Historical Fiction Book Reviews

Review: Sophia’s Storm by Cara Skinner

Sophia's Storm by Cara Skinner

The past meets the present in Sophia’s Storm, a gripping historical novel written for young adults by Cara Skinner.

It’s fourth of July week during the summer of 79. Sixteen-year-old Sophie Reiter and her extended family have assembled at her grandparents’ Galveston beach house for their annual week-long get together, but this year’s gathering is bittersweet, due to the passing of Sophie’s beloved Great Aunt Sophia last November at the age of eighty-nine. Her great aunt had died before she could tell Sophie about the most terrible time in their family’s history: a time when Galveston was nearly destroyed […]

2019-04-18T12:27:55+02:00March 22nd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

Review: Koa Kai: The Story of Zachary Bower and the Conquest of the Hawaiian Islands by D.R. Pollock

Koa Kai: The Story of Zachary Bower and the Conquest of the Hawaiian Islands by D.R. Pollock

Adventures and misadventures on land and sea are at the heart of Koa Kai: The Story of Zachary Bower and the Conquest of the Hawaiian Islands, a fascinating work of historical fiction by D.R. Pollock.

Zachary “Zach” Bower is the youngest of three sons born to Martha and Matthew Bower. Despite his intelligence and affinity for learning, Zach’s future working on the family farm seems a foregone conclusion until fate intervenes, resulting in the untimely death of Zach’s beloved mother. His grieving father decides to honor his dead wife’s last wish to ensure that their youngest son continues his […]

2019-03-11T12:55:44+02:00March 6th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

The Burning by Devin K. Asante

The Burning by Devin K. AsanteA fanatical obsession leads to deadly consequences in The Burning, Devin K. Asante’s chilling work of historical fiction.

The year is 1666. Sixteen-year-old, Agnes Wilmore, has lost her three younger siblings to the plague before arriving in London, hoping to make a new life for herself. Almost as soon as she arrives, she’s raped by Robert Hubert, a tavern barkeep, who’s immediately infatuated with her. She’s rescued by Thomas Farrier and his wife, who hire her as their live-in caretaker for their three young children.

Agnes fervently hopes she’s seen the last of Robert but with each passing day, […]

2019-02-18T10:57:17+02:00February 17th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: |

Review: Lincoln’s Paramour by Devin K. Asante

Lincoln's Paramour by Devin K. Asante

A touching life-long love affair is at the heart of Devin K. Asante’s creative work of historical fiction, Lincoln’s Paramour.

Abraham “Abe” LaRue is the second son of James LaRue, a wealthy Kentucky land baron, and his second wife, Suzanne. He’s as different from his older brother, Aron, as chalk is to cheese, but has an idyllic childhood growing up on his large plantation where his best friend is Maisie, the daughter of his father’s older brother and his black slave mistress – until tragedy strikes and Abe’s father is killed by a bear.

His mother remarries a year […]

2019-03-06T12:52:40+02:00January 23rd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Quigsnip: The Untold Tale of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist by Sean Phillips

Quigsnip: The Untold tale of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist by Sean Phillips

It takes an impressive amount of confidence to write a sequel to a Charles Dickens novel, given his titanic status in the history of English literature. In Quigsnip, author Sean Phillips expands a seemingly insignificant detail from Charles Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist and delivers an entire novel in his legendary style.

Following Oliver Twist’s near-death experience and the subsequent discovery that he was a son of the aristocracy, his life has changed in innumerable ways. He is no longer begging for extra gruel, nor is he struggling to make ends meet in the criminal underbelly of London. Even so, […]

2019-03-05T12:28:07+02:00January 18th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: |

Review: Trials and Trails by Jim Halverson

Trials and Trails by Jim Halverson

Unexpected partnerships have formed the foundation of many memorable novels and stories throughout history, and in Trials and Trails by Jim Halverson, this long tradition is carried on with pride and heart.

Johnny B and Leroy both have plenty of reasons to be bitter or angry. As a Sioux Indian and an ex-slave in the Reconstruction period, neither of them can forget the injustices faced by themselves and their people, yet the only direction they can go is forward. Wandering from place to place, as so many great adventure novels do, these two men must face the prejudices that still […]

Review: True North by Roger Rooney

Review: True North by Roger Rooney

While Vietnam has been a part of popular culture for more than five decades, there has always been a shadow hanging over that conflict, and many of the books, movies, commentaries, and documentaries haven’t always focused on the personal element of this savage period in Vietnamese and global history. In True North, author Roger Rooney tackles the Vietnam War with a fearless blend of history, romance, philosophy and, most importantly, brutal truth.

The unique approach to this conflict comes in the form of its two main characters, star-crossed accidental lovers on opposite sides of the battlefield. Rooney chose unusual […]

Review: The Last April by Belinda Kroll

The Last April

Split-second decisions have life-changing consequences in The Last April, a gripping and thought-provoking work of YA historical fiction by Belinda Kroll.

It’s April, 1865 and in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, fifteen-year-old Gretchen Miller is in the garden of her family farm in rural Ohio when she’s startled by a Confederate soldier who falls in a dead faint literally steps from her feet. As Gretchen reaches his side, the feverish soldier mutters about his escape from Camp Chase, a training barrack/Confederate prison outside of Columbus. Realizing that the young soldier will die without her help, Gretchen reluctantly […]

2019-01-22T10:54:07+02:00July 15th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: , |
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