when day came again.❞
This is not a 4.5 ⭐
❝Perhaps they were none of them more than what their darkest moments made them...and how they emerged from it when day came again.❞
This is not a fun, swoony romance. This book is heavy. It's rough at times. It deals with some uncomfortable things that most people don't like to read about, but nonetheless something that needs to be addressed. It isn't the deepest and most excruciating book with this topic I've ever read, but I didn't expect much depth in this form at all from this author, so it deeply impacted me.
This book talks about love in a way you don't hear it discussed too often, but it's the reality. Love isn't just an emotion you feel. Love is a choice. Love is a sacrifice. Brice chooses to love Rowena and obey the Lord, and slowly he helps her heal from her brokenness and trauma and learn to love him back and, more importantly, love the Lord.
In the first book, Brice was a bit of a more lighthearted character. Kind of a shameless flirt. But he is given loads more character and depth. He was a flawed man, like everyone, but he had a deep longing to do what the Lord was calling him to do. I loved his character arc and I think he's my favorite Roseanna love interest so far ...more
I don’t even know what to say. The ending destroyed me but also revived my soul. Frannie's story took me to my seventh fathom and I don't want to comeI don’t even know what to say. The ending destroyed me but also revived my soul. Frannie's story took me to my seventh fathom and I don't want to come out of it.
This book is set during the American Revolution, but it never once explores the front lines of the war or the fighting itself. It takes readers to a small, dingy bar in New York that holds a young woman, who's soul itself is torn in two, who feels as if she has everything and nothing at all, as she tucks a folded piece of paper into her locket.
On the paper is her new identity.
355.
Her codename.
She is now a spy.
The idea of 355, one of George Washington's spies who was never identified, is so fascinating, and Veronica Rossi gives this spy a story for the ages. Frannie's internal torture as she is split between her two selves is extremely well done. Rossi did an excellent job of showing Frannie's fear and belief that she had lost her true self. This novel explores without sounding preachy at all how blurred the lines between good and evil really are. Frannie lied constantly and stole someone's very identity, but it may have given the Americans their victory, and it gave her a chance for a better life. Was it worth it?
This book just really leaves you thinking... and also reeling from the talent from which it was written. Highly recommended!
**trigger and content warnings** Frannie's stepfather is abusive; he injures her and gropes her. This leaves her traumatized over being in a relationship where a man has power over her, and she internally addresses this often. Minor violence and language....more
I now know what premeditation means, from some very helpful friends in the comments section. And it definitely fits the book. If you’re smarter 3.5 ⭐️
I now know what premeditation means, from some very helpful friends in the comments section. And it definitely fits the book. If you’re smarter than me (which, let’s be honest, you probably are) and already know the meaning of the word, then it will be no big surprise to you that this is a murder mystery.
And, based on the cover and title, you have probably already guessed that it is also a Pride and Prejudice retelling.
A murder mystery Pride and Prejudice retelling.
BOOM.
This had an absolute heck ton of potential and it… mostly lived up to it. It wasn’t phenomenal, show-stopping, amazing, but it was fun. And cute. And really not super bloody. All pros!
I’ve had time to ponder it since I read it though, and upon further examination… it is quite forgettable.
I know this because from all the time I’ve had to ponder it, I haven’t, really. At all. Nada. Zero. I remember the plot pretty well, and I remember liking, if sometimes being annoying at, Lizzie, and not knowing what the heck was even happening with Mr. Darcy. I remember thinking all the little quotes the author put it from the original novel were cute, if a bit cheesy. I remember some good plot twists and a kind of very convenient climax and some very unrealistic aspects, but the author addressed it in the author’s note so I’m not too peeved about it because at least she’s aware.
Wow, my brain hurts from all this remembering. This book is even more forgettable than I am.
*laughs in humor as a defense mechanism*
Bottom line: I didn’t fall in love with this book, but it was a very pleasant acquaintance to have.
And now I’m going to leave before I start spouting more awful metaphors ...more
❝Love is just a word. Three deceptive sounds linked together in a lie.❞
No more sweet, stuttering gentlemen and atmospheric England settings for the se❝Love is just a word. Three deceptive sounds linked together in a lie.❞
No more sweet, stuttering gentlemen and atmospheric England settings for the second installment in Roseanna's series, Shadows over England. We are whisked away to first-class world of riches and music, featuring a handsome, devil-may-care gentleman with a questionable past and a looming secret. Willa, our protagonist, is caught up in a whirlwind of deception and love and million-dollar violins.
I loved Lukas and his adorable, albeit a bit rushed, redemption arc from ladies' man to a singular lady's man. (Willa, to be exact.) Willa was also an amazing and complex character and their romance had me squealing and giggling insanely. Roseanna isn't afraid to write slightly morally-gray characters, something most Christian authors tend to shy away from, and she does so with incredible tact. God welcomes the thieves and liars and sinners and the ones with messy, messy, pasts, and this book showcases that beautifully.
I also enjoyed Margot's pov, although sometimes the way she was.... *cough* like, omg, so smart, like, a million times smarter than a grown man, the smartest person ever, she literally thinks and prays in numbers omg haha she's a prodigy hehe and sooo quirky ...more
”Servants hear everything…. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
This was fun! It was so interesting to see who was really pulling the strings in the ric”Servants hear everything…. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
This was fun! It was so interesting to see who was really pulling the strings in the rich side of society and all that went on in the servants’ world. Julie Klassen filled the book with her trademark character development, intriguing plot, and sweet romance.
The one problem I had with it was the ending was super rushed and poorly done. Half the plot lines were never wrapped up, and the few that were actually finished weren’t satisfying in their finishing at all. It was like Klassen had a 410 page limit, and she spent so long with the plot and climax and angst that she only had a short chapter left to end it with. She at least could’ve had an epilogue.
Aside from that, I do recommend this unique, atmospheric Christian historical fiction that takes a peek into the below stairs of the 19th-century society and all that the rich took for granted.
❝ I would always rather be happy than dignified. ❞
The Lady Janies are back and better than ever in this ghost-filled, slightly wonk retelling of Jane ❝ I would always rather be happy than dignified. ❞
The Lady Janies are back and better than ever in this ghost-filled, slightly wonk retelling of Jane Eyre. Having only recently read the original novel for the first time, the details were still fresh in my brain, which made the way the Lady Janies twisted the story and details all the more hilarious. I will say this, though; if you're a stickler for the classic and are already wary of this comedic interpretation of the story, I say skip it. The Lady Janies don't have much in the way of respect for the original novel, it seems, but they are also quite self-aware. As soon as you open the book, the dedication states: "And for England (again). We're really sorry for what we're about to do to your literature."
So while this will never be or be as good as Jane Eyre, it's not trying to be. It's trying to be funny, witty, and refreshing; and it succeeds spectacularly on all of those fronts. While I think I still loved this book's predecessor, My Lady Jane, a bit more than this sequel, I still had an amazing time with this one. My Plain Jane follows two (or three, depending on how you define main character) protagonists in this laugh-out-loud murder mystery. Jane Eyre, a plain orphan with the slightly peculiar ability to see and converse with ghosts, Charlotte Brontë, a fellow plain teenage girl with tortoiseshell spectacles and a desire to be a great author, and Alexander Blackwood, a licensed (as licensed as a non-licensed person can be) ghost catcher who is out to avenge his father's murder.
"You may think you know the story," the Lady Janies claim in the prologue. And you might actually know the story, but this one is completely different and almost as good. Overall I had a ton of fun with this, and I highly recommend it!
This book started out mind-numbingly slow. The first nearly half was Klassen developing the characters and atmosphere ”I forgive you, and I love you.”
This book started out mind-numbingly slow. The first nearly half was Klassen developing the characters and atmosphere and setting everything up for the plot, but it was really boring and could’ve been done in half the time it took, or she could’ve continued developing while the plot was already going on.
Alas, she thought it necessary to neglect everything other than the atmosphere and character dynamics and foreshadowing for nearly 200 pages. The blurb wasn’t fulfilled and the plot wasn’t started until halfway through.
It took every ounce of my self-control to stick to my no-DNF rule. Unfortunately, nothing amazing happened to make it better like I hoped for.
Things did get a bit better once the plot got off its feet though. The historical jury system was quite intriguing and fun to read about. The murder mystery in and of itself was well done, not terribly surprising, but the twists were nicely foreshadowed (thank goodness, at least the first half of the book wasn’t completely boring fluff but actually had a purpose) and executed.
It just felt… very anticlimactic. The way the mysteries, investigations, and discoveries were told was very straight-to-the face and, well, dull.
The characters were fine; they had a kind of cardboard feel to them most of the time, but there was nothing terrible about them. The romance was mediocre and there wasn’t much chemistry, unfortunately.
I feel really bad about such a negative review. Trust me, I much prefer writing positive reviews (I’m terrible at writing negative ones). But this book, despite its amazing premise and gold pile of potential, was mediocre at best. Julie Klassen just missed the mark with this one.
"We'd fight so much less if everyone would just sit down and read."
Oh my french toast. I loved this so much. It was the perfect amount of quirky, hila"We'd fight so much less if everyone would just sit down and read."
Oh my french toast. I loved this so much. It was the perfect amount of quirky, hilarious, adventurous, and adorable. Show stopping.
One of my favorite things about this book was the characters and their dynamics. They were so delightfully complex that I can't squish them all together in one paragraph. I need to talk about each and every one of them individually ...more
❝ Every lemon will bring forth a child, and the lemons will never die out. ❞
—alexa, play marjorie by taylor swift <3
This book slaps so hard, and I thi❝ Every lemon will bring forth a child, and the lemons will never die out. ❞
—alexa, play marjorie by taylor swift <3
This book slaps so hard, and I think it's because it's real and it's true. It isn't like The Hunger Games, where we can laugh it off and say "well, let's hope we never come to that point!" Because we did come to this point. Humanity sunk so low that while people were bombing schools and hospitals and homes and picking off random people on the street just for who they were, everyone else pretended like it wasn't happening. But it did happen and it's still happening in some places and it's horrifying.
Katouh tells the story of her homeland with incredible grace and beauty. She creates a cast of messed up, broken humans that still find it in their shattered hearts to have love and hope for one another despite everything that is happening to them. I cried alongside the characters, I smiled, I gasped, and I finished with a hole in my heart as wide as the Pacific Ocean for everything that took place in Syria and could have been prevented if we had taken notice of what was happening.
If what's going on in Israel is anything like this, then I fervently hope and pray that it will have a different outcome because the silent pain Syria suffered through should never happen again.
This is one of those books that everyone should read in their lifetime. I can't recommend it highly enough.
❝ Nothing lasts forever. Not even our pain. ❞
side note: please look up content and trigger warnings before reading! As beautiful and essential of a book it is, it's very heavy and emotional. Not something to be taken lightly. Stay safe and ilysm ...more
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