Category: Historical fiction

Recent Reads: The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow is about Mary Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.  It starts before the events of Pride and Prejudice, goes through them, and then continues afterwards.

I really enjoyed Mary’s story, seeing her as a more sympathetic character, and understanding her more.  It’s not written in the style of Pride and Prejudice, but written in a style that suits Mary.

The Other Bennet Sister was published on 9th January 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

I’m afraid I couldn’t find any links for where you can follow Janice Hadlow.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan.

Recent Reads: This Lovely City by Louise Hare

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

This Lovely City by Louise Hare is set in 1948 and 1950s, and is about Lawrie Matthews, who came over from Jamaica to England as part of Windrush.  We see his daily life, how he’s making a living, and the racism he deals with every day.  He’s in love with Evie, the girl next door, and we meet his friends.  

Lawrie discovers the body of a baby in a pond, and so the police immediately suspect him of being involved with the death of the baby. 

This is a story of homesickness, discrimination, power corrupting, and family.  It is well told, with flashbacks to 1948.  I thought this was well told, and kept me hooked!

This Lovely City was published on 12th March 2020 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Louise Hare on Twitter and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HQ.

Recent Reads: It’s In His Kiss by Julia Quinn (Bridgertons 7)

Posted on by Pam

My review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

It’s In His Kiss by Julia Quinn (Bridgertons 7) is about Hyacinth, the youngest Bridgerton daughter, and Gareth St Clair.  Gareth’s and his father do not get on, so much so, that Gareth moved out and moved in with his grandmother, Lady Danbury!

Hyacinth has been out for more than a couple of seasons, and so the marriage offers are drying up.  She wants a man that is her equal as a husband.

Lady Danbury wants her grandson married, Violet Bridgerton wants her daughter married, and so there are plans made.

This is a romance set in regency period.  As with all the Bridgertons books, there are sex scenes.  It’s a good story, with a good pace that sweeps you along.  I was unhappy with Gareth’s motivations mid way through the book, but enjoyed the rest of it!

It’s In His Kiss was published on 28th June 2005 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Julia Quinn on Facebook, Instagram and her website.

You can read my review for the previous Bridgertons books below:

The Duke and I – Bridgertons 1

The Viscount Who Loved Me – Bridgertons 2

An Offer From A Gentleman – Bridgertons 3

Romancing Mister Bridgerton – Bridgertons 4

To Sir Phillip, with love – Bridgertons 5

When He Was Wicked – Bridgertons 6

Recent Reads: The Diabolical Bones by Bella Ellis (Brontë Sisters Mystery 2)

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Diabolical Bones by Bella Ellis (Brontë Sisters Mystery 2) is set four months after the first book, when a skeleton is found in the chimney of a room that has been sealed for 13 years.

Anne, Emily and Charlotte are immediately interested as they want the bones to have a Christian burial, but there’s rumours of witchcraft and Tabby the housekeeper is deeply unhappy.

This is a great mystery story, with characters based on writers that wrote such amazing books.  I really enjoyed the story, and there’s gothic elements to make the story that much more in keeping with the Brontë sisters books.

The Diabolical Bones was published on 8th October 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Bella Ellis on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and her website.

You can read my review for book 1 in this series: The Vanished Bride.

Recent Reads: The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave starts in 1617, in Vardø, Norway, when most of the men of the small community die in a storm. The women are left to fend for themselves.

Absolam Cornet is summoned from Scotland as the local lord believes that something must have summoned that storm.

Maren is one of the women whose family lost their men – her brother and father.  She is left with her mother and her sister in law, Diinna, who is Sâmi, which the local lord also dislikes.

This is a dramatic story, set in a harsh landscape, with beautiful descriptions.  It is a difficult read in places, but is well written, and the characters are very evocative.

The Mercies was published on 6th February 2020 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Kiran Millwood Hargrave on Twitter and Instagram.

Recent Reads: The Museum of Broken Promises by Elizabeth Buchan

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Museum of Broken Promises by Elizabeth Buchan is a heart wrenching story set in 1985 in Prague, mid 1990s in Berlin and modern day Paris.  You see Prague whilst the Communists are in power, Berlin when post the different sides are making peace after the Berlin Wall coming down.

Laure is the central character whom we follow to each of these places.  It is in Prague that she falls in love, and in Paris that she is the chief curator of the Museum of Broken Promises, with different things that have been donated, such as a baby’s shoe, and a train ticket.

This is a look at a dark period of history, behind the Iron Curtain, and shows how dangerous life was.  The story is well told, leading through revelations, and moments of clarity, whilst showing so much emotion. 

The Museum of Broken Promises was published on 5th September 2019, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Elizabeth Buchan on Twitter, Facebook and her website.

I have also read Two Women in Rome by Elizabeth Buchan, and you can read my review here.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Atlantic Books.

 

Recent Reads: The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer

Posted on by Pam

My review:?????

The Black Moth was Georgette Heyer’s first novel, and is a well written book, with lots of intricate plot, and characters who you enjoy cheering on or booing.

Jack Carstates is a highwayman, having been exiled by his family for cheating at cards, and lived abroad for years, but now he is back in England.  

Diana Beauleigh is a beauty, and the Duke of Andover has decided that she should be his, and so arranges a kidnapping that a certain highwayman interrupts.

I’ve loved Georgette Heyer since I discovered her in my late teens.  They are books that sweep you off on adventures, and always have some form of misapprehension about someone’s identity, or their intentions, and the Black Moth doesn’t disappoint!

The Black Moth was first published in 1921, and so this is the centanuary edition, which was published on 26th August 2021, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

Georgette Heyer wrote a great many regency romances, and also detective fiction, and so here is a link for her on GoodReads.

If you’ve been enjoying The Bridgerton TV series or books, then I would highly recommend you try Georgette Heyer!

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin Cornerstone.

Recent Reads: When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn (Bridgertons 6)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn is the story of Francesca.  She marries John, an Earl, who is best friends with his cousin, Michael Stirling, a notorious rake, who is also in love with Francesca.  When John dies, and Francesca goes into mourning, Michael flees to India, but time passes, and he returns.  But can he have Francesca?

This book is appropriately titled, and has a lot of sexual tension, and sex scenes. It’s also an enjoyable will they, won’t they.  I’ve really enjoyed the series of books, and look forward to watching this unfold on the TV show!

When He Was Wicked was published on 29th June 2004, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Julia Quinn on Facebook, Instagram and her website.

You can read my review for the previous Bridgertons books below:

The Duke and I – Bridgertons 1

The Viscount Who Loved Me – Bridgertons 2

An Offer From A Gentleman – Bridgertons 3

Romancing Mister Bridgerton – Bridgertons 4

To Sir Phillip, with Love – Bridgertons 5

Recent Reads: The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis (Brontë Sisters Mystery 1)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis is a mystery book with the Brontë sisters as the investigators.  Mrs Elizabeth Chester’s bedroom is found to be covered in blood, and as Emily, Anne and Charlotte know the young lady who found the room in this state, they hear a first hand account, and so become involved in the mystery of where Mrs Chester is, and if she’s alive or dead!

I found this to be a really interesting read as it puts you at the heart of the Brontë family, and is set both in 1851 and in 1845, with Charlotte looking back to their adventures together.  The sisters are quite separate characters, and it made me want to learn more about them, and re-read each of their books!

The Vanished Bride was published on 7th November 2019 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Bella Ellis on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Hodder Books.

Recent Reads: The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis is a fantasy novel, set in Prague, where there are creatures such as pijavice (vampires), will o’ the wisps, and other things that go bump in the night.  Domek is one of the lamplighters, those who protect humanity from these creatures.

His friend, Lady Ora Fischerová, also has things that go bump on the brain, and witnesses a pijovice go into the daylight, surely an act of suicide, but there’s rumours of a cure.

This was a good story, set in the 19th Century, with secrets being unearthed.  I would be very happy to read more of these characters.  It made me think of Gail Carriger’s Parasole Protectorate series, but without the steampunk!

The Lights of Prague was published on 25th May 2021 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Nicole Jarvis on Twitter and on her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Titan Books.