Devotion by Hannah Kent

In Prussia, in the 1830s, Hanne is a nature-loving girl on the brink of womanhood. Her family are old Lutherans, and the practice of their religion is banned, so her town sets out to emigrate to South Australia via a harrowing sea voyage. This is the interesting historical setting, but the heart of the book is a love story between Hanne and another young girl, Thea. A love for nature, the nature of love, and how nature is involved in love; it has supernatural elements, is deeply atmospheric, poetic and lyrical. Perhaps I am a touch old and jaded, but while I found it evocative and beautiful most of the time, occasionally the girls’ consuming passion became wearisome to me. For lovers of language, love, nature, and history.

The missing pieces of Nancy Moon by Sarah Steele

After her grandmother’s funeral Flo discovers a box that contains vintage sewing patterns, fabric swatches and postcards from 1962 . They belonged to a relative Nancy Moon who she has not heard of before. As her marriage is also breaking down Flo decides to recreate the outfits of Nancy Moon and recreate the 1962 journey of Nancy. The story is told through the voices of both Flo and Nancy, anchored by the outfit they both wore. Family secrets are revealed, relationships are healed and it made me nostalgic about sewing with my mother.

Three sisters by Heather Morris

Three Sisters is based on the true story of Jewish, Slovakian sisters whose love for each other sustained them through WWII and into their new lives in Israel. Consciously uplifting, and simply told, it celebrates the strength, bravery, and determination of the sisters to survive the horrors of the concentration camps, and leave the anti-Semitism of their birth country behind them to make something of their lives in the newly formed Israel. The story of these women is interesting and worth sharing, but the writing style is not at all to my taste; full of platitudes, inauthentic dialogue, too much detail about what we have read many times before, and not enough about less well-covered ground.

The lost apothecary by Sarah Penner

Nella is an apothecary who deals out poisons for women who need who have been wronged by a man in their lives. Enter 12 year old Eliza who changes Nella’s life. Then there is the dual timeline of Caroline who is escaping to London to work out what to do with her life and cheating husband. Caroline finds a glass vial while mudlarking and this brings the two storylines together. I enjoyed the time periods and the characters. So glad that Nella was not written as a righteous woman righting all the wrongs, but one that suffered a cost with the work she performed.

Woman 99 by Greer Macallister

1888, the time when women could be committed to an institution for any reason, including being inconvenient or embarassing to the family, is the focus of this historical novel. Charlotte finds a way to have herself committed to Goldengrove Asylum to rescue her sister who was committed by their father. Once inside she discovers that the imates and conditions are not the same as the glossy brochure. I found the descriptions of Goldengrove and the treatments offered there interesting (and terrifying). How would Charlotte and her sister escape?

The night watchman by Louise Erdrich

I think this is my first Native American book, and I found it a beautiful, moving, deeply compelling story of a fight for identity and rights, life’s hardships and wonder, love and hope. Based on Louise Erdrich’s own grandfather and his work defending the Chippewa people against an “Emancipation Bill”, it is also about Pixie, who wants to be called Patrice, as she tries to find her way as an adult, and those in their vibrant community. A glorious sense of place, culture, spirituality, strength and heart.

The cedar tree by Nicole Alexander

A good family saga, where the pain of the past reverberates through future generations. At the heart of the story is Irish cousins Sean and Brandon who have escaped their troubles in Ireland to try to make their mark in Australia. But the dreams and hopes they have are not fulfilled the way they expect.

The calculating stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

I was looking forward to reading this alternate history about women fighting for their chance to be astronauts. It is 1952 and a meteorite has hit the earth. It is predicted that the the earth is now headed towards an extinction event and there is an need to colonize the moon to save humankind. Women are heavily involved in the space program as mathematicians (computers) but have ambitions of doing more. The problem with this story was not in the storyline but the characters emotions. Yes they were well described but they did not translate into me caring for them. The emotions and opinions of the characters became repetitive with not a lot of growth and change.

Dear Mrs Bird by A.J. Pearce

Emmeline Lake and her best friend, Bunty, live in London during World War Two. Emmy gets a job at a magazine, where she helps Mrs Bird with her advice column, but when Mrs Bird refuses to address any of the significant problems, Emmy takes matters into her own hands. This is a gentle, sweet, amusing, and moving story, addressing the harsh realities of life in London during the war. For fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, it is uplifting, quietly romantic, with a focus on kindness and friendship.

The rose garden by Susanna Kearsley

A little bit of history, a little bit of time slip and a lot of romance. Eva returns to Cornwall with her sister’s ashes to scatter, to a house where they spent enjoyable holidays growing up. While there Eva slips back in time to the 1700s where she meets Daniel. Slipping between the two eras Eva makes the choice to follow her heart.