Series Ender
This book is the last in the series of three. It does not stand alone well. The new reader will not enjoy it to the extent of a reader who has read the previous stories. Part of this book is fun, interesting, and quite enjoyable. I would guess that these parts would be 'new territory' for the series. The other half of the book tends to refer to things that are not part of this book. They are the 'completer chapters' that give the final, top dressing, to the story. All they serve for the new reader is to make me realize there is something that these chapters refer to in the previous books that needed to be told in this timeline. Truly weird at best for the new reader. I would say that this series needs to be read in order. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Talk about a riveting book! The third and last in the Beneath the Alders trilogy, it reads like a non-fiction book in ways, as though the main character, Jessie Stephens, experienced these events herself. The author explains she based some characters and events on true ones. The amount of research must have been staggering.

Set in Ontario during the years of 1918-1931 we follow Jessie as she navigates her life, experiences the Spanish flu, loses people she loves including the dreaded "sincerely regret" letter during the war and copes with frustrating family problems as well as personal issues. The parallels of the flu and our current covid pandemic are interesting to read about. Jessie is desperate to follow her passion of becoming a dentist as her father did. But in that era men were unbendingly aghast at that idea so she feels restricted. Her life takes different twists and turns as circumstances change. Rather than giving up, Jessie utilizes her skills and talents in ways she wouldn't have dreamed of. One of my favourite parts of the book is the European trip. My mom and I did similar!

General fiction and women's fiction fans ought to read this lovely book. I like that it feels so real and relatable. Its appeal is its uniqueness, too.

My sincere thank you to Blue Moon Publishers and NetGalley for the privilege of reading the e-ARC of this engaging book!