review: The House of One Thousand Eyes

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The House of One Thousand Eyes by Michelle Barker Set in Cold War era East Germany during the 1980’s, this story follows 17-year-old Lena Altmann, who had lost her parents in a factory explosion and was living with her strict, party-observant aunt. Considered slow-witted due to her time in a psychiatric ward after the accident, Lena is given a job… Read more »

review: Sovrin’s Star

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Sovrin’s Star Mississippi Connection, Book 1 by John Reyer Afamasaga www.johnreyerafamasaga.org This historical novella follows two unique characters through the post-Civil War South–a crippled orphan boy of 10, and his new friend, Tiker, a man of many trades, who was himself an orphan in England. Having grown up in the streets, he became a prizefighter, a negotiator, and a spy…. Read more »

excerpt reveal & giveaway: Lone Wolf in Jerusalem

Lone Wolf in Jerusalem by Ehud Diskin A Thrilling Tale of Love, Loss, and Revenge BOOK DESCRIPTION Set primarily in post-WWII Israel, Lone Wolf in Jerusalem is a suspenseful, action-packed novel that is a worthy contribution to Jewish historical fiction. Using drama, adventure, and romance, Diskin has created a colorful and captivating story that entertains and educates through the exploits… Read more »

movie vs book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Firsty, I’m not sure it needs to be noted, but there are spoilers here. If you’ve not watched the movie and wish it to be a surprise, you may want to move along. I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society several years ago, and recently was inspired to reread it when I saw a preview of the… Read more »

review: Dear Mrs. Bird

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Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce The idea for this story stems from a fascinating subject–the content of women’s magazines from the WWII era. What topics were they covering and what was the tone during this time of hardship? In Dear Mrs. Bird, the protagonist, Emmaline Lake, is a young woman planning to become a war correspondent, or a journalist… Read more »

review: The Other Alcott

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The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper Abigail “May” Alcott, sister of Louisa May Alcott, is followed in this fictional biography which takes place in the 1870’s in Boston, London and Paris. May, whom Louisa had fictionalized as “Amy” in her Little Women series, had received negative reviews of her illustrations included in the books, and as such set out to… Read more »

review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

In general I am not one to reread books–with the exception of audiobook versions. In this case, I was prompted to pick Guernsey up a second time because I caught the trailer for the new film and it intrigued me (I loved Lily James in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies). When I read this book some 8 years ago, I… Read more »

eBook giveaway: The Beginning by Urban Vyaas

This giveaway is for a Kindle eBook copy, and is open until June 30, 2018. Leave a comment to enter. The Beginning: A Multicultural Tale of Transformation by Urban Vyaas Book Description: On June 16, 1914, journalist Alec Bannon and his young wife, Millie Bloom, meet an Inuit called Piugaattoq (also known as Minik Wallace) at the Museum of Natural… Read more »

guest post: Terrence McCauley on the history behind The Fairfax Incident

I had several reasons for setting THE FAIRFAX INCIDENT in 1933 New York City. The first reason is that I love history in general and New York City history in particular. The thousands of tourists who visit my hometown every year might be shocked to hear that New York doesn’t have much of a history when compared to other world… Read more »

giveaway: The Room on Rue Amelie

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THE ROOM ON RUE AMELIE by Kristin Harmel For fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Martha Hall Kelly’s Lilac Girls, this powerful novel of fate, resistance, and family—by the international bestselling author of The Sweetness of Forgetting and When We Meet Again—tells the tale of an American woman, a British RAF pilot, and a young Jewish teenager whose lives… Read more »

guest post: The Heroic Bean Counter

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Guest Post by author Philip K. Allan When the Queen Elizabeth class of Dreadnoughts were launched they were the most powerful warships afloat. The capital ships built during the arms race that proceeded WW1 divided into two broad categories. The majority of them consisted of heavily armoured, but slow, battleships. Dashing ahead of them into battle was the second type,… Read more »

guest post: Who Owns the Stories

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Guest post by Hilary Shepherd, author of In a Foreign Country, Animated Baggage, and Albi. “Albi is nine years old when Franco’s soldiers arrive in the village and his life begins to change in confusing ways. It’s not clear quite who should be trusted and who should not. Some neighbours disappear not to be seen again, others are hidden from… Read more »