Tag: historical fiction

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First Line Friday

Happy Friday & welcome to the First Line Friday hosted by Reading Is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first lines. Today, I’m featuring the first lines of The Mozart Code by Rachel McMillan

The first lines are………..

Simon Barre had left his best revolver back at his family estate near Wilmington, Sussex, along with the Barrington surname. He didn’t miss the surname, but he did miss the expensive steel of his Webley MkVI and the smooth curve of the handle.

About the Book

No matter how you might try to hide in a war to escape your past, it is always close at hand.

Lady Sophia Huntington Villiers is no stranger to intrigue, as her work with Alan Turing’s Bombe Machines at Bletchley Park during the war attests. Now, as part of Simon Barre’s covert team in post-war Vienna, she uses her inimitable charm and code name Starling to infiltrate the world of relics: uncovering vital information that could tilt the stakes of the mounting Cold War. When several influential men charge her with finding the death mask of Mozart, Sophie wonders if there is more than the composer’s legacy at stake and finds herself drawn to potential answers in Prague.

Simon Barrington, the illegitimate heir of one of Sussex’s oldest estates, used the previous war to hide his insecurities about his past. Now, he uses his high breeding to gain access to all four allied quarters of the ruined city in an attempt to slow the fall of the Iron Curtain. He has been in love with Sophie Villiers since the moment he met her, and a marriage of convenience to save Simon’s estate has always kept her close. Until now, when Sophie’s mysterious client in Prague forces him to wonder if her allegiance to him—and their cause—is in question. Torn between his loyalty to his cause and his heart, Simon seeks answers about Sophie only to learn that everything he thought he knew about his involvement in both wars is based on a lie.

March 15, 2022 368 pages Thomas Nelson publisher

Grab A Copy Here

Grab the book closest to you and list the first lines of it in the comments.

May your day be filled with good things.

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Release Day Review-The Cairo Curse, A Freddie and Grace Mystery #2 by Pepper Basham

320 pages Barbour Publishing February 01, 2023 publish date

About The Book

Clue meets Indiana Jones with a fiction-loving twist only Grace Percy can provide.
 
Newlyweds Lord and Lady Astley have already experienced their fair-share of suspense, but when a honeymoon trip takes a detour to the mystical land of Egypt, not even Grace with her fiction-loving mind is prepared for the dangers in store. From an assortment of untrustworthy adventure-seekers to a newly discovered tomb with a murderous secret, Frederick and Grace must lean on each other to navigate their dangerous surroundings. As the suspects mount in an antiquities’ heist of ancient proportions, will Frederick and Grace’s attempts to solve the mystery lead to another death among the sands?
 
The Cairo’s Curse is a delightful sequel to The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham in the Freddie and Grace Mystery series.

Grab A Copy Here

The Series Here

Book 1 Here

Will the magic of Christmas bring these two newlyweds closer together, or will the ghosts of the past lead them into a destructive discovery from which not even a Dickens’s Christmas can save them?

Mistletoe is beautiful and dangerous, much like the woman from Lord Frederick’s Percy’s past, so when he turns over a new leaf and arranges to marry for his estate, instead of his heart, he never expects the wrong bride to be the right choice. Gracelynn Ferguson never expected to take her elder sister’s place as a Christmas bride, but when she’s thrust into the choice, she will trust in her faithful novels and overactive imagination to help her not only win Frederick’s heart but also to solve the murder mystery of Havensbrook Hall before the ghosts from Frederick’s past ruin her fairytale future. 
 

My Thoughts

"My darling, I have high hopes that not every scene in our future will be experienced with such life-threatening adventures."

If you enjoy high adventure, not quite knowing what the next page holds and breathtaking descriptions of Egypt that will have you believing you're there with the characters, you're going to love this book. Fraught with danger around every corner, suspense, romance and humor.
Before you read this one though do yourself a huge favor and grab "The Mistletoe Countess " to read which starts this series out. You're going to love it and it'll give you Freddie and Grace's backstory.
This may just be more of a honeymoon than Poor Freddie imagined. I hope you're ready for an adventure filled with camels, tombs, a jewel thief, and exciting digs. I don't read many books taking place in Egypt, this is only the second one I can think of, and it was an intriguing read.

Pub Date 01 Feb 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The Author

Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance “peppered” with grace and humor. Writing both historical and contemporary novels, she loves to incorporate her native Appalachian culture and/or her unabashed adoration of the UK into her stories. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the wife of a fantastic pastor, mom of five great kids, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus. Her nineteenth novel, Authentically Izzy, debuts in November with Thomas Nelson. She loves connecting with readers and other authors through social media outlets like Facebook & Instagram.

You can learn more about Pepper and her books on her website at http://www.pepperdbasham.com

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The Rose and the Thistle, Scottish Jacobite rising, book by Laura Frantz

414 pages Revell publisher Jan 03,2023 publish date

About The Book

In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley’s father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known.

No sooner has Everard Hume lost his father, Lord Wedderburn, than Lady Hedley arrives with the clothes on her back and her mistress in tow. He has his own problems–a volatile brother with dangerous political leanings, an estate to manage, and a very young brother in need of comfort and direction in the wake of losing his father. It would be best for everyone if he could send this misfit heiress on her way as soon as possible.

Drawn into a whirlwind of intrigue, shifting alliances, and ambitions, Lady Blythe must be careful whom she trusts. Her fortune, her future, and her very life are at stake. Those who appear to be adversaries may turn out to be allies–and those who pretend friendship may be enemies.

Grab A Copy Here

My Thoughts

I’ll have to admit I have read every book by this author, except one. And I need to remedy that.
I call this author the Queen of historical fiction and it shows in how well researched her books are.
As soon as I see she has a book coming out I have to read it.
The beautiful description of Scotland makes me want to visit it from its moors to its historical depth. The plot is set during the 1700’s and the Jacobite rebellion. It was wonderful being transported back in time to the eighteenth century and discovering Lady Blythe and Everard’s characters and seeing their interactions. I did not expect some of the turn of events that happened in the story. Starting off slow the book does pick up. This is a slow burn clean romance with intrigue, great historical descriptions, wonderful characters and a fascinating plot.
I also found it interesting that the author is related to a character in the book and as she delves into her family history, she brings us with her and shares this history with us.
Do not miss this wonderful historical romance.

Pub Date: 03 Jan 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Have you read or plan on reading this book? Thank you for stopping in today. Stay safe and warm.

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Top Ten Tuesday-Books I want to read in February for Black History Month

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl and this week’s topic is a freebie. I have a lot of books on my to be read list so I thought it would be a great month to try to read some of my books I want to get to for black history month. I hope to get to all of them, but I do have blog tour books and author review books to read as well so we shall see.

A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation, from New York Times bestselling authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

In an early twentieth-century America roiling with racial injustice, class divides, and WWI, two women fight for their dreams in a galvanizing novel by the bestselling author of Golden Poppies.

The author of the award-winning Sally Hemings now brings to life Hannah Elias, one of the richest black women in America in the early 1900s, in this mesmerizing novel swirling with atmosphere and steeped in history.

From award-winning author Robin W. Pearson comes a new Southern family drama about one family who discovers their history is only skin-deep and that God’s love is the only family tie that binds.

Set in 1920s New York, an addictively readable, thoroughly entertaining historical novel involving sex and secrets, race and redemption, and power and privilege—based on a sensational real-life case that made international headlines—in which the marriage between a working-class black woman and the scion of one of America’s most powerful white families ends in a scandalous annulment lawsuit.

Four generations of women experience love, loss, war, and hope from the rise of Nazism to the Cuban Revolution and finally, the fall of the Berlin Wall in this sweeping novel from the bestselling author of the “timely must-read” (People) The German Girl.

Berlin, 1931: Ally Keller, a talented young poet, is alone and scared when she gives birth to a mixed-race daughter she names Lilith. As the Nazis rise to power, Ally knows she must keep her baby in the shadows to protect her against Hitler’s deadly ideology of Aryan purity. But as she grows, it becomes more and more difficult to keep Lilith hidden so Ally sets in motion a dangerous and desperate plan to send her daughter across the ocean to safety.

Harlem Shuffle’s ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It’s a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem. 

Running from Bondage tells the compelling stories of enslaved women, who comprised one-third of all runaways, and the ways in which they fled or attempted to flee bondage during and after the Revolutionary War.

Born in West Africa in the mid-eighteenth century, Maryam Prescilla Grace—a.k.a “Momma Grace” will live a long, wondrous life marked by hardship, oppression, opportunity, and love. Though she will be “gifted” various names, her birth name is known to her alone. Over the course of 100-plus years, she survives capture, enslavement by several property owners, the Atlantic crossing when she is only eleven years of age, and a brief stint as a pirate’s ward, acting as both a spy and a translator. 

Set in the Deep South pre Gone with the Wind and the Civil War, The Wedding Gift is a compelling and powerful story of slavery, abuse and passion. Perfect for fans of The Help.

In a deeply emotional novel of family, cultural heritage, and forgiveness, estranged sisters wrestle with the choices they’ve made and confront circumstances beyond their control.

Which book do you think I should start reading first? Have you read any of these titles? What were your thoughts on them?

Have a wonderful day. Thank you for stopping in today.

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A mesmerizing page-turner-River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer, a debut

About The Book

A Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by Real Simple, Goodreads, AARP, Boston.com, BookBub and BookRiot

Rare. Moving. Powerful. This beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother’s gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children in the aftermath of slavery is a remarkable debut.
 
Her search begins with an ending.…

The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs.
 
Away from Providence, she begins a desperate search to find her children—the five who survived birth and were sold. Are any of them still alive? Rachel has to know. The grueling, dangerous journey takes her from Barbados then, by river, deep into the forest of British Guiana and finally across the sea to Trinidad. She is driven on by the certainty that a mother cannot be truly free without knowing what has become of her children, even if the answer is more than she can bear. These are the stories of Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. But above all this is the story of Rachel and the extraordinary lengths to which a mother will go to find her children…and her freedom.

foot of an African child

Grab A Copy Here

My Thoughts

Reading is knowledge. Reading is power and this is a very powerful book, one that makes you sit up and draws your attention. It has an important story in it. It’s about love. The ultimate love. A love story between a mother and her children. Her children that are no longer with her. Children she carried within her body for nine months and then they were stolen from her in the aftermath of slavery. Some stayed with her longer than others, none loved any less because of the time they stayed with her. The day after the King declares all slaves are free, the Emancipation Act of 1834 in Barbados goes into effect. We follow one woman’s journey to find her children as she and her companion’s trek across the Caribbean. A child’s pain becomes the mothers. Will she be able to find all of her children, or will she be caught by the slave catchers for a reward?
Memorable! Once you read this it will stay with you!

Pub Date 31 Jan 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Is this book on your to be read list?

Thank you for stopping in today. May your day be blessed.

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WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Taking on a World of Words

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

They say you can never go home again, and for Persephone Fraser, ever since she made the biggest mistake of her life a decade ago, that has felt too true. Instead of glittering summers on the lakeshore of her childhood, she spends them in a stylish apartment in the city, going out with friends, and keeping everyone a safe distance from her heart.

Clue meets Indiana Jones with a fiction-loving twist only Grace Percy can provide.
 
Newlyweds Lord and Lady Astley have already experienced their fair-share of suspense, but when a honeymoon trip takes a detour to the mystical land of Egypt, not even Grace with her fiction-loving mind is prepared for the dangers in store. From an assortment of untrustworthy adventure-seekers to a newly discovered tomb with a murderous secret, Frederick and Grace must lean on each other to navigate their dangerous surroundings. As the suspects mount in an antiquities’ heist of ancient proportions, will Frederick and Grace’s attempts to solve the mystery lead to another death among the sands?

In 1942, Evie Farrow is used to life on Ocracoke Island, where every day is the same–until the German U-boats haunting their waters begin to wreak havoc. And when special agent Sterling Bertrand is washed ashore at Evie’s inn, her life is turned upside down. While Sterling’s injuries keep him inn-bound for weeks, making him even more anxious about the man he’s tracking, he becomes increasingly intrigued by Evie, who seems to be hiding secrets of her own.

First in a new cozy mystery series!

There’s nothing sweet about murder…

Leila Khoury has always believed that everyone loved her father as much as they loved his artisanal maple syrup. But when he’s killed, and she returns to Sugar Ridge, Vermont to take over his business, she starts to realize how much of his life she’s left untapped.

With her brother under suspicion, her mother just barely holding it together, and police not producing any leads, Leila will have to investigate herself if she wants answers about her father’s sticky end. But the more she learns, the more she worries that there won’t be a sappy ending to the story.

A cozy mystery perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke, this edition includes 5 delicious maple recipes for mystery readers with a sweet tooth!

In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley’s father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known.

From the author of THE UNMATCHMAKERS and THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN comes a chocolate-filled love story starring a heroine who is convinced she knows what will make her happy and a hero who seizes the opportunity to prove her wrong.

What are your thoughts on my books? Let me know in the comments your reading plans.

Have the best day ever and thanks for stopping by.

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Publication Day Review-Yesterday’s Tides by Roseanna White-WWI and WWII

416 pages Bethany House Publishers January 24,2023 publication date

About The Book

In two world wars, intelligence and counterintelligence, prejudice, and self-sacrifice collide across two generations

In 1942, Evie Farrow is used to life on Ocracoke Island, where every day is the same–until the German U-boats haunting their waters begin to wreak havoc. And when special agent Sterling Bertrand is washed ashore at Evie’s inn, her life is turned upside down. While Sterling’s injuries keep him inn-bound for weeks, making him even more anxious about the SS officer he’s tracking, he becomes increasingly intrigued by Evie, who seems to be hiding secrets of her own.

Decades earlier, in 1914, Englishman Remington Culbreth arrives at the Ocracoke Inn for the summer, never expecting to fall in love with Louisa Adair, the innkeeper’s daughter. But when war breaks out in Europe, their relationship is put in jeopardy and may not survive what lies ahead for them.

As the ripples from the Great War rock Evie and Sterling’s lives in World War II, it seems yesterday’s tides may sweep them all into danger again today.

Grab A Copy here

My Thoughts

How do I even begin a review for this absolutely incredible book? Not much got done yesterday, I can tell you that. I read it all in one day.
We visit the Outer Banks in North Carolina several times a year and was so excited to see this took place there in Ocracoke Island, NC. I have been reading this author's books for years and she is an automatic read. I cannot resist her books. Her other books have been fabulous, I've loved them all but with this one she's totally blown it out of the water.
Taking place in two time periods, 1918 and 1942, it's always a treat to read a book taking place in multiple time periods with multiple points of view.
There is so much happening in each time period.
This historical fiction starts out in 1942 and I learned so much about this time period.
I found it fascinating to learn about the HMT Bedfordshire an armed naval ship in the service of the Royal Naval Patrol during WWII. It was sunk by the German submarine U-558 on May 11, 1942, off the coast of Ocracoke Island. It was staffed by British and Canadien crew.
Fascinating history switching between WWI era and WWII time periods the thread runs with the same family and includes not able to put it down action, heart-wrenching family drama, suspense and romance. There is a mixed-race relationship that leads to racism and discrimination which the author deals with carefully and respectfully.
I loved the book and am eagerly awaiting what this author puts out next.

Pub Date 24 Jan 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at http://www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

Have you read this author yet? What are your favorite books by her?

Thank you for visiting the blog today. Have a wonderful day.

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Pleased to Invite you onto my blog today for the Bookouture Blog Tour of The Undercover Secretary by Ellie Midwood

Book: The Undercover Secretary 

Author: Ellie Midwood 

Pub Day:  January 19th 2023 

Buy Link(s):

https://geni.us/B0BJQBT43Hsocial

About the Book

France, 1942. “I forced myself to hold his gaze. My heart thrashed inside my chest like a bird battering its wings. They knew who I was. They knew what I’d done.” This heartbreaking and unputdownable World War Two noveltells the incredible true story Dora Schaul, who risked her life by coming face-to-face with enemy—the monsters who killed her loved ones.

Dora has lost everything to the Nazis. Her dearest friends have disappeared into thin air. Her parents have been imprisoned in concentration camps and murdered for the crime of simply existing. She has no idea if her darling husband, the devoted and brave Alfred, is still alive.

Though her world is crashing and burning around her, Dora refuses to give in to Hitler’s tyranny. The Nazis may have broken her heart, but they will not break her spirit.

Secretly working for the underground network in France, Dora risks her life on the most dangerous mission in the history of the local resistance. She goes undercover as the secretary of the Head of Gestapo; a soldier with a brutal reputation. A cold-blooded killer.

She is tasked with leaking the names of the SS to the British press. Every day, she rubs shoulders with the enemy. She makes coffee for the people she despises. She types letters for the monsters who killed her family. At any second, she could be found out…

Can she survive, turning the tide of the war and saving thousands of lives? Or will those she loved the most in the world, and millions of other innocent people, have died in vain?

Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network, and The Lilac Girls will be utterly swept away by this heart-wrenching and totally gripping novel about one of history’s most courageous women.

My Thoughts

I love a well-researched historical book, whether it is fiction or nonfiction. This historical fiction book has held my interest the whole way through with its characters especially our main character, Dora.
The characters are portrayed very well, and I very much enjoyed reading about Dora’s strength despite the many terrible situations she found herself in.
This is a fictionalized story of true events.
The evil characters made me shudder, I couldn’t even imagine thinking of tricking them the way Dora did. She saw the torture they put men through and knowing she could be subjected to the same but yet she continues to act normal and pleasant among them while at the same time extracting and giving information right under their noses without them being any the wiser.
The author is an absolute magician with words. The way she has with words, she brings out such emotion in reader. Absolutely marvelous, soul stirring book that I will read again. Have your tissues with you, this is heartbreaking!

Pub Date 19 Jan 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Visit other blogs on the tour here

About the Author

Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author, whose works have been translated into 14 languages. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, “The Girl from Berlin.” Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.

In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their two dogs.

Social Media

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Website: http://elliemidwood.com/

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Hearts of Steel (The Blackstone Legacy Book #3) By Elizabeth Camden-Review 

329 pages Bethany House Publishers January 17,2023 Publish date.

About The Book

His steel empire has catapulted him to the top of the world but loving her could cost him everything.

Maggie Molinaro survived a hardscrabble childhood in the downtrodden streets of Manhattan to become a successful businesswoman. After a decade of sacrifice, she now owns a celebrated ice cream company. But when she offends a corrupt banker, she unwittingly sets off a series of calamities that threaten to destroy her life’s work.

Liam Blackstone is a charismatic steel magnate committed to overhauling factory conditions for the steelworkers of America. Standing in his way is the same villain determined to ruin Maggie. What begins as a practical alliance to defeat a common enemy soon evolves into a romance between two wounded people determined to beat the odds.

A spiraling circle of treachery grows increasingly dangerous as Liam and Maggie risk their lives and fortunes for the good of the city. It will require all their wit and ingenuity to protect everything–and everyone–they hold dear.

Grab A Copy Here

My Thoughts

I absolutely love the uniqueness of the author’s stories. Her stories are so well researched and filled with detail which is what I love. She mixes fact and fiction so marvelously and it turns into an unputdownable story.
This is the third book in the Blackstone Legacy series. I have been waiting for Liam’s story and this is it.
Growing up in Pittsburgh with the steel mills I found many things in the book familiar, like the factory conditions being unsafe.
I have to say I really admired our two main character, Maggie and Liam. Similar in many ways, yet different.
Maggie Molinaro worked with her uncle on the rough and dangerous streets of Manhattan, from the time she was a young teen building from the ground up an ice cream factory. Her uncle was an immigrant and she helped him realize his dream, which also became her dream. It started out with pushcarts selling ice cream around the neighborhood from morning til night. Barely able to pay their debts. Maggie despite all her struggles doesn’t give up. She and her uncle slowly build their inventory from ice cream pushcarts to opening their own factory and supplying delicious ice creams to other businesses.
Liam Blackstone may have been born into wealth but not he’s too good for the average person. He has empathy for the working man and their trials and situations.
Standing in the way of their successes is a man determined to have it all no matter which way he needs to get it. Will he succeed with his evil corruption, lies, and pay offs. It certainly appears to all be going in his favor and no one can stop him.
Maggie and Liam are determined to stop him with the help of others but is it too late?
Excellent! I have read this author’s books right from the start of her writing career and they continue to amaze me. I love how she brings to the forefront little known history and creates stories from it.

Pub Date 17 Jan 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The Series

After years of tragedy, Gwen Kellerman now lives a quiet life as a botanist at an idyllic New York college. She largely ignores her status as heiress to the infamous Blackstone dynasty and hopes to keep her family’s heartbreak and scandal behind her.

Patrick O’Neill survived a hardscrabble youth to become a lawyer for the downtrodden Irish immigrants in his community. He’s proud of his work, even though he struggles to afford his ramshackle law office. All that changes when he accepts a case that is sure to emphasize the Blackstones’ legacy of greed and corruption by resurrecting a thirty-year-old mystery.

Little does Patrick suspect that the Blackstones will launch their most sympathetic family member to derail him. Gwen is tasked with getting Patrick to drop the case, but the old mystery takes a shocking twist neither of them saw coming. Now, as they navigate a burgeoning attraction and growing danger, Patrick and Gwen will be forced to decide if the risk to the life they’ve always held dear is worth the reward.

Get It Here

About The Author

Elizabeth Camden is best known for her historical novels set in gilded age America featuring clever heroines and richly layered storylines. Before she was a writer, she was an academic librarian at some of the largest and smallest libraries in America, but her favorite is the continually growing library in her own home. Her novels have won the RITA and Christy Award, and she lives in Florida with her husband who graciously tolerates her intimidating stockpile of books.

May your day be fabulous. Thank you for visiting today.

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The War Librarian-Captivating historical fiction by Addison Armstrong-Review

383 pages G.P. Putnam’s Sons Publisher August 09,2022 Publish date

About The Book

The Paris Library meets The Flight Girls in this captivating historical novel about the sacrifice and courage necessary to live a life of honor, inspired by the first female volunteer librarians during World War I and the first women accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy.

Two women. One secret. A truth worth fighting for.

1918. Timid and shy Emmaline Balakin lives more in books than her own life. That is, until an envelope crosses her desk at the Dead Letter Office bearing a name from her past, and Emmaline decides to finally embark on an adventure of her own—as a volunteer librarian on the frontlines in France. But when a romance blooms as she secretly participates in a book club for censored books, Emmaline will need to find more courage within herself than she ever thought possible in order to survive. 

1976. Kathleen Carre is eager to prove to herself and to her nana that she deserves her acceptance into the first coed class at the United States Naval Academy. But not everyone wants female midshipmen at the Academy, and after tragedy strikes close to home, Kathleen becomes a target. To protect herself, Kathleen must learn to trust others even as she discovers a secret that could be her undoing.

Grab A Copy Here

My Thoughts

Following up after the popularity of The Light of Luna Park, the author has once again released a compelling read we can get lost in.
This dual timeline is divinely researched as the author combines fact and fiction in the time periods of 1918 and 1976.
Strong, empowered women lead in firsts including WWI women librarians and the first class of women to attend the United States Naval Academy. I found it fascinating how each timeline is a standalone but so seamlessly meshes at the end of the book with the characters from the first timeline finding their way into the second timeline.
The book shows resilience the women show during hardships. I also enjoyed the inclusivity shown by the book club created during WWI that included ALL soldiers regardless of color. Soldiers of color were often not treated until all whites were treated regardless of injury and oftentimes it was too late for them as evidenced by the author's writing.
Very authentic feel to this writing. I will be on the lookout for more by this author.

Pub Date 09 Aug 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

Born in The United States

Website

http://www.addisonarmstrong.com

Genre

Historical Fiction

Thank you for visiting today. Have a great day.