Book reviews!

It's Friday again!

I took the plunge recently and decided to read books on the Kindle while I'm feeding Josh, rather than just browse IG and facebook on my phone and feel my brain slowly atrophy. I love turning real pages, but a Kindle allows me to use only one hand, and to read in the dark without any light on. It really changed how I feel about spending hours feeding this little guy!

I want to share some of what I've been reading and maybe inspire you to pick up a book. A good story based on true events or true people feels so worthwhile to read (as opposed to reading, say, Buzzfeed ;) )

Lilac Girls

I didn't want to put this down - the subject matter was fascinating.... a story from the viewpoint of a girl who survived Nazi medical experiments. Wow. I haven't read a holocaust story quite like this before. It also covers the viewpoint of a Nazi female guard, and a woman in America who helped the experiment survivors. This was the first novel I had read in quite a while and it got me back into the swing of reading. It's not too long at all. (And the characters are based on true people, which always makes it more interesting.)

We Were the Lucky Ones

Loved this book. It's detailed and thorough, and I really felt like I was there. It covers a close-knit  family who are split up during WW2 for several years, following each person's individual story along the way. All the characters were relatable, reacting to situations in a similar way to how I would (probably) react...which I appreciated because there's nothing worse than an author who makes their main characters do stupid/obvious things just to create more drama in the story (see next review, haha). This book was utterly realistic and believable! And you could feel the warmth of the family's love throughout. Highly recommend.

Her Mother's Hope / Her Daughter's Dream

These are 2 books that go together as part of a saga. I bought both as a bundle on Amazon .... and I wish I hadn't. I've never had a book that I put down about 5 times swearing I couldn't stand to read it's rambling repetitiveness, annoying characters who never communicated to each other even tho they had millions of opportunities to, etc... one second longer. But I read it because it had some 5 star reviews and I thought, it must get better???? In the last quarter of the second book, the story became more interesting. But not until then. Most of the fault with this book was poor story-telling. It was like she was making it up as she went along almost. It could have been a good story. Francine Rivers has some excellent books but this was not one of them, in my opinion. (Read 'Redeeming Love' instead.)

These is My Words, by Nancy E Turner

Set in the pioneer days on America... this was my favourite book I've read in a loooong time. (Probably since I read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" about 10 yrs ago). I LOVE it. I want to buy the hard copy just so I can have it in in my shelves and read it all the time. I actually read this when I was a lot younger and didn't get it at all. But my mum shared her copy with me recently and it is hilarious, sad, and brutally real. One of those books where you know the characters will play on your mind for a long time to come. I miss them already and I'm still on the last few pages! 

Any recommendations out there for me? Do you agree with my reviews or am I way off??? There's no accounting for taste... each to their own... and all of that. :)