#BOOK REVIEW #I AM GERMANY BY MICHAEL WITT #WORLD WAR II HISTORICAL FICTION # KOEHLER BOOKS PUBLISHER

 

MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW

Michael Witt in his novel narrates I AM GERMANY to conjure his readers to deeply explore the historical events before World War 2 had started. An elderly man, half-Jew, and a widower, Heinrich Schultheiss returns to Germany after fifty years of living in America in 1936 with his parents. He had left Nazi Germany for Iowa shortly before the war at the age of sixteen. He comes back to the day the berlin wall fell and allowed him to travel freely between two Germany, West, and East Berlin without a special visa. As traveling in unified Germany he recollects that his childhood memories which are personal and a good part of his boyhood had been wiped off when Allied bombs pounded the monster out of Berlin in 1944 and 1945. There it was - except the Brandenburg Gate with the Greek Goddess of military victory - Victoria Gate. Every building, old store, and the house of chocolate vanished into thin air. He was horrified to see his childhood home Edelberg gone too. 

This novel stirs up the aftermaths of the night of the allied bombing in April 1945. On his return, Heinrich is looking for his first love, Anna Himmel- To him, she was a human goddess, Anna had been more than a child prodigy violinist and the daughter of the owner of Germany's most famous violinist company. She made a concert debut at age twelve. He had been crazily in love with her. He thought she was German high in art and culture. Anna upon meeting Heinrich tells her scary personal story that happened during the dark political time in 1945 that built the wall. Edelberg was bombed out of Europe and her brother Brenhard is dead - killed soldering in Stalingrad. Her brother despised Hitler's regime and had become a Nazi warrior, he was also Heinrich's best friend because he had something Ethereal and Magnetic. Heinrich and Anna were alarmed when they came to expose the number of European people who died and the children who were murdered between 1945 and 1989. 

This novel is filled with disturbing events in history and the tale of innocent victims. This is a great piece of story and written plot for those who love to get caught in the moments before World War 2. Thanks to NetGalley and Koehler Books Publisher for an advance copy for my honest review.

                                                                 

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•                                                     Publisher ‏ : ‎ Koehler Books 
•                                            Publication Date: (September 27, 2022)
•                                                      Language ‏ : ‎ English
•                                                   Paperback ‏ : ‎ 218 pages

                                                 

BOOK DESCRIPTION 

Three years before the Holocaust came to the first holocaust, the one that nobody hears about. It stole the lives of thousands of children.

In 1930s Germany, before the war, Anna Himmel was Henry Schultz's secret first love and a child-prodigy violinist lauded as the embodiment of German high art and culture. But when the issue of reunification draws a grieving, widowed Henry back to Germany in 1989, decades after his family fled the growing Nazi threat, she is a shell of who she once was. As Anna reluctantly shares her story of trying to save a disabled little girl at Hartheim Castle, a covert Nazi euthanasia site, Henry starts to realize the insidiousness of the evils he left behind-and the consequences of trying to forget.

But she cannot bear to give voice to the end of the story. To answer once and for all the question of how normal people slip piecemeal into evil and whether Anna can ever reunify with who she once was, Henry sets out to Hartheim to find the ending himself. What he discovers there will change them both forever.

#BOOK ON TOUR #HISTORICAL MYSTERY #PATH OF PERIL BY MARLIE PARKER WASSERMAN #PUBLISHER: LEVEL BEST BOOKS #BOOK REVIEW

 

MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW

The author, Marlie Parker Wasserman has feasted the readers with real-life characters and fictional ones from the time period 1903-1906. Maurice C Latta's narrative is very interesting where an assassination attempt is suspected to kill President Theodore Roosevelt "Teddy." The author takes the reader through all the events that occur when on Nov 6, 1906, President Roosevelt sets on a trip to Panama to inspect the canal's construction. He is the first president to tour outside the continental United States officially and diplomatically.

The ship, USS Louisiana set for the voyage to Panama along with First lady Edith Roosevelt, two journalists, three service agents who guarded the presidents, and more officials. There were men who threatened to kill the president three years earlier. 

For the three-day visit by President Theodore, the ship Louisiana arrived a day early at the colon. The effort initiated by the French to build the Panama Canal Project, in ten years had failed. This was because of rain, and diseases like Yellow fever in the work camps the effort failed and there were millions of dollars lost and 20,000 workers died. When Theodore Roosevelt came into the presidency in 1901, the US bought the rights from France. Further, to build the waterway, America signed a treaty with Columbia to secure build a canal -where the isthmus of Panama was located.

Maurice C Latta was asked to accompany the president to the canal, he was honored to do so in the place of Mr. Loeb (Secretary). The book Path of Peril takes us to a time back in 1906. I learned to get to know the historical characters, as Marlie brings them to life. This is an excellent true story told perfectly, bringing the truth of the greatest engineering achievement in a particular period in the United States. I highly recommend this read and looking for more work by this author. 

Thanks to Marlie Parker Wasserman, NetGalley, Level Best Books, and Partners in Crime Tours for an advance copy of my honest review.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Crime Fiction
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: January 2023
Number of Pages: 320
Book Links: Amazon

BOOK COVER: Would the assassins plotting to kill Theodore Roosevelt on his visit to the Panama Canal succeed?

Until this trip, no president while in office had ever traveled abroad. White House secretary Maurice Latta, thrilled to accompany the President, could not anticipate the adventures and dangers ahead. Latta befriends watchful secret service agents, ambitious journalists, and anxious First Lady Edith Roosevelt on their hot and humid trip, where he observes a country teeming with inequalities and abounding in opportunities. Along the way he learns about his own strengths—what he never imagined he could do, and what he discovers he can’t do.

Theodore Roosevelt did visit Panama in 1906, accompanied by White House staffer Maurice Latta. Interweaving the stories of real-life characters with fictional ones, Path of Peril imagines what the newspapers feared to report and what historians never discovered about Roosevelt’s risky trip.

Marlie Parker Wasserman continues to write historical crime fiction. Her first book, The Murderess Must Die, was published in 2021. After spending many years in New Jersey, she now lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Historical Novel Society.

Author Bio:

Marlie Parker Wasserman continues to write historical crime fiction. Her first book, The Murderess Must Die, was published in 2021. After spending many years in New Jersey, she now lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Historical Novel Society.

Catch Up With Marlie Parker Wasserman:

www.MarlieWasserman.com
Goodreads
Instagram – @marliepwasserman
Twitter – @MarlieWasserman
Facebook

Tour Participants:

02/27 Review @ Urban Book Reviews
02/28 Guest post @ The Book Divas Reads
02/28 Showcase @ BOOK REVIEWS by LINDA MOORE
03/01 Review @ Novels Alive
03/02 Review @ It’s All About the Book
03/03 Showcase @ Silvers Reviews
03/04 Guest post @ Mythical Books
03/10 Review @ Cozy Up With Kathy
03/13 Showcase @ The Book Connection
03/14 Interview @ Hott Books
03/15 Review @ Novel Nerd Blog
03/16 Review @ Enjoyingbooksagain
03/17 Review @ mokwip8991
03/18 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
03/19 Showcase @ Im Into Books
03/20 Podcast interview @ Blog Talk Radio
03/20 Review @ Just Reviews
03/22 Showcase @ 411 ON BOOKS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHING NEWS

Pls also find the review at https://medium.com/@agysmitha

#BOOK REVIEW #DONT HOLD BACK BY DAVID PLATT #PUBLISHER: MULTNOMAH #CHRISTIANITY & CULTURE #CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP

MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW

Pastor David Platt, the New York Times bestselling author of Radical, in his latest book, Don't Hold Back encourages us to repent and follow Jesus's steps even when the Churches that we call family are sick in America where we are part of it.

Some key takeaways I could find from this book are: 

We are quick to accuse, belittle, cancel, and not trust each other as we get tangled in a cultural climate we forget that it leads us not to enjoy one another's fellowship at the table, not to encourage one another and not to love one another in word and deed. Therefore many are leaving the table as many sisters and brothers (many of us) get divided and hurt by one another. Jesus should be the reason to bring us unity as he brings together a group of different personalities in the church. In the Bible, like how the disciples of Jesus such as Mathew - a wealthy tax collector, and Jesus called Simeon - an occasionally militant anti-government movement put up with one another and lay down their lives for one another. It wasn't easy as they were extreme personalities even then they did what Jesus wanted for them - unity and this kind of togetherness. (See John 17:20-26).

Another example is Paul, an ethnic jew and by his own admission a Pharisee of Pharisees, who spent his life loving and sacrificing for people he once abhorred.  Jesus prayed for unity and the message of the gospel spread throughout the world. Love one another, actively listen and seek to understand one another, James(14:1-3) instead of attacking and tearing down, Be sincere, humble, and honest with one another. 

The author reminds us that God created all people wonderfully and equally in his image as one human race. As we do in contemporary culture bible never defines different races according to skin tone, hair texture, or physical traits, Read Galatians 3:28. Instead Paul taught us we are united in Christ and that no one is more valuable than another. David Platt reminds us what scripture teaches us our hearts include pride, prejudice, and partiality - the sins that are root causes of racism. And American Christians are not exempted from this as the disparity continues. 

The author convicts his readers to repent and memorize God's word when our thoughts offend the bible on money, materialism, marriage, mission, or any other issue. Instead of perversely misapplying the word of life and using it to injure, oppress, and exploit, the author calls to show kindness, compassion, and friendship to those who are like us.

The author defines biblical justice and Injustice with some practical steps, Read (Deuteronomy  16:19), (Jeremiah 22:3) (and Deuteronomy 32:4). It is the true gospel the good news of Jesus that would shine as our only hope for ultimate justice. Spread the gospel in other countries, and train the next generation to accomplish the Great Commission in the bible.

I just reviewed DONT HOLD BACK BY DAVID PLATT, Thanks to Netgalley and Multnomah for an advance copy for my honest review.

                                             DON'T HOLD BACK BY DAVID PLATT 

                                 Leaving Behind the American Gospel to Follow Jesus Fully

                                               Publisher ‏ : ‎ Multnomah

•                                          Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 28, 2023
•                                                     Language ‏ : ‎ English
•                                                            Pages:190
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HASHTAG #DONT HOLD BACK BY DAVID PLATT #PUBLISHER: MULTNOMAH #CHRISTIAN SOCIAL ISSUES #NETGALLEY

BOOK COVER- The New York Times bestselling author of Radical challenges Christians to break free from an American gospel that prostitutes Jesus for comfort, power, prosperity, and politics—and fully pursue the true gospel that exalts Jesus above all.

Pastor David Platt believes we’ve gotten really good at following a really bad gospel—one that worships American ideas over biblical truth. It’s time for disillusioned, discouraged, and divided Christians, and the next generation, to follow Jesus into a different future.
 
But we have to make a choice: an American gospel or the biblical gospel. Worldly division or otherworldly unity. Compromise with the idols of our country or commitment to God’s call in our lives. In Don’t Hold Back, Platt encourages followers of Jesus to take necessary risks and find unimaginable reward as we:

• Work for—not against—each other, especially when we disagree 
• Turn the tide on centuries of racial division in the church
• Trust all of God’s Word with conviction while loving everyone around us with compassion
• Do justice with kindness, and experience the good life according to God
• Play our part in spreading the gospel to all the nations of the world

We can experience the full wonder of Jesus and the transcendent beauty of his church here and now. But in order to do so, some things need to be different. Starting not in “those people,” but in each one of us. With the gospel in our hearts and God as our prize, let’s press on and don’t hold back.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Multnomah 
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 28, 2023
• Language ‏ : ‎ English

#BOOK REVIEW #THE SURGEON #LESLIE WOLFE# PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER #BOOKOUTURE PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW

Hooked! Suspenseful! A twist-filled medical psychological thriller that kept me at the edge of pondering till the end. Until Caleb Donaghy's unbelievable death on the table, the thirty-nine- year old  Surgeon Dr. Anne Wiley never lost a patient since she finished her general surgery residency right after she moved to the cardiothoracic surgery department of Joseph Lister University Hospital in Chicago. Life in a hospital and surgeries of this type come with risk. But she recognized Caleb who died under the scalpel she was holding near his heart during surgery which made her tremble and gave weakness in her muscles. Anne had no regrets or no remorse, Donaghy was a monster who deserved to die. Why? Who was Caleb to Dr. Anne?

Why is a prosecutor after Dr. Anne.? The plotline gets twisted when Paula Fuselier from the State's Attorney's Office raises suspicion and questions about Anne's patient Mr. Caleb Donaghy's death. I as a reader resented the character Paula as she was full of envy, frustration, anger, and lusting after Dr. Anne's husband Mayor Derreck for power and wealth. Dr. Anne is looking for answers as she called herself -A killer. 

Leslie Wolfe told the story without giving away the suspense and twists in the storyline which kept me engrossed and curious. Thanks to Leslie Wolfe, NetGalley, and Bookouture Publishers for an advance copy for my honest review.

•                                               Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bookouture (March 8, 2023)
•                                                   
•                                     Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 8, 2023

                                                                   Pages:316

HASHTAG: #THE SURGEON #LESLIE WOLFE# PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER #BOOKOUTURE #NETGALLEY

                                                                        

BOOK COVER: Trusted surgeon. Loving wife. Murderer?

Before my world came crashing down, I had it all. The successful career I dreamed of. The beautiful red-brick home where I could relax in front of the fire. The handsome, devoted husband whose blue eyes and charming smile always made me feel safe.

As I call time of death, my voice is steady. My colleagues stand hushed around me, their eyes on me, confused, concerned.

I have never lost a patient until today.

My hands tremble inside their gloves. I slide down the cold tiled walls, my heart racing in my chest.

I have never hated a patient until today.

But what choice did I have, once I recognized him?

And what will I do to protect myself, if someone learns the truth?

A totally gripping psychological thriller that will have you racing through the pages, gasping for breath until the final jaw-dropping twist. If you love Freida McFadden, Shari Lapena and The Girl on the Train, you won’t be able to put this down.

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• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 8, 2023
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
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#Book Review #Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem #Tyndale House Publishers # Christian Historical Fiction WW1

MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW

Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem is an amazing historical fiction novel set in the period of the Great Depression and WW1, based on true events and a character cast that is attractive to the readers. At the MGM studios, in 1933, 21-year-old single mother Liesl Weiss, an American with German heritage, is fired from her Stenographer job by her boss Gary Perl due to Bankruptcy.  This just meant to Liesl that nobody is safe from the unemployment line. After three weeks without a paycheck and security, Liesl was feeling insecure with her two children, mother, and brother Fritz to support. Her husband one day went to work and never came back. Now, her only option is to work with Leon Lewis and Mysterious Agent Thirteen to spy on her friends and neighbors in her German American Community for thirty dollars a week. Mrs. Weiss is a Christian, Courageous, and had Morals and Integrity - and she is a Spy! 

In this novel, the Jewish lawyer Leon Lewis, who had served in the great war, and was part of a secret intelligence operation, returned to Chicago to start his law firm and moved to Los Angeles. People worried about unemployment, rising rent, and the new German Chancellor - Adolf Hitler. It was a bad situation in Germany. Leon believed that, during this period in time 1929- 1933, there were also the War relief efforts, the Spanish flu, and the collapse of Germany where the country was called to pay loans to bankers in New York, as America lent the money it needed to rebuild the country. The author has captured very well in the novel events that have happened. The Germans started to listen to Adolf Hitler as they were angry, hungry, and desperate. Lewis wanted to bring the ugly truth behind the Nationalist Socialists openly. 

Weiss was left with questions not knowing what to believe that the Nazis are coming from Germany to Los Angeles? Is it true? Are they taking over America? Whether the German government was sending their people to Los Angeles to set up Hitler's cell? In a German town? Her own Neighborhood? This is not going to stop here -------- The read gets interesting when Mrs, Leisl Weiss volunteers a position at the New Friends of Germany office- for a woman named Thekla Schwinn and her husband. 

A must-read if you are a historical fiction book lover. Thanks to Stephanie Landsem, Netgalley, and Tyndale Publishers for an advance copy for my honest review.

                                             Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tyndale House Publishers (March 7, 2023)

•                                                                    Language ‏ : ‎ English
•                                                                    Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
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Hashtag: #Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem #NetGalley #Tyndale House Publishers

BOOK COVER: “What I am looking for―what I desperately need, Mrs. Weiss―is a spy.”

Adolf Hitler is still a distant rumble on the horizon, but a Jewish spymaster and his courageous spies uncover a storm of Nazi terror in their own backyard.

In the summer of 1933, a man named Adolf Hitler is the new and powerful anti-Semitic chancellor of Germany. But in Los Angeles, no-nonsense secretary Liesl Weiss has concerns much closer to home. The Great Depression is tightening its grip and Liesl is the sole supporter of two children, an opinionated mother, and a troubled brother.

Leon Lewis is a Jewish lawyer who has watched Adolf Hitler’s rise to power―and the increase in anti-Semitism in America―with growing alarm. He believes Nazi agents are working to seize control of Hollywood, the greatest propaganda machine the world has ever known. The trouble is, authorities scoff at his dire warnings.

When Liesl loses her job at MGM, her only choice is to work with Leon Lewis and the mysterious Agent Thirteen to spy on her friends and neighbors in her German American community. What Leon Lewis and his spies find is more chilling―and more dangerous―than any of them suspected.

Code Name Edelweiss is based on a true story, unknown until recent years: How a lone Jewish lawyer and a handful of amateur spies discovered and foiled Adolf Hitler’s plan to take over Hollywood.

                                                                        

#Cover Reveal of Madame Pommery by Rebecca Rosenburg #Lion Heart Publishing #Historical Fiction

 

MADAME POMMERY
BY REBECCA ROSENBERG

Publication Date: March 21, 2023
Lion Heart Publishing

Genre: Historical Fiction

#MadamePommery #RebeccaRosenberg #HFVBT #historicalfiction #coverreveal

Twitter tags: @RebeccasNovels @hfvbt 

Facebook tags: @rebecca.rosenberg.novelist @hfvbt 

Instagram tags: @hfvbt @rebeccarosenbergnovelist

Champagne, France, 1860. Madame Pommery, an etiquette teacher and orphanage founder, loses her husband and is forced to support her family. With no experience, the forty-year-old widow decides to make champagne. Her unique vision is to change it from a sweet dessert beverage to a dry, crisp wine to be enjoyed anytime. When champagne makers refuse to teach her their craft, she forges ahead on her own and secretly begins the excavation of champagne caves under the Reims city dump.

     Soon after, her son and her entire crew are conscripted to fight the Franco-Prussian war, leaving Madame Pommery alone to struggle with her champagne dreams. After Napoleon and a hundred thousand French troops are captured, the Prussians invaded France, and Prussian General Frederick Franz occupies Madame Pommery’s house as his army headquarters. Undaunted, Pommery uses her secret wine caves to hide the Francs-Tireurs, resistance fighters for France, while she plans to build a spectacular castle winery above the caves.

     But when her former lover, a Scottish Baron, unexpectedly proposes marriage, Madame Pommery must choose between nobility and her passionate quest for fine champagne and the most beautiful winery in the world.

     Based on a true story, Madame Pommery is a heroic novel about a mother and widow who fights the Prussians, the social class system, champagne patriarchs, and champagne tastes to create a champagne legacy.

Pre-Order on Amazon

About the Author

PRE-ORDER ON AMAZON

About the Author

            

California native Rebecca Rosenberg lives on a lavender farm with her family in Sonoma, the Valley of the Moon, where she and her husband founded the largest lavender product company in America. A long-time student of Jack London’s work and an avid fan of his daring wife, Charmian, Rosenberg is a graduate of the Stanford Writing Certificate Program. Her books include: GOLD DIGGER, the Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor, The Secret Life of Mrs. London, Lavender Fields of America, and the Champagne Widows series.

For more information, please visit Rebecca’s website and blog. You can also find her on Amazon, BookBub,  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

Cover Reveal Schedule

Tuesday, February 21
Books In Their Natural Habitat

Thursday, February 23
The Book Junkie Reads

Friday, February 24
My Reading Getaway

Monday, February 27
Getting Stuck In The Past

Tuesday, February 28
A Girl Reads Bookss
The Caffeinated Bibliophile

Wednesday, March 1
History from a Woman’s Perspective

Friday, March 3
Novel Nerd Blog

Monday, March 6
Reading is My Remedy

Thursday, March 9
CelticLady’s Reviews