Der Spanische Bürgerkrieg: 1936-1939 von Antony Beevor

 

 Der Spanische Bürgerkrieg: 1936-1939 

von Antony Beevor

  

Übersetzt von:  

 Helmut Ettinger, Michael Bayer, Hans Freundl, Norbert Juraschitz, Renate Weitbrecht

 

 

 

 Inhalt

 Der Spanische Bürgerkrieg wurde zum Trauma für das moderne Spanien und ist in der Gesellschaft bis heute spürbar. Im Kampf der Volksfront, die von großen Teilen der europäischen Intellektuellen ideell und militärisch (in internationalen Brigaden) unterstützt wurde, gegen die Nationalisten unter General Franco, hinter dem das nationalsozialistische Deutschland und das faschistische Italien standen, bekämpften sich die beiden großen Ideologien des Jahrhunderts.

Antony Beevor erzählt die Geschichte des Spanischen Bürgerkriegs und seiner Folgen aus der Perspektive des 21. Jahrhunderts. Meisterhaft entwirrt er die komplexen gesamtpolitischen und die innerspanischen Ursachen des Krieges und zeigt den dramatischen Verlauf bis hin zur katastrophalen Niederlage der Republikaner 1939.

 Rezension

Es kann wohl niemand Hemingway lieben und sich nicht auch für den Spanischen Bürgerkrieg interessieren - zumindest ich kann das nicht. Ich muss allerdings zugeben, dass ich Sorge hatte, dass dieses Buch vielleicht doch etwas zu trocken sein könnte, aber das war definitiv nicht der Fall.

Im Gegenteil, der Autor schildert auf sehr anschauliche und interessante Weise gut verständlich die Ereignisse der Zeit von 1936 bis 1939 und wie es dazu kam. Es ist naturgemäß keine leichte Kost, aber gut lesbar und gut nachvollziehbar.

Es finden sich zudem noch etliche zeitgenössische Fotos in dem Buch, sowie im Anahang viele Karten, Hintergrundinformationen, sowie reichhaltige zusätzliche Anmerkungen, die das Verständnis erleichtern und eine nähere Auseinandersetzung mit dem Thema ermöglichen.
Interessant, gut und umfassend, wer sich für das Thema interessiert, wird an diesem Buch definitiv seine Freude haben. 

☕☕☕☕☕

 

 

A Stitch in Time (Thorne Manor #1) by Kelley Armstrong

A Stitch in Time (Thorne Manor #1)  

by

 Kelley Armstrong

 Blurb

Thorne Manor has always been haunted...and it has always haunted Bronwyn Dale. As a young girl, Bronwyn could pass through a time slip in her great-aunt’s house, where she visited William Thorne, a boy her own age, born two centuries earlier. After a family tragedy, the house was shuttered and Bronwyn was convinced that William existed only in her imagination.

Now, twenty years later Bronwyn inherits Thorne Manor. And when she returns, William is waiting.

William Thorne is no longer the boy she remembers. He’s a difficult and tempestuous man, his own life marred by tragedy and a scandal that had him retreating to self-imposed exile in his beloved moors. He’s also none too pleased with Bronwyn for abandoning him all those years ago.

As their friendship rekindles and sparks into something more, Bronwyn must also deal with ghosts in the present version of the house. Soon she realizes they are linked to William and the secret scandal that drove him back to Thorne Manor. To build a future, Bronwyn must confront the past.

 

 Review

This book was so absolutely beautiful, one of those books where you go back to buy the audiobook bc you have to go somewhere and don't want to miss a single moment and you simply need to read on right now. Next, you go back online to check out the paperback because this book is one that you definitely want to hold in your hand as well, you just need it.

And finally, while still remembering everything, still feeling the happiness, the giddiness, the fear and tension and the final relief that you felt while reading this book, you go on and pre-order the next book in this series because you simply can't wait to learn more and to meet Bronwyn and William again.

A wonderful story, captivating with lots of action and a mystery to solve, a beautiful love story and a love that spans centuries - simply perfect.

🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞 

 

 

The Hunt (By Kiss and Claw Book 2) by Melissa Haag

 

 

The Hunt (By Kiss and Claw Book 2) by Melissa Haag

 

Blurb

I was fine existing on copious amounts of chocolate.  But, thanks to Fenris’s less than helpful intervention, Mom’s building a nightclub named “Man-beef Buffet.”  My hell is only beginning.

Hounded by the Academy's guidance counselor, smothered by her mother, and harassed by a perverted brownie, Eliana’s patience for well-meaning help is thinning.  She has more important matters on her plate.  Like, dealing with the repercussions of a backfired spell while avoiding the local, hot werewolf.

When something starts stalking her, Eliana decides she’s done playing by everyone else’s rules.  She might be afraid to feed, but she’s far from weak.  The beast pursuing her will soon feel what it’s like when the hunter becomes the hunted.

Warning: Contains a starving succubus with violent reactions to sex toys, a loving mom who supports nudism, and a brownie with fertility issues.  Recommended for mature teen readers and up.

 Review

It is still a toss-up between the Fates and Furies books and Eliana's books but seriously? This book is simply amazing and I loved every single page of it! Even though I hadn't read Howl again, it took me only a few sentences to be back in Uttira and everything came back at once. Oh, well, Piepen made himself unforgettable once again and I may have cringed while laughing out loud but he and his kind are sweet (in their own particular way at least) and it's always fun to meet them - inside the pages of a book.
Fenris is still wonderful and supportive, charming and just Fenris. With Megan and Oanen still gone and one or more crisis at hand, he is there to support Eliana however and when ever he can. While we are still trying to find Ashlyn and Eliana under pressure to feed properly whereas Fenris still has to fend of potential mates, I still can't make my mind up about Eliana's mother. She means well but....
And then there's Adira. And all the others who expect Eliana to behave like a good succubus no matter what she wants and how she feels - and it makes me furious! I loved Eliana from the first tackle-hug on and seeing her hurt because of these people... ugh.

This is once again an absolutely wonderful book with a great storyline and unique and very lovable characters - I loved It and can't wait to read the next book in the series, The Hunger! 

 

 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

 

 

Love In Moments (Love Distilled #2) by Scarlett Cole

 

 

 

 IT IS LIVE!

The wonderful second book in the Love Distilled series is finally live!

     Love In Moments (Love Distilled #2) by Scarlett Cole

  

 

 

BLURB

 

Swedish hockey player, Anders “Iceberg” Berg, is counting the days until he’s an unrestricted free agent and can land the contract he’s worth. Yet, instead of recovering and resting at home so he can play to impress his dream organization, he’s in Denver for his brother’s wedding at a gin distillery, watching the pretty brunette who organized the whole thing. 

Olivia Dyer can’t wait to put the year behind her. Her father died, and the event hall she ran at her family’s distillery was destroyed. The cost to the business and her mental health more than she could ever afford to repay. Rebuilding both takes all her effort leaving little time for anything else. Except for a single night of fun with the hot hockey player who’s been watching her every move.

When a kitchen catastrophe throws Anders and Liv together, it ends with an evening neither of them can forget. It was only meant to be one night. But when Anders is unexpectedly traded to see out the rest of his contract with the Denver Rush, and his plans to leave as quickly as possible are disrupted by the sultry brunette who defines courage, their only option is to give to the attraction they feel for one another.

Yet with Liv stuck in the past and Anders firmly focused on the future, can they put aside their differences and allow themselves to find love in the present?

 

 

 

REVIEW

 

Wow, simply wow. This book is absolutely amazing!

On the one hand, there is the beautiful love between Anders and Olivia, their chemistry and their love are palpable and I loved to see them grow together, to support each other and help each other fly. Those two are wonderful together and I felt with them, cheered them on, and worried a lot along the way. Oh, and I might have wanted to kick Anders sometimes...

Anders and Olivia are complex and complicated characters, both of them battling their own demons.
Whereas Anders is still trying to figure out his future and to find his place in the game and in his world, Olivia is dealing with the aftermath of a crippling depression that ruled her life for far too long. It hasn't been that long that she has fought her way back to life and at times she is still struggling. As someone who has first-hand experience with depression, I recognized much of myself in her. The author perfectly described the crippling feelings, the helplessness, and also the lack of understanding of those around you who never experienced anything like this and simply can't understand it.
This book is intense and honest and despite this serious topic, it is still a beautiful love story and we get to see Olivia reclaim her life bit by bit, step by step with Anders at her side who supports her.

I really loved this book and can't wait to read the next book in the series! 

🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

 

P.S. You might want to keep a glass of gin at hand when you read the book. 

It won't be a Dyer's Medallion but still - it will be gin.  😉

May McGoldrick Borrowed Dreams: Pennington Family (Scottish Dream Trilogy Book 1)

 

 

 

  

Borrowed Dreams

 (Scottish Dream Trilogy Book 1)

by

 May McGoldrick

 

Blurb

 From the USA Best Selling Author The first Book In a New Trilogy (Scottish Dream Trilogy)  Winner of the Holt Medallion for Best Historical Romance  THE PROPOSAL Driven to undo the evil wrought by her dead husband, Millicent Wentworth must find a way to save her estate and free the innocent people he enslaves. Her only hope is a marriage—in name only—to the notorious widower the Earl of Aytoun. THE GROOM Devastated by the tragic accident that killed his wife and left him gravely wounded, Lyon Pennington, fourth Earl of Aytoun, is tormented by the accusations that blame him for the catastrophe. Filled with despair, he lets his mother lure him into a marriage of convenience—for the sake of a good-hearted woman on the verge of financial ruin. THE DESIRE Under Millicent’s gentle gaze, Lyon begins to regain his strength and his wounded heart begins to heal. And soon Millicent discovers that beneath his unruly beard and grim demeanor, Lyon just may be the most handsome—and caring—man she’s ever encountered. For the first time in her life, she realizes that she is alive—alive with a smoldering desire for the one man she’ll love forever… Winner of Holt Medallion for Best Historical Romance Winner of Romantic Times Award for Best British-Set Historical Romance

 

 Review

 

 I just realized the other day that even though this is one of my alltime favorites, I never wrote a review for this amazing book. This is one of the books that feel like Comfort food for the soul to me and I read and reread it very often.

I love the characters, both of them have suffered so much and still they dare hope. Seeing Lyon and Millicent fall for each other and help each other heal, is something special that always touches my heart.

Set in the Highlands at the time of the Clearings, were whole families were left homeless and forced to leave their native land, this beautiful passionate book tells a story of compassion and healing and the power of love.

Seeing Millicent heal and take a chance at love, see her change because of love after everything she endured, never fails to move me. Her compassion for the former slaves in her employ, her fight for their rights and happiness as well as her love and compassion for them, make her even more precious. And when Lyon enters her life and you can feel how she is drawn to him despite her fears and insecurities and when he slowly, upturned dish by upturned dish, shattered glass by shattered glass comes to appreciate her compassion, her fire and sees her as the beautiful and strong young woman that she is - it still gets me, every time I read it.

Their love for each other and those around them is palpable and I love to read their personal story and about their personal growth but I also love that this story highlights a time that you don't read about very often. There are the Clearings and the consequences for the people working the lands on the one hand and slavery and it's cruelty on the other hand.

Slavery is not yet banned in England at the time where this book is set. This book doesn't sugarcoat anything but shows slavery as the cruel disgrace that it was. You learn about it in the characters' memories and in a rather factual way though, compassionate but still factual.

There are so many wonderful multi-layered and complex characters in this book, you care for each and every one of them deeply and they stay with you for a long time after you have closed the book.
I can't say how often I've read this book by now but Millicent and Lyon and all the others ar

ound them are friends that I love to visit often.

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Knight (Fae Games Book 2) by Karen Lynch

 Knight (Fae Games Book 2) 

by

Karen Lynch

Blurb

Jesse's adventures in bounty hunting continue.
Will she discover why her parents were taken?
Will she ever forgive Lukas and his men?
New dangers and intrigues await her because the Fae games are far from over

 Review

 Oh my god, I absolutely love this book! I've read it a couple of times already, now I'm waiting patiently... okay, kidding... impatiently for the audiobook to be released.

I've read all the books in the Relentless series by the author numerous times, read them, listened to them, petted the paperbacks (and the gorgeous hardback) lovingly... you know, that kind of book love.
So, naturally, I was thrilled (and a bit worried) when I started to read Pawn, the first book in the Fae Games series. The expectations were high but - the book was even better than I could have hoped for. An instant favorite, read and listened to far too many times by now to remember how often and now - Knight.

You should have read Pawn before you start reading Knight because Knight continues where Pawn ended - and I loved every minute of this book. Once again it kept me glued to my reader and, well, l can't even start to say what I loved best. If you fell in love with Finch in Pawn, you will love to meet him (and others) again in Knight. I was  constantly awww-ing and smiling goofily when reading about him and.... oops.

The story itself was captivating and I loved to see the different characters unfold and, yep, some groveling and making up for stupid actions may have been involved as well, just in case you were wondering.

The imaginative narrative, the well-developed and captivating plot and the authentic multi-layered characters as well as the amazing writing make this book and this whole series once again so special. And now I'm anxiously and very impatiently waiting for Queen, the final book in the trilogy!

 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Merry Christmas!