danadoesbooks's Reviews (954)

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley, and the author for the gifted ebook copy. All opinions in this review are my own.

I liked The Lending Library in the beginning when it was more focused on Dodie setting up the library and recommending books to her patrons. Once the focus of the story shifts to Dodie obsessing about having a baby, I lost interest. Because she feels pressure to find a man, marry him, and have a baby in two years, it cheapened the romance that Dodie is eventually able to find. It made it hard to tell if she had true feelings or just felt pressured by her own timeline.

In a genre that is saturated with WWII stories, The Paris Orphan really stands out.

Jessica May is a photojournalist for Vogue trying to gain access to the stories that are only being given to male correspondents. Along the way, she meets Victorine, a small girl who lost her parents in the French invasion. In 2005, Victorine's daughter, D'Arcy, is sent to France to collect photographs for an art exhibit.

I loved Jess as a character. She is strong and independent. I like how she is based on a real woman who photographed during WWII. I would have liked this novel more if it had stayed set in the 1940s with a flashforward at the end. I found myself speedreading through D'Arcy's sections to get back to Jess's story. I was more concerned with whether or not Jess and Dan were going to get together rather than how all the characters were connected. I like that Jess and Dan's relationship developed over time in a situation that usually warranted urgency. It made it feel more authentic rather than situational.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and the author for the gifted copy of The Heatwave. All opinions in this review are my own.

When a fire in their family home prompts Sylvie Durand to return to France, she must confront the past she tried so hard to forget. Bringing her daughter Emma along, Sylvie has to decide how much of what happened in the past to reveal to her. The longer they stay in the house, the more Sylvie realizes she may have to tell Emma everything.

Chilling is the perfect word to describe this psychological thriller. As the summertime heat envelopes the setting of this novel, the actions of the characters are cold.

I loved the use of the second person pronoun in this novel. By including "you" in the story, it not only engages the reader, but also leaves you slightly off-kilter. I haven't read a lot of books that utilize it so it added to the tension and mysteriousness of the story. Since the narrator speaks directly to “you,” it’s almost like you are supposed to remember the events of this story.

The Heatwave would be a great summertime or even spooky season read!