Review Reprise - - The Garden of Lost Secrets

The Garden of Lost Secrets

by Kelly Bowen

Publisher: Forever

Original Release Date: May 16, 2023

Mass Market Paperback: April 15, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

1940 - Stasia always found comfort in the idyllic French countryside where she spent her childhood summers, roaming the gardens of an old chateau and finding inspiration for fairy tales full of bravery and adventure. But these days are much darker, and with Nazis storming across Europe, she soon finds herself one of the most hunted agents of the Resistance. The only safe haven she can think of is Chateau de Montissaire. But she’s about to discover that it just may be the center of her biggest mission yet.
 
Present day - When Isabelle purchases a crumbling chateau in Rouen, it’s not just a renovation project—it’s a chance to reconnect with her sister, Emilie, the only family she has left. What she uncovers instead is an intriguing mystery… As the siblings piece together the incredible truth behind the books written by their great-grandmother Stasia, they discover an exciting story of courage in the face of treachery and an explosive secret that will change everything they believed about their family.

PJ's Thoughts:

Kelly Bowen has written another compelling, dual-timeline, WWII/Present Day novel that sucked me in and refused to let go. In the present day, we get dreams realized, complicated family dynamics, a possible romantic connection, and an unexpected - no, shocking - revelation about a beloved great-grandmother. I enjoyed Isabelle's journey but the heart of this book takes place some eighty years earlier, in the days leading up to WWII and those that followed during and after the Nazi invasions across Europe. 

Nobody lives through a war and emerges unscathed. Childhood friends, and later sweethearts, Stasia and Nicholas certainly don't. What befalls them over the course of four years, both individually and as a couple, is immense. It can't help but change them, sending each on different paths of growth and evolution. Bowen conveys these changes in organic, breath-stealing, deeply emotional ways as the world they've known implodes around them. The changes are particularly immense within Stasia as the scenes in the Netherlands show in gut-wrenching ways. 

Friendship - and it's impact on each of these characters - is a key facet of this book. The bonds between Stasia and Nicholas, Stasia and her school friend Margot, and Nicholas and fellow seaman Oscar are strong and enduring whether they are together or not. Their trust, admiration, respect, and affection, forged in the fires of combat, and in the perilous streets of Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, have an incalculable impact upon the lives - and actions - of each of them. I was with them every step of their journeys, feeling their fear, devastation, anger, and determination. These characters were developed to the point where I was almost certain that if I had researched their names in historical documents I would have found evidence of their daring, patriotic exploits...and of their enduring love.

Bowen's books are well researched and authentic to time and place. Reading this novel was like watching the triumphs - and horrors - of WWII come to life across my mind. There are scenes that broke my heart and left me sobbing. Others that still haunted me weeks after reading them. Ultimately, I was left with admiration and respect for those ordinary (but in reality, extraordinary) citizens who, without being asked, put their lives on the line daily while helping to save the world from the evil of the Nazi empire, expecting nothing in return. Those like Stasia who, after the war, built new lives, not forgetting, but never divulging, their roles in winning the war for freedom.  

I highly recommend The Garden of Lost Secrets. 

 

Review & Giveaway - - The Unexpected Diva

The Unexpected Diva

by Tiffany L. Warren

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Release Date: January 7, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

 

Born into slavery on a Mississippi plantation, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield has been raised in the safety of Philadelphia’s Quaker community by a wealthy adoptive mother. Sheltered and educated, Eliza’s happy childhood always included music lessons to nurture her unique gift: a glorious three octave singing voice that leaves listeners in awe. But on the eve of her twenty-fourth birthday, young Eliza’s world is thrown into a tailspin when her mother dies.

Eliza’s inheritance is contested by her mother’s white cousins, leaving her few options. She can marry her longtime beau, Lucien, though she has no desire to be a wife and mother. Or she can work as a tutor for rich families. Her mother’s dying wish was for Eliza to pursue her talent and become a professional singer, but that grand vision now seems out of reach.

When a chance performance on a steamboat to Buffalo, New York, leads to a surprising opportunity, fearless Eliza seizes her moment. Within a year she is touring America, singing to packed houses, and igniting controversy wherever she goes. In a country captivated by “the Swedish Nightingale” Jenny Lind, Eliza is billed by tour promoters as “the Black Swan.” An unlikely diva, Eliza is tall, dark-skinned, and robust of figure compared to the petite European prima donna, but even the harshest critics can’t deny Eliza’s extraordinary gift. Menaced by racist crowds, threatened by slave-catchers who kidnap free Black people, Eliza lives a public life full of risk, but one which also holds the promise of great riches, and the freedoms those buy.

From the churches of Philadelphia to Queen Victoria’s salon in Buckingham Palace, Eliza Greenfield will blaze her own path—with a voice that no listener will ever forget.

PJ's Thoughts:

I had never heard of Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield prior to reading this book. The author shares in her notes that she hadn't known of her either until stumbling upon her name while doing research for a different project. Like me, while reading The Unexpected Diva, Warren was fascinated by this extraordinarily talented Black woman in pre-Civil War America. I am grateful she chose Eliza as the focus of her first historical fiction novel.

Warren took the actual facts known about Eliza's life and filled in the spaces to immerse readers into 1850's America and what the life of a Black woman such as Eliza might have been. It would have taken incredible determination to achieve what she did. Warren breathed life into both real people and fictional characters to weave a compelling story I found hard to put down. In fact, her characters were all so vividly portrayed and seamlessly intertwined that I had to read the author's notes at the end of the book to determine who was actually real and who was fictional. Well, except for Harriet Beecher Stowe and Queen Victoria. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Unexpected Diva and learning about Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield. I have an immense amount of respect and admiration for her and her accomplishments. They deserve to be known and celebrated. 

I'm eager to discover what Warren has planned next. I hope it's another historical fiction novel. I love being educated while also being entertained. Warren clearly has the knack for it. 

Do you enjoy reading historical fiction?

Had you ever heard of Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield a/k/a The Black Swan?

One randomly chosen person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, January 29 will receive a print copy of The Unexpected Diva.

*U.S. only

*Must be 18

Review - - The Last Twelve Miles

The Last Twelve Miles

by Erika Robuck

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Release Date: June 4, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

 

Two real, brilliant women on opposite sides of the law, in a deadly game of cat and mouse…

1926. Washington, D.C.

The Coast Guard is losing the Prohibition Rum War, but they have a new, secret weapon to crack smuggler codes, intercept traffic, and destroy the rum trade one skiff at a time. That secret weapon is a 5'2" mastermind in heels, who also happens to be a wife and mother: Mrs. Elizebeth Smith Friedman, one half of the husband-and-wife pair who invented cryptanalysis. 

Bahamas

Cleo Lythogoe, The Bahama Queen, announces her retirement while regaling the thugs at the bar with tales of murder and mayhem on the high seas. Marie Waite, listening in, knows an opportunity when she hears it, and she wants the crown for herself so badly she can taste it. So begins Marie's plan to rise as rumrunner royalty long enough to get her family in the black. But the more sophisticated her operation grows, the more she appears on the radar of the feds.

Meanwhile, Elizebeth is the only codebreaker battling scores of smugglers. Despite the strain of solving thousands of intercepted messages, traveling the country, and testifying in court, Elizabeth's work becomes personal—especially when she discovers the identity of her premier adversary is the notorious Marie Waite. 

From the glamorous world of D.C. Intelligence to the sultry shores of the Straits of Florida, The Last Twelve Miles is based on the true story of two women masterminds trying to outwit each other in a dangerous and fascinating high stakes game.

PJ's Thoughts:

Two women. Two sides of the law. Which one will win? Or, will either?

Erika Robuck brings readers a work of fiction inspired by real women and real events during a tumultuous and fascinating time in U.S. history. I recently learned about Elizebeth Smith Friedman while reading a historical fiction novel written by another author (click to read my review). When I heard about Robuck's book, which focuses on Friedman's work during Prohibition with the Coast Guard in Florida's coastal waters and the Caribbean, specifically matching wits with the notorious smuggler, Spanish Marie, I was all in. 

There's plenty of high seas action and suspense in this novel but I love the amount of time Robuck also spends developing the characters, especially codebreaker Elizebeth and rumrunner Marie. The story is told from each of their perspectives which gives us unfettered insight into their thoughts, fears, and motivations, enabling the reader to really get to know each of them. There are so many layers to these strong, determined women, each a mother, wife, and brilliant strategist making a name for herself in a man's world, albeit in very different ways, while also trying to balance that with being a good mother and supportive partner. 

You would think it would be clear who is in the right and who is in the wrong, and in some cases it is, but all is not black and white. I had no trouble being invested in Elizebeth's character as well as those who worked with her in their battle against the rumrunners. But there are also characters with shades of gray within both the Coast Guard and the smuggling community. Marie, in particular, is someone who is difficult to put in one box. There are many layers to this woman that may have readers on the fence about what they want to happen to her. Kudos to an author who can fashion such a complex character who even though she does bad things is still able to garner sympathy and support. I was on pins and needles to the very end, waiting to discover how things would play out with Elizebeth and Marie while still not sure how I wanted them to play out (Be sure to read the author's notes at the end of the book to discover what happened to the real Marie).

Sense of time and place is also an important facet of this book and something Robuck does very well. She nails the descriptions of Miami, the Keys, and Cuba, drawing readers into a lush, tropical paradise, sultry and beautiful on the surface while only slightly hiding its corrupt underbelly. Prohibition was a unique time in the country's history and its many layers are captured well in this story.

Review & Giveaway - - Tomorrow is for the Brave

Tomorrow is for the Brave

by Kelly Bowen

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: May 14, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

1939, France: Lavish parties, fast cars, and a closet full of the latest fashion—to the average eye, socialite Violet St. Croix seemingly has it all. But what she truly wants is a life full of meaning and purpose. So when France falls to Germany, Violet defies her parents’ wishes and joins the war effort.  With her impeccable skill for driving under pressure, she is soon sent to North Africa to shepherd French Foreign Legion officers carrying valuable intelligence through dangerous territory.

But as the Allies encounter one mishap after another, Violet becomes convinced there is a spy in their ranks. And when her commanding officer is murdered, Violet realizes she might be the only one who can uncover the traitor and save the lives of countless soldiers on the front lines. Convincing others to believe her is difficult enough. Finding someone she can trust just might be impossible.

PJ's Thoughts:

I have a book hangover. I started reading Tomorrow is for the Brave yesterday. It didn't take long before I realized that I may as well toss my to-do list to the side. Clearly, nothing was going to be accomplished until I had read the entire book and I didn't care. I was that deeply immersed into the life of Violet St. Croix. With each chapter read, I was that much more invested in her, a woman who defied her family - and fiancé - to do what was right for her country, a woman who risked her life on the front lines of the WWII North Africa campaign, a woman who became a symbol of hope against the murderous Nazi regime, a woman who seemed to be the only person willing to entertain the idea that there might be a deadly spy among them. I simply had to know what happened next!

Kelly Bowen, a historical romance auto-buy author for years, has now become one of my go-to authors for WWII historical fiction. Her research is impeccable with fictional and actual events - and people - woven together into compelling stories that are darn near impossible to put down and a sense of place that puts the reader in the middle of whatever is occurring. Each time I looked up from the pages of this story, it took me a minute to realize that I was reading a book in the comfort of my home in 2024 and not on a twisty coastal road in southern France in 1939 or a dug-out desert bunker in North Africa in 1941. It's that immersive and realistic.

Bowen's character development is so complete that it's difficult to not think that these were actual people who lived. Violet, George, and Henri, in particular, are characters who engaged my interest - and affections - completely. I was right there with them through all of the peaks and valleys of their intertwined journeys and fully invested in what happened to them. (While all three of these characters are fictional, Violet was inspired by a real woman, Susan Travers, the only woman to ever serve in the French Foreign Legion. Be sure to read the Historical Note at the back of the book for more information about Travers as well as events depicted in the book.)

As if the trials of war weren't enough, Bowen has also woven a deadly mystery through this book with plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing as to the actual identity of the "spy among us." Just when I decided I had figured out the spy's identity, she would throw another twist into the mix that had me second guessing. I love when authors stump me like that. I did finally figure it out but even then, it in no way took anything away from the suspense and danger as events played out.  

If you're in the mood for a compelling, immersive, coming-of-age story featuring a young woman raised in the lap of luxury who leaves it all behind for a greater purpose amidst the turmoil and danger of WWII, finding courage, love, and a sense of self in the process, look no further than Tomorrow is for the Brave by Kelly Bowen. It has my highest recommendation. 

~~~~~~~~

Have you read any of Kelly Bowen's books?

In Tomorrow is for the Brave, Violet is both an accomplished driver as well as mechanic, very unusual for a woman of her time. How are your driving/mechanic skills? Any wanna-be car racers among us?

I love historical fiction, especially those set in the WWII era. Have you read any WWII books lately that you would recommend?

One randomly chosen person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, May 18 will receive a print copy of Tomorrow is for the Brave. 

*U.S. / Canada only

*Must be 18

 

Review - - Lady Codebreaker

Lady Codebreaker

by K.D. Alden

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: March 12, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

Grace Smith has never been one to conform to society’s expectations. She flees small-town Indiana to seek adventure—and finds more than she bargained for when she’s hired by an eccentric millionaire to learn codebreaking. Soon she’s using those skills to help head the government’s fledgling cryptanalysis unit.

During Prohibition, Grace takes up the fight against rumrunners—not to mention Al Capone himself. And as the country careens from one Great War to another, it’s Grace who must crack the secrets of foreign governments, catch spies, and derail saboteurs . . . before it’s too late.

With wry wit and sheer grit, she forges her own path as a codebreaker, wife, mother. She’s spent a lifetime going up against powerful men and winning. But as war rages and the stakes grow impossibly high, Grace faces a truly impossible choice: her family or her country?

PJ's Thoughts:

When a book keeps me eagerly flipping pages until the wee hours of the night then sends me scurrying down internet rabbit holes to uncover all the information I can find about the real woman upon whom it's based, that's a book I'll be encouraging all my friends to read. 

Spanning four decades (1917 - 1958), Lady Codebreaker is a seamless blend of fact and fiction based upon the life of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, widely recognized as America's first female cryptanalyst and instrumental in key events within 20th century American history. Opening the book in 1958 with a startling scene that hooked me immediately, the book then goes back to 1917 where it all began for main character Grace (and real life Elizebeth) and takes readers on a fascinating, sometimes dangerous, frequently suspenseful, ride through two world wars, Prohibition, inter-agency intrigue, and the evolution of a unique marriage (for the era) as well as an extraordinary career. One of my favorite parts of the book was watching how Grace and Robert evolved over the course of four decades, both in their personal relationship as well as their individual careers. This is not only a story of intrigue and suspense. It is also a complex, deeply emotional love story told in such a way that I felt as if I was right there with them through every peak and valley, wholly invested in their love, their health, their happiness, and their success. 

Alden brought both the characters and settings to life on the pages of this book, immersing me into the smoke-filled decoding rooms, tense family altercations, sparkling dinner parties, danger-filled Coast Guard raids, hospital psychiatric wards, and much more while shining her spotlight on a variety of topics including mental illness, inter-faith marriage, power hunger, and the inequality between women and men of the time. Key among those topics is the hurdles Grace, and other women in her field, were constantly forced to overcome simply because they were women; how they were patronized, dismissed, yet continued to give their all in support of their country when they knew they would not be the ones credited for their work. Alden took her time with each of them, giving the women - and some men also - distinct personalities, layers, and texture, making me care about them. The villains (both fictional and real) are also vividly portrayed, eliciting emotions in Grace (and me) that ranged from distaste to fear to outright revulsion. There may also have been cheering when justice prevailed, especially when due to Grace's efforts. 

If you enjoy compelling historical fiction that incorporates a fascinating blend of actual events and people with those of the author's imagination, that immerses you in our nation's history, and puts a human face on events you may have learned in class as well as those you discover in this book, give Lady Codebreaker a try. I couldn't put it down. 

Note: Once you finish reading the book, do look up the real Elizebeth Smith Friedman and William F. Friedman upon whom Grace and Robert are based. What they accomplished in support and defense of the citizens of the United States was amazing. 

Wikipedia: Elizebeth Smith Friedman 

Wikipedia: William F. Friedman 

Tour Review - - The Keeper of Hidden Books

The Keeper of Hidden Books

by Madeline Martin

Publisher: Hanover Square Press

Release Date: August 1, 2023

Reviewed by PJ

All her life, Zofia has found comfort in two things during times of hardship: books and her best friend, Janina. But no one could have imagined the horrors of the Nazi occupation in Warsaw. As the bombs rain down and Hitler’s forces loot and destroy the city, Zofia finds that now books are also in need of saving.

With the death count rising and persecution intensifying, Zofia jumps to action to save her friend and salvage whatever books she can from the wreckage, hiding them away, and even starting a clandestine book club. She and her dearest friend never surrender their love of reading, even when Janina is forced into the newly formed ghetto.

But the closer Warsaw creeps toward liberation, the more dangerous life becomes for the women and their families – and escape may not be possible for everyone. As the destruction rages around them, Zofia must fight to save her friend and preserve her culture and community using the only weapon they have left - literature.

PJ's Thoughts:

I've read a fair amount about the effects of WWII on the populace of France, Italy, England, etc. What I don't know as much about is what happened during this time in Poland. Or, I didn't, until reading Madeline Martin's The Keeper of Hidden Books. What an intense, inspiring, heartbreaking, hopeful, poignant story, authentic story about a group of Poles (both Christian and Jew) working together to fight their Nazi occupiers in a courageous effort to protect the treasures of Poland: her citizens, her history, her cultural heritage, the knowledge of her leaders (doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc.), and perhaps most important of all, her humanity.

This book was almost impossible to put down. The characters are so incredibly well developed and complex. They put a human face on a devastatingly difficult time in our world's history, immersing me in their lives in a realistic and relatable way that left me in tears more than once. Martin doesn't shy away from the heart-wrenching realities of the Nazi regime. That, and her impeccable research, bring an authenticity to the events in the book that affords intimate insight into Zofia, Janina, their family, and friends. It's that intimacy that brings these characters to life as they risk everything to protect all they hold dear, including one another.

As a lover of books and a staunch believer that all books should be available to all people, I was especially impressed to learn that this book is based on actual people who risked everything during WWII to preserve and protect the libraries of Warsaw and the books housed within. It speaks to the knowledge to be found in books, to the free thought, ideals, patriotism, and resistance within. To the empathy that occurs from learning about and understanding other people, religions, and cultures rather than attempting to homogenize a populace by denying access to any book that goes against the government's chosen ideals. It's no wonder the Nazis were determined to ban and then destroy the literature of Poland. There's a lesson there that all generations should take to heart.  

The Keeper of Hidden Books is a powerful, thought-provoking, beautifully-written story. I highly recommend it. 

  

Review & Giveaway - - The Garden of Lost Secrets

The Garden of Lost Secrets

by Kelly Bowen

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: May 16, 2023

Reviewed by PJ

1940 - Stasia always found comfort in the idyllic French countryside where she spent her childhood summers, roaming the gardens of an old chateau and finding inspiration for fairy tales full of bravery and adventure. But these days are much darker, and with Nazis storming across Europe, she soon finds herself one of the most hunted agents of the Resistance. The only safe haven she can think of is Chateau de Montissaire. But she’s about to discover that it just may be the center of her biggest mission yet.
 
Present day - When Isabelle purchases a crumbling chateau in Rouen, it’s not just a renovation project—it’s a chance to reconnect with her sister, Emilie, the only family she has left. What she uncovers instead is an intriguing mystery… As the siblings piece together the incredible truth behind the books written by their great-grandmother Stasia, they discover an exciting story of courage in the face of treachery and an explosive secret that will change everything they believed about their family.

PJ's Thoughts:

Kelly Bowen has written another compelling, dual-timeline, WWII/Present Day novel that sucked me in and refused to let go. In the present day, we get dreams realized, complicated family dynamics, a possible romantic connection, and an unexpected - no, shocking - revelation about a beloved great-grandmother. I enjoyed Isabelle's journey but the heart of this book takes place some eighty years earlier, in the days leading up to WWII and those that followed during and after the Nazi invasions across Europe. 

Nobody lives through a war and emerges unscathed. Childhood friends, and later sweethearts, Stasia and Nicholas certainly don't. What befalls them over the course of four years, both individually and as a couple, is immense. It can't help but change them, sending each on different paths of growth and evolution. Bowen conveys these changes in organic, breath-stealing, deeply emotional ways as the world they've known implodes around them. The changes are particularly immense within Stasia as the scenes in the Netherlands show in gut-wrenching ways. 

Friendship - and it's impact on each of these characters - is a key facet of this book. The bonds between Stasia and Nicholas, Stasia and her school friend Margot, and Nicholas and fellow seaman Oscar are strong and enduring whether they are together or not. Their trust, admiration, respect, and affection, forged in the fires of combat, and in the perilous streets of Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, have an incalculable impact upon the lives - and actions - of each of them. I was with them every step of their journeys, feeling their fear, devastation, anger, and determination. These characters were developed to the point where I was almost certain that if I had researched their names in historical documents I would have found evidence of their daring, patriotic exploits...and of their enduring love.

Bowen's books are well researched and authentic to time and place. Reading this novel was like watching the triumphs - and horrors - of WWII come to life across my mind. There are scenes that broke my heart and left me sobbing. Others that still haunted me weeks after reading them. Ultimately, I was left with admiration and respect for those ordinary (but in reality, extraordinary) citizens who, without being asked, put their lives on the line daily while helping to save the world from the evil of the Nazi empire, expecting nothing in return. Those like Stasia who, after the war, built new lives, not forgetting, but never divulging, their roles in winning the war for freedom.  

I highly recommend The Garden of Lost Secrets. 

Do you enjoy WWII novels or movies?

Are there any authors writing in this era that you would recommend?

Have you read Kelly Bowen yet? Either her WWII novels or her historical romances?

One person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, May 17 will receive a print copy of The Garden of Lost Secrets. 

*U.S. only

*Must be 18

Thank you to Forever for the generous donation of today's giveaway.

 

Review & Giveaway - - Coronation Year

Coronation Year: A Novel

by Jennifer Robson

Publisher: William Morrow

Release Date: April 4, 2023

Reviewed by Hellie

It is Coronation Year, 1953, and a new queen is about to be crowned. The people of London are in a mood to celebrate, none more so than the residents of the Blue Lion hotel.

Edie Howard, owner and operator of the floundering Blue Lion, has found the miracle she needs: on Coronation Day, Queen Elizabeth in her gold coach will pass by the hotel’s front door, allowing Edie to charge a fortune for rooms and, barring disaster, save her beloved home from financial ruin. Edie’s luck might just be turning, all thanks to a young queen about her own age. 

Stella Donati, a young Italian photographer and Holocaust survivor, has come to live at the Blue Lion while she takes up a coveted position at Picture Weekly magazine. London in celebration mode feels like a different world to her. As she learns the ins and outs of her new profession, Stella discovers a purpose and direction that honor her past and bring hope for her future.

James Geddes, a war hero and gifted artist, has struggled to make his mark in a world that disdains his Indian ancestry. At the Blue Lion, though, he is made to feel welcome and worthy. Yet even as his friendship with Edie deepens, he begins to suspect that something is badly amiss at his new home.

When anonymous threats focused on Coronation Day, the Blue Lion, and even the queen herself disrupt their mood of happy optimism, Edie and her friends must race to uncover the truth, save their home, and expose those who seek to erase the joy and promise of Coronation Year.

Hellie’s Heeds

I am an unapologetic Anglophile who reads historical novels like a child eats bon-bons. I’m sure it’s no surprise to those who know this about me that I feel this book was a 5 star-Top Dish because a lot of things would have had to happen for the book to get lesser marks. However, I have read other books by Jennifer Robson (The Gown, Goodnight from London, After the War is Over) and the writing style and historical detail, as it has been all the times before, is just lovely. 

What makes this story particularly delectable for me is the setting: post-war London (WWII specifically) and I was fascinated by the level of detail regarding rations, post-war “scrimping by” anecdotes, and allusions to Queen Elizabeth (yes, yes, I do love The Crown). I also delighted in encountering characters I had discovered before–Miriam from The Gown, Kaz and Ruby from Goodnight from London. I realized I had missed reading one of Jennifer’s books that took place in Italy (as I said, Anglophile) and undoubtedly tied to one of the other characters in this book. So yes, while I do have my particular setting preferences and historical favorites, Jennifer Robson gives such careful attention no matter when she places her story, creating authentic detail, believable characters, and such high stakes that the reader can’t help but care for the outcome of these people. (And they do feel like people–people your grandparents would introduce you to.) 

Jamie Geddes–the in-resident artist who is staying at the hotel in order to paint Coronation Day for a client–is so swoonworthy. Edie, the hotel-owner who fears (just a little) life is passing her by, is so relatable and perfect for Jamie. Just a picture perfect romance. You ever read a book and you can see it on the screen? This is one of those stories. In fact, I’d like to know when Masterpiece Theatre is going to take these related books and create a television series based off them? Something is going to have to replace Call the Midwife eventually–and I think these books would be perfect. 

If you’ve already binged The Crown and still want more–or want more of the young Queen–go find this. She may be a small part of the book, but she’s still memorable. Long live, Jennifer Robson.

~~~~~~~

Thanks for that wonderful review, Hellie. You make me want to one-click Coronation Year immediately and move everything on my reading list behind it.

Readers, have you read any books by Jennifer Robson?

Are you as fascinated with British history as Hellie?

What book(s) would you like to see made into a movie/television series?

One randomly chosen person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, April 6 will receive a print copy of Coronation Year.

*U.S. only

*Must be 18