Spotlight and Giveaway: The Women

Introduction by Melissa Amster

I am so excited to help Kristin Hannah celebrate the publication of her latest historical fiction novel, The Women. This was such an incredible story and so well-told. I can't wait for you all to read it! Check out my five-star review. Thanks to St. Martin's Press, we have THREE copies to give away!

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

"Stuns with sacrifice; uplifts with heroism." 

~ Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry

"Never has a novel of war metamorphosed so profoundly into a story of the human heart." 
~ Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing

Photo by Kevin Lynch

Kristin Hannah is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including The Nightingale, The Great Alone, and The Four Winds. A former lawyer turned writer, she lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest.

Visit Kristin online:
Website * Facebook * Instagram

Interview with Kristin Hannah from Goodreads

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends February 11th at midnight EST.

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.

Listen to this book on Speechify!

Spotlight and Giveaway: The Four Winds

Today we are thrilled to feature The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. Melissa says it was incredible from start to finish and that you won't be able to put it down. Check out her five star review. Thanks to St. Martin's Press, we have FIVE copies for some lucky readers!

From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them.

“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”

Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Photo by Kevin Lynch

Kristin Hannah is an award-winning and bestselling  author of more than 21 novels including the international  blockbusters, The Nightingale, The Great Alone, as well as Winter Garden, Night Road, and Firefly Lane. 

The film of Hannah’s much loved novel, The Nightingale, (published in 43 languages) starring Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning, is slated for December 2021, and Netflix released a 10-part series based on Firefly Lane in the past week. Her last novel, The Great Alone, has also  been optioned for the screen. 

Kristin is a former-lawyer-turned writer who lives in the  Pacific Northwest with her husband. She can’t imagine  a better career than writing every day and doesn’t miss  practicing the law—or wearing high-heels to work. Kristin writes because it frees something in her and allows her to  be the wife, mother, and friend she wants to be. 

Kristin’s work touches millions of people. Her novel, Firefly Lane, became a runaway bestseller in 2009, a touchstone  novel that brought women together, and The Nightingale, in 2015, was voted a best book of the year by Amazon, Buzzfeed,  iTunes, Library Journal, Paste, The Wall Street Journal, and The Week. Additionally, the novel won the coveted Goodreads and People’s Choice Awards. The audiobook of The Nightingale won the Audiobook of the Year Award in the fiction category. Her #1 New York Times bestselling  novel, The Great Alone won the 2018 Goodreads Best Historical Novel of the Year and appeared on numerous “Best Of” lists. Renowned for her strong women characters, Hannah’s books are read, discussed, and revered  by book clubs all over the country. 

Visit Kristin online:
Website * Facebook * Instagram

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends February 16th at midnight EST.

Double Feature Review: Make love, not war

By Melissa Amster

Both books I'm reviewing today take place during World War II, but each story has a different aspect. However, they are both harrowing reads and likely to leave an imprint on your heart and mind.

Both synopses courtesy of Amazon.

Shadows Over Paradise by Isabel Wolff 
(UK title: Ghostwritten)


Sometimes the only way forward is through the past.

Jenni Clark is a ghostwriter. She loves to immerse herself in other people’s stories—a respite from her own life, and from a relationship that appears to be nearing its end. Jenni’s latest assignment takes her to a coastal hamlet in England, where she’s agreed to pen the memoir of an elderly farm owner named Klara. Jenni assumes the project will be easy: a quiet, ordinary tale of a life well lived.

But Klara’s story is far from quiet. She recounts the tale of a family torn apart by World War II, and of disgraceful acts committed against a community in the Japanese prison camps on the Pacific island paradise of Java. As harrowing details emerge and stunning truths come to light, Jenni is compelled to confront a secret she’s spent a lifetime burying.

I've read two of Isabel Wolff's novels prior to this one, so when I heard this was being released, I was more than eager to obtain a copy. While her previous stories have prepared me for her use of sadness and heartbreak to weave a beautiful tale, Shadows Over Paradise was on the dark and intense side and not always easy to read as a mother. Still, it reminded me of The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult and gave me a new perspective on the war, as I learned that Jewish people weren't the only ones in concentration camps. (This is also aside from the other minorities who were also put in camps or poorly treated due to their differences, such as those with disabilities.) I didn't know there were camps in Java and that people were treated similarly to those in concentration camps. The horrors they went through were unimaginable, but I could tell that Isabel did a lot of research to bring this story to life. Both Jenni and Klara were very likable and you could tell that they had a lot of stored up memories that were hurting them even in the present. Throughout the story, there were many interesting surprises and twists. However, Isabel tended to put in a lot of foreshadowing statements, which I didn't feel were necessary. Overall, Shadows Over Paradise was well written and compelling. Isabel was very sensitive with her material while also making everything easy for the reader to visualize. I definitely want to read some of her earlier novels, as she's won me over once again.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.

The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France.

Kristin Hannah's latest novel was well worth the almost-two-year wait since her previous book was released. This time, she tells a war story that seems similar to Winter Garden at first, but then goes in a completely different direction. I had read some of the stories about World War II and the Holocaust happening in France, such as Sarah's Key and The Sweetness of Forgetting. However, this one comes from an outsider's perspective of the Holocaust and also shows the war's impact on all citizens of France. Kristin really has put forth a labor of love through both research and a natural talent for storytelling. I do need to warn you that there is a lot of graphic imagery in this novel that may be unsettling to a more sensitive reader. It is also very sad at times, although uplifting in the long run. I'm not a history buff and politics tend to go over my head, so some parts of the story felt confusing to me. That happens when I read books about war though, and someone else might understand the same things I had difficulty with. Overall, it was an incredibly told and compelling novel that I've been recommending ever since I finished reading. While Kristin doesn't cast her novels in her head, I had two very distinct visualizations for who should play the leading ladies in a movie version (which would be as amazing as the book, I'm sure).

Vianne: Evelyne Brochu (If you've seen Orphan Black, you'll know exactly why I chose her)
Isabelle: Mackenzie Mauzy (I had her in mind even before I saw Into the Woods)
I also was picturing Gaby Hoffman as Vianne's best friend, Rachel.

Thanks to Isabel Wolff  and St. Martin's Press (respectively) for the books in exchange for an honest review.

More by Isabel Wolff:

More by Kristin Hannah:

Kristin Hannah dishes on romance and has a book to give away

**Giveaway is now closed**

We're thrilled to have Kristin Hannah back at Chick Lit Central to not only kick off "Romance Month" but also because she has once again written an amazing novel! "Home Front" (reviewed here) was published yesterday and you will definitely want to get your hands on it! Kristin was here last March and we don't think much has changed since then, other than putting out yet another great story! She's here today to answer some romance themed questions. And thanks to Wunderkind PR, we have THREE copies of "Home Front" to share with some lucky readers in the US and Canada.

Check out Kristin's tour schedule to see if she's coming to a town near you.

You can find Kristin at her website, blog and Facebook.

Favorite date in a novel: I can't think of a favorite date in a novel, which is really strange, given how many romantic novels I've read.

Favorite romantic gesture: To me, the most romantic gestures are little things---bringing you a cup of tea in the morning, knowing when you need a glass of wine. And of course, there's nothing more romantic than a man who gets out of bed in the middle of the night to comfort a baby so you can sleep. :)

Favorite romantic movie: Happy ending: Notting Hill. I loved the easy chemisty of Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant--and who doesn't love the idea of a Hollywood superstar falling in love with an ordinary bookseller? Favorite all time romantic movie is probably Gone with the Wind.

Favorite Romantic Book: "Katherine" by Anya Seton

Favorite romantic song: "All I ask of You," from Phantom of the Opera

Favorite place to go on a date: If you're with the right person, the perfect date can take place anywhere. I do love a perfect day of snow skiing beneath a bluebird sky...or having a mai tai on the beach at sunset with my husband.

What was your favorite moment from your wedding: My favorite moment from my wedding was my dad walking me down the aisle. We were both thinking how much we missed my mom--and how much she would have loved the moment--and it really brought us together for a perfect second in time.

Best movie kiss: Traditional choice: Gone with the Wind. How can you not love that moment? Non-traditional choice: The Abyss, when Ed Harris is desperately trying to revive his dead ex wife. When he saves her, and she comes alive again, it's a great kiss.

Special thanks to Kristin for sharing her favorite romantic things with us and to Wunderkind PR for sharing "Home Front" with our readers!

How to win "Home Front":
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: What is your favorite movie kiss?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines, as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.
6. For even more entries, send a digital message to a veteran or soldier (5 extra entries, but please copy and paste what you said into the comments) or purchase a Band for Freedom (10 extra entries, but e-mail us your receipt.)

US/Canada only. Giveaway ends February 7th at midnight EST.

Book of the day: "On Mystic Lake"

In honor of International Chick Lit Month and our one year blogoversary, we're bringing you a book a day (and then some). If you've read the book and want to comment on this post with your thoughts, please do. If you haven't read it yet, we hope you'll take interest in it after hearing our thoughts. To make this fun, anyone who comments on any of these posts has a chance to be entered in a drawing for a special prize. The more posts you comment on, the more chances to win! (See here for contest details.)

"On Mystic Lake" by Kristin Hannah:
Annie Colwater's husband has just confessed that he's in love with a younger woman. Devastated, Annie retreats to the small town where she grew up. There, she is reunited with her first love, Nick Delacroix, a recent widower who is unable to cope with his silent, emotionally scarred young daughter. Together, the three of them begin to heal. But just when Annie believes she's been given a second chance at happiness, her world is turned upside down again, and she is forced to make a choice that no woman in love should ever have to make...(Summary courtesy of Kristin Hannah's website.)

Melissa P:
This was just a great story all around. I knew I would like it because I like all of her books, but I wasn’t prepared for how much I ended up loving it. I still think about the story and the characters all the time.

Melissa A:
This was the second book I read by Kristin Hannah after falling in love with "Firefly Lane." Her beautiful storytelling style was evident in this novel, as well as countless others (including the ones I read after this one). I was hooked from page one and I loved how she created realistic conflicts for her characters and gave them a lot of depth.

More by Kristin Hannah:

Interview with Kristin Hannah and book giveaway

**Giveaway is now closed**

Kristin Hannah grew up in Southern California, but moved to Washington state during her youth and has lived there ever since, placing most of her stories there, as well. She went to law school but then later decided she was meant to be a writer. She became a professional writer in 1990 and has never lost her love of, or enthusiasm for, telling stories (most of which are tearjerkers for all her loyal readers).

Kristin dropped by Chick Lit Central on the day of publication for her latest novel, "Night Road" (reviewed here) to answer our questions about "Night Road" and talk about her writing experiences, which we hope you'll find as interesting as we did! Wiley Saichek from AuthorsOnTheWeb has three copies of this long-awaited novel to give away to some lucky readers in the US or Canada!

If you like what you've read here, check out Kristin's blog and become a fan on Facebook.

MP: How do you like to spend your time when you aren't writing?
KH: Well, to be honest, writing is actually one of my favorite activites. I simply love to world build and write down what I see. But like all jobs, there are times when I need to be away from it, need to decompress a little and enjoy some of the other things I love. My favorite place to be in the world is on a beautiful beach, watching the surf roll toward me, reading a book. I love to ski and surf and run. And traveling--that's my new big thing. Since my son moved away from home, my husband and I have finally found the time to do a little traveling and we love it. In the past few years, we've visited Africa, Mexico, and Italy. Next up: Ireland.

MP: What was the journey to publishing like for you?

KH: I have loved everything about writing, including the haul it took to get published. I can say with certainty that I'm glad my first novel wasn't published. And so is anyone who reads my work. :) It takes a long time to really get your feet wet with writing and to begin to know what you're doing. That's one of the job's great joys--you're always learning something new, always growing, always striving to be better. Specifically, for me, the start of the career came about because of two key facts. One was that I found my writing soul mate, my critique partner, author Megan Chance. We have really been there for each other every step of the way for twenty years. We learned how to write together and we continue to push each other to be better with every book. Secondly, I entered my newbie novel in two prestigious writing contests and won them--that paved the way to getting "the call" from an editor and got me started.

MP: What was the biggest challenge you faced while writing "Night Road"?
KH: In many ways, Night Road was slightly less of a challenge for me than the book I wrote before it, Winter Garden. Night Road came so completely from my own life that I found it a joy to write. That being said, it was about some extremely difficult topics, and in many ways, creating the emotional arc of the book was hard for me. Put simply, in this book I had to face many of my own fears and put them down on paper. But as with all things, once you face that which scares you, you gain strength and perspective. Through the writing of the book, I really looked at my own parenting style--it's easier to do a thing like that when your nest is suddenly empty--and it was a great gift. I really hope that the women who read this book will feel it on a deeply emotional level. I hope it will spark conversations between parents and children, and husbands and wives. The book has a truly important and powerful message. Of course, hopefully it's just a great read, too. :)


MP: How did you celebrate when your first book was published?
KH: Hmmm...that's a great question. The truth is I'm not quite sure. I probably called my girlfriends and my husband and my family and screamed a bit with all of them and then made dinner. :) I'm not a huge event celebrater. I try to celebrate the smaller joys in my life, and never to take anything for granted. I try to remember that as much as I love writing, it's a job, and what matters--good news or bad news--is the journey of it all. That means that if I don't take the great news too seriously, I don't have to take the bad news too seriously, either, and that outlook keeps me on an even keel.

MA: Which of your books do you feel you've put the most of yourself into?
KH: Definitely Firefly Lane and Night Road.

MA: What was your inspiration for "Night Road?"
KH: My inspiration for Night Road was my son's senior year of high school. In the middle of it, I was honestly as stressed out as I've ever been, and I'm not an overly stressed out gal, and my son was a great kid. But that year was a constant battle of wills between us. I was doing everything I could to keep him safe and steady, and he was doing everything he could to test his wings and find his independent self. It made for a crazy, wonderful, stressful, terrifying year. And any parent who has been there (and any kid who has lived through it) knows that once the partying and staying out late and "I'm eighteen, I'm an adult, you can't tell me what to do" starts flying, you are kind of at a loss. I also saw with my son how keenly important that year was to him. He and his friends became so emotional and melodramatic and connected to one another. I loved hearing how much they meant to each other, and how afraid they were that these lifelong friendships would fall apart when they went their separate directions. I wanted to explore all those powerful emotions. I also wanted to look back on all of it, with the perspective of time, and see if there were things I could have done differently.

MA: Are you working on any more novels for the next year or so?
KH: I am just putting the finishing touches on the first draft of the novel for 2012. Of course, it's not really a first draft. By the time I get to the end of a novel, I've written it dozens of times, but I call it a first draft because I haven't sent it to my editor yet. She will definitely want changes. She always does. :)

MA: Who was your favorite author when you were growing up?
KH: Let's see. Flat out favorite? Stephen King. But before him, there's a list that tracks the course of my youth: Frank Baum, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Roald Dahl, JRR Tolkien, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, and S.E. Hinton.

MA: You do call-ins and visits to book clubs: What was the most challenging question you were ever asked by someone in a book club?
KH: The hardest question for me to answer is always "where do you get your ideas?" I try to come up with something that sounds good, but the truth is that I don't really know. I go in search of them and somehow they find me. I go through a lot of wrong ideas before I find one I'm willing to commit a year of my life to.

MP: You recently took a trip to Italy to celebrate your birthday, what is the most memorable part of the trip?
KH: So much of it was memorable. I flat out fell in love with Italy. But I would have to say that the most memorable city was Florence. Sunrise on the Arno river was an absolutely magical experience.

Special thanks to Kristin for answering our questions with so much detail and to Wiley from AuthorsOnTheWeb for giving away the books.


How to win "Night Road":
Please comment below with your e-mail address.
(Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page if you can receive messages there.)

1. Please tell us: Who was your favorite author when you were growing up?
2. Please tell us: What is your favorite Kristin Hannah novel? (If you haven't read her novels yet, which one would interest you the most to check out? Visit her website to see titles and descriptions.)
3. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
4. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
5. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)

US/Canada only. Giveaway ends Sunday, March 27th at midnight EST

Book Review: Night Road

By Melissa Amster

I became a fan of Kristin Hannah's novels after reading "Firefly Lane." I quickly devoured a few more of her novels and couldn't get enough. My shelves are still filled with books of hers that I still need to read (between all the other reviews I'm doing). So when I received an opportunity from AuthorsOnTheWeb to read and review her latest, "Night Road," before it even hit the shelves, I was ecstatic! And this novel lived up to the hype surrounding its arrival in stores this spring.

Jude Farraday has her hands full as the mother of twin teenagers who are getting ready to go off to college. She doesn't count on their tight connection with Lexi, a girl with a dark history of parental neglect, to affect their behavior and decisions. However, in the course of one night, a tragic event leads to the unraveling of the lives of Jude and Lexi. They both struggle to find the strength to get back to who they used to be before things came undone for them.

With "Night Road," Ms. Hannah has written a powerful and intense story that will stay with readers for a long time to come. It was challenging to read as a mother, but definitely worthwhile. It had elements of her own style, but gave off a Jodi Picoult feel that was also apparent in "True Colors." I found it impossible to put down, despite the difficult and heart-wrenching nature of the topic at hand. This is the second novel that has brought me to tears in the short time of a week (after reading "Skipping a Beat"). The characters really grabbed at me and I didn't know to whom I should be more sympathetic.

The only criticism I have is with some of the dialogue. It seemed a bit forced and sappy at times. I know the story was meant to be a tearjerker, but I felt like people were just saying things to pull at the heartstrings instead of sounding natural. It almost had a Hallmark appeal in that way. I even felt like the teenagers sounded more melodramatic than usual. Of course, I haven't spent much time around teenagers lately so maybe they do sound that way these days. (Parents of teenagers, if you read this novel and disagree, please clue me in.) This didn't keep me from liking the novel as much as I did, so it definitely was not a deal breaker.

Overall, it was a very heartfelt and thought-provoking story that I can tell Ms. Hannah poured all her love and storytelling energy into. I look forward to reading more from her in the future and will definitely be recommending this one to my book club soon. (We read "Winter Garden" a while back and everyone was anticipating this one, as well.)

Special thanks go to Wiley Saichek from AuthorsOnTheWeb for this review copy.

From one Washington to the other....

I’ve been on a Kristin Hannah book marathon lately. I started with “Firefly Lane” last summer and loved how smoothly the story flowed and how easy the characters were to connect with, no matter how similar or different they were to/from me. I still get emotional when I think about it. Then I saw some other books of hers at a library book sale and a local thrift shop and decided to check them out too. So far, I’ve enjoyed each one: “Between Sisters” and “On Mystic Lake.” I’m reading “The Things we do for Love” now, and have already gotten misty-eyed a few times. I just want to read more and more of her books and have been looking diligently for them at the store.

All the books I've read of hers so far take place in Washington state. She should write tour guides because with each story, I want to take a trip to check out the scenery she is describing. I've never been there before, but I can see it vividly through her characters' eyes.

There was a romance author to whom I was addicted back during my college days and the earlier half of this century. Her name is Katherine Stone. She has stopped producing novels for some reason and I definitely miss reading her stories now. Kristin Hannah’s writing style is very similar and I connect with her books the way I connected to Katherine Stone’s books in the past. She’s just that good! I definitely recommend checking her novels out sometime. Just keep a box of tissues nearby.