WWII reads: December
Since my last blog, I read some romance novels but I always return to some WWII reads as well, certainly when the romance becomes a bit too cheesy and makes me a bit melancholic.
The first weekend of December I picked “The keeper of happy endings” by Barbara Davis. (https://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Happy-Endings-Barbara-Davis-ebook/dp/B08X48G5VL/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2K42FJD1V5HL7&keywords=barbara+davis+kindle&qid=1639512956&sprefix=barbara+dav%2Caps%2C250&sr=8-7)
In this book, we meet Aurora (Rory) whose fiance Hux went missing during a mission with Doctors Without Borders. Rory is trying to function in daily life and trying to be good enough for her mother. However, in appeasing her mother, she might lose herself. So when one day when she passes an empty building she senses that this might be the perfect place to chase her dream and open a gallery for unknown talent. The owner of the building, Soline, is at first not sold on leasing the building to Rory, even though it is currently not in use due to a fire a couple of years away. But she does accept the lease and when Rory returns a box she found in the empty building back to Soline, they become reluctant friends. Throughout the book, we get to know Soline and her life before and during the war in Paris. She also tells Rory how she came to America. While the war story is in my opinion not exited I kept reading to know if Hux would be found. Before we find this out, there is a plot twist which is quite a surprise and well incorporated in the story. However, there is a second twist that is for me a bit far-fetched. So I didn’t like the ending, but overall it was a nice read.
The book I finished early Monday morning, or late Sunday night last weekend was a completely different one: “The book of lost names” by Kristin Harmel.
(https://www.amazon.com/Book-Lost-Names-Kristin-Harmel/dp/198213190X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=30T4YTQO88FCG&keywords=the+book+of+lost+names+kristin+harmel&qid=1639514361&sprefix=the+book+of+lost+%2Caps%2C259&sr=8-1). The story starts in 2015 with our heroine traveling to Berlin to retrieve a book from the library that is very dear to her. On her way there and during her encounter with the librarian to prove the book is hers, she tells how she came in contact with the book and about her life during the war. While we know that she survived the war, it is a very compelling story. The words transformed clearly into images in my head. That is how I know it is a good book. Of course, there is a plot twist at the end, but without trying to give too much away it is a very sweet one.
It is a fictional story but the author did her research to make some elements as real as possible. I want to add those books she mentions for research as well to my To Be Read list. However, with all the non-fiction self-development books that are on there, I think I need to make reading my full-time job. Unfortunately, that won’t pay my bills.
What are your thoughts on these books if you read them? Which books in this genre do you recommend? Or which other genres/books would you like to introduce me to. Feel free to share in the comments.
