Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts

Monday, June 26, 2017

Summer Reads: The Captain's Daughter by Jennifer Delamere


Bethany House; 348 pages; Buy Link; Blog Tour

Now available from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group, is the historical romance The Captain's Daughter, book one in the London Beginnings series, by Jennifer Delamere.

The novel begins at Dartmoor Coast, England in 1873, where a seventeen-year-old Rosalyn Bernay finds herself leaving the orphanage that she has called home for many years. She's also leaving behind her two sisters, Julia and Cara. Now considered an adult, she must venture into the world to find her place, which for her it happens to be working as a maid for Mrs. Huffman in London.

Six year later, Rosalyn finds herself penniless on the streets of London. Luckily, she stumbles upon a job working backstage at a theater as a dresser. She has always had a passion for music, so she fits right in at the there.

Nate Moran arrives in London to help out his brother, who had broken his leg working backstage at the theater. Nate is going to fill in as a stagehand, so his brother won't lose his job. He had previously served in the army regiment in India before injuring his hand, so working temporarily at theater should be an easy task. Of course, his plans on returning to the army as soon as hand is healed, but plans for the future changes after he meets the beautiful Rosalyn.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Fall Reads: The Memory Weaver



The Memory Weaver
by Jane Kirkpatrick
Publisher: Revell
Pub. Date: September 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0800722326
Pages: 352
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

While I've read many books by Christian authors, I only recently started reading Jane Kirkpatrick titles, though my grandmother has been reading her novels for years. Now anytime I learn that one the author's books is available for review, I eagerly signed up.

The Memory Weaver centers on Eliza Spalding Warren. When she was just a ten-year-old, she was kidnapped by the Cayuse Indians during a massacure that occured in 1847, where she was forced to be an interpreter. Though she's now married with two children, she is still haunted by her childhood.

Now her husband wants them to pack up their belongings and head off for the territory that she had spent in captivity. To deal with the ordeal, Eliza turns to late mother's journal to learn how she had dealt the trama that took place in 1847 and hopefully find a way to find piece with her own past.


Monday, September 1, 2014

Review - A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick

A Light in the Wilderness
by Jane Kirkpatrick
Publisher: Revell
Pub. Date: September 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-0800722319
Pages: 320
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving in bookstores tomorrow is the historical western A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick. I'm a big fan of historical westerns, but I have never read read a title by the author, though I'm more than aware of the author's works, as my grandmother has read the Tender Ties series. That being said, I was looking forward to reading A Light in the Wilderness, which I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A Light in the Wilderness tells the true story of Letitia Carson, who was one of the first free African Americans, as she journeys from Kentucky to Oregon. After being freed by her owner, Letitia joins a wagon train that is headed west, where she meets an Irish immigrant cattleman, Davey Carson. Eventually the two get married and start a family, even though back then their marriage wouldn't have been legal. After her husband's death, Letitia had to fight to keep the land that she owned.

This book not only tells the story of Letitia Carson, but it also tells the story of two other strong women, Nancy Hawkins - a white woman, who travels in the same wagon train that Letitia is in and becomes friends with her; and Betsy, a Kalapuya Indian living in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, who also befriends Letitia.


Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Review - Out Of The Ruins by Karen Barnett


Out Of The Ruins
Golden Gate Chronicles, book 1
by Karen Barnett
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Pub. Date: May 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-1426780578
Pages: 320
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/xlcaD
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/kbarnett

Review:

Though I do consider myself a big historical fiction reader, I'm not a fan of books set in the early 1900s, as I prefer the 1800s or what is wildly known as the 'wild wild west.' That being said, I do have a fascination about San Francisco, which is weird because I have never even visited California.

Out Of The Ruins by Karen Barnett is the first installment in the Golden Gate Chronicles and is set in San Francisco in 1905. By just looking at the cover, I thought the plot might involve a young female journalist or something in that nature, but I was completely wrong. What I got was an historical accurate look at the life during this era, along with an emotional plot involving a non-believer, Abby Fischer, whom has lost all hope that her sister, Cecelia, will ever get better from her illness.

Her sister has seen about every doctor in the area and all of them cannot help her, that is until a handsome young apprentice, Dr. Robert King, comes into their lives. Traditional doctors don't care for experimental methods, but Robert wants use a risky treatment in the attempt to save Cecelia's life.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Review of Mistress of the Revolution






Mistress of the Revolution
By
Catherine Delors
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Pub. Date: 2008
ISBN: 978-0525950547
Pages:  451
Genre:
Historical Fiction/Romance?
Source:
public library
Goodreads
Reading Challenge
Buy Link

Review:
A few years ago, I discovered Catherine Delors through her excellent historical novel For The King, so I decided to read her previous one, Mistress of the Revolution.
The book opens in London in 1815, about 20 years after the French Revolution. The narrator Gabrielle de Montserrat reminisces about these events and the following years by writing about them.
After difficult beginnings in the Auvergne region, she is taken to Paris and presented at the court of Versailles, where she is introduced to all the intrigues and affairs. She is helped financially by Villers (a Duchess’s son) and becomes his lover. He gets politically involved, on the wrong side when monarchy is soon to be ended.
Gabrielle is by now lady-in-waiting to the Countess of Provence (the king’s sister-in-law). She ends up getting arrested herself. Will she humble herself, and try to get help from Pierre-André, the sweet heart of her youth, a commoner who made his way up and has now strong political influence in Paris? Would he or even could he really help her?

Monday, October 14, 2013

Review - The Journey of Josephine Cain

The Journey of Josephine Cain
An American Tapestry
By Nancy Moser
Publisher: Summerside Press
Release Date: September 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0824934279
Pages: 336
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/pq47s
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/nmoser

Review:

Fans of AMC's Hell on Wheels are waiting on pins and needles about the questionable fourth season, until then they can sink their teeth in the recently released The Journey of Josephine Cain by Nancy Moser. The plot involves an unmarried socialite, Josephine Cain leaving Washington D.C. to work side-by-side with her general father, who is supervising the day-to-day building of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Life on the great frontier isn't exactly what Josephine thought it would be like, as she is not use to the harsh weather, deadly gunfights and other dangers of the west. Things take an unexpected turn when she falls in love with an Irish railroad worker, Hudson Maguire.

Hudson works along side his brother Raleigh, who both is saving money to send home to their family. He didn't expect to fall in love with a well-educated proper woman, Josephine.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Review - The Courier of Caswell Hall

The Courier of Caswell Hall
An American Tapestry series
By Melanie Dobson
Publisher: Sumerside Press
Pub. Date: September 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0824934262
Pages: 336
Buy Link: http://amzn.to/1aLxC9s
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/mdobson 

Review:

During 1781, the Continental and British armies are at war, a war that pits father against son, brother against brother, and neighbor against neighbor. In Virginia, Lydia Caswell only wants the two sides to have peace, unlike her Loyalists parents or even her friend Sarah Hammond, who might just grab a gun and join the fight.

By chance, Lydia finds a wounded man near a riverbank on a snowy night. This happens to be the same night the British made plans on sailing up the James River and raiding the capital. The man is named Nathan, who changes her life forever, introducing her to a world of coded messages, disguises, couriers and spies.

As Lydia starts to fall in love with Nathan, she starts to question her beliefs. She must choose between the loyalty to her family and having freedom. Meanwhile, her friend Sarah is put in a similar position when love and war collide.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Review - Stealing the Preacher

Stealing the Preacher
By Karen Witemeyer
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: June 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0764209666
Pages: 352
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/lnKcM
Blog Tour:http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/stealingthepreacher
 
Review:

Crocket Archer is excited about traveling to Piney Woods, Texas for an interview to be the new pastor, but his plans are quickly ruined when he is forced off the train and kidnapped by the outlaw, Silas Robbins, who plans on giving the preacher to his daughter as a birthday present.

Being an outlaw's daughter hasn't been easy on Joanna, especially after her mother passed away. For months, she has been praying for a preacher to be sent to her community's abandoned church. Someone that may help change her father's way of life. Her prayers are answered when her father brings Crocket Archer home.

At first, Crocket wants nothing more than to escape this madness, but he starts to have a change of heart when he lays eyes on the beautiful Joanna, who quickly steals his heart.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Review - A Hidden Truth

A Hidden Truth
By Judith Miller
Publisher: Bethany House 
Pub. Date: September 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0764210006
ASIN: B008B9HGI6
Pages: 352

Review: 

Over the years, I have become a fan of historical fiction, many involving the Amish, the Mennonites, and the Shakers, but I have never read a book about the Amana Colonies. A Hidden Truth by Judith Miller is about the Amana Colonies and is one of the reasons why I wanted to review it, courtesy of Bethany House in exchange of my honest review.

A Hidden Truth takes place in East Amana, Iowa in 1892 and centers on two women, Karlina Richter and Dovie Cates. The colonies are very strict, with no access to the outside world or the "outsiders". Karlina has lived all her life in Amana, but has always been curious of what life was like outside the colonies.

Just as her father wants to move from Ohio to Texas, Dovie Cates gets permission to visit the Amana Colonies, where her birth mother grew up. She wants to learn more about her mother's past. She stays with the Richter family.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Review - Every Perfect Gift

Every Perfect Gift
A Hickory Ridge Romance
By: Dorothy Love
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pub. Date: December 4, 2012
ISBN: 978-1595549020
ASIN: B008GVYWC2
Pages: 320

Review:

I missed out reading the first book in A Hickory Ridge Romance series, but I did read the second book, Beauty for Ashes, which wasn't my kind of read. Why did I agree to review Every Perfect Gift courtesy of Thomas Nelson in exchange for my honest review? Actually, I didn't realize that the book was part of the series. I've been in a Christmas mood and the beautiful cover reminded me of the holidays. That being said, I eagerly signed up to review it.

Set in 1886, Sophie Caldwell returns to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, where she grew up in an orphanage. She never knew who her parents were and her slightly dark complication made her an easy target of bullying from other children at the orphanage. Luckily, she was adopted by a loving couple, Wyatt and Ada Caldwell, and moved to Texas, but she has returned to Hickory Ridge to start a new life and maybe find some resolution to her past.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Review - Michal's Window


Michal's Window
By Rachelle Ayala
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 
ISBN: 978-1475081480
Pub. Date: April 12, 2012
Pages: 458
Buy Link: Amazon.com

Review: 

This stunning biblical tale centers on Princess Michal, the daughter of King Saul, as she first meets the shepherd boy/harpist named David, who is arrives at the kingdom to help mend her father who is tormented by evil spirits. The Princess falls in love with David and before long the two are wedded.

Situations occur that causes King Saul to order the death of his son-in-law. Fearing for David's life, Michal helps her husband escape the wrath of her father.

Michal is later reunited with the now King David, but he has changed from the man that she had known. David has several wives and other lovers, but Michal still loves him and is determined to win his heart at all costs.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

ARC Review - The Malice of Fortune

The Malice of Fortune
By Michael Ennis
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN: 978-0385536318
Pub. Date: September 11, 2012
Pages: 416
Buy Link: Amazon

Juan, Duke of Gandia, was murdered while on his way to visit his love, Damiata, causing Pope Alexander VI to become emotionally drained as Juan was his favorite son. In another twist, Damiata also went missing the night of Juan's murder, having witnessed her lover's death.

Five years go by and the Pope Alexander VI sends Rodrigo Borgia to find Damiata and bring her to him. The Pope believes that she is responsible for his son's death, but gives her a chance to prove her innocence by finding the real killer. Thinking that she will just run off and hide again, he takes her son Giovanni as leverage.

Damiata heads to Imola, where she finds out there have been a string of similar murders. The bodies have been buried throughout the city and the bodies' parts were specifically arranged to resemble a geometric design. Soon she meets a Florentine diplomat named Niccolo Machiavelli who assists her efforts in finding the killer or killers. Now here is another twist, the one and only Leonardo DaVinci, the famous Renaissance painter, is also investigating the murders and DaVinci eventually teams up with them.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Review: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

North and South
By: Elizabeth Gaskell
Publisher: Dover Publications
ISBN: 9780486479521
Pub Date: June 13, 2012
Pages: 464
Buy Link: Barnes & Nobles

If you are looking for a good read and you enjoy the novels of Jane Austen, then look no further than Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South. Written around the same time as Austen’s works, this novel delves deeper into class conflicts, the unions, the hard work of laborers, and even the hero’s inner psyche. The supporting characters are stronger than most of Austen’s and you really grow to care about their struggles.

The main idea of the novel is that a pastor’s daughter, Margaret Hale, is transported along with her ailing mother and now jobless father from her quiet and comfortable home in the south of England to the crowded, dirty, and chaotic north. She must find her spot in this new society, and befriends a mill worker and his dying daughter. Her father starts tutoring a mill master, a man named Thornton, how quickly becomes smitten with the beautiful and headstrong Margaret. She rejects him, however, because she has seen the ordeal that the mill workers are put through.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Review - The Midwife of Venice


Midwife of Venice

AUTHOR: Roberta Rich

PUBLISHED BY: Gallery Books

ISBN: 978-1-44516-5747-0

RELEASED DATE: February 2012

PAGES: 344


    Hanna Levi, a Jewish midwife, is known through Venice for helping mothers give birth by using the ‘birthing spoons’ that she designs herself. A Papal forbids any Jews to give medical treatments to Christians, which the rule has never been a problem for Hanna, until a Christian nobleman asks for her help. His wife has been in labor for days and he wants Hanna to help with his son’s birth. In exchange, he’ll pay for husband Isaac’s ransom. Isaac has been captured and forced into slavery in Malta. Hanna must go against her religion to help save her husband.