I did really miss the dynamic that Win has with Myron in this book and it just felt a little "off" to me. But saying that didn't mean I didn't love it. I did. (Did I subconsciously take off a star because JESSICA had to be in this book? Who knows

A historical novel based on a real person and events of WW2.

Audrey is a Jewish German woman hiding in England and passing for English because she can speak well enough to hide her accent. She is living with her aunt in England where nightly bombings happen. When a bomb falls into her apartment but doesn't go off- she meets Wes Bowers (the one who was a real person)

Wes is an American who is on a bomb dismantling team of English men. They become friends and then a bit more. It was a sweet story and I cried a bit at the end.

This book had so much that held my heart. Small town, cowboys, rescue dogs, and romance!

Delilah is Miss Lovin' Texas and has been tasked with finding the "most romantic small town in Texas".

Jasper and his family pecan farm was devastated by a tornado that took out a bunch of their crop. To win the title of most romantic town would help them turn their barn into a wedding venue and bring them some more profit.

Jasper is reluctant to play host to this beauty queen until he lays eyes on her and decides it won't be so bad after all!

This story is really sweet. I love Jasper's family so much. I love that there is a pitbull rescue in town that helps poor dogs from dog fighting rings become gentle. I love the plans that Delilah has to help young girls- that first starts as how to be in pageants to become something so much more worthwhile!

Lovely historical fiction novel from the Victorian era .

Isabelle is to wed Alexander - a business arrangement that she hopes might turn to love. But her new husband is aloof and soon has an accident which brings him down into a depression. He's confined to a wheelchair and can no longer oversee his mill.

It was interesting to see what would happen during this time to the type of injury he has. Most cases the injured would be sent to an asylum to give them sound the clock care. But Isabelle wants to prove herself capable of helping. There is a doctor and nurse employed but they seem very -professional only and don't seem to have much care for their patient.

You have to wait until the end of the book to get Alexander to warm to his new wife. I can see him being depressed over what happened but I felt she waited so long for him to acknowledge that he could love her and that she obviously cared for him.

Darling book about Harry's walk to a lighthouse with his Grandpa. His cousins say he's too little and he won't be able to walk that far. But Harry knows he can!

Along the way he makes a new friend. She is watching some birds, one of which is a pelican. Harry learns a little bit about this bird from his new friend. She then comes along (bird too) on the journey to the lighthouse.

The illustrations are so cute and my kids really loved the pelican and learning about him. There are facts about pelican at the end of the book. Highly recommend for a sweet story.

To dream. To love. To be.
Life lessons the boy learns as he sits by the sea and asks questions. All through his life he returns and returns to learn from the sea.

This book is beautifully illustrated, I feel very calm while looking at the drawings.

I love that this book lets kids know it's ok to question. It shows that even adults don't know it all and they still have questions.

This is a book I will read again and again and hope my kids always love.

This is a fictionalized story from the true story of Trent Reedy and Jawad Arash.

This is a wonderful book about the friendship been an American soldier, Joe, and an Afghan boy, Baheer.

Joe is sent to Afghanistan a little close to 2 years after 9/11. There he encounters a boy, Baheer and they strike up a friendship. Baheer loves getting to practice English and Joe grows out of his bias that "the few don't equal the many". The Afghan people had to endure years upon years with the Taliban and their terrible rule.

It's really sweet and you get to see the good side (sounds weird to say but I hope you know what I mean) of this war.. The Americans that went over there to help. The way they paved to allow girls to go to schools.

Make sure to read the authors notes and acknowledgements so you can get an even closer glimpse at these 2 men that wrote this book.

Thanks to Algonquin for the free copy to read and review!

Erica leaves her cruel father to the island of Hydra... Where her mother was invited by Australian writer Charmaine Clift. Her mother had died so Erica takes the journey herself, hoping to be welcomed with open arms and have a mother figure in her life again.

Erica soon finds herself along artists and authors, among them Leonard Cohen.

It's a beautiful descriptive story and I felt right there in the 60s in beautiful Greece. The writing is lyrical and flowy.

I spent some time after finishing going down a really home to learn even more and Leonard Cohen especially (as the only thing I knew about him before was that he wrote the song Hallelujah). You get to sit by and watch so many real people from that era and all the struggles they went through in their daily lives.

In some ways I really loved this book. Sam goes after what she dreams of instead of staying stagnant in a job she kind of likes. I liked Benson a lot and wish she had given him a chance... Which leads me to what I didn't like.

She was so enamored by Julian (when I felt she fell hard for him too fast) that she didn't see how great Benson was. Sam fell into wine making extremely fast and perfect and that bugged me. I don't doubt that it COULD happen but didn't seem likely. Seems like it would take years and years to master.
I also am mad that we lost Vivian's story abruptly and I didn't feel satisfied with it.

I really liked Hal and felt so sad when he was lost to us. He could have been a great characters had he got to stay around. I did laugh at the absurdity of Sam's parents and rolled my eyes at them.

Thanks to the author for sending me the book for an honest opinion.

This book resonated with me. I question myself daily.. if I'm a good mom, if I'm a good person, if I'm worth it.
I have a daily dragon that wants to tear me down. We all do. It's how we respond to it that can be how we rule our lives.

This will be a book that stays on my shelf and I can refer to it when I feel like what I'm doing is not enough.

This book is full of good council and a lot of stuff I know I can work on to improve myself-inside and out.