The Paris Dressmaker

by Kristy Cambron

Pub Date 16 Feb 2021

This is another book set in France during WWII. Before you think that you’ve read enough of these, give this one a chance. It is an engaging and involving read.

The Paris Dressmaker follows several women and the men and families that surround them. Lila is a talented dressmaker and designer. Lila’s closest friend is Amelie, another seamstress. Then there is Sandrine and her close friend Michelle. Sandrine works at the Jeu de Paume. Each of these characters faces moral decisions, choices and moments of fear and courage.

The settings in this book are wonderfully rendered. There are the dress salons, a bookstore, the Jeu de Paume, a bakery, The Ritz..and the list goes on. Each is vividly portrayed as are the streets of wartime Paris.

This is a novel that tells moving stories of love, friendship, resistance, traitorous behavior, courage and consequences. The narrative moves back and forth in time from 1939 and into the 1940s.

I became quite involved in the lives and stories of these characters. I think that readers will as well.

I alternated between reading this book and listening to it. The narration was excellent with characters well delineated and the French accents of the characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

The Windsor Knot

A Novel

by SJ Bennett

#TheWindsorKnot #NetGalley

Please note that this review is for the unabridged audio of this title. It will be released in the U.S. in March. The book is out in the U.K.

Right now, many are absorbed in watching the latest season of The Crown. There is a lot of back and forth about what is true and what is fictional drama. Well, as far as I know, The Windsor Knot is totally fiction about the monarch as detective.

This is an absolutely delightful and enjoyable title and one that I recommend highly for an escapist break. Give it a try.

In The Windsor Knot, there are murder, mysterious Russians, ballet dancers, Chinese speakers, a very likeable Nigerian aide to the Queen called Rosie, various government and palace workers, family members of the Queen, visiting dignitaries, including Obama and more. All are engagingly portrayed.

The character of the queen feels pitch perfect. She is portrayed as a woman well aware of her role and importance but also as someone with an interior life, likes and dislikes. She is a detective who uses her access to information and her Poirot like gray cells to solve the case.

The narrator of the audio book is just splendid. She captures the characters and accents with aplomb and individual voices. I was only sorry when I had to part with her at the end of this title.

Put this one on your TBR or TBL (to be listened to) pile. Enjoy! It is part of a series so there is more to come.

Jackie and Maria by Gil Paul

The cover of this title shows Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas. In the novel, they are surrounded by those in their lives including Onassis, JFK, RFK, Jackie’s sister Lee and many others. All are brought to life in this excellent historical fiction.
Jackie and Maria had more in common than Aristotle Onassis. According to the book, both had mothers they could not please and both faced terrible losses around pregnancies. In addition, each was involved with a charismatic man who did not believe in fidelity and who did believe in power.
The settings of the novel bring the story to life. Readers will be in many locations including DC, Paris, Greece, the Cape, Aristotle’s yacht and more. The story unfolds in these places in a dual narrative that features the world from both Maria and Jackie’s perspectives.
As in the best historical novels, the world of the characters is portrayed in such a way that I very much wanted the history that I already knew, to somehow magically be transformed for the sake of the people on whom the characters are based. Of course, it could not be.
I enjoyed this title and recommend it highly for those who enjoy historical fiction. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

The Jenny Colgan title is less than two dollars.

READERS, DO YOU LIKE THE BOOK DEALS ENTRIES? WOULD YOU LIKE THEM TO CONTINUE? OPINIONS WELCOME.

This is a complex, beautiful book and one that I am currently reading. Review to come soon. Meanwhile, mark your calendar for its release date on September 28th.

Illustrations by Marjolein Bastin

#WutheringHeights #NetGalley Pub Date 02 Nov 2021

Reading Wuthering Heights is a rite of passage for so many. Readers often come to it after reading Jane Eyre. I find WH to be the more complex read.

Yes, there are many editions of this novel and some of them are even free in e book form. But…to enjoy WH and really spend time with it, I think that a beautiful hardcover edition is the way to go.

Spend time with Catherine, Heathcliff and those around them. Experience the novel whether it is for the first or fifth time. And, consider doing it with this lush edition. You won’t be sorry.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

How to Set Boundaries for Healthy Friendships

by Christina Furnival, MS, LPCC

#TheNotSoFriendlyFriend #NetGalley Pub Date 14 Sep 2021

The text of this book is in rhyme and accompanied by lovely multi-cultural illustrations. Most kids have a “Not So Friendly Friend.” This warmly written book talks about how to be a friend and what to do when another kid makes one feel small. It will provide a most helpful conversation starter and I recommend it highly. The end of the book has a section called Conversation Starers and Discussion Questions. It is helpful.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This links to a newsletter by Karen Odden. She interviewed me in this one. Scroll down through the newsletter until you see it.

https://mailchi.mp/9d4e5460eb18/september-book-news-a-jenn-mckinlay-giveaway?fbclid=IwAR2zZFJvJ6PaHwvK4O5-5U1HHPkGViN4Ydw3eFAGIywVz4TxHOTeWBxSzqw

Thank you, Karen!

by Jonathan Galassi, ed.

Pub Date 02 Nov 2021

Poetry lovers, or those who want to explore poetry in the hopes of becoming one, mark your calendar for this book’s publication date. It is an incredibly generous and wide-ranging collection of poetry over the 75 years of Farrar, Strauss and Giroux’s history.

The book is organized by time periods. The first poems included are from the 1950s and they keep going from there, right up until the 2020s. There are so many wonderful poets in here that I cannot possibly name them all. Just a few from the first section of the book to give readers an idea; Pablo Neruda, T.S. Eliot, Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Bishop and Randall Jarrell to name just some. By the time readers approach the 2020s, they can read works by Sylvie Baumgarten, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Spenser Resece and others. In between there are a cornucopia of choices.

I highly recommend this title. Get it for yourself or as a gift for someone you know. It is worth it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

by Liesbet Slegers

Pub Date 07 Sep 2021 #ClavisPublishing #NetGalley

There were many things that I liked about this book:

The illustrations that are bright and vibrant

The diversity in the illustrations with people of different races and also showing a male nurse. Often children think that only females can be nurses.

The descriptions of some of the jobs that a nurse might do and the different patients that they may help.

My one niggle: The nurses are all clearly taking orders from the doctors. Of course this is what happens but, in the real world, I think that nurses use their voice and expertise more. Some of what is described sounds like jobs that a nurse’s aid might do.

Still, I recommend this title overall. It demystifies the nurse’s work and what it is like to be in the hospital. It may inspire some to become nurses in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.