Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from October, 2017

Blog Tour: West (History Interrupted #1) by Lizzy Ford: A Book Review

Author: Lizzy Ford Narrator: Lillian Yves Length: 7 hours and 50 minutes Series : History Interrupted, Book 1 Publisher: Lizzy Ford Books LLC Released: Jul. 31, 2017 Genre: Romantic Fantasy  If you could change history, would you?        College graduate Josephine "Josie" Jackson answers "yes" to the question on a survey while visiting the Old West tourist town of Tombstone. The next morning, she wakes up in Indian Territory in the 1840s, where she's given a mission to complete before she can return to her time: to reset history, and prevent the deaths of hundreds of thousands over the next century, by convincing the man responsible for kindling the war between settlers and natives to stay home on the day he's supposed to start the war.         But someone is hunting down time travelers and killing them. Three other women have been sent back to the same time period with Josie's mission. When she stumbles upon what

Interview with Sara Sheridan

     Today, I have the pleasure to interview Sara Sheridan. She is the author of the Mirabelle Bevan historical mystery series. She has recently published, On Starlit Seas, which is a novel based on the life of Maria Graham. I have greatly enjoyed her Mirabelle Bevan mysteries, and I look forward to reading this one as well! I hope this interview will give you some insight into her novel. Thank you, Mrs. Sheridan! You were inspired to write On Starlit Seas on a real person. What drew you to her story?  I found Maria Graham in the National Library of Scotland’s John Murray archive. They had the books she’d originally written and her letters, journals and other papers. It was like finding a diamond in a mine. It was her nature, really - she just sparkled. It seemed extraordinary to me that this woman hadn’t been memorialised. She was a traveller, a writer and a mathematician. I wanted to write about her immediately. How did you weave historical and fictional parts in the nov

Book Blast: The Tides Between by Elizabeth Jane Corbett

The Tides Between by Elizabeth Jane Corbett Publication Date: October 20, 2017 Odyssey Books Paperback; 300 Pages Genre: Fiction/Young Adult/Historical Synopsis:  She fancied herself part of a timeless chain without beginning or end, linked only by the silver strong words of its tellers.        In the year 1841, on the eve of her departure from London, Bride's mother demands she forget her dead father and prepare for a sensible, adult life in Port Phillip. Desperate to save her childhood, fifteen-year-old Bridie is determined to smuggle a notebook filled with her father's fairytales to the far side of the world.       When Rhys Bevan, a soft-voiced young storyteller and fellow traveller realises Bridie is hiding something, a magical friendship is born. But Rhys has his own secrets and the words written in Bridie’s notebook carry a dark double meaning.       As they inch towards their destination, Rhys's past returns to haunt him. Bridie grap

Blog Tour: The Painter's Apprentice by Laura Morelli

The Painter's Apprentice: A Novel of 16th-Century Venice Author: Laura Morelli Category: Adult Fiction, 482 pages Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: The Scriptorium Release date: November 15, 2017 Tour dates: Oct 16 to Nov 17, 2017 Content Rating: PG-13 (some adult situations but no sex or explicit violence) Book Description:      Would you rather sacrifice your livelihood, your lover, or your life? When the Black Death comes knocking on your door, you’d better decide quickly.      Venice, 1510. Maria Bartolini wants nothing more than to carry on her father’s legacy as a master gilder. Instead, her father has sent her away from the only home she’s ever known to train as an apprentice to Master Trevisan, a renowned painter.      When the painter’s servants uncover the real reason why Maria has been sent away, they threaten to reveal a secret that could tear down her family and the future of their trade. She is forced to buy the servants’ silence, but as their gr

Caroline: Little House, Revisited by Sarah Miller: A Book Review

Caroline: Little House, Revisited Author: Sarah Miller Genre: Historical Fiction, Western Publisher: William Morrow Release Date: September 19, 2017 Pages: 384 Source: This book was given to me by TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In this novel authorized by Little House Heritage Trust, Sarah Miller vividly recreates the beauty, hardship, and joys of the frontier in a dazzling work of historical fiction, a captivating story that illuminates one courageous, resilient, and loving pioneer woman as never before--Caroline Ingalls, "Ma" in Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved Little House books.      In the frigid days of February, 1870, Caroline Ingalls and her family leave the familiar comforts of the Big Woods of Wisconsin and the warm bosom of her family, for a new life in Kansas Indian Territory. Packing what they can carry in their wagon, Caroline, her husband Charles, and their little girls, Mary and Laura, head west to settle in a beautiful

Blog Tour: Pleasing Mr. Pepys by Deborah Swift: A Book Review

Pleasing Mr. Pepys Author: Deborah Swift Publication Date: September 28, 2017 Accent Press eBook & Paperback; 407 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: London 1667.      Set in a London rising from the ruins of the Great Fire, Pleasing Mr Pepys is a vivid re-imagining of the events in Samuel Pepys’s Diary.      Desperate to escape her domineering aunt, Deb Willet thinks the post of companion to well-respected Elisabeth Pepys is the answer to her prayers. But Samuel Pepys’s house is not as safe as it seems. An intelligent girl in Deb’s position has access to his government papers, and soon she becomes a target of flamboyant actress Abigail Williams, a spy for England’s enemies, the Dutch.     Abigail is getting old and needs a younger accomplice. She blackmails Deb into stealing Pepys’s documents. Soon, the respectable life Deb longs for slides out of her g

Blog Tour: Interview with Alex Lidell

    Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Alex Lidell. She is the author of The Cadet at Tildor. She has recently published the first two books in the Air and Ash historical fantasy series. I really loved Air and Ash , and I'm excited to read the sequel War and Wind ! I hope this interview will help you gain an interest in her work. Thank you, Mrs. Lidell! What did you draw upon for your inspiration for Air and Ash ? Originally, it was sparked by the Master and Commander movie - and then I listen to A LOT of naval audiobooks, from more middle grade like Bloody Jack to the classics like Horatio Hornblower . The more time I spent “at sea” the more fascinating I found it! How did you conduct your research? Mostly through the various companion texts written about Jack Aubrey’s adventures.  Thanks to Patrick O’Brian there is a TON of stuff out there. Have you always been fascinated with naval battles and naval history? Actually, it’s not the battles and history

Little Mother of Russia: A Biography of Empress Marie Feodorovna (1847-1928) by Coryne Hall: A Book Review

Little Mother of Russia: A Biography of Empress Marie Feodorovna (1847-1928) Author: Coryne Hall Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Holmes and Meier Release Date: 2006 Pages: 416 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: Princess Dagmar, daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and sister Queen Alexandra of England and King George I of Greece, was betrothed to Tsarevitch Nicholas of Russia, a love match on both sides. Tragically, he died just months before their wedding. Out of duty she married his brother in 1866, and so fifteen years later this poor, obscure princess was raised to the heights of the Russian imperial throne when her husband became Alexander III, after the assassination of his father. Her son was Nicholas II, the last Tsar.      More tragedy was in store. Her husband died in his prime and two of her sons died young. During the First World War, her advice unheeded, the Tsar took command of the army and she could only watch in despair as