The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore is the sequel to The Siege and follows the lives of Anna, Andrei, and Kolya in 1952 Leningrad. While the traumas of the Leningrad siege still live within each of them, they have carved out normalcy in their lives years after the war. Andrei is a successful doctor, Anna is… Continue reading Review: The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore
The Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper is the intense third installment of The Wolf Den trilogy. My reviews for books 1 and 2 can be found here and here. To be honest, I kind of put off reading this final installment because I knew it was going to be rough with the culmination of… Continue reading Review: The Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper
Oliver Fischer, a self-styled bohemian, boardwalk caricaturist, and student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, enrages his banker father and earns the contempt of Philadelphia’s foremost realist painter Thomas Eakins when he attempts to stage Manet’s scandalous painting The Luncheon on the Grass. Soon after, he is ensnarled, along with Mark Twain and Andrew… Continue reading Review: The Caricaturist by Norman Lock
What They Said ABout Luisa by Erika Rummel imagines a backstory for a real 16th century woman named Luisa Abrego, an enslaved woman of "Moorish" heritage in Seville who had been set free upon her master's death. Upon manumission, he also allegedly gave her a sum on which to live. Luisa then journeyed to Zacatecas,… Continue reading Review: What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo is an enchanting tale set in 16th century Spain. Luzia Cotado is a scullion of secret Jewish heritage. Protecting her true lineage in a country ruled by the Inquisition requires Luzia to keep a low profile. Although well-read, intelligent, and witty, Luzia must play the part of the illiterate, dull… Continue reading Review: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn follows the rise of Lyudmila Pavlichenko ,"Lady Death", famed Soviet Sniper of WWII with an official kill tally of 309. I first heard about Lyudmila ("Mila") during my early - mid '00s Russian history obsession phase of my life (everyone has one of those, right...?) A woman fighting on… Continue reading Review: The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
*slight spoilers below* If The Tide Turns by Rachel Rueckert takes place from 1715 to 1717 at the intersection of Massachusetts Puritanism and the Golden Age of Piracy. If The Tide Turns actually reminded me a lot of Hester. I was really excited to read this one because of the subject matter, and I really… Continue reading Review: If The Tide Turns by Rachel Rueckert
The Baronet's Tale: Anthony by Julia Brannan is a prequel to the Jacobite Chronicles, but takes place after The Highlander's Tale which recounts Alex MacGregor's childhood in the Highlands. The Baronet's Tale picks up in 1734 with Alex embarking for university in Paris at his father's insistence. Alex takes on this burden, painful as it… Continue reading Review: The Baronet’s Tale: Anthony (Jacobite Chronicles) by Julia Brannan
The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph is based on the life of 18th century Ignatius Sancho. Born on and soon orphaned upon a slave ship, two-year-old Sancho is purchased by an Englishman and taken back across the ocean and gifted as a sort of "pet" for three society sisters. Sancho runs… Continue reading Review: The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph
The Siege by Helen Dunmore follows a young woman, Anna, who is thrust into the primary caretaker role for her family during the deadly 1941 Siege of Leningrad. With a [unemployed] writer father and a infant brother, and her mother having passed at her brother's birth, Anna is the de facto leader of her family.… Continue reading Review: The Siege by Helen Dunmore
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