The Midwife’s Promise by Eliza Graham
Publisher: Storm Publishing Ltd
Release Date: December 6, 2023

Synopsis:
New England, 1992. Sophie's hand trembles as she places the birthday card on to the creamy wood of her dresser - this one postmarked from far away, and signed with a name she's never forgotten, despite their years apart. Downstairs, guests wait around a colourful pile of gifts - Happy 90th Birthday, Sophie! But Sophie has a gift of her own to give today - a tattered collection of photographs she's never shown anybody. Holding it to her heart, a single tear slides down her wrinkled cheek.

France, 1944. Sophie is folding Camille into her arms, kissing her daughter's hair. She's smiling through tears at the plaintive cries of a tiny, perfect newborn baby - her first grandchild. As a midwife, she's helped so many take their first breath, but this is special. In the street outside, Nazi soldiers patrol day and night, and each week more people disappear. Sophie clenches her fist and vows she'll do anything to save Camille and her baby from that fate.

But when evil has stolen everything you know, even the truest promises are tested. Sophie swore she'd give her life for her family. How could everything have gone so terribly, heartbreakingly wrong?

Why We Recommend It!
A deeply affecting novel, The Midwife’s Promise by Eliza Graham is the story of an extraordinary woman—a midwife who sacrifices everything to protect those in need, especially her own family, during the terror and chaos of WWII. 

The Wildest Sun by Asha Lemme
Publisher: Dutton
Release Date: December 5, 2023

Synopsis:
When tragedy forces Delphine Auber, an aspiring writer on the cusp of adulthood, from her home in postwar Paris, she seizes the opportunity to embark on the journey she's long dreamed of: finding the father she has never known. But her quest--spanning from Paris to New York's Harlem, to Havana and Key West--is complicated by the fact that she believes him to be famed luminary Ernest Hemingway, a man just as elusive as he is iconic. She desperately yearns for his approval, as both a daughter and a writer, convinced that he holds the key to who she's truly meant to be. But what will happen if she is wrong, or if her real story falls outside of the legend of her parentage that she's revered all her life?

The Wildest Sun is a dazzling, unexpected, and transportive story about coming into adulthood--from escaping our pasts, to the stories we tell ourselves, to the ambition that drives us--as we seek to find out who we are.

Why We Recommend It!
A coming-of-age novel, The Wildest Sun by Asha Lemmie is the story of a young writer finding her place in the world as she follows the footsteps of a famed author she believes to be her father—Ernest Hemingway.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Release Date: December 5, 2023

Synopsis:
Maine, 1789: The Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice. Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As the local midwife and healer, Martha is good at keeping secrets. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, every murder and debacle that unfolds in the town of Hallowell. In that diary she also documented the details of an alleged rape that occurred four months earlier. Now, one of the men accused of that heinous attack has been found dead in the ice.

While Martha is certain she knows what happened the night of the assault, she suspects that the two crimes are linked, and that there is more to both cases than meets the eye. Over the course of one long, hard winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha's diary lands at the center of the scandal and threatens to tear both her family and her community apart.

In her newest offering, Ariel Lawhon brings to life a brave and compassionate unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice on behalf of those no one else would protect. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story of a remarkable woman who had the courage to take a stand, and in the process wrote herself into American history.

Why We Recommend It!
Inspired by the journals of midwife and healer Martha Ballard, The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is a gripping historical mystery set within a beautifully harsh New England winter, revealing real history and real heroes.

The Paris Notebook by Tessa Harris
Publisher: HQ Digital
Release Date: December 5, 2023

Synopsis:
When Katja Heinz secures a job as a typist at Doctor Viktor's clinic, she doesn't expect to be copying top secret medical records from a notebook.

At the end of the first world war, Doctor Viktor treated soldiers for psychological disorders. One of the patients was none other than Adolf Hitler. . .

The notes in his possession declare Hitler unfit for office - a secret that could destroy the Führer's reputation, and change the course of the war if exposed. . .

With the notebook hidden in her hat box, Katja and Doctor Viktor travel to Paris. Seeking refuge in the Shakespeare and Company bookshop, they hope to find a publisher brave enough to print the controversial script.

But Katja is being watched. Nazi spies in Paris have discovered her plan. They will stop at nothing to destroy the notebook and silence those who know of the secret hidden inside. . .

Why We Recommend It!
Based on the real psychiatric records of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, The Paris Notebook by Tessa Harris is a suspenseful novel that takes readers on an unforgettable journey about taking risks in the face of constant danger.

Red Clay Running Waters by Leslie K. Simmons
Publisher: Koehler Books
Release Date: December 19, 2023

Synopsis:
Red Clay Running Waters is the little-known story of John Ridge, a Cherokee man dedicated to his people, and his White wife Sarah Northrop, a woman devoted to his cause.

In 1824, John Ridge, the promising son of a Cherokee leader, returns from his New England education with his White bride, Sarah. John burns to realize the dream of an independent Cherokee Nation, using his eloquence, his education, and his Cherokee heart in defense of his people's humanity and rights. Peace at home evades when tensions rise between the Southern states and the federal government, pulling the couple into the crossfire of a divided country on the brink of civil war.

As America wrestles for its soul over the fate of the Indians, John and Sarah unite to forestall a Cherokee diaspora, testing the limits of individual commitment and the meaning of sacrifice. The Ridges' abiding love for the Cherokee compel them to join forces seeking justice, but with options eroding, and Andrew Jackson in office, John and Sarah must confront an agonizing choice about the future of the Cherokee Nation.

In a timely saga of one family's search for justice in the 1830s Removal Crisis, this story of profound love, sacrifice, and the meaning of home weaves the complex strands of politics, race, religion, and love into the tapestry of the turbulent times before the Trail of Tears.

Grappling with universal themes - the meaning of love, commitment, and the courage to confront tyranny, Red Clay Running Waters is a vibrant and heart-breaking portrait of the Antebellum Era and the fate of Native Americans. Readers will be propelled across true events on a stunning journey across true events leading to a haunting and moving conclusion.

Why We Recommend It!
A look behind the devastating Cherokee Trail of Tears, Red Clay Running Waters by Leslie K. Simmons uses elegant prose and fully developed characters to expose the true history and painful legacy of America’s Indian Removal Policy.