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Falling by Jane Green

~ SamanthaWho ~ 2 Comments

Emma has never felt at home with her family in England so when she had the chance to move to New York City for her finance career, she took it. 5 years later, she’s sick of her stress-filled life and decided to quit her job and move to a coastal town in Connecticut. Throughout Falling by Jane Green, Emma attempts to get in touch with who she is and what she wants.

It turns out that her handsome landlord and his cute young son may be the answer to what she’d been looking for, but hadn’t been expecting. At its core, this book explores what it means to be a family.

While the book had a fun and playful tone (the writing style was light and straightforward), it was also unexpectedly sad and I didn’t see that coming. Some aspects of Falling were a little cheesy, but the emotions shared were real.

I enjoyed the New England setting and the playful tone of the book. On the other hand, the main character, Emma, tended to dramatize situations and those sections of the book dragged. Overall, Falling isn’t a book I plan to read for a second time.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

~ SamanthaWho ~ 8 Comments

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall KellyLilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly has been sitting on my TBR pile for a while now and I’m happy to have finally picked it up!

Lilac Girls is set during World War II and tells the stories of three women around the world. The first, Caroline, is an American working in the French consulate in New York City. The next, Kaisa, is a Polish teenager working for the underground resistance who is arrested and sent to a German concentration camp. The last, Herta, is a German doctor who becomes involved with the camps.

I’ve read many books set during World War II and am both fascinated and horrified by the stories, but this is one of the only books I’ve come across that extends so far after the war. By continuing the story more than a decade after the war ended, we were able to see the effects of the war on world.

It was really interesting to read these different perspectives of the war, especially as their stories began to intertwine. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book. On the other hand, because there were three separate points of view, the writing felt a bit choppy in the beginning.

Caroline, the character from New York City, really frustrated me at times as well. She was incredibly stubborn when it came to her love interest and pushed him away after all they had been through, causing them to both be unhappy. The person who this character is based on, Caroline Ferriday, played a huge role in helping survivors of the concentration camps and I wish the book and given more emphasis on the impact she had.

A few quotes that I marked while reading:

“I was free of spending my life pleasing them, free to go it alone.”

“’Everyone steals from everyone now. Goods belong to those who can hold onto them.’”

Lilac Girls“…the war was officially over, I did not rejoice. The war continued for us, just under a different dictator, Stalin.”


“How nice is its, when one’s own reputation is damaged, to hear of others’ misfortunes.”

Lilac Girls is a great book and I definitely recommend it, especially for historical fiction fans!

Bookish Podcasts

~ SamanthaWho ~ 17 Comments

Bookish podcastsTo make the most of a busy March I’ve been listening to podcasts during my commute and food prep time. True to the book nerd that I am, some of these are bookish podcasts and I’m here to share them with you!

The Penguin Podcast

Hosted by Penguin Books UK, I really enjoy the conversational interviews between the authors and podcast hosts. I’ve listened to Richard E. Grant’s sessions with both Neil Gaimon and Paula Hawkins. I learned a lot about the authors and their books and especially enjoyed that each one shared a few items of significance.

What Should I Read Next?

Anne Bogel, the founder of Modern Mrs. Darcy (a wonderful blog that you should definitely check out if you haven’t already), hosts the podcast. During sessions that range between 20 and 40 minutes, Anne chats with different guests and gives them recommendations based on what they have already read and what they liked/didn’t like. It’s a great podcast and Anne has a huge range of bookish knowledge!

Modern Love: The Podcast

This podcast is produced by WBUR and based on a New York Times series of reader-submitted essays. Even though it isn’t about written books specifically, this podcast shares a series of stories just like any book. The podcasts focus on romantic love, familial love, self-love, and are very touching and unexpected. With episodes that are about 20 minutes long, the podcasts are the perfect length to listen to while I get ready for work. I highly recommend Modern Love: The Podcast; it’s one of my very favorites!

What about you all? Do you listen to podcasts?