Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Shadowed by Grace by Cara C. Putman (Review & Giveaway)

Publisher: B&H Books 
ISBN-13: 978-1433681783
About the book:  Desperate to save her dying mother, an American woman accepts her newspaper's assignment to travel to Italy where she takes photographs dangerously close to the front lines during World War II. But Rachel's real motive in this journey is to find the father she never knew, an artist she hopes can offer the comfort and support both she and her mother need to survive at such a desperate time.

In her quest, Rachel becomes involved with what will become the Monuments Men effort to save great monuments and works of art from the Third Reich. Soon enough she will find more than she ever imagined---in war, in love, and in God.

My thoughts:  I have read many historical fiction novels though few positioned during WWII and in the midst of the battles. So the opportunity to read Shadowed By Grace was appealing to me. The scene is Nazi occupied Italy and involves Grace, a news photographer charged with the responsibility to bring the heart of the war story to the world at large. But Grace is there primarily on a personal journey to find her never-before-seen father.
 

Raised by a single mother who was an art student in prewar WWI Italy, Grace’s mother never shared the birth of Grace with the father. Now Grace’s mother needs funds for life-saving medical treatment. Grace hopes to find her father and appeal to him.
 

Europe was home to centuries of art treasures that told the story of mankind and these treasures were in danger of being lost forever. The American government commissioned a group of service men called The Monuments Men and they were responsible for finding and securing for posterity these magnificent treasures. The Monuments Men were educated in the arts and knew the value of the pieces they sought out. But nefarious sources were also seeking the pieces. Some damaged by the war. Some safe from harm but not secure from thieves.

Grace was assigned to Monuments Men soldier, Scott. Together they did their part in WWII.  


I found Shadowed By Grace to be interesting from a historical standpoint as the author handled the WWII period of history accurately and graciously. I found the information about the effort to salvage and save the world’s art treasures  beyond interesting and compelling. I also believe the author’s title, Shadowed By Grace, to be two-fold in meaning. The heroine’s name was Grace, and she "shadowed" 
a Monuments Men;  and then the story of the outpouring of the Grace of God was told as well.

GIVEAWAY:  One of Chat With Vera's readers has the opportunity to get a free copy of Shadowed by Grace by simply using the Rafflecopter entry form below.  Open to continental USA addresses only. Begins January28 & ENDS February 17 @ 12:91 a.m. ET.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


About the author:
Cara C. Putman graduated high school at 16, college at 20, and completed her law degree at 27. The best-selling author of more than a dozen books, Cara is active in women's ministry at her church, teaches graduate courses at Purdue University, practices law, and is a homeschooling mom. She lives with her husband and 4 children in Indiana.  Visit Cara's website:   http://caraputman.com 


DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy  Shadowed By Grace from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. No compensation was received for this review. Opinions expressed are solely my own.

17 comments:

  1. Yes Vera, I do like the books about WW ll stories, for my oldest brother, 2 brother-in-laws, cousins, and lots of friends were in that war. Some never made it home. I would love to win Cara's book. Thanks for a chance. Maxie (mac262(at)me(dot)com

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  2. WWII is not an era of US history that I have read many books set in. I would love the chance to read Shadowed by Grace.

    pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  3. My grandparents met in Ireland where she lived during WWII. That's where they married. She came over to US a year and a half later .

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  4. My father was in World War II and my mother grew up during it so it gives me a chance to see where they were coming from.

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  5. I love history, although times of war don't appeal to me as much as learning about the everyday lives of people during "normal" times.

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  6. Yes, the war interests me and we had family who served in both World Wars and it is interesting to read about the history of the war and how people lived and coped during that time.

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  7. I find WWII stories intriguing because of my parents stories and a brother-in-law who flew bombers in the war.

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  8. It does appeal to me because my father served during World War ll.

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  9. My parents and I are from Germany and my mom experienced quite some trials in the war. I would love to read this book because I am a historian and also a daughter of those who lived this time in a war-torn country. Would love to win this book!

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  10. I enjoy reading books set during World War II and I am especially interested in reading this book.

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  11. Yes, WWII history does interest me. My grandfather was in the navy during WWII. I wish I had gotten him to talk more about it.

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  12. I'm not a history buff but my mom is. She majored in history but has been an elementary school teacher for 40 years. I'd love to win this book for her. She'd love it!

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  13. I am not the history buff in my family, my husband is. I would still love the chance to read Cara's book and share it with my husband.

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  14. I tend to read a lot of books about the Holocaust. It may be due to the fact that when Hitler occupied Denmark, my grandfather and one of my uncles was put in prison.

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  15. Yes it does. I find history fascinating, my grandfather was a paratrooper in WW ll, I remember him telling stories about it.

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  16. I'm a history buff and most of the war eras appeal to me. I like hearing stories of how everyone back home struggled to get by but still helped each other out as well as the war effort. I also wrote a paper on the holocaust and asked a lady that works at the Holocaust museum for some info. Turns out she had a special contact named Miep Gies! I was in middle school at the time and was thrilled when I recieved info passed along from her.

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  17. Yes it does, I love history and I think we go on with our own lives not realizing what others went through - sandra manning

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