Historical Fiction Book Reviews

Review: Widow Walk (The Widow Walk Saga Book 1) by Gar LaSalle

Widow Walk by Gar LaSalle

Peeking into the past can provide valuable insight about the present, even if the two time periods and places seem like very different worlds. In Widow Walk by Gar LaSalle, readers are transported into the lives of bold settlers in the Pacific Northwest, determined survivors in the wilderness, who must face seemingly endless trials in their bid to make that land a home.

The brilliant component of this novel is that it doesn’t come across as distant historical fiction for the sake of escapism or novelty – it is packed with timeless life experiences, existential crises, and subjects of sovereignty […]

Review: The Final Departure by Epp Marsh III

The Final Departure by Epp Marsh III

Partially based on real history, The Final Departure by Epp Marsh III tells an alternate history where Marcus Garvey’s Greater Liberia Act is put into widespread effect. In 1929, Civil Rights pioneer Marcus Garvey strikes a devil’s bargain with the Ku Klux Klan to turn the United States into an all-white nation. Congress enacts the Greater Liberia Act, arranging passage for every black American to Africa, while leaving unprotected any black citizen who choose to stay behind.

The novel tells the story of Ruth Gaines who remains in the U.S. with her true love Lance Wainwright, the eldest son of […]

2019-01-22T10:54:59+02:00May 16th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Berlin Butterfly: Ensnare by Leah Moyes

Berlin Butterfly: Ensnare by Leah MoyesIn Berlin Butterfly: Ensnare, author Leah Moyes has presented a truly human story of heartache and familial devotion during the Cold War in East Berlin.

The story begins on August 12, 1961, the day the barbs were laid in preparation for the Berlin Wall. 15-year-old Ella must make the decision that many of that time had to make: leave your family and be free, or stay and suffer the tyranny of Khrushchev. The lives on the other side of the wall may have seemed  so much greener, but the relationships that were built, the love that was longed for, […]

2018-05-10T12:09:12+02:00May 10th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: , |

Review: Recall by R. Lawson

Recall by R. Lawson

The Vietnam War remains one of the most controversial and tumultuous times in American history, leaving a shadowy legacy that affects politics, culture, entertainment and art to this day. Author R. Lawson takes readers back into those confusing times in his new novel, Recall, which falls into the historical fiction genre, but is also deeply influenced by his own experiences in the war.

As with many novels and films about this period in history, the human element is the most engaging and heartbreaking aspect of the story, as readers are shown the devastating effects that war can have on […]

Over the Mountain by Katherine P. Stillerman

Over the Mountain by Katherine P. StillermanOver the Mountain is an engrossing work of YA historical fiction by Katherine P. Stillerman, set in the volatile early sixties.

It’s 1961 and sophomore, Harriet Oechsner, has just learned that her minister father had been forced to resign amid parishioner complaints over his liberal views. He’s accepted a new position in Mountain Brook, an affluent suburb of Birmingham, Alabama – where being white and wealthy insulate against the struggle for civil rights taking place on the other side of the mountain. Knowing her father’s outspoken views on racial equality, Harriet secretly wonders how long it’ll be before her family […]

2024-09-24T10:31:02+02:00April 6th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: , |

Review: The Freeze by Ron DeBoer

The Freeze by Ron Deboer

In The Freeze by Ron DeBoer, readers are given a glimpse not only into the author’s own life, but into a dynamic and challenging period of American history.

In New York City, the late 1950s and 1960s were a time of social revolution, alternative lifestyles, alcohol, drugs, music and cultural change. Growing up in that era, and in that place, represents a seminal experience in American life, and this novel is an evocative portrait of both time and place.

The Dunn family takes center stage in this novel, particularly Kate, an ambitious and bold young girl who doesn’t accept limitations, […]

Scipio Rising (Scipio Africanus Saga Book 1) by Martin Tessmer

Scipio RisingIn Scipio Rising, the first book in the Scipio Africanus Saga, Martin Tessmer has done an expert job of weaving historical fact and narrative into a well-structured plot. The mirroring of Hannibal with Scipio works to weigh them both as military geniuses, bringing the forgotten Scipio to the historical stage that Hannibal has dominated for so long.

The novel is well-paced with carefully drawn characters, which gives the book the entertaining flow of fiction, rather than seeming like a dry retelling of historical events. The prose is clean and smart; Tessmer’s background as a former university professor shines through […]

2018-04-30T11:01:12+02:00March 20th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: |

Review: It’s All Coming Back: On Love After the War by Jon Kahn

★★★★ It Is All Coming Back - On Love After The War By Jon Kahn

When Anne-Marie and Helmut marry in London just a year after World War II, they are young, in love, and glad to be finally free of the deep tragedy Hitler had brought to Europe. Swedish Anne-Marie is sweet, educated, and emancipated, but Helmut is from Germany, and Jewish. He has lived through many terrible family losses, and there are many divides in their knowledge of world events recently passed.

Through their love, they must now get to know each other, and heal the rifts in understanding between their families, both culturally and emotionally. The awful truth is almost to […]

2018-02-16T10:10:26+02:00January 9th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |
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