Recommended Reads: Fireworks Over Toccoa

Recommended Reads: Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff (FIC STE)

This is a great book from a first time author. Set in Georgia near the end of World War II, Southern belle Lily awaits the return of her husband who she hasn't seen in three years. One day, she meets Jake, a pyrotechnics specialist and soon Lily is torn between her husband Paul and her love for Jake. Reminiscent of The Bridges of Madison County and The Notebook, this love story is a perfect light read.

Recommended Reads: Alice I Have Been

Recommended Reads: Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin (FIC BEN)

Curious about the real Alice in Wonderland? This entrancing novel brings to life the girl (and woman) behind the story. Narrated in the first person by Alice Liddell Hargreaves, the book recounts her life from her childhood in Oxford (where she forms a friendship with Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll) through a romance with Queen Victoria's youngest son, and later marriage and motherhood. Her struggle to forge her own identity beyond that of Carroll's Alice is a gripping one. A wonderful blend of literary mystery, romance, and coming of age story, Alice I Have Been is an enthralling tale.

Recommended Reads: La's Orchestra Saves the World

Recommended Reads: La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith (FIC MCC)

La (short for Lavender) Stone tells us her story from the World War II while she is in England. La settles in a small town. She seeks diversions from the war and she decides to start an orchestra. She draws musicians from the town and a local RAF base. Feliks, a Polish refugee, becomes her prized recruit. Will La's orchestra save the world? Read it and find out for yourself.