Taking place in 1950s Red-scare Washington, D.C., The Briar Club follows the internal machinations of Briarwood Boarding House. Run by the stingy Mrs. Nilsson, along with her wise-beyond-his-years teenage son Pete and aspiring baker daughter Lina. There's Grace March, enigmatic, compassionate, motherly, but holds a damning secret. Fliss, the "perfect" house mate and mom to… Continue reading Review: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
The Maiden of Florence, based on true events, follows orphan Giulia Albizzi who is pulled from the Pieta and taken into the care of the Medici Grand Duke for a larger scheme. Having been raised in the Pieta, Giulia is naive of the world and of men. Growing up an orphan with fleeting friendships in… Continue reading Review: The Maiden of Florence by Katherine Mezzacappa
Eleanore of Avignon by Elizabeth DeLozier follows Eleanore Blanchet at the start of the Black Death in 1347 France. Elea is a healer skilled in herblore and midwifery, as taught to her by her late mother. When she unsuspectingly meets Guigo, the Pope's physician foraging for berries to make a tonic, a new life opens… Continue reading Review: Eleanore of Avignon by Elizabeth DeLozier
Horses of Fire by A.D. Rhine is a retelling of the Trojan War from the perspectives of Helen, Andromache (wife of Hector,) and Rhea (a young enslaved woman raised in a horse breeder family.) In this version, Helen has been taken from her former home and husband by Paris against her will. As the years… Continue reading Review: Horses of Fire by A.D. Rhine
In 1348 Italy, at the height of the Black Death, Ginevra is summoned out of exile to Florence to aid the city in ridding the pestilence. The local clergy believes the plague is caused by the disappearing holy relics from the city and turn to Ginevra who had previously been marked as having knowledge of… Continue reading Review: The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche
In Silence, author Julia Park Tracey imagines the life of her 1720s ancestor in the Massachusetts Puritan community. Tracey was at first intrigued by her ancestors' name, Silence, and reflected on what kind of a life of a woman named Silence in the early 18th century might have. As an aside, many people (particularly women)… Continue reading Review: Silence by Julia Park Tracey
Daughters of Rome by Kate Quinn, the second in her Roman series after Mistress of Rome, begins in 69 AD after the death of Nero. 69 AD is known as the Year of the Four Emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian.) This chaotic year of transition in Rome's history is witnessed through the eyes of… Continue reading Review: Daughters of Rome by Kate Quinn
The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable gives life to real historical figure Anna Maria della Pietà, a musical prodigy brought up in the Pietà convent orphanage learning music and eventually earning a spot within the ranks of the prestigious figlie di coro. While Anna Maria was a real person and a talented student of Vivaldi, I… Continue reading Review: The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable
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
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