May 1, 2021
In Sisters of the Great War, Missouri Review Editors' Prize winner Feldman crafts the story of ambitious young American Ruth Duncan--she wants to be a doctor--and her shy sister, Elise, who volunteer their services in war-torn 1914 Europe and discover love, nurse Ruth with an Englishman in the medical corps and Elise with another woman in the ambulance corps (50,000-copy first printing). In The Book of Magic, which concludes Hoffman's "Practical Magic" series, three generations of Owens women and a long-lost brother attempt to break the curse that has bound their family since Maria Owens practiced the Unnamed Art centuries ago (200,000-copy first printing). Launched with lots of in-house love, multi-AP-award-winning Miller's The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven features a young man who seeks adventure by moving to an Arctic archipelago in 1916, then withdraws further to an isolated fjord, where he's sustained by a loyal dog and letters from home until the arrival of an unexpected visitor (50,000-copy first printing). In a follow-up to Morris's multi-million-best-selling The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey, Three Sisters--Livia, Magda, and Cibi--survive Auschwitz and escape the Germans during the 1945 death march from the camp (500,000-copy first printing). In Saab's debut, Polish resistance fighter Maria is imprisoned in Auschwitz and forced by brutal camp deputy Fritzsch to play chess for his entertainment--and her life; the war's approaching resolution brings Maria closer to The Last Checkmate and a chance to avenge the deaths of her family (150,000-copy paperback and 30,000-copy hardcover first printing). Following up The Wicked Redhead with The Wicked Widow, Williams zigzags between 1925 New York, where brassy, flashy flapper Geneva "Gin" Kelly happily settles into a high-society marriage to (of all things) a Prohibition agent, and 1998, with troubled Ella Dommerich relying on Gin's ghostly help when her aunt pushes her to discover anything nasty she can about an old family enemy running for president (75,000-copy paperback and 30,000-copy hardcover first printing).
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August 2, 2021
A vivid WWI setting elevates the mostly predictable romance in Feldman’s tale of two sisters (after Absalom’s Daughters) who flee their oppressive Baltimore home to help the British on the Western front. In August 1914, nursing student Ruth Duncan longs to attend medical school, but her widower physician father refuses to allow it. An attraction sparks between Ruth and family friend John Doweling, a doctor who’s just enlisted with the British, and their relationship deepens through the letters they exchange as John trains for his medical deployment. Ruth soon volunteers along with her younger, mechanically inclined sister, Elise. They’re stationed in Belgium, where Ruth is assigned to a hospital near John, who supports her plan to become a doctor and finds ways to teach her physician-level skills, while Elise confronts the horrors of the battlefield as an ambulance driver and finds love with Hera Montraine, another female driver. As the war enters its final fierce months, John suffers a life-changing wound, which jeopardizes his future with Ruth. Elise and Hera, meanwhile, are discovered in a compromising situation, forcing Elise to decide how Hera will fit into her life. Feldman’s rendering of the Western front is unsentimental and unsparing, making this an effective war story despite the slow plot movement. This doesn’t break any new ground, but it does keep readers invested.
September 1, 2021
It's 1914 and war is raging in Europe like never before. Battling in their Baltimore home with their father, Ruth and Elise Duncan decide to volunteer for the war effort in Europe. Ruth volunteers to be a nurse, even though her true desire is to become a doctor, like her father. Elise is good with working on cars and is stationed as an ambulance driver. Together the sisters witness the horrors of war and realize that not everyone can be saved. Feldman ruthlessly describes the injuries of war on the body and mind. War tears people apart, but for Ruth and Elise, they also find light amid the darkness. Ruth's journey is about gaining independence and knowledge, learning that she is skilled enough to be who she wants to be. Elise's journey is finding herself and answering questions she had always been afraid to answer. Both of the sisters' journeys include finding love in the midst of the depravity of war. This novel is about the resilience and strength of women in war, but also about love.
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