Review for Finding Hollywood Nobody

This Nobody does it better. After knocking it out of the park with the first of her Scotty Dawn books, Hollywood Nobody, Lisa Samson has done it again with Finding Hollywood Nobody, a quirky tale that not only picks up where the last one left off (thank you, thank you) but continues to grow a well-rounded and flawed, but lovable, heroine you just have to root for.

Scotty still has her nomad life but now has a little more information into the where’s and why’s of how it all came to be. Loaded with this information in a newer RV, she becomes braver and hungrier for more. Her tender heart for those in need hasn’t changed either though she risks more when reaching out.

Lisa has never shied away from controversial subjects and still doesn’t here. It is refreshing to have those taboo subjects—ones our youth face everyday, but too many adults don’t want to discuss—addressed in a moral and thoughtful manner. There is reality here in this brilliant work of fiction. How Ms. Samson blends the fantasy life of a teenager on the run and hiding in the Hollywood crowd with real issues teenagers are dealing with daily only goes to show what a craftsman she truly is.

Finding Hollywood Nobody is a must for the YA crowd and I can only hope mothers and daughters will read it together and discuss it—maybe over a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches. I think Lisa and Scotty would approve.

A Whisper of Freedom

Tricia Goyer has taken us back to the past and shared insights wrapped around amazing storylines multiple times. Her third and final installment of her Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War isn’t a let down, I promise.

Ms. Goyer puts her readers in war-torn Spain, describing detail so avidly, one wants to help, to rescue, to make things right. It all becomes so real, it nearly jumps off the page.

Sophie Grace has just escaped her ex-fiancé, found the man she truly loves is still alive, and knows for certain she is in Spain for a purpose/

However, Michael is not over Sophie or the gold that slipped through his fingers.

And then there is Walt who is more of an enigma that ever and knows something he’s not telling.

The writing is nearly lyrical, the story transfixing, and you’d swear the characters were real—at least the care you feel for them will be.

I highly recommend this book and cannot wait for Ms. Goyer’s next venture.

Review for A Shadow of Treason

Fine, I admit it. I love history. Not so much the dry stuff like dates, etcetera, but even that can be fun if you learn the nuances and trivia behind it all. It’s the personalities, the reasoning and the what if’s that make it so enjoyable.

That’s why I love Tricia Goyer’s books.

Her most recent historical, A Shadow of Treason, is part of her Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series. Tricia explains in the foreword that the Spanish Civil War was something she knew little about before doing her research for her WWII books. Like her, I find that time period to be fascinating.

The first book in the series, A Valley of Betrayal, beautifully set the scene (to read my review of A Valley of Betrayal, click here). A Shadow of Treason picks up the story and takes the reader deeper into the lives of the characters, moving ever closer to the final part of the trilogy.

A Shadow of Treason finds Sophie Grace still in Guernica, Spain after General Franco, with the help of the Nazi’s, has bombed and burned the historic village. Having already lost Michael, the fiancé left her safe home in Boston for, she finally has come to terms with her heart—she is in love with Philip Stanford, the American volunteer soldier in the Abraham Lincoln brigade who’d rescued her in her escape from Madrid. Just when she is ready to look forward to a life with Philip, Walt Block, the shady newspaper reporter who’d helped her get into Spain calls in a favor. A big favor. And he drops a bomb of his own on Sophie’s dreams, making her choose between Philip and helping to save the people of Spain who she has come to love.

The twists and turns will keep you guessing. The intrigue will keep you reading. The beauty of Goyer’s prose will keep you thinking about this story long after you finish the last word. She has hit her stride when it comes to word craft with this book—I believe it is her best to date.

As a stand-alone, however, I would not recommend A Shadow of Treason. You would lose too much of the depth and panorama of the story. By reading the trilogy in order, the story takes on a life of its own and you come to care deeply about the characters. If you have already read A Valley of Betrayal, then grab A Shadow of Treason and inhale the senses-grabbing prose. If you have not read A Valley of Betrayal, why not? Get it now and travel along with unforgettable characters to a time that should not be forgotten. Then you will be ready for A Shadow of Treason.