Anika Scott’s ‘The German Heiress’ Examines Life After WWII from the Other Side of History [REVIEW]

Devastation of Krupp factory, Essen, 1945
The war may have decimated her family’s steel empire, but for a German heiress there is more on the line than she thinks. (Photo Public Domain)

She was one of the most recognized women in Germany. Then the war came. In its wake, she must reinvent herself to survive. But what kind of life can she build for herself when one man has already determined her fate? Discover what it was like to be The German Heiress in Anika Scott’s debut novel.

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Love Sees Past Race in Sarah Creviston Lee’s ‘The War Between Us’ [EXCERPT]

Sarah Creviston Lee's THE WAR BETWEEN US blog tour bannerIt never fails to surprise me. No matter how many novels I read set against the backdrop of World War II, no two stories are ever identical. Because so many nations were involved in the conflict, the war tore everyone apart. But even in the midst of great turmoil and grief, stories of survival and courage and undeniable love continue to emerge. That’s why I love Sarah Creviston Lee’s book, The War Between Us. In it, she captures the dramatic, captivating and bittersweet romance between two people who should never have fallen in love. All these years after WWII, it is a story that is simultaneously touching, heartfelt, and relevant to today’s turbulent social climate. I think you’ll see what I mean when you read the excerpt below. Enjoy! —Jathan Read more of this post

♦ The Magic In ‘The Trick’ Is How It Wins Our Hearts [REVIEW]

Hope and wisdom

In the hopes of saving his parents’ marriage, a young boy who still believes in the impossible elicits the help of a cranky old stage magician in Emanuel Bergmann’s debut novel, The Trick. (Photo by Todd Baker, Flickr)

Diamond Review BannerOnce in a great while, a book comes along that so completely captures my heart and imagination I can’t wait to tell others about it. Emanuel Bergmann’s marvelous debut novel, The Trick, is one such story. In it, we meet a charming little boy who sees the world with such wide-eyed wonder we can’t help but fall in love with him. After his parents deliver an announcement that will shatter his world, he forges an unlikely alliance with a cynical old man who has lost the ability to see all of life’s dazzling possibilities. Their friendship changes both of them in powerful and unexpected ways.  Read more of this post

Meet World War II’s Courageous Nurses in ‘The Fire by Night’ [REVIEW]

Field hospital nurses

Meet some of the American military nurses who risked their lives during World War II in Teresa Messineo’s The Fire by Night. (Photo by Marion Doss, Flickr)

We’ve often heard, read, and watched epics about the brave men (and sometimes men who were barely more than boys) who courageously served in the various branches of the military during World War II. But we seldom hear about the women who sacrificed their youth and freedom to serve in wartime hot zones as military nurses who worked tirelessly to save lives and mend and watch over the injured soldiers who were carried in off the field, barely clinging to life. Teresa Messineo’s engrossing novel, The Fire by Night, finally brings these stories to dazzling, vivid life.   Read more of this post

Meet the ‘Sons and Soldiers’ Who Never Gave Up Hope [REVIEW]

Martin Selling questions German SS captives near the front in France, 1944

Martin Selling questions German SS captives near the front in France, 1944. (Photo by US Army Signal Corps)

Martin Selling. Stephan Lewy. Guy Stern. These are just a few of the names that the history books seem to forget when recounting the treachery and bravado of World War II. Yet even though these men may not be household names, they are nevertheless three of America’s unsung heroes, men who not only survived Hitler’s Germany, but who rose up to fight back for their friends, for family, and for vengeance. Now their account is finally being told in Bruce Henderson’s brilliant new book, Sons and Soldiers.  Read more of this post