Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Sep 8, 2021 (Updated Sep 8, 2021)  
If you love Western historical fiction, be sure to read an excerpt from RIO BONITO by Preston Lewis Author on my blog, and enter the giveaway to win signed copies of the first two books in the Three Rivers Trilogy!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2021/09/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-rio-bonito.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
With Lincoln County teetering on the edge of lawless turmoil, small rancher Wes Bracken avoids taking sides, but his goal is complicated by his devotion to what he sees as justice and by his friendship with William H. Bonney, who’s developing a reputation as Billy the Kid.

As Lincoln County devolves into explosive violence, Bracken must skirt the edge of the law to guarantee the survival of his family, his spread, and his dream. But dangers abound from both factions for a man refusing to take sides. Before the Lincoln County War culminates on the banks of the Rio Bonito during a five-day shootout in Lincoln, Bracken is accused of being both a vigilante and a rustler. As the law stands idly by, Bracken’s ranch is torched, and his wife is assaulted by the notorious outlaw Jesse Evans. Survival trumps vengeance, though, as Bracken tries to outlast the dueling factions aimed at destroying him.

At every turn Bracken must counter the devious ploys of both factions and fight against lawmen and a court system skewed to protect the powerful and politically connected. Against overwhelming odds, Bracken challenges the wicked forces arrayed against him in hopes of a better life for himself, for his family, and for New Mexico Territory. And throughout it all, Bracken stands in the growing shadow of his sometime pal, Billy the Kid.
     
The Hemlock Cure
The Hemlock Cure
Joanne Burn | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Hemlock Cure was a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary people during the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) epidemic of 1665-1666. The plague is very much in the background of this story for most of it, though.

The real evil isn’t a disease, it’s being shut in with people who clearly do not have good intentions.

The village of Eyam is well known for the decision to shut itself off from the outside world when its inhabitants started to become ill and die. They understood that the only way to halt the spread of the disease was to isolate themselves - a selfless act.

This novel looks at some of the families and their relationships inside and outside of their family units. The local apothecary and his daughter Mae, are one such family. Mae is desperate to be her fathers apprentice, but this isn’t a time in history where it’s safe for a woman to be working with herbs. So Mae studies with the midwife and a local wise woman (who are both also skating on thin ice, truth be told).

The plague wasn’t a constant in London it appears, and we travel there with one of the main characters. The contrast between the country village and London was quite something to read. I could almost smell the difference off the page!!

I enjoyed the pacing of this book: in Eyam the time crawls, whilst in London everything is all hustle and bustle.

The slow reveal of the terrible secrets in Mae’s family are not so much shocking as terrifying. Wulfric, Mae’s father, is not a well man. It seems to be a race against time for Mae.

I would most definitely recommend this book to historical fiction fans - and if you like a mystery, you may well like this as well.
  
A Child for the Reich
A Child for the Reich
Andie Newton | 2022 | History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Inspired by a true story, this book is absolutely gripping and full of tension, heartbreak and the story of one woman's quest to find and rescue her daughter from the Nazi's Lebensborn programme.

Anna Dankova and her family live in Nazi-occupied Prague. Her husband and brother-in-law have joined the Czech Resistance leaving them to try and raise their children with the ever present danger of the Nazi soldiers, the Gestapo and the much feared Brown Sisters; female nurses who were dedicated to the Nazi cause. They worked for the Nazi Welfare Organization and searched through villages and towns for Aryan-looking children.

Anna and her sister's children are blonde-haired and blue-eyed and their fears are only too real but they are powerless against the might of the Nazi regime and one day, Anna's daughter, Ema is literally ripped from her arms in broad daylight leaving Anna, understandably, distraught and determined to get her back whatever the risks before she is lost forever.

Anna uses all her skills, courage and guile to find her daughter, infiltrate the children's home where she has been placed to be indoctrinated into the German way and to figure out a way to get her out of there whilst under the ever present threat of exposure and certain death.

This is a story full of tension and heartbreak and one mother's determination to find her daughter no matter what and it was absolutely gripping and I have no hesitation recommending it to those of you who 'enjoy' reading historical fiction based on true stories and events.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of A Child for the Reich.
  
The Second Sight of a Zachary Cloudesley
The Second Sight of a Zachary Cloudesley
Sean Lusk | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I don’t quite know how I can write anything about this book and still do it justice! It’s a wide sweeping novel, that takes the reader from a clockmakers in London to Constantinople.

Starting in 1754, Zachary is born on the day that his mother dies. His father, Abel, loves him fiercely, and wants to always do his best for him, which brings a Mrs Grace Morley and her baby daughter Leonora into their lives. She’s a strong, forceful woman who is to leave an impression on everyone that meets her.

After a near-fatal accident leaves Zachary blind in one eye, his father sends him to live part of the year with his Aunt Frances. This is another strong, independent woman who is determined to make Zachary the son she never had. She sees in Zachary the gift that his mother had: the ability to read people and see inside to their hopes, wishes and dreams - and also their not-so-positive thoughts.

Abel finds himself forced to go to Constantinople, and Zachary begins to have visions that send him on a chase across Europe to find his father after he loses contact with him.

The descriptions of London, Frances’ house and land, and those of Constantinople are rich and detailed - I could have been there. I was gripped from the first page, immersed in an 18th century world where lives were at stake and a boy had to be brave to save the life of his father. I loved Aunt Frances and Tom, Abel’s apprentice, who both join the Cloudesley’s in Constantinople.

The love between the characters is bright and clear, and their losses are the readers losses as well (I cried). This is historical fiction, an adventure story with a dash of fantasy and the love of family and good friends.

Highly recommended.
  
The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Stories #2)
The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Stories #2)
Bernard Cornwell | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
152 of 235
Book
The Pale Horseman ( The Last Kingdom 2)
By Bernard Cornwell
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Uhtred, Northumbrian born, raised a Viking and now married to a Saxon, is already a formidable figure and warrior. But at twenty he is still arrogant, pagan and headstrong, so not a comfortable ally for the thoughtful, pious Alfred. But these two, with Alfred's family and a few of Uhtred's companions, are apparently all that remains of the Wessex leadership after a disastrous truce. It is the lowest time for the Saxons. Defeated comprehensively by the Vikings who now occupy most of England, Alfred and his surviving followers retreat to the trackless marshlands of Somerset. There, forced to move restlessly to escape betrayal or detection, using the marsh mists for cover, they travel by small boats from one island to another, hoping that they can regroup and find some more strength and support. They seek refuge in Athelney, a tidal swamp to which Alfred's kingdom has shrunk. Uhtred finds himself torn between his Danish foster brother and the winning Vikings, and his growing respect for the stubborn leadership of Alfred. He must decide whether to rebuild the Saxons' strength from his watery base and help them to take on the Vikings once more.

I loved this book! This is the second one in the The Last Kingdom series and book has this kicked me in the bum! I love historical fiction and this is becoming one of my favourite series. The end of this book made me want to throw it at losing a character I think is just fantastic and made me laugh. Im not going to mention which one as I don’t do spoilers, but if you’ve read it you’ll know!