The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano (who I coincidentally once shared a cab with at a writing conference!) breathes life into real historical figure, Margaret "Maggie" Jones, who was the first woman to be tried and executed for witchcraft in Boston in 1648. The author note states how Catalano was adverse (and rightfully… Continue reading Review: The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano
Weina Dai Randel's The Master Jeweler opens in 1925 when 15-year-old budding artist and Harbin local Anyu discovers an exquisitely made Faberge egg in the snow (which turns out to be The Winter Egg.) She soon after meets its owner, Russian master jeweler Isaac Mandelburg, who has been tasked with protecting the egg in the… Continue reading Review: The Master Jeweler
Burn Down Master's House by Clay Cane takes place over about thirty years stretching from Pennsylvania to South Carolina, with the overarching story's inciting event taking place in Goochland, Virginia. Author Clay Cane based these four interconnected stories off of his own ancestry, as well as real events in the 19th century American South pulled… Continue reading Review: Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane
After years of hearing about the epic story by Paullina Simons, I finally picked up The Bronze Horseman. Focusing on the siege of Leningrad during WWII (The Siege is one of my favorite books,) this was just up my alley. The book opens with just-turning-17-year-old Tatiana Metanova on the first day war is announced in… Continue reading Review: The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
Daughter of Strangers by Maybelle Wallis rounds of the trilogy which began with Heart of Cruelty and was followed by The Piano Player. The third book in the Doughty trilogy, Daughter of Strangers relegates William and Jane to the background and focuses instead on William's colleague from Dublin, now in New York with the Doughtys,… Continue reading Review: Daughter of Strangers by Maybelle Wallis
In the vein of Claire Heywood and Jennifer Saint, Hannah Lynn's Grecian women retold books re-imagine Greek mythology and legend from the perspective of the women central to, or little mentioned in, these classic tales. The Women of Artemis opens with Otrera as she and her abusive husband move to a new town. Otrera soon… Continue reading Review: The Women of Artemis by Hannah Lynn
The Vengeance by Emma Newman takes place (presumably) during the early 18th-century from the Caribbean to pre-revolution France. Newman's story begins aboard the pirate ship Vengeance with Morgane and her relation Captain Anna-Marie. The Vengeance continually pursues and sacks ships of The Four Chains Company (a fictional East India Company), the Captain seeming to have… Continue reading Review: The Vengeance by Emma Newman
The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore follows Rebecca West during the 17th century witch hunt craze in England, spearheaded by "Witchfinder General" Matthew Hopkins (again, I couldn't help picturing Vincent Price given his film.) Similar to Margaret Meyer's The Witching Tide, the women of Manningtree are one by one accused by Hopkins and his associates… Continue reading Review: The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore
Vlad: The Last Confession by C.C. Humphreys is a historical fiction account of 15th century Vlad Dracula, Prince of Wallachia--or as most know him, Vlad the Impaler. The tale is framed by confessionals told in 1481 from those closest to Vlad, his former lover, his best friend, his confessor, who witnessed his lows and highs… Continue reading Review: Vlad The Last Confession by C.C. Humphreys
The House of Two Sisters by Rachel Louise Driscoll (titled Nephthys in the UK) follows Clementine "Clemmie", daughter of a famed Victorian Egyptologist and "mummy unwrapper." Clemmie ventures alone to Cairo to return one of her father's (pilfered) artifacts that Clemmie believes has cursed her family. (Read into that the colonialism and superstition as you… Continue reading Review: The House of Two Sisters by Rachel Louise Driscoll
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