Both the character development and the history in this series are so fantastic. Loved the contrast and sisterhood of Hope and Grace, and fascinating history in both timelines.

Kind of a mix of a medieval quest, a cult, and a magical landscape. Super creative world building and very immersive/development. There wasn’t as much character building, at least until way into the book. Maybe not a big deal for some but I had a hard time identifying with the characters or feeling invested in them. I actually really disliked Six/Sybil until halfway into the book. She was just arrogant and mean in the first half. It got a lot better for me the second half tho and I enjoyed it quite a bit. And I loved the gargoyle - such a great character. Now to wait for the next book…

This was so very rich in content, history, characters, landscape, and heart. I’ve enjoyed each book in the series and this was no exception.

On the historical side, the setting of The Netherlands during WW2 was packed with immersive detail - the resistance, the battles, and everything in between. It showed the various needs the Dutch Resistance filled from “small” things like stealing ration cards to surveillance and sabotage, to hiding and ferrying downed soldiers and paratroopers. I had no idea the liberation of the Netherlands was so back and forth. The book did an excellent job at showing the emotional toll that took on the people. 

I loved Gerrit and Ingrid, as well as their family. They had such good chemistry, both in the initial animosity and then later their friendship and love story. Their struggles and loyalty towards each other was beautiful, as was Gerrit’s faith journey. The description of their grief later on was so devastating and emotional, it was well done and realistic. 

Also loved the crossover of Henry Bridger and the backstory with him and Anita. All the little pieces that tied the characters together in the other books were so great. Thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine. 

Super fun with lots of banter and great wit. I enjoyed both characters of Josie and Wyatt and had moments to relate to both characters. They both had depth and tension but also lightness and playfulness as they transitioned from animosity to friendship and beyond. 

The setting of the “murder house” and the sailboat was a lot of fun, and some of the sites off the ICW I was familiar with. Also, love the moments with Jib. 

For the audiobook, the female narrator was great but I struggled with the male narrator. His volume varied wildly between so low it was basically muttering, to all the sudden almost yelling volume. It was really annoying and almost made me switch to reading the digital version instead if I hadn’t been in the middle of a different one. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook and ebook. All opinions are mine. 

The book did a good job of portraying life proceeding WW2 in Berlin in the decade leading up to it, and following elsewhere in Europe from the perspective of a displaced female classical musician. Towards the end, the twist was unexpected, and I enjoyed being surprised though the whole of the end was sad. 

The time travel piece was weird because it was discussed as if it was an afterthought even tho it was central to the story. It not fleshed out or explained very well and had a lot of holes. The book itself was also very slow moving, and I struggled to connect with the characters. The perspective of each of the characters was fine in their own right, but when it came to their relationship, I just didn’t get it. Max went between clingy and oblivious, Hanna was super reactive, and neither one of them communicated about anything - he refused to give her information that would have made sense to, and she refused to ask questions. It felt like the only real interaction they had was about their physical relationship and listening to Hanna play. It just didn’t match their inner dialogue about each other.

Cute and easy read. Some of it felt a little repetitive and I got annoyed with the Capri comments. Which I had a hard time reconciling with her book because I actually read it before this one. I loved her in her own book and couldn’t stand her in this one. 

It was an interesting take on a dual-timeline of an actress and a seamstress in Paris during ww2 and a cancer-survivor writer trying to find answers to secrets about their story. 

The book attempts to show how gray things were back then, with women being deemed collaborators after sleeping either Nazis but often having various reasons for doing so. That part fell a little short for me as these characters’ reasons were either partly or wholly self-serving rather than doing so for honorable or covert motives. That to me isn’t gray, and doesn’t compare to active resistors or those with no choice, so I struggled to like the characters based on that. Others may not care but I wasn’t a fan when there are so many others who sacrificed for integrity. 

The current timeline with Ruby was ok but as a 2x cancer survivor myself, I was a little annoyed with some inaccuracies, or at the very least, highly unlikely aspects of Ruby’s story and treatment. The narrator for her also fell short for me as she didn’t have any accent for a French woman, while the other narrator did so. It just felt inconsistent. 

Overall the story was good and intriguing, but I just struggled with all the female main characters across the board. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook. All opinions are mine. 

Really great story with well written description of loss and grief via a major health condition. It was relatable and endearing. 

I do wish that Jackson’s parts of the story was written too tho because it felt kind of one sided and made me sort of not like him for awhile. Also the ending felt unresolved for me with his character. I won’t say much for sake of spoilers but I didn’t feel like I understood where we were at with all that completely at the end. Maybe I just missed it. It probably would have been 5 stars if not for those 2 things. 

Really great. Loved Tristan and Capri, the banter and the plot. Both the secret identity, secret crush, and romance writer within a romance was such a fun flow that made it hard to put down. Also Tala and Heath were fantastic side characters and quite possibly my new supporting family members. 

A heartwarming story of 2 women who encourage each other to be brave thru difficulty and embrace change despite the vulnerability and risk. I liked the community aspect of the quirky senior community and how both Lily and Rose had similarities and opposite strengths for each other. 

The book definitely had a slow Southern feel, but it was endearing and sweet, light in the romance and heavy on the multi-generational friendship. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook. All opinions are mine.