Tag: Susan Meissner

Book Review: A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment
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Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (March 18, 2025)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593332865

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593332863

Susan Meissner’s new book explores secrets, friendship bonds, and the consequences of our choices all while whisking readers off to the 1950s in Southern California. It was a time when women were still limited in their choices to make a living, a time when the fear of communism was spreading, and a time when people still knew their neighbors no matter how odd or reclusive they may have been.

We meet Melanie Cole, a budding movie star who is blacklisted due to suspected communist ties, her housekeeper Eva who fled war-torn Europe, and next door neighbor June who lives with her reclusive screenwriter brother-in-law. They are all afraid of something and need each other to escape their circumstances.

This book was at the same time classic Susan Meissner (a story of hope, a story where I learned something from history, a story where her use of descriptive language paints an unforgettable story in my mind) and also a departure for this novelist. I believe this is the first of her books to use swearing, so heads up if that bothers you. The story unfolded differently too. The first half unfolded very slowly for me. There was lots of backstory and not much happening. But then in the second half things are set in motion and the emotions felt real and heart wrenching. What would you change in your past and how would that have changed the present if at all? That’s a question the three friends contemplate and in the end come up with answers. I’m glad I read this even though it isn’t my favorite Meissner novel.

Reviewed by Cindy Thomson. I received a free advanced copy from the publisher and my review is solely my own.

Book Review: Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment
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This touching story begins in 1938 with a teenage girl named Rosie in California who becomes an orphan. Taken in my her parents’ employer, she falls victim to the man of the house and gets pregnant. But Rosie has a secret that made her different, and her secret is betrayed so that she is not sent to a home for unwed mothers but to a mental institution. This thread is intriguing by itself but Meissner links Rosie with a woman, Helen, who works in Europe as a nanny as the Nazis are targeting disabled children. Her heartbreaking experience leads her to do what she can to save as many children as possible. Many years after the war Helen goest back to California and learns that her brother was the father of Rosie’s baby, the only relative Helen has left. Helen had met Rosie when the girl was younger and corresponded with her a few times, But where is Rosie now and what became of her baby?

There are so many lessons we can learn from this story, inspired by the eugenics movement that existed in some places in the US until the 1970s, according to the author’s note, which is not to be missed.

I’m a fan of all of Meissner’s books, but my goodness, this one is exquisite. Highly recommend!

Reviewed by Cindy Thomson, http://www.cindyswriting.com

Review: When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner

~ Cindy Thomson ~ 1 Comment

Harper Muse; 1st edition (October 18, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 18, 2022

Set in 1941 in the Philippines, three nurses from different backgrounds (a US Army nurse, a US Navy nurse, and a Filipina nurse) become friends. Each author took a character, but honestly you can’t tell. The story is well blended with one voice.

While the circumstances were dire, each nurse ended up being imprisoned by the Japanese in different places and witnessed horrifying things not to mention starvation, there were signs of hope to hold on to. It all seemed very real. Not surprising since the fictional characters were based on real women, the first female POWs.

Each of the women experienced hurt in their previous lives that needed healing. Caring for others while still being held as prisoner delayed their ability and capacity to heal those wounds. After their releases they saw each other briefly but not the three of them together. Their ultimate reunion would have to wait. While no longer the women they were before the war due to their experiences, they still had to deal with the things they had try to avoid by becoming nurses. The way they manage to face what they’d previously avoided is inspiring, and not easily predictable. Nothing is rushed. No artificial happy conclusions, which is what I like about how these authors write their stories. But like I said, there is hope and a satisfying ending.

Historical fiction buffs will enjoy this one. Highly recommended.

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Reviewed by Cindy Thomson, www.cindyswriting.com

I was given an advanced copy by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review, although no review was required.

Book Review: The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

~ Cindy Thomson ~ 1 Comment

Hardcover | $26.00
Published by Berkley
Feb 02, 2021 | 384 Pages | 6 x 9 | ISBN 9780451492180

Set in 1906 during the great San Fransisco earthquake, this new novel by Susan Meissner follows Irish immigrant Sophie Whalen who chose to leave poverty in New York City to become a mail order bride for widower Martin Hocking and his young daughter. But make no mistake. This is not your traditional mail order bride story. This is a mystery to be solved with characters to sort out. Nothing is as it first seems.

Before the earthquake Sophie learns about Martin’s secrets and is forced to make a decision to save the daughter Kat she’s become so fond of. The daughter doesn’t belong to her, however, and the events that unfold deliver twists and turns that made this book extremely hard to put down. The ending wasn’t predictable but like Meissner’s other stories, was satisfying and redemptive. Perhaps more so than in her previous stories, this main character pushes the fringes of good moral behavior, but her motivations gradually become clear, making Sophie a real, raw, character readers will root for.

The historical details are so vivid and detailed that readers will be swept into the story much like watching a film unfold on a big screen. When I read the ending all I could say was, “Wow!” Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher for the purpose of review. The opinions in this review are mine alone.

Cindy Thomson, http://www.cindyswriting.com

Review: The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

The Last Year of the War

By Susan Meissner

Berkley, 3/19/19

The story begins in 2010 as Elise, a woman who is aware that Alzheimer’s is stealing her away, flies alone to find her childhood friend whom she just located thanks to a new iPad with internet. Elise and Mariko became friends during WWII at an internment camp, but this story is unlike any WWII novel I’ve read. As I was taken back to 1943, I learned a lot about these camps I never knew, including the fact that they housed German Americans along with Japanese (and even some Italians.) While the camps accommodated families and allowed the residents to continue observing their cultural heritage through foods, activities, and language classes, they were still terribly unfair, especially to the children like Elise and Mariko who were born Americans and knew very little about Japan and Germany.

The way Susan Meissner presented the older Elise and her determination despite the terrible disease she struggled with was expertly done. The mystery of why Mariko and Elise were separated and unable to connect before kept me turning pages. Elise is a character you root for as she had to endure so many relocations to unfamiliar places—and unsafe places her family returns to Germany in the last year of the war—and the questions she inevitably had about who she was and where she belonged. And you will still root for the older Elise as well who married in order to find that sense of belonging and ultimately discovered she had to establish it for herself.

I love historical novels that teach you history, and this one certainly does that. But in my opinion, this is one of the best Meissner novels yet. Highly recommended.

I received an advanced reader copy from the author and publisher for the purpose of review. I have given my honest opinions.

Susan Meissner is a USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction with more than half a million books in print in fifteen languages. She is an author, speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. Her novels include As Bright as Heaven, starred review in Library Journal; Secrets of  Charmed Life, a Goodreads finalist for Best Historical Fiction 2015; and A Fall of Marigolds, named to Booklist’s Top Ten Women’s Fiction titles for 2014. A California native, she attended Point Loma Nazarene University and is also a writing workshop volunteer for Words Alive, a San Diego non-profit dedicated to helping at-risk youth foster a love for reading and writing.

Visit Susan at her website: http://susanlmeissner.com on Twitter at @SusanMeissner or at www.facebook.com/susan.meissner

Book Review: As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

9780399585968

As Bright as Heaven

Susan Meissner

Berkley (February 6, 2018)

From Amazon:

From the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Bridge Across the Ocean comes a new novel set in Philadelphia during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which tells the story of a family reborn through loss and love.

In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters–Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa–a chance at a better life.

But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without–and what they are willing to do about it.

As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.

 

My review:

I am a fan of Susan Meissner’s books. This story did not disappoint. I found it totally engaging and enjoyed the different points of view. I thought Meissner did a wonderful job writing from the perspective of a child, while also telling the story in the words of the mother and the other daughters. It was heartbreaking to read about how people had to deal with the disease while still trying to carry on. The topic of death is difficult to ponder in any book, but especially difficult to deliver in a work of historical fiction (where we know what happens: there will be tragedies for the characters to deal with.) But with skill the author tells a tender story that ends with hope. I really enjoyed this book and thank the author and publisher for sending me an ARC to give my honest review. Highly recommended.

Cindy Thomson is the author of eight books. Pages of Ireland is the sequel to her popular novel Brigid of Ireland. She is also the author of the Ellis Series, and writes for genealogy magazines. The past is her passion as she writes from her home in Ohio. Visit her at www.cindyswriting.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cindyswriting and on Twitter: @cindyswriting.