Daughter of Sekhmet by Abigail Keyes takes place in ancient Egypt during the reign of Ramesses the Great. I couldn't help but be reminded of Assassin's Creed Origins in exploring this rich world we don't often see save in documentaries. I appreciate the originality of setting a story in a time period and location readers… Continue reading Review: Daughter of Sekhmet by Abigail Keyes
How many historical novels about women being accused of, and/or actually being witches can I read? Well, the number is infinite, as this subject with forever interest met with its intersection of social history, feminism, gender politics, othering, etc. That said, The Witching Hour by Margaret Meyer has been on my TBR for a while.… Continue reading Review: The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling is not your typically structured historical novel, but rather a mix of narrative poetry and prose. Sacajewea is introduced to the reader as the pre-teen and we follow her until about the age of seventeen. While most only know about Sacajewea through the context of the… Continue reading Review: The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling
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
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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