Book Review: The Pieces We Keep by Kristina McMorris

Title: The Pieces We Keep: A Novel by Kristina McMorris (author of Bridge of Scarlet Leaves; and Letters from Home)
Publication: November 26, 2013; Kensington Books
Genre: historical fiction

About the book:
Two stories are told simultaneously - one set in contemporary U.S, and the other in London in the late 1930s and early 1940s before and during WWII.

In the U.S. a widow, Audra, tries to find the source and cause of her seven-year-old son Jake's vivid and disturbing nightmares. Jake is entranced by fighter planes and soldiers from the war. In London in the late 1930s, Vivian, the daughter of a U.S. diplomat, falls in love with Isaak, who wants to leave for Germany to take his family from there to safety in Switzerland before war breaks out. Vivian willingly but unwittingly begins gathering information from her father's diplomatic files to give to Isaak.

My comments: This is an historical novel/historical romance that deftly weaves the past and the present and fact with fiction - WWII German spies/saboteurs were arrested and executed in the U.S. during the war; and there is a true case of a young child with nighttime dreams of being a pilot during WWII that brings up questions about the truth or non-truth of reincarnation.

The present and past stories are told in alternate chapters. I would have liked though to see more markers/information at the beginning of each chapter to lead us smoothly back into each story. This was not a problem in the second half of the book, however, after I had become thoroughly familiar and involved with all the characters.

Recommendation: Excellent research and characterization, especially of Audra and her young son Jake in modern day Portland, Oregon who find themselves linked to Vivian, Isaak, and the characters in the WWII drama. I expected a traumatic ending but it turned out to be a satisfying one!

Objective rating: 4/5
Thanks to the author for sending an ARC for an early read/review.

Sunday Salon: Mixing the Past and the Present in Current Fiction

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! Also visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer;  Stacking the Shelves at Tyngas Reviews; It's Monday: What Are You Reading? at Book Journey, and Mailbox Monday at i totally paused.

I finished reading
The Pieces We Keep, historical fiction by Kristina McMorris
Death of a Nightingale by Lene Kaaberbøl, Agnete Friis, Danish crime fiction
and am currently reading
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty.

All three novels are set both in the present and during a time of war and conflict - WWII, Communism in the Ukraine in the 1930s, and the Cold War in Berlin.
I will be doing reviews very soon. Come back and visit during the week!

Some wonderful and welcome books in my mailbox last week:

1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think edited by Robert Arp, Atria Books
Foreign Gods, Inc. by Okey Ndib, ARC from Soho Press
The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan, ARC from Ecco

Can't wait to start reading!
What are you up to this Sunday?

Monday Reading

Vicki from I’d Rather Be Reading At The Beach is the host this week for It's Monday:What Are You Reading?

I have several books on my list to read:

Words With Fiends is a Black Cat Bookshop Mystery by Ali Brandon, third in the series. Bookstore owner Darla tries to get her black cat Hamlet out of a bad mood by hiring a cat whisperer and joins a dojo to get her own spirits up. Hamlet comes out of his funk when he has to help Darla with a new murder mystery - the death of the sensei at the karate dogo. I like the play on words in the title.

Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexandra will be published November 19, 2013 by Gallery Books. It was first released in 2010 by Harper Collins with a different cover. Book description: FLORENCE, 1914. A mysterious stranger known as The Wolf leaves an infant with the sisters of Santo Spirito. A tiny silver key hidden in her wrappings is the one clue to the child's identity. . . . FIFTEEN YEARS LATER, young Rosa must leave the nuns, her only family, and become governess to the daughter of an aristocrat and his strange, frightening wife. Their house is elegant but cursed, and Rosa, blessed with gifts beyond her considerable musical talents, is torn between her desire to know the truth and her fear of its repercussions. All the while, the hand of Fascism curls around beautiful Italy, and no citizen is safe. Rosa faces unimaginable hardship: her only weapons her intelligence, intuition, and determination . . . and her extraordinary capacity for love.

Also to be read:

The Pieces We Keep by Kristina McMorris: "Two years have done little to ease veterinarian Audra Hughes’s grief over her husband’s untimely death. Eager for a fresh start, Audra plans to leave Portland for a new job in Philadelphia. Her seven-year-old son, Jack, seems apprehensive about flying—but it’s just the beginning of an anxiety that grows to consume him.

As Jack’s fears continue to surface in recurring and violent nightmares, Audra hardly recognizes the introverted boy he has become. Desperate, she traces snippets of information unearthed in Jack’s dreams, leading her to Sean Malloy, a struggling US Army veteran wounded in Afghanistan. Together they unravel a mystery dating back to World War II, and uncover old family secrets that still have the strength to wound—and perhaps, at last, to heal."

What are you reading this week?

Sunday Salon: First Day of Fall (The Autumnal Equinox)

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! Also visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer; Showcase Sunday at Books, Biscuits, and Tea; and It's Monday: What Are You Reading? at Book Journey

Today is the first day of fall and the Autumnal Equinox, when the hours of daytime and nightime are equal. We watched the full Harvest Moon on Friday, and said goodbye to summer yesterday, Saturday. Some leaves are already turning yellow and red in our area, so autumn is already on its way.

What am I reading this week?
Murder by Syllabub by Kathleen Delaney, for a book tour. That is not a typo in the title; syllabub is a sweet English dessert made with cream, wine, and cider or other acid. I thought at first it was a variation of the plural for syllabus, but it's more tasty than that.

Larry's Kidney by Daniel Asa Rose. This book I bought on sale as I was curious about the title. It's a memoir about the author's trip to China with his cousin Larry, who needed a kidney transplant. The topic isn't funny, but the author manages to make the event and trip quite humorous, so far.

What do I plan on reading soon?
The Pieces We Keep by Kristina McMorris, who sent an AUP (advance uncorrected proof) of this historical novel for review.

Fixed: A Gin and Tonic Mystery by L.A. Kornetsky

One Dog Too Many: A May December Mystery by Lia Farrell

The Theory of Opposites by Allison Winn Scotch

Poisoned Prose: A Books by the Bay Mystery by Ellery Adams

Afoot on St. Croix: A Mystery on the Islands by Rebecca M. Hale
I like mysteries with dogs, islands, and books, and hope I'll be a happy reader.

I am hosting two giveaways this week:
1. Moonrise by Cassandre King till Sept. 27, two finished copies of this gothic romance, for U. S. residents.

2. A Good Home by Cynthia Reyes, two autographed copies of this memoir, till Sept. 24, for U.S. and Canadian residents.

I hope you will click on the titles and enter. What are you doing today and this week?