Thursday, June 6, 2024

Share Your Shelf - June 2024

 

It's the first Thursday of the month and that's time for Share Your Shelf hosted by

From the bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (PeopleThe Book of Lost Names comes a gripping historical novel about two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of the Nazi occupation.

Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change.

When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.

More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble—and Juliette nowhere to be found. What happened to her daughter in those last, terrible moments? Juliette has seemingly vanished without a trace, taking all the answers with her. Elise’s desperate search leads her to New York—and to Juliette—one final, fateful time.

A new author to me but a great read, very emotional, hard to imagine the circumstances.


One woman must make the hardest decision of her life in this unforgettably moving story of resistance and faith during one of the darkest times in history.

Santa Cruz, 1953. Jean-Luc is a man on the run from his past. The scar on his face is a small price to pay for surviving the horrors of Nazi occupation in France. Now, he has a new life in California, a family. He never expected the past to come knocking on his door.

Paris, 1944. A young Jewish woman's past is torn apart in a heartbeat. Herded onto a train bound for Auschwitz, in an act of desperation she entrusts her most precious possession to a stranger. All she has left now is hope.

On a darkened platform, two destinies become intertwined, and the choices each person makes will change the future in ways neither could have imagined.

Told from alternating perspectives, While Paris Slept reflects on the power of love, resilience, and courage when all seems lost. Exploring the strength of family ties, and what it really means to love someone unconditionally, this debut novel will capture your heart.


Danielle Steel - quick and easy, have a few of her books on Audible.



It was the maiden voyage of the Titanic, the greatest ship ever built, and in one fatal, unforgettable night, the sea shattered the lives and future of an extraordinary family, the Winfields.

Edwina Winfield, returning from her engagement trip to England with her fiance and her family, instantly loses her parents, the man she loved and her dreams. Without even time to mourn, she courageously defies convention to run her family's California newspaper and care for her five younger siblings. Unable to forget her fiance Charles, she is determined never to marry, to hkeep her family together, and to fight to survive as a woman alone. But Phillip, her beloved oldest brother, sets out for Harvard and tragically betrays her trust. Madcap brother George turns to the excitement of Hollywood during its magical days, not to the Winfield publishing empire. And lovely Alexis, who narrowly escaped death when the 
Titanic went down, grows into a troubled runaway whom even Edwina's love may not be able to save. The two youngest, Fannie and Teddy, remain with Edwina at home.

Compelling and deeply moving, 
No Greater Love questions a woman's choices and the price she must pay for making them. And in an unforgettable climax, it offers an answer—as Edwina confronts the ghosts haunting her and take an extraordinary risk for her future and her heart.


Finally getting around to reading the book I got for Christmas, Part 2 of the On Devonshire Shores series.



Royalty comes to Sidmouth, bringing unexpected danger and the sweet possibility of romance. . . .

When the Duke and Duchess of Kent and their daughter--the future Queen Victoria--rent neighboring Woolbrook Cottage for the winter, the Summers sisters are called upon to host three of the royal family's male staff in their seaside house. But they soon realize they've invited secrets and intrigue into their home.

Meanwhile, Emily Summers longs to become an author. A local publisher offers to consider her novel if she will first write a Sidmouth guidebook for him. Emily agrees and begins researching the area with help from the Duke of Kent's handsome private secretary. But a surprise visitor from her past shows up at Sea View, leaving Emily torn between the desires she's long held dear and her budding dreams for the future.

Return to the Devonshire coast with the Summers sisters, where loyalties are tested, secrets come to light, and new love emerges.


My first book from V. S. Alexander but I'll be checking out more.


Perfect for fans of Kate Quinn, Kristin Harmel, and Pam Jenoff, this new historical fiction novel from an acclaimed author is based on true WWII stories of life in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Occupation and the women who served the Allies as agents and spies. Casting light into one of the darkest periods of World War II, this powerful book tells of two Jewish sisters– one imprisoned in Poland and the other who joins the Special Operations Executive in a daring attempt to free her family from the Nazis.

It’s not just a thousand miles that separates Hanna Majewski from her younger sister, Stefa. There is another gulf—between the traditional Jewish ways that Hanna chose to leave behind in Warsaw, and her new, independent life in London. But as autumn of 1940 draws near, Germany begins a savage aerial bombing campaign in England, killing and displacing tens of thousands. Hanna, who narrowly escapes death, is recruited as a spy in an undercover operation that sends her back to her war-torn homeland.

In Hanna’s absence, her parents, sister, and brother have been driven from their comfortable apartment into the Warsaw Ghetto. Sealed off from the rest of the city, the Ghetto becomes a prison for nearly half a million Jews, struggling to survive amid starvation, disease, and the constant threat of deportation to Treblinka. Once a pretty and level-headed teenager, Stefa is now committed to the Jewish resistance. Together, she, Hanna, and Janka, a family friend living on the Aryan side of the city, form a trio called The War Girls. Against overwhelming odds and through heartbreak they will fight to rescue their loved ones, finding courage through sisterhood to keep hope alive . . .

Couldn't resist this library humor I saw on Facebook yesterday.



7 comments:

  1. You had a great month of reading! And that library humor is great, especially the one about procrastination!

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  2. The books you read sound good- I love the Facebook humor. Those lines are all so clever!!

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  3. I like Kristen Harmel and have that one on my to-read shelf. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Those are funny sayings and all of the books you read this month sound so interesting! Thanks for linking up with us!

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  5. I just love Kristen Harmel! I will check out The War Girls. Thanks for linking up!

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  6. Oh, procrastination! Love it. I at first thought it said 'procreaction,' and I wondered just where the books were and what they were doing! :)

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  7. I really enjoyed The Paris Daughter and I vaguely remember reading No Greater Love years ago..I used to read ALL her books when I was in high school and college.

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