Review: The Italian Ballerina

The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 out of 5 stars - If you ask me, I'll tell you to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishers for this advanced copy (even if it did take me much longer to get to it than I intended!)

This book taught me so many new things about WWII that I never knew. So many historical fiction books are focused on Germany or France during the war, but this one is set mostly in Italy. With converging storylines, this book jumps between present day and various years between 1939 and 1945. It follows two American medics, a British ballerina, and a young Jewish girl, as well as the grandchildren of one of the medics and the child in present time.

Before this book I had never heard of Syndrome K or the hospital at Fatebenefratelli in Rome. A fake contagion was invented to hide Jewish people from the Nazis in plain sight. The Jewish people were diagnosed with Syndrome K and the Nazis wanted no part in catching a potentially deadly contagion. While the main characters are fictional, many of the people mentioned in the historical timeline were real. I really enjoyed the "extra information" at the end of the book with more details about the war in Italy.

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Review: If You Ask Me

If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 out of 5 stars - If you ask me, I'll tell you to read it.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this free copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Before even starting the book, there was a section detailing the topics within the book that could be triggers for people. I found that interesting, as I had never seen that before.

This is the story of Violet, an advice columnist who doesn't have it all together. When she comes home early from work and finds her husband in bed with another woman, she starts looking at herself and evaluating her life but not without several bumps in the road, derailments, and unfiltered responses to advice letters.

This book had a lot of good moments of a woman feeling less than and then being built back up by another character. While there is a new romance that buds in this book, I don't think I would categorize this as a romance novel. This is more of a book about women taking control of their lives and not being the "good, quiet, subservient housewife whose only job is to make life easier for others".

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Review: Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 out of 5 stars - If you ask, I'll tell you to read it

I really enjoyed this book. It was science, aliens, friendship, and intrigue all rolled into one!

The book is written in two different story lines that mostly alternate. There's the "before liftoff" memories and the "after awakening from a coma" story lines. Eventually they come together to learn about how it all came to be. Something is happening in space, and if Dr. Ryland Grace doesn't come through on this Hail Mary journey, Earth will enter another ice age and all life will probably perish.

The book kept me entertained and intrigued throughout. I got close to the end and I really wanted to know how it ended. I read through lunch and dinner just to finish and see how it ended. It didn't end how I expected at all, but that wasn't a good or bad thing (it was just different).

I also can say I learned some new science terms while reading this book. Thank you Kindle for having a dictionary built in!

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