One can argue that this is but one of a million love stories ever written. A tall, brave soldier and a diminutive blonde nurse; the heartbreak and terror of World War II; sex, partings and reunions, deaths. And yet to say that Tatiana and Alexander is a love story is like saying that Niagara is…
I must have a thing for betrayal books. Two books I’ve recently granted DIK status – Rightfully His and Prospect Street – have explored themes of betrayal. There is something extremely affecting about the feelings dredged up from this type of situation. Jeanette Baker does a fine job of exploring these feelings, and by setting…
The Troubles in Northern Ireland have been documented in movies and books, in all the neverending grimness of the situation. But in Carole Bellacera’s Border Crossings, we see them through the eyes of a young American woman who gets drawn into the violence because she’s married to an Irishman. 1991 Ireland. We catch a glimpse…
On December 31, 1999, I watched the New Year celebration that took place on the Mall in Washington, DC. One of the highlights of that event was a beautiful 20-minute chronicle of the most turbulent and jubilant times in U.S. History. I consider Eva Rutland’s latest novel to be almost as worthy a chronicle of…
Would you know your child if she suddenly reappeared after a thirty-year absence? Would you be willing to go to the ends of the earth to save her, putting your own life at risk in the process? Could you open your heart after it was welded shut in the face of hopelessness and despair? The…
A Veiled Journey is not a romance. It contains enough gripping, nail biting action to make any suspense addict happy but at its core, it is a deadly serious story of an American woman living in modern day Saudi Arabia. Whatever the genre, A Veiled Journey is a courageous book. I could not put it…
When I first saw the title Nell, I pictured the wild-child title character from the Jodie Foster movie, and I was sure I would never get that mental picture out of my head. About fifty pages into the book, I had lost that mental picture entirely. I was so engrossed in the storyline that I…
Lately, I’ve begun to think that there’s nothing new under the romance sun; it seems that every time I pick up a romance, I find myself thinking, “Been there, done that, ho-hum.” Then I come across a book like Nell, and my faith is restored, replenished, renewed. I cannot say enough good things about this…
If you want a fast paced novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat, don’t bother with this one. But if you enjoy a leisurely book that captures the life of a bygone time, you will probably enjoy Then Came Heaven. This is LaVyrle Spencer’s last novel and I am going to miss…