Blackberry and Wild Rose

Esther Thorel is the wife of a silk weaver who has dreams of converting her artwork into silks of her own. When her husband refuses to accept her patterns in the male dominated profession, she requests the help of his journeyman in secret.
Sara Kemp is a young woman tricked into the life of a prostitute by a spiteful madam. After a chance meeting, Esther decides it's her Christian duty to save Sara by offering her a position as her lady's maid. In the end, when a crime is committed, Sara must choose between telling a lie to save herself or the truth that will end life as she knows it.
I really enjoyed learning about silk weaving and I was rooting for Esther to finish her beautiful silk and be accepted by the silk weavers. This book was well researched and beautifully written and I was surprised that it was her debut novel. I look forward to reading more historical fiction by this author.

The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen

Emily Bryce is the daughter of a wealthy family. Her mother insists on keeping her home and sheltered from the war. While visiting the convalescent hospital, she meets an injured Australian pilot and falls in love, but her mother finds him unsuitable and she's forbidden to see him again. She enlists with the land girls, a group of women trained as farm workers to harvest the crops, milk cows, and keep the farms running while the men are away at war. This allows her to move away from home and keep seeing her pilot. Eventually, he heals and is returned to the front and Emily finds a place she belongs in a small country village.
I had never heard of the land girls and it was really interesting learning their role in the war. I love how the friendships between Emily and the other girls grow and change and how they support and help each other. I kept hoping that Robbie would make a surprise return in the end. This was such a great book that was impossible to put down!

Night Shift by Robin Triggs

Anders Nordvelt is promoted to security chief of the night shift on the mining base of Australis. In Antarctica, night lasts for six months, but the world is depending on the oil and coal produced by their small 12-person crew. What seems an easy job becomes increasingly difficult as sabotage and murder threaten the plant and the lives of the remaining crew. Who is guilty, and will any of them survive the long night until rescue arrives?
This book was pretty good. I like how all the different personalities of the crew are described and how they all start to clash after so long cooped up together. I think there should have been more of a description of the world outside the base and of "the company". Hints were made of Anders past that I feel weren't fully explained. But overall it was a good, fast-paced psychological thriller with a bit of sci-fi thrown in.

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Cassie Hanwell is a strong, independent woman, a firefighter who's proved herself over and over and become an important part of her station family in Texas. But after her estranged mother requests her help with a medical issue, Cassie moves across country. She joins another station desperate for an experienced firefighter...just not a woman. Most of her new co-workers are against women joining the department and Cassie repeatedly has to prove herself. Be strong, hide your feminine side...and never date firefighters!
I really enjoyed this book and I liked how she described the fun-loving and laid back atmosphere at the fire station. Cassie is such a strong female character, willing to learn new methods to overcome her weaknesses of strength and size. And Owen just seems like such a great guy, gradually showing her that love isn't such a bad thing.

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

In the world of Wall Street banking, money comes before everything and the Stanhope bankers in this book don't care who they hurt to get ahead. But after a couple deals fall through, they are invited to an escape room challenge to promote teamwork. It takes place in an elevator and as the conditions worsen and personalities clash, the truth about a co-workers' death comes out.
This book was pretty good. I liked the chapters about Sara Hall, and the alternating chapters between her story in the past and the events on the elevator made it more interesting. I thought the story lagged a bit in the middle, but the exciting ending made up for it.

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I love to wander around bookstores,  discovering new authors and old favorites, taking in the atmosphere. Katherine Reay describes that cozy atmosphere perfectly, so I can almost smell the new books and picture the three friendly booksellers. All three women feel out of place in their personal lives and each has their own struggles with family while coping with the death of a beloved friend and relative. But all three women find their home in that wonderful bookshop and with each other.

Castle On The Rise by Kristy Cambron

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40590291-castle-on-the-rise" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Castle on the Rise (Lost Castle #2)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1529499855m/40590291.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40590291-castle-on-the-rise">Castle on the Rise</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7271055.Kristy_Cambron">Kristy Cambron</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2586758234">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.<br />I didn't realize when I requested this book that it was by the same author of a couple books I read and loved. I hadn't read book one, but that didn't seem to matter. I thought it read like a stand alone book. Ireland has always been a place i want to visit, and the descriptions of the countryside are so beautifully descriptive I almost felt like I was there. The book jumps between three times periods and the lives of three different women and each was so interesting I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.
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