This book is so powerful and so beautifully written that it just took my breath away. There are strong themes of friendship, family, and kindness to others. The question that came into my mind about one of the characters was: Is he evil or just completely damaged beyond repair? The difficult theme of spousal abuse is also prevalent throughout the book. The friendship between Junie and Philomena is one of love, kindness, and sacrifice, and speaks to what true friends will do for one another.
Anyone who wants to read a book featuring strong women in difficult situations, or anyone who enjoys beautiful writing, will enjoy this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Zooloo’s Book Tours. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fran Clark writes Women’s Fiction, both contemporary and historical. Her first novel was published by Indigo Dreams in 2014. In the same year she achieved a Distinction in her Creative Writing MA from Brunel University. In 2016 she was shortlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Prize. In February 2024, her Island Secrets Book Series will be published, starting with Holding Paradise Book 1.
Originally from London, Fran moved to the English countryside with her musician husband. A musician herself, Fran teaches vocals and leads a local choir. She has two sons.
Fran also writes under the pseudonym, Rosa Temple, writing contemporary fiction and published by HQ Digital and Simon & Schuster UK.
Below are three mini-reviews, From three stars to five, in order. The reviews are short and to the point. For a book description and purchase options, you can click on each cover.
This one never came completely together for me. There is too much telling and not enough showing, which I know is common for Steel’s novels, but did not work here. A major terrorist attack on New York is mentioned but not too closely explored. Kate was the most complex character, in my opinion, and managed to elevate this book a bit.
All in all, it’s not my favorite Steel novel, but I love most of her work.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
This is a really clever continuation of The Secret Staircase series, as Tempest and her crew are back, creating illusions in homes and finding themselves in the middle of mysteries. When a former client is killed in their building by a booby-trapped door, Tempest is on the case, trying to exonerate her company and another surprise suspect.
Although this is part of a series, it easily stands alone as the author does a good job of catching the reader up on events. The cast of characters is fun and intriguing, and the story has plenty of twists and turns.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
I’ve always been intrigued by books about The Blitz and books about libraries/book clubs. Since this is a combination of the two, I figured it was a “can’t miss.” novel. I was right. Compelling characters and true-to-life descriptions will transport you to 1940 London as you peruse a book in the underground tunnels while bombs drop overhead. Highly recommend.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think?
I reviewed this book for the February issue of Historical Novels Review, the Journal of The Historical Novel Society.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
The bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil mines the subtle horrors of 1950s America in a gripping novel about a woman under pressure—from the living and the dead.
The first day of autumn brought the fever, and with the fever came the voices.
Missouri, 1955. Loretta Davenport has led an isolated life as a young mother and a wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. They’re the picture of domestic tranquility—until a local girl is murdered and Loretta begins receiving messages from beyond. Pete dismisses them as delusions of a fevered female imagination. Loretta knows they’re real—and frightening.
Defying Pete’s demands, Loretta finds an encouraging supporter in parapsychologist Dr. Curtis Hansen. He sees a woman with a rare gift, more blessing than curse. With Dr. Hansen’s help, Loretta’s life opens up to an empowering new purpose. But for Pete, the God-fearing image he’s worked so hard to cultivate is under threat. No longer in control of his dutiful wife, he sees the Devil at work.
As Loretta’s powers grow stronger and the pleading spirits beckon, Pete is determined to deliver his wife from evil. To solve the mysteries of the dead, Loretta must first save herself.
BOOK REVIEW
Missouri, 1955. A young girl, Darcy, is missing, which is disturbing enough, but then Loretta Davenport begins seeing visions of the girl’s location, and, sadly, knows where her body can be found. This paranormal ability does not sit well with her husband, a Bible professor at a local college. He’s already upset about her lack of energy and weight gain. Their perfect life seems threatened enough without psychic messages that overwhelm her. After the vision of Darcy, the door to the “other side” seems to open for Loretta, and she begins to see more of the dead. She seeks out a psychologist to try and make sense of it as her life turns upside down.
This story of a 1950s housewife who can suddenly see and receive messages from the dead is so fascinating and compelling that it will be hard to put down. Loretta’s growing abilities and the cracking facade of her life are so well described. The author expertly begins to pull the curtain from Loretta’s marriage and show the truth—her husband is not perfect, and is, in fact, abusive. The combination of a bad marriage and explosive new psychic abilities makes this book shine. The lack of basic rights for women in the 1950s is also explored, as Loretta becomes almost a prisoner in her own home. And a mystery is involved, as Loretta is trying to find Darcy’s killer to save others from the same fate. There is a bit of romance, and a theme of embracing one’s true self. This is a satisfying mix of historical mystery and paranormal fiction that fans of those genres will enjoy. Highly recommended.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paulette Kennedy is the bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil, which received the prestigious HNS Review Editor’s Choice Award. She has had a lifelong obsession with the gothic. As a young girl, she spent her summers among the gravestones in her neighborhood cemetery, imagining all sorts of romantic stories for the people buried there.
After her mother introduced her to the Brontës as a teenager, Paulette’s affinity for fog-covered landscapes and haunted heroines only grew, inspiring her to become a writer. Originally from the Missouri Ozarks, she now lives with her family and a menagerie of rescue pets in sunny Southern California, where sometimes, on the very best days, the mountains are wreathed in fog.
When Rosie Macalister returns to Yale and her spot on the equestrian team after a year away, she finds out she is rooming with Annelise Tattinger, who turns out to be a very talented rider who reads tarot cards for the other girls in her spare time. Rosie has fought very hard for her place in the team’s inner circle, which is no easy feat since she is from a middle-class background. At first, she is resentful of the idea of having a roommate, but she soon becomes friends with Annelise and realizes there is a lot more going on than meets the eye.
This is a very realistic look at class differences and how the upper elite class treats everyone else. The attitude that the rules don’t apply to the rich is very evident. There were some hidden secrets that I didn’t see coming, and the characterization of the very rich and entitled Cressida is well done. The old cliche that “money doesn’t buy happiness” rings true in this book, but would be better defined as “too much money doesn’t buy happiness.” While some of the characters use their trust funds to sink deeper into despair, others just want enough money to fulfill their dreams.
Each chapter was headed with the description of a tarot card, which was not my cup of tea at all, but the way Annelise used fortune-telling in this book was interesting. For me, it was the relationships and class differences and how this affected the characters that truly made this book shine. Honest, sobering, sad, and heartbreaking, this book shines a light on the elite class and on struggling to belong in a world that is only set up for a few to succeed.
I enjoyed both the ebook and audiobook versions. The audiobook, read by Stephanie Cannon, is well done and completely captures the personalities of each character.
I received a free copy of the ebook from St. Martin’s Press and of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RACHEL KAPELKE-DALE is the author of THE BALLERINAS (St. Martin’s Press 2021) and coauthor of GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND (Penguin 2014), a memoir about the significance and nuances of female friendships. The author of VANITY FAIR HOLLYWOOD’s column “Advice from the Stars,” Kapelke-Dale spent years in intensive ballet training before receiving a BA from Brown University, an MA from the Université de Paris VII, and a PhD from University College London. She currently lives in Paris.
I’m going to do something different since I’m trying to catch up after work, travel, and other commitments put me behind. Here are three one-line reviews. If you click on the cover, it will take you to the Amazon link. Enjoy.
This mashup of fantasy and alternate history brings so much magic and action to the story that the reader will not be able to breathe, much less stop reading.
This is a heartwarming story that is a good comfort read as Cleo, the 50ish owner of a bakery, starts really living her life after divorce.
Barbara Jenkins shares the real story behind the famous walk across America she took with her former husband, Peter, and the unvarnished truth is a lot more interesting than the media portrayal.
I received all three of these books from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
The explanation—a visit to her son—seems doubtful, and her women friends’ messages go unanswered. A spiky, caustic woman, Viola’s heavy drinking makes her tiresome company, but they know nothing of her troubled past.
Yet, Maisie misses Viola. Recently, their shared love of gardening has almost blunted Viola’s barbs, and Maisie is much in need of a close friend. Her house is a building site, her daughter’s wedding is looming. Most worrying is her friendship with handsome, formidable Oliver Harrington. She cannot work out what he wants from it, nor, really, what she wants, either. She barely has time to wonder where Viola has gone.
As Maisie grapples with her present-day preoccupations, Viola’s tale unfolds: a dark landscape of tragedy and suffering. Their two stories collide in an explosive finale. Can the two women rescue each other?
This third book in the Widows series stands alone. A story of weeds and wildflowers, tenacity and tenderness, and containing potentially upsetting details of domestic abuse, alcoholism, and bereavement, this is ultimately an affirmation of the strength and power of women’s friendships.
BOOK REVIEW
This is an extremely well-written novel that will reach out and grab your feelings, and it won’t let go until the last page. I felt sadness, rage, surprise, exasperation, suspicion, and also peace, friendship, and heart-touching joy all in the space of around 400 pages. As the book description says, there is domestic abuse in this book, and it just explodes off the page in violence, manipulation, pain, and fury. It is real-life writing that doesn’t pull any punches. The book is mainly written from the points of view of either Viola or Maisie. The chapters entitled Viola are written in past tense, while the chapters entitled Maisie are written in present tense. I think that is a nice and skillful touch from a talented author.
I love the role of the garden in this book as an escape and a place of joy in the midst of trouble. The humble weed is also lifted up and even given some respect in this beautiful, gritty, and realistic story. As Viola says, “Weeds are flowers, just like the cultivars. You’ve got to admire them, really. They’re so tenacious, flourishing in the most unpromising soils and situations. You can tear them out, chop them up and throw them on the fire, but still, they survive. Like widows, really, when you think about it.”
This is the third book in the Widows series, and it can definitely stand alone. I, however, plan to check out the first two. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about strong women.
I received a free copy of this book. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allie Cresswell is the recipient of two coveted One Stop Fiction Five Star Awards and three Readers’ Favorite Awards
Allie was born in Stockport, UK and began writing fiction as soon as she could hold a pencil.
Allie recalls: ‘I was about 8 years old. Our teacher asked us to write about a family occasion and I launched into a detailed, harrowing and entirely fictional account of my grandfather’s funeral. I think he died very soon after I was born; certainly I have no memory of him and definitely did not attend his funeral, but I got right into the details, making them up as I went along (I decided he had been a Vicar, which I spelled ‘Vice’). My teacher obviously considered this outpouring very good bereavement therapy so she allowed me to continue with the story on several subsequent days, and I got out of maths and PE on a few occasions before I was rumbled.’
She went on to do a BA in English Literature at Birmingham University and an MA at Queen Mary College, London.
From Jeannette Walls, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle, comes a riveting new novel about an indomitable young woman in Virginia during Prohibition.
Most folks thought Sallie Kincaid was a nobody who’d amount to nothing. Sallie had other plans.
Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of the biggest man in a small town, the charismatic Duke Kincaid. Born at the turn of the 20th century into a life of comfort and privilege, Sallie remembers little about her mother who died in a violent argument with the Duke. By the time she is just eight years old, the Duke has remarried and had a son, Eddie. While Sallie is her father’s daughter, sharp-witted and resourceful, Eddie is his mother’s son, timid and cerebral. When Sallie tries to teach young Eddie to be more like their father, her daredevil coaching leads to an accident, and Sallie is cast out.
Nine years later, she returns, determined to reclaim her place in the family. That’s a lot more complicated than Sallie expected, and she enters a world of conflict and lawlessness. Sallie confronts the secrets and scandals that hide in the shadows of the Big House, navigates the factions in the family and town, and finally comes into her own as a bold, sometimes reckless bootlegger.
BOOK REVIEW
This is a sweeping saga of a town and a family during the days of prohibition. It is also a tale about how one man’s actions can affect a whole generation. It is so captivating that I read it in one sitting. The characters are easy to connect with, especially Sallie. The way that layers of family mystery are slowly, painfully unpeeled is masterful.
I especially appreciated the way Walls describes how someone with a magnetic personality can captivate and sometimes destroy others. I’ve seen it happen myself. The way Sallie grows from castoff child to a leader in the family is a true coming-of-age story. I highly recommend this to fans of historical fiction, prohibition-era fiction, and anyone who wants to read the work of a talented author.
I received a free copy of the book from the publisher, Scribner, via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeannette Walls was born in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up in the American Southwest and Welch, West Virginia. She graduated from Barnard College and was a journalist in New York for twenty-five years, writing for New York Magazine, Esquire, and MSNBC. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, has been a New York Times bestseller for more than eight years, has been translated into more than thirty languages and was made into a film starring Brie Larson. She is also the author of the best-selling novels The Silver Star and Half Broke Horses, which was named one of the ten best books of 2009 by the editors of the New York Times Book Review. Her new novel, Hang the Moon, was published by Scribner in March 2023. Walls lives in central Virginia with her husband, the writer John Taylor.
The Last Carolina Girl is a moving account of a young girl, Leah, living with her beloved father near Holden Beach, NC. They are quite poor and their home is a one-room shack, but they are very happy. Leah has a dream of living in a house right on the water in Holden Beach, which her teacher says is “not realistic.” She also has what she calls “flashes,” which are short periods of time when she freezes almost like a statue before coming back to reality. But she lives a beautiful life with her father and cherished friends. When tragedy suddenly strikes, she finds herself serving a coldhearted family as a “helpmate,” or basically a maid.
This is a well-written story, which at the core of it exposes the way the poor were exploited and used by the rich back in the early 20th Century. The rich have always had power, but back then they could pretty much do whatever they wanted, body and soul, to a person. As Leah says, “…the ghosts of the real world were scarier than the imagined ones.” Based on a true story from within the author’s own family, this novel will shock, anger, and break the heart. But the beautiful imagery of the North Carolina coast and the love of true family also shines through.
I read both the ebook and audiobook versions. The audiobook is narrated by Susan Bennett, who does a great job. The Southern accents are true to the area and not overdone. The emotion of the book is well conveyed.
I received a free ebook from Sourcebooks and a free audiobook from RB Media. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
My rating is 4.5 stars, rounded to 5 on sites with no half-star option.
The Last Carolina Girl will be released on March 28, 2023.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meagan Church is an author, wordsmith, and storyteller by trade. She received a B.A. in English from Indiana University, and her work has appeared in various print and online publications. A Midwesterner by birth, she now lives in North Carolina with her high school sweetheart, three children, and a plethora of pets. To follow her storytelling, visit MeaganChurch.com.
This is the last of the books I reviewed for the February edition of Historical Novels Review, the magazine of The Historical Novel Society.
This novel spans from 19th-century St. Louis to the island of Martinique and New York City in the 20th century. When her controlling great-aunt dies, Deborah Huntworth, widow of a much older husband, can finally pursue her dream of becoming an artist. She returns to Martinique to reunite with her child, but tragedy strikes, changing her life forever. She then moves to New York, determined to pursue her art. There, despite disasters and mistakes, she attempts to share her work and support herself as the early 20th century unfolds around her.
Deborah’s Gift is the story of a woman who is intent on expressing herself, despite the attempts of others to control her. She is a free spirit in both her art and her actions. Her freedom of character explodes from the page, and we see quite a remarkable person who was born into times that tried to constrain her. There is an amazing cast of characters, who, whether wicked, judgmental, or loving, are vividly painted on the canvas of this book. This portrait of a woman’s life is full of creativity, passion, tragedy, and loss. It is a gripping read. Fans of art and American history, plus anyone interested in the eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902, will be captivated.
My rating is 4.5 stars, rounded to 5 on sites with no partial star option.
I received a free copy of this book from New Wind Publishing via The Historical Novel Society. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lois Ann Abraham is a prize-winning fiction author and retired professor of English at American River College in Sacramento. She spent her formative years in Texas, the Panhandle of Oklahoma, and New Mexico, where she still has strong roots. Her pieces have been published in Sojourner, Chico News & Review, Writing on the Edge, Inside English, Burning the Little Candle, Convergences, and elsewhere. She lives on the banks of Chicken Ranch Slough in Sacramento with her sisters and two orange and white cats.
My Dark Vanessa meets The Queen’s Gambit in this new novel of suspense about the bonds of family, the limits of talent, the risks of ambition, and the rewards of revenge.
When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother’s unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother’s will bequeathed the Elf House to a man that Saskia shares a complicated history with, she is forced to reexamine her own past–and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life–for answers. Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her?
Set against a post #MeToo landscape, Rachel Kapelke-Dale’s The Ingenue delves into mother-daughter relationships, the expectations of talent, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when the things that once made you special are taken from you. Moving between Saskia’s childhood and the present day, this dark, contemporary fairy tale pulses with desire, longing, and uncertainty, as it builds to its spectacular, shocking climax.
BOOK REVIEW
Saskia, a former piano prodigy, comes home after her mother’s death to find that she is not inheriting The Elf House, their family mansion. Instead, it is going to the most improbable person she could have imagined. As Saskia begins to investigate why her mother would have done this, shocking truths are revealed.
I was absolutely awed by this. The writing is fantastic, and the premise is unique and original. The weaving together of Saskia’s present and past is exquisitely done. Her mother’s personality shines through the book as well. The author flawlessly presents a unique work of fiction combining music, art, and the depths and heights a human being can reach. The “me too” movement is a part of this book in a big way, but that’s all I will say.
Each chapter is headed by an excerpt from a book written by Saskia’s mother called “Fairytales for Little Feminists.” In each one, the woman or girl takes control of her own story. What I realized at the end of the book is that this novel is Saskia’s fairytale.
If you think you’ve figured out what’s going on in this book by reading my review or the synopsis, you haven’t. Read it.
The narrator, Stephanie Willis, does a wonderful job of capturing the suspense and emotion of this book in all the different characters. I will look for her work in the future.
I received a free audiobook from MacMillan Audio. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Kapelke-Dale is a writer of fiction, memoir, and satire. She currently resides in Paris.
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