Thirteen Moons
Thirteen Moons was a captivating tale and I checked halfway through to make sure it was a fiction book because it reads like it might be true. It’s like a glimpse back in time to a different time and world. Readers who enjoy great fiction stories would enjoy reading Thirteen Moons.

Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier

Splendid and Vile
Readers who love history will enjoy this up close biography of Churchill. However, the book felt long at points to me as it tried to give a very detailed picture of what was happening. Although, living during the bombings on London would have felt like a long time. It’s still hard to imagine sometimes that a major city was bombed night after night for more than a year.

The Splendid and The Vile by Erik Larson

A Bookshop in Berlin
Some true stories read like fiction. A Bookshop in Berlin is the true story of one woman’s survival during WW2. She starts the war owning a French bookshop in Berlin.

A Bookshop in Berlin by Francoise Frankel

The Secret Keeper
Lovers of historical fiction and great fiction will love The Secret Keeper. I enjoyed the story and getting to know the characters. The plot has a lot of twists and turns and I stayed up late to finish the book so I would know how it ended!

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

The Zookeeper's Wife
The Zookeeper’s Wife focuses on Antonina view of what happens during the years when the zoo is affected by the war. It’s a non-fiction book, so it relies on several people’s journals and is told in chronological order. There are facets of this WWII book that aren’t focused on in a lot of WWII books – what happened to the animals, how some people “hid” using language and hair dye and about the Polish uprising.

The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek 2
Cussy Carter has very few loves in her life – her father and her books. It’s not her love of learning that makes her an outcast in her Kentucky community, though. Her skin color sets her apart with its blue tint. She is often treated worse than the “coloreds” in their area as no one understands why her and her father are blue.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

Your Blue Flame
Your Blue Flame is a must-read for every adult and would be good for high schoolers to read as well. It’s good to know early in life that you are allowed to pursue a passion, even if it’s on the side. We should all be able to do something in life that makes us feel alive – the world will be better for it!

Your Blue Flame by Jen Fulwiler

Astfalk books 1
I’ve read one other book by Carolyn Astfalk – Ornamental Graces. She writes Catholic fiction. Her books have a theme of faith, grace and forgiveness. She deals with modern topics and the characters in her book are real – not perfect. It’s refreshing to read faith-based fiction that is true to life.

Stay With Me and Come Back to Me by Carolyn ...