History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

The Lost Tudor Princess: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas Author: Alison Weir Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Ballantine Books Release Date: January 12, 2016 Pages: 576 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir comes the first biography of Margaret Douglas, the beautiful, cunning niece of Henry VIII of England who used her sharp intelligence and covert power to influence the succession after the death of Elizabeth I.      Royal Tudor blood ran in her veins. Her mother was a queen, her father an earl, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin, and grandmother of monarchs. Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, was an important figure in Tudor England, yet today, while her contemporaries—Anne Boleyn, Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I—have achieved celebrity status, she is largely forgotten.       Margaret’s ...

The Void of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #3) Author: Jeff Wheeler Genre: YA, Fantasy Publisher: 47North Release Date: 2015 Pages: 432 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: When banished Princess Maia is captured by her father and threatened with execution, it appears that all is lost…until the people rise in rebellion against their king. Suddenly, the cast-aside royal finds herself crowned the first Queen of Comoros. But enemies appear on all sides as her father’s conniving supporters assemble a new army against the fledgling ruler. While Maia struggles to keep the peace within her own walls, she rushes to form historical alliances with her neighboring kingdoms against an impending invasion of the ruthless Naestors—led by the cruel Corriveaux—who will destroy anyone Maia loves in order to ruin her kingdom and prevent the mastons from regaining power.      Realizing that Muirwood Abbey is once again her only hope for survival, M...

The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2) Author: Jeff Wheeler Genre: YA, Fantasy Publisher: 47North Release Date: 2015 Pages: 400 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: From the moment she was banished by her father, the king, Princess Maia journeyed to seek sanctuary at Muirwood Abbey, the epicenter of magic and good in the land. Now safe for the first time since her cruel abandonment, Maia must foster uneasy friendships with other girls training to be Ciphers: women who learn to read and engrave tomes of ancient power, despite the laws forbidding them to do so. As Maia tries to judge whom to trust, she makes a shocking discovery: her destiny is to open the Apse Veil and release trapped spirits from her world. Then she learns that her father is coming to Muirwood Abbey to celebrate the Whitsunday festival—and Maia’s estranged husband, whom she was forced to abandon, will join him. Torn between deadly political machinations and unstop...

The Confessions of X Author: Suzanne M. Wolfe Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Thomas Nelson Release Date: January 26, 2016 Pages: 304 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Before he became a father of the Christian Church, Augustine of Hippo loved a woman whose name has been lost to history. This is her story.      She met Augustine in Carthage when she was seventeen. She was the poor daughter of a mosaic-layer; he was a promising student and heir to a fortune. His brilliance and passion intoxicated her, but his social class would be forever beyond her reach. She became his concubine, and by the time he was forced to leave her, she was thirty years old and the mother of his son. And his Confessions show us that he never forgot her. She was the only woman he ever loved.      In a society in which classes rarely mingle on equal terms, and an unwed mother can lose her son to the burgeoning career of he...

Louise's Chance: A 1940s Spy Thriller Set in Wartime Washington (A Louise Pearlie Mystery) Author: Sarah R. Shaber Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller Publisher: Severn House Release Date: 2015 Pages: 192 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: 1940s, Washington DC. Government girl Louise gets her big chance, when she is tasked with recruiting German POWs for a secret mission inside Nazi Germany      Government girl Louise Pearlie has a new job inside the OSS – the Office of Strategic Services: recruiting German prisoners-of-war for a secret mission inside Nazi Germany. It’s a big chance for her, and Louise hopes she can finally escape her filing and typing duties. With the job comes two new colleagues: Alice Osborne, a propaganda expert, and Merle Ellison, a forger from Texas who just happens to speak fluent German.       But when the three arrive at Fort Meade camp, to interview the first German POWs to ...

The Determined Heart: The Tale of Mary Shelley and Her Frankenstein Author: Antoinette May Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Lake Union Publishing Release Date: 2015 Pages: 412 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The Determined Heart reveals the life of Mary Shelley in a story of love and obsession, betrayal and redemption.      The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley had an unconventional childhood populated with the most talented and eccentric personalities of the time. After losing her mother at an early age, she finds herself in constant conflict with a resentful stepmother and a jealous stepsister. When she meets the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, she falls deeply in love, and they elope with disastrous consequences. Soon she finds herself destitute and embroiled in a torturous love triangle as Percy takes Mary’s stepsister as a lover. Over the next severa...

Ophelia’s Muse Author: Rita Cameron Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Kensington Release Date: 2015 Pages: 416 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: "I'll never want to draw anyone else but you. You are my muse. Without you there is no art in me."       With her pale, luminous skin and cloud of copper-colored hair, nineteen-year-old Lizzie Siddal looks nothing like the rosy-cheeked ideal of Victorian beauty. Working in a London milliner's shop, Lizzie stitches elegant bonnets destined for wealthier young women, until a chance meeting brings her to the attention of painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Enchanted both by her ethereal appearance and her artistic ambitions--quite out of place for a shop girl--Rossetti draws her into his glittering world of salons and bohemian soirees.       Lizzie begins to sit for some of the most celebrated members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, posing for John ...

Lady of The Imperial City Author: Laura Kitchell Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: CreateSpace Release Date: 2015 Pages: 293 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Love isn’t forbidden to Lady Kirei as long as it’s with a proper gentleman of Kyō and she doesn’t mind sharing him with his wife. Her provincial upbringing makes her socially unacceptable as a true wife, yet as a lady by birth and a court favorite, her position makes it impossible for her to seek a match below her station. She’s trapped.       When a nobleman of similar provincial upbringing arrives in town and becomes an instant favorite of the emperor, he is sent to Lady Kirei for tutoring on city ways. Lord Yūkan is smitten, but she’s not a conquest to be won. She’s a woman of substance and worth, and she’s off limits.       Despite his unrefined manners, Lord Yūkan’s aristocratic bloodline shows through his fine taste and quick mind. It...

Chivalrous (Valiant Hearts Series #2) Author: Dina L. Sleiman Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Christian Publisher: Bethany House Release Date: 2015 Pages: 368 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: With Her Future In Jeopardy, This Unforgettable Heroine Won't Go Down Without a Fight!      Strong and adventurous Gwendolyn Barnes longs to be a knight like her chivalrous brothers, but her parents view her only as a marriage pawn. When her domineering father makes plans to see her wed to a brutish man, Gwendolyn must fight for her future.       She's surprised, however, for that clash to include a handsome, good-hearted newcomer. Allen of Ellsworth arrives in Edendale searching for his place in the world, but he finds in Gwendolyn the most unexpected of women.       Tournaments, intrigue, and battles--along with twists and turns aplenty--await these two as they struggle to find love, identit...

Named of The Dragon Author: Susanna Kearsley Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Paranormal Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Release Date: 2015 Pages: 322 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: SOMEWHERE IN THE HEART OF LEGEND       LIES THE KEY TO HER TERRIFYING DREAMS      The charm of spending the Christmas holidays in South Wales, with its crumbling castles and ancient myths, seems the perfect distraction from the nightmares that have plagued literary agent Lyn Ravenshaw since the loss of her baby five years ago.      Instead, she meets an emotionally fragile young widow who's convinced that Lyn's recurring dreams have drawn her to Castle Farm for an important purpose--and she's running out of time.      With the help of a reclusive, brooding playwright, Lyn begins to untangle the mystery and is pulled into a world of Celtic legends, dangerous prophecies, and a child destined for greatn...

The Courtesan: A Novel  Author: Alexandra Curry Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Dutton Release Date: 2015 Pages: 384 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A timeless novel of one woman who bridged two worlds in a tumultuous era of East meets West       The Courtesan is an astonishing tale inspired by the real life of a woman who lived and loved in the extraordinary twilight decades of the Qing dynasty. To this day, Sai Jinhua is a legend in her native land of China, and this is her story, told the way it might have been.      The year is 1881. Seven-year-old Jinhua is left an orphan, alone and unprotected after her mandarin father’s summary execution for the crime of speaking the truth. For seven silver coins, she is sold to a brothel-keeper and subjected to the worst of human nature. Will the private ritual that is her father’s legacy and the wise friendship of the crippled brothel maid be enough to s...

A Spy’s Devotion (The Regency Spies of London Series #1) Author: Melanie Dickerson Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Christian Publisher: Waterfall Press Release Date: February 9, 2016 Pages: 322 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In England’s Regency era, manners and elegance reign in public life—but behind closed doors treason and deception thrive. Nicholas Langdon is no stranger to reserved civility or bloody barbarity. After suffering a battlefield injury, the wealthy, well-connected British officer returns home to heal—and to fulfill a dying soldier’s last wish by delivering his coded diary.      At the home of the Wilherns, one of England’s most powerful families, Langdon attends a lavish ball where he meets their beautiful and intelligent ward, Julia Grey. Determined to maintain propriety, he keeps his distance—until the diary is stolen and all clues lead to Julia’s guardian. As Langdon traces an evil plot that could ...

The Golden Braid (Hagenheim Series #6) Author: Melanie Dickerson Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Christian Publisher: Thomas Nelson Release Date: 2015 Pages: 318 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower.      Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man. She paints beautiful flowering vines on the walls of her plaster houses. She sings so sweetly she can coax even a beast to sleep. But there are two things she is afraid her mother might never allow her to do: learn to read and marry.      Fiercely devoted to Rapunzel, her mother is suspicious of every man who so much as looks at her daughter and warns her that no man can be trusted. After a young village farmer asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides to move them once again—this time, to the large city of Hagenheim.      The journey proves treacherous, and after being rescued...

The Princess Spy (Hagenheim Series #5) Author: Melanie Dickerson Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Christian Publisher: Zondervan Release Date: 2014 Pages: 300 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: Margaretha has always been a romantic, and hopes her newest suitor, Lord Claybrook, is destined to be her one true love. But then an injured man is brought to Hagenheim Castle, claiming to be an English lord who was attacked by Claybrook and left for dead. And only Margaretha—one of the few who speaks his language—understands the wild story.      Margaretha finds herself unable to pass Colin’s message along to her father, the duke, and convinces herself “Lord Colin” is just an addled stranger. Then Colin retrieves an heirloom she lost in a well, and asks her to spy on Claybrook as repayment. Margaretha knows she could never be a spy—not only is she unable to keep anything secret, she’s sure Colin is completely wrong about her potential betrothed. Though when Margaretha ov...

Jane Austen: A Biography Author: Brian Wilks Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Endeavour Press Release Date: 2015 Pages: 144 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review Synopsis: Jane Austen, one of the best-loved novelists of the English language, is unique in that her approach to art is without complication.       She never attempted to exceed the limitations of her capabilities or of that with which she was familiar, but wrote of ordinary people engaged in familiar pursuits and doing ordinary things.       Born the daughter of a country parson, Jane lived what many consider to have been a quiet and uneventful life. Yet in this book, Brian Wilks shows how rewarding a study of this deceptively quiet life can be.       Jane was a member of a remarkable family, and her story is one of her close involvement with its members. Personal relationships and their portrayal are the keynote of...

The Captive Maiden (Hagenheim Series #4) Author: Melanie Dickerson Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Christian Publisher: Zondervan Release Date: 2013 Pages: 204 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: Happily Ever After …Or Happily Nevermore?      Gisela’s childhood was filled with laughter and visits from nobles such as the duke and his young son. But since her father’s death, each day has been filled with nothing but servitude to her stepmother. So when Gisela learns the duke’s son, Valten—the boy she has daydreamed about for years—is throwing a ball in hopes of finding a wife, she vows to find a way to attend, even if it’s only for a taste of a life she’ll never have. To her surprise, she catches Valten’s eye. Though he is rough around the edges, Gisela finds Valten has completely captured her heart. But other forces are bent on keeping the two from falling further in love, putting Gisela in more danger than she ever imagined.       My Review: Th...