So Many Books, So Little Time

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhorn I will read anything about Anastasia.  She was my gateway drug into Russian history and I'm kind of obsessed.  I Was Anastasia is one of my new favorite fictional books about her and a possible escape.  I loved the story; it went back and forth between Anastasia experiencing the revolution and captivity and Anna Anderson trying to bolster her claim that she was the Grand Duchess.  Both periods were super intriguing and I was completely sucked into the story, never sure where things would end up.  The end was so good and not what I expected at all.  The fact that it was a surprise was awesome and just solidified my feelings towards this book.  I would highly recommend it! 4 stars. The Pines of Winder Ranch by RaeAnne Thayne It looks like The Pines of Winder Ranch contains two RaeAnne Thayne novellas but my review copy only had a A Cold Creek Reunion so that's what  I am reviewing.  This was c...

Synopsis: After Henry of Lancaster’s rebellion has been crushed early in 1329, a restless peace settles over England. However, the young Edward III is no longer content with being his regents’ puppet, no matter that neither Queen Isabella nor Roger Mortimer show any inclination to give up their power. Caught in between is Adam de Guirande, torn between his loyalty to the young king and that to his former lord, Roger Mortimer. Edward III is growing up fast. No longer a boy to be manipulated, he resents the power of his mother, Queen Isabella, and Mortimer. His regents show little inclination of handing over their power to him, the rightful king, and Edward suspects they never will unless he forces their hand. Adam de Guirande is first and foremost Edward’s man, and he too is of the opinion that the young king is capable of ruling on his own. But for Adam siding with his king causes heartache, as he still loves Roger Mortimer, the man who shaped him into w...

Shadow by the Bridge by Suzanne Zewan Publication Date: November 1, 2017 No Frills Buffalo eBook & Paperback; 368 Pages ISBN-13: 9780998881188 Genre: Historical Mystery 11-year-old Fritz Reynolds recalled his father telling him that man is the only creature who can find amusement in killing. Little did he realize that those words would become the theme for his teenage years growing up in the rural hamlet of Linden, New York. In this coming-of-age story, Fritz takes us back to a simpler time when neighbors gathered at the general store to listen to radio shows, drank barrel-aged cider, and worshiped at the Baptist church every Sunday. All was picturesque in his close-knit farming community until terror was unleashed on them. Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound About the Author Suzanne is coordinator at Genesee Valley Educational Partnership and is an adjunct professor at Buffalo State College. She has a M.A. in English and Creative Writing and a M.S.Ed...

Fanny Newcomb and the Irish Channel Ripper by Ana Brazil Publication Date: November 1, 2017 Sand Hill Review Press Formats: Paperback & eBook Genre: Fiction/Historical/Mystery Gilded Age New Orleans is overrun with prostitutes, pornographers, and a malicious Jack the Ripper copycat. As threatening letters to newspaper editors proclaim, no woman is safe from his blade. Desperate to know who murdered her favorite student, ambitious typewriting teacher Fanny Newcomb launches into a hunt for the self-proclaimed Irish Channel Ripper. Fanny quickly enlists her well-connected employers—Principal Sylvia Giddings and her sister Dr. Olive—to help, and the women forge through saloons, cemeteries, slums, and houses of prostitution in their pursuit. Fanny’s good intentions quickly infuriate her longtime beau Lawrence Decatur, while her reckless persistence confounds the talented police detective Daniel Crenshaw. Reluctantly, Lawrence and Daniel also lend their investigative ...

Synopsis: Isabella of Castile is known as Europe’s first great queen. Renowned for her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon and birthing of modern day Spain, Isabella is also known as the queen who launched the Inquisition, completed the Reconquista and expelled the Jews from her nation. Not long after her triumph in 1492, her dynasty came apart and unraveled, and it was whispered by many that the Trastamara line was cursed. But, What if Isabella had been wiser and not expelled the Jews, some of the very people who ironically helped put her on the throne of Castile? What if Isabella had had more foresight and had her successor be Catalina, who, although the youngest, was the most like her and the wisest of her children? How would the power balance of 15th and 16th century Europe shifted if Catalina had been the powerful queen regnant of Spain and not one of the ‘merry wives’ of Windsor? A joint effort, Isabella Unashamed is written by two authors from very different...

Synopsis:  There is Always a Tomorrow is the ninth book in Anna Belfrage’s time slip series featuring time traveller Alexandra Lind and her seventeenth century husband, Matthew Graham. It is 1692 and the Colony of Maryland is still adapting to the consequences of Coode’s Rebellion some years previously. Religious tolerance in the colony is now a thing of the past, but safe in their home, Alex and Matthew Graham have no reason to suspect they will become embroiled in the ongoing religious conflicts—until one of their sons betrays their friend Carlos Muñoz to the authorities. Matthew Graham does not leave his friends to rot—not even if they’re papist priests—so soon enough most of the Graham family is involved in a rescue attempt, desperate to save Carlos from a sentence that may well kill him. Meanwhile, in London little Rachel is going through hell. In a matter of months she loses everything, even her surname, as apparently her father is not Master Cooke but o...

Sown in Tears by Beverly Magid Publication Date: September 18, 2012 Paperback & eBook; 194 Pages ISBN-13: 978-1478104575 Genre: Fiction/Historical/Jewish READ THE FIRST CHAPTER . Russia, 1905: The Jews are restricted to the area called thePale of the Settlement and the target of anti-semitism fomented by the government and exacerbated by the laws and the economy. After an attack on the village of Kortitz, Leah Peretz must find a way to survive and protect her young children. Her life is complicated by the unexpected attentions of the Russian officer, Captain Vaselik. Can she trust him? Should she join the burgeoning worker movement? Suddenly her path to self-discovery has become one of drama, revolution and courage. "I read this story in ONE day. I could not put the book down!" - Impressions In Ink Book Blog "Sown in Tearswill have you gripped from the first sentence. This exciting, fast-paced novel takes all the elements of romance, fami...