Search This Blog







2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (1)
- Colorado (3)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa (2)
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (2)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (1)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (3)
- France (1)
- Puerto Rico (1)
- Scotland (1)


2025 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge



2025 Build Your Library Reading Challenge









Monday, November 23, 2020
Historical Family Drama Another Heartfelt Story from Chamberlain
6:14 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Even though there's a terrible war raging in Europe, 25-year-old Tess DeMello is safe in her tight-knit Little Italy neighborhood living a happy, contented life. She's engaged to her childhood sweetheart, pursuing a career as a nurse, and looking forward to a future full of love, adventure, and joy. In a moment of weakness, however, her life is changed forever. She finds herself pregnant with a stranger's baby. Kicked out of her home by her mother, Tess is alone and terrified. With no other choice, she breaks off her engagement, leaves school, and flees to North Carolina, where she'll beg her baby's father for enough money to start a new life in some far-flung city.
To Tess' surprise, 27-year-old Henry Kraft suggests they marry and raise their baby together in his tiny hometown of Hickory. While this seems like the perfect solution, Tess soon finds that an opinionated Italian woman from Baltimore is not exactly what Henry's family and friends had in mind for him. While she does finally find some purpose and acceptance by volunteering at a polio hospital, her strained relationship with Henry brings only distress and worry. Not only is he definitely concealing something from her, but he treats Tess with politeness rather than affection. What is he hiding? What will it take for a regretful Tess to find happiness in her strange new life?
The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain is a compelling novel set in an interesting time period and populated with complex, well-drawn characters. None of them are perfect—all are authentically flawed. While not all of them are likable, their individual conflicts and dramas keep the story engrossing, even when the plot gets a bit predictable. The tale did throw me at least one curveball, though, which led to a surprise ending that I loved. While I didn't end up absolutely adoring The Stolen Marriage, overall, I found it heartfelt, intriguing, and, ultimately, hopeful.
(Readalikes: Reminds me a lot of Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain and a little of At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), mild sexual content, and violence
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
3 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)


Reading
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Listening
If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell


Followin' with Bloglovin'

-
Top Ten Tuesday ~ Expats12 minutes ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
A Slash of Emerald by Patrice McDonough5 hours ago
-
TTT – Blast From The Past6 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Last Word by Elly Griffiths1 day ago
-
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!1 day ago
-
Sunday Salon: March 9, 20251 day ago
-
Audiobook: Food for Thought1 day ago
-
-
-
Murder Road by Simone St. James2 days ago
-
Week in Review #102 days ago
-
BookBound announcement!3 days ago
-
-
Sunday Post #5624 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
Some February reading1 week ago
-
-
One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery2 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
I'm Still Reading - This Was My October3 months ago
-
Review: The Duke and I6 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus7 months ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!


Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ▼ 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)


2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction

This sounds interesting and worth a try. Both the books you compared to it also sound good. Wish I could read faster and did not already have too many books in the house.
ReplyDeleteI like the setting too.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that this situation was all too common once upon a time. People entering marriages that aren't really a good idea due to circumstances makes for good reading.
ReplyDelete