Audiobook Mini Reviews: Dear Mrs. Bird, Next Year In Havana

Posted March 12, 2019 by Wendy in Reviews / 0 Comments

Audiobook Mini Reviews: Dear Mrs. Bird, Next Year In HavanaDear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce
Published by Simon and Schuster on July 3, 2018
Genres: Fiction, Historical, General, Coming of Age, Humorous
Pages: 288
Format: Audiobook
Length: 9 hours and 48 minutes
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
five-stars

This charming, irresistible debut novel set in London during World War II about a young woman who longs to be a war correspondent and inadvertantly becomes a secret advice columnist is “a jaunty, heartbreaking winner” (People)—for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Lilac Girls.

Emmeline Lake and her best friend Bunty are doing their bit for the war effort and ...

more

My Thoughts:

Dear Mrs. Bird came onto my radar from some friends who read it and loved it. I love historical fiction and so I decided to check it out. Best decision ever! It landed on my list of top books I read in 2018 and I simply adored it.

The story takes place in London in WW2 and centers around the people, the women in particular, left behind in war time London. Most historical fiction books taking place in WW2 doesn’t focus on the home front and I was so glad that this one did. It was a peek into the daily life of what it was like to live in the middle of the war– you still have to work, but there are air raids, bombs dropping and people trying their best to give toward the war effort. It’s the every day life but with the added strain of knowing your loved ones are out there fighting and also living with bombs destroying places, homes, people and having to just get on despite it all. It was so very real and genuine to see it all from Emmy’s point of view. Emmy is a columnist just trying to get through it and her misadventures working for Mrs. Bird’s column were so great to see. She reads letters every day of women and young girls with issues and troubles she longs to address and so she does despite this being against the rules.

Her story was emotional, but also light hearted in the sense that she is such a hopeful, uplifting character that her narrative doesn’t become too heavy. The issues are hard, and nothing is easy during this time but Emmy’s attitude was brilliant. I adored her friendship with Bunty and every relationship in this book. The connections and emotions felt very real and I was so invested in every character. I loved this book so much and highly recommend!

The audio version is one of my favorites. I think Anna Popplewell did such a fantastic job bringing Emmy to life. If you like historical fiction this is a must read!

Divider
Audiobook Mini Reviews: Dear Mrs. Bird, Next Year In HavanaNext Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
Published by Penguin on February 6, 2018
Genres: Fiction, Women, Hispanic & Latino, Cultural Heritage
Pages: 400
Format: Audiobook
Length: 11 hours and 16 minutes
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
three-half-stars

THE JULY PICK FOR REESE WITHERSPOON'S HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB

"A beautiful novel that's full of forbidden passions, family secrets and a lot of courage and sacrifice."--Reese Witherspoon

After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity--and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution......

more

My Thoughts:

Historical fiction with dual alternating timelines. That’s basically all you need to say to get me to read something! I LOVE this sort of thing. However, this one fell short a little bit for me. I really really liked Elisa’s story and was riveted every time it was her POV. But Marisol and Luis– I wasn’t as into. I can’t really place a why (their romance just never clicked with me maybe?), but her chapters dragged more for me and I wasn’t as interested. I always kept wanting to go back to Elisa.

That being said, the storytelling was lush and beautiful and so atmospheric. The writing was wonderful. I don’t know enough about Cuba and its history and this was a really great, unique look at that slice of time that I really have very little knowledge of. It made me look up the history and read more about it which is something I love about historical fiction books. It always makes me want to know more and at the same time, makes that history so much more real.

I’ll definitely be reading the companion book, When We Left Cuba though! If historical fiction and dual timelines are your thing, this is one you won’t want to miss!

Do you normally read historical fiction? Have you read these? What did you think? Do you have any historical fiction recs you think I’d like?

Tags:

Divider

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.