The Perfect Horse

Author: Elizabeth Letts
Genre: Biography
Publisher: Random House Publishing, 2016
Pages: 400, 10 discs
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: In the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find - his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world's finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine - an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food.

With only hours to spare, one of the U.S. Army's last great cavalrymen, Colonel Hank Reed, makes a bold decision - with General George Patton's blessing - to mount a covert rescue operation. Racing against time, Reed's small but determined force of soldiers, aided by several turncoat Germans, steals across enemy lines in a last-ditch effort to save the horses.

Pulling together this multistranded story, Elizabeth Letts introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters: Alois Podhajsky, director of the famed Spanish Riding School of Vienna, a former Olympic medalist who is forced to flee the bomb-ravaged Austrian capital with his entire stable in tow; Gustav Rau, Hitler's imperious chief of horse breeding, a proponent of eugenics who dreams of genetically engineering the perfect warhorse for Germany; and Tom Stewart, a senator's son who makes a daring moonlight ride on a white stallion to secure the farm's surrender.

A compelling account for animal lovers and World War II buffs alike, The Perfect Horse tells for the first time the full story of these events. Elizabeth Lett's exhilarating tale of behind-enemy-lines adventure, courage, and sacrifice brings to life one of the most inspiring chapters in the annals of human valor.

Review: When we were in high school, my sister won tickets to see the Lipizzaner Stallions perform at a school near our home. I remember being just so fascinated as we watched them perform. At the time I knew nothing about them, although in the years since I've learned more.

I saw this book while perusing goodreads, and it's been on my To Be Read list for a couple years.

There was a lot (!!) of information in this book, and I'm not convinced all of it was necessary, if the synopsis above is to be an overview of this story. One of the most interesting sections was the Americans preparing to enter the world war, and the history of the cavalry, but this is also the biggest section that went on for chapters, but wasn't the most important of the book. 

The subject matter has the potential for an enthralling narrative nonfiction type novel, but the author lost herself in minor details and repetitive descriptions. Heavy editing would have served this book well.

I'm glad I read it, but by the end it was a struggle-read.

Maid

Author: Stephanie Land
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Hachette Books, 2019
Pages: 288
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: At 26, Stephanie Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dreams to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree, and began to write relentlessly.

She wrote the true stories that weren't being told: the stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. Of living on food stamps and WIC coupons to eat. Of the government programs that provided her housing, but that doubled as halfway houses. The aloof government employee who called her lucky for receiving assistance when she didn't feel lucky at all. She wrote to remember the fight, to eventually cut through the deep-rooted stigma of the working poor.

Maid explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them. "I'd become a nameless ghost," Stephanie writes about her relationship with her clients, many of whom do not know her from any other cleaner, but who she learns plenty about. As she begins to discover more about her clients' lives-their sadness and love, too - she begins to find hope in her own path.

Her compassionate, unflinching writing as a journalist gives voice to the "servant" worker, and those pursuing the American Dream from below the poverty line. Maid is Stephanie's story, but it's not her alone. It is an inspiring testament to the strength, determination, and ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

Review: As is the case with memoirs, each reader is going to take something slightly different away from it. I found this so interesting, and kept cheering Stephanie on, but I also had to shake my head at some of her poor choices. At times I even felt some anxiety. 

We all weave such interesting lives. At any rate, I admired her hard work and determination. She dug deep, and should be proud of how far she's come. I will be thinking and pondering this book for a long time to come.

More Than Words

Author: Jill Santopolo
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2019
Pages: 352
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Nina Gregory has always been a good daughter. Raised by her father, owner of New York City's glamorous Gregory Hotels, Nina was taught that family, reputation, and legacy are what matter most. And Tim, her devoted boyfriend and best friend since childhood, feels the same. But when Nina's father dies, he leaves behind a secret that shocks Nina to her core.

As her world falls apart, Nina begins to see the men in her life, her father, her boyfriend, and unexpectedly her boss, Rafael, in a new light. Soon Nina finds herself caught between the world she loves, and a passion that could upend everything.

More Than Words is a heartbreaking and romantic novel about grief, loss, love, and self-discovery, and how we choose which life we are meant to live.

Review: It's pretty obvious early on what the ultimate outcome for these characters will be, but it was a fun adventure til the end. It was the right book at the right time.

Just to note - there are several graphic, although brief sex scenes throughout. 

The Glovemaker

Author: Ann Weisgarber
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Skyhorse, 2019
Pages: 312
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Utah, 1888. Mormon country. As Sister Deborah awaits her husband's long-anticipated return home, a stranger arrives at her doorstep, and with him, trouble.

Although this man is a fellow Latter-day Saint, he wouldn't be here in the bitter month of January if he wren't on th run from sotmething terrible. And where he goes, lawmen are sure to follow. Lawmen who wouldl think twice about burning Deborah's home to the ground if they thought she'd helped their fugitive.

With her husband's absence felt more strongly by the minute, Deborah must make a decision. A decision that will change her life forever.

Review: I had to contemplate why I liked this book as much as I did. It's a slow and steady sort of book, intense at times. I credit the author's storytelling ability for making the characters come alive as the real drive behind this novel. No other author could have done this story justice; the right author at the right time.

If I have one criticism, it's that the title doesn't fit the book. The main character is a glove maker, but that's relevant for about 0.2 seconds of the story. 

Rock Needs River

Author: Vanessa McGrady
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Amazon Publishing, 2019
Pages: 204
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: After two years of waiting to adopt - slogging through paperwork and bouncing between hope and despair - a miracle finally happened for Vanessa McGrady. Her sweet baby, Grace, was a dream come true. Then Vanessa made a highly uncommon gesture: when Grace's biological parents became homeless, Vanessa invited them to stay.

Without a blueprint for navigating the practical basics of an open adoption or any discussion of expectations or boundaries, the unusual living arrangement became a bottomless well of conflicting emotions and increasingly difficult decisions complicated by missed opportunities, regret, social chaos, and broken hearts.

Written with wit, candor, and compassion, Rock Needs River, ultimately, Vanessa's love letter to her daughter, one that illuminates the universal need for connect and the heroine's journey to find her tribe.

Review: I don't believe the synopsis above, provides an accurate overview of the book. This is Vanessa navigating life and relationships, along with her experiences as an adoptive mother. She could have gone a little deeper into some details, more brief on others, and been more introspective overall, but really, I enjoyed this. I'm just glad it's her life and not mine.

This book gave me a touch of anxiety. Not over the adoption, but just how "fly by the seat of her pants" the author is. It was a fast read. People lead interesting lives.

The Secrets of the Notebook

Author: Eve Haas
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Arcade, 2013
Pages: 280
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Eve Haas is the daughter of a German Jewish family that took refuge in London after Hitler came to power. Following a terrifying air raid in the blitz, her father revealed the family secret, that her great-great grandmother Emilie, was married to a Prussian prince. He then showed her the treasured leather-bound notebook inscribed to Emilie by the prince. Her parents were reluctant to learn more, but later in life, when Eve was married and inherited the diary, she became obsessed with proving this birthright. The Secrets of the Notebook tells how she follows the clues, from experts on European royalty in London to archives in West Germany and then, under threat of being arrested as a spy by the Communist regime, to an archive in East Germany that had never before opened its doors to the West. What she unearths is a love story set against the upheaval of the Napoleonic wars and the Anti-semitism of the Prussian court, and a ruse that both protected Emilie's daughter and probably condemned her daughter - Eve's beloved grandmother, Anna, to death in the Nazi camps.

Review: Since this book is not a new release, I don't know why I'm just learning of it now. I have generally sworn off WWII novels, but this was different. I was intrigued from the Prologue, and found much of this fascinating.

The author is of my grandparents' generation, which I think help drive this home as well. It's just heart breaking, and brought a very real and very human side to the Nazi atrocities.

This is a must read, particularly in light of the troubling times our own country is facing. It's a slippery slope.

The Only Woman in the Room

Author: Marie Benedict
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks, 2019
Pages: 272
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star.

But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she was a scientist. And she knew a few secrets about the enemy. She had an idea that might help the country fight the Nazis. . .if anyone would listen to her. A powerful novel based on the incredible true story of the glamour icon and scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication.

Review: This is such a good book. Buuuut, the set up is that Hedy Lamarr wasn't just a pretty face and Hollywood actress; she was a scientist and inventor at a time when women were not, or at least not accepted as such. I wanted more of Hedy the Scientist. Four stars.

Other Marie Benedict novels:
Carnegie's Maid
The Mystery of Mrs Christie

The Girls at 17 Swann Street

Author: Yara Zgheib
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2019
Pages: 384
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Anna Roux was a professional dancer who followed the man of her dreams from Paris to Missouri. There, alone with her biggest fears - imperfection, failure, loneliness - she spirals down anorexia and depression til she weighs a mere eighty-eight pounds. Forced to seek treatment, she is admitted as a patient at 17 Swann Street, a peach pink house where pale, fragile woman with life-threatening eating disorders live. Women like Emm, the veteran, quiet Valerie; Julia, always hungry. Together, they must fight their diseases and faces six meals a day. 

Every bite induces guilt. And every step Anna takes toward recovery will require strength, endurance, and the support of the girls at 17 Swann Street.

Review: This book was emailed to me as one I may enjoy because of my reading history. I read the first chapter thinking if it grabbed me, I'd keep going. If it didn't, I'd choose something else. Had I started it earlier in the day, I would have finished it on the same one. 

The formatting is different, but Zgheib's writing style is similar to Lisa Genova in that she writes in an informative, yet readable narrative. I learned a lot, and the characters felt real. This is worth trying.

And Then There Were None

Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011
Pages: 320, 5 discs
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Ten house guests, trapped on an isolated island, are the prey of a diabolical killer. A famous nursery rhyme is framed and hung in every room of the mansion:

Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nice. . .

When they realize that murders are occuring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Clues and red herrings abound in this masterpiece, proven to be Christie's most popular mystery ever.

Review: I haven't read Agatha Christie since high school, but I saw this audio mentioned in one of my online book groups. I loved it. So entertaining.

The Sound of Gravel

Author: Ruth Wariner
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Flatiron Books, 2017
Pages: 368
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: The thirty-ninth of her father's forty-two children, Ruth Wariner grew up in a polygamist family on a farm in rural Mexico. In The Sound of Gravel, she offers an unforgettable portrait of the violence that threatened her community, her family's fierce sense of loyalty, and her own unshakeable belief in the possibility of a better life. An intimate, gripping tale of triumph and courage, The Sound of Gravel is a heart-stopping true story.

Review: I've known about this book since about the time it was published, and I still see it bandied about and recommended in various reading groups. 

Difficult subject matter, and I had to set it aside several times for a mental breaks.

This was heartbreaking and I was in tears by the end. This poor woman, her poor family, my goodness. This book has given me a lot to think about, and I'm sure it will stay with me for a long, long time.

The Lost Girls of Paris

Author: Pam Jenoff
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Park Row Books, 2019
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: 1946, Manhattan

Grace Healy is rebuilding her life after losing her husband during the war. One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, she finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs - each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station.

Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a ring of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home, their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the woman in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor, and betrayal.

Vividly rendered and inspired by true events, New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff shines a light on the incredible heroics of the brace women of the war, and weaves a mesmerizing tale of courage, sisterhood, and great strength of women to survive in the hardest of circumstances.

Review: The market is inundated with novels set during World War II, and I always feel exhausted after finishing one. For that reason, I've basically sworn them off. However, I will make exceptions for books that come highly recommended, and for authors I read in the last and loved.

The Orphan's Tale was the best book I read in 2017, and when I saw the author had a new release, I had to read it. I wasn't wowed by The Lost Girls of Paris, but it is good, AND it's different premise than a lot of books about this era. 

I can't pinpoint what it is exactly, but I was never fully sucked into, or vested, this this novel so I give it 4 stars and not a full five. That said, it felt a lot shorter than 384 pages. The plot is compelling, and I found the characters to be relatable.