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His 15 year old daughter shows up pregnant as his mom is diagnosed with terminal cancer and he is out of a job - Amadeo has a lot on his plate. He rises to the challenge as does Angel who gets enrolled in a school program that lets her finish school while caring for her baby. For Angel it is a year of discovering who she is and what she wants from life. This family centric story about the realities of life for many Latino families. Loss and birth go hand in hand as does making good choices and bad and moving from childhood to adulthood overnight. This will appeal to readers of family dramas and characters with real problems. 4 stars 
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An atmospheric and unique look at the Reconstruction era in New York and Haiti. Libertie grows up with one of the first black female doctors in New York in a time where freedom from slavery adds a responsibility to achieve. Libertie's mother assumes her daughter will follow in her footsteps so that is the path that Libertie starts on but when she falls in love with a quiet man from Haiti she chooses to follow his path instead. Once in Haiti Libertie must deal with a world very different from the one she left behind as well as the pain and grief of leaving her mother and her mother's dream behind. This will appeal to readers of Black history as well as those interested in rich cultural historical fiction. 4 stars  A sweeping saga based on the author's ancestor Georgianne who leaves her comfortable life in the North to become a battlefield nurse under the famous Dr. Blackwell. It is also the story of life on a plantation in the South told from Jemma, a slave and Anne-May her mistress. The book parallels the classic GONE WITH THE WIND with the horrors of slavery along with the realities of running a plantation once the men have gone to war and the division of families. I was very interested in Georgianne's story and the experiences of a war nurse. As with her other books in the Lilac Girls series, this is a solid choice for riveting historical fiction that can be easily read as a standalone. 4 stars  We are all aware of Lisa Scottoline's legal thrillers and the hilarious essay collections she writes with her daughter but now she has mastered another genre - historical fiction. The author shares with us an intimate view of Rome in WWII that centers around three fictional characters but feels very personal. Three teens bound by love and friendship find themselves in a city poised for war and fractured by hate. Marco and his family are involved in the Facist movement and government. They believe in it but later will begin to question the injustice they are seeing. Sandro and his family are Jewish and scholars who see Rome as the eternal city of light and learning and an integral part of the community. Elizabetta is the love interest of both of them. She is smart and is in love with both boys for very different reasons. She will endure much loss and grief yet continues to look and find decency in the people of her city. It is a history lesson, a sweeping love story and a tale of hope that human decency and kindness will prevail even in the darkest periods. For historical fiction lovers especially those that want to get swept up in their stories. Best read with a good bottle of red wine and fresh pasta! 4 1/2 stars  In the fields outside Paris in 1925, a magic circus appears out of nowhere to astonish a few lucky ticket holders only to disappear as suddenly as it came. In present day Virginia the descendant of another European circus is stood up at the alter as her fiancee disappears without a trace. Lara knows her magic abilities have been handed down from the circus past but once she starts to track down the orgins of a special painting and a journal her lineage will bring both answers and great danger. This is a wonderful mix of life in the 20's Paris where creative magic and art flourished as well as the danger of a fantasy circus of cursed performers and illusive magic of the dark side. For fans of NIGHT CIRCUS, DISCOVERY OF WITCHES and lovers of the exciting world of Paris in the 20's. 4 stars  Two boys running from a horrible mistake head to the woods of Northern Wisconsin. With very little in the way of survival gear and no real plan they try to keep one step ahead of what they fear is the law right behind them. Their journey begins on bikes and then by raft on what they see is a river to freedom but Mother Nature has some nasty surprises for them and the two search parties that are also following trying to save them from themselves. This high adventure story is full of characters we come to care about in their journey to redemption. It is also a classic story of childhood friendship and trust. A modern day Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer meets the natural beauty of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING meets the high adrenaline adventure of Peter Heller's THE RIVER. 4 stars  A unique "what if" look at the life of Marie Curie. Most historical fiction looks at the life of a famous person or time and fills in the blanks but this unusual story is told in alternating chapters of the life Marie Curie had as a scientist and discoverer of radium alongside her husband Pierre along with the imagined life she would have possibly had if she had married her childhood sweetheart and stayed in Poland. Would she have gone onto do great things if she had married for love and became housewife Marya Zorawski? I considered Madame Curie to have had the best of both worlds. She fulfilled her dreams of becoming a scientist and married a man she loved dearly who appreciated her mind and her heart. For fans of the numerous historical fiction books that highlight the strong woman behind the famous man. 3 1/2 stars  As you jump into the first few chapters a few things make you uneasy - whirlwind romances with good looking men who happen to be really rich don't happen often, you don't want a bachelorette party but your fiancee insists on it picking the place and paying for the whole thing ,and you do something dumb and lie about it. Everything that happens to Abigail after that is at breakneck speed and you feel like a witness to a train wreck powerless to do anything but keep reading as fast as you can. There are good guys out there but how do you find them or know who to trust. Peter Swanson excels in this type of stalker thriller and prepare to read it in one sitting. Spoiler -this is not a good choice for newlyweds or those who about to become newlyweds. 4 stars  L.A. is the land of sunshine and shady characters but it takes an Australian author to find these unlikely partners and throw them in an out of control situation. Blair is a former surgeon who shot her neighbor and ended up in prison. Now out, she works at a convenience store trying to keep her life clean and off the radar so she can win back the son she gave up in prison. Jessica is the cop who put her away and somehow ends up being given a mansion next door to where Blair's son lives. Sneak, once Blair's savior in prison, now needs a big favor and help finding her missing daughter. The deeper they dig into Dayly's disappearance the more trouble they get into. Keeping one step ahead of her parole officer is the easy part. Keeping ahead of bad cops and gang bosses is proving more difficult. Candice Fox excels at making us care about her misfit characters with checkered pasts and hearts of gold. I was just left with one question - who got custody of Hugh Jackman the gopher? 4 stars  Lila gets a call from her younger sister summoning her and her brother Henry home to Georgia. Their mother has died suddenly. Lila and Henry have both escaped the sweet suffocating arms of their southern hometown now living on the East coast so coming home is bittersweet. What they will discover once home is that you can't keep a secret forever and boy, did their mom have secrets. They also know that some type of social memorial event is inevitable, there will be way too many jello molds and casseroles and sometimes people surprise you. This debut is Southern family fiction at its finest blending classic Southern culture and depth of emotions of Pat Conroy with the quirky humor of Fannie Flagg. 4 stars  |
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