Book Review: "When Twilight Breaks" by Sarah Sundin

 

I was first introduced to Sundin's work through my church library. I started with her "Sunrise at Normandy" Series about three Texas brothers whose path led them all to participate in one way or another in the battle of Normandy. It was such a fantastic series and each book really stood out alone. When the opportunity came with Revell Reads to be a first reader for her latest, "When Twilight Breaks" book that came out this month, I jumped at the opportunity!

The best thing about this novel is that it makes you want to bust open a history book (or do a simple Google search) to research and look up some of these historical events that are brought to life in the story.

You can tell Sundin does her research- from what the characters wear, to how they style their hair, to the kinds of cars driven in the era.

What I thought was most interesting is that this book is set in 1938 which is Pre- World War II. It explores so much about the thoughts, feelings, and emotions from those who sympathized with Hitler and the Nazi's and those of the Jews when the anti-semitic laws began to become more frequent and more harsh. 

I highly recommend this book as a fantastic exploration of this time period that explores love, history, war, and faith in God when it is put to the ultimate test. 

From the back cover:

Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession and to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country--or worse. If she does not report truthfully, she'll betray the oppressed and fail to wake up the folks back home.

Peter Lang is an American graduate student working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party--to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can't get off his mind.

As the world marches relentlessly toward war, Evelyn and Peter are on a collision course with destiny.

Get your copy today at Amazon or your favorite online retailer, or click here!

I was given a free copy of this book to review from Revell publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: "An Uncommon Woman" by Laura Frantz

I love reading a good fiction book. I love both secular and Christian fiction, but when I stumbled upon Francine Rivers’ book “Redeeming Love”, I feel in love with the genre of Christian fiction. Today I am excited to share with you another incredible story that I believe falls under Christian historical fiction called “Uncommon Woman” by Laura Frantz. 

This is a new author, whose books I have not read before and was excited to dive into the book from a perspective of a colonist settling into new American territory around 1770. The era this book was written even referenced George Washington before he was our very first President. Dangers loomed everywhere for settlers between staking out new land from the local wildlife to the hostile tension that was created between settlers and Indian tribes. 

There is a lot of heated debate, even today, about the mistreatment of the Native American tribes during the time the white people began moving West and taking over more and more ancestral lands. But, both main characters from Laura Frantz’z book- Tessa, a brave frontier woman and Clay, former captive of the Indians that grew to love the family and people he was raised with brought out both sides of the Indian and settler viewpoints. This brought compassion and heartfelt appreciation for both cultures, respectfully. Weaving a beautiful love story, heat wrenching action, and an interesting look at the times these characters lived brought me to the frontier of West Virginia in the 18^th century. Laura’s use of older colonial English made me feel like I was there.

For fans for fans of the historical fiction genre, you will want to get a copy of this book. I am looking forward to reading more from this author and I hope you enjoy it as well. 

Even if this is a book review, I can't leave you without a song to listen to and I thought I would add "Never Lost" by Elevation Worship. In the times this book speaks of there were battles beginning to be waged over freedoms and land. In this song, it speaks to God having never lost a battle...ever. Isn't that such an encouragement that as Christians he wins and we already know the outcome? I hope you are encouraged by this song as I was hearing it.