Both are very good. Have YOU read them?
Pianos, beaches, mansions, guilt, accidents, decisions, grief, love, secrets and children who didn't know each other as children but knew each other now as adults.
FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/3p3bse2j
Mothers staying, mothers leaving, daughters staying, daughters leaving.
FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/2vey8emb
Daisy and her partner Colin were scraping by at the bar.
Daisy hadn’t been happy and when she received word that her father left her a farmhouse in France, she was shocked.
She never knew she had a father other than the one she grew up with.
Her mother had kept it a secret all these years.
Daisy went to France and found the town and the house so charming and lovely.
What does she do? Does she sell the place to pay off the debts for the business or stay and enjoy the life in the small, welcoming town?
A FARMHOUSE IN FRANCE was such a warm, comforting read I didn’t want the book to end.
Readers who enjoy hearing about a slow, pleasant life will devour this book as I did. 5/5
Thank you to the publisher and the author for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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A middle-grade historical novel set in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden and the Hunger Winter.
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PRAISE FOR BENEATH THE CANOPY:
ABOUT BENEATH THE CANOPY:
September 1944. As Allied forces launch Operation Market Garden, twelve-year-old Johanna Lodewijk lives in Arnhem, where every day is measured by air-raid sirens, ration cards, and the desperate hope that liberation is finally within reach. Across the Netherlands in Apeldoorn, nearly twelve-year-old Rein Wolters survives largely on his own, scavenging for food while his family is scattered by war. Though separated by miles, both children are shaped by the same brutal occupation, where ordinary choices can mean the difference between life and death.
When the battle for Arnhem devastates Johanna's home, she and her family are forced to flee into an uncertain future. Rein, meanwhile, becomes increasingly entangled with the realities of resistance, collaboration, and survival. As hunger tightens its grip on the Dutch population during the infamous Hunger Winter, both children discover that courage is rarely found in grand gestures but in the quiet determination to protect those they love.
Their paths eventually cross, forming an unexpected friendship that offers a rare glimpse of hope amid relentless hardship. Through shared losses, impossible decisions, and small acts of kindness, Johanna and Rein learn that even in the darkest seasons, compassion can endure. Yet the war leaves scars that cannot be seen. Each must confront the emotional cost of survival while searching for a future beyond the occupation that has defined their childhoods.
Inspired by the true experiences of the author's in-laws, Beneath the Canopy blends historical fact with carefully crafted fiction to illuminate a lesser-known chapter of World War II history. Rich in historical detail and grounded in authentic human experience, the novel explores the resilience of ordinary families caught in extraordinary circumstances. Rather than focusing on battlefields and generals, it tells the story of war through the eyes of children forced to grow up too soon—children who discover that hope can survive even when everything familiar has been stripped away.
At its heart, Beneath the Canopy is a story of endurance, family, first love, and remembrance. It serves as both an engaging work of historical fiction and a poignant reminder that the consequences of war extend far beyond the battlefield, echoing across generations long after the fighting has ended.
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FOLLOW THE AUTHOR ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
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A young seminary graduate is sent to investigate strange goings-on at a church in the mountains of Tennessee in the summer of 1920, while in Nashville, Women's Suffrage comes to a final vote...
ABOUT less the horror than the grace:
“Less the Horror Than the Grace blends rich historical detail with an undercurrent of suspense and emotional depth. I was lost in these characters’ lives as they wrestle with faith, power, and identity in ways that will stay with me for awhile. An important book.” – Angela Yuriko Smith, Bram Stoker Award–winning author
It’s summer and the hollers of Tennessee are dripping with humidity and tension, the electricity in the air broken only by storms and, if you’re lucky, a travelling revival. The most famous features a lady preacher—who bestows the power on her listeners to handle the most venomous snakes without fear, investing them with a spiritual power they’ve never known.
Seminary graduate Theo Hood arrives in time to attend the funeral of the pastor he was supposed to observe—who was killed by a snake bite. Theo can’t help but notice a strange pall over the town. He finds an unexpected kinship with Minerva, the pastor, who seems to have unusual powers.
Theo fights to find out what’s really going on, is allowed into the fellowship of women and nearly dies for it, before finding an unexpected ally as the legislators ready to vote for women’s suffrage face what Theo knows to be a supernatural battle.
A feminist retelling of the Medusa myth set in a snake-handling church in Tennessee in the summer of 1920 as the women’s suffrage comes to a vote for the entire United States
"Yet it is less the horror than the grace...Which turns the gazer's spirit into stone."
—On the Medusa of Leonardo Da Vinci in the Florentine Gallery by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Robert Owens Scott was an Emmy-winning writer and editor. A graduate of Union Seminary in New York City, he worked at Trinity Church Wall Street as the editor-in-chief of Spirituality & Health Magazine, then as Director of Trinity Institute, which did deep dives into relevant issues of the day. When he first arrived in New York City, he studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse and was the assistant to famous acting coach Sanford Meisner. Bob was the founding artistic director of The Working Theater and won awards for his teleplays and produced plays.
After moving to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Bob became fascinated with the early culture of the Appalachians and how people interact as culture changes from the inside out. A feminist with a heart for people and a passion for folk horror, he explored those ideas in his last novel Less the Horror Than the Grace, the Medusa myth set in a snake handling church in 1920, as the vote for Women’s Suffrage came to the Tennessee statehouse.
Bob died unexpectedly in a scuba diving accident in Roatan, Honduras, in May, 2024.
LessTheHorrorThanTheGrace.com
Sharon Linnéa (editor) was Bob’s wife. She worked as a book editor in NYC, and as a staff writer and ghostwriter for three national magazines and websites before leaving to write full time.
She has published 22 books including biographies, thrillers and mysteries.
Her current series is The Bartender’s Guide to Murder. SharonLinnea.com
