Saturday, October 22, 2022

Review: Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin

Genre: Historical Romance 
Publisher: Revell
Released: Feb. 1, 2022
403 pages

About the Book:

When the Nazis march toward Paris, American ballerina Lucie Girard buys her favorite English-language bookstore to allow the Jewish owners to escape. The Germans make it difficult for her to keep Green Leaf Books afloat. And she must keep the store open if she is to continue aiding the resistance by passing secret messages between the pages of her books.

Widower Paul Aubrey wants nothing more than to return to the States with his little girl, but the US Army convinces him to keep his factory running and obtain military information from his German customers. As the war rages on, Paul offers his own resistance by sabotaging his product and hiding British airmen in his factory. But in order to carry out his mission, he must appear to support the occupation—which does not win him any sympathy when he meets Lucie in the bookstore.

In a world turned upside down, will love or duty prevail?
  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


I had high hopes going in and was not disappointed. I loved it. Story is set in Paris 1940 at the time when the Germans are beginning to move into France. Lucie and Paul are two Americans who have made Paris their home but with tensions rising between the Germans and the French they are living during unsettling times. Paul runs an automotive factory and has been convinced by the US Army to stay to obtain information for the US. Lucie is a ballerina by trade but buys a bookstore to allow the Jewish owners to escape. Paul and Lucie meet when Paul brings his five-year-old daughter, Josie, to the bookstore. There is an instant connection between them but due to circumstances they can’t/won’t explore it. After a while they do begin to grow closer but a relationship between them would not be safe for either. Then America and Germany declare war and staying in Paris is dangerous. Can they escape to safety, and can they explore a relationship? Once war is declared I was on the edge of my seat needing to know what was going happen and if Paul, Josie, and Lucie be safe. There were quite a few terrifying moments and one that had me in tears. I really loved the interactions between Lucie, Paul and Josie. Josie had a vivid imagination and I loved how Lucie was able to bring Josie’s stories to life. The courage that both Paul and Lucie show was incredible. I couldn’t imagine living in the circumstances surrounding them. The details of the story were incredible. I learned so much about this time in history. I highly recommend this book. 

Favourite Quote: 
“I'll explain this simple truth. If I were to ban sinners from this church, the pews would be empty. So would the pulpit.”
(I received this book as a gift from a friend; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Review: Licensed for Trouble by Susan May Warren

Series: PJ Sugar #3
Genre: Mystery/Suspense 
Publisher: Tyndale House 
Released: July 16, 2010
375 pages
About the Book:

PJ Sugar receives shocking news that she’s inherited the Kellogg family mansion. Though she has no idea why, the timing is perfect—PJ has clearly worn out her welcome at her sister’s house. Unfortunately, the mansion is in shambles, and PJ is short on cash. Rescue comes in the form of Max Smith, a mysterious handyman willing to trade his services for PJ’s investigative skills. But PJ already has a full docket with cramming for her PI license and nurturing a growing romance with her boss, Jeremy Kane. Can she take on Max’s case without dropping the ball?








  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐

PJ has inherited a house that needs a lot of work so her sister recommends a handyman to her. Max, the handyman, has amnesia and has spent the last 3 years trying to build a new life but wondering who he really is. PJ and Max agree to trade services, he will work on making repairs needed to the house and PJ will try to figure out who he is. PJ has no idea why she inherited a house from someone she barely knew so she begins digging into this inheritance to figure out why. Meanwhile she is also trying to figure out where Max came from and who he really is. This leads her on a dangerous mission and her life is threatened a couple of times. I really enjoyed reading the diary entries.

PJ continues to struggle with seeing herself how others see her, she still sees herself as her high school nickname describes her, trouble. I felt PJ’s relationship with her sister is stronger in this book and Connie was able to speak frankly with her and get PJ to recognize that she has grown since high school days and is not who she used to be. Eventually PJ starts to accept what her sister is saying and begins seeing herself as more than just trouble.

This was my favourite of the series as I found myself more engaged in figuring out the two mysteries. I was glad the love triangle was over and appreciated that PJ ended up with the character I liked. I did feel like the storyline with the mom was thrown in as an after thought and didn’t really add to the story.

Overall this series was enjoyable as cozy mystery, I could see these books as hallmark movies.  

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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Monday, October 17, 2022

Review: Double Trouble by Susan May Warren

Series: PJ Sugar #2
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Tyndale House 
Released: Jan. 25, 2010
335 pages
About the Book:

With one solved case under her belt, PJ Sugar is ready to dive into her career as a private investigator. Or at least a PI’s "assistant" until she can prove herself to Jeremy Kane, her new boss. Suddenly PJ’s seeing crime everywhere. But is it just in her head, or can she trust her instincts? When she takes on her first official case—house-sitting for a witness in protective custody—Jeremy assures her there’s no danger involved. But it soon becomes clear that there is someone after the witness . . . and now they’re after PJ, too. 








  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐

PJ is now in working with Jeremy, training to become a private investigator and ends up being a stand-in for someone who is in the witness protection program as they get ready to testify at trial. I didn’t completely understand why PJ was put in such a dangerous position, but this circumstance introduced us to some wonderful characters and added elements of danger and amusement to the story. I fell in love with the PJ’s new neighbour Gabby, for being an eighty-year-old woman she was a wonderful watch dog for PJ. The mystery did keep me trying to figure out who the bad guy was and questioning if we had even met them yet.

On the character relationship side there is a love triangle happening and PJ needs to decide if she is going to go with the comfortable and familiar relationship of her high school boyfriend or does she have feelings she wants to explore for the new guy in her life. By the end of the book PJ makes her decision. I am not a fan of love triangle’s, and I wasn’t a fan of one of these guys, so the fact that it took PJ quite a while to decide annoyed me. Thankfully she went with the guy I liked.

PJ is relatable as a character as she tries hard to do the right thing but stumbles at times. She is not perfect and makes mistakes.

This book falls into the cozy mystery category as there is a little bit of romance and a little bit of suspense with quirky characters throughout. 

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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