Not the story I expected, but I enjoyed it none the less. The only downfall was inclusion of small chapters with side stories...they were meant to add to the story, but really just tended to add confusion. Full review to come...

An incredibly cute young adult novel. Perfect for middle school readers, but also great for adults. I loved the writing and the characters. There is heavy potential for this to open up the possibility of a series. I look forward to reading more of her work. For the full review: http://erraticprojectjunkie.blogspot.com/2012/04/2012-boty-eight-keys-by-suzanne-lafleur.html

I really liked this book. I have to say...I could see Kristin Hannah becoming one of my more favorite authors. Her characters are real. They have flaws. There are parts of the story that are pretty transparently predictable, but it didn't take away from the plot as much as I thought it would in the beginning. Very good read.

It ended where it should have, but still left me wanting more. She does a wonderful job weaving a story around historical fact. Every time I read one of these books I wind up looking up pieces of history just to learn more...

Good, relaxed writing and an easy to follow story. A little predictable and lots of foreshadowing, but still quite good. Looking forward to reading the sequel.

Fast and easy read. The characters are well developed. I would have given it 5 stars, but much like my opinion of Handle with Care, I did not like the ending. The second half of the book seemed to be an attempt to cram too much information and activity in within a short period of time. Still, it kept my attention and left me wanting more of the story.

Reading this book was a rough transition. I knew what I was getting into, but I don't think it's ever easy to start reading a novel about the Holocaust. The writing is without a doubt good. Using multiple points of view to tell the story was very effective and the descriptions were well executed. I will say that I could have done without the blunt depictions some of the sexual interactions between Anna and Callum. They seemed a bit out of place and unnecessary for the story in some instances. The other thing that prevented a five star read was the ending. Overall, I liked the wrap up, but the last few pages (which I understood the intention) were mildly confusing. It could've been written a little more thoroughly or they could have been left out completely. Either of those may have worked out better.

Beautifully written historical fiction. A very cute love story with wonderful characters. It takes a little bit to get started, but moves smoothly once it gets going. For the full review: http://erraticprojectjunkie.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-shoemakers-wife-by-adriana-trigiani.html

Somewhat frustrating read due to the mysterious nature of the plot, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm looking forward to starting the sequel.

I'm finding that I'm into historical fiction a lot lately and this book definitely satisfied my desire for historical accuracy woven into a captivating plot. I found myself very involved in the book and experienced quite a range of emotions as I identified with the primary character. I initially read this book so that I could watch the movie. But now having read it, I would recommend it to anyone who loves historical fiction, with or without seeing the movie.