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 - - 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 & 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 - - The Paris Apartment

The Paris Apartment

by Kelly Bowen

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: April 20, 2021

Reviewed by PJ

2017, London: When Aurelia Leclaire inherits an opulent Paris apartment, she is shocked to discover her grandmother’s hidden secrets—including a treasure trove of famous art and couture gowns. One obscure painting leads her to Gabriel Seymour, a highly respected art restorer with his own mysterious past. Together they attempt to uncover the truths concealed within the apartment’s walls.
 
Paris, 1942: The Germans may occupy the City of Lights, but glamorous Estelle Allard flourishes in a world separate from the hardships of war. Yet when the Nazis come for her friends, Estelle doesn’t hesitate to help those she holds dear, no matter the cost. As she works against the forces intent on destroying her loved ones, she can’t know that her actions will have ramifications for generations to come.

Set seventy-five years apart, against a perilous and a prosperous Paris, both Estelle and Lia must unearth hidden courage as they navigate the dangers of a changing world, altering history—and their family’s futures—forever.

PJ's Thoughts:

My advice to readers: If you begin Kelly Bowen's The Paris Apartment early in the day, be prepared to toss your to-do list out the window. Start it in the evening? You'll be up all night. And when I say all night, I mean all night. I tried putting this book down at midnight, at 1:00 AM, and again at 2:AM. These compelling characters absolutely refused to allow me to stop reading until they had shared their entire perilous journey. I turned the final page at 4:00 AM, in awe of the courage of these brave souls who placed their lives on the line day after day to gather information, protect the wounded, hide the persecuted, and aid the Allies in the fight against the Nazi regime. 

Dual timelines don't always work for me but Bowen's transition from present to past and back to present is seamless, enhancing the overall story. Both timelines are anchored by strong, compelling, and intriguing women. I was emotionally invested in all three of them: Estelle and Sophie in the past and Lia in the present. I loved how Bowen weaved their stories together while also giving each a complete story arc of her own. By the end of the book, I felt as if I knew each of them intimately, as if they were my friends. I had shared heartbreak, fear, rage, hope, despair, love, and joy with all of them, especially Estelle and Sophie. I knew I would not soon forget them.

Bowen also brings the city of Paris to life in this book, especially the Paris that was occupied by the Nazis. She creates an immersive experience that places the reader in the setting, allowing all the emotions of that dangerous time to flow through me as though I was walking those streets alongside her characters. There are so many small, but important, details that expand the reading experience. I loved all the information about art, couture fashion, architecture, and history. It's clear this book was impeccably and thoroughly researched. 

And then there are the secondary characters, some with minor roles, others with substantial impact, like Gabriel. I really enjoyed his storyline with Lia, how they both connected to the events - and characters - of the past and to one another, the impact those past events had on their lives today, and their potential for a shared future. The entire group of secondary characters contribute to the overall impact of this story. Even those with only a paragraph or two have significance, a purpose. Some of those characters are heartbreaking, some offer lightness and humor, some are chilling in their evil supremacy and careless disregard for human life, while others remind us not to give up hope, to keep fighting for what is right and just. Bowen's ability to create well-developed, realistic characters who elicit a vast range of emotions in readers is one of her best skills and a key facet of this novel. It isn't only the main characters that I will have a hard time forgetting. 

The Paris Apartment is one of the most compelling and unforgettable WWII historical fiction novels I've read. I highly recommend it. 

 

Today's Special - - Kelly Bowen Release Day Blitz

Between the Devil and the Duke
By Kelly Bowen
A Season for Scandal - Book 3
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: January 31, 2017

Their love was always in the cards.

He should have thrown her out. But when club owner Alexander Lavoie catches a mysterious blonde counting cards at his vingt-et-un table, he's more intrigued than angry. He has to see more of this beauty-in his club, in his office, in his bed. But first he'll have to devise a proposition she can't turn down.

Gossip said he was an assassin. Common sense told her to stay away. But Angelique Archer was desperate, and Lavoie's club offered a surefire way to make quick money-until she got caught. Instead of throwing her out though, the devil offers her a deal: come work for him. Refusing him means facing starvation, but with a man so sinfully handsome and fiercely protective, keeping things professional might prove impossible . . .

My thoughts:

I discovered Kelly Bowen's books last year and she has quickly become one of my go-to historical romance authors with Between the Devil and the Duke joining the first two books in her A Season for Scandal series as keepers I'll be revisiting again. 

One of the things I most enjoy about Bowen's books is her skill in creating complex, intelligent, fascinating characters who are outside the norm. Alex and Angelique are perfect examples of that skill. Gifting them with sparkling dialogue, sizzling passion, family secrets, heartwarming emotion, and a mystery with twists and turns aplenty showcases this brilliant match, landing Alex and Angelique on my list of all-time favorite couples and their book on my Best of 2017 watch list. 

The secondary characters, both good and bad, shine vibrantly in their respective roles, moving the story along without taking the focus off the hero and heroine. Readers of the series will delight in catching up with characters from the first two books while those new to the series will have no difficulty reading Between the Devil and the Duke as a standalone.  

If you haven't read Bowen's books yet, I enthusiastically recommend all three books in her A Season for Scandal series: Duke of My Heart, A Duke to Remember, and Between the Devil and the Duke. 

~PJ      

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Have you read Kelly Bowen's books?

Have you added any books to your Best of 2017 list yet?

Do you enjoy historical characters who are outside the norm?

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Kelly Bowen grew up in Manitoba, Canada. She attended the University of Manitoba and earned a Master of Science degree in veterinary physiology and endocrinology. But it was Kelly's infatuation with history and a weakness for a good love story that led her down the path of historical romance.  When she is not writing, she seizes every opportunity to explore ruins and battlefields.

Currently, Kelly lives in Winnipeg with her husband and two boys, all of whom are wonderfully patient with the writing process.  Except, that is, when they need a goalie for street hockey.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Excerpt from Between the Devil and the Duke

“I don’t suppose you’d be interested in a job?”

“A job?” Angelique was aware she was repeating him like a half-wit, but she couldn’t seem to wrap her head around the last minute of conversation.

 “Yes.” Lavoie leaned forward slightly.

“Ladies don’t have jobs.” Angelique tried to put some conviction into that statement, knowing it was what she was supposed to say. Such knowledge had been drilled into her since she was old enough to walk. Ladies grew up and married well and became wives who lived out their lives in genteel comfort. They did not partake in industry. Or gambling.

At least they didn’t until they did not marry at all, much less well, and their parents died, their family fortune went missing, and their newly titled brother couldn’t stay sober long enough to look for it. Then ladies did what they had to do to hold their families together.

She glanced up at him, but her sharp reply, like everything else, had only seemed to amuse him.

“A strange thing to say for a lady who already treats my vingt-et-un table as her personal place of business.” Lavoie’s lip had curled, his scar making it look more like a smirk than a smile.

She looked away, despising the truth in his assessment. “I do no such thing. Ladies don’t have jobs,” she repeated, though it was a pitiable attempt at her defense.

“Ladies don’t have jobs that people know about,” he countered.

“What? What does that mean?” Angelique’s eyes snapped back to his.

Lavoie moved out from behind his desk and leaned back against the front of it. He crossed his booted feet casually, never taking his eyes off her. “It means, my lady, that once you stop pretending to be aghast, and you understand that I offer the potential to earn more money in a single night than you will earn in three at the card tables, you might wish to reconsider. I wish you to deal a high-stakes vingt-et-un table that can accommodate at least six players who will be playing against the house and not each other. Who will be playing against you.”

Angelique was at a loss for words.

“I don’t need to have your answer now,” he said, tipping his head. “You know where to find me. I will pay you for your time, of course, and you will also receive a percentage of whatever you—my club—wins. I promise that your identity will remain concealed. And unlike the men you have had to endure thus far at the tables, I promise that I won’t touch your breasts. And anyone else in my club who might attempt to do so in the future will answer to me.”

She felt her face heat all over again, even as another hail of unwanted thrills crackled through her like a summer storm.

“Tell me you’ll think about it,” Lavoie prompted.

“Very well.” The shock was wearing off, and Angelique was trying her best to collect her scattered thoughts. She’d be an idiot to deny him outright. She didn’t trust him entirely, but her current situation didn’t leave her many choices. And she couldn’t deny that his offer, like the man himself, was more than a little…intriguing. Exciting. Fascinating.

Lavoie pushed himself off the desk, coming to stand directly in front of her. His eyes skimmed over her hair, her mask, her gown, as if he was evaluating—admiring—what he saw. “With a mind such as yours, I think you would be brilliant,” he murmured. “I think that you and I would make splendid partners.”

Review - - A Good Rogue is Hard to Find

A GOOD ROGUE IS HARD TO FIND
by Kelly Bowen
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: April 28, 2015

A duke decides to take his mother in hand, due to her endless oddities that are making her the laughingstock of the ton, but soon finds that his mother and her paid companion are working to make laughingstocks of the ton instead—and teach them a well-needed lesson.

The Duke of Worth—and I must say Will is definitely worthy of the name—is a simple guy: he loves his racehorses, his fortune, and his freedom to do what he wants. Upon moving in with his mother, in his attempt to keep a closer handle on her and her odd ways, he becomes smitten with his mother’s paid companion, Miss Jenna Hughes, the beautiful snake-wearing, hijinks supporting young woman who is much more than she lets on…and Will is determined to get to the bottom of what Jenny is up to, since it’s clear she’s the reason his mother has lost her mind.

Will—a man of simple moral character of right and wrong—is soon drawn into an underbelly world where solving the problem of aristocrats behaving badly may involve solutions that he is uncomfortable with doing. But once he’s shown just how desperate things truly are, he steps up and does his fair share to right wrongs. In fact, the ending in the book, the solution to the happily ever after, is so brilliant and self-sacrificing, he truly does live up to his name.

Jenna was slightly off-putting at first—I’m not at all a fan of snakes and she was a bit brash in her behavior—but she soon won me over as a heroine worthy of the duke, and exactly the kind of woman he needs and definitely everything he ever wanted but didn’t dare ask for. (A girl who knows horses and can ride like a daredevil? Dream come true.) Her reasoning for coloring outside the black and white lines of society will have you rooting for her; and this story definitely exposes some different kinds of Regency historical tidbits that definitely take some fairy-tale shine off the era. It was just lovely. Even with the snake.

~Hellie