I’m so excited to join in the cover reveal for The Blackout Book Club by Amy Lynn Green! This WWII novel, following a group of women involved in the home front war effort in Maine, releases in November. You can read more about it below!

If you've hung around here for a while, you know Amy Lynn Green's debut novel, Things We Didn't Say blew me away and still remains on my favorites list. Her second novel, The Lines Between Us, is one of the best examples of portraying multiple different belief systems equally.

So, as soon as I found out she had a new one coming out November 2022, I was immediately on board.

I mean, The Blackout Book Club. That, ladies and gentlemen, is an incredible title.

Oh, right, I said I'd let you read what it was about.

Plot Description: An impulsive promise to her brother before he goes off to the European Front puts Avis Montgomery in the unlikely position of head librarian in small-town Maine. Though she has never been much of a reader, when wartime needs threaten to close the library, she invents a book club to keep its doors open. The women she convinces to attend the first meeting couldn't be more different--a wealthy spinster determined to aid the war effort, an exhausted mother looking for a fresh start, and a determined young war worker.


At first, the struggles of the home front are all the club members have in common, but over time, the books they choose become more than an escape from the hardships of life and the fear of the U-boat battles that rage just past their shores. As the women face personal challenges and band together in the face of danger, they find they share more in common with each other than they think. But when their growing friendships are tested by secrets of the past and present, they must decide whether depending on each other is worth the cost.


Pre-order Link: (Because I'm sure you want to preorder it now, right?) https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/431778

Now that you have all the lovely details . . . the moment you've all been waiting for . . .

THE COVER!!!

Would you look at that. It reminds me a lot of the cover of Things We Didn't Say in all the best ways.

That's all I have for you today! I hope you'll stay tuned with me for the release of The Blackout Book Club in November 2022!

Summary

From the bestselling author of If I Were You comes a nostalgic and endearing holiday story that reminds us that sometimes the most meaningful gifts are the ones we least expect and don’t deserve.

Best friends Audrey Barrett and Eve Dawson are looking forward to celebrating Christmas in postwar America, thrilled at the prospect of starting new traditions with their five-year-old sons. But when the 1951 Sears Christmas Wish Book arrives and the boys start obsessing over every toy in it, Audrey and Eve realize they must first teach them the true significance of the holiday. They begin by helping Bobby and Harry plan gifts of encouragement and service for those in their community, starting by walking an elderly neighbor’s yellow Lab―since a dog topped the boys’ wish list for Santa. In the charming tale that follows, Audrey and Eve are surprised to find their own hearts healing from the tragedies of war and opening to the possibility of forgiveness and new love.
 
Positives

This is a really sweet story. Even though it’s not fast-paced, the story of a mom trying to teach her son that there’s more to Christmas and life resonates with a wide audience. It encouraged me to think of my own neighbors more, and how I could serve them and get to know them. To be willing to “meddle” in healthy ways. To be willing to give.

The way both Audrey and Eve wanted to be independent may have resonated with more deeply, though. Because we all know what it’s like to make a mistake, whether big or small, and feel like we have to pay it back somehow. We all know what it’s like to be treated as if we’re incapable and to want to show others that we have a place in the world.

Plus, the 1950's are just a time that isn't represented a lot in fiction.

Negatives

This is a sequel to her novel If I Were You. However, nowhere on the book’s covers or title pages will you find this information. (As you can see in the blurb above, which came straight from the book’s back cover.) To get this, you have to read the author note and acknowledgements in the back.

As a result, I was a bit confused as to Eve and Audrey’s references to their backstory for easily two-thirds of the book. It also was hard to keep the characters straight especially at the beginning of the story—Eve and Audrey were both single parents, Bobby and Harry were both boys the same age, they both came from England, and otherwise were very similar. Once the story developed, some differences presented themselves and I was able to keep up.

If I had read If I Were You, I would already have all the character development I needed to actually care about these characters. (Although, to be clear, the author did a good job balancing the backstory with the current story going on.)

However, it wasn’t until three quarters of the way through the book that I saw that author’s note. So now I have a lot of spoilers for If I Were You that I wish I didn’t have.

To sum up, don’t read The Wish Book Christmas before If I Were You.

Conclusion

This is a sweet story with themes that will touch a few strings deep inside—a great year-round Christmas read. Just don’t read it before you read If I Were You.

Summary

For nearly a century, Victorian London relied on “climbing boys” - orphans owned by chimney sweeps - to clean flues and protect homes from fire. The work was hard, thankless, and brutally dangerous. 

Eleven-year-old Nan Sparrow is quite possibly the best climber who ever lived - and a girl. With her wits and will, she’s managed to beat the deadly odds time and time again. But when Nan gets stuck in a deadly chimney fire, she fears her time has come. 

Instead, she wakes to find herself in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature - a golem - made from ash and coal. This is the creature that saved her from the fire.   

Sweep is the story of a girl and her monster. Together, these two outcasts carve out a life - saving one another in the process. By one of today’s most powerful storytellers, Sweep is a heartrending adventure about the everlasting gifts of friendship and hope.

Positives

While intended for a middle grade audience, this is a children’s book that speaks more to the grown-up world than one might think. Nan and her group of friends face down big things, dark things and come out better. At its glowing heart, Sweep is a story about all the things that make up life—the sweet and wondrous, and the dark and painful.

The friendship between Nan and Charlie is just the sweetest thing ever. From the back cover copy, I expected Charlie to be this more mature protector type. He sure is the protector type but his child-like questions and curiosity about everything warm the heart.

Unlike Nan, I adored Toby and wished he would have had more time on the pages. But if he were to have more time on the page, then something else would have had to be taken out, and we just can’t have that.

The inclusion of Jewish heritage and characters was a lovely touch and I enjoyed having it in there. It’s such a rich and interesting history to read about and a group of people that need representation in fiction beyond victims in WWII novels.

Miss Bloom was a brilliant adult figure—showing where she’s made mistakes and where she’s gotten it right. Her care for the kids in the story added a lot. And seeing an adult regain her sense of wonder is a beautiful thing as well.

The climax is gorgeous. And bittersweet. And . . . well, I won’t spoil it.

Negatives

None. (If you have a more sensitive reader, you may want to consider that this book tactfully but realistically portrays what chimney sweeps of that time faced. This can lead to some intense scenes for younger readers such as a chimney fire intentionally started by another sweep, one sweep who is killed in an accident, and illnesses brought on by inhaling soot.)

Conclusion

Don’t sweep this book aside. No matter what age you are, this should be required reading for everyone and is sure to grab readers who still hang on to their sense of wonder. (It would definitely be a fabulous choice for a family read-aloud!)

Summary

1906

Beth Tremayne has always been drawn to adventure. During her childhood, she fed that desire by exploring every inch of the Isles of Scilly. Now, after stumbling across an old collection of letters and a map buried on her family's property, she's found more adventure than she ever anticipated in the hunt for pirate treasure. But in order to discover where the clues lead, she must search alongside Lord Sheridan, a man she finds insufferable.

Sheridan has spent years pursuing whatever archaeological interests pique his imagination. And when he discovers that Beth's search connects with one of his far-removed pirate ancestors, he can't help getting involved. Plus, he finds her irresistible, even though she insists he stole a prized possession of hers.

As they work together following different clues and drawing closer to danger, they start to piece together a story of tragic love and piratical adventure. But which treasure will bring the greatest surprise--the one they find in each other or the one just out of their reach?
 
Positives

Sheridan did not disappoint. In my opinion, he was not as awkward as he was in the last book, but I think lessening up on that aspect was what gave us all this other great page time seeing his heart. His and Beth’s banter was the best thing ever.

Beth . . . well, she could be a little annoying, especially there at the beginning. I think mainly because I was already in Camp Sheridan and waiting for her to wake up. J In which case, it worked perfect, because I was feeling that tension between the two of them. But you know what, I’m sure I’m annoying to people sometimes. It was great watching her grow past it and the care that she gave to her family even in her adventures and mistakes.

I’m very excited to see the dynamic between Telford and Emily play out, but especially between Emily and her family. It looks like it will be a golden opportunity to represent verbal and emotional abuse—a subject that is often not represented at all or represented very poorly making the survivors seem like wimps. And she did convince me to like Telford after how I hated him for how he treated Libby in the first book--I mean, he takes in stray animals and likes chocolate. There may be hope for him.

The climax was brilliant. The perfect mix of winning and losing. I won’t give away any more, but it was very well done.

Negatives

None.

Conclusion

To Treasure an Heiress is a book to treasure.