REVIEW - CARTIER'S HOPE: A NOVEL

3.5 stars

I received a complimentary e-book copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to M.J. Rose, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was interesting especially due to the time period and the Hope Diamond story. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about women's issues that continue to this day! Things have not changed much in over 100 years.

The writing style of this author, at times, grated on me. It was very formal and filled with SAT words. That slowed down my enjoyment of the writing and storyline.

This was a nice book and I recommend!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

12/1/19 - MY NEXT BOOK TO READ IS ...

Cartier's Hope: A Novel by M.J. Rose.

This is another ARC by NetGalley and NOT about WWII! Yeah, a time period change!! in a row!!

If you want to know more about Cartier's Hope: A Novel, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

UPDATE 12/1/19: 11/20/19 - MY NEXT BOOK TO READ IS ...

UPDATE: 12/1/19 - Unfortunately, I had to return this book to the library as I had NO time to read it due to the Thanksgiving holidays. It has NOT been read by me!

The Guardians John Grisham.

All of John Grisham's books are very entertaining, interesting, and thought-provoking. I hope that this book is as good as the previous books that I have read by him!

If you want to know more about The Guardians, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - THE 19th CHRISTMAS

3 STARS

This series is an enjoyable guilty pleasure for me. I enjoy the characters, setting, and storyline. This is NUMBER 19 in this series. Unfortunately, I find that the writing is just not as strong and interesting as the first books in the series.

I will continue to see this series to the end! I want to know what happens to the characters!!

Recommend ONLY if you have read the other 18 books in the series!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

11/16/19 - MY NEXT BOOK TO READ IS ...

The 19th Christmas by James Patterson.

This series is one of my guilty pleasures! I normally read books in the series VERY quickly! We shall see if this is true for the 19th book in this series!

If you want to know more about The 19th Christmas, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - THE WHISPERS OF WAR

4.5 stars

I received a complimentary e-book copy of this book from Gallery Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Julia Kelly, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was SO very good!! This book was about the time right before WWII in Great Britain and during the very beginning of the war. It was such a great historical novel about one of my favorite time periods to read about in historical fiction. It also had some FABULOUS twists and turns that had me guessing until the very end. LOVE!

As in every book that I read, I found out something that I did NOT know! OMG!! I never knew that Great Britain interred German, Austrian, and Italians during WWI and WWII.

The biggest take-away is that you can develop strong and deep friendships that are just like family. The main three characters all had reasons to become a family of three. They showed what REAL love and family are all about.

This was a lovely book and I highly recommend it!!

Happy reading,


Dorothea 💜

11/8/19 - MY NEXT BOOK TO READ IS ...

The Whispers of War by Julia Kelly.

This is another ARC by NetGalley and also about WWII. MY genre again for several books in a row!!

If you want to know more about The Whispers of War, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - THE LIGHT AFTER THE WAR

4 stars

I received a complimentary e-book copy of this book from Simon & Schuster Australia through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Anita Abriel, Simon & Schuster Australia, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.


First off, I must say that I keep getting pulled back into stories about pre-WWII, WWII, and post WWII. It seems to be the flavor of book that I am most enjoying.


I really loved that this book was based on a true story about true Jewish friends from Budapest. The most beautiful thing that the themes throughout the book were friendship, family, and love.


The experience of Hungarian Jews and their journey was very interesting to me. I always learn something new from every book that I read and this novel was no exception!


Definite recommend, but most especially for WWII nerds like me!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

111/1/19 - MY NEXT BOOK TO READ IS ...

The Light After the War by Anita Abriel.

This is another ARC by NetGalley and also about WWII. It is MY genre!!

If you want to know more about The Light After the War, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

REVIEW - HOUSE ON ENDLESS WATERS: A NOVEL

Unfortunately, I abandoned reading House on Endless Waters: A Novel by Emuna Elon. This is another ARC by NetGalley.

Since this is my first abandoned book since I started my blog, here is my reasoning for abandoning the book:
This book just didn't work for me. It was confusing as it went back and forth in time periods with little to no context. The first several chapters were super-interesting and I really wanted to learn more about the story. Unfortunately, I just couldn't continue to read it. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and best wishes to Emuna Elon on her latest release.

If you want to know more about House on Endless Waters: A Novel, go to Goodreads to learn more!!

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜

OCTOBER 2019 WRAP-UP

Wow, this is my THIRD monthly wrap-up for my blog, Books by Dorothea. 

However, the last two weeks of the month had a huge distraction:

Please meet Penny! She is our almost 10-week-old rescue puppy. Keeping her occupied, entertained, and somewhat potty-trained is taking up almost ALL of my time.

Unfortunately, I have only read THREE books this month. October should be MUCH better, hopefully!

Here are my THREE September reads:

Happy reading,

Dorothea 💜