Reading With Monie: historical fiction

Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts

June 18, 2025

Review: The Winding Road by John A. Heldt

Product Description:

Southeast Pennsylvania, November 1777.

For Noah and Jake Maclean, the saga gets real. One year after the brothers entered a time portal and traded the computer age for the colonial age, they rush headlong into the American Revolution.

Noah, 23, rides off to war. Against the wishes of his fiancée, Abigail Ward, he joins the Continental Army as it retreats to Valley Forge. To improve his odds of surviving the rebellion, he brings modern knowledge and pistols, weapons that soon draw the attention of the enemy.

Jake, 16, stays behind. He helps furniture maker Samuel Ward and his family resettle in the country after the British seize Philadelphia. As he supports his newfound kin, he strengthens his relationship with Rachel Ward, Sam's mischievous younger daughter.

The time travelers chart new courses in an era filled with violence, disease, and disruption. In doing so, they leave a mess for relatives tasked with reporting their disappearance.

As Douglas and Donna Maclean confront investigators and reporters in 2024, they do their best to carry out an elaborate ruse, guard an ancient family secret, and use the resources of the present to protect their nephews in the past.

In THE WINDING ROAD, the second book in the Stone Shed trilogy, two brothers find romance, danger, and adventure as they make their way in a world they were never meant to see.

My Review:

I am a super fan of John A. Heldt and have read most of his books. This one was a little less exciting than his previous time travel works. Usually there is so much history in the story that it keeps me reading and wanting to learn more about the historical event but this one felt like a repeat of book 1 with just a little more suspense at the end.

Heldt's formula usually follows a different character's romantic arc each book in the series but in this one there is more of Noah and Abby than I expected because they were the focus in book 1 which is possibly why it felt different to me. I'm hoping the next book in the series advances the story a bit more than what we got in this one.

My Recommendation:

I recommend this to anyone who loves historical romance with a little suspense.

May 2, 2020

Review: The Lane Betrayal by John A. Heldt

Updated: March 8, 2020

Product Description:
Virginia physicist Mark Lane has a problem. Weeks after privately creating two time machines, he learns his corporate partner wants to use the portable devices for nefarious purposes. Rather than give him the chance to do so, Mark takes the time boxes and escapes to the relative safety of 1865.

For Mark, wife Mary, and their children, the adventure is a chance to grow. Mary runs a business. Jeremy, 19, and Ashley, 12, befriend escaped slaves. Laura, 22, finds her place as a nurse. Jordan, 25, falls for a beautiful widow. All hope to find peace in the past.

Billionaire Robert Devereaux has other ideas. Shortly after Mark's betrayal, he sends an assassin to 1865 to retrieve his property and set matters straight.

Filled with romance, suspense, and history, THE LANE BETRAYAL follows a modern American family as it tries to find security and contentment in the final weeks of the Civil War.

My Thoughts:
I'm a big fan of Heldt's time travel fiction and was not disappointed by Book 1 in the new series. It's really amazing how many authentic details are woven into the book. The story draws you in pretty quickly and the sprinkles of historic fiction make you want to learn more about the real events. The suspense builds throughout the story with a couple of unexpected twists. A usual, I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment of the Lane's adventure.

My Recommendation:
I recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction with time traveling adventure.

June 29, 2019

Review: Caitlin's Song by John A. Heldt

Product Description:
Love, courage, and commitment take center stage as the Carsons, a family of time travelers, continue their saga in the great American West.

For the Carson children, ages 19 to 29, an unplanned stop in 1962 is a chance to grow. Adam, Greg, and Natalie begin lives with new spouses in Boulder, Colorado, while twins Cody and Caitlin get their first taste of college. All plan to resume the search for their missing parents as soon as they can.

For Tim and Caroline Carson, a planned stop in the rendezvous year of 1972 is a nightmare. While reading about their children's lives in 1962, they learn that one has crossed paths with a killer. Faced with limited options, they race back to the past to reroute history and prevent a series of murders.

In CAITLIN'S SONG, the fourth novel in the Carson Chronicles series, members of a modern family find romance, adventure, and terror as they seek answers and each other in four memorable eras of American history.

My Thoughts:
Caitlin's Song is book 4 in the Carson Chronicles series. You definitely should have read the previous 3 books in the series to get the most out of the story. Still searching for their parents, the Carsons travel to Colorado and the twins Caitlin and Cody enroll in college. Although excited about being in college Caitlin is barely getting over her heartbreak from the lost chance at love in book 3, Indian Paintbrush.

Now trying to live the life of a normal teen, she quickly settles in to college life and is soon dating a handsome frat boy. But as perfect as he seems, there's a shocking truth her parents learn from their research in the future. Will Caitlin see beyond his charming facade and will she ever find the same kind of love her siblings have found?

Once again there isn't a huge historical event happening in this book but it still gives us a pretty good glimpse of history.

Recommendation:
I recommend this to anyone who loves time traveling, romantic fiction.

March 12, 2019

Review: Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

Product Description:
Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden—one that will test her convictions and her heart.

1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London’s civilian population, hundreds of thousands of children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy’s burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia’s profound need for her sister’s presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed...

My Thoughts:
Secrets of a Charmed Life has now become my favorite book of 2019. It is an amazing suspense story. It reminds me a little of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford in that I kept wanting to jump to the end of the book to check if everything works out in the end.

Two sisters separated by war in a story told over a current day's afternoon. I really couldn't get through the book fast enough. Truly wonderful.

My Recommendation:
I recommend this one to anyone who loves historical fiction.

January 1, 2019

Review: Indian Paintbrush (Carson Chronicles Book 3) by John A. Heldt

Product Description:
Arizona, December 1943. After surviving perilous six-month journeys to 1889 and 1918, the Carsons, five siblings from the present day, seek a respite in their home state. While Adam and Greg settle down with their Progressive Era brides, Natalie and Caitlin start romances with wartime aviators and Cody befriends a Japanese family in an internment camp. The time travelers regroup, bury some ghosts, and continue their search for their missing parents. Then old problems return, new ones emerge, and a peaceful hiatus becomes a race for survival. In INDIAN PAINTBRUSH, the sequel to RIVER RISING and THE MEMORY TREE, several young adults find love and adventure as they navigate the home front during the height of World War II.

My Thoughts:
By this third book in the Carson Chronicles I feel like the characters are some of my favorites to read about. They all have their distinct personalities and I feel invested in what happens to them. In each of the books there have been emotional ups and (surprisingly low) downs and I think this is what helped solidify that relationship for me.

In Indian Paintbrush the family travels to 1943/1944. Here the men have to deal with the WWII draft, newly acquired brides and the continued search for their parents. The ladies both meet dashing men that sweep them off their feet but then they face the ultimate decision... to keep their secret or risk sharing it and put their family's safety on the line.

While this book in the series covers some of the events in World War II and gives us a look into a Japanese internment camp, it doesn't have as much historical knowledge as other time travel books I've read and absolutely loved by Heldt. With that being said it's still a fantastic story that leaves me anxiously awaiting the next book in the Carson Chronicles.

My Recommendation:
I recommend this for anyone who loves romantic time travel books.

June 9, 2018

Review: The Memory Tree (Carson Chronicles Book 2) by John A. Heldt

Product Description:
Days after barely escaping 1889 with their lives, the Carsons, siblings from the present day, resume their search for their missing parents in 1918. While Adam and his pregnant wife, Bridget, settle in Minnesota, unaware of a wildfire that will kill hundreds, Greg seeks clues in his great-grandparents' Mexico, where he finds love, danger, and enemies. At the same time, Natalie, the ambitious journalist, follows a trail to World War I France, and teen twins Cody and Caitlin rekindle a friendship with an old Pennsylvania friend haunted by her past. In THE MEMORY TREE, the sweeping sequel to RIVER RISING, several time travelers find answers and meaning as they continue the adventure of a lifetime in the age of doughboys, silent movies, and Model T's.

My Thoughts:
THE MEMORY TREE is book 2 in the Carson Chronicles and hopefully I don't have to wait long for book 3 because the cliff hangers in this series are killer!

Ever since I read my first John A. Heldt novel in 2012 I've been a huge fan. He always makes the past come to life and who wouldn't love the opportunity to travel back in time and meet their early relatives and see history as it unfolds. The one difference I found with this book over others I've read is that the fire in this novel didn't spark my curiosity about the actual event as with events in other novels by Heldt. I read this as part of the story and moved on.

I also felt like there were a bit too many side characters in this story. I had a hard time keeping up with who as who in the beginning but once I was about a quarter into the book the pace picked up and I became just as hooked on the story as I usually get and quickly zipped to the ending which had an interesting twist that I didn't see coming.

My Recommendation:
I recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction and non-scifi time travel.

November 26, 2017

Review: River Rising (Carson Chronicles Book 1) by John A. Heldt

Product Description:
Weeks after his parents disappear on a hike, engineer Adam Carson, 27, searches for answers. Then he discovers a secret web site and learns his mom and dad are time travelers stuck in the past. Armed with the information he needs to find them, Adam convinces his younger siblings to join him on a rescue mission to the 1880s.

While Greg, the adventurous middle brother, follows leads in the Wild West, Adam, journalist Natalie, and high school seniors Cody and Caitlin do the same in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Like the residents of the bustling steel community, all are unaware of a flood that will destroy the city on May 31, 1889.

In RIVER RISING, the first novel in the Carson Chronicles series, five young adults find love, danger, and adventure as they experience America in the age of bustle dresses, gunslingers, and robber barons.

My Thoughts:
I am a huge John A. Heldt fan. His time travel books are always fun and even educational. This was was no exception however I will start off by saying that the transition from Adam finding out his parents were time travelers to the decision for him and his siblings to set off on their own time traveling adventure isn't as believable as the rest of the book.

Traveling past that (pun intended) the rest of the book is great and makes sense that it would play out the way it did. As the adventure begins the siblings have to make the transition from 2017 to 1889 and I had a good chuckle over the times that something modern slipped out when they were talking to their new friends. The rest of the story pulled me in quickly and I ended up zooming through the read. Each sibling has a story line of their own so the book switches back and forth between characters and I ended up growing to love them all.

Again I learned about an event in history that I hadn't heard of before and once again I was intrigued enough to read of up the real life event. If I felt heartbroken for the book characters I can't even begin to imagine the emotions and pain that the real event brought on. Heldt captured it so perfectly that I could actually see it play out in my mind. Below is an image from Wikipedia of the real event which is exactly how I pictured it while reading.

My Recommendation:
Overall this a great book for anyone who loves historical fiction with a time traveling twist.This was the first in the new Carson Chronicles series and the cliff hanger ending makes me look forward to book two.

March 26, 2017

Review: Hannah's Moon by John A. Heldt

Product Description:
After struggling for years to have a child, Claire Rasmussen, 34, turns to adoption, only to find new obstacles on the path to motherhood. Then she gets an unlikely phone call and soon learns that a distant uncle possesses the secrets of time travel. Within weeks, Claire, husband Ron, and brother David find themselves on a train to Tennessee and 1945, where adoptable infants are plentiful and red tape is short. For a time, they find what they seek. Then a beautiful stranger enters their lives, the Navy calls, and a simple, straightforward mission becomes a race for survival. Filled with suspense, romance, and heartbreak, HANNAH’S MOON, the epic conclusion of the American Journey series, follows the lives of four spirited adults as they confront danger, choices, and change in the tense final months of World War II.

My Thoughts:
I've been reading Heldt's books since 2012 and this one by far has been my favorite. It's full of heartbreaking decisions and events but still concludes with a happy ending. I love the way history is always weaved into the books. It always makes me wonder about the true events and I usually end up on Wikipedia trying to learn more.

In this final installment in the American Journey series, the book has 3 separate story lines playing out and I was instantly pulled into them by my heartstrings. Claire and Ron face heartbreak from the opening pages and you can't help but fall in love with their characters. David is what women everywhere yearn for but the one woman that captures his heart is already taken. And for the one who holds the key to the time travel, devastating news leads to an unexpected future for Professor Bell and his wife. The book is definitely an emotional roller coaster that I fully enjoyed riding with my hands high up in the air.

My Recommendation:
I highly recommend this one for anyone who loves historical romance with a little touch of fantasy.

January 16, 2013

Review: The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

Blurb:

For much of her life, Anne Morrow, the shy daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, has stood in the shadows of those around her, including her millionaire father and vibrant older sister, who often steals the spotlight. Then Anne, a college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family. There she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the celebrated aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong.

Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. Hounded by adoring crowds and hunted by an insatiable press, Charles shields himself and his new bride from prying eyes, leaving Anne to feel her life falling back into the shadows. In the years that follow, despite her own major achievements—she becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States—Anne is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness.

Drawing on the rich history of the twentieth century—from the late twenties to the mid-sixties—and featuring cameos from such notable characters as Joseph Kennedy and Amelia Earhart, The Aviator’s Wife is a vividly imagined novel of a complicated marriage—revealing both its dizzying highs and its devastating lows. With stunning power and grace, Melanie Benjamin provides new insight into what made this remarkable relationship endure.

My Thoughts:

I really wanted to love The Aviator's Wife but sadly the book fell very short of my expectations. Historical fiction has just recently become a genre that I've fallen in love with and when its fiction including a well known historical figure I thought I would enjoy this read. There was not one single thing about Anne that captured my attention. I kept waiting for more and more to happen but the whole story was flat lined. Nothing about her courtship, subsequent life with Lindbergh or raising her children was interesting to me. Even when her first born son was kidnapped I felt no connection with Anne or any of the characters.

The one interesting thread in the book is just a few lines of spark hinted at when the book is set in Hawaii in 1974 but even that could have been expanded on. I was more interested in the Wikipedia version of that incident than Ms. Benjamin's.

My Recommendation:

It's hard for me to say who might like this one. Reader's who gave this a 5 start rating love that the book gave Anne a voice instead of just being an Ambassador's daughter or a great aviator's wife so maybe this is a must read if you enjoy reading about striving to make your own mark in life.

October 3, 2012

Review: The Ruins of Lace by Iris Anthony

Blurb:

Lace is a thing like hope.

It is beauty; it is grace.

It was never meant to destroy so many lives.

The mad passion for forbidden lace has infiltrated France, pulling soldier and courtier into its web. For those who want the best, Flemish lace is the only choice, an exquisite perfection of thread and air. For those who want something they don't have, Flemish lace can buy almost anything-or anyone.

For Lisette, lace begins her downfall, and the only way to atone for her sins is to outwit the noble who know demands an impossible length of it. To fail means certain destruction. But for Katharina, lace is her salvation. It is who she is; it is what she does. If she cannot make this stunning tempest of threads, a dreaded fate awaits.

A taut, mesmerizing story, The Ruins of Lace explores the intricate tangle of fleeting beauty, mad obsession, and ephemeral hope.

My Thoughts:

The Ruins of Lace immediately captured my attention. The story is set in 16th-century France when lace was banned and follows the story of seven characters who were affected by it. Just from reading the blurb I was intrigued and the book did not disappoint. Anthony's well researched storyline pulled me in from the very beginning and I became so caught up in the story that I googled the banning of lace so I could read more about the real events regarding the ban.

I had strong feelings, both good and bad, towards several characters in the book. You know when a book makes you hate a character so much the author has done an amazing job.

I do have to admit the book has a very surprising ending though. I can't figure out if there will be a sequel or if the author just left those threads hanging for the reader to draw their own conclusions but I can honestly say that I hope it's the former.

Recommendation:

I recommend this one for anyone who loves fully researched historical fiction.

July 11, 2012

Review: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I'm changing up my review format a bit. Instead of always trying to make up my own synopsis I'm going to provide the book blurb, my thoughts and a recommendation. I'm borrowing this format from one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Estep and changing it up a little.

Blurb:
Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

My Thoughts:
Because of the popular HBO series I've been hearing a lot about The Game of Thrones recently but it never really peaked my interest because I'm not a huge fan of historical shows. Then my brother told me that the show was based on the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin and I was quickly searching out more information on the books. I got sucked in so fast that I also and started in on Season 1 of the TV series.

I instantly got hooked by the book and absolutely fell in love with the Stark family. There are so many wheelings and dealings and shenanigans that it's easy to get caught up in all the madness. I also love that it's very realistic. I don't know if it's very much a secret anymore but some VERY unexpected characters die and it was shocking but fits perfect with the story so you know it had to happen.

The one thing that I didn't enjoy was just my own difficulty with remembering who's who with all the many families and characters. The numerous names were just a little overwhelming but in no way diminished how awesome this book is. I can't wait to devour book two!

As of now I'm on episode 6 of the first season and I have to say that the series follows the book pretty closely and I love the fact that I can now clearly picture the characters in my head as I read.

Recommendation:
I recommend this one for anyone who loves powerful historical fiction.

March 31, 2012

Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Hated by her poor turnip-farming father seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes an arranged marriage with an abusive man and is whisked away to the convent of St. Mortain. But this is not your ordinary convent. The nuns of St. Mortain have special skills... they are gifted in the art of death. They serve the Mortain, the god of death, as assassins against those who wish to harm Anne, the Duchess of Brittany.

Trained for three long years Ismae finally ready. She completes her first two assignments but on both she narrowly escapes capture by Gavriel Duval, half-brother of Anne. She returns to the convent only to find that her next assignment is to accompany Gavriel Duval into the court of Anne and find the traitor who is trying to sabotage the country of Brittany against the French but the convent has their suspicions about Gavriel so Isame has to be especially watchful.

As the political maneuverings swirl around her things turn confusing for Ismae quickly and she has to deal with the pressure of serving Mortain or her own heart before all is lost.

In 2010 I got on a huge historical fiction kick and read tons of historical books but they soon grew tiresome. Last year I didn't pick up too many but when I started seeing tons of glowing reviews and read the synopsis of Grave Mercy I snagged it up in a heartbeat. Who can resist assassin nuns? Not only did this book live up to the hype it wowed me. The plot is so well done, the characters became amazingly real and I didn't want the story to end. This is the first book in the His Fair Assassins Trilogy and I cannot wait for the next book in the series out next year. I highly recommend this one for anyone who loves historical fiction and kick ass heroines.

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