Liar's Dice: a coming of age historical fiction of one girls fight against all odds

Liar’s Dice by Juliet Faithfull is historical fiction, coming of age story of a teenage girl in 1970s Brazil who must learn to fight even against all odds. Dolores and Mita are identical twins who grew up in rural Brazil. At the age of seven, it is discovered that Mita has a degenerative condition and Dolores does not. By the age of 12, her condition becomes debilitating and suddenly, their parents send Mita to a hospital in their father’s native London and the family moves to Rio and begins to live an obstacle lifestyle. However, Dolores is miserable. She misses her sister, her small town and struggles in her new school. It all starts to change when she meets a brave, headstrong girl who shows Dolores a new side of Rio and how to survive. Soon tensions rise with the dictatorial government cracking down on protesters and dissenters. Dolores is determined to find the truth, discover where her sister and her own place in the world. 

I was looking forward to Liar’s Dice as it is a historical fiction which takes place in a different place and time that isn’t normally talked about. Liar’s Dice is described as a “heart-rending and hopeful” coming of age story as one young girl learns to form her own identity, the price of secrets and the courage to forge a different path. Dolores is a sympathetic character and I felt her pain and confusion. I liked the use of Portuguese phrases; however, I would have liked some form of translation in the context of the dialogue or description. Not a glossary at the end of the book which I didn’t know was there until I was finished. There were a lot of time jumps without explanation that pulled me out of the story at times. Overall, I did enjoy it, especially Dolores’s tenacity to find her sister and make sure Mita knows she is not forgotten. If you enjoy historical fiction, I recommend Liar’s Dice. 

Liar’s Dice will be available in paperback, eBook and audiobook on April 28, 2026. 

My Dear Hamilton: a historical fiction novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton

My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie is the novel about Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, a founding mother who is responsible for preserving the legacy of Alexander Hamilton. A general’s daughter, Eliza Schuyler came of age during tumultuous times in the colonies and the fight of independence hanging on by a thread. When she meets Alexander Hamilton, he is a handsome, passionate aide-de-camp of General George Washington. Penniless yet brilliant and charismatic, Hamilton wins Eliza’s heart. After the war, as the country struggles to establish itself, Eliza and Alexander find themselves in the middle of glittering highs and bloody lows including the Reynolds Affair, America’s first sex scandal. After Hamilton’s death in the famous duel in 1804, Eliza struggles to survive and later preserve her husband’s legacy as a founding father as well as other prominent figures in the Revolutionary War.  

I have always loved historical fiction, fueling my own research into the real historical events and figures. I am also a fan of the musical Hamilton (2015) and I have read the Ron Chernow biography. I have eagerly read other historical fiction books about Hamilton and the Revolutionary War. While My Dear Hamilton is a historical fiction novel, I feel the authors strayed too much from what is known about Eliza to try and fill in the holes of what is not known, especially with modern attitudes that, I feel, would have been too progressive for the time, even for a rebellion against a monarchy. My Dear Hamilton just didn’t live up to my expectations and I found myself skimming sections. I did not have an emotional reaction to this story and I was glad it was over. I do not recommend My Dear Hamilton. 

My Dear Hamilton is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Bookbinder's Secret: one book's secret and one woman's journey to discover it

The Bookbinder’s Secret by A.D. Bell is a story of how one book tells a secret and one woman’s journey to discover it. Lillian “Lily” Delaney is an apprentice to a master bookbinder in Oxford in 1901 and feels trapped. Trapped by her father’s failing bookshop. Trapped by still being an apprentice. When she is given a burned book by a book collector, where she finds something hidden binding, a letter speaking of love, fortune, and murder. Lilly is pulled into a mystery of young lovers, forbidden love, and discovers there are more books with more hidden secrets. She quickly becomes obsessed with the story and that obsession becomes dangerous. She discovers someone is looking for the same books and is ready to kill for them. As she searches, sinister forces are closing in and her life begins to fall apart, she must decide if the truth is worth her life. 

The Bookbinder’s Secret is a slow moving train at first as Lilly discovers the hidden letter. As she innocently searches for the truth, she doesn’t realize she is being watched until it is too late. The train speeds up and I was hooked as Lilly is determined to find the truth, find the individuals in the letter, solve the mystery and restore her life as best she can. I loved the look into bookbinding and the cutthroat business of book collecting. The pieces to the mystery were intriguing as well. There is a cast of unsavory characters whom Lilly must trust despite the danger she is in and the reveal of who is behind it all was a shocker! Overall, I enjoyed this story and when I closed the book I sat in awe at the twists and turns. If you enjoy historical fiction with a mystery, I highly recommend The Bookbinder’s Secret. 

The Bookbinder’s Secret is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

The Paris Express: a historical fictionalization of the infamous 1895 train disaster

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue is a historical novel about the infamous 1895 disaster at the Paris Montparnasse train station. Originating in Normandy, on the morning of October 22, 1895, The Paris Express is packed as it heads to its final destination. From individuals from French citizens to foreign visitors on a normal, every day train to Paris. From members of parliament in a hurry for an important vote, a medical student who suspects a patient is dying, a secretary trying to convince her boss to see the future in motion pictures, and a young anarchist who plots a terrifying plan. What they don’t know is that this train ride will not end well and change their lives forever. Who will survive? Who is to blame? 

While I have heard of Ms. Donoghue’s novel, Room and the subsequent film, she is a new author to me. The Paris Express is touted as “an evocative masterpiece that effortlessly captures the politics, glamour, chaos, and speed that marked the end of the 19th century.” I hadn’t heard of the 1895 disaster and was curious to read about it. However, I was quickly disappointed. I was bored and I could not connect or care about any of the characters, which there were far too many to keep track of (and I take notes for my reviews)! The Paris Express is more about the characters as they travel on the train than the disaster itself. The build up to the disaster didn’t work either and when it happened, it was underwhelming. I do not recommend The Paris Express. 

The Paris Express is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

White Mulberry: one woman's determination to survive despite the racial tensions

White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton is a moving story of a woman who lives between two worlds in order to survive. In 1928, Japanese-occupied Korea, eleven year old Miyoung has big dreams. When she is presented with the chance to pursue those dreams; however, she must leave her mother behind and live with her older sister and her husband in Japan. Knowing that Koreans are treated well in Japan, she must leave her name and culture behind. Once in Japan, she takes a new name and finds a new calling in nursing and finding solace in a local Korean church. What she never expects is to fall in love and find new purpose in her husband and their son. As war looms, she feels the racial tensions more than ever. Miyoung is faced with a choice: does she stay in Japan or does she find her chance to leave and provide a future for her and her family? 

White Mulberry was an Amazon First Reads choice for November. I loved the beautiful cover and was intrigued by the story as I have done a lot of research about Korea. I haven’t seen many historical books written from a Korean perspective. From the opening chapter to the closing author’s notes, I was deeply moved by Miyoung’s story. White Mulberry was inspired by the author’s Korean grandmother’s story which I love. I loved Miyoung as she struggles to hold on to her Korean identity and yet discovers a way to survive within the strict racial rules that the Japanese culture had put into place. I loved her resilience and determination to prove those against her wrong. It is a beautiful story about one woman, being caught between two worlds, who suffered the trauma of occupation, racism and displacement and yet still had the sheer determination to survive and reclaim her name and culture. I highly, highly recommend White Mulberry. 

White Mulberry will be available in paperback, eBook and audiobook 

on December 1, 2024

Maria: a fictionalized look at the real Maria von Trapp and the making of The Sound of Music

Maria by Michelle Moran is a fictional novel based on the real story of Maria von Trapp. In the 1950s, Oscar Hammerstein was asked to write the lyrics to a new musical based on the life of a woman named Maria von Trapp. Intrigued by the inspirational story, and as one of the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein duo, he knows it will be Broadway gold. But with the war still fresh on the audience's mind, he is reluctant to show the horrors in their story. Everything is going well until Maria insists on a meeting with Hammerstein to demand he tell her story correctly. Instead of a meeting with the famous lyricist, she meets with Fran, his secretary, who takes notes as Maria recounts her story which contradicts the story being told in the new musical. Generations know her name and the musical but do they know the real Maria von Trapp? 

The Sound of Music is a beloved classic musical and film that inspired generations with the story of the would-be nun who fell in love and narrowly escaped from the Nazis. Maria is a story of love, love and difficult choices that life forces us to make. It is also a reminder that real life is much more complicated than the stories told by Hollywood. I have been a fan of the film musical since I was a child and I always knew that the musical doesn’t get everything right about the story of the von Trapps. Beyond the sweet, caring Maria in the musical, Maria von Trapp was a woman who lived through a tragic young life vowing to keep her family intact at all cost. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and if you love The Sound of Music, you will love Maria. I highly recommend checking it out. 

Maria will be available on July 30th in paperback, eBook and audiobook 

Night Angels: historical fiction based on the remarkable true story

Night Angels by Weina Dai Randel is a historical fiction based on the remarkable true story of a diplomat and his wife and the risks they took on the eve of World War II. In 1938, Dr. Hi Fengshan is the consul general of China posted in Vienna with his Chinese-American wife, Grace. Grace is shy and unsure of herself with the societal obligations of a diplomat’s wife. She is an outsider in a beautiful city as the atmosphere turns ugly as the Nazis sweep through with their policies. When Grace forms a friendship with Lola Schnitzler, she sees firsthand at the ugliness of the Nazis against Jews. She is warned to keep her distance as the Third Reich is keeping them under a very vigilant eye. As the brutal pogroms increase, Dr Ho decides to help thousands of Jews escape Vienna as war is about to explode. 

I loved Weina Dai Randel’s The Last Rose of Shanghai and looked forward to reading Night Angels. Exploring the risks individuals took in order to save lives and the love and friendships formed in the face of a growing evil, Night Angels is, in a sense, a prequel to The Last Rose of Shanghai. I eagerly started the story as I expected an emotional, moving story. However, I was quickly disappointed as the story was very slow going. The chapters were fairly short and chopped up the flow. The characters were flat. It wasn’t until after I finished the story and looked more into the historical Dr Ho and while Night Angels is historical fiction, there were a lot of liberties taken that Dr Ho was not recognizable as the hero he was in real life. Overall, I did not enjoy this story and do not recommend Night Angels. 

Night Angels is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Shadow of War: a historical fiction that puts readers in the middle of the tense moments of 1962

The Shadow of War by Jeff Shaara is an in-depth fact-based historical fiction about the heart-stopping moments of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Opening with the failed Bay of Pigs invasion as President John F Kennedy deals with its fallout. From Washington to Moscow to Havana, readers are taken along the tension-filled rooms and offices as destroyers circle Cuba as Soviet subs lurk beneath the surface and U-2 spy planes running recon from the sky and CIA operatives on the shores of Cuba. The question becomes who will make the first move, a wrong move and set off a war. We may know how the events played out but do we know the behind the scenes actions leading to those thirteen days in October 1962? How close was war? 

Jeff Shaara has been the name in fact based historical fiction for decades with his trademark "you are there" immediacy. His story definitely puts the readers in the middle of the historical events with realistic details. The Shadow of War holds to this standard as the opening chapter puts the reader right smack into the middle of the Bay of Pigs and does not let up as the pieces move quickly in this real life game of chess and cat mouse with fingers itching near the trigger. Even though I knew the outcomes of these events, Mr. Shaara has a way to write the events as if we are experiencing the tensions firsthand. If you enjoy historical fiction with political intrigue, I highly recommend The Shadow of War. 

The Shadow of War is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

Every Time We Say Goodbye: confronting the past and facing the future in post war Europe

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner is the third book in the Jane Austen Society series. In a story of love and art, of grief and memory, and of confronting the past and facing the future, it opens in 1955, as Vivian Lowry faces an uncertain future. After a poorly reviewed play that threatens her career as a dramatic playwright, she takes a job as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a movie filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors and famous actors. The cast and crew find themselves torn between the past and a possibly brighter future, between the liberation of the post war cinema and the restrictions imposed by the Catholic Church. On a personal note, Vivien begins to learn the long-buried truth of what really happened to her deceased fiancé during the war. 

As a fan of The Bloomsbury Girls, I was looking forward to Every Time We Say Goodbye. I enjoy stories that feature life in the postwar world. Unfortunately, the story fell flat very quickly. The opening prologue was captivating and I was eager to discover more. However, the story that followed left me confused and lost. There were just so many characters. It was hard to keep track of who was who without stopping every other page to take notes and took me out of the story every time. I didn’t care for Vivien. I found her harsh and lacking any warmth or likability. I did enjoy learning about the famous Cinecitta Studios and the classic American movies that were filmed there. If you enjoyed Ms. Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society and The Bloomsbury Girls, I suggest giving Every Time We Say Goodbye a try. You may enjoy it more than I did. 

Every Time We Say Goodbye will be available 

in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook May 14, 2024

The Underground Library: three women trying to survive during the London Blitz

The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan is the story of three women during the London Blitz trying to survive and save their beloved library. When Juliet Lansdown comes to the Bethnal Green Library as the new deputy librarian, she realizes that the library needs a bit more life. Katie Upwood loves working at the library as she prepares to head to university. After learning that her beau was killed in action and growing strife in her family, she finds herself with a life-changing secret with no help and no options. Sofie Baumann is a young Jewish refugee who came to London on a domestic service visa in order to escape the horrors in her home country. She finds herself treated horribly and her only solace is the beloved books of the local library. When the library needs to go underground where the city’s residents are sheltering during the nightly bombings, Juliet, Katie and Sofie find a community that come together for the love of books and friendships that only grow stronger with each bomb dropped.

Based on the true story of the Bethnal Green Library and the London Blitz, Jennifer Ryan weaves a story of survival, friendships and courage in uncertain times. Despite a bit of weariness of World War II stories, I was captivated by the stories of these three women and the strength they find to endure the uncertainty of their futures. Their world is changing around them and, despite the social rules, they fight back against racism, gender biases and finding love in the most unlikely places. Ms Ryan also brings to life the horrors and uncertainties of the London Blitz. I felt as if I were there with the characters, huddled in the underground shelters as the bombs exploded above them and in the aftermath as they searched for survivors and dealt with the unfortunate loss of life. My heart broke as the character suffered and I cheered for them as they rose above their circumstances and survived. If you enjoy World War II stories, I highly recommend The Underground Library. 

The Underground Library is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

Lone Women: an intriguing and engaging historical horror

Lone Women by Victor LaValle is a historical horror. Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her. Kept under lock and key, she guards it with a nervous eye because when the trunk opens, people start to disappear. It’s 1914 and she is in trouble. Her secret killed her parents and she’s forced to flee her hometown. She makes her way to Montana where she plans to homestead. She hopes that the big blue skies and the empty land will be room enough to hide her horrifying secret. Adelaide is one of many “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can cultivate it. As she makes friends with other women homesteaders, she rebuilds her life. Will her homestead be the place to finally find peace? Or will her secret be revealed? 

Lone Women is my first book by Victor LaValle who is known for blending historical fiction with inventive horror and poetic prose. From the opening scene, I was intrigued by Adelaide’s actions. What could her secret possibly be that would lead her to flee from the only home she has ever known?  When she arrives in Montana, she meets an eclectic group of people with secrets of their own. Some for evil, some for riches and some for self-preservation. There were twists and turns with every turn of the page. As secrets are revealed and Adelaide fights for her new life, the story takes readers on a strange trip. As I closed the final pages, I found it hard to describe this book. Overall, I enjoyed it. If you enjoy historical horror, I recommend Lone Women. 

Lone Women will be available March 28, 2023 in hardcover, eBook and audiobook. 

Girl With A Gun: An Annie Oakley Mystery

 Girl With A Gun by Kari Bovee is an Annie Oakley Mystery. The story opens in 1885 as Annie joins Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show as the next American sharp-shooting sensation. Fifteen-year-old Annie is the sole supporter for her widowed mother and two younger siblings. As an expert marksman, she hunts and sells games to the local stories to make ends meet. After a stunning performance against the reigning marksman, Frank Butler, she is offered a spot in the Wild West Show. But she soon realizes that someone is out to get her. A series of crimes occur within the show’s camp including the death of her assistant, Annie doesn’t believe the official reports and soon becomes a target and a suspect. With the help of a sassy reporter, Annie is determined to solve the crimes and clear her name before it destroyed everything she has worked for. Will she find the truth before its too late?

I really wanted to like Girl With a Gun because I have always enjoyed stories which figure Annie Oakley. However, this story takes too many creative licenses about Annie’s life. In 1885, when Annie joins the Wild West Show, she is 25, not 15, already married to Frank Butler and they joined the show together. I feel that if you are going to write a story about a historical figure, you need to consider the major aspects of their life and keep to their timeline as much as possible. Ms. Bovee certainly could have done that and still presented a mystery that Annie would solve. That aside, the mysteries, the crimes themselves weren’t that interesting and when the culprit was reveal, it was a letdown. Overall, I did not enjoy this story. I do not recommend Girl With A Gun.

 

Girl With A Gun is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

White Houses: the story of two women's deep friendship

White Houses by Amy Bloom is a fictionalized look into the friendship, and possible love affair, between Lorena Alice “Hick” Hickcock and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The story opens in April 1945, soon after President Roosevelt has passed away and Hick is waiting for the arrival of Eleanor, whom she hasn’t seen in years. The story then takes us back to when the two women first met. Hick was a reporter and Eleanor was on the getting ready to set on the road for the White House as Franklin makes his bid for the presidency. Told in a series of memories from her childhood through the Great Depression and her life with the Roosevelts, the book takes a deeper look into these historical icons.

White Houses takes the reader into the characters and shows them as more than the media and history has recorded them. Real people with real issues, concerns and struggles as the United States headed to the depths of the Great Depression and war. I usually love historical fiction and don’t usually mind when a book features real people, but I found this book dragged a bit. If the two women were indeed lovers, the author didn’t display much emotion between them. It felt flat and so matter of fact. I still enjoyed the story and recommend White Houses to readers who like fictionalized stories of historical figures.

White Houses

is available in hardcover and ebook