Really interesting and enlightening perspective of Philadelphia in the 1830s and the diverse population of Black Americans, as well as the volatile political perspective towards slavery and riots at the time. 

It’s crazy to me how many ebbs and flows the anti-slavery movement had - how you could have such stark differences in how black people were treated and lived across different states and cities - and how long it took to really make significant change. And even that took decades longer post-civil war with segregation. 

I liked reading from the 3 women’s perspectives, each in different life circumstances, though the first 2/3 of the book was rather slow and sometimes repetitive. 

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

Loved it so much. I’ve never heard of the community of The Happy Land, or the King and Queen of it, not too far away from me in North and South Carolina. I wish it was more well known with how amazing and unique it and Louella Montgomery were. 

The journey she and her people took after being freed from slavery, but still treated as such, was inspiring, as was the way she led her Kingdom, despite so many injustices - both with racism and violence, but also with others’ poor decisions. 

I realize that it’s a fictionalized version and much is filled in, but it was well done. It was moving and I was fully invested, wanting to know what was going to happen next. While I would have liked a little more of how Louella grew as a character rather than just understanding that she did, I loved how she stood up against injustice, wrestled with God when she didn’t understand him, or dealt with loss and grief. I loved her character so much and what she did as the Queen of Happy Land for as long as she did is truly amazing. Highly recommend. 

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

It was interesting and the story in and of itself was good. The life lessons of being honest and open and giving grace were conveyed well also.  

However, two of the sisters were just so mean to each other and often dysfunctional it wasn’t always enjoyable. And the ending seemed to switch over and wrap up rather quickly. 

It seemed to be marketed as a mystery genre though where it was more like a women’s fiction with a tiny bit of mystery. It was more about the relationship of the sisters and mother than anything. But the ending was good once the sisters got over their issues and was well written. 

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

The last half of the book was really good but the first half just felt very slow and more about political and business rivalries than about any of the action that the other 2 books had. There felt like a lot of recap and backstory too. 

Some of it like the balcony/room scene at the end didn’t make a lot of sense the way it played out. All in all, good, but not as good as the others in the series. Side note, whoever designed the covers of each of the books in this series is a genius. They are gorgeous!

The first half of the book I struggled to get into. There’s a lot on the characters and their stories, which is fine, but it felt a little drawn out and very detailed without having a feel like we were going somewhere. 

I’ve read about the 1906 earthquake before so I enjoyed another perspective though it was a surprisingly short part of the book. 

What I liked most was the women’s friendships and how they were invested in each other after dealing with their character flaws. Always love a good story about women having each others’ backs. 

The second half I felt more invested in, though it felt like it wrapped up really quick. I expected a little more of a back and forth to the plot and there really wasn’t. It just resolved. So good in writing and overall content, but it just felt kind of weird mix of slow and fast. 

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

So good. I knew what was going to happen as I was vaguely familiar with the story of Valentine (aka Saint Valentine and Valentine’s Day) but was still in tears by the end of the book. 

It was a great look at both the early persecution of Christians in Rome, as well as very a thoughtful and excellent look at how to process God allowing suffering. If you’ve ever gone thru intense suffering or grief, you can identify so well with the characters - Valentine’s letter at the end had me in tears each of the multiple times I listened to it, it just spoke to enduring difficulty and seeing God’s hand in it so perfectly. 

The story unfolding with Valentine and the woman he reportedly prayed for who was healed was beautiful as well, and really well written, as were the other friendships. It was relatable, funny at times, and completely heartbreaking at others. 

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

Loved the progression of Anne and Hart, and the perseverance he had for her despite both their pride and hurt. Mimi Matthews always does such an excellent job painting emotion and relationships between her characters, and this was also very well done. 

Also, absolutely love the crossover from the Parish Orphan Series that was mentioned again in this book and will be fully incorporated in the next book. It’s always so fun being reintroduced to characters you already know. 

An excellent look at an inspiring woman who led a world-changing group of the French Resistance during WW2. It’s incredible to me how much she and others accomplished no matter who thought little of her or even thought she and her people were collaborators. I don’t know how you live in secret like that knowing you’re on the right side while everyone shuns and hates you - and at the same time walk the edge of discovery and death by the enemy. 

It’s also so amazing to me how much Fourcade and the other women did while continually being dismissed as a woman, especially after the fact. The difference they made in the war was insurmountable. So inspiring. 

The book was also extremely well written and didn’t feel like it dragged at all. 

It was an interesting premise and I loved both Grace and Rocky finding ways to work together and compliment each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The threads of friendship and sacrifice (mostly on Rocky’s side at least initially) were inspiring. 

It was a bit bizarre how detailed the science and math got, especially since it wasn’t really relevant to the story in the grand scheme of things. But my biggest struggle is it was just so slow and there was hardly any character development - like the science team he considered close friends or huge losses, but there was not really anything in the storyline to back that up or give that context.  And Grace himself was frequently a bit petulant and whiny, which got annoying. However I absolutely loved Rocky as a character

It was admittedly a bit odd of a book with the fantasy/magic aspects but it lended a whimsical and mysterious bent to the story. Enjoyed the concepts of hope and friendship threaded throughout