Tag: Dual Timeline

Book Review | You Belong With Me by Beth Moran

When a developer arrives on the Isle of Siskin to build a mega-resort, podcaster Blue Beddoes and her mother Goldie, the unofficial Mayor of Siskin, form an action committee to find a way to prevent the development. They have two possible ways to foil the plan, both involving finding the truth behind old island rumours. Do rare natterjack toads live on the farm known as Jack’s Place? And is Sienna Griffin the rightful owner of Jack’s Place?

Blue teams up with Jonathan White, the attractive and very personable environmental consultant hired to search for the elusive toads. She’d be interested in him if it wasn’t for her disastrous relationship history, and the fact she doesn’t need a man to be happy. Her (many) declarations to this effect add several comedy moments, particularly as she is pursued by some less than desirable men and more than a few zealous fans of her podcast, Only on Siskin.

That’s the present story. You Belong With Me is a dual timeline novel, and the past timeline is set in the late 1950s and shows Sorrel falling in love with Calvin Griffin, who inherited Jack’s Place when his parents died when he was seventeen. This story is beautiful yet bittersweet, because we know from the present storyline that Calvin lives and dies alone.

I loved everything about You Belong With Me.

I loved the tiny Isle of Siskin, home to just over 3000 people, which means everyone knows (or knows of) everyone else. I love Beth Moran’s writing style–full of humour and emotion that brings her characters to life. And I loved her characters, especially Blue and Jonathan in the present timeline, and Sorrel and Calvin in the past.

While You Belong With Me isn’t overtly Christian fiction, it’s an excellent novel with characters who are quietly Christian, and with no inappropriate language or content.

Recommended for readers who love a little mystery and a little romance in a British setting full of quirky characters.

About Beth Moran

Beth Moran is the award-winning author of women’s fiction, including number one bestseller Let It Snow and top ten bestseller Just the Way You Are. Her books are set in and around Sherwood Forest, where she can be found most mornings walking with her spaniel Murphy. She has the privilege of also being a foster carer to teenagers, and enjoys nothing better than curling up with a pot of tea and a good story.

Find Beth Moran online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram

About You Belong With Me

Three times a fiancée but never a bride is not a claim to fame Bluebell Beddoes is proud of. But she is taking it as a sign…

Sworn off romance, instead the love of Blue’s life is the beautiful Isle of Siskin. Her home from birth, her community and now her job with the wildly successful podcast Only on Siskin. Her life is full and her future is set.

So, when the peace on Siskin is threatened with being destroyed forever, Blue knows she has to act. There are secrets from the past that may be able to save the future of the island, and only Blue can get to the bottom of them.

When handsome and mysterious Jonathan White arrives on Siskin, Blue is unsure if he’s here to help or hinder. But when it becomes clear Jonathan holds the key to unlocking the past, Blue will have to learn to trust again or risk losing everything she loves…

Find You Belong With Me online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

I had tried to play the part of God, and He had showed me that no amount of striving, manipulation, or cajoling could alter His plans.

Book Review | Through Each Tomorrow (Timeless #6) by Gabrielle Meyer

Through Each Tomorrow is the sixth book in Gabrielle Meyer’s Timeless series, and reading it drove me to do something I haven’t done in years: re-read the entire series as soon as I’d finished reading it.

The Timeless series is a unique kind of time-travel.

The main characters each have a birthmark that means they live two lives at once until they are adults, at which point they have to choose which timeline to follow for the rest of their lives. The stories introduce us to each character shortly before they have to make that choice, giving the reader the ability to make the choice with them.

In Through Each Tomorrow, we meet Charles and Andrew/Drew, who both live in Queen Elizabeth’s England, and who also both live in Gilded Age America. The story doesn’t say the two are related, but I think they must be. It will be interesting to see if future stories in the series prove me right … or not.

Charles is a nobleman in the Queen’s court in 1563 and feels torn between his timelines: he needs to look after his unmarried stepsister in 1563, but also needs to work to support his widowed mother and sister-in-law in 1883.

In 1883, Drew is the rich son of a shipping magnate who wants to be a doctor but is expected to take over the family business. In 1563, he’s half in love with Cecily, Charles’s stepsister, but he’s only a groom so knows a relationship between them would be impossible. And, to make matters more complicated, the 1883 version of Charles meets and falls for Drew’s sister, Esther … another economically unsuitable match.

It’s not difficult to guess who each man will end up with, but as with any good romance, the fun is in the journey. What twists and turns will lead to the characters making the right decisions? What torture with the author put them through on their way to their happy endings?

Those who have read any of the Timeless series will definitely want to read Through Each Tomorrow.

There are several crossovers to other books in the series (and you’ll work out one as soon as you figure out Charles’s last name). These crossovers are like Easter eggs on DVDs, because it’s gratifying to make the connections no matter how long it takes, and it makes reading the stories much more satisfying. I suspect clarifying those connections was why I spent a happy few days re-reading the entire series.

What impresses me most about this series is the depth and authenticity of the research into each of the different timelines, the deep Christian faith shared by the main characters and the realistic way that is portrayed, and the way Gabrielle Meyer introduces a twist or two into each story to keep them fresh – in this one, having a male narrator.

Recommended for Christian historical romance fans, especially those who like something a little out of the ordinary.

Thanks to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Gabrielle Meyer

Gabrielle Meyer

Gabrielle lives on the banks of the Upper Mississippi River with her husband and four children. As an employee of the Minnesota Historical Society, she fell in love with the rich history of her state and enjoys writing historical and contemporary novels inspired by real people, places, and events. The river is a constant source of inspiration for Gabrielle, and if you look closely, you will find a river in each of her stories.

When Gabrielle is not writing, you might find her homeschooling her children, cheering them on at sporting and theatrical events, or hosting a gathering at her home with family and friends.

Find Gabrielle Meyer online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | X

About Through Each Tomorrow

In 1883, Charles is a poor farmer desperate to secure financial stability for his mother and sister, as he is unsure which of his time-crossing paths he will choose on his twenty-fifth birthday. Posing as the Earl of Norfolk, he enters the opulent circles of Newport’s elite to assist a fellow time-crossing friend, Drew. But suspicions of his identity arise among the upper crust, and his encounters with Drew’s intriguing sister further complicate decisions that could impact a lifetime.

In 1563, Lady Cecily serves Queen Elizabeth while clinging to the hope that her stepbrother Charles will remain with her in this path. As the true Earl of Norfolk, Charles is deeply entangled in the deadly politics of the court. When he brings Drew, a physician in training, to Windsor Castle to help save the ailing monarch, old feelings for Drew rekindle in Cecily’s heart, but her love faces impossible odds under the strict rules of the crown. As their futures hang by a thread, Charles and Cecily race to prevent their web of secrets from unraveling and ensnaring them in an inescapable destiny.

Find Through Each Tomorrow online:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookBub | Goodreads

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

 

Our lives and all of history are made up of small things done by small people.

Book Review | The Codebreaker’s Daughter by Amy Lynn Green

My initial assumption, on reading the title of this novel, was that the codebreaker would be male. Please forgive me for that patriarchal assumption, because this is a mother-daughter story, and the codebreaker in question is Lillian, Dinah’s mother. The story takes place over two timelines–Dinah’s propaganda work with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in World War II, and Lily’s codebreaking work in World War I.

While the story is set 80 and 100 years ago, it deals with eternal questions about the relationships between mothers and daughters, and the question of how (especially as women) we find our purpose. Is it enough to be a wife and mother? This leads to other questions – what if we aren’t a wife, or if we can’t be a mother? Then where is our purpose?

Lily/Lillian is a viewpoint character in both timelines, so we see her struggle with letting her adult daughter go, and we see Dinah’s struggle to be the independent adult daughter. We also see the power of friendship.

The story is best encapsulated in the quote above. The Codebreaker’s Daughter isn’t like so many World War II stories, stories of ordinary people dong extraordinary things. It’s more a celebration of ordinary people doing ordinary things–the things they are called to do–and being satisfied with that.

It’s a quiet and slow story until almost the very end, but it is a story that raises and addresses some difficult universal (ordinary) questions.

Recommended for fans of World War II fiction from authors such as Jennifer Mistmorgan, or fans of fiction featuring codes and ciphers from authors such as Roseanna M White.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Amy Lynn Green

Amy Lynn GreenAmy Lynn Green is a lifelong lover of books, history, and library cards. She worked in publishing for six years before writing her first historical fiction novel, based on the WWII home front of Minnesota, the state where she lives, works, and survives long winters. She has taught classes on marketing at writer’s conferences and regularly encourages established and aspiring authors in their publication journeys. In her novels (and her daily life), she loves exploring the intersection of faith and fiction and searches for answers to present-day questions by looking to the past.

If she had lived in the 1940s, you would have found her writing long letters to friends and family, daydreaming about creating an original radio drama, and drinking copious amounts of non-rationed tea. (Actually, these things are fairly accurate for her modern life as well.)

Find Amy Lynn Green online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram

About The Codebreaker’s Daughter

The Codebreaker's Daughter

Lillian once cracked ciphers during WWI–now, her daughter, Dinah, is trapped doing clerical work for the WWII OSS. Though Lillian is hesitant to return to wartime work, she is drawn to Washington, DC, by an old acquaintance. As a web of intrigue grows ever wider, mother and daughter must confront secrets in DC before the impending D-Day is compromised.
First Line Friday

First Line Friday #374 | The Island Girls by Rachel Sweasey

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m quoting from The Island Girls by Australian author Rachel Sweasey, a sweet dual timeline historical novel set in Poole, Dorset.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

The eerie calm that had settled over the Nieuwe Maas river in the last few hours was now a deathly silence.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About The Island Girls

1941: For the townspeople of Poole on the Dorset coast, the war feels like it’s right on their doorstep. And with more and more men leaving to fight, one fisherman’s daughter is determined to do whatever she can to help. Peggy volunteers to use her skills on the water to work with the flying boats alongside the RAF based in the harbour. But when she is asked to undertake a special mission, she will have to make a terrible choice – between her duty to her country and her only chance of happiness.

1998: Rebekah has travelled halfway around the world to take up a role on Brownsea Island. This tiny island off the coast of England is a treasure trove of natural wonder, but it still carries the scars of fighting. And when Rebekah discovers a lost letter from the war, hidden all this time, she becomes determined to deliver it, fifty years later.

But the idyllic Dorset harbour hides many more secrets, and Rebekah’s search for the truth will change her life in ways she never imagined possible…

Find The Island Girls online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

Book Review | All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes

All the Lost Places is a dual timeline novel made more complex by the fact the past timeline (1807) is partly quotes from a series of children’s books and partly narrative, with a very blurred line between what is part of the fictional stories and what is part of this story.

In the past timeline, baby Sebastien is rescued from the canals of Venice and raised by a ragtag bunch of adults – a lacemaker, a glassblower, a fisherman, and a printer. But Sebastien longs to knjow who he is.

In the more recent timeline (1907), Daniel Goodman knjows exactly who he is: a convicted theif who has served his prison sentence and now wants to make right with all his victims, including his mother. He takes a job as an artist and translator, which sends him to Venice, Italy, to draw the buildings and find and translate the final volume of a series of stories. The reader joins Daniel in his journey to sort fact from fiction as he translates the books and searches for the missing ending.

I loved the setting. The author brings Venice to life, skillfully mixing the story with the city’s history in an ongoing mix of literal and figurative, a literary writing style that felt more lyrical than most novels I read.

Unfortunately, I found the writing style and the complexity of the plot affected my appreciation of the story. I sometimes found myself losing the story and having to flick back a few pages to remind myself of what was supposed to be happening.

I do read fast, so perhaps that’s on me rather than on the book. My conclusion is that All the Lost Places is a book to read slowly and carefully, not one to rush through in an effort to find out whodunit or will the guy get the girl.

Recommended for readers looking for novels with international settings, and for fans of Rachel McMillan, Nicole Deese, and other authors who write rich prose in a literary style.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Amanda Dykes

Amanda Dykes is the author of Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale, the critically-acclaimed bicycle story that invited readers together to fund bicycles for missionaries in Asia. A former English teacher, she has a soft spot for classic literature and happy endings. She is a drinker of tea, a dweller of Truth, and a spinner of hope-filled tales, grateful for the grace of a God who loves extravagantly.

Find Amanda Dykes online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | X

About All the Lost Places

When all of Venice is unmasked, one man’s identity remains a mystery . . .
1807

When a baby is discovered floating in a basket along the quiet canals of Venice, a guild of artisans takes him in and raises him as a son, skilled in each of their trades. Although the boy, Sebastien Trovato, has wrestled with questions of his origins, it isn’t until a woman washes ashore on his lagoon island that answers begin to emerge. In hunting down his story, Sebastien must make a choice that could alter not just his own future, but also that of the beloved floating city.

1904

Daniel Goodman is given a fresh start in life as the century turns. Hoping to redeem a past laden with regrets, he is sent on an assignment from California to Venice to procure and translate a rare book. There, he discovers a city of colliding hope and decay, much like his own life, and a mystery wrapped in the pages of that filigree-covered volume. With the help of Vittoria, a bookshop keeper, Daniel finds himself in a web of shadows, secrets, and discoveries carefully kept within the stones and canals of the ancient city . . . and in the mystery of the man whose story the book does not finish: Sebastien Trovato.

Find All the Lost Places online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #352 | The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay. It’s not advertised as Christian fiction, but her first few novels were Christian romance so I’m hopeful.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

While seemingly complex, codes, ciphers, cryptograms, or whatever you choose to call them, are deceptively simple. Once you crack them.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About The Berlin Letters

From the time she was a young girl, Luisa Voekler has loved solving puzzles and cracking codes. Brilliant and logical, she’s expected to quickly climb the career ladder at the CIA. But while her coworkers have moved on to thrilling Cold War assignments—especially in the exhilarating era of the late 1980s—Luisa’s work remains stuck in the past decoding messages from World War II.

Journalist Haris Voekler grew up a proud East Berliner. But as his eyes open to the realities of postwar East Germany, he realizes that the Soviet promises of a better future are not coming to fruition. After the Berlin Wall goes up, Haris finds himself separated from his young daughter and all alone after his wife dies. There’s only one way to reach his family—by sending coded letters to his father-in-law who lives on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

When Luisa Voekler discovers a secret cache of letters written by the father she has long presumed dead, she learns the truth about her grandfather’s work, her father’s identity, and why she has never progressed in her career. With little more than a rudimentary plan and hope, she journeys to Berlin and risks everything to free her father and get him out of East Berlin alive.

As Luisa and Haris take turns telling their stories, events speed toward one of the twentieth century’s most dramatic moments—the fall of the Berlin Wall and that night’s promise of freedom, truth, and reconciliation for those who lived, for twenty-eight years, behind the bleak shadow of the Iron Curtain’s most iconic symbol.

Find The Berlin Letters online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #316 | Trust the Stars by Tricia Goyer

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m sharing from Trust the Stars by Tricia Goyer, a dual timeline romance which released this week. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Alessandra Appiani walked with a quickened pace toward the front door of the Vatican, her footsteps echoing on the marble floor and the fateful words echoing through her mind.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About Trust the Stars

Olivia Garza, a woman committed to making a difference in the world, thrives in her unconventional, service-oriented life. By day, she helps troubled teens in inner-city Little Rock. By night, she creates a viral docu-series in an attempt to better understand her mother’s desperate decisions by retracing her steps with a camera. So far, Olivia has always been the anonymous narrator, but she’s promised to reveal herself in the last stop on her documentary: Kenya.

Prince Louis, heir to the throne of the small European kingdom of Alloria, is in Kenya to run away from a broken heart—and the media circus that comes with it. When he meets Olivia, he recognizes her voice right away from the docu-series that has stirred his heart. Though they share a magical day on safari, any dreams of happily ever after come crashing down with the flash of the paparazzi cameras when Olivia realizes that he represents everything she most despises in the world.

In World War II Rome, another royal, however, has her own life-changing choices to make. Princess Alessandra Appiani could have chosen quiet safety within the walls of the Vatican, but instead she risks her life—and her family—to save the Jewish children so in need of someone to show them the love of God.

When Olivia is hired to help create a documentary about Alessandra, learning about the sacrifice of a royal who goes from palace to prison forces her to face the hardest questions of all: Should she continue on the path she’s carved for herself or trust God to give her the future she never thought she wanted?

Find Trust the Stars online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

Just make sure that whoever you choose brings out the best version of yourself.

Book Review | In This Moment (Timeless #2) by Gabrielle Meyer

Gabrielle Meyer has done it again.

When the Day Comes, her first dual-timeline novel, was one of my top reads of 2022, and In This Moment is even better. It follows the same basic structure: a heroine who lives in multiple timelines simultaneously.

Margaret’s three lives are in 1861, 1991, and 2001.

She lives in Washington, DC, in all three the periods, which places her at the centre of politics in three years which are each significant in US history. She has an interest in medicine in all three lives. In 2001, Meg is an overachieving medical student who is about to graduate as a doctor, 1941 Maggie is a nurse in the US Navy, and 1861 Margaret is a volunteer nurse with Clara Barton, who will later found the Red Cross.

I really enjoyed watching Maggie and Margaret practice medicine in the with the challenge of sometimes knowing the answer (thanks to modern medicine) but being unable to share their knowledge for fear of contaminating the timeline.

Margaret has decided she doesn’t want to get emotionally involved with a man in any of her lives, as that would complicate her eventual decision.

But this is a romance, so of course Margaret meets eligible young man in each of her three lives.

That becomes her central internal decision: which timeline—and man—will she choose—the secretive British gentleman, the reclusive Navy surgeon, or the ambitious US congressman? As a reader, I had definite opinions on each man … but would Margaret make the same choice?

It’s a testament to the strength of the writing that Margaret’s eventual decision became obvious and didn’t leave me thinking she’d chosen the wrong man (as I often find in plots where a character has to choose between multiple suitable suitors).

Margaret had a strong Christian faith in each timeline, which shouldn’t be a surprise: she is the same character throughout.

What was good to see was that her three families were Christians as well, and faith was shown as a natural part of life. She does turn to God to help her make her decision, but (as is so often the case) the answer still didn’t become clear.

Margaret’s choice is one big difference between the two books. In When the Day Comes, Libby always knew she wanted to stay in 1775 with her marked mother (not least because her other mother was overly avaricious and insufficiently caring). With In This Moment, Margaret/Maggie/Meg had no idea which path she would choose.

There were a couple of scenes I didn’t enjoy reading in When the Day Comes, but have to acknowledge that they were essential to the plot. There were no such scenes in In the Moment (whew!). When the Day Comes also had a childbirth epilogue—not my favorite literary device. However, the epilogue was necessary as it was setting up the sequel (yay). In this Moment does the same thing, which is fantastic because it promises another sequel … and because it signals the twist that will make Timeless #3 different from the first two books in the series (brilliant!).

It’s not necessary to read When the Day Comes to enjoy In This Moment, as the first paragraph of In This Moment sets up the story:

Most days, I could pretend that my life was normal. I was a twenty-year-old woman searching for my place in the world, trying to find my future. The only difference was that I had three normal lives, and on my twenty-first birthday. I would have to choose which one to keep and which to forfeit. Forever.

(But if you read In This Moment, you will want to go back and read When the Day Comes.)

I recommend In This Moment to all fans at Christian historical romance or Christian dual timeline romance.

I recommend In This Moment by @gabriellemeyer to all fans of Christian historical romance or Christian dual timeline romance.#BookReview #ChristianRomance Share on X

It’s a unique concept, and I’m looking forward to the next Timeless novel.

Thanks to Bethany House and Net Galley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Gabrielle Meyer

Gabrielle Meyer

Gabrielle lives on the banks of the Upper Mississippi River with her husband and four children. As an employee of the Minnesota Historical Society, she fell in love with the rich history of her state and enjoys writing historical and contemporary novels inspired by real people, places, and events. The river is a constant source of inspiration for Gabrielle, and if you look closely, you will find a river in each of her stories.

When Gabrielle is not writing, you might find her homeschooling her children, cheering them on at sporting and theatrical events, or hosting a gathering at her home with family and friends.

Find Gabrielle Meyer online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

About In This Moment

Maggie inherited a gift from her time-crossing parents that allows her to live three separate lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001. Each night, she goes to sleep in one time period and wakes up in another. Until she turns twenty-one, when she will have to forfeit two of those lives–and everyone she knows in them–forever.

In 1861, Maggie is the daughter of a senator at the outbreak of the Civil War, navigating a capital full of Southern spies and wounded soldiers. In 1941, she is a navy nurse, grappling with her knowledge of the future when she joins a hospital ship going to Pearl Harbor. And in 2001, she’s a brilliant young medical student, fulfilling her dream of becoming a surgeon.

While Maggie has sworn off romance until she makes her final choice, an intriguing man tugs at her heart in each era, only complicating the impossible decision she must make, which looms ever closer. With so much on the line, how can Maggie choose just one life to keep and the rest to lose?

Find In This Moment online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #274 | In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m quoting from In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer, the second book in her fabulous Timeless series.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Most days, I could pretend that my life was normal.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About In This Moment

Maggie inherited a gift from her time-crossing parents that allows her to live three separate lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001. Each night, she goes to sleep in one time period and wakes up in another. Until she turns twenty-one, when she will have to forfeit two of those lives–and everyone she knows in them–forever.

In 1861, Maggie is the daughter of a senator at the outbreak of the Civil War, navigating a capital full of Southern spies and wounded soldiers. In 1941, she is a navy nurse, grappling with her knowledge of the future when she joins a hospital ship going to Pearl Harbor. And in 2001, she’s a brilliant young medical student, fulfilling her dream of becoming a surgeon.

While Maggie has sworn off romance until she makes her final choice, an intriguing man tugs at her heart in each era, only complicating the impossible decision she must make, which looms ever closer. With so much on the line, how can Maggie choose just one life to keep and the rest to lose?

Find In This Moment online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

I am more afraid of what will happen if we do nothing than of what will happen if we do something.

Book Review | What I Would Tell You by Liz Tolsma

What I Would Tell You is a dual timeline novel, set in the present and during World War II.

As you can expect, the World War II aspect of the story is not the typical happy-ever-after story I often read and review.

Mathilda Nissim is a Sephardic Jew living in Salonika, Greece, at the outbreak of World War II. She writes and publishes a newsletter for her fellow Jews … an activity she continues at great risk after the Germans invade. She is a quiet leader who is determined that her people resist the Germans so they don’t suffer the rumoured fate of German and Polish Jews.

It’s not hard to see this is going to be the bittersweet part of the story.

Even this introduced two new aspects of history to me. First, the fact there were Jews in Greece (which shouldn’t surprise me given the number of Paul’s letters which are addressed to Jewish-Christian communities in Greece).

Second, I have never heard of Sephardic Jews before. Tolsma explains at the beginning of the novel that the Sephardic Jews were forced to leave Spain in 1492 and scattered across north Africa, southern Europe, and western Asia. Many ended up in in Greece, where this story begins.

One of the things I like most about reading historical fiction is learning new things about history.

In this respect, Liz Tolsma more than delivered. The historical story was strong and fascinating. Mathilda was a great character, and the only problem with reading the historic scenes was that unwanted and uncomfortable foreknowledge of how the story is likely to end (there are very few happy endings for Jews in German-occupied territory of World War II).

Tessa Payton is an American psychology student who undertakes a DNA test and finds she has Spanish and Sephardic Jewish heritage. Her cousin doesn’t … which means they’re not actually related. She decides to go to Thessaloniki, Greece, to see if she can figure out the mystery.

While I enjoyed watching Tessa travel around Greece (and eat all that wonderful Greek food), I found Tessa considerably less intelligent than Mathilda, to the point of being annoying (it is possible to be Jewish and Christian, and we both worship the same God). I also thought there were a few too many coincidences in the current-day timeline. Yes, I know it’s fiction, a made-up story, but it does need to be believable.

What I Would Tell You is a dual timeline story, and I found the past story stronger than the present … at least until the end. The ending definitely ticked all the boxes.

Recommended for fans of dual timeline fiction and historical fiction set in World War II.

About Liz Tolsma

Liz TolsmaPassionate might best describe Liz Tolsma. She loves writing, research, and editing. Her passion shone through in her first novel which was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. Nothing means more to her than her family. She’s married her high-school sweetheart twenty-eight years ago. Get her talking about international adoption, and you might never get her to stop. She and her husband adopted three children, including a son who is a U.S. Marine, and two daughters.

Find Liz Tolsma online at:

Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter

About What I Would Tell You

Determined to resist the invading Nazis, a Greek Jewish woman’s greatest dream has become her worst nightmare, and now she faces an impossible choice whose consequences echo across the generations.

1941—The pounding of Nazi boots on the streets of Salonika, Greece, reverberates in Mathilda Nissim’s ears, shaking her large community of Sephardic Jews to its core and altering her life forever. If only her people would rise up and resist their captors. At great risk to herself and those around her, she uses the small newspaper she publishes to call them to action, all to no avail. Her husband encourages her to trust God to watch over them, but God has once again deserted His people. Amid the chaos, Mathilda discovers she’s expecting a longed-for child. Still, nothing stops the occupiers’ noose from tightening around their necks, and she may have to resort to desperate measures to ensure her daughter’s survival.

2019—College student Tessa Payton and her cousin take a popular DNA heritage test only to discover they don’t share any common ancestors. In fact, the test reveals Tessa is a Greek Sephardic Jew. This revelation threatens her tenuous faith. Always the overlooked child in her family, she empties her savings account and jets off on a journey to Greece to discover where she belongs and which God demands her allegiance. The enchanting curator at the Jewish museum guides her as she navigates life in Thessaloniki, helps with her genealogical research, and loans her a fascinating journal written by a Jewish woman during WWII. Tessa’s search, however, may open old wounds and uncover long-hidden secrets that could fracture her family forever and leave her with more questions than when she started.

Based in part on true accounts of Jews in Salonika, Greece, What I Would Tell You traces two women’s journeys, delving into what faith looks like and where it leads us as they navigate difficult circumstances and impossible choices that have ripple effects across the years.

Find A Picture of Hope online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!