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Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Tag Archives: WWII


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“Half Notes From Berlin”: A Symphony of Secrets and Survival

So Mom and I received a copy of this book as part of a book blog tour like, a hundred years ago. Or somethin’. It arrived too late for us to read and review it fairly. We require a lead time of at least two weeks. Minimum.  This title arrived outside that time frame. By about a werk and a half. So we passed. Added it to The Resident Leaning Towers of Pisa. Aka: Our book shelves.

And it got buried. Forgotten. For years. (The book. Not Pisa, okay?)

Silly Mom!

Then one of us – the one with brains but no opposable thumbs – excavated it the other day. Kimber the Magnificent to the rescue once again! (Kimber: How Mom ever manages this book bloggy thing, I’ll never know. Good thing she has me to keep things on track! And do most of the brainwork. Don’t tell Mom I said that, okay?)

So here we are. Better late than never. (Hi, Mom) So let’s get to it, shall we? Like:

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Why This Book Left One of Us Speechless

Strangers in Time

By David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing, 2025)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Via: Library

Pages (Print): 431

Kimber here. Telling you to hold on to your kibble. Or whatevs. Cuz Her Momness and I? We just finished one of them thar “barn burner” thingies. It’s historical fiction. Set in an oft-overlooked epoch. By an author who’s not exactly known for historical fiction. But this fella? Even though David Baldacci’s an acclaimed, best-selling author of action/thriller tomes, he doggone outdogg-ies his-self with Strangers in Time.

I know. I’m adorable.

I’ll let Mom tell ya more:

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Prepare to be Blown Away by ‘The Lucky Seven’

The Lucky Seven

By Norman W. Holden

Published by: Indie, June 2023

Genre: Non-Fiction – Biography/History

Pages: 380

We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Suit up and strap in for an incredible ride and harrowing close calls when a heavy bomber is mortally wounded and the crew bails out over occupied Belgium in this World War II stunner. Exciting and absorbing, The Lucky Seven is a remarkable story of courage, sacrifice, and heroism. It’s one of the best World War II stories we’ve ever read. And we’ve read a ton.

Grounded in “true wartime events,” The Lucky Seven is the story of First Lieutenant James J. Goebel, Jr. and the brave men and women of the Belgian and French Resistance. Much of the book covers Goebel’s evade and escape experiences after Goebel and his crewmen parachute out of their wounded B-24 over occupied Belgium.

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The Slug & I and a New Spy Thriller

Didya miss us?

Kimber the Magnificent here. Her Momness can’t come to the blog write now (that’s not a typo.) She’s being a lazy slug. Slacking on this post-y/bloggy thing. So I decided to step in and take over. After all, someone has to be the adult in the room. (And we all know who that leaves out, right?)

Anyway, the Slug and I? We’ve read like, 98 million books since our last post-y thing. Well. Okay. Maybe not “98 million.” Maybe only 97. But anyway. I wanted to tell ya about the last historical fiction thing-y we read. Cuz someone has to, Slugville notwithstanding. So here goes:

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Why ‘Anna’s Story’ Will Wring Hearts

Anna’s Story

A true story of a young girl’s will to survive in the arftermath of World War II

By: Steven Kautner

Date Published: July 2022

Genre: Non-Fiction – Biography/Memoir/WWII

Via: Reedsy/Discovery

Pages: 148

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“How could I not write this story?” asks author Steven Kautner in this gripping and harrowing account about what happened to his mother, Anna Friedrich, and her family of ethnic Germans after World War II. The follow-on is, “How can anyone not read this story?” Because Anna’s Story is absolutely astonishing. Eye-opening. And jaw-dropping. It’ll blow you away.

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Female Fighter Ace Flies High in ‘The Legend of Lilia’

The Legend of Lilia

A novel based on a true story

By Christopher P. Redwine, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction

Via: Reedsy/Discovery

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Hey Mom!” quoth I, Kimber the Magnificent. “How do you spell ‘fas-cin-a-ting?” (“Quoth.” Isn’t that a great word? I stole it from Mom. Don’t tell anyone, okay?)

“Why?” quoth Mom. (There’s that great word again.)

“I need it to help with the review of that cool book you just read. The historical novel about the world’s first female ace fighter pilot.”

“You mean, The Legend of Lilia?”

“That’s it!” Says I. Mom tells me it goes kinda like this:

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‘The Red Thread’ Weaves Heartfelt Love Story, Surprises

Historical fiction with a twist.

The Red Thread (Level 4 Press, 2021)

By Rebekah Pace

Historical Fiction/romance/YA

“A red thread connects soulmates, linking them forever so they can always find one another…

The cord may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.”

Kimber here. You know Mom and I read a lot of historical fiction. Think truckloads. We’ve read so much historical fiction lately, we were getting kinda burnt out on it. Especially WWII-ish historical fiction. So when we were asked to read and review The Red Thread, we weren’t exactly turning cartwheels. In fact, we were kind of reluctant to take it on.

This book surprised us. Big time. Here’s why:

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Say ‘Aloha’ to Adventure With ‘The Refuge’

The Refuge (2021)

By John A. Heldt

Series: Time Box (Book 4)

Historical fiction/Time travel/ Romance/Adventure

Hold on to your leis and your Lanes for this fast-moving adventure through time and space!

The fourth book in the Time Box saga, The Refuge is set in 1941 Hawaii. A modern family of seven has transported itself back in time to escape the deadly clutches of a former technocrat and employer Robert Deveraux. He’s also nuts. The Lanes are being chased through time by an assassin hired by Devearaux.

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Gold Standard in Historical Fiction?

Calling all fans of historical fiction and anyone else who can fog a mirror!

Today we’re reviewing three outstanding novels. They’re all historical fiction. All are set during World War II. Anchoring these narratives are strong women who survive and flourish against the odds.

Mom says The Nightingale and Cilka’s Journey are two disturbing but outstanding reads. And that The Things We Cannot Say is one of the year’s best. (And she reads alot. When she’s not out walking with me.)

Taken together, these three novels may represent the “gold standard” for historical fiction. 

So sit tight and get ready to dive in.  Let’s go!

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Monique Roy On Art, Historical Fiction

You know we’re big historical fiction fans here, right? Kimber here. Mom and I, we love the creativity of a novel balanced with actual people, places, and events. We eat that stuff up like gourmet dog chow! So when we were asked to review a historical novel about Nazi looting of priceless art items from Jewish owners during World War II, we ate it up!

The book is A Savage Kultur. It’s by Monique Roy. Read our full review here.

We reached out to Monique and asked her to do a guest post, telling us a little more about herself and her book. Why historical fiction. Stuff like that. Monique agreed. Here’s her post. Take it away, Monique!

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