The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab – 384 pages Book Blurb: Maria Florkowska is many things: daughter, avid chess player, and, as a member of the Polish underground resistance in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, a young woman brave beyond her years. Captured by the Gestapo, she...
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel – 356 pages ARC from Netgalley and Gallery Books for an honest review Book Blurb: Book Blurb: After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young...
The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer – 416 pages ARC from Netgalley and Graydon House for an honest review Book Blurb: In the spring of 1942, young Elzbieta Rabinek is aware of the swiftly growing discord just beyond the courtyard of her comfortable Warsaw home. She has...
The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff – 336 pages ARC from Park Row and the author for an honest review. Book Blurb: 1942. Sadie Gault is eighteen and living with her parents amid the horrors of the Kraków Ghetto during World War II. When the Nazis liquidate...
Half Life by Jillian Cantor – 416 pages ARC from Harper Perennial and the author for an honest review Book Blurb: In Poland in 1891, Marie Curie (then Marya Sklodowska) was engaged to a budding mathematician, Kazimierz Zorawski. But when his mother insisted she...
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel –400 pages ARC from Gallery Books for an honest review. Book Blurb: Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a magazine lying open nearby. She...
Review:Drive Me Crazy by Carly Robyn blew me away with its humor, heart, and heat. I’m newer to rom-com (Romantic Comedy) and after reading quite a few of them, I totally think that this one shines above.Full disclosure, I know the author quite well. She’s my daughter; but it’s the honest truth when I say I loved the heck out of this book. I was literally laughing out loud at some points and fell hard in love with Blake, the broody Brit, and Ella, the relatable journalist who could be my BFF.The pacing of the story was spot on as I fell into the fast-paced life of an F1 driver, and the toll racing takes on both their minds and bodies. I appreciated the slow burn to the ultimately spicy and steamy romance. It made the wait and tension totally worth the wait! For me, smart conversation and good banter can make or break a book. This one had so much wit and humor that I’d be happy with that alone.The settings in this book take the reader all around Europe which makes for great escapes. Ella, who hails from Chicago before moving to New York, offers many local references which I loved.On top of the heart, humor and heat, there are also some serious issues woven through the book such a loss of a parent, mental illness, and sexual abuse. These issues are presented with sensitivity and care.Bottom line, if you’re looking for a book to make you laugh with a good dollop of spice, pick this one up. Readers are all saying they can’t wait for the second in the series.@carlyrobynauthor 📘Have you ever watched an Formula One race? OR Favorite trope in rom-coms? ... See MoreSee Less