Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Gray ~ Dorothy Love

This story follows the friendship of a General's wife, and a young girl born into slavery in the Civil War south.    Spanning a wide range of history and covering many aspects of civil and political unrest, this story touches on what it meant to be a woman at the start of the Civil War, as well as, the risks to having an opinion of one's own, regardless of skin color.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and fell in love with the characters.  Told in the viewpoint of Mary, granddaughter to Martha Washington and heiress to the Washington estate, Arlington, and in the voice of Selina, a young girl taught to read and write by Mary and her mother, who yearns for freedom, knowing that it comes at the cost of what she has known of life at Arlington.  This bittersweet yearning, gives the book a tremendous ability to reach its readers.

 Adding to this already enjoyable experience, the author's notes at the end, along with the list of references provide information about which elements are factual throughout the story.   This author appears to have put an appreciable amount of research into this book and it shows in the strong response this book is able to evoke.

This book was received as an ARC digital edition through NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review.

When We Meet Again - Kristen Harmel

I have rarely read a book that made me as curious and hopeful, sad and wildly emotional.  Part mystery, part romance, with a dash of history thrown in, this book had me hooked within a few short pages.

Emily is the self-isolated, unattached, and lonely main character of the present day portion of this story.  She receives a message and a package that reveal what she has known of her life is not necessarily true.  Her family history may not be as bleak and dysfunctional, loveless and damaging, as she believed.

Set in Florida during present day and World War II, this book will keep you turning pages long after the hour has passed to go to sleep. 

This books was received as a digital ARC through NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review.

Not Buying It- Brett Graff

As a parent I vacillate wildly between buying too much on impulse, or out of guilt, and then trying to do penance by streamlining, de-cluttering, and scaling back. It has been a vicious cycle.

This book hit some solid notes for me about how little changes and one time decisions can spiral into either enormous amounts of money spent or saved, but where this book failed to reach me was in the decision highlighted throughout most of the chapters.

The savings suggested largely come from places that are not my reality to begin with. I am not deciding whether to hire the $300 per hour instructor or the $100 per hour instructor. I am not trying to decide which prestigious and pricey preschool program I will send my child to, ( if I am chosen) as a means to guarantee a feed into extremely private secondary school and university systems. I am not represented in the majority of these pages. Nor are the majority of people I would recommend this book to potentially. Sadly.

I'm glad this book exists for the audience it targets, however I will continue to look for the book that speaks to the parent living on a tight budget and trying to save for incidentals and the ability to assist my child with higher education.

This book was received as an ARC digital edition through NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review.