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The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated Mistress of the Ritz in Books

Oct 5, 2020

Mistress of the Ritz

Melanie Benjamin | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics

9.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

When it comes to the French Resistance of WWII, the names Blanche and Claude Auzello aren’t all that well-known. Thankfully, Melanie Benjamin has just written a biographical, historical fiction novel about them, and especially about Blanche, who during the Nazi occupation of Paris, was known as the “Mistress of the Ritz” and she was the wife of the hotel’s manager, Claude. You can find my review of this amazing book on my blog here (Thanks for the free book, @PRHGlobal/@prhinternational.) https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2019/05/24/puttin-on-the-resistance/

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The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated The Kennedy Debutante in Books

Oct 7, 2020

(Thanks for the free book, @PRHGlobal / @prhinternational) The name Kennedy is known worldwide, and descendants of that famous family are in the public eye to this day. However, there’s one Kennedy who we know little about, mostly due to her early demise. She was named Kathleen, but everyone knew her as Kick. Kerri Maher’s debut book “The Kennedy Debutante” is a biographical historical fiction novel about this fascinating woman, and you can read my review of it on my blog now. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2018/10/27/home-again-kathleen/

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The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated The First Emma in Books

Oct 7, 2020

4.5/5 stars

If you've never heard of Emma Koehler, then you know nothing about the beer industry in San Antonio Texas. But even if that subject matter doesn't interest you, Emma should, because she had both a fascinating and tragic life. Camille Di Maio does a lovely job of taking little to no information about this real-life personality and turning it into a biographical, historical, women's fiction novel. Read more about it in my #bookreview here https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2020/05/08/lady-bastion-of-beer/

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The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated Gold Digger: The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor in Books

Oct 6, 2020

The Colorado Gold Rush of the late 1880s both made and broke many people. Among them was Horace Tabor. But the jewel in Tabor's crown wasn't one of his mines, it was the woman he fell in love with, known as "Baby Doe". This biographical, historical, women’s fiction novel is about how Elizabeth McCourt from Oshkosh WI goes to Colorado as Harvey Doe's young bride, and how she ends up as "Baby Doe Tabor". You can read my #bookreview of "Gold Digger: The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor" by Rebecca Rosenberg on my blog now! https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2019/10/31/marriages-of-the-mines/

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Lives in Writing

David Lodge

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

This is a collection of essays on writers and writing by the Booker-shortlisted novelist and critic....

Booksnthreads (19 KP) rated What Would She Do? 25 True Stories of Trailblazing Rebel Women in Books

Jun 4, 2018

Accessible for middle school readers (0 more)

My classroom library is somewhat lacking when it comes to non-fiction. I often have a difficult time finding non-fiction that is engaging for a middle school audience.

While I think that this will interest my students, as an adult reader, it's a bit lacking in depth.

I like the bite-sized chunks of information and the bold illustrations of each woman profiled in the book. The biographical information is just the right amount for this age group.

What I really objected to was the attempt to provide life advice from each woman. After each biography, the author imagines a modern real life question readers might have and then attempts to answer that question as the woman who was just profiled might. The whole thing feels incredibly contrived and, at times, not even loosely connected to the woman who was just profiled. I think I actually cringed with some of them because of how cliche and didactic they are.