Tag: Mary Ellen Taylor

Review of AFTER PARIS by Mary Ellen Taylor

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About the Book

ISBN-13:9781662513442 Publisher:Amazon Publishing Publication date:05/13/2025 Pages:335

At twenty-five, Ruby Nevins has already endured more than most. But after two years of battling cancer, she’s warily determined to move forward. Researching a new project about a French actress, she soon uncovers an old diary that will change her life forever…

Cécile, the “it” girl of early 1940s French cinema, vanished from Nazi-occupied Paris in 1942. Sylvia Rousseau, Cécile’s dressmaker and confidante, left that same year. Working to piece together the truth behind Cécile’s disappearance and Sylvia’s extraordinary life, Ruby recognizes the women as kindred spirits. They risked their hearts and lives to aid the Resistance, and each day was a struggle to survive.

Ruby knows her cancer could come back, but she’s learning to embrace the future rather than fear it. If Cécile and Sylvia could live their lives in the shadow of death, so can Ruby. Because she knows there’s so much life—and love—to fight for.

My Thoughts

The story of Ruby, an author who is inspired to write the story of a missing actress and her dressmaker, is one that is poignant, realistic and soul-stirring. The women she is writing about lived during the Second World War in Nazi-occupied France. Facing danger daily was part of their way of life since both Cecile, the actress, and her dressmaker Sylvia, worked with the resistance by feeding them information via Cecile’s sister Emile. The story is a dual timeline story, showing the struggles of Cecile and Sylvia in 1940’s France and the challenge to grasp life that Ruby faces since she is a cancer survivor. The themes of strength, courage, fortitude and persistence are prevalent in this novel that had me crying and cheering, just pages apart. The characters were totally realistic, especially Ruby and her determined quest to find out the truth about Sylvia and Cecile. Using a journal written by Sylvia, Ruby researches and continues to dig out nuggets of Sylvia’s story of being a Jew in Paris when the Nazis were working hard to exterminate them. The book was well-paced and totally absorbing as I lost myself in the pages, wanting to know as much as Ruby did what had happened to Sylvia and Cecile. With multiple narrators and a well-woven story, the history of the women is given in a way that is a compelling look at self-sacrifice and family love. This book is without a doubt one of the best WWII historical fiction novels that I have read, told with the grit and authentic details that made me gasp with awe or disgust, depending on what was happening in the scene. The author brilliantly and seamlessly wove the stories of the women together, even as they were decades and a continent apart. I loved the story and the writing style that captivated my attention and securely held it from beginning to end.
Disclaimer: I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Rated PG-15, intense scenes and closed door sexual encounters

About the Author

Amazon Charts bestselling author, Mary Ellen Taylor’s love of her home state Virginia is evident in her contemporary women’s fiction, including The Promise of Tomorrow, Winter Cottage, Spring House, and Honeysuckle Season. She brings her new home on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to life in her latest novel The Brighter The Light and When the Rain Ends.  

As do so many people, her protagonists search for their place in the world, exploring issues of family, home, love and belonging. Inevitably, Mary Ellen’s stories interweave setting, history and mysteries that span past and present. Website: maryellentaylor.com

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Review of WHEN THE RAIN ENDS by Mary Ellen Taylor

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About the Book:

Format

335 pages, PaperbackExpected publication

May 1, 2023 by MontlakeISBN

9781542034531 (ISBN10: 1542034531)Language

English

My Review:

This is a poignant and heart-tugging story of a mother and a daughter and the other people who touch their lives at a vulnerable time. Dani Peterson is losing her vision. Her husband died four months before the story begins and Dani is struggling to find her footing with their pre-teen daughter Bella. Bella was very close to Matthew and is having a hard time with her grief. When Dani decides to leave her beautiful home on the Outer Banks to move inland to a farmhouse in Virginia, Bella is less than thrilled and her anxiety comes out in mini-rebellions against her mom. Dani decides to send Bella to a grief camp and that camp and dealing with grief is a central focus of the story. Bella makes a new friend, Reggie, at the camp and gradually learns to do the activities without too much difficulty. Both Dani and Bella are dealing with terrible losses—Dani, her vision, and Bella, her beloved father. Both of them have to come to terms with their love for each other as well as letting new people into their circle. The mother-daughter relationship is in the center of the well-woven and intricate plot, but there are so many developing relationships as Dani establishes a new home and a new business in a new place. There are also the farewells that have to take place, the letting go that is never easy and the author portrays well the grief that lingers and overtakes you when you least expect it. The plot moves at a good pace for the content, neither too fast nor too slow, but ebbing like the tide that rolls in and out. The characters are well-developed and likable, dynamically portrayed as they grow from bitterness and anger towards acceptance and moving on. I enjoyed every part of reading this book and was sad when the story ended, but I’m delighted to report that it is one of my top books for the year, with all of the emotion that can be packed into the pages of a really good book.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Rated PG
From the author’s website at http://www.maryellentaylor.com

Please go to the author’s website above for an excerpt from this amazing book and other reviews.

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Review of THE BRIGHTER THE LIGHT by Mary Ellen Taylor

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Told in a dual timeline with multiple points of view, this book included one revelation after another about family secrets, heritage and friendships. Ivy is the granddaughter featured in the present (2022) and her grandmother Ruth is the narrator for the part of the story set in the 1950’s. In her story, Ruth was a pre-teen, helping her mom Edna run the Seaside Resort, a beach inn on the OBX. When Ruth dies, Ivy returns home from NYC to sort through her things and to sell her cottage. All of the gamut of emotions are part of the storyline, beginning when Ivy reflects back on her leaving Nags Head and her return to say farewell again. My favorite was Talley, a no-nonsense cousin who counts it a blessing to be working at the beach alongside Ruth. Of course, I enjoyed all of the characters and how well-rounded they were. As a child of the 50’s, I could relate to the small town feel and how Edna, Ruth’s mother, had so much influence in the little beach town. The relationships were complicated, with a lot of forgiveness necessary in order for the people to move on in their lives. Ruth, the most interesting character, was multi-layered, hiding secrets from the people closest to her and dealing with a secret past of her own. I enjoyed this character-driven story set in an idyllic place, perfect for a vacation read to let your mind imagine those characters living where you are staying. My mind was actively engaged from beginning to end, engrossed in the lives of each character and invested in their making good decisions for the future. Oh, and the puppies! Ivy found a mama dog, named her Libby and adopted her. This is a wonderful story to read, enjoy and discuss in a book group.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Gorgeous cover, isn’t it?
A lovely escape! I would rate this book a PG-16 due to mature subject matter and content. There is nothing controversial or objectionable, just topics that would require a mature reader, in my opinion.
Information about the author and her photo are from her website at http://www.maryellentaylor.com

Available on July 1st and available for preorders now. Purchase Links:

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Contemporary fiction with an historical edge that is guaranteed to entertain! I loved it and I think that you will, too.

Review of THE WORDS WE WHISPER by Mary Ellen Taylor

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This was an epic tale of love, sacrifice, forgiveness, loss and new beginnings. The story’s main narrator was Zara Mitchell, a hospice nurse who loves dogs and who deals compassionately with those entering the last stage of life. When she returns home to Richmond, Virginia, because her grandmother Nonna is dying, Zara does not know what to expect. She is used to dealing with death, but not that of the family member who raised her. When Nonna insists that Zara clean out the attic and look for a particular treasure there, Zara pitches in quickly to the task, wanting to complete it before her Nonna dies. In the attic is a journal that tells the story of a young woman in Rome named Isabella, a courageous young woman who faced down the Nazis and did all she could to help the Resistance and those in danger to escape. The secrets of the attic drew me back to the book again and again. Yes, there was a love story involved, several of them, in fact. The time is from the past during WWII and to the present, with Zara having to cope with her own losses and inevitable changes that come with them. I cannot say enough good things about this book! It helped me to see the hardships of war more clearly and the sacrifices that the people in the land occupied by the Nazis had to make in order to continue to survive. The characters became real to me, like watching a movie on television and having the actors step out of the screen and talk to me as they related their life’s story. This is a book that I will long remember as more than a love story because it is a book that teaches the horrors of war and the triumph of love and compassion.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Rated PG due to content about the atrocities of war
Photo from the author’s website at http://www.maryellentaylor.com

Author’s Bio: (from her website)

A southerner by birth, Mary Ellen Taylor’s love of her home state, Virginia, is evident in her contemporary women’s fiction, including Winter Cottage , Spring House and her latest Honeysuckle Seasonand her latest The Words We Whisper. She’s also celebrated the city of Alexandria and its storied history in her books The Union Street Bakery, Sweet Expectations,  At the Corner of King StreetandThe View from Prince Street.
As do so many people, her protagonists search for their place in the world, exploring issues of family, home, love and belonging. Inevitably, Mary Ellen’s stories entwine with those of the places in which they’re set, and the mysteries at their core span past and present.

Mary Ellen is also known nationally as New York Times and USA Today bestselling suspense novelist Mary Burton. Together, they have published forty-five novels and five novellas. Mary Burton’s latest, Near You, debuts April 2021.

When not traveling or holed up writing, Mary Ellen spends time with her husband enjoying their empty nest and spoiling their miniature dachshunds, Buddy, Bella and Tiki.

This amazing book will be available to read on July 20th, but you can pre-order it now! Purchase Links:

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I loved the intricacies of the plot and characters in this book and highly recommend it for lovers of historical fiction and romance and family relationships! ♥️

Review of HONEYSUCKLE SEASON by Mary Ellen Taylor

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Mary Ellen Taylor has written a book about the ties between generations, secrets, losses, resentment and regret. I assumed when I started reading this book that it would be a light and sweet romance with little conflict. I was so wrong! I was drawn quickly into the story because of the setting in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where I was raised. I understood the struggles of young Sadie, trying to help her family to survive any way she can, especially with the secret family recipe of adding honeysuckle to the white lightning that is the family’s main source of income. Sadie is one of the narrators during the time period set in the 1940’s. Fast forward to the current day and the narrator is Libby, a young woman who is aching over the loss of her husband and their dream of having children. Libby is pursuing a new career in photography and it is that job that leads her to Elaine Grant, the owner of Woodmont, a fancy mansion that is perfect for having weddings on its grounds. Elaine introduces Libby to the groundskeeper and handyman Colton and therein lies the hint of romance. There were so many secrets in this book, and the author did a fabulous job of weaving the tale of the main characters and how all of their stories were connected. This is a generational story that was a very satisfying read, but I must say that I want to read more of the story. There was an ending, of course, and it did bring the story to a conclusion. But I think that there are more stories to be told in these secretive mountains. Fans of romance with the nuances of mystery will totally enjoy this book, just as I did.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

This is a mostly clean read that I would rate G.
Photo is from the author’s website at maryellentaylor.com

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I really enjoyed this story and hope that you will buy it and love it, too! The author is from my home state of Virginia, so she holds a special place in my heart. She also writes romantic suspense/mystery books under the name of Mary Burton. Please check out her books! She is fantastically talented!