History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

  Before the Alamo Author: Florence Byham Weinberg Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Maywood House Release Date: 2021 Pages: 299 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Emilia Altamirano, Tejana, half Native American, half Spanish, is the daughter of a Royalist officer who fought against Mexico's independence in the Battle of the Medina River. Growing up in Bexar de San Antonio, she becomes literate, is adopted as a ward of José Antonio Navarro, and acts as a page in the Ayuntamiento (City Council). She serves as a nurse in the Battle of the Alamo but survives to face an uncertain future.            My Review: Before the Alamo chronicles the events prior to the Battle of the Alamo from a tejana’s perspective, a Texan woman of Spanish descent. Emilia is the daughter of a wealthy Spaniard and a Native American slave. She becomes a ward to Jose Antonio Navarro, a Texas war hero. Jose teaches Emilia to re...

The Visionary Mayan Queen: Yohl Ik'Nal of Palenque (The Mists of Palenque #1) Author: Leonide Martin Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Made for Wonder Publishing Release Date: 2014 Pages: 268  Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: Enter the world of a Mayan Queen      Yohl Ik'nal, first Mayan woman ruler, must overcome forces opposing her rule . . . betrayal and revenge, attack by enemy cities, and shamanic powers. Using her visionary ability, she saves her city from destruction, builds temples to honor her father and the Gods, and brings prosperity to her people while finding a love that sustains her.      But she foresees a time of darkness and devastation coming. Danger lurks ahead and she must choose a successor, either her weak son or willful daughter. Can she trust her vision to reveal the will of the Gods? The results of her choice will lead to ruin or bring her city to greatness.      Discover the opulent world of...

Daughter of the Sun: A Novel of The Toltec Empire Author: Barbara Wood Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Release Date: 2007 Pages: 453 Source: This book was given to me by Audiobookworm Tours in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Hoshi'tiwa had a simple life: The daughter of a humble corn grower, she planned to marry a storyteller's apprentice. But her world is turned upside down when she is captured by the powerful and violent ruler of an infamous city with legends of untold wealth and unspeakable acts of violence to its name. Hoshi'tiwa is suddenly thrown into the court of the Dark Lord, and as she struggles for power, she begins an illicit affair with the one man who has the ability to destroy her. Bestselling author Barbara Wood has crafted a sweeping saga of one woman's struggle to survive within the dangerous and exotic world of the Toltec court. Set against the backdrop of Chaco Canyon and the mysterious ...

The Bone Flower Goddess (Book Three of the Bone Flower Trilogy) Author: T. L. Morganfield Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Publisher: Feathered Serpent Books Release Date: 2016 Pages: 393 Source: Personal collection Synopsis: Death is her gift.      Discovering the truth about her forgotten past sets Quetzalpetlatl—former Queen of Tollan and High Priestess of Quetzalcoatl—on a new journey, to rebuild her life from the ashes of the Feathered Serpent’s deception. Her top priority is to rescue her son from the underworld, but the Lord of the Dead will only resurrect him in exchange for the most powerful of the gods: Quetzalcoatl himself.      For such a dangerous mission, Quetzalpetlatl needs help. She finds allies among the gods, but the only one willing—and powerful enough—to take on the Feathered Serpent is the one god who’s responsible for so much of her personal pain these last thirty-five years. The Smoking Mirror holds the key to everything...

The Bone Flower Queen (Book Two of the Bone Flower Trilogy) Author: T. L. Morganfield Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Publisher: Feathered Serpent Books Release Date: 2015 Pages: 356 Source: This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Gods Do Not Die. They Just Sleep.      Having defeated the sorcerer god Smoking Mirror and reclaimed her throne, Quetzalpetlatl and her brother Topiltzin set out to found Quetzalcoatl’s new holy city and end human sacrifice throughout the Toltec world.      But Smoking Mirror hasn’t abandoned his own ambitions for power; with his allies–mortal and divine–threatening war among the gods, he’s shifted his focus to Quetzalpetlatl and her budding magical powers. Along with her deep, personal connection to his hated enemy Quetzalcoatl, she would be the perfect addition to his ranks, if only he can convince her that she’s working for the wrong side in this conflict.   ...

Sacred Legacy by Kat Flannery Publication Date: July 31, 2016 Imajin Books eBook & Paperback; 234 Pages Series: The Branded Trilogy, Book 3 Genre: Historical/Romance/Western Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Tsura is a Chuvani, and with that comes great power…      Desperate to escape the memories that haunt her, Tsura Harris returns to Jamestown, the very place her mother forbade her to go. A gifted Chuvani, Tsura has sworn off all magick, thus making her vulnerable to the Renoldi clan, who wish to kill her and take the pendant that is the key to her power.      Red Wolf is hell-bent on living his life on the sea, until he runs into Tsura on the docks. His pride wounded from her rejection years before, he hoped to never see her again. But when the evil Corsair, Romulus Black, demands to know where she is, Red Wolf must protect her, as is h...

Maud’s Line Author: Margaret Verble Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Release Date: July 14, 2015 Pages: 304 Source: This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review Synopsis: A debut novel chronicling the life and loves of a headstrong, earthy, and magnetic heroine.      Eastern Oklahoma, 1928. Eighteen-year-old Maud Nail lives with her rogue father and sensitive brother on one of the allotments parceled out by the U.S. Government to the Cherokees when their land was confiscated for Oklahoma’s statehood. Maud’s days are filled with hard work and simple pleasures, but often marked by violence and tragedy, a fact that she accepts with determined practicality. Her prospects for a better life are slim, but when a newcomer with good looks and books rides down her section line, she takes notice. Soon she finds herself facing a series of high-stakes decisions that will determine her future and those of her loved o...

Please join Linda Covella on her Blog Tour with HF Virtual Book Tours for her YA historical novel, Yakimali's Gift, from October 6-10. Three $10 Amazon Gift Cards are up for grabs, please see below to enter the giveaway. Yakimali's Gift by Linda Covella Publication Date: July 29, 2014 Astraea Press eBook; 206p Genre: YA Historical Fiction Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.   READ AN EXCERPT . Synopsis: It is 1775 in Mexico, New Spain, and 15-year-old Fernanda Marquina, half Pima Indian and half Spanish, can't seem to live up to her mother's expectations or fit into the limited female roles of her culture. While she tends her garden, matches wits with buyers and sellers at the weekly market, and avoids Mama's lectures and the demands of Nicolas, the handsome soldier pursuing her, Fernanda grabs any opportunity to ride the horses she loves, racing across the desert, dreaming of ...

Favorite Daughter, Part One Author: Paula Margulies Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: One People Press Release Date: 2014 Pages: 194 Source: This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A young girl faces a dangerous and changing world... Set in the time of the Jamestown settlement and the English explorer John Smith, Favorite Daughter, Part One recounts the story of Chief Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas, as she prepares to take her place as one of our nation's earliest leading women. Pocahontas invites readers to experience her native world when strangers appear on the shores near her village. From forging a relationship with the charismatic Smith, to experiencing love for the first time and creating a role for herself in her father’s plans for peace, this young girl takes us on a poignant and harrowing journey through the turbulent events of her life. Eventually betrayed by all of the men she loves, Pocahontas matures into a...

The Bone Flower Throne: Book One of the Bone Flower Trilogy Author: T. L. Morganfield Genre: Historical fiction, Fantasy Publisher: Panverse Publishing LLC Release Date: October, 19th 2013 Pages: 352 Source: NetGalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: "I slid to a stop and gasped when I saw the black-robed monster hunched over Father's bed mat. Its long, matted hair glistened in the moonlight, and it sang in a harsh voice that sounded like bones snapping. I screamed, my heart thudding as if trying to break out of my chest."      Tenth century Mexico is a world in great upheaval. Incursions from the north bring constant warfare as clashing politics and faiths battle for supremacy. At the fore stands Smoking Mirror, a bloodthirsty god bent on subjugating humanity with his hunger for human hearts. His high priest, Ihuitimal, has conquered Culhuacan, one of the Toltecs' most powerful kingdoms.      When Smoking Mirror's archenemy,...