Category: Historical Fiction

the ways we hide by Kristina McMorris

From the author of the wonderful Sold on a Monday comes another heartfelt story full of all the feels.

A story set during World War II of an illusionist who was recruited by British Intelligence and the ingenious use of Monopoly as a tool.

Fenna Vos is from Michigan. She knows what hardships are and she knows how to survive. As the war rages on overseas, she is working as an assistant to an escape artist. While she is the mastermind of the act. She controls it all. And this is one of her survival mechanisms. Control.

Just as she is fed up with her partner in the act, a man approaches her about working with British military intelligence. She works to design escape aids. MI9 is looking for those with special skills to end this war.

So Fenna becomes an inventor. Her loyalty will be tested and she may never be able to escape her own past.

This is a beautiful story of survival, courage, and overcoming when the odds are against you. And who knew about the Monopoly angle? I did not and I love it!

NetGalley/September 6th, 2022 by Sourcebooks Landmark

About the Author:

KRISTINA MCMORRIS is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of two novellas and six historical novels, including the runaway bestseller SOLD ON A MONDAY with over a million copies sold. The recipient of more than twenty national literary awards, she previously hosted weekly TV shows for Warner Bros. and an ABC affiliate, beginning at age nine with an Emmy Award-winning program, and owned a wedding-and-event-planning company until she had far surpassed her limit of “Y.M.C.A.” and chicken dances. Kristina lives near Portland, Oregon, where she somehow manages to be fully deficient of a green thumb and not own a single umbrella. For more, visit www.KristinaMcMorris.com




THE MANY DAUGHTERS OF AFONG MOY by JAMIE FORD

This is a rather difficult review to write. There were so many things I had never heard of before.

The story of seven women. Living with generational trauma. We begin with Dorothy Moy. Washington’s one-time poet laureate. When her young daughter begins showing signs of the same type of behavior that plagues Dorothy, she decides to go for some experimental treatments that are thought to mitigate inherited trauma. That one I had to look up.

In doing so she connects with past generations of her own family. And in all of the scenarios, there is a man looking for her. So a painful and traumatic past isn’t the only thing she’s searching for answers for.

Her choice to end the cycle of pain may help her find her lost love or it may cost her something.

I enjoyed the women’s stories. How different and yet similar they were. Some of these things I had never heard about before and I am very glad I now understand them.

NetGalley/August 2nd, 2022 by Atria Books



THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU by SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA

19th Century in Mexico. Carlota Moreau is a young lady who has never been beyond her own home in the Yucatan peninsula. It is a large estate and there is much rebel conflict around them. Carlota is lonely and curious. Why do they never have company? Why must they hide?

Well her father is either a mad scientist or a genius. We all know what he is.

Her father has hired a new assistant, Montgomery Laughton, a man who has lost his way. His wife left him, his money is gone and he can’t stop drinking. Owing money to the landlord of the island, he will be working with the doctor with the hybrids.

Hybrids? Yes, mixing a little bit of this DNA and a little bit of that DNA and you have some seriously messed up ‘hybrids’. Bred for working the fields. Most are hideously deformed but two have come out fairly well. And those two become friends with Carlota.

They are living life the only way they know how to live it. And then, the owner’s son, Eduardo, shows up with his band of troublemakers, and from there everything goes south fast. Carlota has a lot of questions for her father and she is not going to like the answers. Risking her own life, she will help the hybrids and bring about an end to the madness.

Great historical and rather science fiction too.

NetGalley/ July 19, 2022 RHPG


THE WEDDING DRESS SEWING CIRCLE by JENNIFER RYAN

Three plucky women lift the spirits of home-front brides in wartime Britain, where clothes rationing leaves little opportunity for pomp or celebration–even at weddings–in this heartwarming novel based on true events, from the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.

Cressida Westcott fled her family manor many years ago. She is now a very successful designer in London and runs her design house. Until the Blitz. Bombs drop on the poor and wealthy the same way. Like so many people, she now has no place to go. Swallowing her pride she calls her niece and nephew who still live at the manor and is told she is more than welcome.

Returning with only what she had on when the bombs fell. Her niece, Violet, is thrilled her aunt has come to stay. Violet is young and about as shallow as a saucer on the surface. Her father taught her from birth that it is her job to marry well and have children.

Cressida isn’t the only thing going to the manor. So is Violet’s conscription letter. She is furious. How in the world can she find a titled husband wearing a uniform and scrubbing toilets?

Meanwhile, in the village, the vicar’s daughter, Grace, is hoping her sewing circle can help mend her mother’s wedding gown so that she can wear it at her own wedding to a much older and staid man of the cloth.

While trying to be useful Cressida and Violet both volunteer at the sewing circle and much to everyone’s surprise it’s a great fit. Cressida has connections and Grace is a worthy protege for her. As she helps them, they also help her. What woman doesn’t want a special white dress for her wedding? The ladies soon hatch a plan to get as many gowns as they can and re-make them so the war brides all feel special on their day.

Having Cressida down in the village encourages her nephew, Hugh, to come as well. And he finds he may still have feelings for the little girl who was his best friend for so long.

Oh, the power of women having to make do. That is when things get interesting. And this book was full of women getting the job done. And figuring out who they are in this new world.

Such a beautiful concept and telling of a story that made me laugh and cry!

NetGalley/: May 31st, 2022 by Ballantine Books

A RIP THROUGH TIME by KELLEY ARMSTRONG

A Rip Through Time #1

With Armstrong finishing up her Rockton series, which we loved, she has given us a new one. A Rip Through Time is the series debut about a modern-day homicide detective from Vancouver who is in Scotland to be with her Nan, who is dying in hospital.

She goes out for a run and in an alley hears a woman scream. She looks but it’s very fuzzy and then she’s attacked herself. Two women, 150 years apart, attacked in the same way.

When Mallory regains consciousness she is in a bed she doesn’t know and being called Catriona. That bump on the head was a doozy because somehow she has traveled back in time to 1869! Figuring that Cat must be the woman who was attacked before and somehow they have switched places.

Now she’s a maid. With a lot of knowledge about dead bodies. Ending up in the home of an undertaker is convenient as she is determined to find out who killed Cat and who did she bring with her into the past that is still killing people?

Lucky for her, the master of the house is also a bit of a sleuth in cahoots with the homicide detective who is impressed and leary of “Cat’s” knowledge and ability to read and write even. But finding this killer won’t be easy because Cat has a bit of a nefarious past and she isn’t well-liked by pretty much anyone.

But Dr. Gray’s sister is interested and here I think we have the beginning of a mystery-solving trio!

Armstrong is a strong writer. Her characters are interesting and strong women. Here we get a mystery, time travel, a little romance and a lot of good characters, and great writing.

NetGalley/May 31st, 2022 by Minotaur Books



The SEAMSTRESS of NEW ORLEANS by DIANE C.McPHAIL

Can we take a look at this gorgeous cover? Stunning!

It’s 1900 and a new century has dawned and women are making some noise. Fighting for equality in a man’s world.

Alice Butterworth knows all of those rules. She also knows she needs to find a job as it looks like her husband is not going to be returning from his business trip. Desperate and broke, she overhears women talking about Mardi Gras in New Orleans. How a seamstress can flourish there. And Alice is a good seamstress. So to New Orleans, she goes. Carrying a parting gift from the no-good husband. A baby.

She finally arrives at an orphanage where she can stay and teach sewing to the older girls.

Constance is a young mother and wife. Her husband is shady at best. He isn’t coming home either. She knows this for certain. She works very closely with the orphanage and meeting Alice she offers her lodging with her little family while she helps her create a gown for the Leap Year Ball for Mardi Gras. It’s an all-women Krewe which at that time was forward. But she needs something to take her mind off of the fear she feels. Who is the mysterious man following her? And why?

This is a story of women helping women. Of being brave and standing together. While there was quite a bit of Mardi Gras trivia, this was ultimately about empowering women.

NetGalley/May 31st, 2022 by Kensington Publishing Corp. A John Scognamiglio Book


BLOOMSBURY GIRLS by NATALIE JENNER

Bloomsbury Girls

The internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society returns with a compelling and heartwarming story of post-war London, a century-old bookstore, and three women determined to find their way in a fast-changing world.

The war is over in London and the delightful Evie Stone is back. Having completed her studies at Cambridge she is hoping to get a position at the school. However, in typical fashion, the position goes to a man.

Using one of her contacts from The Jane Austen Society as a reference, she applies for a job at Bloomsbury Books. Selling new and rare books and resisting change in any form for a hundred years. Run by men and the fifty-one rules. Yes, 51.

But it’s 1950 and things are about to be shaken up like a snow globe with Evie’s arrival.

The women who work here, Vivien and Grace are tired of all of the men treating them as less than. Vivien’s fiance died in action in the war and Vivien is angry about a lot of things. Being passed over for a job she is very qualified for as well as her mortal enemy Alec, Head of Fiction. Vivien wants to write. She is constantly writing. Alec wants to write but never can.

Grace, the married one in the group is a glorified secretary who is just trying to support her family after her husband came back from the war a different man. A mean man who she wishes she could leave.

And then there is Evie. One of the first class of female students allowed to graduate and earn a degree at Cambridge. But Evie isn’t there to just work out a system for the messy rare book section, she has a purpose and is looking for something. Something she found at the great house in Chawton.

A chance meeting with Daphne Du Maurier has lit a fire under these women. Why can’t they follow their dreams? When other women join their cause, such as Peggy Guggenheim, Sonia Blair, Ellen Doubleday, and others, things are getting done. Have the women outplayed the men here? Oh, yes. And it is delicious.

I am so happy to see Evie! I so wanted to hear how she was getting on. And in this tale, she may even find love!

Very Well Done once again!

NetGalley/May 17th, 2022 by St. Martin’s Press







THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST by ALLISON PATAKI

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post

An epic reimagining of the remarkable life of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the American heiress and trailblazing leader of the twentieth century, from the New York Times bestselling author of Sisi

Marjorie Merriweather Post was not born in the type of wealth that would later allow her to own Mar-a-Lago and entertain heads of state from around the world. She grew up modestly in Battle Creek, Michigan after her family came there for the curative methods of Dr. Kellogg. Yes, that Kellogg. And yes, that Post, as in Grape Nuts. What her father learned while there led him to mass-produce cereal and food that was quick and easy to fix allowing the housewives to not live in the kitchen.

Her father encouraged her ambitions. He wanted her educated and able to form her own opinions. Marjorie took all of those lessons to heart. She lived and loved with all of her being.

Her first job was gluing cereal boxes in the barn. While she would go on to become the Cereal Heiress, she always gave more than she received.

She wasn’t very interested in the rules of society when it came to what she should or should not do and she threw herself into whatever she was passionate about. She was the wealthiest woman in the USA before she turned thirty. She was passionate about so many causes and love. She was loved, betrayed and had some ugly things to deal with as well. She married four times and gave her all. She was an amazing woman who left an amazing legacy behind.

I loved getting to know Marjorie. What a woman! And Pataki fills this book with such passion it isn’t difficult to find yourself staying up past your bedtime!

NetGalley/ February 15th, 2022 by Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine

Sister Stardust by JANE GREEN

Sister Stardust

Jane Green reimagines the life of troubled icon Talitha Getty in this transporting story from a forgotten chapter of the Swinging ’60s 

A reimagining of Talita and Paul Getty living the rich and exciting life that small- town Claire can only dream about. But she has dreams and heads for London.

After some fortuitous meetings, she finds herself invited to stay at their home in Morocco. A place teeming with hedonistic pleasures and famous people.She quickly adapts to this world of art, music , drugs and partner -swapping. And socialite, Talitha Getty takes her under her wing and shows her a different side to the glamour. While Claire, at first so charmed by these odd people, finds herself not sure at all she would want this permanantly.

The book is told by Clair, after she and her daughter find boxes and boxes of beautiful things from Morocco, along with a note from Talitha asking her to return. And so begins a mother telling her daughter the fabulous adventures she had as well as the heartbreak.

What a fascinating look at this period in time. When musicians were gods and groupies were everywhere. Claire just wanted a glimpse of the Stones but she got way more than she bargained for. While she loved Morocco, she could never justify the things that happened there that change and ruined so many lives.

I absolutely loved this book. I learned so much about that time period and the famous and infamous people of that time. This was a well told and much loved book.

I enjoyed it immensely.

NetGalley/April 5th, 2022 by Hanover Square Press


  

BLACKOUT by SIMON SCARROW

Blackout

Berlin, December 1939

So much tension in this one! The Nazis are quickly taking over and everyone is a little paranoid and terrified. There are shortages, blackouts, and murders.

The wife of one of the Nazi lawyers is found murdered. Brutally so. CI Horst Schenke is following the law and doing his investigation. He is already suspicious in the eyes of his superiors for not registering for the Nazi party.

When another body comes up he thinks they may be looking at something truly evil. But who is to be trusted? No one.

This was a tense read. Not only are the Nazis making life impossible for everyone in the country, but they fight among themselves just as cruelly. It was amazing to see someone stand up to them and get some sort of justice.

NetGalley/ March 29, 2022, Kensington Publishers