2026 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)
2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)
2026 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
2026 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
Booklist Queen's 2026 Reading Challenge
2026 52 Club Reading Challenge
2026 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge
2026 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge
2026 Mount TBR Reading Challenge
2026 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge
Shelf Reflection Candy Reading Challenge for Kids (and Adults)
2026 Countdown Reading Challenge
Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo
2026 Southern Literary Reading Challenge
2026 Reading Challenge (by Linz the Bookworm)
2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge
European Reading Challenge 2026
2017 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge (retired challenge - doing old boards for fun)
2026 Reading Challenge Addict Reading Challenge
The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge
The Life Skills Reading Challenge
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Saturday, June 13, 2026
Genevieve Graham's Newest Offers Appealing Blend of History, Mystery, Drama, Suspense, and Romance
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
It's 1929 and a dazzling luxury hotel is about to open in Toronto, Canada. Living in the city's slums, 17-year-old Roisin "Rosie" Ryan is convinced that The Dominion represents her chance to change her fate. Instead of struggling through an impoverished childhood just to marry another penniless soul and continue grappling for a better life, she's determined to make one happen for herself. When she lands a job as a chambermaid to the hotel's special clients, then meets a dashing waiter who sweeps her off her feet, Rosie thinks she just about has it made. The trouble begins when she attracts the attention of a notorious mobster who's about to make a fortune from The Crash that will bankrupt people the world over. When Rosie realizes just how far Marco Carboni's reach goes, she knows she will have to risk everything to get herself and the people she loves out of his grasp. That's not as easy as it seems, and more than one person will lose their life in the ensuing melee...
Almost 100 years later, building inspector Bridget Kelly has been hired to make sure renovations being made to the The Dominion are up to snuff. As a lover of history and antiques, she's thrilled by the assignment. Meeting Matthew Buchanan, an adorably awkward archivist who shares many of her interests, is the icing on the cake. When she notices odd irregularities at the site, however, Bridget begins to suspect something is not quite right at the grand old hotel. As she digs deeper, she uncovers secrets—some of them a century old—that someone will kill to keep hidden. Can she and Matthew figure out what's really happening at The Dominion now and what truly occurred 100 years ago before it's too late? Or will they, too, become victims to nefarious goings-on at the historic hotel?
I always enjoy an absorbing dual-timeline novel, and The Chambermaid's Key by Genevieve Graham is certainly that. I've never been to Toronto, but the city came alive for me as I read, with lots of vivid details and interesting tidbits. (The history of The Tombs slum is particularly fascinating.) It was especially intriguing to compare/contrast the city over the course of 100 years.
The characters in this novel are likable and root-worthy. Rosie is hard-working, loyal, brave, and compassionate. I wanted good things for her, even though it was obvious from the get-go that she was heading down a dangerous path. Bridget is less compelling, but I still liked her. It was sweet to watch her relationship with gawky Matthew grow over the course of the novel. With dual-timeline setups, I usually find myself caring much more about the past story than the present one, but this time, I felt invested in both storylines.
As far as plot goes, The Chambermaid's Key is fairly predictable. Still, I enjoyed its appealing blend of history, mystery, drama, suspense, and romance. The story gets far-fetched in places, sure, but that's okay. Overall, I found the book to be an engrossing, satisfying read. Bonus: it's clean, free from any graphic content. All of these elements combined to make this novel a very enjoyable one for me as well as one that I can confidently recommend to anyone.
(Readalikes: Reminds me a little bit of the Molly the Maid mystery series by Nita Prose)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for violence, mild innuendo, and scenes of peril
To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC of The Chambermaid's Key from the generous folks at Simon & Schuster via those at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Thursday, May 07, 2026
Evocative and Engrossing, Heiress of Nowhere Another Winner From Stacey Lee
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Eighteen years ago, a green canoe washed ashore on Orcas Island. Its only occupant was an infant. Dakon Sanders, the wealthy and eccentric shipbuilder who owns the island, took in the baby and named her Lucy. She earned her keep by working as the bachelor's housemaid. When her skill with paints became apparent, he made her his research assistant, tasking her with creating the illustrations for a book he's writing about island wildlife. As much as Lucy loves Orcas Island, especially the creatures after which it's named, she longs to leave it, to finally see what lies beyond its shores. Although it's rare in 1918 for women to go to college, she's already secretly been accepted to the University of Washington. Now all she has to do is summon the courage to inform her austere guardian that she is leaving.
Before Lucy has a chance to confront him, she discovers Dakon Sanders' detached head on the beach. The superstitious islanders see the brutal killing as a warning sign from mythical sea wolves. Lucy knows her guardian's murderer is very real. When Dakon's will is read, and she is named the new owner of his sprawling estate, she fears she's next on the killer's hit list. Can she figure out who beheaded her enigmatic guardian and why? And will those answers lead to the ones she's been pondering her whole strange life: who is Lucy Nowhere? Where does she truly belong? She must find out, before it's too late.
A new Stacey Lee novel is always cause for celebration in my book. I especially love that her newest historical YA offering, Heiress of Nowhere, is set in my native Washington State. Lee perfectly captures the moody, broody Pacific Northwest (PNW, as the cool kids call it) atmosphere, which provides an appropriately portentious backdrop for a tale that is full of mystery, intrigue, and suspense. Magical realism doesn't always work for me, but Lucy's "sea-wolf sense" actually feels possible in the world Lee has created. This dash of the supernatural works well in combination with the evocative setting, the locals' superstitions, and the whole Gothic vibe of the novel. All of these elements enhance the book's plot, which is complex and compelling, with enough twists to keep the reader glued to their seat. In fact, I whipped through Heiress of Nowhere in one day because I couldn't put it down. The fact that the killer's identity (mostly) surprised me was an added bonus.
Lucy is a sympathetic heroine, but hardly a pitiable one. She's smart, capable, loyal, compassionate, and brave. It's easy to root for her to find the answers she so desperately wants. There are two young men in the story who are vying for her attention. I find love triangles annoying anyway, but this one is especially disappointing because, in my opinion, Lucy chooses the wrong guy. Other than that, I found Heiress of Nowhere to be a satisfying, enjoyable read, another excellent example of why I love Stacey Lee's work so much.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (no F-bombs), violence, blood/gore, and scenes of peril
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Top Ten Tuesday: A Delayed Genre Freebie (2026 Historical Fiction I'm Excited to Read)
A friend of ours owns Peach & Bee Honey. She mentioned that some of her products were for sale in the gift store at the Salt Palace, where the conference is always held, so my husband and I hied off to do pick up a little souvenier from the Beehive State. In addition to yummy honey products, the shop also had a Little Free Library! I snatched up a crisp, new-looking hardcover of The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny. It's the 19th installment in the Armand Gamache mystery series, which I love. I'm behind on the series, but I'll get to this one eventually.
Because I was busy getting ready for my trip last week, I missed Top Ten Tuesday. The topic was a Genre Freebie. I was sorry to miss it, so that's what I'm going to do today, even though the prompt du jour is: Top Ten Book Titles Featuring Ordinal Numbers. As always, TTT is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Genre Freebie: Top Ten 2026 Historical Novels That I'm Excited to Read
- in order of publication -
1. Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven (published January 6)—It's 1964 and the Newman family has been the darling of American television for two decades. Although they play perfect versions of themselves on screen, each of the Newmans is struggling with maintaining their flawless image. With ratings falling, Dinah Newman—the matriarch—decides its time to bring the show to an end. Will she have the courage to go out with truth and integrity or will the family be forced to continue living a lie?
2. Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson (available February 10)—Centered on themes of race and identity, this novel tells the stories of several main characters:
- Ethel Gathers, a white military wife living in Occupied Germany in the 1950s, discovers an orphanage filled with the abandoned mixed-race children of Black American GI's and German women, and vows to find homes for them all.
- Ozzie Phillips, a Black volunteer with the newly-desegregated army, is serving in Germany in 1948 when he embarks on a relationship with a German woman that will change both of their lives forever.
- Sophia Clark, a young Black woman in 1965, is given the chance to attend a prestigious all-white boarding school. While there, she discovers a secret that changes everything, leading her on a journey to find out who she really is.
3. The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang (published February 10)—I love me a gothic novel, and this one sounds super intriguing. Set in 1911 Shanghai, it features Lisan Liu, a woman who is hired to perform secretarial services for Caroline Stanton, the new American mistress of Lennox Manor. The home has a haunting reputation, which Lisan feels right away in the form of terrifying nightmares and visions of a mysterious woman in red. Like her new secretary, Caroline is hiding her own secrets, secrets she will do anything to keep hidden. When Princess Masako Kyo comes to the Manor asking difficult questions, both women feel threatened.
4. A Crown of Stars by Shana Abé (published February 24)—What does it say about me that I can't get enough of books about maritime disasters? Nothing good, probably! Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to this book about the sinking of the Lusitania. An English actress, Rita is visiting New York City for a premiere when she receives word from her sister that their beloved brother is about to enlist so he can fight in the war that is raging across Europe. Desperate to see him before he leaves, Rita boards the fastest ship available, in spite of the fact that the Lusitania is a British ship, a fair target for the German forces. What begins as a luxurious ride full of drinks and dancing soon turns into a disastrous struggle for survival.
5. The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives by Elizabeth Arnott (published March 3)—Good Morning America just announced this historical mystery as its book club's March pick. I was lucky enough to win two copies to give away in my Little Free Library. Yay! Set in California in 1966, the novel is about three women, all wives of convicted murderers, who form an unlikely friendship. When a string of killings rocks their area, they decide to investigate the crimes themselves. After all, who is better qualified to identify a predator?
6. Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict (available March 24)—Although her father and his partner received international fame for finding the treasure-rich tomb of Pharaoh Tuttankhamun, it wouldn't have been possible without the help of Lady Evelyn Carnarvon. Her burning curiosity made the find possible; now, Evelyn's turned her focus to female pharaoh Hatshepsut. Determined to find her tomb in the hopes of better understanding her bold reign, she finds herself in a battle to either protect her father's legacy or forge her own.
7. The Moonlight Runner by Karen Robards (available March 24)—Set in Ireland in 1918, this novel features a young nurse who treats wounded soldiers and the boy she loves, who has taken up gunrunning to support the rebellion. When Rynn hears rumors of a British offense being planned against the gunrunners, she hurries out at midnight to warn her boyfriend, only to find herself caught up in a shocking turn of events that propels her down a terrifying path that leaves her fighting for survival in a world torn apart by war.
8. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (available May 5)—Ever since loving The Help, I've been waiting for another book to come out by this author. I'm in the middle of reading an e-ARC of The Calamity Club, and I'm enjoying it. The story moves veeerrrrryyyy slowly. Stockett's writing is colorful and engaging, so the book isn't boring, but it definitely takes its time getting anywhere. I thought my Kindle was lying to me when it said it would take me 14 hours to read this door stopper. Nope! The print version is 656 pages long.
The story is about a group of women from different walks of life who band together in 1933 Mississippi to face a host of challenges, including economical, emotional, marital, and everything in between.
9. The Young Will Remember by Eve J. Chung (available May 5)—It's 1950 and Chinese American journalist Ellie Chang is on a military flight headed into the mountains of North Korea to cover a battle when her plane is shot down. Surrounded by the enemy, she fears the worst. When a woman saves her by claiming Ellie is her long-lost daughter, she's relieved. Determined to get herself and her rescuers to safety, the journalist leads them on a journey south, one that will also hopefully lead the family to their real missing daughter.
10. Up From the Ashes by Sharon Cameron (available October 26)—This YA novel is based on the true story of a Jewish couple who meet and fall in love during World War II while imprisoned in Holland's Sobibor death camp. When the prisoners come up with a daring plan to escape Sobibor, the duo must decide what they're willing to risk for freedom—and for each other.
There you go, ten 2026 historical novels that I'm looking forward to reading. Have you read any of them? Which new historicals are you excited about? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Monday, February 09, 2026
Coach An Excellent Finale to An Exceptional Series
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Monday, June 16, 2025
The Queens of Crime An Intriguing, Entertaining Historical Mystery
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When the Detection Club—a society for British mystery writers—is created in 1930, its mostly male members balk at including too many women in their ranks. Dorothy L. Sayers, a prominent author of crime novels, isn't about to let that stand. To prove to her male counterparts that female mystery writers are just as capable and deserving of accolades as them, she invites four of her colleagues—Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Baroness Emma Orczy, and Margery Allingham—to join her in forming a secret club of their own. Calling themselves The Queens of Crime, they aim to solve a real murder mystery to prove their merit as amateur detectives and writers as well as to see a killer brought to justice.
The women take on the case of May Daniels, a young English nurse who disappeared from a train station restroom while on a quick holiday in France with a friend. Five months later, the woman's dead body was found in a park, along with a mysterious puddle of blood that couldn't have resulted from her death by strangulation. The authorities don't seem too interested in investigating the murder, but Sayers and her friends are determined to figure out who harmed May. It's not long before their digging unearths secrets that someone would kill (again) to keep buried. That someone is watching Sayers, threatening to reveal her own darkest secret if she doesn't stop poking her nose in where it doesn't belong. Is the women's increasingly dangerous investigation worth the risk to their own lives? How far will they go to find a killer?
I love a historical mystery that is inspired by real people and events. While The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict isn't entirely factual (naturally), it features a group of indomitable women who really lived and created names for themselves by succeeding in a male-dominated field at a time when ladies were not meant to have jobs or lives outside of home and family. I had only really heard of Sayers, Christie, and Orczy and only read Christie, so I was excited to learn more about each of the featured authors. To succeed as they all did, they must have been bold, clever, and tenacious. Unfortunately, their individual personalities don't shine through as much as I would have liked in this novel. However, the friendship and camaraderie that they create is my favorite part of the story. As they combine their skills to solve a murder, they also bond by encouraging, supporting, and uplifting each other, professionally and personally. I also like Benedict's portrayal of the authors' compassion and sensitivity. Tracking down May's killer isn't just a ghoulish game for them; they want justice for the young victim as well as for all the "surplus" girls like her who are so easily forgotten by society. Even though the novel mostly focuses on Sayers and Christie, it piqued my interest about Marsh, Orzcy, and Allingham as well, inspiring me to want to check out their work.
Some mystery lovers have found that The Queens of Crime moves too slowly for their tastes, which is fair. It's definitely not an adrenaline-fueled, edge-of-your-seat kind of read. There aren't any jaw-dropping twists and there's not much action to get your heart pumping. Slow and predictable though it may be, I found the novel to be quietly compelling. I never got bored with it. I kept reading because I liked the characters, I enjoyed their interactions, and the mystery moved along steadily enough to engage me throughout the story. As a bonus, the novel is a gentler read, cleaner and cozier than I expected it to be, something I always appreciate as someone who loves mysteries/thrillers but prefers them without graphic content.
Overall, then, I very much enjoyed The Queens of Crime. It's an intriguing, entertaining read with both bookish and girl power vibes. You can't go wrong with that!
(Readalikes: Reminds me a bit of Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library, a forthcoming novel by Amanda Chapman)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Top Ten Tuesday: Voices of the Past Coming From the Future (Or, Top Ten Upcoming Historical Novels I'm Looking Forward to Reading)
The majority of the books I read are not set in the here and now, so today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is right up my alley: Top Ten Books Set in Another Time (can be historical, futuristic, alternate timelines, etc.). Since historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, I'm going to stick with that, but to jive a little more on the time theme, I'm going to focus on historical novels I'm looking forward to reading that are coming out in the (near) future. I'll try to highlight titles I haven't mentioned here before.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten Upcoming Historical Novels I'm Looking Forward to Reading
1. The Artist of Blackberry Grange by Paulette Kennedy (coming May 1, 2025)—Set in 1925 in the Ozarks, this novel concerns Sadie Halloran, a grieving young woman in need of a new start. When she learns that her aunt—an artist who lives in a mansion on an Arkansas bluff—is in need of a live-in companion, she jumps at the opportunity. She's soon ensconced in an eerie, decaying house with her dementia-laden aunt who paints terrifying portraits and hints about dark family secrets. Is there any truth behind her aunt's mutterings? Sadie aims to find out...
2. Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong (coming May 20, 2025)—The Rip Through Time historical mystery series is one of my all-time favorites. It's about a homicide detective who is assaulted while visiting her dying grandmother in Edinburgh, Scotland. When Mallory awakens, she discovers she's still in the city, but it's now 1869 and she's inhabiting the body of a saucy young housemaid. Her boss, Dr. Duncan Gray, is a physician who moonlights as a medical examiner. As Mallory tries to figure out how to get herself home, she can't help but try to help Dr. Gray solve the cases of violent death that show up in his morgue, even if it means blowing her cover. Eventually, she tells him the truth and is able to aid him more openly.
In Death at a Highland Wedding, the fourth book in the series, Mallory and Duncan travel to the Highlands to attend an acquaintance's nuptials. While exploring the grounds of the groom's ancestral castle, they come across a wildcat caught in one of the groom's traps. The animal's wounds don't match its apparent cause of death, however, which puzzles Mallory and Duncan. When a murder occurs at the wedding, they find themselves investigating a strange and mysterious case.
3. Smoke on the Wind by Kelli Estes (coming June 24, 2025)—Also set in the Scottish Highlands, this novel is about two mothers traveling the West Highland Way with their sons, 200+ years apart. When Keaka Denney starts having strange visions of a woman from the past who's in dire need of help, it leads to an odd, logic-defying encounter that just might save both women.
4. Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs (coming July 15, 2025)—Based on a true story, Wiggs' newest concerns a group of young women who are inmates at a Catholic reform school in 1968. They've been brought there for various reasons—fighting, unwed pregnancy, same-sex attraction, protection, etc—and now must figure out how to survive their sentences without going mad.
That's all the plot I can find for this one. The story sounds interesting but depressing, although the publisher's blurb promises that it's "life-affirming." I hope so!
5. The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman (coming July 29, 2025)—I don't always love Wiseman's books, but this one sounds too intriguing to miss. It's set in 1930s rural Virginia, against the backdrop of the eugenics movement in the United States which led to the forced sterilization of thousands of people because of their race, lack of education, poverty, disability, etc. Lena Conti, an unwed mother with a 2-year-old daughter, is left alone at Ellis Island when the rest of her family is sent back to Germany. A relative of the family, a widower with young children, agrees to house Lena in exchange for housework and childminding. As she adjusts to her new life in the Blue Ridge Mountains, she realizes that people in this tight-knit community are deathly afraid of the government, which is trying to paint them all as too backward and ignorant to have children and land. When Lena's worst fears are realized and she finds herself torn away from her daughter, she resolves to do anything she has to to get her back.
6. Last Light Over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright (coming August 1, 2025)—When something terrible happens, shattering Kathleen McDaniel's hopes for a privileged, peaceful life in New York, she runs as far and as fast as she can. She finds a home on Galveston Island, Texas, where she works at an orphanage helping the nuns care for the children. When her past comes callling at the same time the infamous 1900 hurricane starts brewing, Kathleen must find some way to survive everyting that is coming for her.
7. The Moonshine Women by Michelle Collins Anderson (coming August 26, 2025)—Prohibition may be in full force, but in the Missouri Ozarks, the Strong family does what it always has—makes moonshine. With their father drowning his grief over their mother's death in his own product, it's up to the three Strong sisters to keep the business running. That's no easy task with Prohibition agents hiding in every holler. When tragedy strikes, the women will have to fight even harder to keep their business and their family together.
8. The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell (coming September 16, 2025)—Romance really isn't my genre, but this love story just sounds like fun. It's about two actors who are starring together in an adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. There are plenty of emotions zinging back and forth between them...just not the good kind. When an electrical accident transports the sniping co-stars back to the Regency Era, they have to work together to figure out how to get home, preferably without totally screwing up history. Can they do it?
9. The Night We Became Strangers by Lorena Hughes (coming September 30, 2025)—In 1949, eleven years after a radio station dramatization of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells convinced Americans that Martians were invading the planet, an Eucadorian station decided to broadcast their own version. Appalled listeners, terrified of impending alien gas raids, set fire to the radio station building, killing fifteen people.
This novel tells this tragic true tale through the eyes of two journalists whose families were profoundly affected by what happened at the radio station. Although they don't trust each other, they decide to work together to find the answers both of them are desperately seeking.
10. The Last Spirits of Manhattan by John A. McDermott (coming October 14, 2025)—Another novel that is based on a true story, this one takes place at a Manhattan house party thrown by Alfred Hitchcock in 1956. The famous movie director is delighted to announce to his celebrity guests that the venue he's chosen for his gala is known to be haunted. When ghostly happenings start occurring, Carolyn Banks (whose aunt owns the home) must confront some long-held family secrets.
There you are, ten upcoming historical fiction titles that I can't wait to read. Are you a hist fic fan? Which are your favorites? If you're not into the genre, why not? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Grim Victorian Murder Mystery the Start to a Compelling New Series
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When a young, beautiful artistocrat is savagely sacrificed in a cemetery on All Hallow's Eve, it shocks the residents of Victorian London. Who would kill a woman like her? And why was she slain in such a cruel way? Another death, that of a young widower and part-time reporter for The Daily Telegraph, occurs on the same day, but to much less fanfare. Only Gemma Tate, the deceased man's twin sister, is left to mourn her brother Victor. Gemma has no connection to the dead woman until the police give her Victor's notebook, in which the journalist had frantically recorded notes about her odd death. His scribbles make little sense, but Gemma is convinced her brother saw something in the cemetery that night. Something that got him killed.
Sebastian Bell has been a police officer for 15 years. A good one, too, until the murder of his wife and unborn child devastated him completely. Now, he's barely going through the motions, preferring to lose himself in a haze of alcohol and opium than face the emptiness of his life. When Gemma seeks him out, begging him to help her find answers to her brother's death, he sees a chance to redeem himself. Victor's notebook doesn't offer much in the way of clues, but it's the only lead Sebastian's got. Although he doesn't want a sidekick, he can't shake off Gemma, who insists on helping with the investigation.
As Gemma and Sebastian investigate both murders, they find themselves combing London's seedy underbelly as well as its polished drawing rooms for the truth behind the deaths. The closer they get, the more dangerous their pursuit becomes. Can they solve the case? Or will theirs be the next bodies rotting at the city mortuary?
I'm always on the lookout for new historical mystery series to love, so I was excited to give The Highgate Cemetery Murder, the first installment in the Tate and Bell series by Irina Shapiro, a go. Although the book turned out to be more gruesome and disturbing than I expected, I found it compelling. I didn't end up loving it, but I liked it well enough to continue with the series.
The novel has a moody, broody Victorian London setting, an appropriately atmospheric backdrop for this grim story. Although I saw the killer coming right from the start, the plot still had enough twists and turns to keep me reading. Which isn't to say it's original or surprising (it's actually quite generic), just that it's not boring. Even though I suspected the killer from early on, I kept reading to make sure I was right (and I was). Shapiro's prose isn't the most dynamic. It's more tell than show, but it still managed to pull me into the story and keep me immersed.
I quite liked Sebastian and Gemma. They're both intelligent, compassionate, determined people who are loyal and committed to improving society. They have an easy chemistry that develops naturally, never feeling fake or manufactured. I wanted them to succeed in their pursuits and find contentment in spite of their sorrows.
All in all, I enjoyed this novel (although "enjoy" feels like an odd word for this kind of read). I have the second book on hold at my library. Hopefully, I'll get to it sometime soon.
The novel has a moody, broody Victorian London setting, an appropriately atmospheric backdrop for this grim story. Although I saw the killer coming right from the start, the plot still had enough twists and turns to keep me reading. Which isn't to say it's original or surprising (it's actually quite generic), just that it's not boring. Even though I suspected the killer from early on, I kept reading to make sure I was right (and I was). Shapiro's prose isn't the most dynamic. It's more tell than show, but it still managed to pull me into the story and keep me immersed.
I quite liked Sebastian and Gemma. They're both intelligent, compassionate, determined people who are loyal and committed to improving society. They have an easy chemistry that develops naturally, never feeling fake or manufactured. I wanted them to succeed in their pursuits and find contentment in spite of their sorrows.
All in all, I enjoyed this novel (although "enjoy" feels like an odd word for this kind of read). I have the second book on hold at my library. Hopefully, I'll get to it sometime soon.
(Readalikes: Although The Highgate Cemetery Murder is much darker in tone, it reminds me of the Rip in Time series by Kelley Armstrong and the Below Stairs Mysteries series by Jennifer Ashley.)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (a few F-bombs, plus milder invectives), violence, blood/gore, drug/alcohol abuse, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of The Highgate Cemetery Murder with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.
Wednesday, January 01, 2025
The Bookish Books Reading Challenge: January Book Ideas and Link-Up for Reviews
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Welcome to the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge! I'm so glad that you've decided to join me for this fun, totally laidback challenge. All you have to do is enjoy bookish books. Easy peasy. You do not have to post reviews, but it's great if you do. I always like seeing what others are reading and getting recommendations on bookish books that shouldn't be missed. Every month, I will make a post like this one with a Mr. Linky widget for reviews. I also like to yap a bit about the bookish books I think I may read during the current month.
With a fresh new month and a brand new year ahead of me, I have no real idea of what I want to read next. I'm thinking these three are the next bookish books I'll read, whether it's in January or later.
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss—I've mentioned this one before because it sounds super fascinating to me. I've even got it checked out from the library right now, so I have no excuses. It's about, well, exactly what the title says it's about. Imagine that!
The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict—This historical novel is about a group of famous female crime writers banding together to solve a real mystery. Inspired by true events, it stars Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, and more.
The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes—Another historical novel, this one is about a disgraced editor who is sent off to Montana to work with a Works Progress Administration (WPA) campaign designed to help unemployed writers get back to work. There, she discovers a mystery revolving around a small town librarian and her colleauge, who hasn't been seen since she ventured into the countryside to deliver books to men working at the area's mining camps.
What about you? What bookish books are you planning to read this month?
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If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your January reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
Monday, December 30, 2024
Christian Fiction Historical Mystery a Pleasant Surprise
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When Rosemont Abbey goes up in flames, the result of an apparent arson, it shocks the residents of Wilbeth Green, a quaint English village. In the wake of the blaze, Paul Everly, the town troublemaker, has vanished. He's quickly convicted in the court of public opinion, but his twin sister, Louisa, refuses to believe that Paul would set fire to a church. In fact, she's convinced not only that he's innocent but also that he's dead. Even though the 26-year-old twins haven't been close in years, Louisa can feel his loss. She can't explain to others how she knows Paul is gone without sounding insane, so she launches her own private investigation into what she's sure is her brother's murder.
As Louisa pokes her nose into the arson, she ruffles feathers among the good folks of Wilbeth Green, not all of whom are telling her the truth. The more she digs, the more sure she is that something nefarious is going on in the sleepy village. With several unexpected helpers—including a handsome detective inspector, a spunky old lady, and a wise vicar—Louisa will find out what happened to Paul, no matter the risk. Can Louisa solve the puzzling mystery before it's too late? Or will she be the next to vanish?
I always enjoy a good historical mystery and I was pleasantly surprised by The Burning of Rosemont Abbey by Naomi Stephens. Louisa and Malcolm are both understated, likable characters. They're compassionate, determined, smart, and nice without being doormats. You can feel the warmth and chemistry between them from the moment they see each other. The investiative trio they form with Mrs. Watson, a sassy octogenarian, is probably my favorite part of the book, though. Their antics just made me laugh. The mystery they're looking into is fairly straightforward, but there were enough plot twists to keep me guessing throughout the novel. Although I probably should have seen the killer coming, I really didn't. Their motive did seem a tad weak. Still, their identity was a surprise but not a what?-that-doesn't-make-any-sense surprise.
The novel is published by Bethany House and is, technically, Christian fiction. However, it's not overtly religious. Louisa is the daughter of a (deceased) vicar. She and her family attend Sunday services regularly and are involved in the social happenings at the church. In addition, their vicar is her friend, confidante, and spiritual leader. Most of the "Christian" bits of the story are things he says, showing that requesting and receiving his advice is a natural, normal part of Louisa's life. The book never feels preachy. In fact, it doesn't even really feel like Christian fiction, although it is clean and, ultimately, a hopeful, faith-promoting read.
All in all, I very much enjoyed The Burning of Rosemont Abbey. I'm definitely up for reading more by Stephens. Apparently, she has another mystery coming out soon that has a similar setting to this one. You can be sure I'll be keeping my eye out for it!
Readalikes: The publisher compares this book to Agatha Christie's mysteries. I haven't read enough of them to really compare.
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for violence
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of The Burning of Rosemont Abbey from the generous folks at Bethany House in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My TBR List With Real City Names in the Title
Today's TTT prompt is pretty straightforward: Top Ten Books With Destination Names in the Title. I decided to take the topic literally, choosing titles off my TBR list that included the names of real cities around the world. Since I love historical fiction, a genre which lends itself to these types of titles, it was a cinch to create. I've featured some (most?) of these books before, but since they remain unread by me, here they are again!
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Join the TTT fun by checking out the rules on her blog then creating and sharing your own list. The more the merrier.
Top Ten Books On My TBR List With Real City Names in the Title
1. The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer—It's 1942 and Poland is overrun by Nazi invaders. Their presence is irritating and inconvenient, but Elzbieta Rabinek has been unharmed by them so far. Unlike her neighbors in her city's Jewish ghetto. When Elzbieta befriends a nurse in her apartment building, she is propelled into helping those very neighbors. Her actions put her at great risk, especially since she's hiding secrets that could be deadly for her and her family. Does she dare put her neck out for her Jewish neighbors when it could so easily find its way into a Nazi noose?
2. Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung—Cursed with only daughters, the Ang family lives with the shame of having no male heir to inherit their land and wealth. As civil war rages in China in 1948, the male members of the clan abandon their home, leaving the worthless females behind to fend for themselves. As the eldest, Hai stands trial for her family's crimes. Only barely surviving her beating by the Communist army, she knows she, her sisters, and her mother must make a daring escape. Braving every kind of danger, they set out on a perilous thousand-mile journey to find the family who abandoned them so cruelly.
Based on the author's family history, this novel sounds riveting!
3. The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra—Set in India in the 1920s, this is the first installment in a cozy mystery series starring a husband and wife detecting team. When they attend a party at the Century Club, Kaveri spies a suspicious-looking person lurking in the shadows. Shortly thereafter, a murder occurs. She is concerned when a vulnerable woman is connected to the crime and determines to find the killer.
4. Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin—When the Netherlands is invaded in 1940, Aleida van der Zee Martens escapes to England, but loses her 3-year-old son in the process. Desperate to find her child, she takes a job helping children evacuate to the countryside. Hugh Collingwood is a BBC radio correspondent reporting on the war as well as a series of murders that is plaguing London at the same time. When Aleida begs Hugh for help, the two grow increasingly closer as the world around them becomes more and more deadly.
5. A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd—In this reinvention of a classic play, Romeo and Juliet live happily ever after in lovely Italy and become the parents of seven children. Rosie Montague is the eldest of the brood. Content to remain a spinster, she plays matchmaker with every suitor her parents present, finding the groom-to-be a more willing bride. When Rosie finally meets the man who could very well be her match, their betrothal ball goes awry when a duke is killed at the party. Just about everyone had a reason to want the man dead, but who actually murdered him? Rosie is determined to find out.
6. The Lost Book of Bonn by Brianna Labuskes—American librarian Emmy Clarke is sent by her government to Germany to help the Monuments Men recover literature that was stolen by the Nazis. When she comes across an intriguing note written inside one of the books, it leads her on an intriguing quest to uncover a fascinating story of wartime resistance, betrayal, and courage.
7. The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore—After a patient dies because of a mistake she made while operating, Dr. Tucia Hatherly no longer practices medicine. Not really. In order to support her disabled son, she is forced to take a position with a traveling medicine show peddling phony miracle cures. Desperate to be free of her obligation to the show's overbearing leader, she prepares to run when the show reaches Texas. It's 1900 and just as she's about to flee Galveston, a devastating hurricane—one so mighty that it will go down in the history books—hits. Tucia must decide whether to save herself and her son or to stay and use her doctoring skills to help the storm's victims.
8. The Haunting of Moscow House by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore—In post-revolutionary Russia, the Goliteva's ancestral mansion in Moscow has been taken over by Bolsheviks. Forced to live in the attic, the family members look for ways to bring light into their grim lives. Sisters Irina and Lili work for the American Relief Administration to help relieve suffering while back in their bleak home, the house whispers to them of long-buried secrets they must uncover. When one of the Bolshevik officials is found dead in their home, another mystery unfolds...
9. A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K. Runyan—This dual-timeline historical novel features two women from the same family living in Paris during times of war and upheaval. Having thrown her fate in with a handsome revolutionary, Lisette Vigneau casts off her wealthy upbringing to fight for the people. She opens a small bakery to help sustain her fellow Parisians, but her determination falters as the city descends into chaos from famine, violence, and despair. In 1946, 76 years later, 19-year-old Micheline Chartier is mourning the loss of her parents in the war. As the sole guardian of her two younger sisters, she feels trapped and overwhelmed. When a neighbor enrolls her in a baking school, Micheline finds hope and an unexpected connection with her family's past.
10. Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton—Another dual-time line story, this one concerns a Cuban American freelance writer who travels to Havana to scatter her grandmother's ashes in the deceased's homeland. While there, she investigates her own family history, where she discovers her grandmother's story of romance, revolution, and resilience in the midst of political chaos in the land of her birth.
There you go, ten historical novels on my TBR list with names of real cities in their titles. What do you think? Have you read any of them? Which hist-fic stories with city names in the titles have you enjoyed? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also respond to comments left here (although I'm a week behind at the moment).
Happy TTT!
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