Friday, February 28, 2025

"A Noble Intent" by Kendall Hoxsey

About this book:

  “A dethroned prince wants his kingdom back. His enemy’s granddaughter stands in his way.
    Prince Max and his elite warriors, the Wolves, have lived in hiding since Lady Vermilion and her Huntsmen conquered the kingdom of Cadmium over ten years ago. He has spent his time training, planning, and strategizing for the day he can take back his kingdom and avenge his family. But to do this, he must find the legendary red diamond that is said to bear the power to appoint the true ruler and remove those in power who wish to use the throne for their own purposes.
    Gisela’s grandmama, Lady Vermilion, has made no secret of her disappointment in Gisela’s scholarly pursuits. But now, Gisela has a chance to redeem herself in her grandmama’s eyes as she’s sent on a journey to find the ancient sage--The Owl--and use her gifts of language translation to decipher ancient texts that will lead her to the powerful red diamond. If she can help her grandmama solidify her place on the throne, Gisela will become what she always has dreamed of being. Wanted.
    When Max masquerades undercover as a guide to lead Gisela on a journey to find the red diamond, they must face trouble neither of them anticipated. And learning to trust their darkest enemy, might become their brightest hope.”


Series: Book #12 in the multi-author series, “Cornerstone”. It does not seem to be connected to any other books, however. A stand-alone novel. Click on the books to be taken to that review: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, and Book #11!


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God; Most ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; In the beginning chapter from the point of view of Max, he says he’s killed Lady Vermillion’s huntsmen, but God will forgive him and he will “restore order to this kingdom and then dedicate [his] life to His penitence [after he has avenged his family]”; *Spoiler* Later, someone tells Max that he has let hate rule his heart and Max says that God does not answer selfish prayers so he hasn’t prayed about it; Towards the end, Max is willing to make any bargain with God for something and thinks that God is testing him; Max has a hard time trusting God because God allowed bad things to happen, but realizes he wasn’t allowing God to guide him and at the very end understands what the person meant *End of Spoilers*; Gisela doesn’t understand how her grandmother can tell her to kill someone when that is a sin & that only God has the right to “strike someone down”; Gisela hasn’t prayed since her parents died because her grandmother didn’t insist on prayer; Someone tells Gisela that God will be with her and will always listen and help her (“though, it just may not be the help you are specifically asking for”); The red diamond was a gift from God that whoever possesses it is the king or queen of the country as God bestowed it as a gift to the ruler; Mentions of God & praying; Mentions of prayers & praying, & thanking God; A mention of someone feeling as if God ignored his plea; A couple mentions of the devil being on someone’s heels; A mention of a Bible; 
             *Note: Max thinks about someone competing with the demons from his past; There are talking birds and a talking fox; Mentions of a talking dragon; A mention of a superstition.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: ‘curse that woman!’ is exclaimed once & a ‘drat’ is also said; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Being attacked, being shot with an arrow, being held at sword-point, holding someone at knife-point, knocking someone unconscious, pain, injuries, blood/bleeding, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Having the opportunity to kill someone and holding a knife to the person’s throat (*Spoiler* Max with Lady Vermillion *End of Spoiler*); Planning to poison/kill someone *Spoiler* Gisela’s grandmother towards her *End of Spoiler*; Max hates Lady Vermillion and her family for killing his family and wants revenge (major plot point as it’s consumed his life); Gisela’s grandmother has ordered her to kill Max, but Gisela doesn’t think she can do that and questions her grandmother about it (which makes her grandmother grab her; Later, Gisela thinks about if Max is really her enemy just because of family ties and history and knows that nothing will bring her mother back; Gisela knows she can’t do it); It’s implied that Gisela has been physically abused (slapped) by her grandmother as well as the verbal abuse she’s been subjected to for years; Despite this, Gisela has tried to win her grandmother’s approval; A story is shared about a young girl almost being eaten by a dragon after her family was attacked by the dragon (but ultimately, the dragon adopts the young girl has her daughter); Many mentions of killing, murders, deaths (including of parents), and an order to assassinate someone; Many mentions of revenge & hatred; Mentions of attacks; Mentions of kidnappings & ransoms; Mentions of prisons & prisoners; Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deceit; A few mentions of a dragon killing someone & someone killing the dragon; A few mentions of grief; A few mentions of alcohol & drinking (Lady Vermillion has a glass of brandy in her POV); A few mentions of gossip; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of hunters; A couple mentions of hangings; A couple mentions of someone being tortured; A couple mentions of stealing; A mention of someone falling to their death; A mention of a young boy seeing his family murdered; A mention of the huntsmen leaving a child to die in an abandoned well; A mention of a blood oath; A mention of slave labor (by dwarves who kidnap humans for this);
             *Note: A couple mentions of the death of a mother and young sibling in childbirth.
 
 
Sexual Content- A jawline kiss and a not-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Nearness, & Smelling (including muscles, border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Wanting to embrace; Noticing (including muscles, barely-above-not-detailed; Gisela’s grandmother has wanted all the male attention on herself, so Gisela has never spent time with a man; A few mentions of feelings & attraction; A few mentions of flirting & blushes; A mention of wooing someone; A mention of a man being frantic about producing a child with his new wife; Some attraction, love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Gisela
-Max
                                P.O.V. switches between them, Lady Vermillion (x2), & Hugo (x1)
                                                        114 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I have to say that some things didn’t make sense to me at times, which may have been due to missing punctuation and typos, unfortunately. I will also add, however, that this is probably one of the ones in the series so far that I didn’t feel like the ending was rushed. 

 

I thought it was interesting how Gisela wasn’t sure if the missing prince was her enemy like her grandmother views him, but then Max automatically views Gisela as his enemy because of her connection to the woman who killed his family. I could understand Max (as much as I could) with his desire for revenge, but that was definitely his main personality trait. I honestly didn’t care for Max even besides his plan for and focus on getting revenge. At one point he purposely pushes Gisela’s buttons and thinks about how fun it is to tease her, but it didn’t feel like teasing to me and definitely not to her. I struggled with his character for the majority of the book. I didn’t love the faith content with Max as it didn’t feel like a satisfying ending in that regard where it was a clear change from what he was the rest of the book. 

 

I’ve noticed some similarities between Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White before, but especially with this retelling. I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t a Snow White retelling because it felt like one often. The author will be sharing a novella that is collected to this story that is a Snow White retelling (well, after the main events of story), however, so it made sense that I was seeing nods to that classic tale as well. 

 

Despite the small page amount, the events in this book were well paced throughout the story. I liked the different elements of the classic Little Red Riding Hood story that came to play. I didn’t personally greatly enjoy this short story, but I liked different parts and think it would be enjoyable for some other readers as well. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 




*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

"The Girl on the Tube" by Rachel Allord

About this book:

  “Twelve-year-old Addie Brown wants to fit in. But ever since she and her dad moved from small town America to bustling London, life is as bumpy as the Tube she rides to school. Addie’s cranky neighbour tells her off but then invites her to tea! It seems as if Addie’s best friend in America has already forgotten all about her. Worst of all, Addie’s dad doesn’t seem any happier than before, even though moving across the pond was his crazy idea.
    But the biggest mystery Addie encounters is the lady in the green hat. Who is she? And why does she appear on the train when Addie is missing home – and her mom – the most?” 


Series: Book #1 in a series.


Spiritual Content- A prayer; 'H's are not capital when referring to God; A couple mentions of God & Thanksgiving being a reminder to thank Him; A couple mentions of prayers & a blessing over food; A couple mentions of the pilgrims leaving England to worship God in “greater freedom without restriction”;
             *Note: *Spoiler, but about a potential angel/ghost* At the very end of the book, Addie sees the lady on the Tube again, but then the “edges of her glimmer and glint, her body blips and blurs like a fuzzy picture on an old television screen” and the woman disappears “just like that, she is gone, transported back to whatever secret world she’s come from”; It’s noted that Addie feels “spellbound” by seeing this *End of Spoiler*; Addie’s dad calls himself her guardian angel on the Tube; A few mentions of a family leaving Iran because of their religion; A mention of a statue of Ghandi.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’, three ‘dumb’s, three ‘rats’s, and five ‘stupid’s; A bit of eye rolling (Addie rolls her eyes disrespectfully to her dad’s comment once); A mention of a man cursing (said, not written); Addie and her father have recently moved to a new country and she cries about missing their old home and wishing to go home; Addie has first day at a new school jitters & is a bit jealous at others already having friends; Addie has moments of angry words and runs off (in their apartment area) or slams her bedroom door when her father asks her questions about her day or won’t let her travel to school by herself (she is particularly upset about him not letting her go to school by herself and this comes up a couple times before he offers to shadow her instead and make sure she can get there by herself; *Spoiler* When they try this, Addie wonders why she feels lonelier when it was what she wanted; He allows her to go to school by herself only after they’ve done this a few times; *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, when Addie is upset and her dad has to leave for a bit, she leaves the apartment and goes to explore, adding that she feels a bit of guilt, but her anger takes over and she’s going to smash his rule “into to smithereens”; Addie thinks that this “big, bad thing I’m doing feels wild and satisfying, like bashing a pinata”; She quickly feels uncomfortable, realizes she forgot her mobile, and starts to panic; She imagines her dad panicking about not finding her at home and hurries to get back, knowing that she messed-up by breaking his one big rule; She gets back home to her father looking for her and they have a good discussion about her mom; As a punishment he makes her help their neighbor & return her travel card after school each day *End of Spoiler*; A neighbor says that Addie is fortunate to have a father who cares about her and her whereabouts); Once of the girls at school corrects Addie about different British words unkindly & Addie gets embarrassed when the girl comments about her dad taking her to school; Addie goes to insult the know-it-all girl, but someone cuts her off; A boy says that Addie left half her brain in America & Addie wonders if he’s right and part of her is stuck back in America, which makes her cry at remembering everything she’s missing (later, he makes another comment along the same lines); *Spoilers* A group of boys stick gum in Addie’s hair and because she’s allergic to peanuts and can’t use peanut butter like someone told her about, she takes matters into her own hands by cutting her hair (she is very upset afterwards and cries); Addie gets detention for forgetting part of her uniform and a teacher believing she’s being disrespectful when asked about it *End of Spoiler*; Addie gets nervous when trapped on the Tube, thinking of it like a buried coffin underground; Addie eavesdrops on her father’s conversation with her aunt; Addie attempts to eavesdrop on someone to be able to catch her name; Addie lies about wanting to try a new food, but ends up liking it; When Addie mimics her aunt calling her dad a “stick in the mud”, he gives her a sharp look which makes her quiet; Mentions of deaths & grief (including from a car accident; a woman’s husband & also a mother/wife); A few mentions of the events of the Boston Tea Party; A few mentions of homeless people begging on a corner with their dog; A couple mentions of deaths in history (the Mayflower); A couple mentions of prison/jail; A couple mentions of injuries & blood/bleeding; A couple mentions of passing clubs and tattoo parlors; A mention of a drunk man; A mention of a food looking “like sick” (meaning vomit); A mention of a classmate assuming Addie’s parents are divorced; 
             *Note: *Spoilers about Addie’s mom* Addie’s mom passed away when she was nine; She recalls a memory that makes her feel achy inside; There’s a couple moments where Addie notes her dad is sad and thinking about her mom; Addie doesn’t want to make her dad sadder by talking about her mom and sometimes feels like “she’s here, an invisible barrier between us. Especially when having a mom around would help a lot.”; Addie cries after something happens that her mom could have fixed and that if her mom was still alive then they wouldn’t have moved to London; Addie has another positive memory about her mom, but then remembers the night the two officers showed up at her house with news about her mother’s car accident; Towards the end, Addie has a breaking point of missing her mom and wishing she could bring back the dead and go back in time to stop the car accident; Later, Addie and her dad talk about her mom together and he shares good memories about her with Addie; When Addie’s aunt comes to visit, she encourages Addie that it’s okay to miss her mom and feel sad when she’s sad, happy when she’s happy *End of Spoilers*; Addie’s new friend is Iranian and her family had to move, which Addie doesn’t understand (a neighbor explains to Addie that not all countries are free and there are rules where opinions can’t be expressed by reporters or artists, people are forbidden to change or share their religion, and that women have the most difficulty with doing things that Addie takes for granted like “showing their hair and skin. Riding a bike. Singing, dancing, and talking too loudly in public”; Addie says she would just have to break the rules then, but the neighbor says that’s “an easy boast for someone who isn’t in danger” and that her friend must miss the only home she’s known; Addie’s friend later tells her about swimming for the first time when she was nine because “girls aren’t allowed to swim at most beaches. Unless they have a women’s section.” and Addie thinks that’s another unfair rule); Addie is concerned that her best friend back home has a new best friend, but tries to squelch the doubt; *Spoiler* Towards the end, Addie feels like her best friend is choosing someone else over her, giving up on their friendship, & Addie feels betrayed; They don’t talk for a couple weeks, but send a text to each other at the end which Addie feels is a good step *End of Spoiler*; Addie cuddles with a stuffed animal she’s had for a long time even if it’s a “babyish, stupid habit” because it brings her comfort; Mentions of a play/musical (42nd Street, which Addie goes and sees); Mentions of brand names and items (Marmite, Tootsie Rolls, Jolly Ranchers, Jello, Sharpie, & iPad); Mentions of a movie & fictional character (Mary Poppins, Peter Pan and Wendy); Mentions of FaceTime; A few mentions of celebrities/well-known figures (Ginger Rogers & Winston Churchill); A couple mentions of places (Walmart & Tesco); A couple mentions of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; A mention of BBC.
 
 
Sexual Content- Addie is upset to hear that her father has a date (he explains that it’s a work-dinner and not a date, but she is still upset *Spoiler* and runs away to go explore; More information in a spoiler in a Negative Content section above, but he later tells her that he can go on dates and she shouldn’t disobey him *End of Spoiler*); A mention of a musical’s second act making Addie sleepy, adding it had “too many romance parts” (42nd Street); 
             *Note: A couple mentions of underwear; A mention of passing women in tiny skirts.
 
-Adeline “Addie” Brown, age 12
                               1st person P.O.V. of Addie 
                                                        192 pages


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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I was hopeful about this book and enjoyed many elements of it! It had a charming feel of a book just in-between the Middle-Grade and Young Adult age groups and I think many readers would like as well. The faith content was much lighter than I was expecting, just as a note, as there’s barely any. 

 

Some Americans might be confused with it being said that Addie is starting high school (also called year seven) when she’s only twelve, but it’s just the way the UK school systems are and there were many parts of Addie having to learn about her new country.

 

Addie was honestly a delight. I thought she handled everything well and was very realistic for her age. I liked the Thanksgiving scene especially, but I’ll admit to not loving the rest of the ending with how *Spoiler* we don’t have an answer for the lady on the Tube by the end. There’s an implication that she’s a guardian angel for Addie, but no real details on what exactly is going on *End of Spoiler*, which I was disappointed about. 

 


Edit to add: The author sent me a message letting me know that this is now the first book of a series and more will be discovered about the mysterious green hat lady! I'm excited to hear this and see more of Addie. :) 


 


See y’all on Friday with a new review! 




*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

Friday, February 21, 2025

"A Noble Loyalty" by Olivia Godfrey

About this book:

  “She's biding her time.
    He's looking for answers.
    Everyone is hiding something—it doesn't matter who they are.
     For as long as she can remember, Bellinda “Bee” Durand has lived behind a mask of smiles and been weighed down by other people’s expectations. As her father's snoop, Bee is given more freedom with travels and experiences among the gentry of the country than she has ever known in the past.
     Yet this isn’t what she wants anymore, especially as she learns more about the man and his family who are her most recent assignment. They are so unlike the hard-edged people she’s known since her mother died that Bee begins to wonder if the cynicism her father has fostered in her is worth holding on to.
     Elias Reyes is a Knight of the Educacias, the country of Ventosis’ center of knowledge and civil services. His family is not immune to hardships—the ups and downs of building a business, his brother’s disappearance, and a mysterious sickness that has swept through the land also afflicting his sister—but if that’s not enough, the producers that the Reyes shipping company deal with are targeted by unknown scoundrels.
Pressured by his duty to uphold justice and needing answers, Elias strives to connect the dots.
     After a chance meeting with a young lady and new friends, secrets come to light that change everything.
     Will the truth really set them free or tear them apart?”


Series: Book #11 in the multi-author series, “Cornerstone”. It does not seem to be connected to any other books, however. A stand-alone novel. Click on the books to be taken to that review: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, and Book #10!


Spiritual Content- God is called “the Author” and Scriptures are called “the Scripts”; A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & thought about; Bee notes that her father had no use for Scripture, especially after her mother died; A brother and sister are moved to tears about being able to read the Script for themselves as they come from a country that banned it; Mentions of the Author (God); Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking the Author, & blessings over food; Mentions of books of Scriptures & reading them; A few mentions of a country that has banned the Script; A mention of a chapel; A mention of miracles; A mention of a mosaic depicting something from Scripture;
             *Note: “For Scripts’ sake” is exclaimed once by Elias; There are child-size bears who run a library called the “Ursen” and will trade humans knowledge/help in the library for a small item they want (such as a ribbon or a piece of lace); Mentions of the legend of Basajaun & someone leaving food out for it; A mention of gnomes.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘idiot’; Fictional exclamations include: a ‘light of the suns’, a ‘suns’, a ‘what in the worlds’, and five ‘scribbles’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Some eye rolling; Pain, Injuries, Being kidnapped/held hostage, Being locked in a room, Being grabbed, & Fighting (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); A fire, smoke, & the fear of a loved one being trapped and injured (up to semi-detailed); Seeing an unconscious and injured man knocked around by other men (barely-above-not-detailed); Bee snoops (spies) for her father on his competitors and feels guilt when doing it, but tells herself it’s just until she can be free from her father’s control (this includes her sneaking into offices and looking for information); Mentions of the death of a loved one & grief (Bee’s mother); Mentions of illegal substances (such as a plant that has been made into a sleeping agent when taking a small amount or higher doses and/or prolonged use making people reliant and emaciated); Mentions of criminals, arrests, & exiles; Mentions of sickness (including rashes, vomiting, and paralyzing headaches); Mentions of fires, injuries, & wounds (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a missing family member (Elias’ brother who disappeared years prior) & grief from his family; A few mentions of bandits; A few mentions of drinks at a party (not said to be alcohol or not; both Bee and Elias have some); A few mentions of a pipe & smoking; A couple mentions of lies; A couple mentions of gossip & rumors; A couple mentions of a bully; A mention of something being like a poison; A mention of vandalism; A mention of eavesdropping;
             *Note: Bee feels like she isn’t enough and has to earn her father’s attention, but has realized that it doesn’t bring fulfillment and belonging like she hoped it would; *Spoiler* At the end, Bee realizes that his disapproval was never about her, but about what he wants; She also realizes that her mother shielded her from him *End of Spoiler*.
 
 
Sexual Content- Wanting to hold hands (once); A bit of noticing & staring (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple blushes; A tiny bit of jealousy; A mention of blushes; A mention of half the city’s women being cow-eyed over Elias; Attraction & the emotions.
 
-Bellinda Durand, age 19
-Elias Reyes
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        181 pages


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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I wasn’t familiar with The Wounded Lion story at all, so I read a quick synopsis of it before reading this book. Needless to say, it follows the path of many other strange and slightly gruesome fairytales and I’m thankful the latter part wasn’t in this retelling. That said, I didn’t really see the connections between that story and this one.

 

The romance was more of a future possibility between the main characters and kept very light with their emotions in this book, which I liked. 

 

The author combined some unique settings to create this world and once I started understanding all the places and words used, it was interesting! I would have liked to learn more about certain parts—such as the Ursen, which are bears that run a library? I’m not quite clear on those and how that came to be (perhaps because this is supposed to be a non-magical series and the backstory of them would have been nice to know. Were they trained, if not magically enchanted or fantasy creatures?) but it added a different element to the story. The book ends with a very open-ended ending, so I imagine there will be a sequel.

 

 

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review! 




*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.


Wednesday, February 19, 2025

"The Dress Shop on King Street" by Ashley Clark

About this book:

  “Harper Albright has pinned all her hopes on a future in fashion design. But when it comes crashing down around her, she returns home to Fairhope, Alabama, and to Millie, the woman who first taught her to sew. As she rethinks her own future, secrets long hidden about Millie's past are brought to light.
    In 1946, Millie Middleton boarded a train and left Charleston to keep half of her heritage hidden. She carried with her two heirloom buttons and the dream of owning a dress store. She never expected to meet a charming train jumper who changed her life forever . . . and led her yet again to a heartbreaking choice about which heritage would define her future.
    Now, together, Harper and Millie return to Charleston and the man who may hold the answers they seek . . . and a chance at the dress shop they've both dreamed of. But it's not until all appears lost that they see the unexpected ways to mend what frayed between the seams.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Heirloom Secrets” series.


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are quoted & remembered; Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God, His plans, & dreams/goals that are from Him; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Rose in the prologue thinks that “If God thought her life worth living without her daughter, who was she to question His timing?”; Peter notes that it was a lot easier to hear God’s voice when he no longer allowed his stepfather’s “disapproval to scream inadequacy over his life”; Millie senses a voice that is “altogether separate from her own” tell her she is adored and feels purpose by it; *Spoiler* Towards the end, Millie realizes that somewhere along the way, she stopped believing that God was good and trusted in her own ability to keep her daughters safe, which lead to major fear and anxiety; She feels God talk to her in “a place within Millie’s heart so very deep one might call it her soul” and prays for Jesus to be her Savior and to watch over her and her family *End of Spoiler*; Harper questions why God gave her “such an out-of-reach dream”; Towards the end, Harper’s father talks to her about Ezekiel and the dry bones coming alive & *Spoiler* she realizes her gifting/dream is actually to repair broken places and things; Harper feels a voice inside of tell her about her gift and the intent for it (Supposed to be God, but no Scriptures are referenced) *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God & His plan; Mentions of prayers, praying, Mentions of churches, church going, ministers/preachers, services, & Sunday school; Mentions of a place being called “the Holy City”; A few mentions of Jesus; A couple mentions of Bibles & events from the Bible; A couple mentions of “Amazing Grace” & another song; A mention of the rapture; A mention of the pope; A mention of a place feeling like holy ground; 
             *Note: “Heavens” is exclaimed once and “what the heavens” is said once; The phrases “sweatin’ like a sinner in church”, “come hell or high water”, “thank heavens”, and “Heavens to Betsy” are all said once; Millie thinks about the lowcountry traditional about blue paint keeping ghosts out and while she doesn’t believe in ghosts, she knows about having a haunting past and wonders if ghosts are just a fictional version of the ache when your heart wants something that’s gone; Mentions of places feeling magical or like magic; A few mentions of being lucky (Millie’s mother says this about Millie and Millie disagrees with it); A couple mentions of fate; A mention of shadows turning into monsters or fairies; A mention of a sunshine rain being said to be when “the devil was beatin’ his wife”.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘drat’, a ‘heck’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘stupid’, a ‘suckers’, a ‘what in Sam Hill’, a ‘what in tarnation’, two ‘confounded’s, and three forms of ‘darn/darn it’; Some eye rolling & sarcasm; A young Millie thinks that her mama doesn’t like her using the word ‘darn’, but that “thinking ain’t the same as saying. Restraint had to count for something, right?”; Harper tells Millie that she doesn’t like to swear and instead wants to give her word about keeping a secret; Some pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Going through a cyclone (up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone punch another & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); For a brief moment, Rose in the prologue thinks about using a knife for another purpose (hinted suicide); In the 1940s, Millie sees a Black woman with a baby caught train jumping and being hit by a train worker; Millie doesn’t lie per se to a woman about her relationship with a man, but doesn’t tell the truth until she is directly asked about it; Millie starts to agree with her mother about “some secrets were better kept quiet” as she gets older, but starts to have major fear and anxiety about keeping secrets; Harper tells Peter about the time she nearly drowned (up to semi-detailed); *Spoiler* Millie feels the air sucked from her chest randomly when Franklin, her husband, dies even though she’s not with him *End of Spoiler*; Many mentions of slavery, slaves and a child being sold, & Black people being attacked/beaten (including a young mother in the 1940s and Millie’s father being killed); Mentions of Millie’s father being killed for protecting her when other men tried to attack her for playing with their children and for loving a Black woman (the men weren’t prosecuted because they said it was self-defense); Mentions of deaths (including of a father, mothers, and husbands by a boating accident, murder, illnesses/cancer, and war), grief, & anxiety/fear after the death of a loved one; Mentions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. being arrested, a bomb at a church, & little girls being killed (Millie panics that this could have happened to her family, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wars, deaths, & the Great Depression; Mentions of illnesses (including coughing up blood and cancer) & deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of illegal train jumping, chain gangs, & injuries; Mentions of a fire; Mentions of thieves & stealing; Mentions of alcohol, a wine cellar, & drunks; Mentions of parents disowning their children (including a stepparent); Mentions of lies, lying, liars, deception, & guilt; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of a young Harper being uncomfortable with seeing crabs dying and eating them; A few mentions of a cyclone & potential deaths; A few mentions of blood/bleeding; A mention of lynchings; A mention of a place burning down; A mention of poison in a movie; A mention of tobacco; A mention of divorce; A mention of college parties; 
             *Note: The prologue opens in 1860 with a Black mother learning her nine-year-old daughter been sold; A young Millie faces a young man looking at her in disgust, calling her “filthy”, and pushing her when he finds out about her being half Black (*Spoilers* He later makes a snide comment about her place and throws a brick in Millie’s family’s home/business; This is the catalyst that makes Millie’s mother want her to pass herself as a white woman and leave to go to another place to start fresh *End of Spoiler*); Millie has a lot of parts where she feels torn and upset at having to hide part of her heritage and it creates major fear in herself especially when *Major Spoilers* she is pregnant and concerned how the baby will look; She gives birth to twin girls, one lighter than the other and gives the light-skin baby to her mother-in-law to raise as her own; This breaks both Millie and Franklin’s hearts to do, and they question often if it is right; Millie tells Franklin the truth about her heritage after giving birth and comes up with this plan, despite neither of them wanting to do it, but having to for the sake of their daughters and what it would mean if they were raised as twins; Millie frequently forgets to eat and wakes up in a panic because of it all; One of the girls tells Millie about a boy calling her an awful name and that if she had any siblings, everyone would see what he already knew—“that either my mother had something to hide or my daddy wasn’t really my father”, adding that “colored people don’t belong beside while people” and that she or her mother will get hurt or someone will light their home on fire (not said with kindness or as a warning, but mean spirited); Towards the end, when the girls are sixteen, Millie tells them the truth about her heritage and the two of them being sisters *End of Spoilers*; Recalling men calling a little biracial girl a horrible name; A man tells Millie that his family doesn’t care about someone’s race, but they do care if there is a scandal following the family name; All about & many, many mentions of prejudice, hatred, racism, racial violence, & different things being illegal based on skin color (such as marriage to someone outside their race & going to places only meant for one race); A young man says that women shouldn’t run businesses (1940s); Peter’s stepfather had lofty expectations for him and they are no longer in contact after the death of Peter’s mother; Peter has a panic attack (up to semi-detailed); Harper feels like a failure at her dream/goal that she’s worked on for years when she is discouraged by an expert in the field & hears a voice inside of her say negative things like “your dreams will never amount to anything” (*Spoiler* At the very end, she realizes that it wasn’t her true dream and discovers the actual version *End of Spoiler*); Millie tells Harper “none of that feminist rubbish” when she wants to carry her own bags and there is a man available for doing that; Millie says she’s usually “the first one to advocate for women having equal opportunities”, but wonders if Harper needs more driving lessons; Harper refers to her shoe collection as “therapy heels” as she often buys them when upset; Going to Starbucks; Many, many mentions of pop culture references, brand names, celebrities, songs, places, TV shows, movies, & books (Coca-Cola, Chanel No. 5, Peanuts comic strips, Tupperware, Swiffer, WD-40, Plinko, Saks Fifth Avenue, Anthropologie, Target, Starbucks, Forever 21, Pacific Sunwear, Hobby Lobby, Lowe’s, Five and Dime, Aiken-Rhett mansion, Oz, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Darcy, Sherlock Holmes, BBC, Gilmore Girls, Saved by the Bell, I Love Lucy, American Bandstand, Titanic, Sabrina, Casablanca, Notorious, The Notebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Etsy, WebMD, Southern Living, Benny Goodman, Hugh Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergam, Lucille Ball, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Seacrest, Meg Ryan, Katharine Hepburn, Reese Witherspoon, J. Lo, Alfred Hitchcock, Edgar Allen Poe, Langston Hughes, Longfellow, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Keats, Emily Dickinson, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Ella Fitzgerald, Celine Dion, Taylor Swift, Etta James, Ed Sheeran, Frank Sinatra, “Rocking’ Robin’”, Walter Cronkite, Coco Chanel, Tiffany & Co., Dior, Vans, Little Golden Books, & ‘The Glass Menagerie’ book); A couple mentions of historical figures (John Wilkes Booth & Rutledge); A couple mentions of Bluetooth; A mention of a car brand; A mention of NASA.
 
 
Sexual Content- An almost kiss (semi-detailed), three hair/head kisses, two not-detailed kisses, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and four semi-detailed kisses; Remembering kisses & an almost kiss (up to semi-detailed); Staring at lips & noticing others doing it (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Warmth, Sparks/Tingles, Flutters, Smelling, & Nearness (x2, up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Staring (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes, Flirting, & Winks; A bit of jealousy; Rose in the prologue shares that the father of her daughter is a white man and it can be read into that the man was a wicked owner; *Spoilers, but important content note about a fade-to-black scene* Millie and Franklin are assumed by a innkeeper to be a newly married couple and gives them a room together; Franklin sleeps on the floor while Millie takes the bed, expect for when he was sick and she insisted he sleep in the bed beside her, so he placed two pillows between them; The innkeeper realizes they aren’t married and says she’ll make an honest couple out of them if they agree to get married; They get married and it’s implied they do not consummate the marriage after they’ve been married for five years; Millie needs help from her husband to zip and unzip her dress, it’s mentioned it’s right passed her bra line, he is always a gentleman with his zipping duty, and that she has come to look forward to these close moments between them; A couple mentions of Millie longing for Franklin; A hinted fade-to-black scene happens after they imply they love each other, he kisses her, and then takes her “willing and oh so ready” over the threshold; She is pregnant in the next chapter and after giving birth, tells him the truth about her heritage; At first, Franklin thinks that Millie had loved another man as one of the babies doesn’t look like him and questions if they are even his babies before being told the truth *End of Spoilers*; Harper has a thought that a man (Peter) is good looking enough to be a model for a charity calendar; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of handsome men; Mentions of dances; A few mentions of dates; A couple mentions of possible affairs; A mention of swooning; Love, attraction, falling in love, & the emotions (x2);
             *Note: Labor pain, giving birth, & passing up (including some mentions of blood/bleeding and nearly losing a wife because of blood loss, up to semi-detailed); Harper notices she’s gained some weight because of a sweet treat; A mention of hormones; A couple mentions of nursing & leaking milk.
 
-Millicent “Millie” Middleton
-Franklin Pinckney
-Harper Albright, age 26
-Peter Perkins, age 28
                                P.O.V. switches between them & Rose (Prologue only)
       Dual Time Period (Contemporary & has chapters from 1860, 1946-49, 1952, 1955, 1958, 1963, 1967, 1968, 1992, 2008 & 2011)
                                                        369 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 


I’ve had this book (and the rest of the series) on my shelf to read for a long while now, particularly because of it being a dual time period. Those aren’t my favorite because I usually prefer one setting over the other and it feels like two connecting novellas smashed into each other. This book had elements of that at times. 

 

After finishing it, I feel as if I’ve been through an emotional rollercoaster. So many parts of this story broke my heart in so many ways. The injustice in this book that these characters face made my vision turn red and make me ready to fight some other characters for being so ugly. This is definitely on the heavier side because of the themes of this book and topics discussed. 

 

I did have a time trying to keep everyone straight and their time period details as there is a lot to keep up with. And then you add in all the connections and possible connections, I almost made a family tree with notes about everyone. 😅 That said, I was impressed with how the author weaved everything together and how it all came together. I wasn’t sure what would happen in the last half of the book as the first half felt like the whole story, but there were still hard times ahead for these characters. 

 

Because of the heavy themes of racism, racial violence, and a very light hinted fade-to-black scene between a married couple, I would put this book at 16/17+ for sure; potentially older for some girls, but if she is interested in or doing a study on African Americans in the 1940-1960s, this book gives an up close and personal—and tough—look into it. 

 

In the contemporary setting, Harper’s excuse for not being able to fall for Peter was really weak, in my opinion, but I struggled with her character anyway. She felt like a Debbie Downer. I really liked Peter and his nerdiness, though, I have to say I wasn’t very invested in the modern day setting of this book in general. I didn’t like the third act break-up/argument between them and thought it was just added in for some tension. It didn’t make sense to me and had a rushed conclusion. 

 

If I could nitpick something, it would be all the pop culture references, particularly in the modern setting. We have a young woman in the historical setting that is going through major and heartbreaking events—and then in the modern time period Harper is being whinny about wasting her time trying to be a designer and listening to Taylor Swift. It was jarring and made me feel very little sympathy for Harper because of her pity-party moments when Millie has been through so much worse. I know we’re not supposed to compare tragedies or grief with others, but it can put our own minor inconveniences into perspective at least. 

 

I’m coming away from this book with a new perspective and having done more research on topics and events discussed that I didn’t really know about prior to reading this book. It was definitely educational in that way and made me realize the amount of change that has happened in the last handful of decades. But it was also heavy. The modern setting tried to lighten it up some, but other parts of the book were so sad. There is an underline of hope, though, that kept the book from dragging down into the pits, so to speak, which I was grateful for.

 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 




*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.