The Diplomat's Daughter

Author: Karin Tanabe

Publisher: New York: Washington Square Press, 2017.

Annotation: Set after the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941, anti-Japanese sentiments run high in the American populace. The daughter of Japanese diplomat, young Emi Kato has been sent to an internment camp in Texas. Her feelings of hopelessness are lifted once she meets a handsome young man with German parents by the name of Christian Lange. Thousands of Japanese and German families live as prisoners in these internment camps, however, Emi and Christian’s love blossoms despite the dark circumstances.  Later, Emi and her mother are sent back to Japan and Christian enlists in the United States army on the Pacific Front. He hopes to reunite with Emi but little does he know that Leo Hartmann (Emi’s first love born to Austrian parents) is Jewish and seeking refuge in Shanghai. All the while, Emi wonders if Leo and Christian have survived the horrors of the war. For Leo and Christian, Emi is always held close to their hearts.

For more information: NoveList

Suite Française

Director: Saul Dibb

Story by:  Irène Némirovsky

Publisher:  Toronto, Ontario: Entertainment One, 2015.

Annotation: Set during the German occupation of France in 1940, this film is described as "rewardingly complex and disarmingly passionate" (The Guardian) in addition too also being "a romantic but discordant dispatch on love and war" (Independent).

Based on the novel written by Irène Némirovsky of the same name, Suite Française portrays the dismal circumstances and consequences of the German occupation of France. Citizens from Paris flee to the countryside, but not far behind them are a battalion of German troops who take up residence in the French villagers' homes. Lucille Angellier, the story's protagonist, does her best to ignore the German soldier (Bruno von Falk) living with her and her mother, but...perhaps, there is a deep attraction forming between the two.

For more information:  Independent Film Review  Rotten Tomatoes Film Review  Goodreads Book Review    The Guardian Book Review NoveList

Everyone Brave Is Forgiven



Audiobook cover

Author: Chris Cleave
Narrated by: Luke Thompson

Publisher: London: Sceptre, 2016.

Annotation: Set during World War II London in 1939, Mary is determined to go against her family's political views and serve as a volunteer for the war effort. She is assigned to teach children who have been evacuated from London to the countryside, however these students have been shunned from the society as they have coloured skin or mental disabilities.

Tom, who is an education administrator is besides himself when his best friend, Alastair, enlists. Alastair is an art restorer who lived a quiet and peaceful life (a stark contrast to the life he has currently signed up for). Tom attempts to distract himself from Alastair's enlistment and the war that is brewing by taking interest in Mary, first as an employer and then as their relationship develops in darkened times. When Mary eventually meets Alastair, a love triangle ensues all whilst war escalates ultimately changing them and the world.

For more information: Washington Post Review   NoveList

With Every Letter (Wings of the Nightingale #1)

Author:  Sarah Sundin

Publisher: Ada, Michigan: Revell, 2012.

Annotation: Written by Sarah Sundin a notable World War II author, this novel vividly depicts the treacherous specificities of aviation and nursing with a combination of the romance genre. Bestselling, award-winning author Dan Walsh describes With Every Letter as a "beautiful love story [that] has everything you want in a novel: romance, suspense, and characters you care about from the very first page." (Amazon)

The story is based on Lieutenant Mellie Blake  who is in the midst of training to be a flight nurse. As self-esteem runs low during war time, Mellie must write a letter to a man she's never met, Lieutenant Tom MacGilliver, as part of a morale building program. Letters are traded back-and-forth between the two, and later both are transferred to Algeria where they are scheduled to meet for the first time.

Series: Wings of the Nightingale


Titles in Series:  With Every Letter (#1)  On Distant Shores (#2)    In Perfect Time (#3)

For more information: Author's Website   Annapolis Valley Library Book Review  NoveList

The Girl From Venice

Author: Martin Cruz Smith

Publisher:  New York: Simon and Schuster, 2016.

Annotation: International bestselling author Martin Cruz Smith vividly brings wartime Italy to life with his novel The Girl From Venice. Set in the weeks prior to the death of Benito Mussolini and the fall of the Republic of Salo, Smith describes the encounters between fisherman Innocenzo 'Cenzo' Vianello and daughter of wealthy Jewish family Giulia Silber. Hiding from the Wehrmacht, Giulia tries to escape Italy with the help of Cenzo.

"The Girl from Venice is a thriller, a mystery, and a retelling of Italian history that will take your breath away. Most of all it is a love story." (Goodreads)

For more information: Goodreads NoveList

The Things We Cherished

Author:  Pam Jenoff

Publisher:  New York: Doubleday, 2011.

Annotations: "An ambitious novel that spans decades and continents" (Goodreads), The Things We Cherished is about two lawyers, Charlotte Gold and Jack Harrington, who are slowly falling in love. Their defending a brother of a Holocaust hero against World War II war crimes. Roger Dykmans, a wealthy financier, is the defendant but seems to not want to help his own defence, stating that his innocence lies back in Germany during the time of the Nazis. The story progresses from Philadelphia to Germany, Poland and Italy, the readers being given a glimpse of the lives during World War II and beyond as well as learning about a love affair that caused a brother to become a traitor.


For more information: Publisher's Weekly Review

Tales of the South Pacific

 Author: James A. Michener

Publisher: New York: Random House Publishing, 2014.

Annotation:   "Tales of the South Pacific is the iconic, Pulitzer-Prize-winning masterpiece inspired a Broadway Classic and launched the career of James A. Michener, one of America's most beloved storytellers." (Goodreads)

Set in the South Pacific during World War II, this work invites the reader to examine the beauty of the landscape. The reader is also given an in-depth perspective of the men and women who were involved in World War II. Three story-lines take place in this novel:

1) A marine that falls in love with a Tonkinese woman
2) A French aristocrat who challenges a navy nurse's narrow and      prejudiced view on the world
3) Soldiers who are based in a tropical paradise with the horrors
    of war dawning upon them

For more information:  NoveList

It Had To Be You (A World War II Romance)

Authors: Cheryl Bolen
Publisher:  Seattle, Washington: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform , 2012.

Annotation: 1937, the onset of war. Journalist Diane Castle meets a handsome, fledging, Japanese-American named Johnny Honda whilst socialising with the self-indulgent Hollywood elite at his club (Club Borneo). With war on the world's doorstep, the time is full of trepidations, fear  and propagandist remarks regarding the "Yellow Peril". Despite all of this, Johnny and Diane fall in love...a love that doesn't seem like it will last due to the nature of the time. Threatened with being locked away in an internment camp, Johnny does not want Diane to waste her life on him. Their love for one another is continually tested during the tumultuous times that are to follow the events of Pearl Harbour.

More information: Fantastic Fiction   
Amazon Editorial Reviews + More about author
Author's Website

Skeletons at the Feast

Author: Chris Bohjalian

Publisher: New York: Crown, 2008.

Annotation: A tactfully written story about overcoming and surviving the horrors of World War II. Despite the bleakness of the novel's setting, love is still able to blossom. This novel has captured "both the power and poignancy of romance and the terror and tragedy of war." (Goodreads)

The story focuses on Prussian protagonist Anna Emmerich and her family fleeing from the oncoming Russian invasion. The Emmerichs take a Scottish POW by the name of Callum Finella with them in an attempt to escape Germany.  Travelling through war-torn terrain will be the ultimate test of Anna's and Callum's love for one another.


For more information:  Goodreads  Author's Website
                                        Book Trailer NoveList

The Plum Tree

Author: Ellen Marie Wiseman

Publisher:  New York:  Kensington, 2012.

Annotation: "Deeply moving and masterfully written story of human resilience and enduring love. " (Goodreads)

Seventeen-year-old Christine Bolz knows there’s a whole new world beyond the German village in which she lives. It’s a world she has discovered through music, books and through the man that she works for, Issac Bauermann (a son of a wealthy, cultured Jewish family). She and Issac share the same dream; however, difficulties show themselves as Germany is a changing country under Hitler’s regime in 1938. Anti-Jewish propaganda & sentiments litters the streets, any opposition or disagreement to the regime is squashed and new laws forbidding Christine to marry and work for Issac are now in place. Subjected to Gestapo’s wrath and the horrors of the Dachau concentration camp, Christine is desperate to survive…to be with the man she loves and to speak out about the atrocities of the war.

More information:  Author's Website  Book Trailer NoveList