Tag: historical fiction

Book Review: The Goddess of Warsaw {Lisa Barr}

Book Review: The Goddess of Warsaw {Lisa Barr}

I first was introduced to Lisa Barr’s books in 2018 when I first started writing Book Coffee Happy. I had received an advanced copy of The Unbreakables and as soon as I started reading, I was HOOKED. I absolutely loved her writing style and her captivating way of storytelling. You can read the book synopsis and all of my thoughts HERE.

Fast forward to 2021 when I received an advanced copy of Woman on Fire and I absolutely LOVED IT. Like…heart pounding, couldn’t put it down. Amazing. You can read the book synopsis and all of my thoughts HERE.

And now here we are in 2024 and I have received an advanced copy of Lisa’s newest book, The Goddess of Warsaw. My thoughts? I’ll go into detail below but I’ll start by saying…HER BEST BOOK YET.

This woman is the PERFECT Bina Blonski. Stunning.

Goodreads Synopsis of The Goddess of Warsaw {Lisa Barr}:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Woman on Fire, the harrowing and ultimately triumphant tale of a Jewish WWII assassin turned Hollywood star …


The Goddess Of Warsaw is an enthralling story of a legendary Hollywood screen goddess with a dark secret. When the famous actress Lena Browning is threatened by someone from her war-time past, she must put her skills into play to protect herself, her illustrious career, and those she loves, then and now.

Before she was a “Living Legend”, Lena Browning was Bina Blonski, a wealthy Polish Jew whose life and prominent family were destroyed by the Nazis and imprisoned with the rest of Warsaw’s Jews in a ghastly ghetto. Determined to fight back, the beautiful, blonde Aryan-looking Bina becomes a spy and an assassin, gaining information and stealing weapons outside the Warsaw ghetto to protect her family and fellow Jews. While Bina accomplishes amazing feats of bravery, she sacrifices much in the process – including a forbidden love.

More than a decade after escaping the horrors of the war, Lena Browning rises to fame in Hollywood. Yet she cannot help but hunger for revenge against the Nazis who escaped justice after the war. Fierce and fearless, Lena uses her star power to right the past’s wrongs . . . and perhaps even finds the happy ending she never had.

A gripping page-turner of one of history’s most heroic uprisings and a glamourous actress whose personal war never ends, The Goddess of Warsaw is filled with secrets, lies, twists and turns, and a burning pursuit of justice no matter the cost.

My Review of The Goddess of Warsaw {Lisa Barr}:

The unboxing video that I had posted on Instagram:

Omg this book.

It’s SO good. Like, SO good.

I actually read it months ago but wanted to wait until closer to its release date before blogging about it. That date is almost here! You can preorder it now and it officially releases next week (5/28).

This book kept me company during my 2 weeks spent serving on a federal criminal jury back in February! By the end of the trial, all of my fellow jurors had passed this book around the jury table to read it’s synopsis and all agreed that they couldn’t wait to read it!

Like all of Lisa Barr’s books, this one took me on a JOURNEY. Spanning through decades, locations, emotions, and the most carefully crafted characters.

The settings were all written so vividly…how does she even DO that? I felt like I was there.

I smiled, I cried, I hung on to every word of this beautiful story. You know those books that live on in your heart long after you finish reading? This is one of those books for me.

How you can tell I loved a book: When the cover ends up looking like this because I couldn’t leave the house without bringing it EVERYWHERE with me!

I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of research and dedication that must go into writing an historical book such as this. The details in this book were incredible.

With everything going on in the world right now, being proud of being Jewish feels even more important than ever. Whether the reader of this book is Jewish or not, it will teach people so, so much about what Jewish people have historically gone through and how it impacts all of us to this day. Thank you, Lisa, for bringing such awareness to everyone in such a powerful and moving way.

I truly, truly loved this book.

I couldn’t be more excited and honored to attend The Goddess of Warsaw book release party this weekend! I’ll take lots of pictures and blog all about it. I had the BEST time at her Woman on Fire book release party in 2021!

Book Coffee Happy Epilogue:

Lisa Barr’s best book yet. Preorder Stat.

Happy Friday! I hope your weekend is filled with love and BOOKS!

Xo,

Jenny

**Click HERE to preorder the book through my Amazon affiliate link (it releases 5/28). When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo**

Thank you so much for reading Book Coffee Happy! I would be so thankful if you could do the following to support my favorite hobby…

*Follow me on Instagram* (I am VERY active on Instagram and usually update my Instastories daily)

*Please share this site with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links.  The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

Click HERE for the 9 best books I read in 2023

Book Coffee Happy’s most viewed posts of 2023 can be found HERE

Book Review: Before We Were Yours {Lisa Wingate}

Lisa Wingate’s Before We Were Yours has been on my To Read list for such a long time.  It has received such high praise and due to that, I knew I wanted to read it and yet for some reason just never did.  Maybe because I knew how heavy the story was going to be?  Maybe because I’m not a huge historical fiction fan?  Whatever the reason, this book has been sitting on my bookshelf for almost a year.  No time like a quarantine to catch up on your To Read list!  I was so excited to finally read and review this book for the blog.

If you recall from my last WWW post, I was reading another book and was planning on reading this one next but ultimately changed my mind.  I HAD to find out why everyone loves this book so much!  I put the other book down after reading just a few chapters although I do plan on picking it back up again at another time.  The time just felt right for me to dig into this one…and I’m so glad that I finally did.

Goodreads Synopsis of Before We Were Yours {Lisa Wingate} :

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

My Review of Before We Were Yours {Lisa Wingate}:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that on Saturday I posted the following:

After reading the comments, there was one big takeaway:  KEEP ON READING.  And so read I did.  And just like that…I couldn’t put it down.  I read on Saturday, I read on Sunday, I read yesterday.  FINISHED.

Yesterday morning’s Instagram story:

Like everyone else, I ended up truly loving this beautiful book. I LIKED it from the beginning but it wasn’t until I was about 3/4 of the way through where I couldn’t put it down.  I was expecting to feel this way from the start but unfortunately it took a bit for me to get there.  However once I got there…wow.  WHAT.  A.  STORY.

Once I finished reading, I was up until 1:00 am researching the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and Georgia Tann.  The more I researched, the more I just can’t believe that this is a piece of our country’s history.  I also can’t believe that this piece of history is not more well known.  A big kudos to Lisa Wingate for bringing this horrific part of our country’s past into the minds and hearts of readers today.  The more I read about this topic, the more disgusted and outraged I became.  HOW on Earth did Georgia Tann get away with this and for as long as she did?!? Absolutely mind blowing.

One complaint that I do have with this book is that for as much as the beautiful and complicated STORY was so incredibly well developed, I wish that the characters were as well.  There were so many characters (many with a few different names) that at times I had to remind myself who was who to keep each of them straight (especially the siblings).  I also wish we could have had more of a glimpse into life on the Arcadia at the BEGINNING of the story rather than first learning the beautiful bits and pieces throughout.

However, it is such an amazing book filled with such a detailed, complicated, messy, beautiful, and heartbreaking story.  The impression that this book has made will stay with me forever.

I highly, highly recommend this book if you haven’t yet read it.  I will absolutely be looking into reading more titles by Lisa Wingate.  I loved her writing style and she painted such clear images throughout this book.  What a talent!

…And on a side note, I’ve got my favorite seasonal candle burning next to me as I’m working on this post.  WHAT SEASON IS IT ANYMORE?!?!  #quarantinelife

Bottom Line:

This book is both heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time.  A must read.

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read this book?  What did you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link.  When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support!  Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links.  The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE