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American Princess by Stephanie Marie Thornton: A Book Review

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American Princess: A Novel of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt
Author: Stephanie Marie Thornton
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 12, 2019
Pages: 448
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Alice may be the president's daughter, but she's nobody's darling. As bold as her signature color Alice Blue, the gum-chewing, cigarette-smoking, poker-playing First Daughter discovers that the only way for a woman to stand out in Washington is to make waves--oceans of them. With the canny sophistication of the savviest politician on the Hill, Alice uses her celebrity to her advantage, testing the limits of her power and the seductive thrill of political entanglements.

     But Washington, DC is rife with heartaches and betrayals, and when Alice falls hard for a smooth-talking congressman it will take everything this rebel has to emerge triumphant and claim her place as an American icon. As Alice soldiers through the devastation of tw…
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Blog Tour: The Way of Glory by Patricia J. Boomsma

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The Way of Glory by Patricia J. BoomsmaPublication Date: November 14, 2018 Edeleboom Books eBook & Paperback; 390 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction

     Cate, a teenage girl from twelfth century England, joins her brothers and aunt on a crusade to save Jerusalem that stops in Hispania to battle the Moors. Life on a battlefield strains the family’s closeness as they confront the terror and contradictions of holy war. Cate’s dreams of sainthood change to those of a husband and children when she falls in love with a soldier, but she finds no peace even after the family settles on land taken from the Moors. Cate’s friendship with a conquered Moor soon leads to impossible choices as she faces the cost of betrayal and the loss of all she’s known.
Praise for The Way of Glory    “One of the many impressive things about The Way of Glory is how lightly it wears its scrupulous research. This fine novel invites you to lose yourself to the compelling character and tumultuous life of a young woman…
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Carolina of Orange-Nassau: Ancestress of the Royal Houses of Europe by Moniek Bloks: A Book Review

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Carolina of Orange-Nassau: Ancestress of the Royal Houses of Europe
Author: Moniek Bloks
Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography
Publisher: Chronos Books
Release Date: January 25, 2019
Pages: 97
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Carolina of Orange-Nassau (1743 – 1787) was born the daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange, and Anne, Princess Royal and was thus the granddaughter of King George II. It was upon the King's orders that she was named after his wife, Caroline of Ansbach. She was the first of Anne and William's children to survive to adulthood. When her father was at last made stadtholder of all seven united provinces, Carolina was included in the line of succession, in the event she had no brothers. A brother was eventually born, but due to his weak health, she remained an important figure. Carolina married Charles Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and suffered the loss of half her children, either in childbirth or infancy. Despite this,…
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Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts: A Book Review

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Finding Dorothy
Author: Elizabeth Letts
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: February 12, 2019
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Hollywood, 1938: As soon as she learns that M-G-M is adapting her late husband’s masterpiece for the screen, seventy-seven-year-old Maud Gage Baum sets about trying to finagle her way onto the set. Nineteen years after Frank’s passing, Maud is the only person who can help the producers stay true to the spirit of the book—because she’s the only one left who knows its secrets.

    But the moment she hears Judy Garland rehearsing the first notes of “Over the Rainbow,” Maud recognizes the yearning that defined her own life story, from her youth as a suffragette’s daughter to her coming of age as one of the first women in the Ivy League, from her blossoming romance with Frank to the hardscrabble prairie years that inspired TheWonderful Wizard of Oz. Judy reminds Maud of a young girl she cared…
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Death of an Eye (Eye of Isis #1) by Dana Stabenow: A Book Review

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Death of an Eye (Eye of Isis #1)
Author: Dana Stabenow
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Release Date: 2018
Pages: 231
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: For three centuries, the House of Ptolemy has governed the Kingdom of Egypt. Cleopatra – seventh of her name – rules from Alexandria, that beacon of commerce and learning that stands between the burning sands of the desert and the dark waters of the Middle Sea.

     But her realm is beset by ethnic rivalries, aristocratic feuds and courtly intrigues. Not only that, she must contend with the insatiable appetite of Julius Caesar who needs Egyptian grain and Egyptian gold to further his ambitions. The world is watching the young Queen, waiting for a misstep...

    And now her most trusted servant – her Eye – has been murdered and a vast shipment of newly minted coin stolen. Cleopatra cannot afford for the coins to go unrecovered or the murderers unpunished, so she asks …
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Dear George, Dear Mary: A Novel of George Washington's First Love by Mary Calvi: A Book Review

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Dear George, Dear Mary: A Novel of George Washington's First Love
Author: Mary Calvi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: February 19, 2019
Pages: 320
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: A never-before-told love story of George Washington and heiress Mary Philipse based on historical accounts, letters, and personal journals by nine-time New York Emmy Award-winning journalist Mary Calvi.

"Love is said to be an involuntary passion, and it is, therefore, contended that it cannot be resisted." --George Washington

    Did unrequited love spark a flame that ignited a cause that became the American Revolution? Crafted from hundreds of letters, witness accounts, and journal entries, Dear George, Dear Mary explores George's relationship with his first love, New York heiress Mary Philipse, the richest belle in Colonial America.

     From elegant eighteenth-century society to bloody battlefields, the novel creates breat…
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Jerusalem's Queen (The Silent Years #3): A Novel of Salome Alexandra by Angela Hunt: A Book Review

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Jerusalem's Queen (The Silent Years #3): A Novel of Salome Alexandra
Author: Angela Hunt
Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Release Date: 2018
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Her Rise to the Throne Defied Expectations.
And Then She Proved to Be One of Judea's Greatest Rulers.

    Born in the small village of Modein, a place made famous by the warrior Maccabees, Salome Alexandra knows better than to harbor grand dreams for her future. She pales in comparison to her beautiful older sister, and though she learns to read at an early age, girls are not valued for their intellectual ability. However, when her father and sister are killed, John Hyrcanus, a distant relative, invites Salome and her mother to live with his family in Jerusalem, where her thirst for knowledge is noticed and indulged.

    When her guardian betroths her to a pagan prince, she questions HaShem's plan. When Hy…
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Of Fire and Lions by Mesu Andrews: A Book Review

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Of Fire and Lions
Author: Mesu Andrews
Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction
Publisher: WaterBrook
Release Date: March 5, 2019
Pages: 400
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: The Old Testament book of Daniel comes to life in this novel for readers of Lynn Austin's Chronicles of the Kings series or Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion series.

    Survival. A Hebrew girl first tasted it when she escaped death nearly seventy years ago as the Babylonians ransacked Jerusalem and took their finest as captives. She thought she'd perfected in the many years amongst the Magoi and the idol worshippers, pretending with all the others in King Nebuchadnezzar's court. Now, as Daniel's wife and a septuagenarian matriarch, Belili thinks she's safe and she can live out her days in Babylon without fear--until the night Daniel is escorted to Belshazzar's palace to interpret mysterious handwriting on a wall. The Persian Army invades, an…
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The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict: A Book Review

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The Only Woman in the Room
Author: Marie Benedict
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Release Date: January 8, 2019
Pages: 272
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: She possessed a stunning beauty. She also possessed a stunning mind. Could the world handle both?

    Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star.

     But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she was a scientist. And she knew a few secrets about the enemy. She had an idea that might help the country fight the Nazis...if anyone would listen to her.

     A powerful novel based on the inc…
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Anna the Prophetess by H.B. Moore: A Book Review

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Anna the Prophetess
Author: H.B. Moore
Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Release Date: 2018
Pages: 232
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Anna the Prophetess is the dramatic chronicle of the only woman to be called a prophetess in the Gospels. When Anna's great-niece Julia is exiled to Jerusalem as punishment for her refusal to marry a man old enough to be her father, Anna shares the story of her early days of courtship with her husband. Although Julia's parents admonished her to observe firsthand how lonely Anna's life is, Julia instead discovers that her great-aunt's life is far from lonely--it is full of love, peace, and incredible faith. As Anna shares her unwavering testimony of the coming Messiah with her great-niece, these two faithful women are changed forever as they seek the Lord's will in their lives and joyfully witness the long-awaited miracles of Christ's birth.

…
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Changeling (Sorcery and Society #1) by Molly Harper: A Book Review

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Changeling (Sorcery and Society #1)
Author: Molly Harper
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: NYLA 
Release Date: 2018
Pages: 264
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: If 14-year-old Cassandra Reed makes it through her first day at Miss Castwell’s Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies without anyone discovering her secret, maybe, just maybe, she’ll let herself believe that she really does belong at Miss Castwell’s.

    Except Cassandra Reed’s real name is Sarah Smith and up until now, she lived her whole life in the Warren, serving a magical family, the Winters, as all non-magical “Snipes” are bound by magical Guardian law to do. That is, until one day, Sarah accidentally levitates Mrs. Winter’s favorite vase in the parlor...

     But Snipes aren’t supposed to have magical powers…and the existence of a magical Snipe threatens the world order dictated during the Guardians’ Restoration years ago. If she wants to keep her family safe …
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Girl at the Grave by Teri Bailey Black: A Book Review

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Girl at the Grave 
Author: Teri Bailey Black
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense
Publisher: Tor Teen 
Release Date: 2018
Pages: 336
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: In Girl at the Grave, debut author Teri Bailey Black unearths the long-buried secrets of a small 1850s New England town in this richly atmospheric Gothic tale of murder, guilt, redemption, and finding love where least expected.

    A mother hanged for murder.
    A daughter left to pick up the pieces of their crumbling estate.
    Can she clear her family’s name if it means facing her own dark past?

    Valentine has spent years trying to outrun her mother's legacy. But small towns have long memories, and when a new string of murders occurs, all signs point to the daughter of a murderer.

     Only one person believes Valentine is innocent—Rowan Blackshaw, the son of the man her mother killed all those years ago. Valentine vows to find the real killer, but when she finally un…
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The Lost Queen by Signe Pike: A Book Review

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The Lost Queen
Author: Signe Pike
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: 2018
Pages: 545
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Compared to Outlander and The Mists of Avalon, this thrilling first novel of a debut trilogy reveals the untold story of Languoreth—a forgotten queen of sixth-century Scotland—twin sister of the man who inspired the legend of Merlin. 

    I write because I have seen the darkness that will come. Already there are those who seek to tell a new history...

    In a land of mountains and mist, tradition and superstition, Languoreth and her brother Lailoken are raised in the Old Way of their ancestors. But in Scotland, a new religion is rising, one that brings disruption, bloodshed, and riot. And even as her family faces the burgeoning forces of Christianity, the Anglo-Saxons, bent on colonization, are encroaching from the east. When conflict brings the hero Emrys Pendragon to her father’s door, Languoreth finds love …
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The Deadliest Fever (Miriam bat Isaac Mystery #4) by June Trop: A Book Review

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The Deadliest Fever (Miriam bat Isaac Mystery #4)
Author: June Trop
Genre:  Historical Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Black Opal Books
Release Date: 2018
Pages: 248
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Miriam bat Isaac, a budding alchemist and amateur sleuth in first-century CE Alexandria, is concerned when she learns that the Torah mantle in Alexandria’s Great Synagogue has been damaged. She takes the mantle to Judah, a renowned jeweler and the unrequited love of her life. He repairs the mantle but assures her that the gems are genuine. Like Miriam, he is astonished that someone would damage the mantle but leave the gems behind. But Miriam suspects that something is not right. She is even more convinced that something is amiss, a few days later, when an anonymous note arrives, warning that the security at the Synagogue needs to be increased. As she digs for answers, she learns that some of the people she trusts are not what they seem, and she may not survive …
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I, Guinevere (Mythic Maidens #2) by C. K. Brooke: A Book Review

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I, Guinevere (Mythic Maidens #2)
Author: C. K. Brooke
Genre:  YA, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: C.K. Brooke
Release Date: 2018
Pages: 214
Source: This book was given to me by a book review site in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Your legends have it wrong. Arthur never pulled that sword out of the stone. I did. I, Guinevere.

    On the winter solstice, a mysterious sword in a stone appears in the churchyard. Not even the mightiest of the village men can remove it, until fifteen-year-old Guinevere gives a try. The sword heeds the unsuspecting maiden, proclaiming the unthinkable: she is the blood of Pendrakon, heir to the vacant throne of Camylot.

    Guinevere never dreamed she was born royalty. Now, between apprenticing the eccentric wizard, Merlyn; swordplay lessons with an abrasive—albeit, attractive—boy named Lance; and clandestine, magical meetings with the formidable High Priestess of Avalon, Guinevere is swept up in a whirlwind of training and preparation for her monume…
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