Search

Search only in certain items:

While Paris Slept
While Paris Slept
Ruth Druart | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
While Paris Slept was really so much more than I expected. I didn’t expect to become so emotionally invested in all sides of this story, and I didn’t expect to cry quite as much as I did!

Jean Luc Beauchamp is put in an impossible situation as soon as the Nazis occupy France. He has a deformed hand, and if he shows any kind of weakness it could mean his death. But to stay working on the railways brands him as a collaborator. Someone who has facilitated the Holocaust.

So when a woman thrusts a tiny baby at him as she is put on a cattle truck, Jean Luc does the only thing he can do.

He and his girlfriend (and later, wife) begin a perilous journey , eventually settling in 1950’s California. In 1953, Jean Luc is questioned about his role in the war, and is told something that will change his life and that of his family forever.

We switch between the two timelines of wartime France and and the present day (1950’s) California and Paris.

It’s an unforgettable story of resilience, secrets and survival. All actions on both sides of the story were all for the love of a child. Oh, how I cried (this seems to be becoming more and more frequent lately!)!

Wonderful storytelling ❤️
  
40x40

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Apr 26, 2022  
Dance on over to my blog to check out the awesome playlist and the book trailer for the cozy mystery CHARLESTON CONUNDRUM by Stacy Wilder. If you like what you read, enter the giveaway for a chance to win an autographed copy of the book - two winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2022/04/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-charleston.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
A Cozy Mystery with a Twist…

Liz Adams never imagined when she moved to Charleston with her truth sniffing Labrador retriever, Duke, that she would use her skills as a private investigator to avoid winding up on Death Row.

Liz’s life is upended when her best friend, Peg, is murdered and she becomes a suspect. Liz’s gun was the murder weapon. Tensions flare between Liz and the cops as she rises to the top of their suspect list.

At the request of Peg’s father, Liz agrees to take on the investigation. Riding a roller coaster of emotions, Liz uncovers many secrets Peg kept from her despite being best friends. The suspects include a cast of characters: the ex-husband, the boyfriend, a coworker, several neighbors and family members.

Charleston Conundrum takes the reader from Charleston, South Carolina to Paris and back in the emotional unraveling of Peg’s life and death to a killer ending. It is the first book in the Conundrum series.
     
Liar Liar [Audiobook]
Liar Liar [Audiobook]
L.G. Davis | 2022 | Crime, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really quite enjoyed listening to this audiobook and as I was in my car a lot over a couple of days, was able to finish it in pretty quick time.

The plot is captivating and although it is a tad unbelievable, it's like one of those cheesy chat shows that you can't stop watching and you find yourself shouting at the tv! Well, all I can say is that it's a good job I was in my car and not on a train whilst listening to this otherwise I would have got some very strange looks!

The characters are well developed - I actually didn't like any of them very much apart from Mason, however, for this book, I'm not sure it mattered to me. The pace was quick and it's full of tension from start to finish and the gradual reveal of the "unspeakable secret" added to this.

The narrator was good however, there were times when her voice became a little stilted and robotic which was a little annoying and disappointing.

Overall, I think this works really well as an audiobook and if you like delving into the secrets and lies of a very dysfunctional family, I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to Liar Liar and to share my thoughts.
  
40x40

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Jul 7, 2022  
Author Thomas H. McNeely visits my blog to discuss what it means to lose where we live in an emotional yet touching guest post. Read up on his coming of age/short stories fiction book PICTURES OF THE SHARK while you're there. Be sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to win an editorial critique of an excerpt from an unpublished short story or novel and/or an autographed copy of Pictures of the Shark.

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2022/07/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-pictures-of.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
A sudden snowfall in Houston reveals family secrets. A trip to Universal Studios to snap a picture of the shark from Jaws becomes a battle of wills between father and son. A midnight séance and the ghost of Janis Joplin conjure the mysteries of sex. A young boy’s pilgrimage to see Elvis Presley becomes a moment of transformation. A young woman discovers the responsibilities of talent and freedom.

Pictures of the Shark, by Houston native and Dobie Paisano award-winning author Thomas H. McNeely, traces a young man's coming of age and falling apart. From the rough and tumble of Houston's early seventies East End to the post-punk Texas bohemia of late eighties Austin, this novel in stories examines what happens when childhood trauma haunts adult lives.