Subscribe via RSS Feed

Category: Historical

Review: The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden

[ 1 ] May 14, 2012

Reviewed by Meg Massey

Libby Sawyer and her father are stunned when a Romanian man named Michael Dobrescu overtakes their home, claiming that he owns it. Libby soon learns that Michael claims to be a descendant of the previous owner, and that he and his family were never notified of his uncle’s death.

Libby finds herself in a predicament as the novel continues, and not just because she’s no longer living in her own home. She soon finds herself growing more and more attracted to Michael, and the more she learns about him, the more she disagrees with her father that Michael and his family are imposters. As the court case to decide the fate of the house looms closer, Libby must decide if she sides with Michael and his family, or the father she’s never really understood.

The Rose of Winslow Street is a delightful historical, Christian fiction novel by librarian Elizabeth Camden. In the beginning of the novel, Libby is a young woman living with a shameful secret, and by the novel’s close, she had matured into a woman who knows what she wants, with the gumption to get it. And Michael is a man who often makes mistakes with his words, but always knows how to encourage and show love to those he cares for. My only complaint is that it ended too quickly!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Meg lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Ryan. Library professional by day, freelance writer by night, Meg writes about life, entertainment and everything in between on her blog.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Bethany House. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: The Courtesan’s Lover by Gabrielle Kimm

[ 3 ] May 7, 2012

Reviewed by Colleen Turner

Francesca Felizzi, the beautiful, quick-witted and caring courtesan we first met in Gabrielle Kimm’s novel, His Last Duchess, is back and center stage in The Courtesan’s Lover.

Two years have passed since she ran from the Duke of Ferrara and her life as his paid mistress, taking their twin daughters with her. Francesca is now enjoying the life of a well-paid courtesan in Napoli. She has two houses: one for her life with her daughters and one for her work. She has all the money she could need and is able to live an opulent, lascivious life on her own terms. She gives her body to her patrons in any manner of lewd ways and entertains patrons who can be quite brutal. But, she is paid very highly to do so and has always been able to keep her heart her own and stay in control of what happens behind closed doors. No matter what, she strives to keep the end goal in mind: to keep her daughters innocent of her work and to ensure that they will never have to sell themselves to survive.

When her services are paid for to deflower a young man named Gianni Della Rovere, he shows Francesca a touch of kindness she isn’t used to and she begins to long for someone who would truly love her. Out with another patron and disguised as his virtuous, widowed cousin, she meets Gianni’s father, Luca, and they share an instant attraction that shocks them both. She knows she wants him more than any other man and must do whatever it takes to try and make a life with him. But Luca is not the sort of man who would want a courtesan and she will have to give up the life that has helped her to survive all these years. But even when she gives up that life, will he accept her tainted reputation?

As Francesca’s lies about her life become too much and she resolves to tell Luca the truth, her life, and the lives of her daughters, are put in jeopardy by her past. She now must not only tell Luca the truth but enlist him to help her save her family. Will he be able to forgive her? And will she ever be able to be anything other than a courtesan?

I absolutely adored His Last Duchess and was so excited to read The Courtesan’s Lover. Gabrielle Kimm does not disappoint and this book is juicy, dramatic and thoroughly enticing. Readers who tend to shy away from sexualized stories may feel uncomfortable with some passages but I found that Kimm was able to communicate the bawdy parts of the story without being vulgar. While there are a few characters that I thought could have been left out of the story to condense its length, everyone served a purpose and all details were neatly wrapped up by the end.

The book stands alone from His Last Duchess but I would definitely recommend reading both books because they are both wonderful. If you like racy but well written historical fiction you can’t go wrong with either.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Colleen lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband, son, their dog Oliver and their fish Finn. When not working or taking care of her family she has her nose stuck in a book (and, let’s face it, often when she is working or taking care of her family as well). Nothing excites her more than discovering a new author to obsess over or a hidden jewel of a book to worship.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Sourcebooks Landmark. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: The Train of Small Mercies by David Rowell

[ 4 ] April 30, 2012

Reviewed by Colleen Turner

The Train of Small Mercies by David Rowell tells the story of what happened on June 8th, 1968 as Senator Robert Kennedy’s funeral train made its procession from New York to Washington, D.C., not from the perspective of the Kennedy family but from that of six ordinary people along the train’s route. Each person, while in no way connected, has a shared purpose of not only moving the train along its path but of highlighting the good and bad of America at this volatile time.

Lionel Chase begins his first day as a train porter in New York aboard the funeral train for Robert Kennedy, trying desperately to get through this day as his own problems coalesce with those of the nation. Jamie West, having recently returned home to Maryland from Vietnam after losing a leg, is struggling, along with his family, to adjust to the changes his experiences and injury brings. Edwin Rupp wants nothing more than to celebrate his new pool, what he hopes will bring a return to his more carefree days with his wife, but feels the senator’s train will cast a shadow as it moves through Delaware. Young Michael Colvert in New Jersey is trying to get back to normal and watch the train go by with his friends as he, and his mother, try to recover from the trauma of Michael’s dad kidnapping him after their divorce. In Pennsylvania Deloris King, feeling continually more dissatisfied with her life, decides to go against her husband’s wishes and take her young daughter to see the train go by, not knowing that her web of lies will have devastating consequences to her daughter. And Maeve McDerdon, in Washington, D.C. to interview for a nanny position for Robert Kennedy’s soon to be born child, finds this new prospect dashed and begins wondering if she should begin to explore her love of storytelling that she had long suppressed after her beloved father’s death.

What I liked most about The Train of Small Mercies was the way the author used these seemingly ordinary people to show not only how devastated the nation was about Senator Kennedy’s death but how turbulent the country was at that time. It deals with the aftermath and protests against the Vietnam War, issues with freedom and equality for all people, regardless of race, gender or class and the continued rollercoaster of trying to find solid ground in an ever changing environment. Some people seemed to long for the simpler times while others had a renewed sense that maybe it was possible to start over and make a better life for themselves. The funeral train seemed to bring all walks of life together in one collective day of mourning, even if for only a short time.

Barely touching the surface of these characters’ lives, I wish the author had written more about each character and given a more finished aspect to each storyline. Some of the stories felt barely explored and none ended with any sense of closure. This could be the author’s purpose, giving a quick glimpse into the American life and then letting the people move on unobserved, but I would have enjoyed finding out where these characters went when the train rolled past.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Colleen lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband, son, their dog Oliver and their fish Finn. When not working or taking care of her family she has her nose stuck in a book (and, let’s face it, often when she is working or taking care of her family as well). Nothing excites her more than discovering a new author to obsess over or a hidden jewel of a book to worship.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Putnam Adult. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Giveaway: Helen Keller in Love by Rosie Sultan

[ 44 ] April 30, 2012

Enter to win a copy of Helen Keller in Love by Rosie Sultan!

About the book

Sultan, fascinated by Helen Keller since she was eight years old, was inspired by a brief note found in the Helen Keller Archives at the American Foundation for the Blind in a file labeled “Peter Fagan.” The note, from Fagan’s grown daughter, read: “I remember my father…showing us a lovely photograph of you, and beneath it a penciled note in your handwriting…I would certainly appreciate it very much if you remember him and would care to send me whatever recollections you have of him.” Helen never wrote back.

Helen Keller in Love begins when Helen is in her thirties and Annie Sullivan falls too ill to keep up with their grueling schedule on the lecture circuit. Annie’s estranged husband, John Macy, sends a young, ambitious reporter named Peter Fagan to step in as Helen’s private secretary. Their interactions—signing into hands and lip-reading with hands and fingers—soon blossoms into the full-fledged romance for which Helen has long yearned.

Finally liberated from the physical and moral constraints she has been forced to live under, Helen and Peter find their affair met with stern disapproval from both Annie and Helen’s family. With Helen already struggling to maintain crowds at her events and cash in her accounts, her new relationship ratchets up tension between those she holds most dear, most keenly with Annie Sullivan, the guide who led her journey from darkness to light.

A captivating love story of triumph and imaginative sympathy, Helen Keller in Love takes us into the mind and heart of an American icon.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

View Post

Review: The Three Colonels by Jack Caldwell

[ 3 ] April 27, 2012

Reviewed by Meg Massey

Colonels Buford, Fitzwilliam, and Brandon are three men in the midst of courtship or early marriage with three beloved Austen heroines. Romance is the rule of the day, until Napoleon escapes from exile in Elba, and draws all of Europe into chaos. Suddenly these three men find themselves heading back into battle, and Caroline, Anne and Marianne find themselves struggling with the possibility of losing those they love.

Jack Caldwell’s The Three Colonels is a refreshing continuation of Austen’s beloved Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility. Caldwell creates a storyline in which our favorite characters from both novels, like Elizabeth and Marianne, become friends and interact regularly. We also see a wonderful transformation in Caroline Bingley, and a change in her relationship with the Darcys and the Bennet sisters.

In addition to Caldwell’s believable characterizations, this novel features action-packed battle scenes at Waterloo and the growth of romances that we never would have thought possible. In short, The Three Colonels is the ideal read for Austen fans, and one of the most enjoyable Austen sequels I’ve read in a long time.

Warning: This novel does contain some sexual content.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Meg lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Ryan. Library professional by day, freelance writer by night, Meg writes about life, entertainment and everything in between on her blog.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Sourcebooks Landmark. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli

[ 3 ] April 24, 2012

Reviewed by Alysia George

Characters from several generations combine their voices and stories to form the epic novel Glow, by Jessica Maria Tuccelli. Their personal histories run amidst the days of slavery, the Civil War, the turn of the 20th century, and all the way up to the time just before World War II. Turn by turn, they tell of love, heartache, family, social injustice, and supernatural gifts.

In 1941, a young girl named Ella is sent on a train to Georgia but never reaches her destination. She is attacked and left on the side of the road, where two old women find her and take her home. When Ella’s mother, back in Washington D.C., realizes something is amiss, she heads back to her hometown in Georgia to find her daughter and get to the bottom of the situation. As she travels south she is immersed in memories of her childhood. Here the book starts shifting, chapter by chapter, between Ella’s point of view and her mother Amelia’s.

Pretty soon Willie Mae Cotton, one of the women who rescues Ella, begins a narrative of her own. A few other characters have the chance to tell their stories as well. This could get confusing quickly, especially because the chapters dip and maneuver throughout 100 years of history, but the beginning of each chapter is labeled with the name of the character who is currently in the narrator seat. Also there is a very helpful family tree at the beginning of the book, which I referred to frequently as I read.

Glow is rich in southern history and character detail. Reading about topics such as slavery and Ku Klux Klan lynchings from several different view points provides a unique vantage point. Because there are several narrators, all from the same town and dealing with the same families throughout different points in history, the reader gains a better understanding of the bigger picture. This is a book that requires diligent attention, but it’s worth the effort.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Alysia lives in Metro Detroit with her husband and four children. She writes about family life, parenting issues, and other things of interest to her on her blog, Michigal.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Viking Adult. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: Empress of the Seven Hills by Kate Quinn

[ 2 ] April 19, 2012

Reviewed by Colleen Turner

Corruption, honor, war, love, loyalty, power…these topics and many more are tackled in Empress of the Seven Hills, the newest novel of Rome by Kate Quinn. You hear the term “action packed” used to describe many books but this is one of the few times I have actually read a book and thought it fit. Tipping the scales at 500 pages it was hard to put down as the excitement and intrigue just kept going, resulting in a cliff hanger ending that left me seething about having to wait to find out what happens next.

The story is told in alternating narratives between four very compelling characters – Sabina, a much loved senator’s daughter with a determination all her own; Vix, the gruff ex-gladiator returning to Rome to conquer the city that nearly killed him as a child; Titus, a young nobleman from a respected family that is honest and practical and longs for nothing more than an uneventful life; and Plotina, the plotting, nasty wife of Emperor Trajan that will stop at nothing to see her protégé, Hadrian, become Emperor after her husband. Each character has a very distinct voice that helps the reader get into their frame of mind, whether that is a wonderful self-deprecating humor (as with Titus) or a delusional fantasy world (as with Plotina). The one thing that seems to unite all of these characters is their individual determination to have the life and future they want, regardless of what others around them have planned.

Sabina wants nothing more than to be free to travel the world and do what she wishes. She is the daughter of a respected nobleman, however, and therefore is a prime asset on the marriage market. Titus is her youngest suitor and, despite his love for Sabina, they are destined to become nothing more than lifelong friends. Plotina plots to marry Sabina to Hadrian, her cold and calculating favorite, in the hopes that the love and familial bonds between Sabina and Emperor Trajan will lead to Hadrian being named as the heir to the throne. While Sabina does not love Hadrian, his apparent yearning to see the world makes him seem as good a choice as any and she agrees to his proposal. Vix, a guard in the senator’s home and Sabina’s lover, is angered by the match and decides to launch a career in the military and make a name for himself to rival his past. As their lives advance, twining together and moving apart throughout, they all seem set on the paths they’ve chosen. That is until Emperor Trajan dies and their lives change in an instant. Now all of them with face new challenges and their futures are anything but clear.

I am so excited to see where these characters will be going in the next installment. My favorite character by far was Titus and the new romance he begins to develop towards the end of Empress of the Seven Hills has me itching to read more. Kate Quinn is definitely an author I will be keeping an eye on and I am excited to go back and read her previous two novels, Mistress of Rome and Daughters of Rome.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Check out Kate Quinn’s guest post

Colleen lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband, son, their dog Oliver and their fish Finn. When not working or taking care of her family she has her nose stuck in a book (and, let’s face it, often when she is working or taking care of her family as well). Nothing excites her more than discovering a new author to obsess over or a hidden jewel of a book to worship.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Berkley Trade. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Butterfly’s Child by Angela Davis-Gardner

[ 52 ] April 17, 2012

Please join Angela Davis-Gardner, author of Butterfly’s Child, as she tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours! 

Don’t forget to enter to win a copy below.

Reviewed by Vera Pereskokova 

Three-year-old Benji is the product of a love affair between a geisha, Cio-Cio (Butterfly), and a U.S. Naval Officer, Frank Pinkerton. Benji has never met his father since Pinkerton left Japan before his birth and is not even aware of his existence.

When Pinkerton finally returns to Nagasaki after a three year absence, Benji is taken away from everything and everyone he has ever known, bound for the U.S. with Pinkerton and his young American wife, Kate. The couple lives on a farm in rural Illinois and to save themselves the embarrassment, they tell everyone that Benji is an orphan they found on their trip – albeit a blond one with a resemblance to Frank.

As he grows up, Benji struggles to adapt to his new surroundings and to find acceptance – not only with his peers but even within his own “adopted” family. When the secret behind his lineage is finally brought to light, it rocks the already dysfunctional family, but also affords Benji the trip he has dreamed of since he was brought to the U.S. – one that takes him back to Nagasaki and reveals the truth behind his mother’s tragic fate.

Just like Madame Butterfly before it, Butterfly’s Child is a tragic tale, but it’s one that will keep you turning pages in hopes of a better future for Benji. It’s a tale of love gone wrong, and of an innocent child caught up in the thoughtless actions of adults around him. Pinkerton was a young man on the prowl when he met Cio-Cio and was thrust into fatherhood when he least expected it. Kate is longing to have a child of her own and is forced to care for a young boy who only reminds her of her husband’s big love. And while most adults – Pinkerton, his mother, and Kate – are at times very unlikable, Davis-Gardner’s skillful writing also makes it easy to see things from their perspective.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Dial Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Related Posts with Thumbnails
View Post
Page 1 of 2412345...1020...Last »