Cover Crush: The Things We Cherished

We can all say that you should never judge a book by its cover, but I guarantee that we all have done so at least once! Cover Crush is designed to feature some of those covers that have caught the eye as a standout on the bookshelf.

Obviously your eye is drawn right to those two people making out in the street, which definitely connects the reader with the title – these two people cherish each other, hence the PDA.  What it makes me think next is, why?  Why are they doing this is the street – what is going to happen to them or already did happen to them. A simple image is clearly asking me a lot of questions!  That’s a good thing!

What are your thoughts on this cover?

I wonder what my friends are crushing on this week? Let’s check it out: A Literary Vacation; A Bookaholic Swede; Of Quills and Vellum; Flashlight Commentary; Layered Pages; 2 Kids and Tired.    

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff

The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff
ARC, e-book, 368 pages
MIRA
February 21, 2017
★★★★★
 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received via Netgalley for Review with TLC Book Tours

A powerful novel of friendship set in a traveling circus during World War II, The Orphan's Tale introduces two extraordinary women and their harrowing stories of sacrifice and survival .

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep… When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night.

Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.

I had previously read another novel by Jenoff, The Ambassador’s Daughter, and while I had some quibbles with it, I enjoyed the novel enough to be extremely intrigued when I saw The Orphan’s Tale pop up on my radar. I am pleased to say that I LOVED this book and it will definitely be on my top list at the end of the year.

The Orphan’s Tale struck a note for me right from the start that is guarantee to hook me: a story set in/around a circus during WWII. I enjoy reading WWII novels, especially those that are not set on the battlefield and explore little niche areas. The circus was not something I had really ever thought about as existing outside of the United States and certainly not within the realm of the War. I thought that it was fascinating to see how the War affected the circus – some folded and some continued on in some capacity at the mercy of the Third Reich, but they were always at risk of search and closure. There was a desperate feel as they tried to put on a show and entertain the people, but always knowing that anything could happen at any time. That feeling definitely permeated much of the story. It is also clear that the author spent a lot of time understanding the circus and this felt very real and was not just used as a backdrop for a story. It was very much a living character with a life of its own.

Throughout the story I kept harkening back to two books that I felt had much in common with this one: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Circus Fire by Stewart O’Nan. Both of these books (the former a novel and the latter non-fiction) involve circus disasters as their central focal point, and while that might not be quite the same in The Orphan’s Tale, there is the feeling of impending disaster that will come at some point, and it does, which brought both of those circus disasters (both real and fake) to mind. More directly, the way The Orphan’s Tale is framed, an elderly individual going to great lengths to attend a circus exhibit and then share their tale, immediately connected me to Water for Elephants, and that prior reading experience possibly colored how I perceived the character in this novel. It was an interesting exploration of how a prior experience can affect how you connect with a book and I would love to talk with someone who had not read Water for Elephants previously and see if they had the same experience that I did.

At its heart, this is a story of relationships in the very worst situations. While there are a couple romantic relationships, it really is about friendships. How those change and evolve over time, how people act under stressful situations, how friendship can take on different meanings, and how someone can be so critical in your life at the right time – all these are explored within this novel. Noa and Astrid are the two main characters whose perspective we see the world from and they are both coming from very different worlds, but are very similar in some ways. Their courage in the face of disaster ties them together, but their differences in past experience and secrets they have keep them at odds with each other. As a reader you go through a push-pull of emotions, at times seeing the perspective of one and then the other, which keeps you on your toes.

There was one element that I didn’t completely buy into and that was the frame for the story. It begins and ends set in the present with a character (who you don’t know who it is at the opening of the novel, but it is revealed at the end) who travels to an event held to remember the circus. This event and the artifacts there mean a lot to this person as they are trying to figure something out that they have clearly held on to for a long time. I changed my mind several times throughout the reading as to who this person was, and boy was I wrong! That is one thing that Jenoff carries off here that I also applauded in my review of The Ambassador’s Daughter, the ability to keep the reader off the track and then surprise them with a shocking revelation. I didn’t find this character totally believable in the driving reason to seek out this event and to try to reconnect with the past. I also struggle with the title and how that plays into who the bookending character is. It felt as if a different character being the focus of the present day storyline would have been more appropriate and make more sense in the larger scope of the story.

However, overall the story worked for me. I will admit to shedding a few tears as well toward the end of the book, which is difficult for a novel to achieve.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• A Literary Vacation
• The Lit Bitch

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Pam Jenoff:

The Kommandant’s Girl

The Diplomat’s Wife

The Ambassador’s Daughter
[My Review]

The Things We Cherished

The Winter Guest

Almost Home

The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach

A Hidden Affair

The Other Girl

The Last Embrace

Find Pam Jenoff: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Follow the Tour:

On TLC Book Tours Website

Monday, February 20th: A Chick Who Reads

Monday, February 20th: Barbara Khan

Tuesday, February 21st: Savvy Verse and Wit

Wednesday, February 22nd: Caryn, The Book Whisperer

Thursday, February 23rd: West Metro Mommy

Friday, February 24th: Reading is My SuperPower

Friday, February 24th: A Bookish Affair

Monday, February 27th: Building Bookshelves

Monday, February 27th: Just Commonly

Tuesday, February 28th: Bibliotica

Wednesday, March 1st: Kahakai Kitchen

Wednesday, March 1st: Susan Peterson

Thursday, March 2nd: A Literary Vacation

Friday, March 3rd: Cindy Burnett

Monday, March 6th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Monday, March 6th: Literary Quicksand

Tuesday, March 7th: The Lit Bitch

Wednesday, March 8th: The Romance Dish

Thursday, March 9th: Just One More Chapter

Friday, March 10th: Suzy Approved

Monday, March 13th: Reading Reality

Monday, March 13th: Diary of an Eccentric

Tuesday, March 14th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Wednesday, March 15th: Bibliophiliac

Thursday, March 16th: The Maiden’s Court

Friday, March 17th: View from the Birdhouse

Monday, March 20th: A Bookish Way of Life

Tuesday, March 21st: Write Read Life

Wednesday, March 22nd: 100 Pages a Day

Thursday, March 23rd: Silver’s Reviews

Friday, March 24th: Not in Jersey

Friday March 24th: SJ2B House of Books

Tuesday, March 28th: Travelling Birdy

 

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Grand Central: Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion by Alyson Richman, Jenna Blum, Sarah McCoy, Melanie Benjamin, Sarah Jio, Erika Robuck, Kristina McMorris, Amanda Hodgkinson, Pam Jenoff, and Karen White

Grand Central: Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion
Featuring stories by: Alyson Richman, Jenna Blum, Sarah McCoy,
Melanie Benjamin, Sarah Jio, Erika Robuck, Kristina McMorris,
Amanda Hodgkinson, Pam Jenoff, and Karen White
Paperback, 368 pages
Penguin Group
July 1, 2014
★★★★★

Genre: Short-Story Anthology

Source: Received as a gift from my 2014 Book Blogger Secret Santa

“A war bride awaits the arrival of her GI husband at the platform…

A Holocaust survivor works at the Oyster Bar, where a customer reminds him of his late mother…

A Hollywood hopeful anticipates her first screen test and a chance at stardom in the Kissing Room…

On any particular day, thousands upon thousands of people pass through New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, through the whispering gallery, beneath the ceiling of stars, and past the information booth and its beckoning four-faced clock, to whatever destination is calling them. It is a place where people come to say hello and good-bye. And each person has a story to tell.
Now, ten bestselling authors inspired by this iconic landmark have created their own stories, set just after the end of World War II, in a time of hope, uncertainty, change, and renewal….”

Of all of the authors presented in this collection, the only one that I had read any of their individual works was Pam Jenoff, who I really did enjoy. However, the authors included in this collection were not what drew me to this book. I was extremely intrigued by the concept of an anthology that actively strives to have a cohesive topic; in this case, a certain date after the end of the WWII in the Grand Central Terminal. I had recently read A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii by a collection of authors which was another anthology which revolved around the event of the destruction of Pompeii, and I was excited to see another take on this style of book.

One of the greatest strengths of this book is how the stories all cover different life situations as affected by the war. Among the characters encountered are: GI coming home from war to the life he left behind, a woman afraid of the return of her husband from the war, German and Jewish refugees from Europe, a female pilot, and a Lebensborn Program mother. I felt that I learned so many different aspects of life during and after the war that I had not known about before. These characters were so different from each other and so individualized. Some of their stories are just so heartbreaking, while others are so full of hope for a better life. They will definitely pull at your heartstrings and you might even shed a tear or two.

I LOVED how the iconic train station itself was so fleshed out that it was a character all of its own. There were areas of the stations featured that I never knew existed, like the Kissing Room, the Biltmore Hotel above, an a movie theatre as well as other iconic areas such as the Whispering Gallery and the Oyster Bar. Throughout the course of these stories you come away feeling like you have personally toured the station, even if you have never been there.

While reading, I was constantly on the lookout for the intersection of characters from the other stories – and you do see them in passing. A man who plays the violin from the first story is commented on by a couple other characters, for instance. However, they do not actually engage with each other to a very great extent. I would have liked a little bit more in this manner – but I might just have been spoiled by the level of interaction in A Day of Fire.

My favorite story, was the last – “The Harvest Season”. It had some twists that I didn’t expect and I quickly connected to these characters. Their stories could have ended up a couple different ways and I really liked the result. Karen White will be an author I keep my eyes open for.

I was very impressed with the cohesiveness of this collection and enjoyed it very much. I would highly recommend this to any WWII history fan. I hope to see more of these types of collections in the future (I have heard of 2 others in the works).

You can visit the book’s website for additional information about the book.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Flashlight Commentary
• Jenn’s Bookshelf

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

 

Copyright © 2015 by The Maiden’s Court

This content is owned and copyrighted 2009-2014 by The Maiden’s Court.

Book Review: The Ambassador’s Daughter by Pam Jenoff + Giveaway

The Ambassador’s Daughter by Pam Jenoff
ARC, Paperback, 336 pages
Harlequin MIRA
January 29, 2013
★★★½☆☆

Genre: Historical fiction

Source: Received from publicist for review and tour

“Paris, 1919.The world's leaders have gathered to rebuild from the ashes of the Great War. But for one woman, the City of Light harbors dark secrets and dangerous liaisons, for which many could pay dearly.

Brought to the peace conference by her father, a German diplomat, Margot Rosenthal initially resents being trapped in the congested French capital, where she is still looked upon as the enemy. But as she contemplates returning to Berlin and a life with Stefan, the wounded fiancé she hardly knows anymore, she decides that being in Paris is not so bad after all.

Bored and torn between duty and the desire to be free, Margot strikes up unlikely alliances: with Krysia, an accomplished musician with radical acquaintances and a secret to protect; and with Georg, the handsome, damaged naval officer who gives Margot a job—and also a reason to question everything she thought she knew about where her true loyalties should lie.

Against the backdrop of one of the most significant events of the century, a delicate web of lies obscures the line between the casualties of war and of the heart, making trust a luxury that no one can afford.”

Prior to reading this book I had heard of Jenoff’s previous books, The Kommandant’s Girl and The Diplomat’s Wife, however I had not read them or known much about them. I certainly did not know that The Ambassador’s Daughter was a prequel to the above mentioned books [I realized this about ¾ of the way through the book when I visited the author’s website]. However, after reading this novel, I will likely be picking up the rest of her novels.

The setting of this book was a time period which I had never read about and did not know much about from my history classes. Most of my knowledge tends to actually revolve around the World Wars themselves and missing the time period in between. This book takes place across approximately a year during the negotiations of peace following the end of WWI. There is an intensity regarding the fate of Germany that permeates the novel. The very beginning of the book was a little slow to build and drawn out – however once we got past introductions it picked up the pace. Just when you thought you knew where it was going the novel changed direction; I really didn’t see the twists coming.

The main characters are Margot, the daughter of a German ambassador, and Georg a German military officer who is a part of the German delegation in Paris for the conference. I found Margot to be frustrating at times because of her naivety but I LOVED Georg from the start and all the way through. There were times that this book made me want to cry and other times when I just wanted to scream at Margot for being blind or not speaking up when she should. I found it difficult to be sympathetic to Margot’s plight regarding her fiancé and choices that she had to make because I didn’t feel like I got enough information about him early on to really care.

Author Pam Jenoff also has written the following books: The Kommandant’s Girl, The Diplomat’s Wife, The Things We Cherished, Almost Home, and A Hidden Affair. You can visit Jenoff’s website for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Ladybug Storytime
• To Read or Not To Read

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

Now for the giveaway – I have one copy to giveaway to a US or Canada resident.  Giveaway will be open until February 24th.  Entries accepted through the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court