B Reviews / Book Reviews19th century / American historical / arranged-marriage / Civil-War / Germany / immigrants / Pennsylvania1 Comments
To help her impoverished family, Sophie agrees to marry a wealthy older man in far off America. Less than twenty-four hours after she arrives in German’s Mill, Pennsylvania, events have taken a far stranger turn than anything she could have imagined. Set in Post-Civil-War Pennsylvania, this tale of an arranged ... more >
B Reviews / Book ReviewsAmerican historical / immigrants / Jewish characters / New York City / older heroine and hero / turn of the 20th century4 Comments
In her warmly comical and deliciously entertaining debut novel, master storyteller Rochelle Distelheim sweeps us back to 1913 and the world of struggling Jewish immigrants in New York City’s Lower East Side. Sadie Schuster—fortyish, plumpish, a suffragette, and recently widowed—spends more time now talking to her late husband, Fivel, than ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviews1920s / Agent/Spies/Undercover / England / immigrants / London / Russia2 Comments
When exiled royalty and espionage combine, expect a romance as bold as the 1920s . . . Olga Novikov is a princess without a throne. Her fiancé and her family slain in the revolution, she flees Russia and finds herself working as the head of housekeeping at London’s luxurious Grand ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviewsautobiography / Canada / immigrants / literature / LithuaniaComments Off on REVIEW: The Barefoot Bingo Caller by Antanas Sileika
A rollicking memoir through the shifting zeitgeist of the last five decades In The Barefoot Bingo Caller, Antanas Sileika finds what’s funny and touching in the most unlikely places, from the bingo hall to the collapsing Soviet Union. He shares stories that span his attempts to shake off his suburban, ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviews18th-century / Historical / immigrants / London / merchant class / social unrest8 Comments
NOTE- There is a paperback version of the book called “The Silk Weaver.” This story has a HEA. The Hidden Thread is a breathtaking novel about the intricate craft of silk and the heartbreak of forbidden love. When Anna Butterfield’s mother dies, she’s sent to live with her uncle, a ... more >
Publishing Newsbattle of the books / Canada / China / digital publishing / Ellis Island / immigrants / mobile phones / photography / reading subscriptions / technology / television5 Comments
Canada Reads: Where Celebrities Battle for a Book’s Honor – This is like the coolest thing ever. Five books, five celebrities, five stand-offs in this annual Canadian television series, “Battle of the Books.” Each representative defends the book against its competitors, and day by day, books are eliminated until only ... more >