Book Review - When Stars Light the Sky

The latest release from Elizabeth Camden is a heartrending tale set in the turbulent years preceding America’s entry into World War I as German immigrant Inga Klein finds herself invited to the position of secretary to the American ambassador in Berlin. Her first formidable foe? Chief diplomatic counselor Benedict Kincaid. Her task? Smooth relations between her benefactor and Benedict. With a great sense of humor, an awareness of others’ needs, and more intellect than she credits herself, Inga finds a way to turn Benedict’s world on its ears. But it is the sticky situation of citizenship that knocks them both for a loop. Convincing the kaiser’s people to allow Inga to evacuate with the American contingent takes a lot of acting that has the potential to set Inga and Benedict on an irreversible course. With the demise of political relations and removal of the American representatives from Germany comes consequences of a political and personal sort they must unravel delicately.

In the second book of her Women of Midtown series, Elizabeth Camden sweeps us across the ocean and back on a tide of simmering tensions. We are carried along as nations choose sides, negotiating and hobnobbing to solidify relations personally and politically, pulled deep into the machinations of man when faced with war. Camden’s descriptions allow the reader to sit back and be fully immersed in life with Inga, Ambassador Gerard, Benedict, and the rest of the American contingent in Berlin. It is an achingly beautiful take on opposites attract theme for which I heartily recommend a box of tissues.

When Stars Light the Sky by Elizabeth Camden, book 2 of her Women of Midtown series, is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

Baker Book House    Christian Book    Amazon    Barnes & Noble    Walmart

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - Letter from Belleau Wood

Letter from Belleau Wood is the seventh Covington Chronicles book by Mary Lou Cheatham. I read it as a standalone book and feel like Ms. Cheatham crafted her details carefully to fill in any blanks I might have missed by jumping straight into the end of the series. This story is told through the eyes of a young woman named Trudy who grew up loving the neighbor boy and he grew up loving her. The days of childhood with Trudy, her brother Will, and Jeremy together from sunup to sundown are a thing of the past as the three go separate ways for school. But if love was as easy as knowing, that distance would not have led Trudy and Jeremy apart. As they come of age on the cusp of the Great War, it is letters that hold them together with their loved ones. And it is one letter from Belleau Wood that changes everything. Cheatham explores these interactions as the youths grow through war and the Spanish flu pandemic to find who they are and who they are meant to be.

There is a certain level of comfort to the locations in Letter from Belleau Wood, sprinkled throughout the state of my childhood. Though things had changed by the time I attended camp at The W and 4-H events at A&M (now State) I felt a special bit of connection to those places. I couldn’t help wondering if Trudy and her roommates ever saw Mary, the Callaway ghost who kept my camp mates and me awake and always alert. Trudy’s stop at the country store with her papa reminded me of going with my daddy for Coke & peanuts and Moon Pies. Even those who don’t have a strong connection to Mississippi will feel swept into the setting.

Thank you to the author for granting me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.