"High as the Heavens" Book Review

Oh I barely got out of the starting blocks with this one. The first few pages were filled with such overly poetic writing that it almost turned me away. Glad I stuck with it though because shortly after, it seemed like the author, Kate Breslin, stopped trying to be dramatic and got on with writing a good story. And that she did. The plot was a good one. This is a story of a nurse forced to live in enemy occupied Belgium during WW1.

The main character, Eve Marche, not only works as a spy for the resistance, she also goes to great lengths to save the life of a downed British pilot. In addition, Eve has to work through trauma and guilt she's been carrying due to horrific events that occurred near the start of the war. Some parts of the book seemed slightly implausible but not so much that it made me roll my eyes or anything. I thoroughly enjoyed reading how our heroine was going to implement the next part of her daring plan.

I thought the author did a good job of painting a picture of how hard it would have been to live under those conditions. My own grandmother was an Italian immigrant who lived through WW2. Decades later my sister had two young German men come to visit and my grandmother could barely be in the same room with them or hear them speak. All she said was, "It brings back too many memories." What horrors did she live through that would affect her 50 years later like that?  The same as many others.

My only criticism of "High as the Heavens" was that I felt like I was reading the same words over and over again on a number of pages. Eve couldn't leave because of her family and her spy work and the pilot couldn't stay because of danger. The plot kept moving forward but it just felt like the author was telling us what the characters were thinking and they were thinking the same thing all the time. Having said that, while I knew everything was going to be fine in the end because this is a romance novel, the author did lead us on quite an adventure.  I also loved that the love between the two main characters was not based on her looks or some lusty passionate feelings. I wanted to clap as I read of people choosing to do the hard thing for the sake of the other.

A good read.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

"Heart On the Line" Book Review

Even though "Heart on the Line" could be a stand alone book, it should be called Book #2 in the "A Ladies of Harper's Station Novel" series because there are numerous references to "No Other Will Do". (another book by Karen Witemeyer) I was glad to have read that one first. I think I would have felt slightly out of the loop without that background information.

But don't let that deter you. "Heart on the Line" was a charming tale of a telegraph operator who is facing grave danger at the same time as finding love. And while the plot was, shall we say, predictable, the writing was smooth and enjoyable. Plus the plot kept moving forward.

One thing I loved about this book were the characters. The bad guy was so bad and the good guys so good. The supporting characters were the perfect blend of quirkiness and depth. I am always a tad hesitant to support books that cast men in a bad light and on the surface it might seem like "Ladies of Harper's Station" novels might do that. A whole town where men are not allowed?  (Can you imagine the uproar if women weren't allowed in an all male town!)  But I appreciate that the author did show the heroic men in a good light. Yes, many women have been tragically harmed by men, but that doesn't mean we should teach our daughters to despise them. Quite the opposite! God made us to live together with them.

And while I know it's a run-of-the-mill staple among romance novels, it did irk me ever so slightly that the author felt it necessary to state repeatedly how beautiful the heroine was. The way it's written makes it sound like her beauty was why the hero was willing to risk all to save her. Would she not be worth saving if she was plain or overweight? I know this is a reflection of our societal values but it's within our ability to fight against it. Even if the heroine's waist wasn't tiny, she would still be worth the effort and worth loving.

Over all I enjoyed this book. It was a fun fluffy read - perfect for an afternoon lying in the hammock on a breezy summer day.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."