Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson follows Phebe Delores Brown, the child of an enslaved woman and the master of their plantation. Phebe has avoided the harsh field toil by weaving and sewing alongside her mother on the Bell Plantation in Charles City, Virginia. Her mother is a strong influence on her life--teaching her healing… Continue reading Review: Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
I was already familiar with the Kingsbridge series from the Pillars of the Earth and World Without End mini-series. The Evening and the Morning is my first Ken Follett...and I must say, I went a very long time assuming he must be a very talented writer. But I think I was wrong. I appreciate the… Continue reading Review: The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett
Linnea Hartsuyker's Golden Wolf trilogy has been on my to-read list for a while for its realistic representation of Scandanavia during the 9th century. Historical Fiction with Vikings--yes, please, but it's surprisingly hard to find serious stories about Vikings rather than harlequin-esque romance novels about stereotypes (no offense if those are your vice.) The Half-Drowned… Continue reading Review: The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker
Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures by Kathryn Brewster Haueisen straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction in telling the intertwining stories of the English religious rebels and the Pokanoket people and how these cultures clashed. There are two interesting points about the author, Kathryn Brewster Haueisen. She is the descendant of the… Continue reading Review: Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures by Kathryn Brewster Haueisen
The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew by Denise Heinze is a short (hey, the title doesn't lie) and vibrant read about two women surviving in the starving Jamestown colony in 1609. Temperance Flowerdew and her maid, Lily, set out with the Virginia Company fleet to sail across the ocean for a second chance… Continue reading Review: The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew by Denise Heinze
Cursed by Thomas Wheeler (illustrations by Frank Miller) is a unique spin on the Arthurian legend in which Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, becomes the wielder of the Sword of Power and eventual Queen of the Fey. The main antagonists in this novel are the Church and the Red Paladins, Uther Pendragon and… Continue reading Review: Cursed by Thomas Wheeler
Glorious Boy highlights a place often overlooked in WWII fiction: the Andaman Islands. Located between India and Thailand, the Andamans were part of British Colonial India. On the eve of WWII, American Anthropologist Claire marries British surgeon Shep Durant. Shep is soon posted to the Andamans as a colonial doctor, and Claire takes the opportunity… Continue reading Review: Glorious Boy by Aimee Liu
Queen's Peril by E. K. Johnston is the follow-up to the acclaimed Queen's Shadow, although a prequel. Queen's Peril starts when Padme (Naberrie) Amidala is elected Queen of Naboo and finishes with the end of Episode I: The Phantom Menace. While QP was a quick, entertaining read (Padme, the handmaidens, and Naboo are my happy… Continue reading Review: Queen’s Peril by E. K. Johnston
More Miracle Than Bird  by Alice Miller tells the true story of Georgie Hyde-Lees, who at the age of 25, married famous Irish poet W.B. Yeats (then 52.) Miller's narrative focuses on Georgie working as a nurse in London during WWI. While trying to strike it out on her own at the soldier's hospital,… Continue reading Review: More Miracle Than Bird by Alice Miller
The Secrets We Kept is a book about one of my favorite books: Doctor Zhivago. In 2002, I discovered Docotor Zhivago through the 2002 mini series with Keira Knightley. I fell in love with the story and then read the book, and I instantly became obsessed. Doctor Zhivago was a huge creative and literary influence… Continue reading Review: The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
