Category: Historical Fiction

#BookReview The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman @leverus @PenguinRandomCA #TheBrightSword #LevGrossman #PenguinReads

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman @leverus @PenguinRandomCA #TheBrightSword #LevGrossman #PenguinReads Title: The Bright Sword

Author: Lev Grossman

Published by: Viking on Jul. 16, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Pages: 673

Format: Hardcover

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table, only to find he’s too late. The king died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, leaving no heir, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table survive.

They aren’t the heroes of legend, like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Tables, from the edges of the stories, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. Together this ragtag fellowship will set out to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance.

But Arthur’s death has revealed Britain’s fault lines. God has abandoned it, and the fairies and monsters and old gods are returning, led by Arthur’s half-sister Morgan le Fay. Kingdoms are turning on each other, warlords are laying siege to Camelot, and rival factions are forming around the disgraced Lancelot and the fallen Queen Guinevere. It is up to Collum and his companions to reclaim Excalibur, solve the mysteries of this ruined world and make it whole again. But before they can restore Camelot they’ll have to learn the truth of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell and lay to rest the ghosts of his troubled family and of Britain’s dark past.

Review:

Poignant, creative, and compelling!

The Bright Sword is a captivating, mystical tale that takes us back to Camelot two weeks after the death of King Arthur as kingdoms are falling, Britain is in chaos, the remaining colourful, mediocre knights are struggling to find a leader amongst themselves, and a young man with a dream to become a Knight of the Round Table finds himself a little too late but nevertheless swept up in a journey to bring Excalibur back where it belongs and a responsibility to bring harmony to a world cloaked in ruin.

The prose is vivid and rich. The characters are lost, conflicted, and burdened. And the plot is an enigmatic, absorbing tale of life, loss, battles, love, betrayals, friendship, self-identity, magic, confrontations, adventure, courage, and heart.

Overall, The Bright Sword is an imaginative, passionate, epic, fantastical novel by Grossman that combines the classic Arthurian legend with the magic of the supernatural to weave a fresh, contemporary spin on a centuries-old story that is bursting with soul-searching dilemmas, dangerous quests, and complex, intriguing characters.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lev Grossman

Lev Grossman is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy—The Magicians, The Magician King, and The Magician’s Land—which has been published in thirty countries and adapted as a TV show that ran for five seasons on SYFY. He is also a screenwriter and the author of two children’s books, The Golden Swift and The Silver Arrow, and his journalism has appeared in Time, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, among many other places. He lives with his wife and children in New York City.

Website | Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R. Chambers @DianaRChambers @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheSecretWarOfJuliaChild #DianaRChambers #bookmarkedbylandmark

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R. Chambers @DianaRChambers @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheSecretWarOfJuliaChild #DianaRChambers #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: The Secret War of Julia Child

Author: Diana R. Chambers

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Oct. 22, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 8/10

Before she mastered the art of French cooking in midlife, Julia Child found herself working in the secrets trade in Asia during World War II, a journey that will delight both historical fiction fans and lovers of America’s most beloved chef, revealing how the war made her into the icon we know now.

Single, 6 foot 2, and thirty years old, Julia McWilliams took a job working for America’s first espionage agency, years before cooking or Paris entered the picture. The Secret War of Julia Child traces Julia’s transformation from ambitious Pasadena blue blood to Washington, DC file clerk, to head of General “Wild Bill” Donovan’s secret File Registry as part of the Office of Strategic Services. 

The wartime journey takes her to the Far East, to Asia’s remote frontlines of then-Ceylon, India, and China, where she finds purpose, adventure, self-knowledge – and love with mapmaker Paul Child. The spotlight has rarely shone on this fascinating period of time in the life of (“I’m not a spy”) Julia Child, and this lyrical story allows us to explore the unlikely world of a woman in World War II spy station who has no idea of the impact she’ll eventually impart.

Review:

Immersive, interesting, and well-written!

The Secret War of Julia Child is a rich, intriguing tale set predominantly in Asia during WWII that follows Julia McWilliams, a young woman who, after taking a position working for the OSS, suddenly finds herself in the Far East protecting valuable information, surviving war’s atrocities, finding her true spirit, and meeting the man whom she would love forever.

The prose is polished and evocative. The characters are feisty, driven, and resilient. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel into a sweeping saga of life, loss, heartbreak, betrayal, secrets, espionage, danger, survival, tragedy, friendship, and romance.

Overall, The Secret War of Julia Child is an absorbing, evocative, fascinating novel by Chambers that does a beautiful job of revealing the remarkable life of a woman most of us probably only know or remember due to the cooking feats and successes she had later in life.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Diana R. Chambers

Diana R. Chambers was born with a book in one hand and a passport in the other. Her first explorations were in the library, plotting adventures on her world globe. She went on to study Asian art history at university, work at a Paris translation agency, and dream in French. Fate landed her in India, where she began a handicrafts export business, which led, circuitously, to Hollywood costuming…and, later, scriptwriting. She was enthralled by the magic of creating worlds, but after one of her scripts was optioned then never made, her characters started demanding their own novels! Diana had just the novel in mind, working on it while on location with a Canadian/French/American detective series. She also wrote several articles about her travels and research in various borderlands.

Diana has followed her stories around the world and back in time. She is the author of four novels, including The Star of India, from Penguin Random House India. Her latest, The Secret War of Julia Child, inspired by Julia’s OSS service in WWII Asia, will be published by Sourcebooks Landmark October 22, 2024.

She lives in Northern California and Aix-en-Provence, France, with her fellow-traveler husband, artist daughter, and feral cat, Marco Polo.

Photographer: Carol Scotti

Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

#BookReview The Two Loves of Sophie Strom by Sam Taylor @FaberBooks @PGCBooks #TheTwoLovesOfSophieStrom #SamTaylor #PGCBooks

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview The Two Loves of Sophie Strom by Sam Taylor @FaberBooks @PGCBooks #TheTwoLovesOfSophieStrom #SamTaylor #PGCBooks Title: The Two Loves of Sophie Strom

Author: Sam Taylor

Published by: Faber & Faber on Oct. 8, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

One man, one choice, two lifetimes.

A house fire, Vienna, 1933: thirteen-year-old Max is orphaned, disfigured and adopted by an Aryan family who change his identity – and his prospects.

A house fire, Vienna, 1933: thirteen-year-old Max saves his parents and escapes unharmed, to face life as a Jew in 1930s Austria.

In one unforgettable night, Max Spiegelman’s life splits in two. As war looms and Nazism continues to rise, Max is forced into choices that place him and his alter ego on opposing sides of a divided world. Tethered by their dreams, the boys watch helplessly, haunted by visions of what could have been. But in each parallel universe, they share a magnetic bond with an enchanting, grey-eyed girl.

The Two Loves of Sophie Strom is a profound story about how tragedy, choice and life-altering love shape our future.

Review:

Intriguing, thought-provoking, and gripping!

The Two Loves of Sophie Strom is a moving, parallel-universe tale that takes us into the life of Max Spiegelman, a young Jewish boy whose life is split into two completely different paths when one night he dreams that his house is burning down, his parents don’t survive, and thus he becomes an orphan raised by a german family with a new name, Hans, who eventually becomes a member of the Nazis or does he awake to find the house filled with smoke, his parents alive, and a future that involves persecution, an escape to Paris, the French resistance and the possible enduring love of a woman both versions of himself can’t seem to live without.

The writing is dynamic and fluid. The characters are flawed, vulnerable, and tormented. And the multi-layered plot is a heartfelt, absorbing tale about life, loss, love, destiny, survival, heartbreak, choices, war, and the question of what if?

Overall, The Two Loves of Sophie Strom is a fascinating, pensive, engaging read by Taylor that does a remarkable job of highlighting that it only takes one moment, decision, or circumstance to completely change your life forever.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sam Taylor

Sam Taylor is a novelist and literary translator. His previous novels have reached an international audience, and his award-winning translations include works by Laurent Binet, Leïla Slimani and Marcel Proust. Born in England, Sam was a writer and editor at The Observer before moving to France. He now lives in the United States with his family.

Website | Goodreads

#BookReview The Sky Beneath Us by Fiona Valpy @FionaValpy @FireflyDist @AmazonPub #TheSkyBeneathUs #FionaValpy #LakeUnion #FireflyDist

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview The Sky Beneath Us by Fiona Valpy @FionaValpy @FireflyDist @AmazonPub #TheSkyBeneathUs #FionaValpy #LakeUnion #FireflyDist Title: The Sky Beneath Us

Author: Fiona Valpy

Published by: Lake Union Publishing on Sep. 10, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Firefly Distributed Lines

Book Rating: 9/10

An inspiring, uplifting story of love and loss, courage and adventure, from the bestselling author of The Skylark’s Secret.

1927. Violet Mackenzie-Grant is embarking on her dream of studying at the Edinburgh School of Gardening for Women. She doesn’t yet know that it’s a journey that will take her to Kathmandu and beyond, deep into captivating landscapes and cultures that are worlds away from everything and everyone she’s left behind in Scotland.

2020. Daisy Laverock has dreamed of retracing the footsteps of her great-great-aunt Violet ever since discovering her long-lost journals, whose accounts of plant hunting in the 1930s inspired Daisy’s own career. Divorced, and facing an empty nest, Daisy decides to embark on the trip of a lifetime. She arrives in Nepal, ready to start trekking in the shadow of Everest. But fate, and the pandemic, have other plans.

Stranded and alone, Daisy must fall back on the kindness of strangers, taking inspiration from Violet’s determination and resilience to keep going in the darkest of times. As she gradually pieces together the fragments of Violet’s story and uncovers long-held secrets, can Daisy finally reveal a path forward to her own future?

Review:

Passionate, vivid, and compelling!

The Sky Beneath Us is an intriguing, adventurous tale set during 1927, as well as 2020, that takes you into the lives of two main characters. Violet Mackenzie-Grant, a young woman whose passion for gardening takes her from the streets of Scotland to the mountainous Katmandu; and Daisy Laverock, a middle-aged woman who, needing to find a purpose of her own, embarks on a journey to discover more about her great-great-aunt’s legacy and the life she ultimately lived.

The prose is eloquent and well-turned. The characters are vulnerable, strong, and courageous. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel seamlessly into a heartfelt, touching tale of life, loss, secrets, surprises, separation, heartbreak, desperation, survival, danger, friendship, discovery, recognition, purpose, and love.

Overall, The Sky Beneath Us is an intricate, fascinating, atmospheric tale by Valpy that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the personalities, feelings, and lives of the characters within it that you can’t help but be continually absorbed and invested.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

          

 

 

Thank you to Firefly Distributed Lines for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Fiona Valpy

Fiona is an acclaimed number 1 bestselling author, whose books have sold millions of copies and been translated into more than thirty different languages worldwide.

She draws inspiration from the stories of strong women, especially during the years of World War II. Her meticulous research enriches her writing with an evocative sense of time and place.

She spent seven years living in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007, before returning to live in Scotland. Her love for both of these countries, their people and their histories, has found its way into many of the books she’s written.

Website | Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen @Rhysbowen @FireflyDist @AmazonPub #TheRoseArbor #RhysBowen #LakeUnion #FireflyDist

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen @Rhysbowen @FireflyDist @AmazonPub #TheRoseArbor #RhysBowen #LakeUnion #FireflyDist Title: The Rose Arbor

Author: Rhys Bowen

Published by: Lake Union Publishing on Aug. 6, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 379

Format: Paperback

Source: Firefly Distributed Lines

Book Rating: 9/10

An investigation into a girl’s disappearance uncovers a mystery dating back to World War II in a haunting novel of suspense by the bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Paris Assignment.

1968. Liz Houghton is languishing as an obituary writer at a London newspaper when a young girl’s disappearance captivates the city. If Liz can break the story, it’s her way into the newsroom. She already has a her best friend, Marisa, is a police officer assigned to the case.

Liz follows Marisa to Dorset, where they make another disturbing discovery. Over two decades earlier, three girls disappeared while evacuating from London. One was found murdered in the woods near a train line. The other two were never seen again.

As Liz digs deeper, she finds herself drawn to the village of Tydeham, which was requisitioned by the military during the war and left in ruins. After all these years, what could possibly link the missing girls to this abandoned village? And why does a place Liz has never seen before seem so strangely familiar?

Review:

Captivating, atmospheric, and rich!

The Rose Arbor is an absorbing, engaging tale set in England during 1943 and 1968 that takes you into the life of Liz Houghton, a young writer who, after tagging along with her police officer roommate to the desolate village of Tydeham to try and find a missing girl, stumbles across some deep dark family secrets of her own when she becomes engrossed in solving a twenty-five-year-old cold case involving three little girls from London who seemingly vanished without a trace while being evacuated to the countryside during the war.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are independent, intelligent, and driven. And the plot is a compelling, tender tale about life, loss, family, secrets, desperation, tragedy, deduction, friendship, duplicitous behaviours, and wartime sacrifices.

Overall, The Rose Arbor is an immersive, intriguing, touching tale by Bowen that is the perfect choice for anyone who loves an intricate mystery set against the backdrop of war.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

      

 

 

Thank you to Firefly Distributed Lines for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Rhys Bowen

Rhys Bowen’s work has sold close to 10 million copies, in over 30 languages. She has been nominated for every major mystery award and has won multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards. A complete list can be found here.

Her books include the Royal Spyness and Molly Murphy historical mysteries, as well as several international bestselling stand-alone novels.

Photo: Douglas Sonders

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

#BookReview Precipice by Robert Harris @Robert___Harris @harperbooks #Precipice #RobertHarris #HarperBooks

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview Precipice by Robert Harris @Robert___Harris @harperbooks #Precipice #RobertHarris #HarperBooks Title: Precipice

Author: Robert Harris

Published by: Harper Books on Sep. 17, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 464

Format: Hardcover

Source: Harper Books

Book Rating: 9/10

A spellbinding novel of passion, intrigue, and betrayal set in England in the months leading to the Great War from the bestselling author of Act of Oblivion, Fatherland, The Ghostwriter, and Munich.

Summer 1914. A world on the brink of catastrophe.

In London, twenty-six-year-old Venetia Stanley—aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless—is part of a fast group of upper-crust bohemians and socialites known as “The Coterie.” She’s also engaged in a clandestine love affair with the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state.

As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer with Scotland Yard is assigned to investigate a leak of top-secret documents. Suddenly, what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that could topple the British government—and will alter the course of political history.

An unrivaled master of seamlessly weaving fact and fiction, Precipice is another electrifying thriller from the brilliant imagination of Robert Harris.

Review:

Immersive, evocative, and nuanced!

Precipice is a compelling, enlightening tale that sweeps you away to London in the early 1900s and into the life of H. H. Asquith, from his position as Prime Minister of Great Britain to his all-consuming infatuation and love affair with a woman, Beatrice Venetia Stanley, who was more than half his age.

The prose is tight and fluid. The characters are intelligent, multilayered, and driven. And the plot is a fascinating tale about life, love, power, corruption, recklessness, loyalty, the inner workings of government, and the complexities of war.

I have to admit that I knew very little about H. H. Asquith when I started Precipice, but Harris did such a wonderful job of blending historical facts with captivating, alluring fiction that I was not only left entertained but incredibly intrigued to learn more about his life and his contribution to British politics.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Harper Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Robert Harris

ROBERT HARRIS is the author of fifteen bestselling novels: the Cicero Trilogy—Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator—Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, The Ghost, The Fear Index, An Officer and a Spy, which won four prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Conclave, Munich, The Second Sleep, V2 and Act of Oblivion. Several of his books have been adapted into films, including The Ghost. His work has been translated into forty languages and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He lives in West Berkshire with his wife, Gill Hornby.

Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood @TraceyEnerson @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #KatharineTheWrightSister #TraceyEnersonWood #bookmarkedbylandmark

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood @TraceyEnerson @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #KatharineTheWrightSister #TraceyEnersonWood #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: Katharine, the Wright Sister

Author: Tracey Enerson Wood

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Sep. 10, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 448

Format: Hardcover

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 9/10

She helped her brothers soar… but was the flight worth the fall?

 It all started with two boys and a bicycle shop. Wilbur and Orville Wright, both unsuited to college and disinclined to leave home, jumped on the popular new fad of bicycle riding and opened a shop in Dayton, Ohio. Repairing and selling soon led to tinkering and building as the brothers offered improved models to their eager customers. Amid their success, a new dream began to take shape. Engineers across the world were puzzling over how to build a powered flying machine—and Wilbur and Orville wanted in on the challenge. But their younger sister, Katharine, knew they couldn’t do it without her. The three siblings made a the three of them would solve the problem of human flight.

 As her brothers obsessed over blueprints and risked life and limb testing new models on the sand beaches of North Carolina, Katharine became the mastermind behind the scenes of their inventions. She sourced materials, managed communications, and kept Wilbur and Orville focused on their goal—even when it seemed hopeless. And in 1903, the Wright brothers made the first controlled, sustained flight of humankind.

What followed was the kind of fame and fortune the Wrights had never imagined. The siblings traveled the world to demonstrate their invention, trained other pilots, and built new machines that could fly higher and farther. But at the height of their success, tragedy wrenched the Wright family apart… and forced Katharine to make an impossible choice that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

 From internationally bestselling author Tracey Enerson Wood, Katharine, the Wright Sister is an unforgettable novel that shines a spotlight on one of the most important and overlooked women in history, and the sacrifices she made so that others might fly.

Review:

Immersive, evocative, and fascinating!

Katharine, the Wright Sister is an atmospheric, absorbing tale that sweeps you away to the turn of the twentieth century and into the lives of the Wright brothers and their often unknown, overlooked or forgotten sister, Katharine, who not only provided support and assistance to her siblings during the continual ups and downs of attempting to invent, build, and fly the first powered airplane but was a consistent motivator that kept them focused on the tasks at hand and the dream firmly alive.

The prose is expressive and eloquent. The characters are well drawn, multilayered, and authentic. And the plot is an intriguing, absorbing mix of life, loss, loyalty, friendship, family, dreams, drive, ambition, successes, failures, imagination, and innovation.

Overall, Katharine, the Wright Sister is a compelling, rich, illuminating tale by one of my all-time favourite authors, Tracey Enerson Wood, that once again enthralled, entertained, and informed me!

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Tracey Enerson Wood

Tracey Enerson Wood has always had a writing bug. While working as a Registered Nurse, starting her own Interior Design company, raising two children, and bouncing around the world as a military wife, she indulged in her passion as a playwright, screenwriter and novelist. She has authored magazine columns and other non-fiction, written and directed plays of all lengths, including Grits, Fleas and Carrots, Rocks and Other Hard Places, Alone, and Fog.

Her screenplays include Strike Three and Roebling’s Bridge.

Other passions include food and cooking, and honoring military heroes. Her co-authored anthology/cookbook Homefront Cooking, American Veterans share Recipes, Wit, and Wisdom, was released by Skyhorse Publishing in May, 2018, and all authors’ profits will be donated to organizations that support veterans.

A New Jersey native, she now lives with her family in Florida and Germany.

Website | Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview The Paris Understudy by Aurélie Thiele @AlcovePress @angelamelamud #TheParisUnderstudy #AurelieThiele #angelabookspr #AlcovePress

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview The Paris Understudy by Aurélie Thiele @AlcovePress @angelamelamud #TheParisUnderstudy #AurelieThiele #angelabookspr #AlcovePress Title: The Paris Understudy

Author: Aurélie Thiele

Published by: Alcove Press on Sep. 10, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 320

Format: Hardcover

Source: Angela Melamud

Book Rating: 9/10

This powerful debut novel brings to life the hard choices Parisians made–or failed to make–under Nazi occupation, in the tradition of Pam Jenoff and Fiona Davis.

1938. Paris Opera legend Madeleine Moreau must keep newcomer Yvonne Chevallier, whose talent she fears, off the stage. As the long-standing star of the opera, she is nowhere near ready to give up her spotlight. The perfect solution: enlist Yvonne as her understudy so she can never be upstaged. When Madeleine is invited to headline at Germany’s preeminent opera festival, she is sure this will cement her legacy. But war is looming, and when she learns that Adolf Hitler himself will be in attendance, she knows she’s made a grave error. As Madeleine makes a hurried escape back to France, Yvonne finds herself unexpectedly thrown into the limelight on the German stage.

When a newspaper photograph shows Hitler seemingly enraptured by Yvonne, Yvonne’s life is upended. While she is trying frantically to repair her reputation at home, Yvonne’s son is captured and held as a prisoner of war. Desperate to free her son, she makes an impossible choice: turn to the enemy. 

As the Nazis invade Paris, both women must decide what they are willing to do in pursuit of their art. They form an unlikely alliance, using their fame to protect themselves and the people they love from the maelstrom of history.

Painting an enrapturing portrait of resilient wartime women, The Paris Understudy is a love letter to the arts and a stark depiction of the choices we make to survive, for fans of Kate Quinn and Kristen Harmel.

Review:

Charged, intense, and intriguing!

The Paris Understudy is an enticing, absorbing tale set in France during WWII that takes you into the lives of two opera singers, the esteemed Madeleine Moreau and the up-and-coming Yvonne Chevallier, as they both veer down different paths to survive the Nazi occupation of Paris.

The prose is fluid and rich. The characters are strong, resourceful, and trustworthy. And the plot is a captivating mix of life, love, loss, secrets, passion, heartbreak, betrayal, tragedy, survival, danger, friendship, war, and opera.

Overall, The Paris Understudy is a compelling, heart-tugging, atmospheric tale by Thiele that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly in the feelings, lives, and personalities of the characters you can’t help but be fully invested.

 

This novel is available now!

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

 

       

 

 

Thank you to Alcove Press and Angela Melamud for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Aurélie Thiele

Aurélie Thiele is French American and lives in Dallas, TX. She has studied writing at the UCLA Extension School and Bennington Writing Seminars. Her love of opera started when she was a high school student and her parents would take her to the opera at La Monnaie in Brussels. 

Instagram

#BookReview Enchanted Hill by Emily Bain Murphy @UnionSqandCo #EnchantedHill #EmilyBainMurphy #UnionSqandCo

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview Enchanted Hill by Emily Bain Murphy @UnionSqandCo #EnchantedHill #EmilyBainMurphy #UnionSqandCo Title: Enchanted Hill

Author: Emily Bain Murphy

Published by: Union Square & Co. on Nov. 7, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Union Square & Co.

Book Rating: 8/10

Escape to Enchanted Hill in this historical mystery where two people with a dark, shared past collide while working undercover at a glittering mansion on the California coast.
 
The year is 1930 and Cora McCavanagh is posing as a maid at Hollywood magnate Truman Byrd’s legendary estate. She’s closing in on the damning evidence she needs for a high-profile client. 
 
An aspiring PI, Cora was trained by her father, a former prison guard at the notorious Pelican Island, where Cora grew up surrounded by hardened criminals.
 
Which is why she recognizes Jack Yates as soon as he walks through the door. The last time she saw him was on an ill-fated night that changed the course of her life and still haunts her more than a decade later. Cora never expected to see Jack again—and now a single misstep could cause both their secret identities to come crashing down.
 
They strike a tentative truce to help each other during a week of parties overflowing with champagne and caviar. But there are puzzles hidden in every corner of Truman Byrd’s labyrinthine estate, and if Cora is to finally learn the truth about Jack Yates, she must unravel a sinister history that the rich and powerful will do anything to keep concealed.
 
Filled with intrigue and Old Hollywood glamour, Enchanted Hill is an unforgettable, sweepingly romantic novel set in a world you won’t want to leave.

Review:

Mysterious, atmospheric, and entertaining!

Enchanted Hill is a menacing, action-packed tale that takes us into the life of private investigator Cora McCavanagh who, after being hired to provide proof of ongoing adultery by the wife of media tycoon Truman Byrd, heads undercover to work at his infamous estate, Enchanted Hill, only to have the past collide with the present when the one man whom she’s never forgotten but assumed was long dead suddenly reappears using a different name and having questionable motives of his own.

The prose is descriptive and light. The characters, including the intelligent, independent heroine, are multi-layered, intriguing, and well-developed. And the plot is a well-paced, captivating tale full of red herrings, amateur sleuthing, dangerous endeavours, deduction, attraction, secrets, lies, deception, and a touch of the unexpected.

Overall, Enchanted Hill is a cosy, enjoyable, satisfying adult fiction debut by Murphy that is a solid choice for anyone who prefers mysteries set in historical times.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Union Square & Co. for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Emily Bain Murphy

Emily Bain Murphy was born in Indiana and raised in Hong Kong and Japan. She graduated from Tufts University and has also called Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California home. Murphy is the author of two critically acclaimed young adult novels: The Disappearances, which was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, and Splinters of Scarlet. Murphy lives in St. Louis with her husband and three children, where she's always on the lookout for beautiful old mansions hiding new stories.

Image by Randall Kahn.

Website | Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview The Housekeeper’s Secret by Iona Grey @iona_grey @StMartinsPress #TheHousekeepersSecret #IonaGrey #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview The Housekeeper’s Secret by Iona Grey @iona_grey @StMartinsPress #TheHousekeepersSecret #IonaGrey #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Housekeeper's Secret

Author: Iona Grey

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Aug. 13, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Duty, desire, and deception reside under one roof.

Standing in the remote windswept moors of Northern England, Coldwell Hall is the perfect place to hide. For the past five years, Kate Furniss has maintained her professional mask so carefully that she almost believes she is the character she has created: Coldwell’s respectable housekeeper.

It is the summer of 1911 that brings new faces above and below the stairs of Coldwell Hall―including the handsome and mysterious new footman, Jem Arden. Just as the house’s shuttered rooms open, so does Kate’s guarded heart to a love affair that is as intense as it is forbidden. But Kate can feel her control slipping as Jem harbors secrets of his own.

Told in alternating timelines from the last sun-drenched summer of the Edwardian Age to the mud-filled trenches of WWI, The Housekeeper’s Secret opens its door to a world of romance, the truths we hold onto, and the past we must let go.

Review:

Compelling, intense, and absorbing!

The Housekeeper’s Secret is a passionate, captivating tale set in England during the early 1900s that takes you into the life of Kate Furniss, a young housekeeper who, after fleeing an abusive husband and changing her name, finds her world turned upside down again when a handsome new footman arrives at Coldwell Hall who seems to be driven by secrets of his own. 

The prose is rich and vivid. The characters are determined, vulnerable, and brave. And the plot, told through a mixture of letters and narration, is an intriguing blend of life, loss, secrets, surprises, heartbreak, betrayal, survival, danger, grief, war, friendship, violence, and forbidden love.

Overall, The Housekeeper’s Secret is an insightful, enticing, atmospheric tale by Grey that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the feelings, lives, and personalities of the characters you can’t help but be fully engrossed and completely invested throughout.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

             

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Iona Grey

Iona Grey has a degree in English Literature and Language from Manchester University, an obsession with history and an enduring fascination with the lives of women in the twentieth century. She lives in the rural North West of England with her husband and three daughters. She is the award-winning author of Letters to the Lost, and her new book The Glittering Hour is on sale October 17 2019 (UK) and December 10, 2019 (US).

Goodreads | Instagram