Hold My Girl: A Novel by Charlene Carr

For fans of Jodi Picoult, Kate Hewitt and Ashley Audrain, a heart-wrenching novel about two women whose eggs are switched during IVF

Katherine is a woman full of obsessions. Everything clean, everything perfect, all the time. After seven years of trying—and failing—to conceive, she finally gives birth to Rose, her IVF miracle child. But she’s afraid that Rose may not be her daughter; her pale skin doesn’t match Katherine’s own.

Tess never got her happy ending. She took on IVF alongside Katherine and a group of hopeful mothers, but her daughter, Hanna, was stillborn. After a series of poor choices, she’s divorced, broke and stuck in a job that’s below her skill set.

Ten months later, Katherine and Tess get a call from the fertility clinic that reveals shocking news: the two women’s eggs were switched. While Katherine’s perfect life beings to crumble around her, for Tess it’s the glimmer of hope she needs to get her life back on track. But it will take a custody battle to decide who deserves to be Rose’s mother, a battle that will push both women to the brink.

With themes of racial identity, loss and betrayal, this emotional novel centred around a difficult moral question beautifully explores the complexities of motherhood. 

Kindle, 432 pages

Expected publication: January 24th 2023

 by HarperCollins Publishers

3.5/5 stars

Here I thought I knew about a lot of Canadian authors but somehow I missed Charlene Carr.

After reading the blurb I was prepared for an emotional read and for the first 50% I didn’t get that. The feels just weren’t there like I expected. The tone shifted and with that change I was feeling  some emotions. They came from secrets kept within and guilt/anger over a body that didn’t produce. The chain reaction that was caused by desire had a ripple affect on not just these 2 women but their family and friends as well.

Hold My Girl was an interesting story, it would make a great book club read with lots of things to talk about. But for me I would have loved more references to timing and it lacked that ‘unputdownable’ emotional feels I expected with characters that were likeable. While parts were predictable it didn’t have that wham factor for me.

Hold My Girl releases in just a few weeks. My thanks to Harper Collins CA for a digital arc (via NetGalley) in exchange for a honest review.

Meet Me in the Middle by Alex Light

A romance interrupted by tragedy sets two people on different paths in Wattpad superstar Alex Light’s latest YA romance.

Eden had her best friend Katie—she didn’t need anyone else. But then there was Truman.

Katie’s older brother, the artist. The recluse. The boy with the innocent smile and the dangerous eyes.

Eden had never really known Truman—not until the night of Katie’s accident. That was the night they’d finally let each other into their orbits—only to have the sky come crashing down on them.

With Katie in the hospital and Truman fleeing from his grief without a word, Eden is left alone to grapple with her own pain. But when Truman returns to the city, can Eden let him back into her life knowing that their first kiss is what tore their world apart?

Wattpad superstar Alex Light is back with another poignant romance perfect for fans of Jennifer Dugan and Laura Taylor Namey. 

Paperback, 384 pages

Published July 12th 2022 by

 Harperteen

3/5 stars

Alex Light is a new to me author.  This book released back in July and I was lucky enough to win an ARC from HarperTeen.

Told from 2 povs, Eden and Truman, both dealing with guilt over a tragic accident that sends Eden's best friend and Truman's younger sister to the hospital.  Five months later, still unconscious Katie clings to life.  What follows is Eden and Truman reconnecting and their journey through depression, grief and guilt.

This was a slow paced story, repetitive at times as both tell their story both before and after the accident. It was an emotional story and brought to life how unique this process is.  Everyone handles grief and guilt differently which was showcased here. Well done Light for writing a sensitive story with some serious subject matter.

The Book Haters' Book Club by Gretchen Anthony

All it takes is the right book to turn a Book Hater into a Book Lover…

That was Elliott’s belief and the reason why he started The Book Haters’ Book Club—a newsletter of reading recommendations for the self-proclaimed “nonreader.” As the beloved co-owner of Over the Rainbow Bookstore, Elliott’s passion and gift was recommending books to customers. Now, after his sudden death, his grief-ridden business partner, Irma, has agreed to sell Over the Rainbow to a developer who will turn the cozy bookstore into high-rise condos.

But others won’t give up the bookstore without a fight. When Irma breaks the news to her daughters, Bree and Laney, and Elliott’s romantic partner, Thom, they are aghast. Over the Rainbow has been Bree and Laney’s sanctuary since childhood, and Thom would do anything to preserve Elliott’s legacy. Together, Thom, Bree and Laney conspire to save the bookstore, even if it takes some snooping, gossip and minor sabotage.

Filled with humor, family hijinks and actual reading recommendations, The Book Haters' Book Club is the ideal feel-good read. It’s a celebration of found family and a love letter to the everyday heroes who run bookstores.

Paperback, 352 pages

Expected publication: September 13th 2022

 by Park Row

3.5/5 stars

This was an interesting book to read, I pretty well went in blind, given the title I knew this bookish bookworm needed to not just read it but have a copy on my shelf.

Told from a number of different POV‘s showcased four individuals dealing with grief in a unique mannerism, then throw in the sale of this beloved bookstore and mayhem ensues.

Things started slowly for me with this quirky bunch, it took a bit to adjust to the banter, one liners and 5th pov.  But once I got my groove I enjoyed this read, finishing the last 40% in one afternoon.  The dialogue was unique, witty but at times a bit much. There were lots of great book recommendations scattered throughout, which I loved. Relationship issues/communication plays center stage, whether between mother/daughters, sister/sister and even scattered throughout the neighborhood.

The Book Haters' Book Club is a heartwarming story with a carefully plotted story. It was unique with its twists scattered throughout. Though a season of grief, it is also a time of self discovery, romance and taking a stand. 

I like that this takes place in present day with absolutely no reference to the pandemic at all.

My thanks to HarperCollins Canada and Park Road books for a print ark in exchange for a honest review

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson ramps up the horror and tackles America’s history and legacy of racism in this suspenseful YA novel following a biracial teenager as her Georgia high school hosts its first integrated prom.

When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation . . . Maddy did it.

An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she's dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington.

After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High's racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school's first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it's possible to have a normal life.

But some of her classmates aren't done with her just yet. And what they don't know is that Maddy still has another secret . . . one that will cost them all their lives. 

Kindle Edition, 416 pages

Expected publication: September 6th 2022 

by HarperCollins/Tegen

3/5 stars

Both the author and genre (YA Horror) are new to me.  Social media was not quiet in terms of what type of retelling this was, so I began reading with a pre-conceived notion of what was going to happen.  Though once I started it wasn’t hard to figure out how this book would end. Not just because of the spoilers online but because of the format. Told from a couple different points of view and also through interview/excerpt pages from a book, told much of the story before it happened eliminating any element of surprise.

The Weight of Blood is a story of racial unrest, bullying and dysfunctional families. It was hard to read at times and though it takes place in 2015 I felt like it went farther back into the 60’s with the segregation of races. There were a lot of characters here and at times I struggled to connect with who was who.

Deemed as a horror book I was looking for the fright, things that go bump in the night or just anything to invoke that feeling of scariness.  And not just with the ending, but throughout the story. But I didn’t feel that vibe and honestly (I know I am going against the general response to this book, could be an age thing) but I didn't feel any type of emotion other than sadness for the main character and Kenny.

The Weight of Blood reminds me of Mean Girls meets Firestarter meets Carrie. It's a racial bullying story with some supernatural elements.  The way the story jumped around disrupted the flow leaving me craving just to read the main story and not the interviews and other fillers.  

My thanks to HarperCollins CA for a digital arc (via Netgalley) in exchange for a honest review.

Are You Sara? by S.C. Lalli

Two women named Sara each get into a rideshare. . . but only one makes it home alive. Which Sara was the real target?

Law student Saraswati “Sara” Bhaduri holds down two jobs in order to make her way through school, but it’s still a struggle. She’s had to do things to pay the bills that most people wouldn’t expect from “a nice Indian girl.” It seems like an ordinary busy Tuesday night at the local dive bar until her boss demands Sara deal with a drunk girl in the bathroom.

The two become fast friends. Why? Because they both have the same name. And despite their different circumstances, the two connect. When they both order rideshares home, they tumble in the back of the cars and head out into the night.

But when Sara awakes in her rideshare, she finds she's on the wrong side of town—the rich side—and she realizes: she and Sarah took the wrong cars home.

With no money, Sara walks back to her apartment on the shady side of town only to discover police lights flashing and a body crumpled on her doorstep: Sarah.

Was Sarah Ellis or Sara Bhaduri the target? And why would anyone want either of them dead?

In this smart, twisty novel about ambition, wealth, and dangerous longing, the layers are peeled back on two young women desperate to break out of the expectations placed on them, with devastating results.

Kindle Edition, 384 pages

Expected publication August 9, 2022

published by Harper Collins CA

3.5/5 stars

When Sara/Sarah get their car ride mixed up, is it a case of mistaken identity or not? Such is the premise of Are You Sara?

This was a dual story line plot, going back in time between the 2 of them. Starting out really strong I was intrigued about the mixup, the mystery and who these 2 vastly different women were.  The story progressed at a slower past and didn't have that unputdown feature I crave in a thriller but curiosity won out with that 'I gotta know what happened here vibe. It definitely went in a direction I didn't anticipate.

Lots of red herrings kept me guessing. Though I wasn't a fan of most of the characters, one was given more time than the other and ultimately the ending worked even if I wasn't a huge fan of it.

All in all a solid debut. My thanks to Harper Collins Ca for a digital arc in exchange for a honest review.

The Truth About Ben and June by Alex Kiester

A heartfelt debut that explores the complexity of a modern-day marriage when a new mother vanishes one morning and her husband must retrace events of their recent past to bring her home.

Love isn’t something that happens to you; it’s something you must choose every day.

From the moment Ben and June met in a hospital waiting room on New Year’s Eve, their love has seemed fated. Looking back at all the tiny, unlikely decisions that brought them together, it was easy to believe their relationship was special. But now, after several years of marriage, June is struggling as a new mom. At times, she wonders about the life she didn’t choose—what might have been if she hadn’t given up the lead role in a famous ballet to start a family. Feeling like a bad mom and more alone than ever, she writes to her deceased mother, hoping for a sign of what she should do next.

One morning, Ben wakes to the sound of his baby and quickly realizes that June is gone, along with her suitcase. As Ben attempts to piece together June’s disappearance, her new friends mention things he knows nothing about—a mysterious petition, June’s falling-out with another mom, her strange fixation on a Greek myth. The more Ben uncovers about June, the more he realizes how little he actually knows her. And now the only way to bring June home is to understand why she left.

Told through alternating perspectives of husband and wife, The Truth About Ben and June is a witty and wise page-turner about life’s many crossroads and a heartfelt reminder that we create our own destiny.

Paperback, 320 pages

Expected publication June 28, 2022 

by Park Row

3/5

The Truth About Ben and June is a thought-provoking story that explores issues that are real and sometimes overlooked.

Told from Ben’s POV and also from letters June wrote to her deceased mother. June talks a lot about the Greek tragedy Medea (I’m not a big fan of Greek mythology but this kind of worked here). New parents Ben and June are an interesting couple and while I struggled to connect with Ben I did feel for June, both before and after the birth of their son. Her struggles were vividly expressed in her letters and I could feel her pain.

The Truth About Ben and June is a story of relationships, whether between husband and wife, mother and daughter, and between friends. This last relationship I struggled with and can’t quite figure out why.

The book started out strong with the mysterious disappearance but slowed down, though my interest was there as I was genuinely curious as to what happened. A good debut that would make a good book club read for a variety of discusses. The ending was okay somewhat convenient and though I didn’t connect (or like) Ben or Kirsten that might have affected my thoughts

My thanks to Park Row Books and Harper Collins Canada for a print ARC (in exchange for a honest review.)  The Truth About Ben and June can be found in book stores next week.

The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick

In the winning new novel from the beloved author of The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, the house cleaner of a famous reclusive author must carry out her employer's life-changing last wish...

Have you ever wished you were someone else?

Mother of two Liv Green barely scrapes by as a maid to make ends meet, often finding escape in a good book while daydreaming of becoming a writer herself. So she can't believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her personal hero, megabestselling author Essie Starling, a mysterious and intimidating recluse. The last thing Liv expected was to be the only person Essie talks to, which leads to a tenuous friendship.

But when Essie dies suddenly, a devastated Liv is astonished to learn of her last wish: for Liv to complete Essie's final novel. But to do so Liv will have to step into Essie's shoes, and as Liv begins to write, she uncovers secrets from the past that reveal a surprising connection between the two women--one that will change Liv's own story forever...

Paperback, 352 pages

Published May 31, 2022

 by Park Row

3/5 stars

This is my first Phaedra Patrick book.  The cover, title and blurb called my name, there is that bookish theme that radiates.

Getting off to a slow start this book stirred a wide range of emotions, how Liv was treated by her clients (she cleans homes and businesses) and worse yet by her husband and adult sons. It was difficult to read at times and I just wish she stood up for herself rather then be constantly taken advantage of.  

The premise was interesting and had potential. This mystery why Liv was named to complete the novel of a recently deceased author was a slow burn reveal and the many layers was a tad too drawn out.

I am a big book nerd, I love books about books and eagerly looked forward to this read.  I enjoyed the literary name dropping and how Liv loved audiobooks.  But ultimately I just felt sorry for Liv throughout this read, she craved something but lacked support.

The last third of the book picked up somewhat, I was a little curious about the connection between Essie and Liv. It was a neat and tidy ending but didn't wow me.

I've heard great things about the author's previous book The Library of Lost and Found (which is in my TBR pile) and will give that a go.

My thanks to Harper Collins CA for a print ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Poison Lilies by Katie Tallo

In Katie Tallo's thrilling follow-up to the international bestseller Dark August, Gus Monet is swept into the orbit of a prominent, wealthy family whose privilege is founded on a dangerous web of secrets they're desperate to keep hidden

After moving back to her hometown and solving her mother's murder, August (Gus) Monet thought she was done. Settled. Content for the first time in her life.

Cue hard reset number whatever.

She made a mistake she couldn't undo, so Gus cut and run. Packed all her things in the dead of night and took off. Now somewhat settled into The Ambassador, an art-deco apartment building with cheap rent in one of Ottawa's oldest neighborhoods, Gus has found the perfect place for a fresh start—or a good place to hide.

Gus also finds friendship in Poppy Honeywell, her reclusive neighbor perpetually wrapped in a pink kimono like an aging Old Hollywood starlet. She's also a descendant of the Mutchmores, one of the town's founding families. When a body is found in the pond of a nearby park, her connection to this powerful and wealthy family turns dangerous, possibly deadly. The Mutchmores are hiding something and are willing to do anything to keep their secrets buried.

Paperback, 368 pages

Published May 24, 2022 

by Harper Paperbacks

4/5 stars

It was so nice to get back with August, first introduced in Dark August. While this book could be read as a stand alone, I do recommend reading Dark August first.

Picking up where Dark August left off Gus finds herself unravelling a mystery that goes back decades. With angry adults, a feisty 10 year old and an ageing blind woman. When a body is found in the local pond it sets off a journey to solve unresolved issues from the past. Oh and one can’t forget Levi, Gus’s canine sidekick.

What follows is an adventure shrouded in the past, with those wanting to keep the past silenced. While there are a number of characters it was a little daunting keeping everyone straight, as well as figuring out who can be trusted.

Poison Lilies is a story of new beginnings, secrets, closure and family.  Slow at times but still an entertaining read.

My thanks to Harper Collins CA for this print ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay

A missing woman. 

A husband suspected. 

The truth will . . .

TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY

From the New York Times bestselling author of Find You First and Elevator Pitch comes a gripping psychological thriller about a formerly missing woman who has suddenly returned under mysterious circumstances.

One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without a trace. Most everyone assumed Andy had got away with murder--it's always the husband, isn't it?--but the police could never build a strong case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom--he drank too much to numb the pain, was abandoned by all his friends save one, nearly lost his business, and became a pariah in the place he once called home.

Now, six years later, Andy has finally put his life back together. He sold the house he once shared with Brie and moved away. To tell the truth, he wasn't sad to hear that the old place was razed and a new house built on the site. He's settled down with a new partner, Jayne, and life is good.

But Andy's peaceful world is about to shatter. One day, a woman shows up at his old address, screaming, "Where's my house? What's happened to my house?" And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, the woman--who bears a striking resemblance to Brie--is gone. The police are notified and old questions--and dark suspicions--resurface.

Could Brie really be alive after all these years? If so, where has she been? It soon becomes clear that Andy's future and the lives of those closest to him depend on discovering what the hell is going on. The trick will be whether he can stay alive long enough to unearth the answers.

Paperback, 352 pages

Published May 17, 2022 

by HarperLuxe

5/5 stars

This is my first time reading a Linwood Barclay book. And it’s the first time in a very long while since I’ve devoured a read so quickly.

This book starts off with a prologue that left me hanging and continued for the next 352 pages, it was an addicting read. There was everything I love in a mystery/thriller read. Unreliable characters, multiple layers, surprises, plausible scenarios and even the unexplainable.

This mystery played out nicely, I devoured the clues, tried to solve it myself and was thwarted with the twists and turns that kept me on my toes.

Loved the ending, didn’t see that coming.

Again my first Linwood Barclay novel and definitely will not be my last. Take Your Breath Away released last week and is readily available for purchase and most likely at your local library though I imagine there is probably a waitlist.

My thanks to Harper Collins CA for this print arc in exchange for a honest review.

Review: Truths I Never Told You by Kelly Rimmer

“Fans of Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah now have a new go-to author.” —Sally Hepworth, bestselling author of The Secrets of Midwives

From the bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say comes a poignant novel about the fault in memories and the lies that can bond a family together—or tear it apart.

With her father recently moved to a care facility for his worsening dementia, Beth Walsh volunteers to clear out the family home and is surprised to discover the door to her childhood playroom padlocked. She’s even more shocked at what’s behind it—a hoarder’s mess of her father’s paintings, mounds of discarded papers and miscellaneous junk in the otherwise fastidiously tidy house.

As she picks through the clutter, she finds a loose journal entry in what appears to be her late mother’s handwriting. Beth and her siblings grew up believing their mother died in a car accident when they were little more than toddlers, but this note suggests something much darker. Beth soon pieces together a disturbing portrait of a woman suffering from postpartum depression and a husband who bears little resemblance to the loving father Beth and her siblings know. With a newborn of her own and struggling with motherhood, Beth finds there may be more tying her and her mother together than she ever suspected.

Exploring the expectations society places on women of every generation, Kelly Rimmer explores the profound struggles two women unwittingly share across the decades set within an engrossing family mystery that may unravel everything they believed to be true.

Paperback, 352 pages

Expected publication: April 14th, 2020

by Graydon House

4.5/5

Sometimes starting a new book by an author that is also new (to me) can be daunting, especially when you hear great things about said author. It puts pressure not just on myself but on the book itself, which is precisely what happened here. Kelly Rimmer has written numerous books and this is my first with Truths I Never Told You.

There were many things that I enjoyed here:
1. The dual time period, it’s a favorite of mine.
2. Multiple points of view, it’s great to get different sides to a story.
3. The historical aspect, yes the 1950s is historical and getting a look at that time period makes me happy to be born when I was.

There are many layers that revolve around this group of 4 siblings with Beth playing center stage. Dementia and postpartum depression are some serious subjects to tackle and Kelly Rimmer did a great job. Whether she experienced them first hand herself or not I don’t know but she sure knew how to write with feeling and be authentic at the same time. It’s not that often that a book sprouts tears but this one did. Usually, I find myself favoring one time period over the other, but such wasn't the case here, I genuinely cared for all the characters and the various situations.

Truths I Never Told You is a story of love, heartache, and family.  There was mystery to keep me on my toes and an ending that was very satisfying (for this reader).

My thanks to Harper Collins Canada for an advanced copy of this book, which releases April 14th, in exchange for an honest review.

Review and Giveaway (signed copy): The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman

Philomena meets The Orphan Train in this suspenseful, provocative novel filled with love, secrets, and deceit—the story of a young unwed mother who is forcibly separated from her daughter at birth and the lengths to which they go to find each other.

In 1950s Quebec, French and English tolerate each other with precarious civility—much like Maggie Hughes’ parents. Maggie’s English-speaking father has ambitions for his daughter that don’t include marriage to the poor French boy on the next farm over. But Maggie’s heart is captured by Gabriel Phénix. When she becomes pregnant at fifteen, her parents force her to give baby Elodie up for adoption and get her life ‘back on track’.

Elodie is raised in Quebec’s impoverished orphanage system. It’s a precarious enough existence that takes a tragic turn when Elodie, along with thousands of other orphans in Quebec, is declared mentally ill as the result of a new law that provides more funding to psychiatric hospitals than to orphanages. Bright and determined, Elodie withstands abysmal treatment at the nuns’ hands, finally earning her freedom at seventeen, when she is thrust into an alien, often unnerving world.

Maggie, married to a businessman eager to start a family, cannot forget the daughter she was forced to abandon, and a chance reconnection with Gabriel spurs a wrenching choice. As time passes, the stories of Maggie and Elodie intertwine but never touch, until Maggie realizes she must take what she wants from life and go in search of her long-lost daughter, finally reclaiming the truth that has been denied them both.

Paperback, 384 pages

Published April 17th, 2018

by Harper Paperbacks

****

I read this book back in June and somehow neglected to not just post a review but also host a giveaway. Harper Collins Canada very graciously provided me with an extra copy of this book during an author event they hosted. This copy is also signed by the author - scroll down for a giveaway.

It isn’t a secret that I love historical fiction, and I love reading books set in Canada. Those that help me learn more about this great country. Not only is Joanna Goodman a new author to me but so is this home for unwanted girls and the events surrounding it.  I knew nothing about what happened back in the 1950's when orphanages were changed to psychiatric hospitals merely because of financial gain.  With no thought to the residents, my heart broke for those lost in the system, those through no fault of their own did not receive the future they deserved.

This book is told by Maggie and Elodie, both gave vivid (and heartbreaking) detail of their lives.  For Maggie it wasn't just falling for a boy from 'the other side' but it was family situations that set the course for her life.

The Home for Unwanted Girls is an emotional read, it's a book about relationships whether, between father & daughter or mother & daughter, it will pull at your heartstrings as the author set me right there.  It didn't take long to read this one, my connection to little Elodie was immediate, watching her grow up and witnessing her treatment kept me going. I rooted for her wanting to grab her, give her a hug and take her home with me.

Author notes are a favorite of mine at the end of historical fiction books, there wasn't any here and in this instance, I don't think they were necessary, Joanna Goodman laid everything out in the telling of this story.  Definitely a book I recommend.

My copy provided by Harper Collins Canada (thank you).

For an extra vote tell me about a new author you discovered this year.  Rafflecopter is acting up and won't let me add that without doing some weird things to this post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: Signed ARC of The Gown by Jennifer Robson

Last month I had the awesome opportunity to share High Tea in Toronto with the talented Jennifer Robson where I received an ARC of her new book The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding.

Courtesy of Harper Collins Canada I have an ARC to give to one of my lucky readers.  I am saving my copy for a holiday in 2 weeks time.  If you haven't read any Jennifer Robson books, you are missing out.

Scroll down to bottom of this post for entry details. 

From the internationally bestselling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the twentieth century—Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown—and the fascinating women who made it.

“Millions will welcome this joyous event as a flash of color on the long road we have to travel.”—Sir Winston Churchill on the news of Princess Elizabeth’s forthcoming wedding.

 London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.

Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. How did her beloved Nan, a woman who never spoke of her old life in Britain, come to possess the priceless embroideries that so closely resemble the motifs on the stunning gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding almost seventy years before? And what was her Nan’s connection to the celebrated textile artist and holocaust survivor Miriam Dassin?

With The Gown, Jennifer Robson takes us inside the workrooms where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. Balancing behind-the-scenes details with a sweeping portrait of a society left reeling by the calamitous costs of victory, she introduces readers to three unforgettable heroines, their points of view alternating and intersecting throughout its pages, whose lives are woven together by the pain of survival, the bonds of friendship, and the redemptive power of love.

 Paperback, 400 pages 

Expected publication: December 31st 2018 

by William Morrow Paperbacks

Open to those in Canada/USA/Europe. Must respond within 48 hours of receiving my email (remember I am going on vacation).

a Rafflecopter giveaway