Tag: historical romance

Book Review: Before the Fortress Falls by A.L. Sowards

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction + Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: A.L. Sowards
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Release Date: April 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Their fight for survival would change the course of history.

When rumors reach Vienna that an attack by the Ottoman army is imminent, Wilhelm von Schor, one of the emperor’s courtiers, prepares to evacuate his family—including his sister, Katja. But Katja’s reluctance to leave the city and the people she loves so well grows the farther the family carriage gets from her childhood home. When she learns that another brother, Xavier, is returning to Vienna with his musketeers, she decides to remain behind and face the shadow of war.

Katja soon reunites with Xavier and also with Toby, a dear friend from childhood. As Katja and Toby renew their friendship, an element of attraction builds on the comradery of their youth, and they quickly realize they have found something worth fighting for: love. But all too soon, the Ottomans encircle the city, blanketing its inhabitants in fear. Katja, Toby, and Xavier must each fulfill their new roles if they are to survive. In the overcrowded hospitals, below ground in the countermines, and on the ramparts defending the city walls, the three must fight for love, family, faith, and the survival of their city and everyone inside.

WOW.

This was so good!! I picked this up in a backlist reading moment and I was enraptured by this story. This is my second book by Sowards and I am becoming very committed to everything she writes. I love her multiple POV style and how you get a bit of every angle of the unique historical settings her stories are about.

I loved the complexity of emotions and decisions. I felt like the whole cast was trying their best in an impossible situation. The ups and downs all felt true to the nature of the time and setting. It’s intense and hard and brought out a lot of emotions. I did not want to stop listening because I needed to know where things were going.

The bravery and resilience of everyone who defended their land was soul inspiring. As thousands of enemy soldiers drew closer the group inside found ways to work together and save what they could. It showcased heroes on every level and that even if you’re only stitching sand bags together, IT MATTERS. This was clearly intricately researched and I appreciated the effort and love that went into crafting this story.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Fiction + Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: war themes, loss of life, near death experiences, blood/gore depiction, murder

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ARC Book Review: Highcliffe House by Megan Walker

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Megan Walker
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: March 7th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Love ignites when two rivals vie to secure a possible fortune at the seaside town of Brighton.

Brighton, England, 1813

When a romantic entanglement leaves her humiliated and reeling, Anna Lane wants nothing more than for her father to whisk her away from the gossip of the ton. Unfortunately, he has obligations elsewhere, leaving her stuck in London.

Graham Everett’s financial security depends on an investment with Mr. Lane, his long-time friend and business partner. He’ll do just about anything to secure it for his family, even if it means fighting spoiled, embittered Anna for her father’s attention.

Luckily, Mr. Lane concocts a plan that will give everyone what they wat, with one stipulation: Anna must accompany Graham to Brighton in her father’s stead and make a decision to invest—or not—based on a thorough report.

But it will take more than a day at the beach for these two headstrong hearts to admit that they’ve been wrong about each other. If they are willing to invest a little time working out their differences, they might have a chance at real love.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain for the ARC.

LOVED IT.

Goodness this was such a lovely book. I needed a read like this. I loved how this enemies/rivals to lovers was portrayed and thank heavens for dual POV. I loved getting to know both Graham and Anna. Slowly watching their realizations and misconceptions about each other were wrong and finding that long standing connection between them turn into love was all sorts of romantic.

I adored the banter and the tender moments woven throughout the story. This book was full of heat and the simmering tension had me begging for them to kiss already. I loved the longing glances and tiny touches.

What I loved all the more was that anytime I thought that things were going to turn in a direction I wouldn’t love, communication and care showed itself. I LOVE how the conflicts were handled. There’s arguments and trouble, but also forgiveness and appreciation. Megan Walker continues to be one of my favorite historical romance authors.

Overall audience notes:

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

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: April 2024

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The warm weather has found us. And I also had ZERO two star books this month which is absolutely fabulous.

Favorite books this month:

  • Emma Lion Volume 6
  • Christa Comes Out of Her Shell
  • My Lucky Charm
  • Highcliffe House
  • Fate Breaker
  • The Prisoner’s Throne
  • Wild Wild Wolf
  • A Promise of Peridot
  • Romancing the Grump
  • Romancing Mister Bridgerton
  • Daughter of the Forest
  • Into the Fire
  • Beautifully Broken Life

Least favorite books this month:

  • The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Volume #6) by Beth Brower
  • [ALC/ARC] Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman
  • [ARC] A Letter to the Luminous Deep (The Sunken Archive #1) by Sylvie Cathrall
  • My Lucky Charm (Holidays with Hart #2) by Courtney Walsh
  • Disciples of Chaos (Seven Faceless Saints #2) by M.K. Lobb
  • A Royal Arrangement (Royal Hearts #3) by Amanda Schimmoeller
  • Only and Forever (Bergman Brothers #7) by Chloe Liese
  • [ARC] Highcliffe House by Megan Walker
  • Vesselless by Cortney L. Winn
  • Murtagh (The Inheritance Cycle #5) by Christopher Paolini
  • Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
  • Fate Breaker (Realm Breaker #3) by Victoria Aveyard
  • Simply the Best (Chicago Stars #10) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
  • [ARC] The Girl from the Forest by Hannah Linder
  • The Prisoner’s Throne (The Stolen Heir Duology #2) by Holly Black
  • Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle
  • The Sacrifice of One (Camilla Crim Series #1) by Emily Fortney
  • [ARC] The God and the Gumiho (Fate’s Threads #1) by Sophie Kim
  • Blitz (Treasure State Wildcats #2) by Devney Perry
  • The Book That Broke the World (The Library Trilogy #2) by Mark Lawrence
  • Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch #1) by Lyla Sage
  • Wild Wild Wolf (Timber Creek #1) by B. Perkins and Aimee Vance
  • A Promise of Peridot (The Sacred Stones Trilogy #2) by Kate Golden
  • [ARC] For a Lifetime (Timeless #3) by Gabrielle Meyer
  • Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier
  • [ALC] The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
  • [ARC] Romancing the Grump (Appies) by Jenny Proctor
  • Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgertons #3) by Julia Quinn
  • Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #1) by Mia P. Manansala
  • Enemies Don’t (Fall in Love #2) by Leah Dobrinska
  • Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters #1) by Juliet Marillier
  • [ARC] Into the Fire (Into the Churn #2) by Hayley Reese Chow
  • The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn
  • Beautifully Broken Life (Sutter Lake #2) by Catherine Cowles
  • [ARC] Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
  • The Last Bloodcarver (The Last Bloodcarver #1) by Vanessa Le

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Book Review: The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 432 pages
Author: Natasha Lester
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: January 10th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

1943.  After spearheading several successful advertising campaigns in New York, PR wizard Alix St. Pierre comes to the attention of the U.S. government and finds herself recruited into a fledgling intelligence organization.

Enlisted as a spy, Alix is sent to Europe where she is tasked with getting close to a Nazi who might be willing to help the Allied forces–but there’s also the chance he might be a double agent.

1946.  Following the war, Alix moves to Paris and takes a position as head of publicity for the yet-to-be-launched House of Dior. But when a figure from the war reappears and threatens to destroy her future, Alix realizes that only she can right the wrongs of the past and bring him to justice.

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is a thrilling, sumptuous work of historical fiction told in three timelines: before, during and after WWII. This completely immersive story takes readers from the dangerous, intrigue-filled rooms in Switzerland where elites of both sides mingled and schemed during the war, to the glamorous halls of the House of Dior in the golden age of French fashion and journalism.

IMMERSIVE.

Another great read by Natasha Lester. Consider me invested in all future historical fiction books by this author because they are captivating and heartfelt and make me feel all the things.

I loved the combination of spy thriller + fashion + an orphan trying to survive. Alix is forced to be reckoned with and I loved that she always knew who she wanted to be. The path was never straight and the highs and lows that came with many tough decisions that had to be made in order to live to the next day.

The romance here is also super swoony. I loved the connection and how it utterly ripped my heart out before putting it back together. There’s actually multiple romantic lines here and I liked how each one of them interacted with Alix at that time they were present.

I think the pacing got me a tiny bit and occasionally I wished things were moving a little more. Besides that though, I loved the audiobook and look forward to the next one!

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Fiction
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: very high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: WW2 themes, murder, high levels of war crimes depicted, loss of life, mentions of sexual assault, blood/gore depiction

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