To Stand in the Breach

Title: To Stand in the Breach

Series: Strike to the Heart #0.5

Author: Danielle Grandinetti

Publisher: Hearth Spot Press

Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Mystery

Source: JustRead Publicity Tours

My Review:

To Stand in the Breach is a debut novella by Danielle Grandinetti. The series will continue with A Strike to the Heart coming April 2022. The stories are centered around the Magdalene Laundries and the Wisconsin dairy strikes of 1933.

I love the cover of this novella, it represents the story well. While I normally feel that novellas are too short, this story had good depth to it and read like a full-sized novel. I enjoyed learning about this time in history as I had never heard about it before. I can appreciate that Katy is a veterinarian trying to make her way during turbulent times. Not only is she dealing with her past, but having to learn to trust, while making her way in a male-dominated field, during the Wisconsin dairy strikes.

While the story talked about Katy and Lily being best friends that had very few interactions in the book. Katy interacted more with Lily's twin brother, Joey. I am a reader who enjoys more dialogue than lots of details and I would have enjoyed this story having more dialogue. It had a lot of details, but I felt it was missing some details that I would have liked. For instance, more time devoted to Katy and Lily's friendship.

To Stand in the Breach was a quick read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Thank you to JustRead Publicity Tours for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

★★★/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

She came to America to escape a workhouse prison, but will the cost of freedom be too high a price to pay?

1933, Wisconsin - Large animal veterinarian Katy Wells takes her patients’ welfare personally, so it’s no surprise when she stands up to angry farmers planning a milk strike or takes in an injured draft horse to save its life. But after a visitor from the past discovers her location and reveals a threat, she must choose between her work and her freedom, and whether to trust a man to keep her safe.

To Stand in the Breach is the prequel novella to A Strike to the Heart.