*Sings in A minor to my Russian Blue cat using an operatic voice, “Why? Whhhhyyy didn’t I love this book- the book release of my obsession!?!?”* When I saw the cover of A.G. Howard’s newest novel, The Architect of Song, I instantly coveted it. So, obviously, I was thrilled when I received a digital ARC for review. Despite my excitement for the novel, I made sure not to raise any ridiculous expectations that might ruin […]
Belle Époque Paris. Three words that will sell me on a book in a heartbeat. The opulence of fashion and architecture. The richness of artistic and intellectual life. The idea of “The Salon” and sparkling soirees that lasted until the morning sun lit the sky a color to match the Perrier Jouet in party-goers crystal flutes. BELLE EPOQUE PARIS. YES. The setting of Girl in the Afternoon lived up to my expectations of Paris […]
I enjoyed this story for the rich bits of history and biography revealed through long-lost discovered correspondence and the two main narrators of the story. The most entertaining character in the book was The Duchess of Marlborough, who tries her hardest to deny that she is, indeed, the duchess. The story does some time hopping as each chapter reveals another piece of the puzzle concerning the duchess and the main female protagonist’s parentage. The pacing […]
Check out my review of Jennifer Laam’s The Secret Daughter of the Tsar HERE. Catherine Zeta-Jones as Catherine the Great 1995 I enjoyed Laam’s debut, The Secret Daughter of the Tsar, and this follow up did not disappoint. Straddling the worlds of 18th century and 21st century Russia, the author bravely tackles some complex political and cultural issues that very much resonate with topics that are flooding American headlines today. It was absolutely genius how […]
Мать Россия!!! A little bird told me something. That Historians secretly love to read alternate histories. I’m here to qualify that secret. We love to read well-written and believable alternate histories. The Secret Daughter of the Tsar almost made me want to change my focus of study as a historian-in-training, and that is saying a lot. These days, I am lucky to finish a book in a week. I finished this one in a few […]
A fantastic and fun middle-grade fantasy. The Secrets of Solace will inspire those who read it to observe the world around them with curious and magical minds. I wish I would have reviewed this book before Easter so I could have shared this piece of advice: This is the PERFECT book to add to your child’s or favorite friend’s Easter Basket. It’s such a fun book about finding cultural treasures and preserving them. It’s also […]
Cat Winters takes a brave look into the under belly of the post WWI cultural climate in America and teaches you about all of the things you never learned in history class. History buffs and Shakespeare fanatics will want to add a “Cat Winters Collection” space to their bookshelves. Title: THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY Author: Cat Winters Pub. Date: March 8, 2016 Publisher: Amulet Books Format: Hardcover, eBook Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’ […]
” What if British Magic kept the American Revolution from ever occurring?” The premise of this book is pretty amazing. My synapses salivate at the thought of how Shanna Swendson conjured this story question. There are two story worlds in this novel. One is out in the open, filled with proper aristocrats and those who wish they were. The other is clandestine, filled with working-class folk who walk on the radical side. I loved how […]
The Last Midwife was the most scandalous Western Mystery I have ever read. I LOVED it. By the late 19th century, women like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were making a name for themselves in the first Women’s Suffrage movement and Gynecology had just been professionalized. Where women’s care and the delivery of their babies had previously been left up to midwives, the culture was changing as men crowned themselves Gynecologists and cursed […]
You can find my reviews of C.J. Archer’s Freak House series HERE and her stand alone novel, Surrender, HERE. Don’t forget to ENTER to WIN at the bottom! Victorian Era London, England ATTENTION POLDARK FANS: You will LOVE the dynamic between the Female and Male protagonists in this novel. I wish I could buy stock in C.J. Archer. Once again, she’s blown me away with the start of another great series, The Ministry of Curiosities. […]
You can check out my review of the first book in this series, Flappers, Flasks and Foul Play HERE. “”Boardwalk Empire” meets “Miss Universe” in 1927 Galveston, Texas-the “Sin City of the Southwest.” Jasmine (“Jazz”) Cross is an ambitious 21-year-old society reporter for the Galveston Gazette who wants to be taken seriously by the good-old-boy staff, but the editors only assign her fluffy puff pieces, like writing profiles of bathing beauties.” Here’s a fun alternate […]
In the latest from Paula Brackston, a young artist goes to the Welsh mountains in search of love, but is faced with ancient legends and a mysterious man from the past – Merlin himself. You can find my reviews of other Paula Brackston novels HERE. All I have to do is see Paula Brackston’s name on a novel and know that I’m going to love it. Her writing is so rich and engrossing, and as […]
I discovered Ellen Mansoor Collier’s Jazz Age Mystery series while doing some Historical research of my own, and by God, I feel like I struck gold, babies! GOLD! We’ve all read the 1920s Historical Fiction set in New York, Chicago, Paris, New Orléans, but I never would have thought about experiencing the Jazz Age via Galveston, Texas until I read Flappers Flasks, and Foul Play. To be honest (I admit with my head hung […]