Tag: historical fiction

Book Review: The Slantwise Histories: Collected Stories by Alix E. Harrow

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Short Stories Collection
Length: 304 pages
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Publisher: Tordotcom
Release Date: October 20th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Everlasting and Starling House comes a new fantastical collection of stories about tricksters and ghosts, magics ordinary and spectacular. Alix E. Harrow spins tales never-told and seen just outside the periphery of reality–in the tradition of Angela Carter, Anne Sexton, and Carmen Maria Machado, these hauntingly resonant and defiant stories leap from the page and dance in and out of a history that never was (but could have been) and into a future startingly like our own.

Before I was a liar I was a historian, which is a kind of storyteller who doesn’t make any money and likes footnotes.

These are stories about the past as it wasn’t quite, but might have been, from ancient battlefields all the way up through roadside attractions off I-70. They’re about the people caught in the mean jaws of history: the women and workers, the soldiers and mothers, everyone shoved into the margins of the world.

But these aren’t singular tragedies―these are the stories of the ones that got away. The ones who defected and dissented, who broke the rules, who ran and tossed a match behind them. SLANTWISE HISTORIES AND OTHER STORIES collects the best known short fiction of Alix. E. Harrow, including the Hugo-award winning “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies” and for the first time in print, Amazon original titles “The Six Deaths of the Saint” and “The Knight and the Butcherbird”. Updated to reflect the author’s preferred editions, Slantwise Histories also includes “The Long Way Up”, “Roadside Attraction”, “Mr. Death”, “The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly”, “The Sycamore and the Sybil”, “Do Not Look Back, My Lion”, “The Whisper in the Weld”, “Dustbaby”, and four all-new short stories.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

GO FOR THE EYEBALL READ.

I had no issue with the narrators. They read this book wonderfully. My issue with doing the audiobook is that everything starts to run together. There were a LOT of short stories. And I tend to listen to one audiobook in a day and this combo made things worse. If you go for the audio definitely space it out more.

There were some stories in here that were good, one that made me absolutely bust out laughing, and others I was very bored with and skipped through. The entire vibe of the book is perfect for a spooky season read though. Many different topics, themes, and conversations throughout.

I still really enjoy Harrow’s writing and I will continue to look forward to her next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Short story collection
  • Language: some
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: child death, loss of life, misogyny, homophobia, sexual assault

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Book Review: A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Horror Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Erin A. Craig
Publisher: Pantheon
Release Date: September 2nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Child comes an irresistible blend of dark fairytale and romantic fantasy.

The town of Mistaken has a secret…and it’s up to one woman to uncover the truth, confront her past, and save the man she loves.

Like everyone else in the settlement of Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped. Founded by an ambitious lumber merchant, the village is blessed with rich natural resources that have made its people prosperous—but at a cost. The same woods that have lined the townsfolks’ pockets harbor dangerous beasts: wolves, bears, and the Bright-Eyeds—monsters beyond description who have rained utter destruction down on nearby settlements. But Mistaken’s founders made a deal with the mysterious Benevolence: the Warding Stones that surround the town will keep the Bright-Eyeds out—and the town’s citizens in. Anyone who spends a night within Mistaken’s borders belongs to it forever.

Greer, a mapmaker and eccentric dreamer, has always ached to explore the world outside, even though she knows she and her longtime love, Ellis Beaufort, will never see it. Until, on the day she and Ellis are meant to finally begin their lives together, Greer watches in horror as her beloved disappears beyond the Warding Stones, pursued by a monstrous creature. Determined to rescue Ellis, she figures out a way to defy Mistaken’s curse and begins a trek through the cold and pitiless wilderness. But there, Greer is hunted, not only by the ruthless Bright-Eyeds but by the secret truths behind Mistaken’s founding and her own origins.

Playfully drawing from Scottish folklore, Erin A. Craig’s adult debut is both a deeply atmospheric and profoundly romantic exploration of freedom versus security: a stunning celebration of one woman’s relentless bravery on a quest to reclaim her lost love—and seize her own future.

WHY THOUGH?

I didn’t know how I felt about this book for most of the story. It was some amalgamation of horror and young adult and romance and mystery? But I guess I thought it would end a certain way and when it didn’t I was left rather bereft.

And now I’m just noticing that this was an adult debut? I did not think that for but maybe two seconds (during an almost love scene) that this was older than YA. I’m honestly surprised and think that was the problem too. The writing didn’t feel adult.

There’s some good scenes and what not and I didn’t hate reading it, I just wasn’t fully engaged either. Not my favorite from this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Adult Horror
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 1-2ish open door
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: The Q by Beth Brower

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 592 pages
Author: Beth Brower
Publisher: Rhysdon Press
Release Date: October 19th, 2016
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

CAN QUINCY ST. CLAIRE KEEP THE Q?

A dying man with a scheme
A charming smuggler one step ahead of the law
A former foundling with a mangled hand
A family of kingmakers
A printing tycoon
A constable on the trail of justice
An idealistic solicitor with secrets of his own
&
The genius at the center of it all, Quincy St. Claire

CHARMING.

This is a delightful read that is a few hundred pages too long. But I did enjoy it?? I just felt like it took me FOREVER to get through too?? There’s a quality to Beth Brower’s writing that I loved seeing in a different story (I am Emma M. Lion obsessed).

There were a lot of good themes and quotable moments I found while reading. I loved the journey of letting go of the things you need to so that better ones can fall into place. I loved Quincey learning that some people won’t leave and will be there when you need them. The strong friendships and meaningful connections that are sometimes hard to see at first.

There’s even a little sub-plot romance that was sweet and I loved that journey for them too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Fiction
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: The Silent Canary by Angela Bricker

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Rating: ★★★★.5
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 354 pages
Author: Angela Bricker
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: June 4th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

1916, England
War pacifist Poppy Pemburton celebrates her twenty-third birthday on the front steps of the Chilwell, England ammunition factory with her favorite anti-war sign and her well-loved marching boots. War tears families apart and Poppy will certainly not allow it anywhere near the only family she has left. But when Poppy’s dearest friend, Luca, answers the Great War’s call to enlist, Poppy is willing to set aside her morals and join forces with the yellow-skinned Chilwell munition workers, known as canary girls, to bring Luca home safe. Because the only thing worse than the possibility of Luca dying in war, is Luca dying without knowing Poppy loves him.

German spy Jakob Kirtchner is sent to England with one chance left to prove himself. Jakob’s assignment: infiltrate the Chilwell ammunition factory by any means necessary. New employee Poppy Pemburton proves the perfect means. Germany will win the Great War. If Poppy falls with England, so be it. He just can’t fall with her. Or for her.

Based on the true story of the Chilwell ammunition factory explosion and inspired by real people, The Silent Canary stretches our understanding of what it means to find bravery in the depths of our darkest moments, and forgiveness despite our deepest fears.

WONDERFUL DEBUT.

I’ve been on the fence about reading this one but I’m grateful I waited for the audiobook and went ahead and took a chance anyways. I had a very hard time putting it down and thought the audiobook production and narrators were awesome.

While this is romance heavy I do think it maintains a fiction focus with strong romantic lines. It’s not a linear journey by any means and I guarantee at some point you’ll feel angry and full of anguish. But there’s hope and light between the pages too.

I won’t speak too much to the romance because it is a love triangle with a lot of moving parts that I think are best read without commentary. I will note I was okay with how things came together in the end and thought it made the most sense (and this was the angle I was hoping for too).

There was one small plot point that I’m iffy on. I don’t know that I feel like it was absolutely necessary to tack on at the end when it could have been left out. But that was my only issue. I will definitely be picking up whatever Angela Bricker decides to write next.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Fiction
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: themes and setting in WW1, loss of life, torture, prisoners of war, mass losses of life

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