Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell

                                          

Title: Fools and Mortals

Author: Bernard Cornwell

Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis: Richard Shakespeare, a player, is feeling overshadowed at the Theater by his older brother, Will. Having played girls and women early in his career, Richard feels that he is now of an age and talent to be given men's parts. Trying to convince his brother to cast him in a man's role and take him seriously is not an easy task. But when scripts to Will's new plays go missing, Richard sees an opportunity to prove his worth.

My Thoughts

This was such a fun book to read. I enjoyed switching it up and reading about a young man protagonist looking to come up in the world. It is interesting to read about William Shakespeare from the perspective of his younger brother. The particulars of the time period were well represented through the story, the life of the common man, religious persecution, life in the Elizabethan era.

I enjoyed the use of quotations from Shakespeare's plays and the imagining of his writing process and the way plays were rehearsed at a time when playhouses were a new concept. 

Check this out if you love theater, the Elizabethan era, and a coming of age story. 

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 Dressmaker's Dowry by Meredith Jaeger

                                                          

Title: The Dressmaker's Dowry

Author: Meredith Jaeger

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery


Synopsis: 

San Francisco: 1876

Immigrant dressmakers Hannelore Schaeffer and Margaret O'Brien struggle to provide food for their siblings while mending delicate clothing for the city's most affluent ladies. When wealthy Lucas Havensworth enters the shop, Hanna's future is altered forever. With Margaret's encouragement and the power of a borrowed green dress, Hanna dares to see herself as worthy of him. Then Margaret disappears, and Hanna turns to Lucas. Braving the gritty streets of the Barbary Coast and daring to enter the mansions of Nob Hill, Hanna stumbles upon Margaret’s fate, forcing her to make a devastating decision...one that will echo through the generations.

San Francisco: Present Day

In her elegant Marina apartment overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, Sarah Havensworth struggles to complete the novel she quit her job for. Afraid to tell her husband of her writer’s block, Sarah is also hiding a darker secret—one that has haunted her for 14 years. Then a news headline from 1876 sparks inspiration: Missing Dressmakers Believed to be Murdered. Compelled to discover what happened to Hannelore and Margaret, Sarah returns to her roots as a journalist. Will her beautiful heirloom engagement ring uncover a connection to Hanna Schaeffer? 

My Thoughts

I picked this book up on a whim off of a clearance table at Barnes and Noble. I love a multigenerational book that compares the lives of characters from the past with those in the present. I especially love it when the characters are related in an unexpected way, as is the case in this novel. 

Not only does this story have the historical fiction aspect, which we all know I adore, but it has an air of mystery which is really perfect for this time of year. It gets pretty suspenseful near the end. I read this one so fast because I just had to know what happens to these two dressmakers who disappeared. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The only part that was a little off to me was the end. The last chapter had all of this suspense built up and then it sort of fell flat. The epilogue makes up for the last chapter a bit, but I still expected more of a reaction to Sarah's treatment by her blackmailer. 

If you are looking for a fun mystery for October, I totally recommend that you check this one out! 

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

 

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

                                                           

 Title: Drums of Autumn

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

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

Synopsis: It began in Scotland, at an ancient stone circle. There, a doorway, open to a select few, leads into the past—or the grave. Claire Randall survived the extraordinary passage, not once but twice. Her first trip swept her into the arms of Jamie Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scot whose love for her became legend—a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Her second journey, two decades later, brought them together again in frontier America. But Claire had left someone behind in the twentieth century. Their daughter, Brianna....

Now Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the stone circle and a terrifying leap into the unknown. In search of her mother and the father she has never met, she is risking her own future to try to change history...and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past...or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong... back cover

My Thoughts

I'm finishing up Drums of Autumn as we arrive into the first days of fall here and it is the most autumnal weather we have had in years. 

Book 4 of the Outlander series, Drums of Autumn is where there start to be some more distinguishing differences between the tv series and the book. The first half of the book is very different in terms of the small details. 

SPOILER ALERT: Overall, the large things still happen, the Frasers end up in the American Colonies, meet Jocasta, gain Fraser's Ridge, and get robbed by Stephen Bonnett after saving him. Sadly, there is absolutely no mention or reunion with Murtagh in the colonies. Fergus leaves Marsali behind to have the baby in Jamaica and there is much less mention of their family in this book. There is a brief mention of the Regulators but nothing so involved as we see in the show. The second half, after Brianna and Roger travel through the stones, is much more in line with what happens in season 4, with a few small changes in the minor details. END SPOILERS.

The middle is a little be slow, but the rest is just as engaging as the others in the series. I cannot wait to continue with 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

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce

                                                           

 Title: Dear Mrs. Bird

Author: AJ Pearce

Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis: "Emmeline Lake and her best friend Bunty are doing their bit for the war effort and trying to stay cheerful, despite the German planes making their nightly raids. Emmy dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent, and when she spots a job advertisement in the newspaper she seizes her chance; but after a rather unfortunate misunderstanding, she finds herself typing letters for the formidable Henrietta Bird, renowned advice columnist of Woman’s Friend magazine.

Mrs. Bird is very clear: letters containing any Unpleasantness must go straight into the bin. But as Emmy reads the desperate pleas from women who many have Gone Too Far with the wrong man, or can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she begins to secretly write back to the readers who have poured out their troubles." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

I laughed, I cried... I cried some more. I had expected a narrative about women breaking into journalism, but this novel has much more than that. I loved Emmy's amusing inner dialogue and her tendency to speak extra loud when she is nervous. It is a wonderful story of friendship, hardship, and doing your part during WWII. Emmy's determination to answer the 'less than pleasant' questions of women who had no one else to turn to is endearing and risky, which makes her all the more lovable. 

Of course, as a story set in war times, be prepared for some seriously tear-jerking moments. Emmy faces some serious personal losses, but not what you might expect, adding depth and to her bubbly personality.

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

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

                                                              

 Title: Voyager

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

Other books I've read by this author: Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber

Synopsis: "Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her... and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.
Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her...the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland... and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite--or forever doom--her timeless love." - back cover

My Thoughts

So much happens in this third book of the Outlander series that I had to use the back cover synopsis rather than write my own. Just thinking about all the settings in this book was overwhelming to try to write about; 1969 in Boston, 1766 in Edinburgh, Lallybroch, France, at sea, Jamaica. All taking place in 4 months' time and just over 1000 pages... its a lot.

As ever, Gabaldon brings back a bunch of familiar characters, even ones you don't expect to find in Claire and Jamie's varied travels. It is well researched, so it all makes sense why certain unexpected characters would pop up in new places based on what was happening there in the mid-1700s.

For those of you who also watch the show, there are a few major events that are portrayed differently than they were in season 3 but the outcome is the same so the story still goes in the same direction. Often I would think, well that would be hard to portray on TV, or that would take way more time than the show could allow for.

Once again, I was engaged from beginning to end and read it faster than I thought I would. I look forward to book 4! 

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

Victory at Valley Forge by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen

                                                        

Title: Victory at Yorktown
Author: Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen
Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis: The story of the events that lead to the battle at Yorktown in the American Revolution. Two young men who were friends before the war have ended up on opposite sides, one a loyalist fighting for the king, the other fighting for the continental army, working his way up to report information directly to George Washington. 

My Thoughts

I found this book in the discount section at Barnes and Noble and decided to give it a shot. July has been about reading stories set in the United States. Turns out that it was the third book in a series about George Washington. While I hate reading a series out of order, I didn't even realize it was part of a trilogy until after I had finished it and saw the other two listed in the back. So it speaks for itself saying that it can stand alone, not requiring the reader to have read the others in order to follow the story. 

I like that there are three perspectives explored in this novel, the one of George Washington, one of a young Continental, and one of a young Loyalist. It allows the reader to see what is happening on all fronts of the war while taking historic events and making them feel more real. It also provides an added dimension that the two young men had been friends before the war, and who have encountered one another over the course of the six years of fighting several times.

  I appreciate it when a war novel can be historically accurate and a well-told story. 

I look forward to finding and reading the other two books in the 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

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Title: The Underground Railroad
Author: Colson Whitehead
Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis: Cora was born a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Her mother had also been born on this land, and her grandmother had arrived here by slave ship. Her mother ran when Cora was only a child, leaving her alone. As she grows up on the plantation she becomes an outcast amongst the other slaves. A new slave, Caesar, shows up on the plantation and asks her to consider running away, and when they do the course to freedom is not a straight line.

My Thoughts

This book has been on my 'to be read' list for some time. When the public library opened back up (after closing for COVID) I requested this book right away because the waitlist had been so long. Two days later I got a notification that it was available and picked it up from the drive-through window!
There are a few things that make this book feel unique. First, each chapter starts with a newspaper ad for a runaway slave, reminding the reader with the description of the person missing that they were completely considered as property, not humans. Second, in addition to the main storyline following Cora's travels on the Underground Railroad, there are short chapters scattered throughout that are about each of the important characters she meets along the way. It provides backstory that helps the reader understand why the motive that the person has for the role they play in Cora's life, good or bad. I also enjoyed the author's choice to imagine the Underground Railroad as a literal railroad beneath the ground, with stations to pick up the runaways dug beneath the homes of those who help them. 
I really enjoyed reading this novel and hope that you get a chance to read it as well! 

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