Book Review: Ashley's War, The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

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Ashley's War:  The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is a non-fiction book published in April 2015.  The story follows several women and their quest to become the first women to be in combat along the Green Berets and Army Rangers. This is a book that was selected in my workplace for discussion between women and/or veterans.  The book discussion was broken into three parts much like how the story was broken up.  It garnered great conversations. Some of the things that happened in the book didn't surprise me, such as how physically demanding the tryouts were to be part of the special operations.  It's a demanding job that requires people to be not only physically strong but mentally strong.     What did shock me was that it took the military so long to allow women to fight along men on the battlefield.  Another thing that astonished me were how accepting most of the men in the Army Rangers were of the women fight
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Book Review: The Family Upstairs (The Family Upstairs, #1) by Lisa Jewell

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book review the family upstairs lisa jewell

The Family Upstairs (The Family Upstairs, #1) by Lisa Jewell is told from different characters with the main storyline being told by the character Libby Jones, who receives a letter on her twenty-fifth birthday, one that she's been waiting for her entire life. This letter reveals the identity of Libby's biological parents and that she has inherited their mansion, but others have been waiting for this day as well.

This novel was exceptionally well written and kept me intrigued from page one until the very end. It had a similar vibe that many of V.C. Andrews' early books have but written for an adult audience, and I loved that about Lisa Jewell's The Family Upstairs.

Another thing I enjoyed about The Family Upstairs is it's told from the point of view of three different characters. At first, I was a bit confused from the different viewpoints, but my confusion didn't last too long. I also relished the fact that it alternated from the present and the past. Not all authors can do this well, but Lisa Jewell knocked it out of the park.

I do have to give you a trigger warning . . . there is one scene that deals with one of the characters being raped. Another scene deals with a cat being killed and mutilated, which upset me terribly being a cat lover. If you find these subject areas difficult to read about, this may not be the book for you.

All in all, I enjoyed The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell. This was the first book I read by Lisa Jewell, and it definitely won't be the last. I gave it five out of five stars. If you liked this book, I recommend Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, #1) by V.C. Andrews.


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