Tag Archives: Historical Fiction

All the historical fiction genre book reviews.

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Review: Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Title: Scarlet
Author: A. C. Gaughen
Series: Scarlet series
Pages: 292 pages hardcover/ebook, 304 paperback/Kindle
Rating: ★★★★★

Everyone knows the basic story of Robin Hood. He and his band of Merry Men steal from the rich and give to the poor. There are so many versions of that basic story that adding yet another tale to the mix seems a bit too much. Don’t let that stop you from reading Scarlet however, because this is one of the best twists on the story I’ve ever read.

Scarlet is a girl hiding in Robin’s band. She doesn’t want it known that she’s a girl and she doesn’t want those that do know to treat her any differently. She’s hiding her true identity from everyone, even Robin and John, who think they know her best. When her past catches up to her and starts putting people at risk, she must decide how far she will let the violence go before she steps up and puts an end to it.

There is a bit of a love triangle, but it isn’t overdone. John is the flirt of the group, but when he starts to feel more for Scarlet, he starts to change his ways. Robin tries to stay away, knowing any feelings could put the group in jeopardy. Both boys give Scarlet feelings she isn’t sure how to handle, or if she even deserves the attention. By the end of the novel, it is clear where the romance is going to go, even if Scarlet has only just figured out her own feelings.

I loved reading about the fighting. Gaughen can write fight scenes amazingly well. I followed the action and could picture every move in my head. I could see Scarlet throwing her knife and jumping around. Each time she was faced with something, she found a way to fight through it. She knows sometimes it’s better to run than to stand and fight, even when all you want to do is make a stand.

Scarlet is a fast-paced novel that pulls you in right away and makes you feel for the characters. It’s a fantastic twist on the Robin Hood tale and I’m glad there will be more to come. I can’t wait to see where Scarlet, Robin, John and the rest of the boys go next and who they will face.

If Scarlet sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
IndieBound

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Review: The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abé

Title: The Sweetest Dark
Author: Shana Abé
Series: The Sweetest Dark series
Pages: 352 pages
Rating: ★★★

I hadn’t read anything by Abe before and was excited to get started. The idea behind this story was interesting, and looking past a few of the minor issues I had with it, it was just what I had hoped it would be.

The mythological creature this book is based on is different and one I had not read about. I wish there had been a bit more about the World War I setting, but based on the book description for the next book, I’ll be able to get my history fix there. My only other complaint is I wish there had been a bit more concerning the history of the supernatural. A little more explanation would have been nice.

For a time when women weren’t considered womanly if they had convictions and strength, Lora is strong. She maintains the politeness required of her, but she finds other ways to show her strength. She doesn’t back down when she’s threatened, she doesn’t fall back on her “station” and cower. She stands strong in the ways she is able and doesn’t back down.

While my heart broke at the end, I wasn’t as into the love story as I wish I was. Jesse was sweet and kind, but I would have liked a little more depth to him. Armand has a little bit more to him, but I found his hot and cold with Lora to be a little too frustrating.

The Sweetest Dark manages to be something new in a sea of sameness. The level of detail is fantastic and the picture Abe can paint with her words is glorious. It does have a few shortcomings, but it is still worth a read. The historical setting makes for a unique and wonderful backdrop for this supernatural story.

If The Sweetest Dark sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
IndieBound

Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the novel in exchange for a honest review.

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Review: The Witch’s Daughter by Paula Brackston

Title: The Witch’s Daughter
Author: Paula Brackston
Pages: 305 pages hardcover, 387 paperback, 416 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

The Witch’s Daughter isn’t some epic fairy tale told over many lifetimes. It’s not a drama-filled, romance story that will twist your heart in knots. But it will still leave you a little bit breathless.

Elizabeth is just a girl when she loses her father, brother, and little sister to the plague. When she becomes sick, her mother does what any mother in her situation would do; save her last remaining child’s life through any means necessary. She goes to Gideon and it is his teaching ways and power that saves Elizabeth’s life, but at a huge cost. It is this action that starts Elizabeth on her journey through time, always looking over her shoulder for the one who wants to own her, yet trying to build a life wherever she can.

The book is told through two perspectives: the journal entries in The Book of Shadows and as Elizabeth telling Teagan stories. This isn’t distracting at all and only makes the story more inviting, in my opinion. The Book of Shadows is written in the present time. It talks of Elizabeth’s life now and her interactions with Teagan. She is teaching Teagan the ways of the hedge witch and in doing so, allows herself to feel for another person; something she hasn’t done in many, many years.

The rest of the novel is about Elizabeth’s many lives, from treating prostitutes in Jack the Ripper’s London to the war front of World War I. She is helping as many people as she can wherever she lives, trying to stay out of Gideon’s path, trying to save herself from becoming his. She tries to avoid magic whenever she can, as using her magic calls Gideon to her.

It is a special kind of heartbreaking to see Elizabeth go through so many lives, trying to not form attachments, yet yearning to find someone to love her. She knows any bonds she forms will be broken when the other person dies, but solitary life isn’t good for anyone and Elizabeth’s heartbreak hurt to read.

The ending of the novel is exactly what I wanted, and yet I wish there was just a little bit more. Not because the novel needed more, but because I wanted to know more.

The Witch’s Daughter isn’t a romance. It isn’t an action novel. It isn’t a drama. It’s a historical fiction novel that has a little bit of everything. I’m glad I decided to pick this book up and look forward to reading more from Brackston.

If The Witch’s Daughter sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Indiebound
Audible

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Review: The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen

Title: The Maid of Fairbourne Hall
Author: Juile Klassen
Pages: 681 pages hardcover, 414 paperback, 353 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

Julie Klassen has an amazing ability to write Regency novels. She completely draws you into the time period and makes you forget the world around you.

I think what I enjoyed most about The Maid of Fairbourne Hall was the character development. Margaret begins the novel as a somewhat spoiled rich girl. She doesn’t give many thoughts to the lives of the servants, focusing more on her marital pursuits and material things. When she is forces to leave her home, she finds residence at Fairbourne Hall as a maid. She must do the work she had taken for granted for so long. Klassen doesn’t make it easy on her, but doesn’t make it unrealistically hard, either. Margaret must work for the first time in her life and grows to have a better understanding and compassion for those around her.

The two main men in the story are complete opposites. One wants what he can’t have and doesn’t let that get in his way. The other, while less exciting, is the true gentleman. While one is great for a moment, the other is great for a lifetime. The contrast was fantastic and made for an interesting story.

I felt there was a lot of silent buildup for a climax that fizzled a little bit. After what happens near the beginning of the novel, how it was tied up felt a little short and rushed. I know that the main purpose of this novel was to be a romance, and in that aspect, it was perfect. However, Klassen also added a little extra tension that either needed to be explored more or cut out.

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall is my favorite Klassen novel to date. It has mystery and romance all wrapped up with the drama of the Regency era.

If The Maid of Fairbourne Hall sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

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Review: The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

Title: The Rose Garden
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Pages: 441 pages paperback, 428 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

Time travel is a tricky thing. A novel written around it can either be wonderful or completely fail. Thankfully, The Rose Garden falls into the wonderful category.

After losing her sister, Eva heads back to the home where they had spent summers growing up. It is where Eva remembers Katrina being happiest, where she wants to spread her ashes. While there, she is faced with the fact that the house will never be the one she remembers because it is missing her sister. She also learns she has the ability to jump through time.

She goes back to the home in 1715, when the owners were two brothers on the wrong side of the crown. They manage to stay just above the law, but there is always the risk of being caught and falling prey to the constable. The more time Eva spends with Daniel, the older brother, the more she starts to fall for him.

She continues to jump back and forth, helping Mark and Susan set up the home so it can continue to operate in the future, all the while realizing that she doesn’t belong at the house at that time anymore. The more she is in the present, the more her heart wants to go back.

Kearsley paints a beautiful picture with her words. I have never been to Cornwall, and yet I could picture everything clearly in my mind. I could smell the see and feel the ground beneath my feet.

I don’t really know what to say about Daniel and Eva’s romance because it was beyond words. It fell exactly how it should have been. They never knew how much time they would have together and so they made the most of it. Daniel did not expect Eva to conform to his society’s standards when it was just the two of them, and Eva gave Daniel a reason to be happy. It was like reading about two puzzle pieces finally fitting together.

The Rose Garden is a fantastic novel about love and what it means to be happy. It also reminds us that home is not always a place with four walls and a roof, it’s about the feeling you have once you find it.

If The Rose Garden sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

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Review: The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani

Title: The Shoemaker’s Wife
Author: Adriana Trigiani
Pages: 475 pages hardcover, 496 paperback, 494 ebook
Rating: ★★★★★

Wow.

That is the only word that was running through my head as I finished reading The Shoemaker’s Wife. I did not expect to feel as much as I did. This book grabbed me from the very first word and wove its way through my heart.

Ciro and Ezra grew up in villages just a few miles from each other and yet never met. Ciro and his brother are raised by nuns after their father dies in a mine accident in America and their mother is unable to care for them. Ezra grows up on the mountainside, taking on more responsibility than she is asked, growing up faster than the rest of her siblings. Their first meeting is filled with such sweetness in such a sorrowful moment that I couldn’t help but wish for them.

Both end up going to America; Ciro is to become a shoemaker’s apprentice after being banished from the mountain and Ezra is going so she and her father can make more money in order to build their dream home. Ciro and Ezra run into each other in New York, but once again, life has different plans for them.

Throughout the entire novel, my heart was with these two. There were so many chances, so many opportunities for these two to get together, but their timing was just never right. Their paths crossed, but didn’t entwine.

By the end of the novel, tears were running down my face. I simply cannot think of powerful enough words to describe how much this book touched me. Trigiani pulled me right in and I fell in love. Ezra and Ciro had such a perfectly imperfect, sweet, wonderful, powerful, all-consuming love for each other that it was almost as if I could reach into the novel and touch it.

The Shoemaker’s Wife will grab your heart and make you cry with how amazing it is. I truly do not have the words to say how much I love and adore this book.

If The Shoemaker’s Wife sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

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Review: The Forgotten Queen by D.L. Bogdan

Title: The Forgotten Queen
Author: D. L. Bogdan
Pages: 318 pages paperback, 384 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

One of my favorite things about reading historical fiction is getting to discover something or someone from the past. In the case of The Forgotten Queen, I get to do both.

Margaret is the older sister of King Henry VIII. She is married to James, King of Scotland in order to hopefully bring peace between the two countries. She’s told from the very beginning that peace is her job as queen. She holds on to that tightly, even when things get tough.

Margaret knows from an early age that her choices are not truly her own. Because she is a woman, her marriage is a bargaining tool. She can never rule in her own right, and her opinions on anything other than dresses are generally not looked upon as valuable. She fights back in her own way, choosing her second and third husbands and trying to do what is right for Scotland through her son.

Bogdan wrote a perfectly flawed character. Margaret is in love with the idea of love and that clouds her judgment at times. She loves a little too much, but that is both a strength and a weakness. She makes decisions having the best intentions at heart, even though she doesn’t always think her actions through. I loved reading a character, even one based on fact, that is a completely human character. It makes her come alive.

The true sign, to me, of a great historical fiction novel, is one that makes me want to learn more after the last page has been read. The Forgotten Queen was one of those books. As soon as I had finished reading, I was looking up more information. I had known of Margaret before reading, but after finishing the novel, I feel like I know her a little bit more.

This is definitely a book for anyone interested in the other members of the Tudor family. There were a couple times when the tone of the novel felt a little off, but that doesn’t get in the way of enjoying the story. This look into the life of Margaret is a wonderful read and a great historical fiction novel.

If The Forgotten Queen sounds like your kind of novel, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Bloodletter’s Daughter by Linda Lafferty

Title: The Bloodletter’s Daughter
Author: Linda Lafferty
Pages: 512 pages hardcover, 513 ebook
Rating: ★★★★★

I had never heard of Marketa Pichlerova before reading this book. And to be honest, if I didn’t look up the real history behind this book, I probably would have thought it too dramatic to be true. That’s why I think I loved this book so much. The basic story behind it is true. Marketa was real. The main parts of this story are things that actually happened. And man, is it a story.

Marketa is a bathmaiden, which is basically saying she will be a classy prostitute. She longs to study and practice medicine, even though she is a woman and can’t have that dream. She works in her mother’s bathhouse and occasionally assists her father in his bloodletting procedures. I felt so much for her. Because her mother is a bathmaiden, that’s really all she can hope for in her future. She was born with the ultimate curse–being a woman. She just wants to do more than what is expected of her. She wants to follow her dreams and learn more of medicine and be able to practice.

When she finally gets her first “patient” in the son of the king, I can see why her better judgment becomes clouded. She’s finally getting the chance to do what she wants, even if she doesn’t get the credit. She gets to use her knowledge of the human body to help someone, even if the man she is helping is too far gone to really feel any benefits.

I feel bad for Don Julius, in a way. Granted, I don’t feel bad enough for me to find him redeeming in any way, but not everything is his fault. Yes, he is mad and insane, but those around him indulge him instead of really trying to help him. Fear of falling out of the king’s good graces leads Julius’ companions to turn a blind eye to his behavior instead of stopping it. It is in that way I feel bad for him. Who knows how things would have turned out had Julius been treated the way he deserved instead of being treated with kid gloves.

The story itself is amazing. It reads like a soap opera, but is based in fact. That is what I find fascinating. Those few years the book described really happened. It’s hard to wrap my head around it and I really want to know more.

The Bloodletter’s Daughter is a fascinating read that transports you back in time and throws you right into the middle of the town. The story is brilliantly written and makes it nearly impossible to put the book down. This is a must-read book.

If The Bloodletter’s Daughter sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Audible
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

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Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

I haven’t read anything of Jio’s before. Blackberry Winter was a Kindle Daily Deal and the description sounded interesting. At worst, I’d be out three dollars. At best, I’d find one of those gems that sneak up on you. Blackberry Winter is definitely a gem.

Blackberry Winter weaves together two different tales of struggles and loss. Vera heads to work one evening and when she leaves there is snow blanketing the ground and her son is gone. Claire’s life is in pieces and it takes a snow storm to put her on the path to fixing herself. The stories are beautifully interwoven, constantly pulling at my heart and never giving a moment of rest.

I did figure out early on most of how the characters are connected. I initially thought that knowing the big mystery would take me out of the novel. It didn’t at all. I still needed to know how things got from point A to point B and all the little pieces in the middle.

Vera’s story had me in tears. The pain she went through is something no mother should ever have to go through. And to have it set in 1933, when times were dire or times were fantastic, all depending on how much money there was to your name. She worked hard to make life as good as she could for her son, and it was so easy to feel the love she had for him.

Claire is going through her own heartache. Her world has been broken to bits and she’s not sure how she’s supposed to put it back together. When a May snowstorm hits and she comes the story of Vera and Daniel Ray, something in her compels her to dig the truth out. She needs to find out how Vera’s story ends and I loved going on that journey with her.

Sarah Jio is an author that hadn’t been on my radar before. But after reading Blackberry Winter, I will definitely be reading more of her writings. She wove a breathtaking story through these pages and had me tearing up at the end. This is a book that needs to be read.

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Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver

I’m not really sure how I feel about Sacrifice. Was it a good book? Yes. Was it engaging? Yes. But things were missing, and I didn’t find myself enjoying Sacrifice as much as I had hoped.

First, the romance. In the previous two books, I felt it. I was swooning as much as Alera was. In Sacrifice, I didn’t feel it. Sure, Kluver told me about how amazing Narian was and how sweet, but she didn’t show me like she did in the previous books. I feel like there needs to be more than kissing to make me fall in love, and that’s really all I got from Alera and Narian’s romance. There was some swooning in this book, but it didn’t last as long as I wished it would.

I could have handled a flat romance, if the rest of the story was spectacular. Unfortunately, it felt like there was a lot of build up to something that wasn’t fully explained. I wanted to know more about that last battle. I wanted to know how things went down. I felt like 85% of the book was leading up to this epic battle, and then nothing. There was summary, but nothing of the actual action.

I guess that’s how I feel about the entire novel, though. Legend and Allegiance were fantastic build up to Sacrifice, while fell short of what I was expecting. It felt like more of a middle novel, lots of little things happened, and one or two large things happened, but it didn’t feel like its own novel. Plus, the ending wrapped up a little too fast. I would have loved having the last 10% of the novel expanded.

Sacrifice wasn’t a bad book, but it didn’t live up to the caliber the first two novels had set. It’s a fine novel, but I wanted something more and it just wasn’t there.