Very thought provoking. Certainly some things I don’t agree with or am unsure whether I do or not but a lot that made sense. And very well communicated.

Super cute, a fun version of twin swapping. Not super complicated but light and well written

Nope. DNF - super disturbing.

Really interesting, based on a true historical story of Tsarina Elizabeth Petrovna. Such a brutal time and so much turmoil in the monarchy as one Tsar died and the throne was owned by the next heir.

The book was a little drawn out and long but otherwise written well and generally had my attention. I found myself researching a number of the characters in the story simultaneously. I do wish the book was better about explaining what year or time it was in. Everything blended together and it was hard to figure out how much time had passed.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great concepts and struggles that Tori worked thru, learning how to trust, deal with shame and guilt, give and find forgiveness, and be vulnerable with those she cared about. As with the rest of the series, loved the friendships and the love story as well. Her faith journey is one I think so many people struggle thru so it was super relatable and written in a beautiful way. It was short but it was great.

Excellent story and characters, and really well written. I loved the inner dialogue Holiday had - it just felt real and relatable. Her journey in working thru her fears of relationships and finding faith had you rooting for her and Emmett both. There were some “Christian cliches” or words that were a little odd and felt a little awkward in the dialogue at times but the story itself I really enjoyed.

Well written and interesting, the Tobacco wives did a great job at describing both the historical events of the early boom in Tobacco industry and advertising, and the ethical struggle of big business when faced with detrimental truths.

I really liked that it wasn’t a super clean, happily ever after story, but rather dealt with the real war of money/power when truth is brought to light. I thought it was pretty realistic how Mitzy and everyone handled the facts and not unlikely if it were actually a true event. This has so many applications to big money-making businesses more than just Tobacco, and is so accurate, that advertising is trying to benefit the business/executives and not those they market to. We need to do our own research and not just believe what we are fed.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really loved the friendship and camaraderie the ladies working at Tiffany Glass had. It was pretty incredible how Mr Tiffany provided decent working conditions and cared for the women in his employ like he did, and even advocated even pay (or near) and artistic credit when you know of other horrific working situations at the time like the Triangle Shirtwaist Company (and I’m sure many more) that did the exact opposite for years to save money.

I loved how it wasn’t just work but it was art, and how the women worked together and supported each other rather than fought or envied each other. And I totally looked up the 4 season panels online to get a visual which was fascinating.

The book itself was a little slow thru the first half or so, and there was some almost verbatim repetition in parts that should have been edited a little better. The parts at the end with Amon were also odd and felt disjointed. But otherwise I enjoyed the book and the history of this one.

The books adds a new take for me from other Civil War stories, looking at black enlisted men in the Union Army, Jewish soldiers and anti-semitism that existed even then, and how lighter skinned black women were held as mistresses in their own houses in the south.

I enjoyed reading about the map-maker Stella became, putting her skills and gifts from her slave owner to help fellow slaves escape. I was wondering whether the authors were going to say that was based on a true story but that was never alluded to specifically.

Civil war era books are so difficult to get thru for the brutality and violence against black slaves and while this still contained that outlook, I appreciated a different perspective of the majority being from a soldier’s point of view, and the friendship Jacob and Willie had. It made it just a little less heavy of a subject for me with that.