I do not have this book as it was new to the platform and didn't know they expired. Will attempt to review if this ever gets added to Libby.

My favorite type of historical fiction books are ones that teach me about a subject in which I have no knowledge. Little Souls by Sandra Dallas did just that. I mean, did you learn much about the Spanish Flu in the US during WWI? I had no idea how it was so akin to COVID and all that we just experienced.

“Little Souls” refers to “…the poor, the homeless, the common people nobody ever notices. In truth, it applies to all of us. We’re all lost little souls.”

Sisters Helen and Lutie move to Denver, Colorado, in 1918, after both of their parents have died. Both get a job, boyfriends, and life is going well, until it isn’t. They fight to keep an orphaned young girl, Dorothy, as part of their family.

I LOVED that this book took place in Denver, Colorado. It was fun to picture the places that they talked about. I even learned that some places existed back then that I thought were more current, such as Elitch Gardens (which I now know opened in 1890). Sandra Dallas does a great job of creating characters that are believable. She not only focuses on the two main characters and their story line, but the sub-plots are just as interesting.

It was crazy to read about the Spanish Flu or “the influenza” as they referred to it in the book. It was like she used the same events as COVID. There were face masks, stores shutting down, people stopped hugging and doing handshakes. It was one of the deadliest times in American history. I probably found this book more interesting since I have lived through something similar now.

If you like books that take place in US history, you will enjoy this book. You can tell that Dallas did her research about a topic that isn’t talked a lot about in history classrooms.

I gave this book four out of five stars. I enjoyed the sister’s relationship, the romance, and the historical parts of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Griffin, and Sandra Dallas for a free copy of this book. This is my honest review.

3.5-4⭐️ I enjoyed Little Souls, but it took me some time to get into it and found it a bit predictable. But, Sandra Dallas did a great enough job with the character development & the sisters story that kept me interested enough that I wanted to keep reading.

Thank you, Netgalley, for a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Little Souls centers on two sisters from Iowa who moved to Denver around the height of the Spanish flu of 1918 and the trials and tribulations they faced. The sisters bought their own home thanks to a family windfall and rent to tenants in the basement. Due to some tragic and traumatic circumstances with the family downstairs, they take on a young tween girl as their "sister." There were MANY topics addressed in this novel, including prohibition, pandemic fear, abuse, period police investigative practices, romance, orphanages, the fashion industry, soldiers going to war, etc. There was really just too much going on in this one and it was written in such a way that it felt cozy and quaint, but then it attempted to deal with some really serious topics quite casually. I liked aspects of this story, but I think that it could use from refining to more effectively achieve its goal.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

As we are still fighting COVID and its effects on both health concerns and normal social activities, we can relate to the horrors of the worldwide Spanish Flu epidemic.

Sandra Dallas presents a very believable picture of Denver as World War I winds down and the flu takes its place as a major killer. Lutie and Helen are sisters who move to Denver from Iowa to begin life again after the deaths of their parents. They settle into their jobs and rent out the basement apartment to a couple and their daughter, Dorothy.

Dorothy's father is mysteriously murdered and the body is found in the house. The sisters have to prove their innocence and protect Dorothy.

I enjoyed following the characters as they dealt with the flu and loved ones fighting overseas. Lutie and Helen show extraordinary courage and ability dealing with the issues of the murder, the Spanish flu, and the position of women in a male-oriented society.

Helen and Lutie are sisters. They live together in a little house where they rent out the lower half/basement to a small family. Helen has a beau that is a dr and Lutie's beau is learning to be a pastor who enlists and leaves Lutie. When the mom of their renters dies they take care of Dorothy the small child but when Lutie comes home one night with a man murdered on her floor she isn't sure what to do. Then Dorothy no longer has a place to live, Lutie loses her love, the Spanish Flu is raging and now there are bad guys pounding on their door. This was a good book

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read this book and give my honest opinion. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would have. It feels very close to home with our country battling the covid and this being about the Spanish Flu.

Thank you Sandra Dallas and Netgalley for a really terrific read. I was hooked from the first page. The character development and the storyline were intriguing. I loved the sisters' relationship and their determination. As you read the story you can believe that the circumstances are possible. The twists at the end wrap it up nicely. I definitely recommend it.

I have enjoyed Sandra Dallas' previous works and was thrilled to have the chance to read and review this one.
The Spanish Influenza epidemic was a very real chapter in our history and this book brought home the effects of the epidemic and WWI on the people of Denver in 1918. Lutie is an artist working in advertising and her sister Helen is a nurse. They moved to Denver from Iowa and you watch their lives unfold in the new city. You watch as they work, date and fall in love. Lutie's fiance joins the military and goes to war while Helen and her Dr. friend work tirelessly to care for epidemic victims. You also get to know the family who rent the basement apartment from the sisters and the family of Lutie's fiance. You find yourself getting caught up in the circumstances and changes in the character's lives.
This was a well researched book and you feel like you become a part of the story as you get to know the characters so well. I will warn readers there is some child abuse depicted and kidnapping of a child. This book flowed very well and I finished it very quickly and enjoyed it very much.

Set during the Spanish Influenza epidemic in Denver, Colorado, the story follows sisters Helen and Lutie as they lean on each other through the ups and downs of their 20-something years. Helen is a nurse and Lutie is an illustrator for a department store. Their house has a separate apartment for tenents and they become embroiled in the drama of Dorothy Streeter's family.
Author Sandra Dallas tackles the gritty side of middle-class lives in this story. Set that on top of the Influenza impact plus WWI aftermath and you have a story with hard lines and big heart. There's a way forward for those who love and stretch the bounds of family.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. The story takes place during the 1918 pandemic and it drew me in from the beginning. The story took a turn and there were so many twists and turns that I did not see coming. It was not what I expected at all and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A story of family and truly dealing with past traumas. Definitely recommend!!!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. If you like WWI novels you might want to check this out. Beautiful cover.

I loved the beginning of this book set on the home front during WWI. The author did a wonderful job of showing what life was like for those left behind, wondering this their loved ones would survive the war or the influenza.

Unfortunately, about half way through the book it became disappointingly predictable. I could see what was going to happen a mile away. Also, I was never emotionally invested in any of the characters. I did finish the book, but I was quite dissatisfied considering how well the book began.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sandra Dallas is one author that I go to when I need a palate cleanse. Her novels always work the trick. The story line was easy to follow and a welcome relief from the mysteries I have been reading.

With this particular book I had to keep in mind that the background of this story was set in 1918 - a much different time than now. I find that Dallas brings a lot of relevant content to her novels, however she just seems to skim the surface and does not delve deeply into any one thing. She hit on the Spanish flu, World War I, child abuse, socioeconomic divisions and women's rights, but kept them all on a relatively superficial level concentrating more on the individual characters in the story. Which for me is okay, I usually like her characters.

Little Souls is a five star read. I was not familiar with Dallas’s writing and loved everything about it, the story’s flow, character interrelationships and real historical facts of what life was like during Spanish Flu. I look forward to reading more of her novels.

It was an interesting part of history and was good to read about it. It was a bit wordy. I like different history subjects and looked up more about this!

Very good book! It felt so real, after going through the pandemic we did! I definitely will recommend this book for any historical fiction lover!

... It means the poor, the hopeless, the common people nobody ever notices. In truth, it applies to all of us. We are all lost little souls in our own way.
—Sandra Dallas, Little Souls

Sisters Helen and Lutie move to Denver from Iowa after their parents’ deaths. Helen, a nurse, and Lutie, a carefree advertising illustrator at a fashionable women’s store, share a small home and rent out the basement apartment. But the epidemic hits hard. Schools are converted into hospitals, churches and funeral homes are closed, and horse-drawn wagons collect corpses left in the street. When their tenant dies from the flu, the sisters care for the woman’s young daughter, Dorothy. Soon after, Lutie comes home from work and discovers a dead man on their kitchen floor and Helen standing above the body, an icepick in hand. What the sisters discover is heart wrenching and disturbing on many levels. While Little Souls is peppered with tragedy, the message of hope permeates the sorrow.

First off, I adored the historical perspective Sandra Dallas provided about World War I and the Spanish Flu outbreak in Denver, details I’d not read elsewhere. In one scene, she used the term “blue devil” for those experiencing grief and/or depression. Isn’t that descriptive? The relationship between the sisters was a thing of beauty; they would have done anything for each other.

I sure wanted to like this book more. Unfortunately, I found it to be predictable and lacking in depth. I was shocked Dallas overused “that,” which is a rookie writing mistake. She’s far from a rookie: she is the New York Times best-selling author of fifteen adult novels, two young reader novels, and two non-fiction books. The writing was so saccharine I literally rolled my eyes a time or two, but the storyline itself was a winner. 3.5 stars.

Published Date: April 2022
Genre: Historical fiction
Read-alikes: As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner; The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue; The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for review copies of the eBook and audiobook. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This was a beautiful story of family and making your own destiny. The backdrop of the Spanish Influenza epidemic was very interesting. This book was heartbreaking and hopeful and I really enjoyed it. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!