Three Queens by Rebecca Connolly follows Abigail Adams, Queen Charlotte, and Queen Marie Antoinette from the American Revolution through the French Revolution. Not to be confused with the twin release date book A Founding Mother, Three Queens has Abigail Adams take a bit of a back seat to the dramas unfolding for both Charlotte and… Continue reading Review: Three Queens by Rebecca Connolly
A Founding Mother by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie follows "founding mother" Abigail Adams from the Revolution to her death. As a big fan of the HBO mini series, and having recently read an Abigail biography, I was very familiar with the overarching story beats as well as lesser known details. However, the book will… Continue reading Review: A Founding Mother by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden follows Vasya in medieval Russia (Rus) as she contends with the intersection of the real world and the unseen world of folklore and magic. Born of a natural witch, Vasya can see what others cannot: house and stable spirits who must both be nourished with offerings to… Continue reading Review: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
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
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
Ashes and Stone by Allyson Shaw is a creative non-fiction account of women accused of witchcraft throughout Scottish history, particularly in the 16th through 18th centuries. Shaw details her personal journey traveling around Scotland to visit the forgotten, often neglected monuments to the those who lost their lives to witchcraft craze. Reading Ashes and Stone… Continue reading Review: Ashes and Stones by Allyson Shaw
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
In The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson, author of Square of Sevens, richly-paints another 18th century story a reader can easily immerse oneself in. Newly widowed Hannah Cole owns a confectionery shop in London, this fact being somewhat scandalous both on account of a woman being the sole owner of a business and… Continue reading Review: The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
The Piano Player by Maybelle Wallis, the sequel to Heart of Cruelty, picks up about eight years later in Dublin. Dr. William Doughty works in Meath Hospital amidst both the Great Famine and a cholera epidemic. Meanwhile, Jane and her actor husband Edmond are newly arrived in Dublin on their theatre troupe's tour. Jane and… Continue reading Review: The Piano Player by Maybelle Wallis
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