Anne Hart

Is there an author you want to read every book they’ve written? After I read The London House, I knew I wanted to read every book by Katherine Reay.  So I’m making my way through her books.  The Printed Letter Bookshop was next on my list and it did not disappoint.  It’s a warm cozy read about legacies, friendships, and the power of books.   Madeline inherits a small bookshop from her estranged Aunt Maddie.  Madeline has a career as an attorney through so she decides she will sell the bookshop and continue her life as usual.  Due to a setback at work she stays longer than intended trying to get The Printed Letter in better shape to be able to sell it.   The employees at The Printed Letter, Claire and Janet become much more than employees to Madeline.  Although Madeline is the main character, the chapters alternate from her point of view to also that of Claire and Janet.  All three are facing life issues and changes.  Each one of...

Have you read a WWII historical fiction from a German’s point of view?  The German Wife by Debbie Rix is a disturbing German perspective on World War II.  I loved the straight chronological narrative by Annaliese’s perspective of being a German around 1939.  Annaliese is a young woman who is swept off her feet by Hans. He’s a doctor wanting to do research.  He sees Hitler’s regime as a way to be able to further his medical research.  He wants to find a homeopathic cure for malaria.  He gets caught up in the violence and depravity that was the Nazis' goal.  Hans pressures Annaliese to be a good German hausfrau and have children.  Then a Russian prisoner named Alexander is sent from Dachau to work in their garden.  Anna’s story then takes a big twist and then after the war ends, yet an even bigger twist occurs.  Then in 1989 the past once again haunts Annaliese and her unknowing son.  We can’t ever escape the past.  Annali...