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Carma (21 KP) rated How to Lose a Fiancé in Books

Jun 17, 2019

Sophia is tired of being told how to live her life by her overbearing, overprotecting father. When he calls her into his office to let her know she will be sent to Greece to marry a stranger she has had enough. She doesnt care that Dions acquisition of her fathers company will save their family, according to her father. She only wants her freedom. After thinking things through she decides to be the worst possible fiancé any one man could ever imagine. That way hed be forced to send her home and shed be free to follow her dreams.

Dion cant believe he agreed to marry the daughter of the man in charge of the company he wants to acquire. His bastard of a biological fathers old company, but no one will know that little tidbit of information. He looked Sophia up online and she seemed to fit into the stereotypical corporate wife he needs. Too bad the walking disaster that heads over to him in the airport is not quite what he was expecting.

Part of Sophias plan involves dressing as wildly as she can without trying to look like she has gone off the deep end. The itchy woolen sweater she chose to change into when they landed only adds to the hideousness of it all. The look on Dions face is worth the itching. Now to fully put her plan into action, she must find a taxidermy fox.

Dion has no idea what to do with this hideous fox that has somehow made its way into his home. Soon hatching a plot with the fox we first encountered in book 1 How to win a fiance. He soon figures out what Sophia is actually up to and together they agree to find a common ground and go ahead with the wedding. Theirs could be a good friendship opportunity for each other, each getting what they desire in life.

Dion and Sophia have pasts and families that dont lend themselves to Hallmark Movie Channel heart touching sentiment. Dion loses the one father figure he has, and Sophias actual father is lacking in just about every redeeming quality. They work through it together and make their own family ties. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy without expectations. 4 ½ stars for this newest release from Ms. London.

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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Hearts of Stone in Books

Dec 17, 2018

Hearts of Stone

Simon Scarrow | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry

5.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Simon Scarrow brings to life the horrors of World War II in his latest novel Hearts of Stone. In 2013, Anna Thesskoudiss, a history teacher is contacted by a German research student, Dieter Muller who is interested in talking to her grandmother Eleni. He explains that he is the grandson of Peter Muller who was friends with her grandmother whilst staying on the Greek island of Lefkas until the war made them enemies.

Dieter Muller’s introduction implies that the story is going to be about the relationship between Eleni and Peter, which gets destroyed when Peter returns to the island as an enemy intelligence officer. The blurb for Hearts of Stone also implies this. However, the majority of the book focuses on their friend Andreas’ experience of the Navy and his role in the resistance. Scarrow goes into detail of every dangerous situation Andreas finds himself in, but this is not what the reader was expecting to learn about. Eventually the final chapters turn to Peter’s role in the war and the reason Eleni and he could no longer consider themselves friends.

Despite being full of action and war horrors, it gets a little boring reading about Andreas’ life. Although this narrative leads to what happens with Peter, it occasionally felt unnecessary, as it was the final stages that appeared to be the most important.

From an historical point of view it is refreshing to read a war story that is not focused on either Britain or Germany. Hearts of Stone reveals how Greece was affected even though they were not one of the main fighting bodies. It is shocking how many innocent people were killed purely for the Nazi’s to invoke fear in the hopes the natives would submit to their rule.

Hopefully the vast amount of mistakes and grammatical errors would have been corrected before the final – I read an uncorrected proof – publication. Admittedly Hearts of Stone was a bit of a disappointment as it was not exactly what it appeared to be. However it has educational value as well as entertainment for readers who enjoy war stories. Scarrow has also included maps of the Greek island of Lefkas and the Mediterranean during WWII as well as a character list to benefit readers as they take in the story.