Rita Gerlach

The price of war is long lasting, something that unfortunately is not new to anyone. Our heroine has experienced this in the loss of a loved one. Will this loss happen again? For Anna, an opportunity to learn patience clinging to the hope that comes from loving someone. Her positive attitude permeates everything she does.

A lovely story of what life was like during the Second World War, I appreciated the wonderful details about how this family worked to survive the shortages of many of the items they took for granted. What a fabulous reminder of the many ways to endure when your way of life must change.

An ARC of this novel was received through Dusk to Dawn Books. These comments and impressions are my own and were in no way solicited.… (mehr)

I found my place in the world, and that’s enough for me — for now. - Millie

Louisa Jane Borden has grown up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the only child in a household composed of her father and grandmother. Fortunately she has a wonderful maid, Millie, that has admirably filled the role of good friend and confidante, something Louisa missed having no mother. Grandmother appears to have no particular love for Louisa, except to convince her to marry a man of social standing from England. Sparks fly when the young lady is not in agreement!

The author has given us plenty of excitement in this story with an earthquake, fire, robbery, train accident and more. The detailed scenery and imagery make you feel you are right there, as part of all the action. There seem to be many areas that Louisa could be involved in. She just needs to find her place in the world. Opening her heart to all that is around her, brings new opportunities and love into her life. After the rain, the sun shines brightly.

This book is published by Dusk to Dawn Books. The impressions and comments are my own and are in no way solicited.… (mehr)

This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes - written in Latin on a coin given to Mercy.

The author has done an incredible amount of research to bring us this story in honor of the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower. The history behind the Separatists leaving England and Holland to search for a land where freedom to worship and live out their faith is not new to us. However, this story brings us along for that trip many years ago.

I could almost hear the ship’s creaking and sense the fear as they were tossed about in a storm. You could feel the joy and the sorrow as that tiny ship made its way to an unknown future. It is hard to imagine the hardships endured by all. Yet they never abandoned their reason for leaving the relative safety of Holland to come out and be separate, to start a new country where all beliefs would be recognized and where there would no longer be class differences.

Published by Dusk to Dawn books, these comments and impressions are my own and were in no way solicited.… (mehr)

The idea for this story is good but the execution did not work at all. As others have mentioned, the main characters motivations and actions are all over the place. There is no natural progression from one action to the next. A reasonable character becomes a monster overnight, while another character, who begins the story with conviction and a sense of purpose, becomes a sniveling and pathetic shell of what she originally was. The inexplicable and constant groveling made me sick. These are not characters I can get behind or care about in any way. Sarah's presence made no sense. She was like a ghost just floating through the story without saying or doing much. Overall, I felt betrayed by this book due to the following: I was invested in characters that just died suddenly without sufficient explanation or care, the main characters were unlikeable, and the ending left so many things unresolved. I know this is a trilogy and I own the second book- after skimming the beginning of the second book, my worst fears were confirmed and I will not continue the series.… (mehr)