When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton

Title: When We Left Cuba 

Author: Chanel Cleeton

Genre: Historical Fiction

Other books I've read by this author: Next Year in Havana

Synopsis: "Beautiful. Daring. Deadly.
The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez—her family, her people, her country. Recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel Castro's inner circle and pulled into the dangerous world of espionage, Beatriz is consumed by her quest for revenge and her desire to reclaim the life she lost.

As the Cold War swells like a hurricane over the shores of the Florida Strait, Beatriz is caught between the clash of Cuban American politics and the perils of a forbidden affair with a powerful man driven by ambitions of his own. When the ever-changing tides of history threaten everything she has fought for, she must make a choice between her past and future—but the wrong move could cost Beatriz everything—not just the island she loves, but also the man who has stolen her heart..." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

First, can we please talk about how beautiful the cover art on this book?!? You can definitely judge this one by it's cover. It's beautiful inside and out. I was so excited to receive this book as a Christmas gift from a friend. 

Beatriz is such a force, it's impossible not to admire her. I love how she does what she feels is right, whether it follows convention or not. As a woman in her 20s in the 1960s, there is a lot of convention to buck. She wants to be educated, to have a career, to be independent.

It's wonderful to read about a woman who has convictions but also has a softness to her. She doesn't reject her tenderness of heart which lends an authenticity to her love story with Nick that leaves the reader at turns devastated and completely consumed. Cleeton again adds a twist that I did not see coming, and was very well done. 

I look forward to reading more books in 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

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone 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 the Bone, Written in My Heart's Own Blood 

Synopsis: "War leaves nobody alone. Neither the past, the present, nor the future offers true safety, and the only refuge is what you can protect: your family, your friends, your home. Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising in 1746, and it took them twenty years of loss and heartbreak to find each other again. Now it’s 1779, and Claire and Jamie are finally reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children, and are rebuilding their home on Fraser’s Ridge—a fortress that may shelter them against the winds of war as well as weather.

But tensions in the Colonies are great: Battles rage from New York to Georgia and, even in the mountains of the backcountry, feelings run hot enough to boil Hell’s teakettle. Jamie knows that loyalties among his tenants are split and it won’t be long before the war is on his doorstep.

Brianna and Roger have their own worry: that the dangers that provoked their escape from the twentieth century might catch up to them. Sometimes they question whether risking the perils of the 1700s—among them disease, starvation, and an impending war—was indeed the safer choice for their family.

Not so far away, young William Ransom is coming to terms with the mysteries of his identity, his future, and the family he’s never known. His erstwhile father, Lord John Grey, has reconciliations to make and dangers to meet on his son’s behalf and on his own, and far to the north, Young Ian Murray fights his own battle between past and future, and the two women he’s loved.

Meanwhile, the Revolutionary War creeps ever closer to Fraser’s Ridge. Jamie sharpens his sword, while Claire whets her surgeon’s blade: It is a time for steel." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

I am always amazed at how many storylines Gabaldon can incorporate into one novel (albeit a 900 pg novel). They are interesting, intertwined perfectly, fully developed, and somehow still easy to follow. I'm delighted every time characters make their reappearance. (Anyone else just LOVE Lord John Grey?)

I find that my favorite novels in this series have the Fraser family all back in the same time period. While this entire story does not take place at Fraser's Ridge, I'm glad that much of it does, making the reader feel enveloped in the nostalgia of a place visited once before. 

All the best things about the previous eight novels can be found in this latest addition to the series. I absolutely cannot wait for book ten, bittersweet knowing it will be the last installment of Claire and Jamie's 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

An Offer from a Gentleman: A Bridgerton Novel by Julia Quinn

                                                              

Title: An Offer From a Gentleman

Author: Julia Quinn

Genre: Historical Romance

Other books I've read by this author: The Duke and I , The Viscount Who Loved Me

Synopsis: Sophie Beckett never dreamed she’d be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton’s famed masquerade ball—or that “Prince Charming” would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.

Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other—except, perhaps, this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid’s garb whom he feels compelled to rescue from a most disagreeable situation. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. Yet, if he offers her his heart, will Benedict sacrifice his only chance for a fairy-tale love?

My Thoughts

At the beginning of the novel, there is a strong play on the Cinderella story, evil stepmother, 2 step-sisters, and a masquerade ball that Sophie has to leave by midnight. Honestly, I felt a little put off by that, because cases of mistaken identity always make me feel stressed out (I discovered this when reading Shakespeare for the first time in high school, haha). I also worried that it might make the story feel played out and predictable and ultimately, not as good as the first two novels in the series. 

Once past the initial two chapters, where the Cinderella references were the strongest, the story began to take its own turn and feel much more like the Bridgerton series I've come to love. So much so that I finished this one in only 5 days. I looked forward to coming back to it every night. Even if Benedict wasn't already my favorite Bridgerton brother, reading his story would put him at the top of the list. 

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 Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

                                                             

 Title: When Women Were Dragons

Author: Kelly Barnhill

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis: "Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve." - Back Cover

My Thoughts

I won this book from the publisher, Doubleday Books, in an Instagram contest, and it would not have been a title that I would normally have chosen off the shelf myself.  I found it a little slow to start and it took some time for me to grasp where it was going. 

Overall, I liked the idea of repressed 1950s women becoming dragons in order to live their best lives and came to love Alex and Beatrice and their unique relationship as cousins & sisters. It was not my favorite book that I have read recently, but it was interesting to step into a different genre for the first time in a while!

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

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

   

 

Title: Pope Joan

Author: Donna Woolfolk Cross

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Synopsis: "For a thousand years her existence has been denied. She is the legend that will not die - Pope Joan, the ninth-century woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to become the only female ever to sit on the throne of St. Peter.

Now in this riveting novel, Donna Woolfolk Cross paints a sweeping portrait of an unforgettable heroine who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept.

Brilliant and talented, young Joan rebels against medieval social strictures forbidding women to learn. When her brother is brutally killed during a Viking attack, Joan takes up his cloak - and his identity - and enters the monastery of Fulda. As Brother John Anglicus, Joan distinguishes herself as a great scholar and healer. Eventually, she is drawn to Rome, where she becomes enmeshed in a dangerous web of love, passion, and politics.

Triumphing over appalling odds, she finally attains the highest office in Christendom - wielding a power greater than any woman before or since. But such power always comes at a price...." - back cover

My Thoughts

I loved this novel so much. I love that the author suggests that Joan was more than just a myth. I love the depiction of Joan's love of learning as a child and her time learning at the schola. I love that Gerold loves her for her intelligence and curiosity. I love that she wants the freedom to learn and speak her mind so much that she is willing to disguise herself as a man for years. I love that her intelligence and spirit garner the trust of so many people that they elect her pope. It is just so well done. It is at turns uplifting and heartbreaking. I could not put it down.

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 Viscount Who Loved Me: A Bridgerton Novel by Julia Quinn

                                                            

Title: The Viscount Who Loved Me

Author: Julia Quinn

Genre: Historical Romance

Synopsis: 1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, this author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry. And in all truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better... - Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814

But this time the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry - he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield - the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate's the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams.

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands - and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate is determined to protect her sister - but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself. - Back Cover

My Thoughts

I loved this book so much that I read it super quickly. Fans of the Neflix series will find a great many differences from season 2 and this novel. While the overarching story is the same; *SPOILER* overprotective older sister wants to shield her more classically beautiful younger half-sister from a bad match and falls in love with the man herself instead *END SPOILER*; the little details of how all happens are quite different.

 For one, Kate, Edwina, and their mother have the surname Sheffield in the book, not Sharma. As with the first novel, the color-conscious casting of the tv series isn't present. Also as with the first novel, I liked the book better. The book gives even more depth to Anthony that just can't quite be conveyed on the screen. Kate is very similar in personality to how she is portrayed on screen but we get some fun scenes with her dog, Newton, and a different reason for why she and Anthony get married. 

What I love best about this series of books is how light and fun they are to read. While there are definitely serious moments and difficulties for the characters they are just so so enjoyable, and as with romance as a genre, you know there will be a happy ending! Plus the version I read included the second epilogue that allows ou to check in on the characters years after the book ends. I cannot wait to read the next book 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 Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

                                                           

Title: The Heretic's Daughter

Author: Kathleen Kent

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Synopsis: Salem, 1752. Sarah Carrier Chapman, weak with infirmity, writes a letter to her granddaughter that reveals the secret she has closely guarded for six decades: how she survived the Salem Witch Trials when her mother did not.

Sarah's story begins more than a year before the trials, when she and her family arrive in a New England community already gripped by superstition and fear. As they witness neighbor pitted against neighbor, friend against friend, the hysteria escalates -- until more than two hundred men, women, and children have been swept into prison. Among them is Sarah's mother, Martha Carrier. In an attempt to protect her children, Martha asks Sarah to commit an act of heresy -- a lie that will most surely condemn Martha even as it will save her daughter.This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived. - Back Cover

My Thoughts

I haven't read about the Salem Witch Trials in a long time. Like many my age in the US, I read The Crucible in high school and went to our school production of it as well. Then I read more about the trials when I was taking US history in college. I have always found it horrifying and yet incredibly intriguing.  

This novel did not disappoint. I love that the author is actually a descendant of Martha Carrier because I think that reminds the reader that while this is a work of fiction, unfortunately, the Salem Witch Trials were devastatingly real. 

I liked that this novel didn't focus on the people of Salem but on a family that lived in a nearby town. It shows how the lunacy and fear spread, and how if you did not fit the social norms or if you weren't friends with the right people, your family could still be accused. 

I also thought that it was a great choice for the story to come from the perspective of Martha's daughter, Sarah. Having a child's view of the events from outside Salem gives a unique twist that doesn't make this novel feel like just another Salem Witch Trials book. Be prepared to cry.

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