Capturing Hope by Angela K Couch

 

During the thirty-six-day invasion, it is estimated that close to two hundred thousand Poles were killed, with many more injured or captured and thousands left homeless.

Amazing. No matter how many stories you hear about war it's always heart wrenching in its own unique way. Nadia is a girl who was raised in Polish nobility. Her father befriended an American photographer and confided in him. As the Germans begin to invade Poland, things change rapidly, and David promises her father to see Nadia safely to England. Their journey changes their lives forever, as well as some of those they encounter. Gripping story...you just have to know what will happen next, how they'll get out. So much sadness, but they also learn to recognize the miracles that happen along the way. Very well told, mostly documenting actual events.

I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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About the Book

Book: Capturing Hope

Author: Angela K Couch

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release Date: November, 2023

One step ahead of the Nazis. . .leaves Nadia little room for hope.

Full of intrigue, adventure, and romance, this new series celebrates the unsung heroes—the heroines of WWII.

After her father is murdered by Nazis and her mother flees to her native Germany, hope is something of which Nadia Roenne feels little—even if it is the meaning of her name. It isn’t until an American photographer sacrifices his escape from Poland to save a Jewish family, that she finds a purpose. David Reid is very familiar with failure, but when he is charged with getting Nadia safely out of Poland, he is determined to succeed—even if she works against him at every turn, putting other’s lives ahead of her own. While they race against the daily shower of bombs over Warsaw and the ever-nearing German army, Nadia grows used to risking her life. . .but dare she risk her heart?

 

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About the Author

To keep from freezing in the great white north, Angela K Couch cuddles under quilts with her laptop. Winning short story contests, being a semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest, and a finalist in the 2016 International Digital Awards also helped warm her up. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in as well. When not writing, she stays fit (and toasty warm) by chasing after five munchkins.

 

 

More from Angela

When I first decided to set a story during the invasion of Poland, I was woefully unprepared for the pain and horror I found there. I wasn’t new to World War II and had just finished writing A Rose for the Resistance, which is set in France during the war and deals with the resistance and the Normandy invasion. The atrocities and genocide in Poland cut so much deeper.

In the early hours of September 1, 1939, the small town of Wielun, Poland, woke to a shower of bombs on their community. They did not house an army or warehouses, only homes and civilian businesses. Wielun was not the only town or village targeted—demonstrating the Nazi goal to spread fear and death. Six months earlier, Hitler had promised that if Poland did not bow to his wishes, he would wipe them off the map. Over the next month, and more so in the following six years, he came very close to succeeding.

For the full month of September 1939, while German armies rolled across the country, the city of Warsaw endured daily bombardment. Homes, workplaces, churches on Sunday morning, the Warsaw maternity hospital— nowhere was safe. On the tenth of September, someone recorded seventeen separate air raids over the city. I was moved to tears while viewing photographs of women and children who had been shot in the streets and fields by the bombers after they had dropped their payloads over the city.

No one came to their rescue.

Poland was abandoned by its allies to the Nazis.

So how do you write about all that and more while still trying to keep hope alive in the story and in the characters who have to live through such a frightening and demoralizing history?

I invite you to read Capturing Hope to find out.

Blog Stops

An Author’s Take, November 30
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 30
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, December 1
Lily’s Corner, December 1
Texas Book-aholic, December 2
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 2
Locks, Hooks and Books, December 3
For him and My Family, December 3
Betti Mace, December 4
Books You Can Feel Good About, December 4
Life on Chickadee Lane, December 5
Cover Lover Book Review, December 5
Alena Mentink, December 6
lakesidelivingsite, December 6
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 7
Blossoms and Blessings, December 7
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, December 8 (Author Interview)
Devoted to Hope, December 8
Bizwings Book Blog, December 9
Exploring the Written Word, December 9
Holly’s Book Corner, December 10
Pause for Tales, December 10
Connie’s History Classroom, December 11
Labor Not in Vain, December 11
A Good Book and Cup of Tea, December 12
Lights in a Dark World, December 12
Joy Suzanne Hunt, December 13
Books I’ve Read, December 13

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Angela is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon eGift card and copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2909b/capturing-hope-celebration-tour-giveaway

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What I Promise You by Liz Tolsma - launch team and preorder

 

Yay! So looking forward to this book. Timely!!

The preorder link is: https://www.amazon.com/What-Promise-Echoes-Past-Book-ebook/dp/B0CJ4CKYRY/

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A Family’s History Is Lost to the Ravages of WWII in Southwest France
 
1942
Noémie Treves, a young, pregnant Jewish woman, had her entire world shattered when she is arrested and taken to the Camp de Rivesaltes transit camp in Southwest France. No sooner does she arrive, though, than she assists in helping two young girls scheduled for transport escape to a nearby maternity hospital. The matron there befriends her and changes her name to help hide her. But nothing goes according to plan, and Hannah finds herself doing the unimaginable to save one precious life.
 
2022
Caitlyn Laurant is haunted by recent events in her life and hopes becoming a nurse on the mission field will help her forget. While in training, she and her friends travel to France where her grandfather was born. What should have been an easy search for his birthplace turns into anything but and reveals secrets that no one alive has ever heard.

Liz Tolsma

Passionate might best describe Liz Tolsma. She loves writing, research, and editing. Her passion shone through in her first novel which was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. Nothing means more to her than her family. She’s married her high-school sweetheart twenty-eight years ago. Get her talking about international adoption, and you might never get her to stop. She and her husband adopted three children, including a son who is a U.S. Marine, and two daughters.

Author * Editor * Speaker * Podcaster

2023 Christian Market Book of the Year Award Winner

2023 Angel Book Award winner historical fiction

What I Promise You (February 2024)

What I Would Tell You (January 2023)

A Picture of Hope (Heroines of WWII series)

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Christian Historical Fiction Talk podcast

 

 

The Apostle's Sister by Angela Hunt

 

Interesting fictional story about the Apostle Paul's sister and their family. Aya changes and grows, learning as she ages, she's always in Paul's shadow. Women were much more restricted at that time, much of what they did or could do was limited by family and Jewish Law. She later finds that there has been a purpose to her paths that could only be made by God. Well told, very realistic, keeping to bible facts. An interesting insight into Paul's life and upbringing. 

I received this book free from the author, publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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Jerusalem's Queen by Angela Hunt

Beautiful enriching story. So much more than what you can find in Wikipedia!  A very well written story of Salome Alexandria, based more on the writing of Josephus. The characters come to life and illuminate a time a generation before our Messiah. It helps so much to envision this part of the old testament and history. Told in first person through the eyes if Salome and her servant who came from Egypt. Salome doesn't think she is good enough compared to her sister, but God knows she will change lives and be remembered throughout time.  Excellent teaching of the Jewish civilization.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Bethany House - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have 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 Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
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From the Publisher:
Born in the small village of Modein, a town made famous by the warrior Maccabees, Salome Alexandra knows better than to harbor grand dreams for her future. She pales in comparison to her beautiful older sister, and though she learns to read at an early age, girls are not valued for their intellectual ability. But when her father and sister are killed, John Hyrcanus, a distant relative, invites Salome and her mother to live with his family in Jerusalem, where her thirst for knowledge is noticed and indulged.
When her guardian betroths her to a pagan prince, she questions HaShem's plan. When Hyrcanus finally marries her to a boy half her age, she questions her guardian's sanity. But though Salome spends much of her life as a pawn ordered about by powerful men, she learns that a woman committed to HaShem can change the world.

Until We Find Home by Cathy Gohlke

Captivating!
In Paris, American Claire and her boyfriend, who belongs to the French Resistance, are smuggling French Jewish children out of the country before they are invaded. She is all caught up in the romance of their life and hopes to become a great writer. She is sent alone with the children to the checkpoint, but her boyfriend and her contact don’t show up, so she is forced to get on the boat with the children. A harrowing story in itself, once ashore and again without a contact, she is practically abandoned when she remembers that she once heard that she had an Aunt in England. She knew little beyond the address and is finally taken there. It turns out to be a huge estate in the Lake District and a beautiful place for them to stay, except that her Aunt isn’t thrilled to see them and has been depressed by grief after the loss of her son and husband. Claire doesn’t know anything about children and find it difficult to be moved by them now that the romance of the situation is worn off. She finally gives up on the idea of going back to France. Of course the kids are scared, missing their families and need to be loved as well as cared for. The Americans aren’t received much better than the Jewish children by the community, which makes everything that much harder. Everyone is scared and wanting to protect themselves and their families. It’s a long process for Claire and her Aunt, with struggles and adventure they all learn to live together. David, another American, comes to stay with them for awhile and brings a fresh perspective to them all as well as a new love interest for Claire.  The story is beautifully told with lots of depth, danger, intrigue, love and life lessons in faith and family.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Tyndale Publishers - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have 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 Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.

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Publisher's Description
For American Claire Stewart, joining the French Resistance sounded as romantic as the story lines she hopes will one day grace the novels she wants to write. But when she finds herself stranded on English shores, with five French Jewish children she smuggled across the channel before Nazis stormed Paris, reality feels more akin to fear.

With nowhere to go, Claire throws herself on the mercy of an estranged aunt, begging Lady Miranda Langford to take the children into her magnificent estate. Heavily weighted with grief of her own, Miranda reluctantly agrees . . . if Claire will stay to help. Though desperate to return to France and the man she loves, Claire has few options. But her tumultuous upbringing—spent in the refuge of novels with fictional friends—has ill-prepared her for the daily dramas of raising children, or for the way David Campbell, a fellow American boarder, challenges her notions of love. Nor could she foresee how the tentacles of war will invade their quiet haven, threatening all who have come to call Bluebell Wood home and risking the only family she’s ever known.

Set in England’s lush and storied Lake District in the early days of World War II, and featuring cameos from beloved literary icons Beatrix Potter and C. S. Lewis, Until We Find Home is an unforgettable portrait of life on the British home front, challenging us to remember that bravery and family come in many forms.