Sheyanne is forced to confront her demons and her past relationships that have faded into nothing in the years she’s been gone. And she is forced to confront Liam. A man here on limited time, who seems to see straight through her defenses. He is cool, calm, and collected, and there for her every step of the way.

The Golden Hour: A Novel by Beatriz Williams, Paperback

Elfriede tells her doctor, “A wife would be a beast if she didn’t love a man such as my husband. She would be unworthy of life.” Is that just the “melancholy” talking? What do you make of their marriage? Does Elfriede truly love Gerhard? If you were in their shoes, would you make the compromises they do? Sebastian lives on a grass-fed cattle farm outside town, and Manuel finds solace in the open fields and the antics of the newborn calf Sebastian is hand-raising. As Manuel aides his new friends in their preparations for the local county fair, he learns to open up, confronts his deepest fears, and even finds first love. This was my first time reading a book by Beatriz and I can definitely tell why people love her writing. It is very eloquent and detailed, and it really helps you picture what you are reading. The book mostly switches between Lulu in the early to mid-1940s and a woman named Elfriede in the early 1900s. In both time periods I really got a sense for the landscape and what these women were seeing and going through.Sasada M, Williamson K, Gabbott D. The golden hour and pre-hospital trauma care. Injury. 1995;26(3):215–216. doi: 10.1016/0020-1383(95)90061-6. The circumstances of your childhood determine your character, the entire course of your future, your fate, your destiny, all of it. You are just a mere slave to your subconscious.” Lulu reflects. Do you agree? How did her childhood and her relationship to her newspaper mogul father shape her life and affect her destiny? What about the other characters in this book? How did their childhoods direct the course of their lives? I’m not going to lie, I did get confused a few times throughout the book, but each time I was able to figure out whatever it was that I was confused about. It was usually about remembering how different people or plots were connected. With that being said though, I wouldn’t say it is a bad thing. I like books that make you think like that. As long as they explain it in a way that doesn’t leave you with a bunch of unanswered questions, which this book nicely avoids. I started it today, I finished it today, and here in Ireland we are in the middle of a thunderstorm. It was the comfort read to read on a rainy day with my heated blanket, imagining I was on a farm and work had to be put off because of the rain.

The Golden Hour - Beatriz Williams

This was an enjoyable historical fiction read and I am constantly amazed at how many WWII angles there are, and authors find something new to explore. This made a great airplane read for me! K never fails to transport you to a different world and make you feel like the characters. She is the best in bring out the autumn to winter vibe and I love reading every second of this. Forty years early Elfriede is living in Switzerland, in a former mountain top monastery turned sanatorium, recovering from what we know is post-partum depression. During the early 1900’s however, her doctors had no idea this ailment existed, so Elfriede was there for two years when we meet her. There she meets a ginger-haired Englishman recovering from pneumonia and from the moment they first speak they know, somehow, they will remain in each other’s lives as the decades move on. I will admit that The Golden Hour wasn't exactly what I was looking for at this time, so that may have influenced my rating a bit. I am just coming off a bunch of very speedy reads and wasn't entirely in the mood for a long book. However, I didn't want that to take away from my whole experience which is why it's still getting a 4 from me. It really is a beautiful, heartbreaking story even if I wasn't really able to connect to any of the characters. This novel contains all the ingredients for a fascinating work of historical fiction, and it’s penned by a gifted wordsmith. The Golden Hour is a tale of wartime courage, espionage, dashed dreams, renewed hopes, and the tightest bonds of love. My kind of read!

Serious topics

Life is made up of these little crossroads, after all,” he said. “A million daily forks in the road.” Another thing to be thankful is the beautiful extended epilogue that Katie included at the end, was perfect and filled my heart with love🥺 Well before halfway through the book, I was longing for it to be over. I kept going, though, thinking that there might be an espionage story here somewhere. Finally, into the last quarter of the book, the plot turns into something resembling espionage, though “resembling” is probably too strong a word. To avoid spoilers, I’ll just say there is a series of highly improbable events that take place during World War 2 and involve both narratives. Employing artwork that expresses sobering realism with hints of softly colorful catharsis, Smith provides a compassionate, gentle look at a young boy in the grip of PTSD and his hard-won path to recovery. …Exceptionally graceful and delightful.” ― Kirkus, starred review