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The Nurse Behind The Gates by Shari J Ryan

Apr25

Legacy Of Hope

The Nurse Behind The Gates by Shari J Ryan is a powerful and heartbreaking historical novel that I just could not put down.

The action takes place in Munich and Dachau. It alternates between the war years and from 1933 moving forwards. The novel is written in the first person from alternating points of view, and as such, we get to know the characters intimately.

Emilie and Danner are childhood friends – but Danner is a German Jew. He and his family gradually find their lives eroded from 1933 as anti semitism is rife in Nazi Germany.

1933 was a pivotal year when Hitler’s power became absolute and the course of Germany decided and plotted.

For Emilie and Danner, their feelings for each other remain. Emilie will always be a guiding light who offers hope in the darkest of times. As long as Danner keeps her in his heart, hope is alive.

We see sacrificial love practiced by the two lead characters. Danner loves Emilie enough to let her go. Emilie loves Danner enough to never let him go.

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The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza

Apr5

Intertwining Lives

The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza is an enthralling dual timeline novel that I just could not put down.

The action is set in present day and from 1908-1925. We begin in America and travel to Sicily in present day and backwards through the years as a character searches for the truth as to what happened to her Great Grandmother. Stories have traveled down the years. But what is the truth? We all need to know where we come from.

This is a book about the roles of women. In both time periods, men like to think they are in charge as they bully those around them… but the women have a tough inner core, and prove to be resourceful.

As we, and a character in present day, uncover the Great Grandmother’s story, we find a woman ahead of her times. She is very intelligent and has been held back by the conventions of the time. Women, with knowledge about medicinal herbs, were often seen as witches and shunned. They were, in fact, healers and often proved to be life-savers to those who came to them for help.

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The Wartime Vet by Ellie Curzon

Apr5

A Light Shining In The Darkness

The Wartime Vet by Ellie Curzon is a marvellous historical novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is the third book in A Village At War series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The action is set in a village in the south east. Here, we meet a young female veterinarian who has fled urban bombed out Coventry. The year is 1942 and now the young vet is treating farm animals and not just cats and dogs.

The ruins of Coventry and that awful night in November 1941 still haunt the young vet. She is not alone with her fears. There is also a man from the ministry who is a decorated naval veteran of both wars, and he is haunted by the events of war. Both are struggling through PTSD, although little is known of that at the time.

In the countryside we meet land girls and a most delightful young female evacuee called Sarah. She has survived the Blitz in London. Ellie Curzon has perfectly captured her enthusiasm, zest for life, and determination to help with the war effort, despite her young age.

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The Songs We Hide by Connie Hampton Connally

Apr3

Serene Beauty

The Songs We Hide by Connie Hampton Connally is a powerful, heart wrenching historical novel that I read mainly in one sitting.

The novel is set in Hungary in 1951. It is a time of great heartache and difficulty. Communism, under Stalin, had taken over the country following the second World War.

Farming is now organized into collectives. Those who did not join were heavily penalized. There was much cruelty. Just as in Ukraine during the 1920’s, people are killed, persecuted or just disappear.

Life is equally hard in towns. People inform on others. People who are loyal to the state are rewarded. People who are not, are punished.

Throughout the novel, there is the air of fear. No one must openly criticize the state, not even children.

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