Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Linda Dooks’ Land of Opportunity, Book Three begins in New York in 1914, when war in Europe sends desperate mothers and their children through Ellis Island. Rose Blackwood has spent years helping newcomers establish themselves in America, but the numbers now overwhelm the charitable houses she supports with her friend Veronica Friedlander. With nowhere left to accommodate another family, Rose approaches the city's hotels, hoping to secure work that includes a place to live. Yet the crisis overseas is drawing ever closer to her own home. Her daughter Isabella, a nurse at the Women's Hospital, considers volunteering abroad, while her son Lucas serves in the United States Navy. As America tries to remain neutral, Rose is determined to give these families a future even as the war threatens the safety of her own children.

Linda Dooks’ Land of Opportunity follows women campaigning for the vote during the First World War. The author does a beautiful job with period details, breathing life into twentieth-century Manhattan. Rose is wonderfully likable, and there’s no question that she is formidable. The author develops her into a fully fleshed-out character, and her determination to help those in need is palpable. It’s no easy task, especially when facing instances like eight German children being left in the charity’s hands after the embassy refuses to accept them. My favorite character, however, is Battle Axe Annie, whose reputation precedes her even before she meets rival gang leader Mock Duck and drops a name-affirming weapon on the desk. The author shines in making New York a character in its own right, from descriptions of the Rhinelander Industrial School’s red-brick exterior in Yorkville to the Hotel Pennsylvania, where a barrel-vaulted stained-glass ceiling crowns the entrance. Intelligently written and immersive, readers interested in historical fiction will love this book.