Bethany House Blog Tour: For Such a Time

Author: Kate Breslin

Genre: Life, historical fiction, adventure

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages: 430

Time period: 1940s, World War II

Publisher and price: Bethany House, $14.99

My overall opinion: Wow. This book blew me away. It is set perfectly in World War II, excellently accurate and very realistic. I should know, I’ve read a lot of World War II books, both fiction and non-fiction. But this book isn’t just a World War II story. It’s also the Biblical story of Esther, brought forward and retold in a Biblically accurate way in the newer time period. The amount of work that Kate clearly put into this is stunning. She pays an amazing amount of attention to the little details. I also love how she uses a lot of adjectives, and even a few words that made me pull up my dictionary app – hey, gotta love learning new words to throw at people! ;) I was so wow-ed by how the author brought the Biblical story to life (realistically) in World War II. She has great skill. And I really loved the main characters, Aric and Hadassah/Stella. This is a book that I will keep and re-read! I’m really excited to see more books by this author.

**Bethany House sent me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I wasn’t required to review it positively, and all opinions etc are my own. I wasn’t paid for this review.**

On Distant Shores

Author: Sarah Sundin

Genre: Romance, war, life, adventure

Series: Wings of the Nightingale

Number in series: 2^nd

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages: 424

Time period: World War II, 1940s

Publisher and price: Revell, $14.99

My overall opinion: One of the best things about this book for me? The fact that I closed it reflecting that the heroine, Georgie, and I would’ve been good friends in real life. She appealed to me a lot as a character, and while I don’t have the same struggles she has, I understood her well and yeah – we would’ve been friends. She’s lovely! John/Hutch wasn’t bad, though I didn’t find myself falling in love with him. There are a lot of details packed into this book, and they all added to the historical/realistic feel overall. There was enough action to keep the story, but not let it get rushed. Another highlight? Seeing Tom and Mellie, from “With Every Letter”! Good book, and I’m glad I bought it.

With Every Letter

Author: Sarah Sundin

Genre: Life, war

Series: Wings of the Nightingale

Number in series: 1^st

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages: Kindle!

Time period: World War II

My overall opinion: Here’s the deal: anonymous mail being sent between war nurses and soldiers. One of the nurses is a shy girl, who’s always been a little different and never had any good friends. One of the soldiers is liked well-enough, but has some real problems and a dark ancestry that shadows over his present life. With a story like that…what’s not to love? I don’t know, because I loved this book! It was a very unique concept, with the story told from both sides and the letters that were sent as well. A great setting, characters who were truly lovely, and just enough angst to make you want to find out what happens. Once I get a hard copy of this book, it’ll definitely be going on my keepers shelf! I can’t wait for the next one, On Distant Shores, which I today discovered focuses on a favorite character from THIS book.

Where Treasure Hides

Author: Johnnie Alexander Donley

Genre: Suspense, adventure

Series: I hear that Johnnie is working on the sequel…

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages: I read it as a PDF.

Time period: 1930s, 1940s, World War II

My overall opinion: Wow. Was I ever impressed! See, I requested this book from the author without a lot of research about it first. I knew I loved the cover, and the story sounded interesting enough. So I didn’t realize it was a digital book until Johnnie wrote back asking what kind of file I wanted to read it from. My hopes for it immediately dropped, I admit. My automatic reaction to a digital book is that they’re just digital for a reason…hate to say it, but they’ve usually got inferior writing. However! That was most decidedly not the case here. This book deserves to be in a physical paperback form! The cover and the story are both worth it. It’s set, as you saw, in World War II. Fascinating era. I read it mostly in the evening, and was so excited to come back to it every night. It’s an unforgettable story! Absolutely packed with intrigue and excitement – trust me, you won’t be able to stop if you’re trying to limit yourself. It’s not overly romantic, but enough to keep you reading. If you can get this one, or see a giveaway for it, definitely do. It’s a page turner…in a digital way. Thrilling, intense, heart-warming – all in one book. I highly recommend it especially for anyone who likes historical fiction!

**The author sent me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I have reviewed it honestly. I wasn’t required to post a positive review, and all opinions are my own.**

Parallel Journeys

Author: Eleanor Ayer

Genre: Life

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 244

Time period: 1940s, World War II

My overall opinion: This book is the parallel stories of a Hitler Youth Nazi (who became an officer by age 16) and a Jewish young woman who went through Auschwitz – and survived. It will be an eye-opening book for anyone who doesn’t have much knowledge of the Hitler Youth or of the concentration camps. It’s mesmerizing and unforgettable.

Christmas Star

Author: Ace Collins

Genre: Family, life

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 214

Time period: 1940s

My overall opinion: This is the heart-warming tale of a boy growing up without his dad, a heroic man who valiantly died in the war (World War II). The story came to life for me, and I grew to know and love each character…each of the good characters, that is. The bad ones were simply detestable! Christmas Star will keep you turning that pages as you follow Jimmy through just four momentous and life-changing days. It’s a beautifully crafted book and you will want to read this every Christmas.

**The publisher sent me a complimentary copy of this book in return for my honest review. I wasn't required to post a positive review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.**

Movie: Captain America

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Genre: Science fiction, superhero, adventure, World War II

Series or set: It’s part of the Marvel comics leading up to Avengers

Primary actors: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving

Length: Two hours

Based on: The old Marvel comics

Time period: 1940’s, World War II

Year it came out: 2011

My overall opinion: I really really enjoyed this…more than I expected to. And more than Thor. Captain America was an awesome brave handsome patriotic hero, and what more could I possible want? The action was awesome (and not too gory like some movies can be). The graphics were impressive, and the story was riveting! Definitely my favorite superhero, right here. So yes, I highly recommend this awesome movie! It’s my newest favorite movie. Totally great! 

P.S. This movie is also packed with interesting Doubles…well, three that I spotted. More on that coming in a later post! 

The Last Jew of Rotterdam

 

Author: Ernest Cassutto

Genre: Life, adventure

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Non-fiction, biography

Number of pages: 171

Time period: World War II, 1940’s

My overall opinion: I will admit, I started this book expecting it to be good, yes, but really just another WWII story. While my expectations were fulfilled in that it wasn’t amazingly well written, it has a truly moving story inside. The story of a man with Jewish roots way back, who really didn’t consider himself Jewish. The story of how the Nazis went after him, tried to conscript him. The story of how he hid, moving from underground location to underground location -- 40 of them in just two years. It’s a great story. Sad, sweet, amazing. God is seen throughout. The story is more than worth the read. If you find WWII fascinating, or just want an awesome story of how God works, this is the book for you.

A Distant Melody

Author: Sarah Sundin

Genre: Romance, life, war, adventure

Series: Wings of Glory

Number in series: 1^st

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: About 400, I think

Time period: 1940’s, World War II

My overall opinion: I do hope you all know that I loved the third book in this series, Blue Skies Tomorrow. After reading it, I was eager to read the first two books in the series, and was very excited to be finally able to read this, the first one! And what made me happy…I loved it just as much. Which has cemented my opinion that Sarah Sundin is one of my favorite authors. If you like romances, World War II stories, stories with fighter planes and bombers in them, or any combination of the above, you will love this book.

Chasing Mona Lisa

Author: Trica Goyer, Mike Yorkey

Genre: Suspense, just a touch of romance

Series: It’s a sequel to Swiss Courier, but I think you could fully enjoy this one without reading that one.

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 325

Time period: 1940’s (end of World War II), World War II

My overall opinion: It was very exciting, and very fun! Really neat to read about the same characters as in Swiss Courier, plus some new ones. And a great World War II adventure! I found the whole section in the sewer to be very interesting. And yes, they really do go in a sewer! It was a riveting book, and if you enjoy suspense, this is a good book for you!

In Harm’s Way

Author: Doug Stanton

Genre: Adventure, life, war

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 368

Time period: 1940’s, World War II

My overall opinion: It was interesting! These books usually are, though they’re really sad. It’s about a ship that was torpedoed in the Pacific Ocean in World War II. Many people died, but some lived – and this is the story of the crash and survivors. There is some swearing. I’ve read better written books about non-fiction events like this, but this one wasn’t awful.

Witness: Voices from the Holocaust

Author: compiled by Joshua M. Greene and Shiva Kumar

Genre: World War II

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 269

Time period: World War II, 1930’s, 1940’s

My overall opinion: Wow. This book was incredibly moving. So back in the 1980’s or so, a bunch of video testimonies were taken of Holocaust survivors telling their experiences from before the war, in the ghettos, in concentration camps, and after the war. Also American soldiers who were POW’s in Germany, a Hitler Youth member, a priest, and resistance fighters.  The authors of this book transcribed those videos. It’s heart-wrenching. Sad. Moving. Amazing. There’s not just heroes here...some really weren’t heroic, just survived. Very eye-opening, especially if you haven’t read much WWII stuff before. Definitely something you’ll learn from.  Heavy material, but important to know about.

LitFuse Blog Tour for "Blue Skies Tomorrow"

Author: Sarah Sundin

Genre: Romance, war, life

Series: Wings of Glory

Number in series: 3rd

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 448

Time period: 1940's, World War II

Main characters: Ray, Helen, and others

Exciting events: I'd tell you some, but I don't want to give the book away....I'll just say, hey, it's a war story! It's exciting, all right!

Passage from book: Nope, not this time, but you can learn more about it farther down!

My overall opinion: I loved this book! The cover is delightful. :) World War II stories are really interesting. And this book lived up to every hope I could have had for it. I had never read anything by Sarah Sundin before, and now I'm definitely hoping to read the first two books in this series! While this book can certainly be read on its own, I think it would be better still if I'd read the first ones first. Totally an awesome story! But wait...don't leave yet! I have a book blurb, an author blurb, and a giveaway still in store! Keep reading. :)

About the book: Lt. Raymond Novak prefers the pulpit to the cockpit, but at least his stateside job training B-17 pilots allows him the luxury of a personal life. As he courts Helen Carlisle, a young war widow and mother who conceals her pain under a frenzy of volunteer work, the sparks of their romance set a fire that flings them both into peril. After Ray leaves to fly a combat mission at the peak of the air war over Europe, Helen takes a job in a dangerous munitions yard and confronts an even graver menace in her own home. Will they find the courage to face their challenges? And can their young love survive until blue skies return?

Read some more right here!

About the author:

Sarah Sundin received the 2011 Writer of the Year Award from the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, and her second novel A Memory Between Us is a finalist for an Inspirational Readers' Choice Award. Her stories are inspired by her great-uncle who flew with the U.S. Eighth Air Force in England during World War II. Sarah lives in California with her husband and three children.  Visit with Sarah online at http://www.sarahsundin.com/.

Want to buy it? Click here! Then, keep going, and see if you can win a Kindle, aprons, and a Kindle copy of the book!

To celebrate the release of Blue Skies Tomorrow, the final installment of the Wings of Glory series, Sarah is giving one lucky winner A Vintage Kindle Prize Package! 

Read what the reviewers are saying here.

One winner will receive:</ span="">

* Kindle with Wi-Fi

* Handmade vintage aprons for you and a friend</ a="">

* Blue Skies Tomorrow (for Kindle)

To enter just click one of the icons below.

But, hurry, hurry, hurry! The giveaway ends on September 10, 2011! Winner will be announced on September 12 at Sarah Sundin's blog. Details and official rules can be found when entering the contest.

*** Please note that I was provided with a free copy of Blue Skies Tomorrow in return for an honest review. The opinons expressed here are my own. ***

Miracles on the Water

Author: Tom Nagorski

Genre: Adventure, I guess!

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 345

Time period: 1940's, World War II

Main characters: A bunch of kids

Exciting events: A ship evacuating children from England is torpedoed

My overall opinion: Wow. This was an absolutely amazing book. It was sad and very moving all at the same time. I highly recommend it.

Twilight of Courage

Author: Bodie and Brock Thoene

Genre: Adventure, war, life

Series: Actually, this large book fits right inbetween the Zion Covenant series and the Zion Chronicles series by the Thoenes. :)

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 614

Time period: World War II

Main characters: David, Rachel, and a whole ton of others.

Exciting events: It's pretty exciting.

My overall opinion: I actually found it slightly confusing for the first 150 pages or so, because SO many new characters were being introduced. However, I (having read those two Zion series so many times) loved how this book kinda tied them together. Filled in some of the stuff you hear about in Zion Chronicles, and gave background information. So it's a huge book, but if you're really into this time period, or the Thoenes, you'll enjoy it. :)

The Nazi Officer's Wife

Author: Edith Beer

Genre: Auto-biography, life

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Biography

Number of pages: 305

Time period: Holocaust, WWII

Main characters: Edith

Exciting events: Many!!!!

My overall opinion: It was interesting and good! There are a few scenes that aren't really wholesome, but on the whole it was good.

Given Up For Dead

Author: Flint Whitlock

Genre: Holocaust, World War II

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 243

Time period: World War II, 1940's

Main characters: Several

Exciting events: Being a POW in Germany during WWII!

My overall opinion: Yet another aspect of World War II that I know (make that "knew") nothing about. It had never entered my mind that there were Prisoners Of War (POW). But when the Germans captured Americans...of course there were! This was an eye-opening book. It includes many pictures on the pages. These prisoners lived in concentration camps. Some of the conditions were good: as in, they played sports. Almost all the sports. There was a list of probably 12! Some of the conditions were terrrible. Not as bad as what the Germans gave the Jews, but coming close to that. All in all, this was a very interesting book (though the print was a bit small) and I recommend it!
Oh, I should mention that there was some swearing. This included God's name and a few other words. A word to the wise. :P

The Hiding Place

Author: Corrie ten Boom

Genre: Holocaust

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 241

Time period: Holocaust, 1940's, World War II

Main characters: Corrie, Betsy

Exciting events: Oh my. Yes.

My overall opinion: What a book. Everyone needs to read it. Corrie ten Boom was placed in a prison camp, and went through many horrific experiences. This book is an eye-witness account of the Holocaust and what happened in it.
To those of you have no interest in this time-period, I'm sorry. Do read this book. But what I'm sorry about is that I'm reading so many books about it. I find it riveting and very sad.

Children in the Holocaust and World War II

Author: Laurel Holliday (well, she put the diaries into this book and wrote prologues for each. But the diaries are written by different kids)

Genre: Journal, Holocaust

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 401

Time period: Holocaust, World War II

Main characters: Multiple

Exciting events: Well, some of these children witnessed horrible things. I suppose it could be called exciting.

Passage from book: (from the journal of 10 year old Janine Phillips) ...So I went to a nearby field to see if I could spot any German soldiers. I saw nothing but heard enough to last me for a long time. When I got about three hundred metres from the house, I heard bullets whistling around me. At first I didn't realise what was happening, until I saw puffs of dirt in the road. Someone was shooting at me. Immediately I lay down on the ground, too petrified to move. My heart was thumping like mad. After a while the shooting stopped. I didn't know what to do. The Germans must be quite near, I reckoned. I started to crawl, almost slithering like a grass snake. My dress, my knees and my  hands were covered in dust. After several minutes, I heard a cow mooing. A bullet had gone through her hind leg...

My overall opinion: First. This is not a book for young readers. Though these are young people's journals. The book describes things the way that they were happening, and it can be a little scary for young kids, I should think. Secondly, there is one journal by an 18-year old that has some descriptions of inappropriate stuff. However, this can be avoided by reading the journal prologues. All in all, I'd say this is a good book. It makes you think. These kids are my age. Some are younger, a few are older. "Would I be as brave in their place? Were something as terrible to happen here?" Something to ponder. These journals tell of everyday life during the Holocaust. They describe the terrible things that started happening. The ghettos, there's even one journal from a concentration camp. Some of the kids survived...some didn't. :( Almost all (or maybe all, I can't remember) were Jews. Amazing book.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow

Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Genre: World War II, Nazis, documentary type

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 158

Time period: 1940's, World War II

Main characters: Several, actually.

My overall opinion: Hitler Youth...you've probably heard of them, but how much do you know? This book will probably enlighten you, as I know it did me. It's a book full of pictures and stories, and very sad. You hear about kids sneaking out at night so that they could be part of the Hitler Youth, though their parents don't want them to. I find it amazing that these kids, my age, and even younger could be so blind to what Hitler was doing. They didn't know the full extent of the concentration camps, but they knew enough to know  better, in my opinion. A good book.