Stacy

Wow, this book was an amazing read for me. It is tied with “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus. It's dystopia but you can see elements of the book in today's society. The family stories of their “re-placed” children and Margaret's words regarding their “missing hearts” are also lessons of grief that parents of child loss can relate too. I am a mother who lost a son and her words towards the end of the book hit home. This book is a must read in my opinion. I borrowed both books from the library but will be purchasing both to add to my library.

I loved this book. I've read quite a few books from the Maggie Hope series so I knew I enjoyed Susan's books. There aren't a lot of books set in the US during World War II so this was a nice change for a book set during that era. I liked reading what it may have been like for the real life spies working to ensure that Hitler's policies didn't take hold in the United States. The notes regarding the real life versions of the characters were interesting as well. I will be reading more about them since this book sparked that interest.

I give this one a 4 star as the writings is a bit better. Belly is still her immature, manipulative self. I am glad to be done with this series and the love triangle between Belly, Jeremiah, and Conrad. Some 19 year olds are mature enough to be married, but Isabelle definitely isn't one of them. I did appreciate that Belly was partially ready to step into the name Isabelle or Belle, instead of the ridiculous Belly nickname.

I would give this 3.5 stars. I felt it dragged at times and I am not a fan of first person narration when the main character is a real person. First person should be used for autobiographies or fiction written with fictional characters.

This book was a Goodreads giveaway win for me. I don't read a lot of mystery thrillers, historical fiction is the genre I read most, but after reading this book I will have to seek out more. I loved it. I loved reading the different perspectives from each of the main characters. I like where one would pick up where another left off, or at the same timeframe. They each built off the other but with their own spin on the scene. It was a simmering story with a really good ending. I would definitely recommend reading it if given the chance.

I have finished book 2 in the series and I gave this one a 4 as I liked marginally more than “The Summer I Became Pretty.” I still find Belly (Why that nickname? It is terrible), to be incredibly whiny and immature. The bouncing between brothers is getting tiresome. I did find Belly to be a bit more manipulative and she told a lot of lies in this book. I am looking at this as a former teenage girl and I am trying to remember that this is similar to growing up for a lot of teens. It sure is tiresome though. I thought the storyline was better than book 1. I will read book 3 to finish out the series but I will be glad to be done.

This is a book filled with the typical teenage angst, hormones, indifference, and cruelty that a lot of us know so well if we are grown and have been through it. I could give or take this book as I found the Belly to be an unlikeable character due to her whininess. I know that is part of being a teen but it became a bit much at times. I will probably read the rest of the series as I hate to start a series and not finish.

This book is a powerful work of verse that works through the author's rape and the aftermath, fears, feelings, and anger after. This is both a memoir and a call of action to society and the way that rape, sexual assault, the degradation of women and all that entails, and how we accept it as status quo.

This is a good book to get a snapshot of the sometimes chaotic and impulsive teen brain. I didn't enjoy this book as much as others from the same author. Ido appreciate that she writes about real life situations and traumas that teens face. There are important topics that are difficult to broach with teens but I would recommend her books to anyone with a teen or young adult who may not know how to deal with life's stressors. This one was just hard for me to read due to past trauma.

I did not know anything about the Yellow Fever outbreak before reading this book. This book was an exceptional telling of how the fever ripped through Philadelphia and what surviving the fever may have been like, both for adults, who may have been strong workers but became weak with side effects after infection, and children who may have been left orphaned or who couldn't find their parents after surviving. It was a good story regarding epidemiology and how our knowledge evolves as we receive more information the longer we study infection.

The plot this book is based on is very intriguing so I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, the book wasn't as enjoyable as I hoped, because the main character, Alexsi, was just too unrealistic. I understand that a 16 year old orphan would have street smarts, but Alexsi's knowledge of all things was just too over the top. He seemed to know what to say or do in all situations. He knew all of the languages fluently, as well as what is expected in numerous cultures. He was able to get himself out of all tight spots without injury. I think the author was going more for the thriller that could be made into a movie than a realistic mission.

I enjoy spy novels and this one was ok. The premise was good but the story became a very drug out affair for me. I did have an issue with keeping up with which character he was talking to or about at times. There was a lot of information to remember and keep straight. As far as knowing his spy novels, Dan Fesperman is expert level and I really did like the idea of a hunt based on quotes and passages of books. I wrote down the list of books referenced for further reading.

I really liked the storyline but the writing was a little disjointed and hard to follow. Trying to keep the characters, location, and timeline straight was complicated.

I was expecting this book to be more of a novel regarding the womens' roles during the war but it ended up being romance and mystery heavy. I found the “girls” (I know women doesn't have quite the same ring, but I am hoping some day that books about women will no longer have girl in the title), to be a little bit too much on the cutesy, precious side; when we know the women who did this work were strong. The mystery with the horse could have been left out, and the story with Daisy's dad seemed to be drug out too much. I don't like when books add in the same detail/information (in this case the state of Daisy's mother) over several chapters as if readers are going to forget, especially when it's something that isn't too central to the story being told. I don't know if it is supposed to have some sort of effect, or if it is just to up the word count. It annoys me and I know that's something I have to work on about myself, lol. I was hoping I was going to love this book, as I enjoy WWII books with strong women and I try to seek out novels to areas outside of Europe when I can find them.

I loved this book. I loved how the author was able to move from WWI to WWII and tie the 2 together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I had previously won and read “Angels of the Pacific” by Elise Hooper. “When We Had Wings” reminded me of that book. I enjoyed the story for each character and really felt their emotions while they lived as prisoners of war. I highly recommend this book.

This was a Goodreads giveaway win for me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very interesting reading a book set in Budapest, as I have not read any books with that setting. Winnipeg was also a great setting for me personally, as I've been there a few times. The book really makes you think about what it means to be brave or cowardly during horrifying events. We always want to think we would be a hero in situations like a war or during an occupation of our country. We would stand up and do whatever it takes. Some do, but many don't. Some do whatever it takes to ensure their own survival. I would highly recommend this book.

This book wasn't groundbreaking by any means, but it was an easy listen in the car. I usually read historical fiction, which can get heavy at times. It was nice to have a book that didn't have any heavy topics. I enjoyed the early 90s timeframe, since that was when I was a teen and I remember the era fondly.

This book was a Goodreads win in the Kindle format. I was interested in reading this book as I grew up in a town where a teen girl vanished without a trace on my 6th birthday. I could relate to a desire to solve the disappearance like the main character. I found the book fell flat in setting up the reason why Peyton, the main character, is obsessed with Daisy's disappearance. From the start, this detail bugged me. I really enjoyed the flashbacks to Peyton's mother's childhood and college years. I would have enjoyed the book more if it would have just been about the mother/daughter relationship and didn't have Daisy's disappearance as a main theme of the book. The book did have quite a few typos, which were very distracting. The kindle version was released prior to my win, so I was surprised they weren't corrected. That is a small issue, but they seemed to get worse as the book came to an end. I did enjoy the book, I just wish it would have gone deeper in some areas and the purpose was set up a bit better.

This book was a Goodreads win for me. I would highly recommend if you enjoy books or television and movies about spies. This had an interesting twist as it involves current day spying and the aftereffects. I enjoyed this book, found it fast paced enough to keep my attention, and it made me want to do more research on the topic.

I was interested in reading a book with a nonbinary (in this case gender fluid) character and chose this as it was in the list of banned books on my library app. In my opinion this book was terrible. I am guessing the author is straight. I am as well, but I think the author should have done more research about the lived experience of gender fluid people because I don't think it was a very accurate portrayal. The book never identifies what Riley's assigned gender was at birth which I found problematic. From people I know, a big part of their lives centers around their assigned gender and their actual gender. You can easily see that in the news with the fighting over what schools should and shouldn't be able to do in regard to lgbtqia+ students. It's a fight some students and their families have daily. I think some of the online harassment was more accurate but all in all, I would not recommend this book if you are looking for a book with a gender fluid protagonist.

I read a memoir or two every year. I am so glad I chose this one for one this year's. I have too many loved ones with an MS diagnosis. For some, they were diagnosed fairly quickly, for most it took years of symptoms. This book helped understand what that was like.

I won a copy in a Goodreads giveaway. It is a short book that tells the story of an elderly woman's last day on earth. I enjoyed this book as much as a person can enjoy a sad book. The writing was done well. I did not realize this was specifically a Christian fiction book. I tend not to read a lot of Christian based books so I might not have entered had I known that. In any case, I am very glad I won this copy as I used to work in a nursing home with dementia patients and it was interesting to read from the patient side of things, although I am not sure how accurate it is. I would say, with all the troubles in her life, this book was a bit too positive for me. That might be the Christianity part, but there was not enough “grit” for the life she led and the sorrows she suffered. I would also like to say, it isn't an in your face Christian book, it is much more subtle that others I have inadvertently read. I thought I should mention that for people who would shy away from the genre.

This was a Goodreads Giveaway win for me and I did enjoy it. I have an aversion to books written in the first person so I don't think I would have purchased this in a bookstore but I would have missed out on a good story. I did not remove any stars for that. The book does have domestic violence, in case that is a trigger for some.

This book was a Goodreads giveaway win and it was fantastic. I loved the story and how it contained a mystery, a story of survival, and hospital care in the early years of nursing. If you get a chance to read this book, take it.