Walt Longmire Mystery Series by Craig Johnson

 

Title: The Cold Dish

Author: Craig Johnson

Genre: Fiction

Other Books I've Listened to by this Author: Death Without Company, Kindness Goes Unpunished

Synopsis: Sheriff Walter Longmire solves crimes in Absaroka County, Wyoming with his deputies and best friend, Henry Standing Bear.

My Thoughts

I was a big fan of the Longmire television series inspired by these books, so I decided to check out the books. I truly love to read so I had not ventured into the world of audiobooks, but when I decided to take the train to Montana I knew this would be the perfect series to enjoy along the way. Having motion sickness and knowing that I would want to see all the scenery traveling from Ohio to Montana I decided that it was time to give audiobooks a try. 

The narrator who reads this series has the perfect voice for Walt Longmire. He is very good and really enjoyable to listen to, though sometimes it is so soothing I accidentally drift off. I can't imagine enjoying the rest of the series in any other format.

As for the novels themselves, I really love the author's style. The humor is smart and quippy, the characters are well developed, and the mystery always has some twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. Sheriff Longmire is a complicated person with strong relationships with the people of the community, his out-of-state daughter, meanwhile dealing with the loss of his wife.

While the storyline is a bit different than the tv show, I find it just as enjoyable with a modern western feel and relatable characters.

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

 

Title: The Last Runaway

Author: Tracy Chevalier

Genre: Historical Fiction

Other Books I've Read by this Author: The Girl With the Pearl Earring

Synopsis: "Honor Bright is a modest English Quaker with a broken heart. Emigrating to Ohio with her sister in the hope of making a new life, she soon discovers that 19th-century America hard, precarious place to live. Its people are practical and unsentimental, its climate challenging. Even its quilts are different from those she makes. Moreover, it is divided by slavery, legal in southern states and opposed by many northerners.

One day a runaway slave appears in the farmyard of Honor’s new family, and she must decide what to do. Even Quakers - famed for championing human equality - may hesitate to break the laws of the land. Drawn into the clandestine activities of the Underground Railroad, a network of people helping runaways escape to freedom, Honor befriends two surprising women who demonstrate what defiance can achieve. Eventually, she must decide if she too can act on what she believes in, whatever the personal costs." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

As an Ohioan myself, I was so intrigued to read about Honor Bright's immigration here in the 1850s. This novel brings together so many interesting topics, immigration from England to the US, the Quaker faith, Ohio homesteads in the Quaker community, the Underground Railroad and the role Oberlin played in it, and the Fugitive Slave Law. 

It is definitely a coming-of-age story for Honor but also highlights the difficulty in deciding between what is morally right vs what the law requires. The reader can understand why the Haymakers would follow the laws rather than their conscience and the teachings of their Quaker faith and also why Honor cannot ignore her principles. 

Reading about what life was like in Ohio in the 19th century is also super interesting especially when many of the cities mentioned still exist today. Oberlin still carries a reputation for being a progressive town but I didn't realize that it extended so far back into its history. I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading more from this author.

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

The Queen's Secret by Karen Harper

 

Title: The Queen's Secret

Author: Karen Harper

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: '1939. As the wife of King George VI and the mother of the future queen, Elizabeth—“the queen mother”—shows a warm, smiling face to the world. But it’s no surprise that Hitler himself calls her the “Most Dangerous Woman in Europe.” For behind that soft voice and kindly demeanor is a will of steel.

Two years earlier, George was thrust onto the throne when his brother Edward abdicated, determined to marry his divorced, American mistress Mrs. Simpson. Vowing to do whatever it takes to make her husband’s reign a success, Elizabeth endears herself to the British people, and prevents the former king and his brazen bride from ever again setting foot in Buckingham Palace.

Elizabeth holds many powerful cards, she’s also hiding damaging secrets about her past and her provenance that could prove to be her undoing.'- Back Cover

My Thoughts

As a lover of the British Royal Family, I was excited to read this novel as soon as I saw it was coming out. It was a cute look into life in the palace during WWII, with some moments of sadness and tragedy of war, but not the best story of WWII London that I have read. It focused intensely on rumors about The Queen Mother that I had never heard before, questioning her legitimacy and stating that her children were products of artificial insemination. She is also afraid that Bertie will find out that she was sexually assaulted by his brother David in her youth. I wouldn't mind a story that focuses on her fear of these secrets coming to light but it was repetitive and obvious in restating how afraid she was that anyone would find out. It was not following the 'show, don't tell' model that budding writers are encouraged to use. 

If you are looking for a quick and easy read featuring the royal family this is fine, but not deep or hard-hitting. 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon

                                                          

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Fiction, SciFi, Historical, Fantasy

Other books I've read by this author: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in Bone

Synopsis: "1778: France declares war on Great Britain, the British army leaves Philadelphia, and George Washington’s troops leave Valley Forge in pursuit. At this moment, Jamie Fraser returns from a presumed watery grave to discover that his best friend has married his wife, his illegitimate son has discovered (to his horror) who his father really is, and his beloved nephew, Ian, wants to marry a Quaker. Meanwhile, Jamie’s wife, Claire Randall, and his sister, Jenny, are busy picking up the pieces.

 
The Frasers can only be thankful that their daughter Brianna and her family are safe in twentieth-century Scotland. Or not. In fact, Brianna is searching for her own son, who was kidnapped by a man determined to learn her family’s secrets. Her husband, Roger, has ventured into the past in search of the missing boy . . . never suspecting that the object of his quest has not left the present. Now, with Roger out of the way, the kidnapper can focus on his true target: Brianna herself." -Back Cover

My Thoughts

I have been a little remiss in my posting of these reviews recently. I have read two books since I last posted, so I am trying to catch up. You guys all know how much I love this series, it just keeps getting better. We continue to see the American Revolution from the perspective of those from both sides of the war, the Frasers (Continental Army) and the Greys (British Army). I continue to love getting to know William Ransom as portions of the novel follow him. He is now dealing with the knowledge that Jamie is his biological father and all the feels that come along with that. Lord John Grey is one of my favorite characters, so I am always excited when he is back in the Frasers' lives. 

I have read so these novels so quickly in the past year and a half that I have now only one currently written novel left to read, which is sadly still only in hardcover. Yep, it's that new. As of now, Gabaldon has promised this is a 10 book series, so I am excited and sad to be done with 8 of them. I am keeping my spirits up with the knowledge that there are still all the books the focus on John Grey that intersperse with the main novels, so I still have plenty of Outlander reading to do in the future. 

Can't wait to head back to Fraser's Ridge when the next book makes its paperback debut! 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!




To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

 

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory

                                                            

Title: Tidelands
Author: Philippa Gregory
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: "On Midsummer’s Eve, Alinor waits in the church graveyard, hoping to encounter the ghost of her missing husband and thus confirm his death. Until she can, she is neither maiden nor wife nor widow, living in a perilous limbo. Instead, she meets James, a young man on the run. She shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marshy landscape of the Tidelands, not knowing she is leading a spy and an enemy into her life.

England is in the grip of a bloody civil war that reaches into the most remote parts of the kingdom. Alinor’s suspicious neighbors are watching each other for any sign that someone might be disloyal to the new parliament, and Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her as a woman who doesn’t follow the rules. They have always whispered about the sinister power of Alinor’s beauty, but the secrets they don’t know about her and James are far more damning. This is the time of witch-mania, and if the villagers discover the truth, they could take matters into their own hands."

Other books I have read by this author: The Other Queen, The Boleyn Inheritance, The Constant Princess, The Last Tudor, The Taming of the Queen, The Queen's Fool, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Lady of the Rivers, The White Queen, The Red Queen, The Kingmaker's Daughter, The White Princess, The Red Princess, The King's Curse, The Virgin's Lover, Three Sisters, Three Queens, Changeling, Stormbringer and Fool's Gold, Dark Tracks

My Thoughts

Disappointing. Yep, I said it. As you can see from that intense list of books I've read by this author I keep coming back for more awesome historical fiction from her. After being disappointed by the Order of Darkness series, I was a little tentative picking up Tidelands, but I hoped since it was not written as YA fiction that this novel would satisfy my high expectations of the writing I've come to expect from Gregory's Cousin's War novels. My hopes were sadly dashed. 

This novel is set during the English Civil War, which I was super excited about. Unfortunately, this story is the played-out 'women have no rights at this time and an unmarried woman is in a precarious situation, especially in a small town' storyline just set in English Tidelands. There was nothing fresh about this novel, it was entirely predictable. Now, I understand that in historical novels you may know the outcome of the historical event, but that doesn't mean that every aspect of the story had to be predictable on the way there. Honestly, I couldn't wait to finish this book and move on to another. I think Gregory works best in the parameters of filling in the blanks of the life of historical figures in biographical fiction than creating interesting characters of her own. I have no interest in reading the rest of this series in the least.

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!


To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

                                                          

 Title: An Echo in the Bone

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Fiction, SciFi, Historical, Fantasy

Other books I've read by this author: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes

Synopsis: "Jamie Fraser, former Jacobite and reluctant rebel, is already certain of three things about the American rebellion: The Americans will win, fighting on the side of victory is no guarantee of survival, and he’d rather die than have to face his illegitimate son—a young lieutenant in the British army—across the barrel of a gun.

Claire Randall knows that the Americans will win, too, but not what the ultimate price may be. That price won’t include Jamie’s life or his happiness, though—not if she has anything to say about it.

Meanwhile, in the relative safety of the twentieth century, Jamie and Claire’s daughter, Brianna, and her husband, Roger MacKenzie, have resettled in a historic Scottish home where, across a chasm of two centuries, the unfolding drama of Brianna’s parents’ story comes to life through Claire’s letters. The fragile pages reveal Claire’s love for battle-scarred Jamie Fraser and their flight from North Carolina to the high seas, where they encounter privateers and ocean battles—as Brianna and Roger search for clues not only to Claire’s fate but to their own. Because the future of the MacKenzie family in the Highlands is mysteriously, irrevocably, and intimately entwined with life and death in war-torn colonial America." - back cover. 

My Thoughts

Love. Gabaldon somehow intertwines so many storylines and characters into one book and does it with ease. The reader gets to learn more about Lord John's stepson, William Ransom as he fights for the British in America. As always, Gabaldon does an amazing job of incorporating the historical time period into the events of the novel and the lives of the characters. Seeing the American Revolutionary War from the perspectives of Claire, Jamie, and William provides a unique view of a time in history I've read many novels about.  

The way that Brianna and Roger get to 'keep tabs' on Claire and Jamie is also a cute way to keep their stories intertwined in different times. So many characters from previous novels make an appearance once again and some important new ones play a large role in the plot. Plus, time is spent by many of them back at Lallybroch, which I was so glad to get to visit once again.

My only complaint about this novel would be that ONCE AGAIN Jamie and Claire are attacked while on a ship. This storyline has been totally played out so far in this series, in my opinion. 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!




To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

                                                            

 Title: Memoirs of a Geisha

Author: Arthur Golden

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: 9-year-old Chiyo lives in a poor fishing village with her parents and sister in Japan. Chiyo's mother is dying and when Mr. Tanaka, a wealthy man from town, encounters Chiyo in the street he makes an offer to her father, she and her sister are sold and taken to Gion. Chiyo is sold to an okiya as a maid and is offered the possibility to train as a geisha, but it is not as simple as it sounds. It is a difficult life, to begin with, but especially when the only geisha in the okiya has decided Chiyo is the enemy. When Chiyo meets the chairman of the major electric company in Japan her hope of becoming a geisha is renewed, but that brings its own unique set of challenges.

My Thoughts

I know I'm super late to the game on this book, it is already critically acclaimed and has been made into a movie, but when it was first published I was much too young to read it. (I was about nine.) A colleague of mine had recommended it several times as his favorite book so when I found it on the clearance rack at Barnes and Noble I had to pick it up.

I really enjoyed following Chiyo's journey to becoming Sayuri, a Gion geisha. I learned a lot about the life, training, and expectations of a geisha and the added historical context of being a geisha in Japan during WWII. I have read so much about the perspectives of the people in Allied countries during WWII but much less about those living in Axis countries, especially those who were not active military participants. There are so many layers to this novel driven by complex characters and I really loved reading it... even if I was late to the game. 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher

                                                            

Title: The Kennedy Debutante

Author: Kerri Maher

Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis: When Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy is living with her family in London while her father, Joe, is an ambassador from the United States, she finds a love of the city and of the ways of the English aristocracy. She also finds love for Billy Harington, the future Duke of Devonshire, but theirs is a forbidden love, Kick's family are well-known Catholics and Billy's staunch Protestants. WWII is beginning and Americans are being sent back home, can their love reach across the Atlantic? Being separated from Billy is bad enough, but struggles within Kick's own family are threatening to tear her apart.

My Thoughts

Before reading this, I had only learned about Kick Kennedy from an episode of Million Dollar American Princesses on the Smithsonian Channel. It discussed the difficulties in her relationship with Billy and the religious divide between the families. This novel gives more insight into Kick's life as a teen in London and her family life leading up to WWII. To get to understand Kick as a person and the relationship with her parents and siblings highlights why marrying someone from another faith would have been such a difficult choice for her. 

This novel also highlights many instances of the "Kennedy Curse" which makes it all the more tragic. I am not a Kennedy follower, so I learned a lot about the family that I never knew before. I loved reading this novel, even knowing how it would end, constantly hoping that maybe that ending wouldn't come. This is a real tear-jerker at some points, but it wouldn't be a good book if you don't become attached to the characters. 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

When the Astors Owned New York by Justin Kaplan

                                                            

 Title: When the Astors Owned New York

Author: Justin Kaplan

Genre: Nonfiction


Synopsis: The history of the rise and reign of the Astor family in New York.

My Thoughts

I was really looking forward to this book when I ordered it from Barnes and Noble. It is not a long book, less than 300 pages so I was excited to be pulled into the New York of the past and the opulent lives of the Astors. 

Sadly, this book left me feeling bored and confused. Instead of a story of a famously rich family and what life was like in the city during their lives, I got a list of facts that jump around in time. I don't usually mind moving between time periods in books, but when all the male members of the family have the same name it makes it incredibly hard to follow when there is very little narrative to provide context. I don't expect nonfiction to read like a fictional work, but honestly, this was really difficult to get through. I have read and reviewed some amazing nonfiction works, so I know it doesn't have to be like this. I read about 3/4 of the book and then put it down to move on to something enjoyable.

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

                                                            

Title: A Breath of Snow and Ashes

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Fiction, SciFi, Historical, Fantasy

Other books I've read by this author: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross

Synopsis: "The year is 1772, and on the eve of the American Revolution, the long fuse of rebellion has already been lit. Men lie dead in the streets of Boston, and in the backwoods of North Carolina, isolated cabins burn in the forest.

With chaos brewing, the governor calls upon Jamie Fraser to unite the backcountry and safeguard the colony for King and Crown. But from his wife Jamie knows that three years hence the shot heard round the world will be fired, and the result will be independence—with those loyal to the King either dead or in exile. And there is also the matter of a tiny clipping from The Wilmington Gazette, dated 1776, which reports Jamie’s death, along with his kin. For once, he hopes, his time-traveling family may be wrong about the future." - back cover

My Thoughts

As you all know, I love this series, the 6th book in the series is no exception. This novel feels like the first two in the series for me, action-packed, with no lulls or parts I felt the need to skim over. In the last few reviews, I commented on how the tv series and book series start to differ more as they go on; while that remains true, some major scenes in this novel have already happened in season 5 of the television show. I have officially read past the number of tv seasons that have been produced. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series and watch season six (currently filming) of Outlander!

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!




To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

The Library of Legends by Janie Chang

                                                            

 Title: The Library of Legends

Author: Janie Chang

Genre: Historical fiction, Legend, Magical Realism


Synopsis: 1937, China is at war with Japan and the students and faculty at Minghua University must evacuate. In addition to saving the lives of people of those at the university, they carry with them important and historical volumes from the school's library. Lian, a second-year student with a complicated family history, and the students in her group are tasked with each carrying a book from the Library of Legends. This the only surviving portion of an ancient encyclopedia and the stories encompass the legends of Chinese Gods and immortals. In their walk to travel thousands of miles, Lian becomes close with a fourth-year student, Shaoming, who comes from a wealthy family, and his servant, Sparrow. Lian, Shao, and Sparrow travel together to save the Library of Legends and to reunite with their families, encountering danger and mystical occurrences along the way.

My Thoughts

First of all, how beautiful is the cover of this book? And you can totally judge THIS book by its cover, that is for sure.

I haven't had this much fun reading a war novel in a long time. The story does detail the difficulties, danger, and losses of those living in the affected areas of China and the refugee crisis as people evacuated their cities, but it is done so well. 

Chang brings the subjects of the Library of Legends to life through the eyes of those people with the ability and gift to see them. The patrons of the cities are leaving as they are recalled from Earth, leaving the people who pray to them unprotected. It is a beautiful metaphor for the abandonment felt by those in times of war. For Lian to become part of the story she carries, The Prince and the Willow Star, is a stroke of genius. Bringing the mystical to the novel helps to lighten a historically inspired story about a time of tragedy and loss.

This is also a story of resilience, hope, and perseverance. Carrying the Library of Legends gave the students something to focus on other than their own safety and the long and difficult journey they had to make, mostly on foot, across China. Chang shows how many privileged students evolved through this journey and how those who did not know one another before evacuation became bonded by their experience.

This novel encompasses so much I had to categorize it in several genres; there is a love story, war, mystery, history, and some fantasy aspects that make this a book that many people would enjoy reading. I was so very sad when I came to the last page, but look forward to reading more from this author! 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

Love and Hate in Jamestown by David A. Price

                                                                

 Title: Love and Hate in Jamestown

Author: David A. Price

Genre: Nonfictions


Synopsis: 

This book chronicles the founding of Jamestown by the Virginia Company and the efforts (or lack thereof) of the people who lived there to build and maintain a city in the New World. 

My Thoughts

I am really intrigued by pre-American Revolution colonial America, especially in what is now the United States. It is strangely difficult to find information about this period outside the Salem Witch Trials, and the Pilgrims, that is accurate, not a textbook, or written in a SUPER boring manner. 

This book is less than 250 pages and I feel really highlights what life was like for people living in Jamestown. The use of primary sources that Price includes helps the reader to understand the perspective of the founders of Jamestown, especially John Smith. Price works to debunk the Smith/Pocahontas myth and to accurately describe the relationship between the indigenous people of Virginia and the colonists. While I think it is the author's intent to speak write from a non-biased standpoint and give the facts about the colonists and Pohatans, because the book is written about the founding of the colony and the only contemporary writings are from the colonists, it can feel like he depicts the Powhatan culture as primitive aggressors. 

The book is written in a manner that is easy to read and doesn't feel like a cumbersome list of facts. While its main focus is the Jamestown colony, the life of John Smith is followed even after his return to England. John Smith's contributions were a main component of the primary sources used in the research for this book. It also includes a brief look at the beginnings of the African slave trade on the American continent as well.

If you are looking to learn about the Jamestown colony, the Powhatan tribe, and pre-revolutionary America in under 250 pages, then this is the book for you! 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

That Churchill Woman by Stephanie Barron

Title: That Churchill Woman

Author: Stephanie Barron

Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis: Growing up with new money in the United States on the brink of the American Civil War, Jennie Jerome has been encouraged by her mother to meet and marry an aristocratic husband while the Jerome women are living in Europe. When young Jennie meets Lord Randolph Churchill, she admires how he seems more interested in her intelligence and opinions than her beauty, and in three days they are engaged. After they marry, Jennie realizes her marriage is not what she expected it to be, and that Randolph carries secrets of his own. In an effort to find fulfillment and happiness Jennie becomes infamous for her 'flirtations' with men in the aristocracy, while still being devoted to her marriage and the raising of her children Winston and Jack. 

My Thoughts

I was excited to find that this novel did not just encompass Jennie's adult life in England, but also shared about her young life in the United States. It was interesting to see how her upper-class family reacted to increasing unrest as the United States was on its way to civil war. 

This novel also highlights the inequity for all women in the standards society sets, but especially for women, like Jennie, who was under close scrutiny and was likely to end up in tabloids for every move she made. Seeing the difficulty of trying to maintain status but also wanting to be present for her children and support her husband makes Jennie a sympathetic protagonist, despite her infamy. 

I also enjoyed seeing a young Winston Churchill through the eyes of his mother. It provides the reader with an understanding of how the famous leader came to be the man that history remembers.  

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

 

Title: Washington Black

Author: Esi Edugyan

Genre: Fiction


Synopsis: "Eleven-year-old George Washington Black—or Wash—a field slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, is initially terrified when he is chosen as the manservant of his master’s brother. To his surprise, however, the eccentric Christopher Wilde turns out to be a naturalist, explorer, inventor, and abolitionist. Soon Wash is initiated into a world where a flying machine can carry a man across the sky, where even a boy born in chains may embrace a life of dignity and meaning, and where two people, separated by an impossible divide, can begin to see each other as human.

 
But when a man is killed and a bounty is placed on Wash’s head, they must abandon everything and flee together. Over the course of their travels, what brings Wash and Christopher together will tear them apart, propelling Wash ever farther across the globe in search of his true self. Spanning the Caribbean to the frozen Far North, London to Morocco, Washington Black is a story of self-invention and betrayal, of love and redemption, and of a world destroyed and made whole again." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

After I finished reading my last book, I used my Christmas and birthday gift cards to go on a book buying spree and purchased 7 books that were on my TBR list, this was one that had been on my list for a while.

I loved Wash's story, especially his transition from enslaved field worker to young artist while assisting Titch. Having his passion for art lead him to the Goff family and allow him to renew his passion for drawing wildlife as a young adult was an inspired choice by the author, and I enjoyed his transition to life in England.

In the end, I felt let down by the last section of the book when Wash travels to Morroco. This portion of the story felt rushed and at odds with the rest of the writing. I felt the ending was unresolved, not in a good way that keeps you wanting more, instead, the reader feels like, 'Oh, that's the end?' I think an epilogue may have been appropriate, if not another chapter, to make the novel feel complete.

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!

To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini

                                                            

Title: Resistance Women
Author: Jennifer Chiaverini
Genre: Historical Fiction


Other books that I have read by this author:
Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker: A Novel, The Spymistress: A Novel, Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule, Fates and Traitors, Mrs. Lincoln's Rival, Enchantress of Numbers

Synopsis: "After Wisconsin graduate student Mildred Fish marries brilliant German economist Arvid Harnack, she accompanies him to his German homeland, where a promising future awaits. In the thriving intellectual culture of 1930s Berlin, the newlyweds create a rich new life filled with love, friendships, and rewarding work—but the rise of a malevolent new political faction inexorably changes their fate.

As Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party wield violence and lies to seize power, Mildred, Arvid, and their friends resolve to resist. Mildred gathers intelligence for her American contacts, including Martha Dodd, the vivacious and very modern daughter of the US ambassador. Her German friends, aspiring author Greta Kuckoff and literature student Sara Weitz, risk their lives to collect information from journalists, military officers, and officials within the highest levels of the Nazi regime.

For years, Mildred’s network stealthily fights to bring down the Third Reich from within. But when Nazi radio operatives detect an errant Russian signal, the Harnack resistance cell is exposed, with fatal consequences." - back cover

My Thoughts

I loved everything about this book. The story was gripping, the characters realistic and relatable, and it's a WWII novel unlike any I have read before. It is set in Germany and is told from the perspective of different women living in Germany during Hitler's rise to power and during the war.

 I have often read WWII novels set in concentration camps or in England, highlighting the plights of the people being persecuted and attacked by the war. It is really intriguing to read about people living in Germany who did not condone or understand the support that the Nazis were receiving from so many of the German citizens, or why the League of Nations did so little to stop their rise to power. It shows just how easily a democratic country can slip into a fascist dictatorship if people stand by and let it happen. 

The four main women depicted in the story are all working to overthrow the Nazi regime. Mildred is an American ex-pat living in Germany with her antifascist German husband. Greta is a german-born student who studied in Wisconsin, having met Mildred and her husband during her time there. Sara is a native German whose family loses everything as the rights of Jewish people are taken away one-by-one. Finally, Martha is the daughter of the American ambassador living with her parents and brother in Germany while their father performs his duties. Three of the women are based on actual historical figures, and Sara is based on many Jewish women living in Germany at the time.

Reading about their resistance efforts in a time when being caught was treason and almost certain death is unbelievable. They believed in the good and beautiful Germany of their youths and were fighting against the horrific actions of the barbaric group allowed to take over the government.



Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!


To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

                                                              

Title: The Fiery Cross

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Fiction, SciFi, Historical, Fantasy

Other books I've read by this author: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn

Synopsis: 
"The year is 1771, and war is coming. Jamie Fraser’s wife tells him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy—a time-traveler’s certain knowledge.

Born in the year of Our Lord 1918, Claire Randall served England as a nurse on the battlefields of World War II, and in the aftermath of peace found fresh conflicts when she walked through a cleftstone on the Scottish Highlands and found herself an outlander, an English lady in a place where no lady should be, in a time—1743—when the only English in Scotland were the officers and men of King George’s army.

Now wife, mother, and surgeon, Claire is still an outlander, out of place, and out of time, but now, by choice, linked by love to her only anchor—Jamie Fraser. Her unique view of the future has brought him both danger and deliverance in the past; her knowledge of the oncoming revolution is a flickering torch that may light his way through the perilous years ahead—or ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes....

Grand, sweeping, utterly unforgettable, The Fiery Cross is riveting entertainment, a vibrant tapestry of history and human drama." - Back Cover 

My Thoughts

Approximately 1,400 pages later, The Fiery Cross got me through most of December and into the new year! This is the first review of 2021, and the fifth in the Outlander series that I began in 2020. 

This novel really starts to step away from the television series, while some of the main events still occur, most of the novel and specifically the small details of how the main events come about really starts to change.

Brianna and Roger really start to settle in to living in the 1770s and raising their son Jeremiah with the help of Claire and Jamie. Claire's role as a healer has been firmly established in the area, and Jamie has firmly cemented himself as the leader of the community on Fraser's Ridge. 

Many of the storylines started in Drums of Autumn are continued and resolved in this novel and start to set up new ones for the next installment in this series.

Can't wait to continue reading this series! 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!




To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above