World War II has upended the whole world.  For three young women in Brooklyn, New York it means they are now helping the war efforts by working at the Naval Yard embroidering, engraving and welding for the USS Missouri.  Margaret's brother, John has enlisted and is in England with two new friends, William and Tom.   Margaret's best friend, Dottie is engaged to John, but couldn't marry before they shipped out.  An early wedding night has left Dottie pregnant and in a precarious position with her family.  Dottie moves in with their friend Gladys.  The three friends get together after work to knit socks for care packages to send to John and his friends.  When John writes back, he asks Margaret if he could write to his friend, William who has yet to receive letters from home.  Margaret happily obliges and begins a new friendship.  Meanwhile, the guys have begun serious training and participated in the invasion of Normandy.  With multiple tragedies, letters become harder to send, but Margaret forges forward to write to the man she had never met and he makes every effort to write to her even as death and destruction surround them.  


Until We Meet is a heartfelt and well-rounded story of World War II.  With amazing characters, historical detail and a sweet romance, Until We Meet has a strong plot that flows together seamlessly.  I absolutely loved all of the characters.  Friendship was definitely a theme throughout the story.  Margaret, Gladys and Dottie lean on each other throughout their trials and triumphs and celebrate each other's strengths and differences.  I loved Gladys' independent, forward thinking, adventurous spirit and ability to solve problems and advocate for women's rights,  Dottie's perseverance, kindness and empathy and Margaret's giving nature, support and heart that she places into everything she does.  Through these ladies we also see the important work that women did while the men were at war, taking jobs that they were previously banned from, making safety improvements in those positions and supporting the troops overseas in numerous ways.  John, William and Tom have an equally important friendship that gets them through the toughest parts of training, battles, tragedies and ties them to the women in Brooklyn.  The battle scenes were realistic without being overbearing showing the grittiness, camaraderie, hope and bravery of the men who fought.  The letters were another wonderful part of the story, I enjoyed reading about their innermost feelings and seeing the relationship grow through their writing.  Until We Meet is exactly the type of historical fiction that I love with brilliant writing, wonderful characters and a story that kept my interest the whole way through. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​Rifka Berg grew up in Warsaw, Poland in the 1920's.  In her Orthodox Jewish home Rifka notices that women do not have as many opportunities as men and are only expected to get married and have children.  Rifka breaks free from this mold and opens a corset shop with her best friend, Bronka.  While difficult in the beginning, the two women succeed in business with their talent and charisma.  However, with Hitler's rise to power and the Nuremberg Laws in 1935, danger is lurking.  Rifka becomes worried about her sister Golda in Palestine and decides to travel to find her.  In order to travel safely to Palestine, Rifka assumes a new name and becomes Raquela Bluestone.  Upon entering Palestine, Rifka becomes entangled in the Jewish-Arab conflict and becomes part of events that will change her for a lifetime.  After Palestine, Rifka cannot imagine going home and decides to travel to Spain.  When arriving in Spain she becomes embroiled in the Spanish Civil War and watches over the orphans from the war.  During Rifka's time in the orphanage, she becomes attached to orphan Manuel and takes him with her when she escapes to France.  In France Rifka and Manuel face Nazi occupation, but with their skills, they join the French Resistance.  Rifka once again changes her name, now Simone Bonheur, she is able to help others escape to freedom. 


The Corset Maker is an epic story of bravery, survival and resistance.  Loosely based on the author's mother, I can only imagine that she was an absolutely tremendous woman. Rifka's character captured me from the very beginning as she defended a neighbor.  I was constantly amazed by her ability to question what was happening around her, stand up for what is right, and make choices for herself.  While not all of her choices were for the best, she stood by her decisions and carried on.  Through Rifka we are able to see the effects of three wars as well as the people who gave everything to fight in them.  Rifka's story spans a long amount of time and while I was absorbed in the details of each period of her life, I wanted to know more about her feelings and connections during some of the more tense moments when we just got a play-by-play.  Some of the time hops also took me by surprise as well as the switch in perspective between Rifka and Bronka.  Bronka's story seemed to just be there to tie up loose ends instead of contributing to the story.  I do wish there had been a fuller arc for her.  As Rifka's journey landed in France, the suspense heightened with her involvement in the Resistance.  I would have loved to have more details of her involvement with removing children from danger.  Overall, a factual-based story of hope, resilience and adapting while keeping true to yourself. 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.