Only the Beautiful | 
pickI enjoyed the first half about Rosie more than the second half about Helen. Every other chapter time shifts & I enjoyed the “now“ more than the “before“ chapters. Set in Sonoma Valley, it was fun to read about the descriptions of the vineyard. I would read more of the author's novels when I'm in the mood for historical fiction. The main character has synesthesia which reminded me of YA novel A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass.
pickOh I really loved this emotional, heart-breaking audiobook. I couldn‘t stop listening to it! With two narrators sections dealing with past & present, the book opens with Rosie, 17, orphaned & pregnant, on her way to what she thought was a home for mothers but is instead a hospital with a much darker mission. Helen, a nanny in Austria for a family with a disabled child is among the first to see the truth of the Nazi regime. Keep the tissues handy!
If you haven‘t read this book yet, you MUST get it in paperback.
FULL CELEBRATION AND REVIEW HERE: https://tinyurl.com/3arhnpsm
@susanmeissnerauthor
@penguinrandomhouse
Thank you @bookbrowse for the book discussion win!!
@berkleypub
@susanmeissnerauthor
pickGod this story was heartbreaking and beautiful!!! All of Susan Meissner‘s historical fiction novels are amazing and this is right up at the top. I won‘t give too much away, but I will say that it deals with eugenics around the time of WWII, including in America which I hadn‘t really read about before, as well as what makes a family. Just so much loss and hope and tenderness! Ahhh I loved it! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
pickMeissner never disappoints and this might be my favorite of hers! So beautifully and hauntingly told… this is a book that will stay with me for some time to come!
pickFirst book of 2024! This book took me a few weeks to read but only because I am, unfortunately, easily distracted. However, I finished the whole second half of this book in the last 24 hours. At first I was going to give it 4.5 stars but by the ending I'm giving it 5. Susan Meissner never disappoints!
Topics in this book:
-Synthesia
-Eugenics
-Adoption
-WW2
Up next on audio! 🎧
Our January book club pick…we meet early this month, so I needed to get a jump on it!
#bookspinbingo
pickI read this book as part of a bookclub I belong to. I feel it was a perfect pick for our club. The story touched on so many different topics, some I knew little about. One is these topics is eugenics. Another is synesthesia. I liked the main characters, Rosie and Helen. This isn‘t the first book I‘ve read by this author, and it won‘t be the last. I recommend this book, especially to those who love historical fiction, like me!
“A book is always in many places at once. That is its singular wonder. A book takes one voice speaking and makes it many. A book can shine far brighter and longer than I ever could on my own.”
— Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner
https://a.co/2iBLbh1
#bookmail #bookmailisthebestmail #justtherightbook#rjjuliabooksellers #coverlove
Yay! This gorgeous book arrived today in the mail from RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT. After filling out an online form that assesses your taste in books, you are matched with a book. Through this program I receive a book 6x a year.
pick𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀
𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 by 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐫 is impeccably researched, wrenching, but hopeful. Meissner illustrates the parallels between the US eugenics movement & Hitler's early quest to create a “master race“ by exterminating persons with disabilities. With reproductive rights at the center of debate, the story is timely. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸: https://tinyurl.com/2fwxx8c4
I read my first Susan Meissner book several years ago and was hooked. I'll read any that she writes now and have a few to get too. I do so look forward to each one. My journey started with A FALL OF MARIGOLDS. It was the best book I read that year. I also read THE LAST YEAR OF THE WAR and THE NATURE OF FRAGILE THINGS. Each of these books were excellent.
I highly recommend this book. It's that good.
Full review: tinyurl.com/4rrjfypd
pickHISTORICAL FICTION - WWII
WOW - another beautiful read by Susan Meissner!!
ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL is another marvelous, marvelous read that fans will not want to miss and one I didn‘t want to put down.
Enjoy, and have some tissues ready!!
Have you read books by this author?
Her books are always amazing!!
FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/mryd57jt
@susanmeissnerauthor
@berkleypub
pickFull review and a recipe that matches the book: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/04/17/unwavering-devotion-in-unyielding-t...
Set around the time of World War II, Only the Beautiful addresses the horrors of the eugenics movement. Meissner draws an uncomfortable parallel between the United States' practice of sterilizing women who were deemed “dangerous” and what the Nazis were doing to disabled people.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK!!
FULL REVIEW WILL BE ON APRIL 19.
WOW!!
ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL is another marvelous, marvelous read by Susan Meissner that fans will not want to miss and one I didn‘t want to put down.
Enjoy, and have some tissues ready!! 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
@susanmeissnerauthor
@berkleypub
