The Butterfly and the Violin & A Sparrow in Terezin

     Aren't these covers gorgeous?!?!?! 

I saw the Butterfly and the Violin in my library years ago and was drawn to it but at the time was not looking for books in that genre.  However, I knew it would always be there waiting for me when I was ready for it.

Recently I decided it was time.

I'm going to review them in the same post although I did rate them a bit differently...

These are WWII books.  I have always been fascinated (in a non morbid way) by this period of history.  As a youth I read books like Number the Stars, As the Waltz was Ending, Searching for Shona and Alicia: My Story.

Kristy Cambron puts an interesting twist in these books as she weaves in a modern day story along with the history.  It is not time travel/unrealistic stuff but tastefully and beautifully done.

****

PG

{GS}

Easily Recommend

{GS} There are graphic ideas involved...much of it takes place in a concentration camp... but I felt like she handled them well and was not overly detailed.

I definitely cried...seriously gripping and emotional.

***1/2

PG

{GS} {L}

Probably Recommend

In the Butterfly and the Violin, I came to the conclusion that all the addresses to God were prayers...not so sure in this book.  Some of them seemed more in vain than anything. {L}  This disappointed me because other than that I thought it was a great book.

I think I liked the story a bit more in The Butterfly, but this one was also touching and well done.

One other thing bothered me, and it really shouldn't have because it's trivial, but I pick up on adjectives used repetitively.  When the same adjective is used too closely in multiple instances or too often in the book as a whole, it is an annoyance to me.  

Kristy uses the word "embattled" probably 8-10 times throughout this book.  It's a great word but I think she overused it :)  I know, silly!

Anyway, conclusion...

These are tear jerkers but beautiful WWII novels with a modern day story braided in.

Kristy has a few other novels that I am anxious to try!

The Captivating Lady Charlotte

***

PG (13?)

{L} {BSt} {G} {UM}

Probably not Recommend

There was a lot of mention of the Lord's name {L} in this one.  I recognize that not all of them were in vain (there is a lot of praying that goes on) but there were some that obviously were.

There is definitely a back story of infidelity that is referenced. {BSt}

I should have made a better note here about why I marked a {G}.  I honestly don't recall what I considered graphic but there must have been something.

There were also some {UM} mostly when he reflects on her figure etc...

A couple of extra notes about this one...

-Sometimes the writing style bothered me a bit.  I could tell that it was her way of conveying the characters' thinking patterns but it got a little old as the book went on.

-I felt like the ending was a bit over dramatic but it did tie everything up nicely :)

-I did appreciate that it ended up having some real depth that I didn't expect.

Dangerous To Know

I really like mysteries!

I have been on the hunt for a clean historical mystery series for a while now.

I had read one previous Lady Emily book by Tasha Alexander and had not been completely pleased with some of the things it contained but was curious to try another one, hoping that not all of them had disappointing content.  Dangerous to Know was the second one I read and I had similar issues with it as I did with the first.

That being said, this is probably the cleanest historical mystery series I have tried in recent history.

***

PG (13?)

{UM} {GS} {L}

Not Recommend

This had a great storyline!  It was a bit creepy (especially if read at night) but I like that to a small degree I guess.

The {UM} rating is mostly for all the references to marital intimacy.  They main characters are married and frequent mentions are made about their intimate life.  I could do without all that thank you!

Another thing that has bothered me is that infidelity among the non main characters is viewed as a given and almost expected :(

When murder scenes are described she can get a bit graphic {GS}...a bit disturbing!

{L} There was one swear word in this book.  I hate to refer to any swearing as mild but if I had to rank them, this would be in the 'mild' range.

A Stranger at Fellsworth

Since I am reviewing books right now that I read months ago and my memory is not what I would like it to be, I probably won't expound too much.  

I did jot down the basics however when I finished them so I do not have to rely on my subpar memory for the ratings :)

****

G

Easily Recommend!

I wrote that it was a very clean and sweet story.

I had no complaints about it whatsoever.

Sarah's first series that I read, The Whispers on the Moors, I did have a few complaints with back stories and a little too much passion.  However, this whole Treasures of Surrey series has been delightfully clean!

The Vicar's Daughter

It's been quite a while since I have reviewed a book on here and I have a list of about 20 titles to catch up on so here goes...

***

PG

{UM}, borderline {TMP}

possibly recommend

The {UM} were mainly about womens' "assets" and men discussing women in uncomfortable ways.

There were only two kissing scenes {TMP} but they pushed the envelope a bit for me as far as passion goes.

I don't know what it was about this one but it just had somewhat of an odd feeling about it...maybe it was the 'forbidenness' of the relationship...maybe it was just the mood I was in.  Who knows?

This is about what I have come to expect from Josie Kilpack...not squeaky clean...which is sad.  I think she is a very talented writer and I almost always love her stories but there's often things that I would prefer not to read about in her books.