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Sisters At War by Jina Bacarr

Sep27

All For Love

Sisters At War by Jina Bacarr is a powerful historical novel that totally consumed me.

The action is set during the early years of World War II in Nazi-occupied Paris. It is a city that is ever diminishing as the Nazis take over. They loot priceless art, take over dwellings and bodies of the French people. “The Nazis can take our bodies but not our souls.” The people of France fight bravely on as bit by bit the lights of Paris are dimmed.

The Nazis take what they want including the bodies of young girls as they force them to work in brothels or take them as personal trophies. We witness the sacrificial love of a sister who does what she must in order to protect those she loves.

As the years go on, we follow two sisters at war. Their individual wars look different but both are motivated by a love for family, a hatred of the Nazis and a love for France.

We see the emotional blackmail used by the Nazis to make people toe the line.

The beauty of Paris is overshadowed by the ugliness of Nazi occupation.

The story is written from two alternating points of view as we witness the different wars that were waged.

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An Italian Secret by Ella Carey

Sep23

Secrets & Lies

An Italian Secret by Ella Carey is a simply marvellous dual timeline novel. It is the first book in the Daughters Of Italy series which promises to be fabulous.

The action is set in present day and in Northern Italy in 1944. 1944 was naturally a time of great unrest as the partisans were fighting against the occupying Nazis. All around was great danger as one was not always sure where sympathies lay. It was a time of great risk and extraordinary bravery. Rumors existed but where did the truth lay?

In present day a deathbed letter throws a character into confusion. Has her whole life been a lie? She travels from America to Italy in search of the truth.

Since 1944 there have been rumors about a baby existing whose father was a high-ranking Nazi. A branch of the family is seen as originating from a black sheep. Will the truth ever be known?

There are beautiful bonds between fathers and daughters in both time periods. The love radiates through the pages.

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A Child For Sale by Pam Howes

Sep19

Heart Wrenching

A Child For Sale by Pam Howes is a powerful, heart wrenching dual timeline novel that has its roots in fact. This novel will tug on your heart strings. It will make you angry at what happened and was deemed acceptable in the past. And it will make you feel grateful that we treat others with more tolerance today.

The action is set in1964 and 2015 in Cheshire and Manchester as we follow two couples who are celebrating forty nine years of marriage in 2015. One pair are childhood sweethearts, the other couple were thrown together by adversity.

In 1964 we follow the fortunes of the young girls who were unmarried mothers and found themselves admitted (by their heartless and judgmental families) to a home for unmarried mothers, run by Catholic nuns. We witness the daily cruelty and the harsh conditions as babies were whisked away to be adopted or sold. It was an abomination and one in which the girls (even if they had loving partners) were completely powerless.

For fifty years, hearts have remained broken, always searching, never healing. A gruesome discovery in 2015 (when renovations begin on an old house) re-open old wounds and a desire to find lost babies. Significant advances in DNA testing and social media re-ignite hope in long broken hearts.

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The Mother’s Secret by Kate Hewitt

Sep16

Emotionally Charged

The Mother’s Secret by Kate Hewitt is a powerful contemporary novel that had me gripped from the start.

This is a story about two mothers, both with similar feelings but at two different stages of motherhood – the new mum and the mum of teenagers. Both are English teachers. Both feel like misfits. Both lay down their career hopes to do as their husbands wish. Both bond together, as the experienced mum helps the new one as she understands her.

We see just how hard motherhood can be. The adjustment to being a new mum is hard, with the lack of sleep, a baby who cries and a husband who works away. Kate Hewitt writes in such a way as to elicit sympathy from the reader.

Being a mum to teens is a whole different ball game. There are different problems. The isolation felt is huge, after a wife and mother is ripped from her home and a job she loves, in order to follow her husband’s dreams.

Both mums suffer at the hands of their husbands’ jobs. Both are caring and compassionate. And both are fighting demons. The novel is emotionally charged. The two lead characters are easy to identify with. We understand the guilt they feel as they try to balance motherhood with jobs and external problems are not of their making. Guilt and innocence exist side by side.

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