Annie's Stories by Cindy Thomson (Review)

• Series: Ellis Island
• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (June 20, 2014)
• ISBN-13: 978-1414368450

The year is 1901, the literary sensation The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is taking New York City by storm, and everyone wonders where the next great book will come from. But to Annie Gallagher, stories are more than entertainment—they’re a sweet reminder of her storyteller father. After his death, Annie fled Ireland for the land of dreams, finding work at Hawkins House.

But when a fellow boarder with something to hide is accused of misconduct and authorities threaten to shut down the boardinghouse, Annie fears she may lose her new friends, her housekeeping job . . . and her means of funding her dream: a memorial library to honor her father. Furthermore, the friendly postman shows a little too much interest in Annie—and in her father’s unpublished stories. In fact, he suspects these tales may hold a grand secret.

Though the postman’s intentions seem pure, Annie wants to share her father’s stories on her own terms. Determined to prove herself, Annie must forge her own path to aid her friend and create the future she’s always envisioned . . . where dreams really do come true.

 My Review:

This was an okay Christian historical fiction book. It is the second book in the Ellis Island series. It can stand alone although some characters repeat and you see more of their story. The focus of this story is Annie and Stephen. Annie comes over from Ireland from bad circumstances and becomes the housekeeper for a small boardinghouse. Stephen is the postman for that route. He admires her from the beginning and flirts each time he sees her. She is not interested and is still recovering from her recent past drama. The romance does not quite ring true and the characters fall a little flat. The plot was interesting. It is set right when the Wizard of Oz comes out and they are both readers. Annie's father was a travel story teller in Ireland and left her a stack of stories he wrote. There are two mysteries that come together in the end and a twist. I liked the first book Grace's Pictures and look forward to reading the next book in the series.





 I'm a full-time writer dedicated to telling the legacy left to us by those went before.

I write historical fiction, genealogy-related articles, history articles, and short stories. I'm also a baseball fan. My favorite team is the Cincinnati Reds, but I have a soft spot for the Cubs who haven't won a World Series since my cousin pitched for them in 1908.