Top Ten Tuesday - Historical Fiction Set in France - the WWII Edition.

 Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books I HAD to Have Immediately but Still Haven’t Read (this is a throwback topic from 2022). However, given that this is the last Tuesday for me to do a Paris in July related Top Ten Tuesday I am going down that route instead. 

During last year's Paris in July, I shared a TTT post which was Historical Fiction set in France. When I put that list together I specifically excluded WWII fiction, so this week my theme is Historical Fiction Set in France - the WWII Edition. I have started with two books that come to mind instantly and then the rest are more recent books I have read set in France during WWII.

A Farewell to France by Noel Barber - in the 1990s I read a lot of Noel Barber books and I have such fond memories of them. I am not sure they would stand up all that well to read now though. 

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - I am looking forward to seeing the movie of this one whenever it ends up actually getting made

The Resistance Knitting Club by Jenny O'Brien - I am just about to read the follow up to this book and can't wait! (review)

The Girl From Normandy by Rachel Sweasey - I really enjoyed this read (my review)

The Madamoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester - What a fascinating this read was. It is based on a true story which makes it even more amazing! (my review)

The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin - This one is set in both France and Portugal (my review)

The Paris Dancer by Nicola Rayner - I was nearly going to say WWII Paris, but then I remembered that the whole theme for this post is WWII which makes that kind of redundant! (my review)

The Resistance Bakery by Siobhan Curham - I love a book set in a French bakery so this was always going to be a winner for me! (my review)

The Last Train from Paris by Juliet Greenwood - I thought this was a really great read with an interesting story! (my review)

The Lost Sister of Fifth Avenue by Ella Carey - The title might make you think this one is not set in Paris, but the majority of the story is! (my review)

Top Ten Tuesday: Get a Job!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books With Occupations in the Title (Submitted by Hopewell’s Public Library of Life)

The Postmistress by Alison Stuart - A young woman moves to a small country town in Victoria in the 1870s and starts working as the postmistress. (My review)

The Map Maker's Promise by Catherine Law - This is a WWII novel which follows a woman whose top secret job is to update the maps with new information following bombing runs. (My review)

The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy - I'm pretty sure I could find a lot of baker titles, but I am going to limit to just two. This one is one of the earliest WWII novels that is like the novels you would expect to read today. (My review)

The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller - I read this a couple of years ago as part of Cook the Books. (My review)

The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin - I really enjoyed this WWII novel which is set in both Portugal and France. (My review)

The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley - It was only when I read this book that I found out that The King's Messenger is a very specific role, and it still exists. (My review)

The Jam Maker by Mary-Lou Stephens - I have really enjoyed all of Mary-Lou Stephens historical fiction foodie novels set in Tasmania (My review)

The Paris Dancer by Nicola Rayner - This is another WWII novel where a dancer becomes caught up in resistance activities. (My review)

The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain - What happens when the president leaves his hat in a Paris restaurant. Quite a lot actually. (My review)

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai - The food detective help bring the memories of past meals back to life. (My review)

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025, I have tried not to cross over too much with my previous lists of books that I am planning to read over the summer, although it probably would have been smarter not to add another 10 books to my TBR right?

The Lucky Sisters by Rachael Johns (October)- What can I say. Rachael Johns is always an autobuy author for me!

In the Paris Fashion by Sophie Beaumont (November) - I have loved both of the Sophie Beaumont books I have read so far! I am looking forward to seeing the final cover too!

Last Stop on the Winter Wonderland Express by Rebecca Raisin (August)- Super excited about this one!

Daughters of the Batavia by Stefanie Koens (July) - I have long been fascinated by the wreck of the Batavia and we also saw the replica when we went to The Netherlands a while ago, so keen to read this one. 

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki (October) -  This is the follow up to The Full Moon Coffee Shop which I enjoyed a lot. 

The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin (August) - I am late to the party for Madeline Martin's historical fiction novels, but having read one recently, I am determined to not get further behind!

The Midnight Estate by Kelly Rimmer (July) - Kelly Rimmer has moved away from her excellent WWII novels, so it will be interesting to read this one!

The Forget-Me-Not Library by Heather Webber (November) - I really enjoy Heather Webber's books, although I think I am a couple of books behind!

The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts (November) - This is the final book in the Lost Brides trilogy. I have listened to the previous two so I imagine this will be another audiobook for me!

A Woman's Voice by Alli Sinclair (July) - I loved The Codebreakers so I am looking forward to this one!

Do you have any of the same books on your list this week:?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Feature Travel

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books that Feature Travel. I've done quite a few travel themed Top Ten Tuesdays over the years. This time, I am keeping it simple and just sharing some of the recent books that I have read that feature travel in one way or another!

Let's go, or should I say, bon voyage!

An Italian Wedding Adventure by Leonie Mack - Wedding planner Sophie is asked to organise a wedding at the top of a mountain climb so she needs to travel to Italy to find the locations. The catch, her guide is her ex-boyfriend. 

Booked for Summer by Kathryn Freeman - British woman Jade Taylor goes to the island of Nantucket to run a cute bookstore for three months where she meets the owner of the resort that wants to close the store down. (My review)

One More Day of Us by Shari Low - Singer Moira Chiles spent a large part of her career working on cruise ships. This story takes us back to her first trip when she lived in Hong Kong back in the early 1990s. (My review)

A Greek Island Gift by Mandy Baggot - When Molly receives an inheritance from someone she has never heard of, she has to travel to Corfu to accept it. What is she going to do with half an apartment, half a boat and a quarter of a cat amongst other things! (My review)

Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley - This is the final book in the Seven Sisters series, and follows Pa's life as he travels all round the world.

Secret Beneath a Riviera Sky by Jennifer Bohnet - Francine travels to Cannes with her mother and daughter after her estranged father dies. (My review)

Where the Birds Calls Her Name by Claire van Ryn - The travel in this one is a bit closer to home. Saskia and her daughter drive from Broome in far north Western Australia to Tasmania as they discover who Saskia's mother is and who Saskia needs to be in the future. (My review)

The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin - Ava travels from her job as a librarian in the Library of Congress to work in Lisbon in Portugal during WWII. (My review)

The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley - The method of travel in this one was by ship and by horse. A group of travellers go to Scotland from London on the King's business. (My review)

White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton - A young girl travels from Korea to Japan in the years prior to WWII, and then she struggles to return home. (My review)

Where did your Top Ten Tuesday take you today?

The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin

 

I have been meaning to read Madeline Martin's WWII historical fiction for quite a while now. A few months ago I picked up a book thinking it was by her, but it turned out to be by someone else. However, when my read on a theme book club chose Spy as it's theme, this was my chance!

Ava Harper is happy working as a librarian at the Library of Congress but given that she speaks two languages it probably isn't a surprise when she is recruited for something different during WWII. She is sent to Lisbon in Portugal. Portugal is a neutral country but that doesn't mean that it isn't a hotbed of activity. There are active spies from every country. There are refugees from countries like France who have made it this far but now they need the right documents in order to be able to fully escape to a new life. There are also the notorious Portuguese secret police who don't need much of an excuse to arrest people.

Ava's job is to collect all the different publications from different countries that end up in Lisbon and to photograph them so that they can then be saved to microfilm and sent back to the US to be analysed in the hope of finding any piece of information that might help turn the tide of the war. As soon as she arrives she catches the attention of both a British and a German spy, and so, over the course of her stay in Lisbon, she gets a bit more caught up in the spy game than she otherwise might have done. She also begins to make connections in the refugee community and it is here that she learns of the difficulties that the refugees face.

The other side of the story is set in Lyons in France. Elaine's husband has insisted that she do nothing for the resistance but when he disappears she realises that she is going to have to get involved. She starts working with the Resistance in the printing of illegal newspapers, but also gets involved in other activities. It is in the course of these activities that she meets a young Jewish woman and her child and she decides that she needs to help them escape in any way that she can. 

One day Ava is reading a French Resistance newspaper and she realises there is something unusual about the article. She cracks the puzzle and finds a plea for help. Can two women who have never met, who cannot communicate directly with each other, and who each face different kinds of danger on a regular basis help save a young family. 

I really enjoyed both aspects of this story, and even more so given that both aspects were inspired by true stories. I never really thought about what kind of activities would be happening in neutral countries like Portugal, and how for the refugees getting there was only one step on the journey. There were still more dangers and challenges to face before they could truly feel safe.

Elaine's story was the more dramatic of the two between her missing husband, her work with the Resistance putting her in danger, and the fear of being betrayed. She had many losses but she still decided to take risks for other people when they needed it.

I will now be looking to read Martin's other WWII novels. From what I can see her future books are moving away from the WWII setting so it will interesting to see how they are received.

I am sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading challenge which I host here.

Rating 4/5

Top Ten Tuesday: What I Read on Holidays

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is My Unpopular Bookish Opinions (You can share opinions surrounding being a reader, a book reviewer, etc. OR you could share your opinions on specific books that go against what everyone  else is saying. Are there any books you loved that most people didn’t, or vice versa?)


I am going rogue (again) and instead I am doing What I Read on Holidays, which fits nicely into the post because I finished exactly ten books while I was away!

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki - What an interesting and delightful book! I am planning to review this soon.

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore - Given all the hype around this series, I was expecting more but it was a good book to read on a plane.

Safe Harbour in Pelican Harbour by Maggie Christensen - I always enjoy Maggie Christensen's books and this one was no exception. I reviewed this book here.

White Mulberry by Rosa Kwan Easton - I wanted to read this one because it is set in both Korea and Japan. I had no idea that Japan had occupied Korea between 1910 and the end of the war. 

The King's Messenger by Susanna Kearsley - I told myself I was reading this one for our read on a theme book club. The theme for this month is spy and I guess I could make this fit the theme if I really tried.

The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin - This one definitely fits the theme!

Under a Riviera Moon by Helen McGinn - This is an upcoming review book!

Next of Kin by Hannah Bonhan Young - I just wanted to read something fun and this one fit the bill! 

Where the Birds Call Her Name by Claire van Ryn - What a book! I really enjoyed this one! I am hoping to review it soon, but I don't have a specific date. Maybe I should just give it a date just to give myself a deadline.

One Day and Forever by Shari Low - I have said yes to a book that features some of the same characters from this book. However, it turns out that this book has lots of links to other books as well!

Sunday Salon: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - September statistics

Every month I share some of the statistics related to the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. I try very hard to visit every post which has been linked (time permitting) and I find it interesting to see what are the books that people are reading and reviewing! I often end up adding a couple of books to my never ending TBR list.

In terms of the books read in September, there were 50 reviews linked up for the challenge, shared by 20 participants. There were 48 individual titles reviewed, written by 45 different authors. There was just 1 reviewer who shared more than 5 reviews this month, but there were another 3 who reviewed 4 books each. Thank you to everyone who shared their links whether it be 10 or just 1.

So which books were reviewed more than once in September? There were actually two. 

The first was Hemlock Bay by Martin Edwards, the 5th book in the Rachel Savernake mystery series, which was reviewed by Margaret at BooksPlease and Cathy at What Cathy Read Next.

The second book was Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie which was reviewed at Shellie Loves Books and at Laura's Reviews

Laura actually reviewed another Agatha Christie book as well, A Murder is Announced.

Susan from Reading World reviewed two books by Kimberly Nixon which were called Rock Bottom, Tennessee and Rock Bottom Rising.

The final author who had more than one book reviewed this month was Madeline Martin, who I have had on my TBR list for the longest time. Jenia from Story for Dessert reviewed her latest book The Booklover's Library while Bev from My Reader's Block reviewed The Last Bookshop in London.

Given that we are now three quarters of the way through the year, I did have a quick look at the stats for the whole year to see if we had a clear leader in terms of the books that have been reviewed the most. There were actually 5 books which have each been reviewed 3 times so it will be interesting to see if we have a clear leader by the time we get to the end of December.

I'll be back next month with the statistics for October!

I am sharing this post with Sunday Salon, hosted at Readerbuzz.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Was Super Excited About But Still Haven't Read

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read. And yes, I am sticking to the script this week. It isn't always the case

Daisy and Kate by Meredith Appleyard - I first saw the cover for this at a reader retreat last year and wanted to read it straight away....but still haven't!

The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns - I bought this as soon as it came out in book form, as opposed to on Kindle, but still haven't read it.

The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley - I listened to all the previous Seven Sisters books, but the idea of listening to a book 30 hours long is very intimidating right now as I don't get to listen that much anymore. And then I have the next book after that as well

Midnight Blue by Simone van der Vlugt - I had to have this book as soon as I saw it!

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn - What am I waiting for? Yeah, I don't know either

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin - I could also mention this author's subsequent books too.

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum - I have had this on my radar since last year.

The Starfish Sisters by Barbara O'Neal - I have quite a few unread books by this author

An Astronomer in Love by Antoine Laurain - Maybe I'll get to read this for Paris in July.

The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons -  I like the sound of this author's upcoming book too.

Have you read any of these books?

Top Ten Tuesdays: Fictional Bookstores

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This
week it is a freebie so I am choosing to post a theme from earlier in the year. Back in October, I did all the thinking around the theme is Favorite Bookstores OR Bookstores I’d Love to Visit. I chose all the books, I just had to add the pictures and the words and I was done. Except I never got to it!  My twist to the theme is that I have focus on fictional bookstores rather than real bookstores. So, here are ten books set in bookstores.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Starting out strongly with one of my favourite boosk ever!

Aria's Travelling Bookstore by Rebecca Raisin - I love that way that Rebecca Raisin writes about food, books, Paris and more!

84  Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff - What a delight this book was!

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan - I must get back to reading or listening to Jenny Colgan's books!

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George - I am hoping to visit at least one Paris bookshop soon. I am happy with big or small!

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton - I haven't read this book yet but the title is intriguing.

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin - This book is on my must read soon list.

Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - this is another bookstore book I haven't read yet. It sounds like fun.

The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman - I know that this is an extra one but I thought I would share it seeing as it is a really short short story that is a recent release.

So there's my list of Fictional Bookstores.

Sunday Salon: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge -August stats

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year as part of the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge I am intending to provide some stats after each month and then at the end of the year I will do an overall wrap up for the year. Today I am sharing a few stats about August.

During August there were 67 reviews shared by 25 participants. There were lots of people who shared multiple reviews, including 3 people who shared 5 or more reviews. Thank you to everyone who has shared! I think I have visited everyone this month, and there were some fascinating titles, and I added more than one book to my TBR list!

In terms of the books, there were 66 individual titles reviewed, written by 64 different authors. 

There was only one book that was reviewed twice for the challenge. This was:

Lessons in Chemisry by Bonnie Garmus was reviewed both by Curly Geek from The Book Stop and Laura from Laura's Reviews.

There were two other authors who had two individual titles reviewed. Signal Moon and The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn were both reviewed as were two books by Madeline Martin being The Last Bookshop in London and The Librarian Spy.

It's not too late to join the challenge this year. You can find all the sign up details here and if you have a link to add to the challenge the September Linky can be found here.

Top Ten Tuesday: 2021 Releases I Was Excited to Read But Didn't Get To

 

 

 

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is 2021 Releases I was excited to readd but didn't get to. Now, it's going to be a very short post if I just say all of them, so let me work through some of my posts from last year!

Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon - I have been invested in this series for at least 20 years. Normally by this stage I would have bought the book the first time I saw it in the shop and finished it. I will read it at some point I am sure.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - I really enjoyed Red, White and Royal Blue so I was very excited about this book coming out.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - I have several books still to read by Kristin Hannah. I did intend to read this one!

The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley - I have listened to all of the Seven Sisters books and they are all very long books. I am just not sure when I am going to have time to listen to this one.

From the Ashes by Kristina Gruell - This is the first in a series written by a friend of mine who I met on the forums for Sara Donati back in the day.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - I haven't actually read Andy Weir before, but the movie of his book The Martian is one of my all time favourites.

The Fossil Hunter by Tea Cooper - This author wrote one of my few 5/5 reads for last year so I really should read this one.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr - I loved All the Light We Cannot See and I have heard good things about this book too.

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin - I have heard such good things about this book

Still Life by Sarah Winman - Several people I know have raved about this book. I just started it this week and so far so good.

Have you read any of these books?