reecaspieces

Overview

Based on the true story of an illegal women’s clinic at the center of a high-profile trial in 1940s Chicago and the nurse who risked her safety and freedom to work there, a thought-provoking, powerfully timely novel of courage, sisterhood, and women’s healthcare for readers of Kristin Hannah, Kerri Maher, and Audrey Blake.

In the fall of 1939, while Europe grapples with the outbreak of war, Mimi Lukas wages a private battle in her Chicago neighborhood. Her husband, Stan, once a promising White Sox player, has been sidelined by a broken leg. His hopes of returning to baseball are dwindling along with their savings. As Stan sinks into inertia, Mimi resolves to go back to nursing.

When a friend tells her of a women’s clinic in need of a nurse, Mimi hesitates. Such places are illegal and at odds with her religious upbringing. But Dr. Gabler’s office isn’t the dingy establishment Mimi envisioned. The space is clean, bright, and welcoming, the staff skillful. Patients are treated with dignity and compassion, even as they are sworn to secrecy about what happens within its walls.

The patients, too, are not who Mimi expected. Some are heartbreakingly young. Most are married, and many already have children. Police and state prosecutors are paid handsomely to turn a blind eye. As Mimi finds kinship with her colleagues and with an officer on retainer, she begins her own private reckoning between what is legal and what is necessary, no matter how painful or inconvenient.

But Mimi senses the tide turning against them. She knows, too, that soon she must decide how much she will risk to defend the ideals she’s come to embrace through hard-won experience . . .

Poignant and insightful, here is a story of courage and empathy, as timeless as it is timely.

Review

There is so much I want to say about this book!

In the fall of 1939, while Europe grapples with the outbreak of war, Mimi Lukas wages a private battle in her Chicago neighborhood. Her husband, Stan, once a promising White Sox player, has been sidelined by a broken leg. His hopes of returning to baseball are dwindling along with their savings. As Stan sinks into inertia, Mimi resolves to go back to nursing. But she doesn’t end up in a regular nursing job. She ends up working for a “women’s” clinic.

When Mimi first realizes exactly what this job is, she walks out. But she is so broke and she needs to put food on the table that she goes back. Soon she realizes how much this clinic is needed. And how much help it is providing to the women in need.

Oh! Mimi is such a fabulous character. She struggles every day with her morals, but providing for her family comes first. And let me tell you when she gets herself in trouble, I had to put the book down and rest a minute my emotions were all over the place.

Which ever side of the aisle you find yourself on this topic, this book will help you see what’s needed, how it started and the desperation of some women. It will also show you how bad some of the men were. (And still are).

Need a novel based on a true story… THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for honest opinion.

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Overview

A debut novel for fans of Jane Austen, Elin Hilderbrand, and Gilmore Girls, Worse Than Strangers is a beachy retelling of Austen’s Persuasion set against the backdrop of a cottage on Nantucket about finding romance, second chances, and a new path in life.

Rose and Lily are best friends first, mother-daughter second, which is good because right now, Lily could really use a friend. Recently fired from her NYC magazine job and heartbroken, Lily has fled to the family cottage in Siasconset. She is shocked when she stumbles across her first love at the grocery store holding hands with his new fiancé—a fiancé he never mentioned on their many, many late-night phone calls.

Rose has secrets, too. A therapist about to start her own private practice, Rose’s world is rocked by the handsome renter staying in their guest cottage, Thomas Wentworth: the one person she thought she would never see again and the man who has always (unfortunately) held her heart.

A modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion set against a backdrop of blue and purple hydrangeas, swollen brick sidewalks, tall sea grass, and uniform, shingled houses, Lily and Rose Gardner’s summer journey of second chances, healing, and hope begs the question: Can you repeat the past, and is it ever too late to try again?

Review

Rose and Lily are best friends first, mother-daughter second. Recently fired from her NYC magazine job and heartbroken, Lily has fled to the family cottage in Siasconset. She is shocked when she stumbles across her first love at the grocery store holding hands with his new fiancé—a fiancé he never mentioned on their many, many late-night phone calls.

This is told in two different points of view, Lily and Rose. Each of these sweet ladies have their own issues to deal with. I will say, I found Lily to be a little overly dramatic and I wanted to pop her on a few occasions. But I did enjoy so much about this story.

I absolutely loved the setting of Nantucket. The author brings this place to life. I truly felt like I was right there feeling the wind on my face.

Now this story is a bit of a jumble. The transitions do not seem as smooth as they should be. But I really did enjoy this tale. It has great characters, wonderful setting and a good bit of drama to boot!

Need a good story set on Nantucket to get you through the summer…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Overview

A young widow returns to her late father’s New England estate, only to be drawn into the hunt for the rumored pirate treasure that consumed his life, in this thrilling and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Husbands & Lovers.

“Utterly transporting . . . one of the most gorgeous love stories I’ve read in a long time.”—Emily Giffin

Local history insists that a legendary pirate buried his treasure somewhere beneath Windward, the decayed Cooper estate on Winthrop Island, but Lucy Cooper never trusted the fable that broke her family apart. When a widowed Lucy returns with her young daughter to grieve her estranged father, she discovers catastrophe: The property is mired in debt she canʼt repay, and Ben Ressler has unexpectedly turned up on her doorstep.

Thirteen summers ago, the teenaged Lucy never meant to fall in love with Ben, a Dartmouth football star vacationing nearby at the Peabody estate and the object of an all-consuming crush by Laura Peabody, Lucy’s best friend. Those few weeks were the best and worst of Lucy’s life, dooming her friendship with Laura. Now, after a fatal accident ended his dazzling NFL career, Ben has returned to live quietly in the Peabodys’ caretaker lodge. He’s also the last person who saw Lucy’s father alive.

As Lucy reconstructs her father’s troubling final days, she uncovers his research on the frozen winter of 1717, when a desperately wounded pirate sought refuge on Winthrop Island with an enigmatic healer. To Lucy, this history points the way to a different kind of treasure: how to heal from the fractures of the past and earn a second chance at love. But just as Lucy’s long-buried emotions sear to the surface, a shocking turn of events reveals that someone else on the island will do whatever it takes to claim the fabled plunder.

A timeless story of love and atonement, When You Loved Memaps both a centuries-old treasure hunt and the intimate territory of the human heart, weaving together past and present as only Beatriz Williams can.

Review

When a widowed Lucy returns to Winthrop Island with her young daughter to grieve her estranged father, she discovers a catastrophe: The property is mired in debt she canʼt repay, and Ben Ressler, her old flame, has unexpectedly turned up on her doorstep.

I enjoyed Lucy and Ben. These two are slow to discover their feelings. But as a reader, you know those feelings are there and they are so strong. Then there is the pirate’s treasure mixed into their world. This keeps the story intriguing for sure.

But, as much as I loved Lucy and Ben, I found the flash back in time to 1717 a bit boring. It just didn’t fit for me. Usually, I enjoy the past mixed with the present. However, this part of the book just slowed the whole story down for me.

I am a huge fan of this author. My favorite book by her is Under the Stars. But all her books are so very good. You cannot go wrong with any of them. Even though this is my least favorite, it is still a 4 star read.

Need a story of love story with a bit of a treasure hunt…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel for a honest review.

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Overview

In postwar Los Angeles, former spies Evelyn Bishop and Nick Gallagher dig into shady real estate dealings, murder, and the appalling aftereffects of Japanese American internment during World War II.

Now president of her father’s company, Bishop Aeronautics, Evelyn is presiding over a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of her factory when she is approached by Billy Takemura, a Japanese American soldier who announces that she’s building on stolen land.

Like Evelyn and Nick, Billy is a war hero. He served in the decorated 442nd Nisei company, while most of his family were forcibly interned at Manzanar. Their thriving family restaurant, and the land it occupied, were taken while they were in the camp. 

Determined to right this wrong—and concerned about her father’s possible involvement in profiteering—Evelyn enlists Nick in her investigation. What starts as a discovery of widespread fraud quickly graduates to murder. Suspects range from an unscrupulous business partner to a bitter widow to Billy’s hotheaded brother. It’s up to Evelyn and Nick to expose the truth. However, it’s not easy when Evelyn is fending off betrayal in her own company and Nick’s brutal childhood returns to haunt him. 

Nothing is as it seems as secrets threaten to destroy the life they have worked so hard to build . . .

Review

This is Book number three in the series, Bishop and Gallagher mysteries. I have read book number one, An Unquiet Peace. For some reason, I skipped the second one. It is not necessary read them in order. I’m gonna have to go back and get number two because I really enjoy these characters.

Evelyn is president of her father’s aeronautics company. She is at the groundbreaking of her new facility, when a young man comes up to her and tells her she is building on stolen property. This sends her on a quest to determine what has happened.

The young man, Billy Takemura, is a Japanese American. His family owned a restaurant before the war and when they were put in the internment camps, someone stole their restaurant. Well, now the aeronautics company is building on that very same spot. As you can imagine, Evelyn is livid. She does not want to be stealing anybody’s land.

But this is just part of the story. There is so much that is going on. I enjoyed the hunt to find out what has happened to the land. I enjoyed all the mysteries, and there is more than one mystery in this book. I also love the family drama. And trust me there’s quite a bit of that…especially where Nick is concerned.

Evelyn and Nick are some of the best characters! And I cannot wait until their next adventure.

Need a story with a strong woman character, THIS IS IT! Add it to your list

I received this novel from the publisher for honest opinion.

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