Mini-reviews: “Wait for Me” and “In Another Time” by Caroline Leech

Title: Wait For Me

Author: Caroline Leech

Publisher: HarperTeen/HarperCollins

Publication Date: January 31, 2017

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

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It’s 1945, and Lorna Anderson’s life on her father’s farm in Scotland consists of endless chores and rationing, knitting Red Cross scarves, and praying for an Allied victory. So when Paul Vogel, a German prisoner of war, is assigned as the new farmhand, Lorna is appalled. How can she possibly work alongside the enemy when her own brothers are risking their lives for their country?

But as Lorna reluctantly spends time with Paul, she feels herself changing. The more she learns about him—from his time in the war to his life back home in Germany—the more she sees the boy behind the soldier. Soon Lorna is battling her own warring heart. Loving Paul could mean losing her family and the life she’s always known. With tensions rising all around them, Lorna must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice before the end of the war determines their fate.

I read this a couple of weeks ago, but just didn’t get the chance to sit down and write a review for it until today. I still remember much of the story though, which is a testament, I guess to how enjoyable of a read it was.

I loved the details the author has put into the story, both the historical bits and the added stuff. It all worked well together. The romance was also good. It was as sweet as any first romances. But, I think, what kept the story from being amazing was its narrator and main character herself.

Lorna annoyed me throughout the whole length of the book She was whiny and intractable. Given, there were good moments with her, but just when I start thinking I may grow to like her, she does something again that irks me.

Overall, Wait for Me was a satisfying romance, and it made me want to read more of Caroline Leech’s work, which leads me to my second mini-review…

Title: In Another Time

Author: Caroline Leech

Publisher: HarperTeen/HarperCollins

Publication Date: August 28, 2018

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Get it: IndieBound | Book Depository| Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Books-a-Million

(Digital ARC graciously provided the publisher via Edelweiss)

Love is worth the fight

It’s 1942, and Maisie McCall is in the Scottish Highlands doing her bit for the war effort as a Women’s Timber Corps lumberjill. Maisie relishes her newfound independence and her growing friendships—especially with the enigmatic John Lindsay.

As Maisie and John work side-by-side felling trees, Maisie can’t help but feel like their friendship has the spark of something more to it. And yet every time she gets close to him, John pulls away. It’s not until Maisie rescues John from a terrible logging accident that he begins to open up to her about the truth of his past, and the pain he’s been hiding.

Suddenly everything is more complicated than Maisie expected. And as she helps John untangle his shattered history, she must decide if she’s willing to risk her heart to help heal his. But in a world devastated by war, love might be the only thing left that can begin to heal what’s broken.

“Love is worth the fight.”

That line from this book’s blurb adequately summarizes Maisie and John’s story, and I absolutely adore both of them and this whole book.

In Another Time has everything Wait for Me had – sweet, first romance, well-researched historical foundations, creative authorial fill-ins – but what puts this one ahead of its predecessor is its balance.

In Another Time wasn’t just about Maisie and John’s fight to be together, it was also about Maisie and her lumberjill friends, and Maisie standing up for herself and what she wants.

It’s a well-rounded, coming-of-age, and I certainly loved reading every bit of Maisie’s journey. I couldn’t put this book down because I just need to know what happens next for her.

I enjoyed reading both books, Wait for Me and In Another Time, but I just enjoyed reading the latter more. I definitely, definitely recommend it to anyone who love historical romance.