The Lion of Justice by Jean Plaidy This is the story of Henry I of England, The Lion of Justice, and his wife, Edith Atheling (later called Matilda of Scotland). It begins with Henry’s brother, William Rufus on the throne, and recounts his uninspiring reign. With Rufus’s mysterious death, Henry claims the throne of England before his eldest brother, Robert… Read more »
In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen BOOK DESCRIPTION: “World War II comes to Farleigh Place, the ancestral home of Lord Westerham and his five daughters, when a soldier with a failed parachute falls to his death on the estate. After his uniform and possessions raise suspicions, MI5 operative and family friend Ben Cresswell is covertly tasked with determining if the… Read more »
The Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Pamela Mingle This full-length Austen continuation takes place a few years after the elder Bennet sisters had married and focuses on the most inconsequential sister, Mary. Having spent a good deal of time with Jane at her new home, High Tor, and Elizabeth at Pemberley, Mary had much improved her music and conversation skills,… Read more »
Bride of Pendorric by Victoria Holt Nineteen-year-old Favel Farrington has lived most of her life with her parents on the Italian island of Capri. Having spent her younger years at the boarding school her mother attended in England, she never thought she’d go back, but her life is forever changed when Roc Pendorric of Cornwall walks into her father’s art… Read more »
Just a fair warning—these reviews contain spoilers. It’s impossible to evaluate these short stories without discussing their strengths and inadequacies, in which case will give away the plot. There’s just not enough info to skirt around the edges, as would be the case for a novel-length book. A Twist of Fate by Brenda J. Webb This story imagines what takes… Read more »
The Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie The Sisters of Versailles (my review) The Rivals of Versailles (my review) The third in Sally Christie’s Versailles trilogy, The Enemies of Versailles is told by two women close to King Louis XV: his daughter, Adélaïde, and his last mistress, Madame du Barry. While The Sisters of Versailles focused on Louis’ early life… Read more »
Alexander Hamilton: The Making of America by Teri Kanefield Alexander Hamilton is much in the news lately, particularly with the Broadway play in such demand, and the current political atmosphere. This young adult biography is approximately 200 pages and includes a birth-to-death account of the life of this extraordinary founding father. It covers many important topics, such as mercantilism, checks… Read more »
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent This story opens on a small family farm in Northern Iceland with two sisters receiving the news that their household was chosen to retain a young woman who had recently been convicted of murder. When Agnes Magnúsdóttir arrived filthy and starved, everyone in the family and neighboring farms were repulsed by merely the thought of… Read more »
A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series has been a staple in children’s literature for decades, but how many readers know the truth behind its authorship? In A Wilder Rose, Albert takes readers through the years leading up to the stock market crash and through the Great Depression—the years in which… Read more »
West of the Wall by Marcia Preston The year after the Berlin Wall was constructed, Trudy Hulst and her family were divided when her husband, a political activist, made his escape to West Berlin. As a defector’s wife, she found herself in danger of imprisonment and soon followed Rolf over the wall, leaving her one-year-old son in the care of… Read more »
The Chosen Maiden by Eva Stachniak Author’s Website COMMENT TO ENTER GIVEAWAY. US/CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY. Chronicling the years 1894 to 1939, this story covers the Russian Revolution, WWI and the years leading up to WWII through the eyes of Bronislava Nijinska, a Polish-born Russian ballet dancer who worked her way up to teaching and choreographing across Europe. Always in the… Read more »
One Way or Another The Snipesville Chronicles, Book 4 by Annette Laing The conclusion to Annette Laing’s time-travel young adult series (Don’t Know Where, Don’t Know When, A Different Day, a Different Destiny, Look Ahead, Look Back) One Way or Another explores racial tensions and class bias in both present day and the early 20th century. Hannah, Alex, and Brandon… Read more »