Blog Tour: The Lost Garden by Angela Petch

Ernestina has lived a comfortable if sheltered life as the only daughter of an Italian count. Tina's parent's story was like a fairytale. She was a poor girl who caught the rich count's eye and they married quickly. After some disappointments finally Tina was born but the cost was high as her mother died in childbirth. 

Tina's father has always been very strict and distant with his daughter although he himself is something of a philanderer. Thank goodness for Allegra who was her mother's best friend and has practically raised Tina, showing her love and teaching her many skills. The one thing that Allegra won't do is talk about Tina's mother.

One day Tina finds a hidden path which leads to an overgrown garden. Tina can't believe that she has never known about the garden and soon she is inspired to try and coax the garden back to life. It turns out that the garden was her mother's passion and refuge from an unhappy marriage. Allegra warns Tina not to ever mention the garden to her father and warns her to stay away but Tina can't help herself. Soon she is weeding, pruning and reinstating many of the beautiful features

Whilst Tina has lived a very sheltered life, it is not possible for her to remain sequestered away forever. It is, after all, 1930's Italy and Mussolini's particular brand of fascism is forcing the poor to become poorer, and other people, like Tina's father, to grow wealthier. And even worse, war is coming.

One day Tina meets a group of young people who are around her age, her first friends. Among  them are Olivio, Luisa and Sergio. With the arrival of war the friends need to make choices about which side they are going to be on, and whether they can trust each other. After all, Tina's father is an influential fascist. Can Tina prove useful in the resistance movement? Can their friendships survive betrayal and tragedy? And how will they and their town all be changed by the events during the war? 

I have read several of Angela Petch's books now, and her love of Italy has shone through each of the books. This was an interesting read and featured a technique I haven't seen in the author's previous books. Whilst Tina's mother died in childbirth, she still managed to be a presence in the book and to influence the events. 

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy. Check out the other stops on the blog tour as well!

Rating 4/5

Buy Link: https://geni.us/B0FHBH86K4social

About the Book:

It hides a family secret that could change the course of the war.

Italy, 1930s. Tina lives in the crumbling castle of Montesecco with only her strict father and their maid, Allegra, for company. She’s never been allowed to ask questions about her mother, who died in childbirth. But the day Tina discovers a hidden, crumbling door, everything changes.


Inside is an overgrown garden. Ivy and roses adorn the stone walls. Fresh water springs from a fountain and the scent of wild herbs fills the air. How did she never know this beautiful place existed? Excitedly begging Allegra for answers, the elderly woman’s face turns pale. ‘You must never mention this to your father. It’s not safe. You’ve found your mamma’s garden.’

The Count believes Tina’s mother died because of the garden: but Allegra refuses to say more. Certain she can feel her mother watching over her, Tina secretly tends to the garden herself. And when war breaks out, Tina’s encounters with local resistance fighters mean the garden becomes a place of refuge, a place of hope – and a place of great danger when Tina must prove where her loyalties lie once and for all…

Will Tina ever discover the truth about her mother? Or was the garden, with all its secrets, never meant to be disturbed?

An absolutely breathtaking and stunning historical novel about the incredible risks people took in wartime, family secrets, loss and love. Perfect for fans of Fiona Valpy and Santa Montefiore.

 About the author

Angela Petch is an award winning writer of fiction – and the occasional poem.
Every summer she moves to Tuscany for six months where her and her husband own a renovated watermill which they let out. When not exploring their unspoilt corner of the Apennines, Angela disappears to her writing desk at the top of her converted stable.


In her Italian handbag or hiking rucksack she always makes sure to store a notebook and pen to jot down ideas.


The winter months are spent in Sussex where most of her family live. When she's not helping out with grandchildren, she catches up with writer friends.


Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaJaneClarePetch/
Website: https://angelapetchsblogsite.wordpress.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angela_maurice/
Bookouture email signup: https://www.bookouture.com/angela-petch

Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K Runyan

 

When A Bakery in Paris was announced as one of the selection for Cook the Books I was very pleased. Runyan is an author who I have been meaning to read for a long time and I started this book with pretty high expectations. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. I enjoyed this a lot.

This is a dual timeline novel with a difference. Both timelunes are historical. The first timeline tells the story of Lisette Vigneau who lives in an affluent area of Paris at the time that that the Prussians are blockading the city in 1870. The second timeline is set in the immediate aftermath of WWII. It is 1946 and Micheline Chartier is a young girl who is doing her best to look after her younger sisters until her mother returns. 

Lisette is a young woman who has been bought up in a life of privilege. Her parents are wealthy but they are remote, and often Lisette is invisible to them. As a child all her best memories are from the times that she spent in the kitchen with their cook, Nanette. It is 1870 and the Prussians are at the gates of Paris. Many of the other wealthy inhabitants of Paris have previously left the city but her father doesn't believe that the Prussians will be successful and if they are, then he isn't going to give up his house without a fight. 

One day, Lisette borrows the kitchen servants dress to go to the markets in disguise. She meets a young National Guardsman who helps her with an embarrassing situation, and Theo asks her to come and learn how the other half lives in Paris. 

With her parents arranging a marriage to a worth (in their opinion) man, and Lisette's growing feelings for Theo, she leaves behind everything she knows - all the wealth, the food and more. With her skills that she learned in the kitchen, Lisette is able to start a bakery in her local area of Montparnasse, and become an integral part of the local community. It isn't always easy, especially as the siege tightens and ingredients become scarce. Things come to a head as Lisette and Theo become involved in the communard uprising of 1871. 

In the second timeline, Micheline is struggling to care for her sisters following the death of her father early in the war and the subsequent disappearance of their mother. Micheline is determined that her mother must still be alive and does everything in her power to find her, despite the authorities telling her they have no news. Her family has a little income from the rent of the little restaurant below their apartment, but when the tenants leave unexpectedly she knows that life is going to get a lot harder for the little family.

Fortunately, Micheline has something of a fairy godmother in the form of Madame Dupuis who offers to support the family while Micheline completes a course which will enable her to re-open the bakery. At first, Micheline struggles a little with the course, but she prevails, often assisted by another student on the course, Laurent.

Armed with the cookbook that originally belonged to her grandmother and working together with Laurent, Micheline practices many of the recipes that she learnt at her mother's feet, determined to do the best that she can in her mother's absence, and to re-open the bakery.

This was a great selection for Cook the Books. The operation of the bakery in both time lines was integral to the story, and we watched as Micheline, in particular, learned all the skills she needed to be able to be successful. There were also lots of recipes throughout the book including for brioche, croissants, hot chocolate, clafoutis aux fruits and so much more. I am almost a bit sad that I need to return this book to the library. 

I do still like a dual timeline novel, but I did really like that the timelines were both historical. Normally you would see a modern timeline with a WWII timeline. Even the fact that the second timeline was set just after the end of the war was a point of difference too. The war was still very much an influence on every day life in Paris, particularly for families like the Chartiers. 

When it came to choosing a recipe to make I struggled a little bit as there were almost too many options. I did think about making the macaron kit that I have sitting here but eventually decided against it given that I did not recall seeing the word macaron once in the book! I might still make that next weekend and post about it for Paris in July but we'll see if that happens or not.

In the end I decided to try and make a clafoutis which is a traditional dish, originally from the Limousin region of France. The question then was whether to make the most traditional version which is made with cherries or to do a variation like a caramelised apple version (recipe here). In the end I decided to use a Mary Berry recipe which calls for raspberries, but I used the frozen mixed berries that I had in my freezer. 

This is a deceptively easy recipe, and very tasty, with a kind of baked custard texture.

Raspberry Clafoutis (Mary Berry)

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (plus a bit extra to butter the dish)
½ cup plain flour
¼ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
small pinch of kosher salt
3 large eggs
zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup + 2 tbsp whole milk
1½ pints raspberries (about 3 cups)
icing sugar, for dusting


Set your oven to 350°F (or 175°C). Grease the outsides of a shallow baking dish. Melt the butter and allow to cool a little.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Crack in the eggs,  the melted butter and the lemon zest.

Gradually add the milk, whisking as you go until the batter is smooth and a little bubbly.  

Pour your batter into the buttered dish then scatter the raspberries over the top

Bake for about 30 minutes until the edges are puffed and the centre is just set

Cool for approximately 10 minutes  and then dust with icing sugar just before serving. 

Note: You can use frozen fruit for this but don't thaw them out before adding them to the batter. Also, when you take the clafoutis from the oven the puffed edges will deflate. This is meant to happen. 

Now I just need to decide which book I am going to read by this author next! There are several that are of immediate interest.

The next four selections for Cook the Books have been announced, so if you would like to join us you would be most welcome. A couple of the new selections are a bit tricky for me to get hold of, and one of the others is a book that I already read, but I will be doing my best to join in when I can.

I am sharing this review with Cook the Books, Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story, the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host and with Paris In July hosted by Words and Peace. It was also one of the books that I nominated for 20 Books of Summer and I counted it as a read for the my read on a theme book club where the theme was war.

Rating 4.5/5

Weekly meals

Saturday - Malaysian Chicken Curry with roti
Sunday - Spaghetti Bolognaise
Monday - Chicken Stirfry
Tuesday - Out for dinner
Wednesday - Baked potatoes with beef brisket
Thursday - Green Curry Chicken Pie
Friday - Out for dinner

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

The Lost Story of Sofia Castello by Siobhan Curham

 

Sometimes when you pick up a book you just know straight away that it is really going to work for you! This is one of those books. I was hooked by the end of the prologue and basically couldn't stop reading from that point on!

Ghostwriter Lily Christie wants to continue to write for a living, but she is a bit disheartened after her last couple of gigs with people who barely cared about the story that they were telling even though it was their own story! She could do with a break. When she is contacted by her agent with a request for her to write a new book, she is a little bit surprised by the secrecy surrounding it. Having been presented with a Non Disclosure Agreement:

"Go on then, put me out of my misery - who's the client?" I ask as I sign it, praying I won't be disappointed. 

"Sofia Castello," she replies enigmatically

I frown. "The singer."

"Yes!" She smiles.

"The singer who sang "Ocean Longing"?" I ask, certain I must be mistaken.

"The very one."

"But it can't be." A shiver runs up my spine. "She's been dead for years!"

The book then follows Lily to Portugal where she meets the enigmatic Sofia who both wants to tell her story but also wants to keep her secrets. It's a difficult path for Lily who knows that Sofia isn't telling the whole truth . She doesn't understand why Sofia would specifically request Lily as a ghostwriter but then not be willing to be honest.

As far as the world is concerned, Sofia died in a plane accident during WWII when the plane she was travelling in was shot down by the Germans. Prior to her death, Sofia had a meteoric rise to stardom. Originally from a small fishing village in the north of Portugal, Sofia moved to Lisbon when she was 16 and became a varino, selling fish while dressed in colourful costumes. What set Sofia apart from the other varinas? Her ability to make up witty songs about her fish. One day, a man from a bar offers Sofia a chance to sing in his bar, and thus, from these humble beginnings a star is born. Right from the beginning though, the story of who Sofia is has been blurred between what the public knows and what the truth is. Soon, Sofia is working with major record companies, recording songs that will soon become anthems for Portugal during these troubled times.

Portugal was a neutral country during WWII, but that doesn't mean that Lisbon wasn't a hot bed of political activities from spying to German agents hunting down Jewish refugees and more. With Sofia's growing public profile she is able to attend events where she becomes useful for what she can learn and share. She also becomes friends with a young German girl, which brings her great joy in the friendship but they are both in danger.

It isn't only in Portugal that Sofia's fame is growing, and so she is sent to London to put on a show to help raise morale. There, Sofia falls in love with a man who she knows very little about, other than that he does important war work. Even here, the line between truth and untruths is very fine. Who can Sofia trust? Maybe just her musical partner?

I loved this book! There were twists and turns all along the way. There were some things that I saw coming but there were also a couple of reveals that I didn't!

The modern storyline which is set in the year 2000 was interesting too, with Lily using the time in Portugal to really take stock of her life, but the real star of the show was Sofia's story. I didn't think that the Lily's story really needed the nice little bow that was presented in the epilogue, but I do understand why the author chose to finish the book that way.

The sights, sounds and food of Portugal came to life as well. I could really do with a Portuguese custard tart right about now just thinking about this book! And the description of the air raids on London that Sofia witnessed were so well done.

I have read a number of Siobhan Curham books now, and I have liked them all. Sofia Castello's story will stick with me for a long time and I think it is Curham's best book yet! I loved it from the very beginning to the end

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host, and with Bookish Books challenge hosted at Bloggin' Bout Books. This also counts for my read on a theme book club where the current theme is War. At 402 pages, this also counts as a Big Book of Summer! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy. 

Rating 4.5/5

Weekend Cooking/Blog Tour: The Girl from Normandy by Rachel Sweasey

 

Esther has loved everything French since she started learning the language during her teenage years in school. She lives in Dorset and often gets to travel to Normandy for work. It is her favourite place in France. She loves the food, the countryside, the culture, and she loves the Joubert family. 

Giselle Joubert was her high school pen friend, and when Esther's school did an exchange program, Esther stayed at the Joubert's rustic farm near the small town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise. There she met and had a schoolgirl love affair with Jules, Giselle's older brother. They stayed in contact for a while, but then the letters stopped coming. Even though Esther has visited the Jouberts many times since, she has rarely crossed paths with Jules and they barely made eye contact. Now Esther is going to be godmother to Giselle's second child, and Jules is going to be godfather, even if only by proxy if he can't be there in person.

On one of her previous visits, Esther had found a recipe book and between it's pages there was a sheet of paper which had a recipe for preserving wild garlic on one side and on the other a poem written in both French and English. Captivated, Esther kept the piece of paper but now she wonders if that was a mistake and so she is determined to ask elderly Grand-mere Joubert about the book and the poem.

The opening of the book focuses on a young woman living in Paris in late 1940. Marie-Claire is married to Benjamin, a Jew, and mother of a young child named Antoine. With the coming of the Nazis, the little family knows that they have to escape and so plans are made to catch the train to the south of France where she has family. However, things go terribly wrong, and Marie-Claire ends up travelling north to Caen, separated from her baby. There, she meets a man who, seeing her distress, takes her to a chateau where a small group are gathering to form a resistance group. With her hatred of the force that destroyed her family, Marie-Claire joins the group. 

Given her cooking skills, the perfect cover for Marie-Claire is to run a cafe in the small town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise. Here, she can listen into conversations and gain information to share with the Resistance, but she does become actively involved in some of the more dangerous activities of the group. One of her key roles though is to share messages through the community in the form of recipes which contained secret codes! Being busy doing something to undermine the Nazis gives her purpose and helps her begin to heal from her terrible losses. 

While we are learning about Marie-Claire's life and role in the war, in the modern story line, Jules and Esther finally have time to work through their dormant feelings for each other and decide if there is any chance of a future together. However, it is never going to be all plain sailing given that Jules has a very successful career in Paris and Esther lives in England. 

Throughout the story we hear about the role that Dorset played in the planning for the D-Day landings, about the paratrooper who got stuck on the spire of the church in the town and had to play dead for a few hours before he could be rescued and so much more.

We visited Normandy when we went to Europe and really loved it. We liked the WWII history, the food, and the cider was so good, as in really, really good. However, we couldn't visit every little town. It's a shame not to have visited Sainte-Mere-Eglise as there is an Airborne museum there, and they commemorate the paratrooper getting stuck which is based on a true story. When I was looking at some information about the town I found it really interesting that the coat of arms for the town now even includes two parachutes. 

I hadn't read Rachel Sweasey before and I am happy that I have now. I am really keen to read her back list each of which feature the region around Poole (which is where her family is from), and WWII France. I was interested to see that Rachel now lives in Brisbane. 

As part of the promotional information for the blog tour, we were sent a recipe for Marie-Claire's Poulet Vallee d'Auge which sounds delicious! Because this is a Weekend Cooking post, I had to share the recipe with you all!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host, and with Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story. This also counts for my read on a theme book club where the current theme is War. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. 

Rating 4/5

About the book

The Girl from Normandy

Paris, 1940: Marie-Claire steps into the Gare de Lyon, not knowing it will be the last time she'll see her husband and son. Fleeing occupied Paris, she travels into the countryside of Normandy, and stumbles upon a chateau near Caen and a growing resistance movement. Soon, Marie-Claire finds herself working in a cafe in the quiet village of Sainte-Mère-Église, where she tries to come to terms with all she has lost – but little does she realise that her presence in Normandy will change the course of history…

1998: Half a century later, Esther is returning to the Normandy village she visited as a teenager, seeking a break from her monotonous life. Back then, she'd fallen in love with a rustic farmhouse and the family that lived there – not least the charming eldest son, Jules Joubert. But now, when Esther discovers an old annotated cookbook in the family kitchen, she begins to realise that the place she holds so close to her heart may hide more secrets than even the Jouberts realise...

What stories does the area carry? And could this trip change Esther’s life for ever?

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/GirlfromNormandy

About the Author 

Rachel was born to English 10-pound-pom parents in sub-tropical Brisbane, Australia, and when the family moved back to Poole, Dorset, she was just 5 years old. She then grew up against the stunning backdrop of Poole Harbour where she sailed and played on the beaches of Brownsea Island and Studland, and walked across the Purbeck Hills, all of which inspired her imagination and provided the setting of her debut historical fiction novel set in WWII. Since then, Rachel has moved back to Brisbane, Australia.



Social Media Links –

Facebook: @RachelSweaseyAuthor
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/RachelSweaseyNews
Bookbub profile: @rachelsweaseyauthor

Weekly meals

Saturday - Beef Stroganoff and rice
Sunday - Leftover Beef Stroganoff
Monday - Spicy Pork and Bean Stirfry
Tuesday -  Steak, air fried sweet potato and vegies 
Wednesday - Pork chop, mashed potato, broccoli and gravy
Thursday - Enchiladas
Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

 

Do you have a book that is a go to when anyone asks for recommendations? I have a few, one of which is The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. Do you want a really good read? Have I told you about The Rose Code by Kate Quinn? Do you want a good WWII story? The Rose Code. WWII from a female experience? The Rose Code. Which makes it even more unfathomable that it has taken me more than three years to read this book and she has published two more since then. Maybe I was worried that this book wouldn't live up to The Rose Code, but I needn't have worried.

So what prompted me to finally read this book? My read on a theme book club has chosen War as it's next theme and when I looked through my Kindle this one jumped out at me. I think I have about 50 books that will fit the theme but this was where I started.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko is a young mother who is separated from her much older manipulative husband who refuses to take the final steps required to finalise their divorce. Supported by her parents as she raises her son, Slavka, she is studying history and working at the public library. Taunted by him, she also takes up marksmanship, a skill which will give her an unexpected trajectory into Soviet history.

When war breaks out, Mila was among the thousands of young women who signed up to fight for the Soviet Army and soon her skill with her gun sees her becoming a sniper. This isn't only about being able to kill an adversary with a single shot, although with her life motto of "Don't Miss" Mila is very focussed on that, it is also about being able to wait in silence for hours watching, calculating, almost stalking her mark. Soon her hit count is rising, and yet, as is true for so many women who perform amazing tasks in war, the recognition that she should get for her skill is very slow in being given. 

The portrayal of war is very detailed about the conditions, about the injuries and death, and the very specific skills a sniper must have and use on a daily basis. However, we also see a Mila who is trying desperately to remain connected to her true self and her son by sending him different types of leaves that she finds.  She also carries her dissertation around with her every where she goes in the hope that she will finish it one day.

Interspersed with Mila's war stories are sections which tell of her visit to the US where she was sent along with others to try and convince the US of the need for a second war front to help relieve the pressure on the Soviet Army against the Germans. Here, Mila meets and befriends Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the American president. She also has to brave the belittling press pack who don't necessarily believe that she is a sniper and so ask her about her underwear and other inane questions. 

Here is where the story deviates from the known history, with the introduction of an unnamed character who has a plan where Mila will take the blame for his actions which, had they been successful, would have completely changed the course of the war.

I loved the various methods and voices  that Quinn uses to tell the story. We see Mila through diary entries made by Mrs Roosevelt, we hear from her adversary and all through the text we see Mila's humour as she shares lines from her official memoir along with those of her unofficial version. For example, here is one from very early in the book

My memoir, the official version: Every woman remembers her first.

My memoir, the unofficial version: Those words mean very different things for me than most women

In the hands of a lesser author, it would have been possible that this story could have been very bleak and upsetting, but balanced between the injuries, death, and fighting there are moments of joy, mostly found through the friendships and yes, love, that Mila finds on the battlefield and in her life.

It is interesting looking at the events of this book through the lens of the current situation between Ukraine and Russia. A lot of the action takes place in the Ukraine and Lyudmila Pavlichenko was born in what we would now call Ukraine. At the time that the book is set, Mila was a proud Soviet. It is likely that if she was still around Mila would rather be addressed as a proud Ukrainian that is just a guess on my part. 

And now if I am asked for a reading recommendation about women in war I will have to say have you read The Rose Code or The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn.

I am sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here at The Intrepid Reader and Baker. This is also one of my nominated 20 Books of Winter, and at 435 pages counts as a Big Book of Summer (well Winter but you know what I mean!). Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy. Sorry it's so late!

Rating 4.5/5

The Madamoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester

 

Recently I went to hear Australian author Natasha Lester speak at a library in a small town about half an hour away from me. The talk that she gave was absolutely fascinating. She talked about the main character in her latest novel, a French woman by the name of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade who was the only woman who led a French Resistance organisation during WWII. She shared some of her exploits in her talk, and I left that event knowing that I was going to have to read the book asap. I did have another reason for needing to read the book too. This was the book club selection for the Rachael Johns Readers Retreat that I attended last weekend and so I needed to read it before the group discussions. Natasha Lester was there as one of the authors, so I got to hear her speak again. Here she is being interviewed by Anthea Hodgson.

The story of Marie-Madeleine is absolutely fascinating. She married young and moved to Morocco where she learnt to fly, did some rally car driving and a bit of espionage which helps her husband's career! When her marriage breaks down, she returns to France with her children. There, at a party, she witnesses two men having a very intense disagreement. One is Charles de Gaulle, and the other a man who will recruit her to help create a resistance network known as Alliance, whose code name is Navarre. 

Alliance worked closely with the British MI6 and provided them with a lot of information like U-boat locations and maps of the coast of France which eventually helped with the planning for the D-Day invasion.  However, there is a very high cost for this information with the loss of members through arrest and death, the constant threat of betrayal, the constant moving around, always living with fear, and more.

For Marie-Madeleine the human cost of the work that she was leading was immense and it did take it's toll. Despite that she continued relying on her risk taking mentality, her intuition and those closest to her to help lead. There was a physical cost too. Some of the stories that are told in these pages seem incredibly far-fetched and yet those are the ones that are true including being smuggled to Spain, making split second decisions to leave a headquarters based on instinct alone, and sending her children away so that the Germans cannot use them to get to her. 

Despite the success of her team's work, she also faced a struggle due to her sex. No one, including the Germans most of the time, could believe that a woman could lead the network and do such a great job!   This is reflected in the fact that, after the war, whilst others were public acknowledged by de Gaulle for the resistance work done during the war Marie-Madeleine was not, despite several of her subordinates receiving the acknowledgement. 

There is a lot of action in this book, and sometimes it was a little difficult to keep up with the constant location changes, new people in the organisation and the who was doing what in the various acts of resistance. This is despite the fact that the author did combine a lot of the real life characters and moves so that there was less in the book than there was in real life! There was also the personal story of the woman, Marie-Madeleine,  who cared too much for the people that she put in harm's way but who inspired great loyalty from the people in the network, the leader who felt every death and betrayal to her very core, the mother who couldn't see her children, the woman who had a passionate love for a man who served France wholeheartedly, and the woman who gave everything that she had to fight against the Germans.

In the acknowledgements at the end of the book,  Lester wrote that she had been told that WWII were not as publishable as they have been because it isn't what readers want any more, and it is a sentiment that I have seen expressed multiple times in reviews. The market is saturated with WWII stories. My response is if it is WWII stories like this one, of the amazing people who gave everything and more in the fight against the enemy, those as yet unknown stories of heroes, then I still want to read them!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host! This book has also been released in the US so if you would like to give this Aussie author a try, if you haven't already done so, you should be able to find it in other markets!

Rating 4.5/5

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

White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton

 

Recently we went on a cruise that visited both Japan and Korea. I already had this book on my TBR list but I decided to move it up the list because it was set both of the countries we were visiting, and I was very glad that I did.

White Mulberry tells the story of Miyoung who is a young girl who lives in a village near Pyongyang in Korea. Both of her sisters have gone abroad to marry leaving Miyoung at home with her ailing mother. Miyoung is very clever and dreams of becoming a teacher, but her mother knows that there are limited opportunities for her in Japanese occupied Korea. She is therefore sent to Japan to live with her sister to continue her education.

It soon becomes clear that Japan is not going to be any easier than Korea was. Koreans live segregated lives, working only the lowest of job and are discriminated against consistently. The only way to get ahead is to pretend to be Japanese, so Miyoung becomes Miyoko and trains to become a nurse. 

Eventually Miyoko starts attending a clandestine Korean Christian church and there meets a young man who is fighting for better rights for Korean immigrants. This makes her life even more complicated. She is a Korean pretending to be Japanese but in love with a Korean man and she is Christian at a time where this is frowned upon by the Japanese authorities. It doesn't help that when she marries her husband's family is difficult as well.

As World War II rages, Miyoungknows that her only hope is to get back to Korea, but also that will be difficult to say the least. What will it cost her in terms of her family and her life? And who will be left in Korea to help support her re-establishing her life there?

It was interesting to read about the differences between these two cultures and how someone who is trying to navigate these different worlds. I enjoyed the food talk, and I really liked the relationship between Miyoung and her sister, Bohbeh, who faced her own challenges and yet supported Miyoung when she needed her the most.

One of the reasons I read historical fiction is that you can learn so much. I had no idea that Korea was occupied by Japan as far back as the 1910s. I did know that they invaded Manchuria in the years leading up to WWII but not Korea! While I was in Japan I learned some things about the post war years that really surprised me. For example, did you know that the US controlled the Japanese island of Okinawa and only gave it back to Japanese control in 1972? They still have a significant say in the decisions of the island because of the military bases on the island. 

This story is made all the more interesting in that it is based on the author's own family history. It seems that there are quite a few WWII stories now that are based on true stories like this. I am sure that there are a lot more interesting stories out there still!

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

Rating 4/5

Sunbirds by Mirandi Riwoe

 

I picked up this book from the library a few weeks ago on a whim, which was probably a bit silly given that I knew that I was going to struggle to read it before we went away on holidays. However, I started reading the prologue, which is about the bombing of seaplanes in Roebuck Bay near Broome during WWII, and was really moved by it. I even gave it to my husband and said read this. When I went to school I don't recall really being taught that places like Broome and Darwin were bombed during the war. I think most people would know about Darwin now, but I don't think the other bombings would be as well known. We visited Broome a couple of years ago so are familiar with the history and it is one that intrigues me. At low tide you can still walk out to the wrecks of the seaplanes, although they are disintegrating with time.

This was a fascinating story set against the backdrop of agitation for Indonesian independence from the Dutch, with a novelette woven through which is the story of a murdered girl, and all the while the Japanese get closer and closer and so the tension builds and builds. Of course, much like the British in Singapore and Hong Kong, they believe that there is no way that the Japanese will possibly take their country. Some of the Asian characters initially believed that the Japanese will assist with their desire for self rule, although looking back we know that this didn't really happen anywhere.

Our main character is Anna van Hoorn. She is the daughter of a Dutch plantation owner and a desperately unhappy Indo woman named Hermine. Anna's family is wealthy, and maintains many Dutch traditions but Anna is fascinated by many of the local customs. She  grew up with many of the villagers and often slips away to learn out to do the traditional dances and eat the traditional foods. In many ways she doesn't necessarily fit into either culture. She is respected in the Dutch community only because of her father's money and must always be seen to be morally upright, and yet she is not really accepted into the village because of her father's money.

One of her family's guests is Mattijs, a Dutch pilot who is hoping to make a new life in the Dutch East Indies. Anna's father believes that this will be a good match and so the machinations begin. But Anna is also fascinated with Sigit, brother of the van Hoorn's housekeeper Diah. Sigit is a separatist, agitating for self rule. Diah has dreams of her own. Her brother looks down on her because she works looking after the family, but she knows that in doing so she can work towards the future that she wants.

I always appreciate the opportunity to read a WWII story that is just that bit different. There are WWII books out there set in the Asian theatre of war but nowhere near as many as there are set in Europe. I can't think of many set in what is now Indonesia. This is, however, much more than just a WWII story. It is a story about identity and belonging, about the path to self rule and more. 

Riwoe also did a great job portraying the various different lives from food and languages to culture. You could feel the tropical heat rising off the page, smell the spices in the food and hear the birds. It's very evocative. I have only previously read her novella, The Fish Girl, which I reviewed here. I enjoyed this book immensely, so will definitely be tracking down her previous book and looking forward to whatever comes next.

I am sharing this review with Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host . 

Rating 4.5/5

Blog Tour: The Girl from Sicily by Siobhan Daiko

 

When Jess find out that she has received an inheritance from her grandmother, she is most surprised. She had never met or even spoken to her grandmother. There was a big rift between her mother and grandmother and it is something that was not ever spoken about, so Jess has no idea what caused the rift.

The inheritance is a baglio, a farmhouse on the island of Sicily. Jess does have the option to refuse the inheritance, but she does need to visit the small town before making that decision. There she meets some family who are pleasant enough, but it is clear that there is some kind of weird vibe. And then there are some threats. Jess has no idea what any of that is about. She also meets Piero, a local man with a couple of kids. Whilst there is an attraction between them Jess is not in any hurry to pursue a relationship for a number of reasons. She doesn't know if she is going to accept the inheritance, she has a career in the UK and he lives in Sicily, and she is still going through a painful divorce.

Alternating with Jess' story, we learn about her grandmother's story. Lucia was originally raised in America but her family returned to Sicily and now that is home. She is surprised when one of her childhood friends turns up. Gero is helping the US Army by building relationships with influential business leaders and families in the area. At first, Lucia resists Gero's charms, but soon she needs his assistance to avoid a nasty situation. In the meantime, Lucia's twin brother Dinu, has been trying to get an in with the local mafioso, leading him down a path that has long term consequences for his extended family including Lucia and even Jess.

I have read a few books by this author now, and I have liked them all. I think the strength of this one is in the choice of subject matter. It was really interesting to read the history of the Sicilian mafia, and especially how the Allies used them for assistance during WWII. A lot of the characters in the book are based on real life stories, even the one that seems the most fictional!

The author also did a really good job at bringing the town to life, along with the food and drink culture of the area. When we visited Italy a couple of years ago, we were originally planning to go to Sicily, but we couldn't make it work! Maybe next time!

This is the fourth book in what is being called the Girls of the Italian Resistance series. I have read the first and fourth books, but not the two in the middle. I wouldn't let the fact that this is the fourth book in the series put you off if you haven't read the previous ones. The only connection really is that the books are set in different parts of Italy and are set in WWII. As far as I can tell, there is no other connection between the books. I do have the two that I haven't read yet so I will try to read them at some point.

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge when I host here. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. 

Rating 4/5

About the Book

The Girl From Sicily

Lucia loved her brother Dinu to the depths of her soul, but she also worried about him. He was intelligent yet ambitious, resilient yet hot-headed, and there was a dark side to him that could lead him into terrible trouble one day.

Sicily, 1943: Lucia and her twin brother Dinu have always been inseparable, but their bond is threatened when Gero, the son of close family friends in America, arrives in their village. Although she finds herself developing feelings for him, Lucia worries about Gero’s dangerous connections and their influence on her brother.

As the chaos of World War II closes in, Lucia must navigate love and loyalty to make a difficult choice. Will she risk that the consequences of her decision could bring untold horrors and affect her family for decades to come?

2005: When Jess inherits a baglio, an ancient feudal farmhouse in Sicily, from the grandmother she never knew, she’s determined to uncover the truth about her family’s hidden past. Following the death of her parents and on the brink of divorce, Jess travels to the island alone. There, with the help of a charming Sicilian, she embarks on a quest to unearth a web of long-buried secrets.

But answers come at a price, and Jess must decide if she’s ready to confront a truth that could change everything…

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/GirlfromSicily

About the Author

Siobhan Daiko is a British historical fiction author. A lover of all things Italian, she lives in the Veneto region of northern Italy with her husband, a Havanese dog and a Siberian cat. Siobhan was born of English parents in Hong Kong, attended boarding school in Australia, and then moved to the UK — where she taught modern foreign languages in a Welsh high school. She now spends her time writing page-turners and living the dolce vita sweet life near Venice. Her novels are compelling, poignant, and deeply moving, with strong characters and evocative settings, but always with romance at their heart.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: @SiobhanDaiko

Twitter: @siobhandaiko

Instagram: @siobhandaiko_books

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Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/siobhan-daiko

Blog Tour: A Santorini Secret by Rose Alexander

 

Carrie's life is on a precipice. She is barely making ends meet as an author of children's books, her mortgage payments are about to sky rocket due to rising interest rates, and her teenage daughter Nell is going through a very difficult stage. Carrie was only able to buy her home thanks to a small inheritance from her Great Uncle Sol. Nell's father, Jack, is present for his daughter, but Carrie has not spoken to him since even before she knew she was pregnant after she caught him in a compromising position. Carrie needs to come up with an idea for a new book soon, in the hopes that she will be able to make some money.

One day, she receives a postcard from her friend Xanthe who now lives on the Greek island of Santorini. When she was a young woman, she had visited the island and had a brief holiday fling with a gorgeous young man named Krys. Now, Xanthe is inviting her back to the island.  Whilst Carrie would love to go, and to take Nell with her, she knows that she can't do that right now.

When visiting her parents, Carrie's mum suggests that she should go through some of Sol's possessions, Carrie finds an old sketchbook filled with pictures of soldiers, and also with a picture of a beautiful young woman and Carrie is intrigued. She also finds a ring, engraved in Greek. 

Sol never talked about his activities in WWII, and he certainly never explained why it was that he was never interested in marrying anyone after he came back to civilian life.  When Carrie gets some money from an unexpected source, she and Nell head to the island to try and find out more. There she learns about Vassia, the young woman in the picture.

In 1944 the island of Santorini was held by the German army. She is shocked when one day a man turns up at their house asking her father for assistance. He is a member of the Special Boat Service (SBS) who have secretly come to the island to perform a raid on the island. They were a group of soldiers who went from island to island in the Mediterranean performing lightning raids and then escaping to move onto the next target. The man needs help from the locals with food and water to guide them to the best places to attack the Germans. 

Whilst it isn't ideal, Vassia is drawn into this activity, and she does so knowing that there are risks involved, but she never expected the reprisals to be so brutal and swift after the attacks. She also does not expect to find that one of the group of men has been left behind - Sol. With her family devastated, she does what she can to help, ever conscious of the growing attraction she has to him. The race is on to get him safely off the island. And she would never have believed that any kind of betrayal would come from any of her friends or family.

As Carrie and an initially reluctant Nell uncover more, it is not only Sol's secrets which are revealed. Vassia's own story is filled with tragedy and betrayals that have continued to have impacts through the generations. 

I know that there has been some talk around about whether WWII (and dual timelines) are getting a bit tired as a subject for historical fiction, but the reality is that there does still seem to be a lot of stories that haven't been told before like the SBS in this book! The fact that this book was also set in Greece doesn't hurt. I have read several WWII books set in Greece before but they are not the normal setting!

Given the recent news about the earthquakes in Santorini, it was kind of poignant to be reading about this island at this point in time. The author did a great job of bringing the island to life. I also really appreciated that, whilst there were dramatic moments in the story, the author didn't necessarily wrap things up in the most obvious way. 

I hadn't read Rose Alexander before. I really, really enjoyed this story. I was totally engrossed in the book, and I am looking forward to reading more from her!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here.  Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy. 

Rating 4.5/5

About the Book 

Santorini, Greece, 1944. A village nestled in the mountains where children play together beneath the endless blue sky. A cottage once full of the laughter of family and the joy of a new baby. But when the Nazis arrive on the island, a devastating tragedy and an impossible choice will break this family apart…

Present day. Single mother Carrie arrives on the sun-drenched island of Santorini, her adored uncle Sol’s tattered sketchbook clutched to her chest. Heartbroken at his death, Carrie is certain Sol – who refused to speak about how he spent the war in occupied Greece – was hiding secrets all his life: and that the drawings he made of a striking young woman with wavy hair will hold the answers. Tucked away with the sketchbook was a beautiful diamond ring engraved in Greek, and Carrie cannot bear the thought that her uncle never had the chance to give it to his love.

Even as she explores the winding cobbled alleys Sol drew in his book, Carrie is filled with childhood memories. And asking around the close-knit locals, the elderly women Carrie meets speak of a brave young woman named Vassia, and a secret allied mission to rid their beautiful island of German troops. But when pressed, they refuse to say more…

Then she finds a letter written by Vassia herself. She’s shocked to read how Sol was left stranded, fighting for his life, and how Vassia risked everything to save him before a terrible betrayal tore them apart. When Carrie finally unravels the truth, the secrets will shatter the small community, and change the course of her life forever…

A Santorini Secret is an epic tale of love, loss and secrets in World War Two that will sweep you away to the hidden coves and sun-kissed beaches of Santorini. Fans of Victoria Hislop, Fiona Valpy and The Letter won’t be able to put this beautiful book down.

 

About the Author


Rose Alexander has had more careers than she cares to mention and is currently a secondary school English teacher. She writes in the holidays, weekends and evenings, whenever she has a chance, although with three children, a husband, a lodger and a cat, this isn't always as often as she'd like. She's a keen sewist and is on a mission to make all her own clothes.


https://www.rosealexander.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/rosealexanderauthor/
https://twitter.com/RoseA_writer


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Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0DQVJSKHXsocial


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Blog Tour: The Paris Dancer by Nicola Rayner

 

Confession time - it had been two weeks since I last read a book set in Paris! Thank goodness that I had this one lined up to read for a blog tour, otherwise I might have needed an intervention!

When Miriam's great-aunt Esther passed away in New York, it is her task to go and sort everything out. Her grandmother and her great-aunt had not been close, but as she begins her task of cleaning up, Mim finds some notebooks which seem to be telling a different one to the story she has always been told. She has always believes that her grandmother had moved to England before the outbreak of WWII, and never wanted to go back to Paris. Why would the stories be so inconsistent? Why did her grandmother and her sister not get along? And who is Lili?

Esther and her family are a Jewish family who work in the music halls of Paris, most specifically the fabulous Bal Tabarin music hall. There she meets Annie, a Canadian woman who has come to Paris to follow her dreams of becoming a ballroom dancer, and ends up at Bal Tabarin. Whilst Esther's sister has already found her place in the theatre as a seamstress, Esther hasn't quite found what her role in the theatre or even in life is. 

As war erupts, the family and Annie, who is also Jewish, take a huge chance and go into hiding in plain sight but there is always the chance that someone might inform the authorities. Whilst they all work in the resistance, that is not as much of a focus as you might find in other WWII books, rather it is the individual stories of Esther, Annie and the other dancers which are the focus. 

As Mim reads through Esther's notebooks, she has so many questions. In the end, she is helped to understand her aunt's life by the downstairs neighbour, Bibi. And the message of how her aunt lived her life could well help Mim turn her own life around, and might even help repair her relationship with her own sister.

Mim has been in a downward spiral since being involved in an inappropriate relationship which lead to a terrible tragedy about which she feels very guilty. When she is on the plane to New York she meets a man named Lucky and they hit it off, but she can't get over her trust issues so she might end up sabotaging the budding romance before it even gets off the ground.

The author has a passion for dance and it shows in both storylines. My favourite dance aspect was in the modern story as Mim and Lucky try out several different dance styles looking for the one that speaks most clearly to Mim.

As with all dual timelines, there is usually one story that I resonate with more than the other and usually it is the one in the past, and this book is no different. I definitely choked up as we got to the end of the historical story and so many of the questions were answered.

It looks like this is Nicola Rayner's first foray into historical fiction. I hope to read more from her in the future!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. 

Rating 4/5

About the book

The Paris Dancer

A heart-wrenching and unforgettable story of courage, friendship and resistance, inspired by the incredible true story of a Jewish ballroom dancer in Paris during WWII, perfect for fans of The Paris Library.

Paris, 1938. Annie Mayer arrives in France with dreams of becoming a ballerina. But when the war reaches Paris, she's forced to keep her Jewish heritage a secret. Then a fellow dancer offers her a lifeline: a ballroom partnership that gives her a new identity. Together, Annie and her partner captivate audiences across occupied Europe, using her newfound fame and alias to aid the Resistance.

New York, 2012. Miriam, haunted by her past, travels from London to New York to settle her great-aunt Esther’s estate. Among Esther’s belongings, she discovers notebooks detailing a secret family history and the story of a brave dancer who risked everything to help Jewish families during the war.

As Miriam uncovers Esther’s life in Europe, she realises the story has been left for her to finish. Grappling with loss and the possibility of new love, Miriam must find the strength to reconcile her past and embrace her future.

Purchase Link - https://amzn.eu/d/3MAASpc

About the author

Born in South Wales, Nicola Rayner is a novelist and dance writer based in London. She is the author of The Girl Before You, which was picked by the Observer as a debut to look out for in 2019, optioned for television and translated into multiple languages. Her second novel, You and Me, was published by Avon, HarperCollins, in 2020. In her day job as a journalist, Nicola has written about dance for almost two decades, cutting her teeth on the tango section of Time Out Buenos Aires. She edited the magazine Dance Today from 2010 to 2015 and worked as assistant editor of Dancing Times, the UK’s leading dance publication, from 2019 until 2022. She continues to dance everything from ballroom to breakdance, with varying degrees of finesse.



Social Media Links –

https://twitter.com/AriaFiction
https://x.com/nico1arayner
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https://www.facebook.com/NicolaRaynerAuthor