Fiction Book Giveaway
Here are two great fiction reads I think you’ll enjoy: Daisies are Forever, by Liz Tolsma, and A Fall of Marigolds, by Susan Meissner. And you can win the first one in a fiction book giveaway. Be sure and read today’s blog to see how you can enter the book drawing giveaway for Liz Tolsma’s book.
Here are my reviews of the two books:
Daisies Are Forever
I stumbled onto Liz Tolsma’s debut novel, Snow on the Tulips, last year and enjoyed it. So when her new book, Daisies Are Forever, was released this year, I didn’t hesitate to offer a book review. Another historical fiction book, this time set in 1945 during World War II near the fall of the Third Reich, this one focuses on a twenty-year-old American, Gisela Cramer, and part of her family members living in Prussia and their escape from the invading Russian army.
She collides with a British soldier posing as a German officer, protecting him from the eyes of other immigrants and SS soldiers by pretending to be his wife. What follows next is a roller coaster ride of close calls and dangerous experiences as they take turns protecting each other trying to avoid the ravages of war still terrorizing them and their “family.”
Because her book’s inspiration is based on the stories of two women, one of them her aunt, Liz captures well the characters’ emotions and historical accuracy with tug-at-the-heart events of those difficult days. I found this period of history and lesser known turn of events in the war both interesting and intriguing. Liz doesn’t spare the sadness, pain, or tragedy of war. And at times, you may feel as if you’re in the middle of it.
Romance is a slow but steady factor in this historical fiction, often clashing with family loyalty, deceit, and the need to survive. But combined with emerging faith, caring hearts, and stubborn love, this unlikely couple clings to—and fights for—the desperate hope that they will triumph over the ugliness of war.
Liz is a great writer, and I look forward to her next book.
The publisher sent me this book in exchange for a review.
You can find out more about Liz Tolsma on her website.
A Fall of Marigolds
I found Susan Meissner’s books a couple of years ago and fell in love with her writing. I quickly caught up on every book she had written. She has become one of my favorite fiction authors. Each time I read one, I think, “that’s her best.” Until I read the next book. That’s the way I felt with A Fall of Marigolds. Like fine wine, she brings out the best each time.
In her “contemporary” stories Susan is a master in bringing two time periods together, past and present. In her gifted, literary prose style, she connects a New York nurse, Clara Wood, who witnessed her loved one’s death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, with a young widow and specialty fabric store worker, Taryn Michaels, whose husband perished in the New York Twin Towers’ attack. The Shirtwaist Fire, perhaps a little known event in 1911, provided an intriguing bridge to join the familiar 9-1-1 tragedy a century later.
As Susan transports the reader back and forth, making the connection between the two women’s stories, she does so with tenderness and a tug on the heartstrings, using a beautiful, floral scarf, an old photograph, and a stranger to paint the picture. Through skillful craftsmanship, strong characters, and vivid word pictures, Susan takes you into the world of the two women, each stuck in an “in between place,” where you can feel and sense the emotions and confusion of lost love, and the inner struggle to break free to a brighter future. Heavy with themes of love and sacrifice, Fall of Marigolds is characteristic of Susan’s books, always written from a Christian world view.
I thoroughly enjoyed Fall of Marigolds, and was eager to review it. I’ll look forward to reading her next one.
You can find out more about Susan and her books on her website.
Note: The fiction book giveaway has ended.
