Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn

Title: Mistress of Rome (Empress of Rome #1)

Author: Kate Quinn

Publisher: Berkley 2010

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 470

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

Where I Got It: Unread Shelf

First-century Rome: A ruthless emperor watches over all—and fixes his gaze on one young woman...

Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia. Now she has infuriated her mistress by capturing the attention of Rome’s newest and most savage gladiator—and though his love brings Thea the first happiness of her life, their affair ends quickly when a jealous Lepida tears them apart.

Remaking herself as a singer for Rome’s aristocrats, Thea unwittingly attracts another admirer: the charismatic Emperor of Rome. But the passions of an all-powerful man come with a heavy price, and Thea finds herself fighting for both her soul and her sanity. Many have tried to destroy the Emperor: a vengeful gladiator, an upright senator, a tormented soldier, a Vestal Virgin. But in the end, the life of Domitian lies in the hands of one woman: the Emperor’s mistress.

I cannot tell you how many years this book has sat on my Unread Shelf. I know that I got it before we moved back from California, so at least 6 years. I’ve read many of Kate Quinn’s later books, but never this series. We picked it for our November book club selection and I finally dove in. Overall, I really enjoyed this look at Ancient Rome. The first 150 pages are fairly slow, but once we get past those, the story really gets going. We have to establish our world and our characters before we get to the meat of the story. Thea was a great outsider character left to navigate the treacherous and unjust world of Rome. I was rooting for her right from the beginning. Marcus was fascinating and I really wanted to see more of him that we got. Lepida was horrid and I really wished she has faced a more terrible end, but at least she did face her end. I liked the interplay of the storylines and the different levels of Roman society depicted. We got a little of everything, even a few real historical people. I just wish it had been about 100 pages shorter with some extra slow and long sections trimmed down. Still, I have the rest of the series and will put them in my TBR short pile.

Empress of Rome

• #1 Mistress of Rome

• #2 Daughters of Rome

• #3 Empress of the Seven Hills

• #4 Lady of the Eternal City

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

Title: The Briar Club

Author: Kate Quinn

Publisher: William Morrow 2024

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 432

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Lifetime - 60s; Library Love

Where I Got It: Library

Washington, DC, 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss, whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; policeman’s daughter Nora, who finds herself entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Beatrice, whose career has come to an end along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare.

Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: who is the true enemy in their midst?

I snagged a copy of Kate Quinn’s newest book and immediately started reading it. I always enjoy her books that expand on women’s stories from history. In this one, Quinn takes a slightly different tactic. Instead of one woman or a few women, we get many different stories based in history but not exact women. I loved the collection of characters that we meet in each chapter. The murder mystery slowly unfolds as we learn about the backgrounds of a variety of people. I loved how Quinn weaves in a variety of topics: McCarthyism, racism, workplace misogyny, parenting, romantic relationships, growing up, etc. We get a rounded picture of life in the United States in the early 1950s. I didn’t emotionally connect with the characters, but I really enjoyed following them along in life.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Gentleman's Gambit by Evie Dunmore

Title: The Gentleman’s Gambit (A League of Extraordinary Women #4)

Author: Evie Dunmore

Publisher: Berkley 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 432

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Book Club - Academic Thriller (stretching I know, but I think it is)

Spice Rating: 5

Bookish suffragist Catriona Campbell is busy: An ailing estate, academic writer’s block, a tense time for England’s women’s rights campaign—the last thing she needs is to be stuck playing host to her father’s distractingly attractive young colleague.

Deeply introverted Catriona lives for her work at Oxford and her fight for women’s suffrage. She dreams of romance, too, but since all her attempts at love have ended badly, she now keeps her desires firmly locked inside her head—until she climbs out of a Scottish loch after a good swim and finds herself rather exposed to her new colleague.

Elias Khoury has wheedled his way into Professor Campbell’s circle under false pretenses: he did not come to Oxford to classify ancient artefacts, he is determined to take them back to his homeland in the Middle East. Winning Catriona’s favor could be the key to his success. Unfortunately, seducing the coolly intense lady scholar quickly becomes a mission in itself and his well-laid plans are in danger of derailing...

Forced into close proximity in Oxford’s hallowed halls, two very different people have to face the fact that they might just be a perfect match. Soon, a risky new game begins that asks Catriona one more time to put her heart and wildest dreams at stake.

One last book in the League of Extraordinary Women. We finally get to see Catriona get her HEA. Throughout the series, she has been coded as autistic and we continue that in this volume. She doesn’t quite fit in even amongst her friends. She has very specific needs and ways of looking at the world. Enter Elias Khoury, who also doesn’t quite fit into his world. I loved seeing these two character learn to see each other and find a way to connect. I really enjoyed the stolen artifacts storyline and wanted more of it than we got. I very much enjoyed touching base with the other characters without shifting focus from Catriona and Elias. And those steamy scenes were definitely steamy enough for me. Overall a decent ending to this enjoyable historical romance series with a message. My biggest complaint was the epilogue. It was unnecessary and brought a level of saccharine to the series that I did not enjoy.

A League of Extraordinary Women

• #1 Bringing Down the Duke

• #2 A Rogue of One’s Own

• #3 Portrait of a Scotsman

• #4 The Gentleman’s Gambit

Next up on the TBR pile:

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Title: Rules of Civility

Author: Amor Towles

Publisher: Viking 2011

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 335

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Decades - 1930s

On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.

This has been on my shelf for years and yet I kept putting it off. I’ve even read other Towles books before this one. I finally picked it up during my reading retreat and it just didn’t land for me. I was very interested in the time period and entire set up of the book. Unfortunately the best character in this book is the setting. The glimpses we get of NYC in 1937 were dazzling. But there’s where my real enjoyment of this book ended. I couldn’t care about any of the actual characters. I never truly felt like I understood Katey. I really didn’t get her motivations and background. Things that I thought Towles would focus on ended up bing a line here or there. We never really got into the meat of the character. While A Gentleman in Moscow is destined to be one of my favorite books of all time, this one will be quickly forgotten.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke

Title: Bookshop Cinderella (Scandal at the Savoy #1)

Author: Laura Lee Guhrke

Publisher: Forever 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 323

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: She Reads Romance - Chosen by Its Cover;  Fairytales - Cinderella

Spice Rating: 4.5

Evie Harlow runs a quaint little bookshop in London, which is the biggest adventure an unmarried woman with no prospects could hope for. Until Maximillian Shaw, Duke of Westbourne, saunters into her shop with a proposition: to win a bet with his friends, he’ll turn her into the diamond of the season. The duke might be devilishly attractive, but Evie has no intention of accepting his ludicrous offer. When disaster strikes her shop, however, she’s left with little choice but to let herself be whisked into his high-society world.

Always happy to help a lady in distress, Max thinks he’s saving Evie from her dull spinster’s life. He’ll help her find a husband and congratulate himself on a job well done. But as shy Evie becomes the shining star he always knew she could be, she somehow steals his heart. And when her reputation is threatened, can Max convince her to choose a glittering, aristocratic life with him over the cozy comfort of her bookshop?

I needed a Cinderella retelling and just loved this cover so much (Check out that dress) that I had to check it out. Thankfully this was a good historical romance for the week. Evie is a great foil for the Duke and his high and mightyness. There's a lot of fun back and forth in this story with some great banter. The actual romance bits came a bit too late for my tastes, but were decent. I just wish we would have gotten more of Evie and Max after they start a relationship.

Scandal at the Savoy

• #1 Bookshop Cinderella

• #2 Lady Scandal

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

Title: The Phoenix Crown

Author: Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

Publisher: William Morrow 2024

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Decades - 1900s-1910s

San Francisco, 1906. In a city bustling with newly minted millionaires and scheming upstarts, two very different women hope to change their fortunes: Gemma, a golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano whose career desperately needs rekindling, and Suling, a petite and resolute Chinatown embroideress who is determined to escape an arranged marriage. Their paths cross when they are drawn into the orbit of Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate whose extraordinary collection of Chinese antiques includes the fabled Phoenix Crown, a legendary relic of Beijing’s fallen Summer Palace.

His patronage offers Gemma and Suling the chance of a lifetime, but their lives are thrown into turmoil when a devastating earthquake rips San Francisco apart and Thornton disappears, leaving behind a mystery reaching further than anyone could have imagined . . . until the Phoenix Crown reappears five years later at a sumptuous Paris costume ball, drawing Gemma and Suling together in one last desperate quest for justice.

One of our choices for book club discussion at the retreat. Kate Quinn is always a crowd-pleaser and I was hoping this new one would fit the group. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Right away we meet three women attempting to navigate life in early 1900s San Francisco. I loved Alice and was intrigued by Suling. Gemma was my least favorite of the women. Despite being “worldly,” I felt that she was the most naive of the women. I wanted to spend more time with Alice and her studies. And I wanted to see the city through Suling’s eyes even more than we get. The big earthquake is coming (they of course do not know) and there is a sense of dread in every chapter. More so than Quinn’s other books, this one has a suspense feel to it. I wasn’t opposed, but it was a different tone. Chang’s voice comes mainly through Suling and her discussions of Chinese Americans and Chinatown. I would have love more information about the Phoenix Crown itself and more discussions about the theft of artifacts. Alas, those sections fall a little short. I throughly enjoyed my reading time, but this one doesn’t quite reach the heights of The Alice Network.

Next up on the TBR pile:

To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

Title: To Desire a Devil (Legend of the Four Soldiers #4)

Author: Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher: Vision 2009

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 385

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; 52 Book Club - Published by Hachette (Vision is an imprint)

Spice Rating: 5

NOTHING IS MORE INTOXICATING
Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl's heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago?

OR DANGEROUS
Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle's home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh-and luring her into his bed.

THAN SURRENDERING TO A DEVIL.
Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud's savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice's love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title-even if it means sacrificing her innocence?

Finally we reach the conclusion of the Legend of the Four Soldiers. We get to see the return of Reynaud and his fight to regain his title. I was hoping for a beautiful romance. It falls a little short of that. I could never truly buy the romance between Reynaud and Beatrice. I never really got to see a meeting of two people in a partnership. I did really love all the appearances of the other characters and the conclusion of the mystery of the traitor. I loved seeing Beatrice find a place with the other wives. And seeing the men rekindle their friendships. Overall a really enjoyable historical romance.

Legend of the Four Soldiers

• #1 To Taste Temptation

• #2 To Seduce a Sinner

• #3 To Beguile a Beast

• #4 To Desire a Devil

Next up on the TBR pile:

To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

Title: To Beguile a Beast (Legend of the Four Soldiers #3)

Author: Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher: Forever 2009

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages:333

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project

Spice Rating: 5

CAN A WOUNDED BEAST . . .

Reclusive Sir Alistair Munroe has hidden in his castle ever since returning from the Colonies, scarred inside and out. But when a mysterious beauty arrives at his door, the passions he's kept suppressed for years begin to awaken.

TRUST A BEAUTY WITH A PAST . . .

Running from past mistakes has taken legendary beauty Helen Fitzwilliam from the luxury of the ton to a crumbling Scottish castle . . . and a job as a housekeeper. Yet Helen is determined to start a new life and she won't let dust-or a beast of a man-scare her away.

TO TAME HIS MOST SECRET DESIRES?

Beneath Helen's beautiful favßade, Alistair finds a courageous and sensual woman. A woman who doesn't back away from his surliness-or his scars. But just as he begins to believe in true love, Helen's secret past threatens to tear them apart. Now both Beast and Beauty must fight for the one thing neither believed they could ever find-a happy ever after.

Ever since the start of this series, I had wanted a book focused on Alistair. Thankfully this volume focused on his romance. I do love a dark and broody hero in my romances, and Alistair was just the ticket. We get to see a women out of options fall into a precarious position and find her strength. We get to see a man scarred (not just physically), and yet find his happiness. Hoyt really loves winding together a larger mystery with a swoon romance. I really do enjoy her series.

Legend of the Four Soldiers

• #1 To Taste Temptation

• #2 To Seduce a Sinner

• #3 To Beguile a Beast

• #4 To Desire a Devil

Next up on the TBR pile:

To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt

Title: To Seduce a Sinner (Legend of the Four Soldiers #2)

Author: Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher: Forever 2008

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 359

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project

Spice Rating: 5

THE ONE THING HE CANNOT REVEAL

For years, Melisande Fleming has loved Lord Vale from afar . . . watching him seduce a succession of lovers, and once catching a glimpse of heartbreaking depths beneath his roguish veneer. When he's jilted on his wedding day, she boldly offers to be his.

TO THE ONE WOMAN HE MOST DESIRES

Vale gladly weds Melisande, if only to produce an heir. But he's pleasantly surprised: A shy and proper Lady by day, she's a wanton at night, giving him her body-though not her heart.

IS HIS DEEPEST NEED . . .

Determined to learn her secrets, this sinner starts to woo his seductive new wife-while hiding the nightmares from his soldiering days in the Colonies that still haunt him. Yet when a deadly betrayal from the past threatens to tear them apart, Lord Vale must bare his soul to the woman he married . . . or risk losing her forever.

I actually enjoyed this volume much more than the first one in the series. I think I really latched onto Melisandre and her entire plan for life. While being hesitant in many areas of her life, she makes a plan and started to initiate it. We see her pursue her dreams and her husband in equal fashion. I loved seeing a much more confident heroine to balance out our rake hero. While I wasn’t very excited about Jasper in the first book, he really shines here. While not every action is laudable, by the end of the book we really understand him and his actions. There’s a great romance at the heart of this book. But we also get more pieces to the mystery of what happened at Spinner’s Falls. I’m still very into this series and wanting to learn more. I’m extra excited to read Helen and Allistair’s story in the next book.

Legend of the Four Soldiers

• #1 To Taste Temptation

• #2 To Seduce a Sinner

• #3 To Beguile a Beast

• #4 To Desire a Devil

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Title: The Frozen River

Author: Ariel Lawhon

Publisher: Doubleday 2023

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 432

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Character-Driven Novel; Lifetime - Character in Their 50s

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Loved loved loved this reimagining of Martha Ballard’s story. (After reading, you must read the author’s note where she details the places she took liberties and changed history.) I often don’t love when authors take a real story and change things to make an exciting book. In Lawhon’s case, I always buy her story. She stays true to the real life characters and their imagined motivations. I completely bought this story. In looking at the story itself, we get a fascinating look at the intricacies of life in early America along with gender politics and business. I loved seeing Martha navigate her world with precision but also passion. I loved seeing her support the women of her village while holding various people accountable for their bad deeds. I felt her heartbreak at misfortunes and bad actions. I felt her joy. Lawhon is most definitely one of my go to writers.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

Title: Everyone Brave is Forgiven

Author: Chris Cleave

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2016

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 418

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Decades - 1940s; In Case You Missed It - 2016

London, 1939. The day war is declared, Mary North leaves finishing school unfinished, goes straight to the War Office, and signs up. Tom Shaw decides to ignore the war—until he learns his roommate Alistair Heath has unexpectedly enlisted. Then the conflict can no longer be avoided. Young, bright, and brave, Mary is certain she’d be a marvelous spy. When she is—bewilderingly—made a teacher, she finds herself defying prejudice to protect the children her country would rather forget. Tom, meanwhile, finds that he will do anything for Mary.

And when Mary and Alistair meet, it is love, as well as war, that will test them in ways they could not have imagined, entangling three lives in violence and passion, friendship, and deception, inexorably shaping their hopes and dreams. The three are drawn into a tragic love triangle and—as war escalates and bombs begin falling—further into a grim world of survival and desperation.

Set in London during the years of 1939–1942, when citizens had slim hope of survival, much less victory; and on the strategic island of Malta, which was daily devastated by the Axis barrage, Everyone Brave is Forgiven features little-known history and a perfect wartime love story inspired by the real-life love letters between Chris Cleave’s grandparents. This dazzling novel dares us to understand that, against the great theater of world events, it is the intimate losses, the small battles, the daily human triumphs that change us most.

A book club selection this month. I was pulled in by the summary. It’s been awhile since I have read a good World War II novel and I had hoped that this would be it. Unfortunately, this one really missed the mark. As a point of mark, the writing style is just not that good. It’s weird and choppy with terrible dialogue. There’s an attempt at witty dialogue and sentence construction, but it just becomes much too clever and silly at times. Even when he storyline is focused on very serious events and consequences, the writing style continues. And then we turn tot he characters. I could never understand why Mary was so desirable. It was complete milquetoast to me. Tom was even worse. It was the blandest of the bland. At least Alistair had a bit of personality and metal to him. But it wasn’t enough to actually redeem the book for me. Not the book for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

To Taste Temptation by Elizabeth Hoyt

Title: To Taste Temptation (Legend of the Four Soldiers #1)

Author: Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher: Forever 2008

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 362

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project

Spice Rating:

EVEN THE MOST REFINED LADY

Lady Emeline Gordon is the model of sophistication in London's elite social circles, always fashionable and flawlessly appropriate. As such, she is the perfect chaperone for Rebecca, the young sister of a successful Boston businessman and former Colonial soldier.

CRAVES AN UNTAMED MAN

Samuel Hartley may be wealthy, but his manners are as uncivilized as the American wilderness he was raised in. Who wears moccasins to a grand ball? His arrogant disregard for propriety infuriates Emeline, even as his boldness excites her.

TO RELEASE HER PASSION . . .

But beneath Samuel's rakish manner, he is haunted by tragedy. He has come to London to settle a score, not to fall in love. And as desperately as Emeline longs to feel this shameless man's hands upon her, to taste those same lips he uses to tease her, she must restrain herself. She is not free. But some things are beyond a lady's control . . .

I really really enjoyed Hoyt’s Maiden Lane series and was hoping that this one would also be a winner. And for the most part, I really enjoyed this book. Emeline and Samuel have great banter. I loved seeing how Samuel slide into Emeline’s life and reawakened her to joy and romance. The thing that I really appreciate about Hoyt’s books is the inclusion of a mystery or an action plot that keeps the book moving. In this one, we get an intriguing past mystery of betrayal that led to tragic consequences. I would have liked Samuel to be a bit more open about his actual intents, but he got there in the end. My biggest complaint is actually the sex scenes. Some of theme were just a little too awkward and full of dominance that I’m not really into. Still, I own most of the rest of this series and will be reading more soon.

Legend of the Four Soldiers

• #1 To Taste Temptation

• #2 To Seduce a Sinner

• #3 To Beguile a Beast

• #4 To Desire a Devil

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia

Title: The Murmur of Bees

Author: Sofia Segovia

Publisher: Amazon Crossing 2015

Genre: Historical Fiction; Magical Realism

Pages: 471

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Yellow Spine; COYER

From the day that old Nana Reja found a baby abandoned under a bridge, the life of a small Mexican town forever changed. Disfigured and covered in a blanket of bees, little Simonopio is for some locals the stuff of superstition, a child kissed by the devil. But he is welcomed by landowners Francisco and Beatriz Morales, who adopt him and care for him as if he were their own. As he grows up, Simonopio becomes a cause for wonder to the Morales family, because when the uncannily gifted child closes his eyes, he can see what no one else can—visions of all that’s yet to come, both beautiful and dangerous. Followed by his protective swarm of bees and living to deliver his adoptive family from threats—both human and those of nature—Simonopio’s purpose in Linares will, in time, be divined.

Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution and the devastating influenza of 1918, The Murmur of Bees captures both the fate of a country in flux and the destiny of one family that has put their love, faith, and future in the unbelievable.

Our book club pick for March. Somehow I did not realize that I had this sitting on my Kindle app already. And this book did not work for me at all. It started out interesting with the story of this maybe magical boy who is taken in by a family. From there, I thought we would get to read about a magical story of found family and identity. But that’s not where the story went. Instead, we get bogged down in terrible people doing terrible things to those around them. We get an attempt at an examination of the corruption of the Mexican political regimes under Diaz. Unfortunately, none of it really landed for me. And then there were so many sections that I questioned whether or not the writing and story was racist. Ultimately the book became a slog and I dreaded picking it up every day.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig

Title: Two Wars and a Wedding

Author: Lauren Willig

Publisher: William Morrow 2023

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 435

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Clock; Decades - 1880s-1990s

September 1896: An aspiring archaeologist, Smith College graduate Betsy Hayes travels to Athens, desperate to break into the male-dominated field of excavation. In the midst of the heat and dust of Greece she finds an unlikely ally in Charles, Baron de Robecourt, one of the few men who takes her academic passion seriously. But when a simmering conflict between Greece and Turkey erupts into open warfare, Betsy throws herself into the conflict as a nurse, not knowing that the decision will change her life forever—and cause a deep and painful rift with her oldest friend, Ava.

June 1898: Betsy has sworn off war nursing—but when she gets the word that her estranged friend Ava is headed to Cuba with Clara Barton and the Red Cross to patch up the wounded in the Spanish-American War, Betsy determines to stop her the only way she knows how: by joining in her place. Battling heat, disease, and her own demons, Betsy follows Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders straight to the heart of the fighting, where she is forced to confront her greatest fears to save both old friends and new….

Set during an electrifying era of nation-building, idealism, and upheaval, Two Wars and a Wedding is the tale of two remarkable women striving to make their place in a man’s world—an unforgettable saga of friendship, love, and fighting for what is right. 

I needed a book with the word “two” in the title. I went to Goodreads and did a simple search and this book came up. I really enjoyed Willig’s Pink Carnation series and The English Wife, so I thought I would give this one a chance. Overall, this was an enjoyable story of a one woman’s journey through life, two wars, and heartache. After reading the historical note, I was more interested in the true history behind the story. The historical fiction sections detailed a time period and conflict that not many books focus on. I enjoyed the information about the archaeological digs and the nursing training. I ended up really enjoying following Betsy’s journey. And amazingly, I really came to love Holt as a leading man worthy of Betsy. A very enjoyable historical fiction novel.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott

Title: The Secrets We Kept

Author: Lara Prescott

Publisher: Knopf 2019

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 349

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Decades - 1950s; 52 Book Club - 4 Different POV

At the height of the Cold War, Irina, a young Russian-American secretary, is plucked from the CIA typing pool and given the assignment of a lifetime. Her mission: to help smuggle Doctor Zhivago into the USSR, where it is banned, and enable Boris Pasternak’s magnum opus to make its way into print around the world. Mentoring Irina is the glamorous Sally Forrester: a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit, using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Under Sally’s tutelage, Irina learns how to invisibly ferry classified documents—and discovers deeply buried truths about herself.

One of the book club selections for the year. Thank good that this story is by and large interesting and thought-provoking. We follow multiple women in multiple locations as they are involved in a variety of espionage activities. The story mostly focuses on Olga and Irina, but I found their stories not my favorite. I wanted to hear even more about the typists and specifically about Sally. It was fascinating to me how the various women are directly involved in espionage, but are still somehow left out of actual intelligence. It’s an interesting dichotomy in history. By the end of the book, I was very sad about the fates of all the women featured in the book. But the story is probably much more realistic that way.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin

Title: The Fortune Hunter

Author: Daisy Goodwin

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press 2013

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 473

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; In Case You Missed It - 2013

Empress Elizabeth of Austria, known as Sisi, is the Princess Diana of nineteenth-century Europe. Famously beautiful, as captured in a portrait with diamond stars in her hair, she is unfulfilled in her marriage to the older Emperor Franz Joseph. Sisi has spent years evading the stifling formality of royal life on her private train or yacht or, whenever she can, on the back of a horse.

Captain Bay Middleton is dashing, young, and the finest horseman in England. He is also impoverished, with no hope of buying the horse needed to win the Grand National—until he meets Charlotte Baird. A clever, plainspoken heiress whose money gives her a choice among suitors, Charlotte falls in love with Bay, the first man to really notice her, for his vulnerability as well as his glamour. When Sisi joins the legendary hunt organized by Earl Spencer in England, Bay is asked to guide her on the treacherous course. Their shared passion for riding leads to an infatuation that jeopardizes the growing bond between Bay and Charlotte, and threatens all of their futures.

Another absolutely disappointing book! I was hoping that we would get a glittering portrayal of the Empress of Austria complete with expansive descriptions of time and place. I wanted a more glamorous version of Downtown Abbey. Instead, we focus more on Charlotte and Bay than Sisi and plod through their ridiculous “relationship.” I was thoroughly disgusted with Bay’s treatment of both Charlotte and Sisi and could not imagine what either woman saw in him. He’s nothing special at all. He spends all his lamenting his station in life and expressing love for his horse. Why would an heiress and the Empress of Austria covet a man like that? And there’s the fact that we get little to no information about Sisi throughout the book. She has a tiny waist, likes to hunt, and has ridiculously long hair. None of those things are personality traits and definitely none of those things make her an interesting figure. I really should have just off loaded this book, but you never know until to read it. At least it’s off my shelves.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Duke in Disguise by Cat Sebastian

Title: A Duke in Disguise (Regency Imposters #2)

Author: Cat Sebastian

Publisher: Avon Impulse 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 304

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Spice Rating: 5

One reluctant heir

If anyone else had asked for his help publishing a naughty novel, Ash would have had the sense to say no. But he’s never been able to deny Verity Plum. Now he has his hands full illustrating a book and trying his damnedest not to fall in love with his best friend. The last thing he needs is to discover he’s a duke’s lost heir. Without a family or a proper education, he’s had to fight for his place in the world, and the idea of it—and Verity—being taken away from him chills him to the bone.

One radical bookseller

All Verity wants is to keep her brother out of prison, her business afloat, and her hands off Ash. Lately it seems she’s not getting anything she wants. She knows from bitter experience that she isn’t cut out for romance, but the more time she spends with Ash, the more she wonders if maybe she’s been wrong about herself. 

One disaster waiting to happen

Ash has a month before his identity is exposed, and he plans to spend it with Verity. As they explore their long-buried passion, it becomes harder for Ash to face the music. Can Verity accept who Ash must become or will he turn away the only woman he’s ever loved?

I picked up the series on the recommendation of a ton of internet friends. And while I didn’t absolutely love the first book (didn’t quite buy the romantic connection), thankfully this book more than made up for the shortcomings. I really fell for Ash and Verity. We get to see two people that have created a found family from struggle and are desperate to maintain that family. Usually I am not a huge fan of the friends to lovers trope, but this one worked. It felt authentic to me. At the same time, we get to see two character struggle with their own issues. The biggest point that I really loved was the fact that they communicated with one another! Loved it so much! Now I’m excited to read the conclusion to this trilogy of romances.

Regency Imposters

• #1 Unmasked by the Marquess

• #2 A Duke in Disguise

• #3 A Delicate Deception

Next up on the TBR pile:

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian

Title: Unmasked by the Marquess (Regency Imposters #1)

Author: Cat Sebastian

Publisher: Avon 2018

Genre: Romance

Pages: 304

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Courtship Row; Finishing the Series

Spice Rating: 5

The one you love…

Robert Selby is determined to see his sister make an advantageous match. But he has two problems: the Selbys have no connections or money and Robert is really a housemaid named Charity Church. She’s enjoyed every minute of her masquerade over the past six years, but she knows her pretense is nearing an end. Charity needs to see her beloved friend married well and then Robert Selby will disappear…forever.

May not be who you think…

Alistair, Marquess of Pembroke, has spent years repairing the estate ruined by his wastrel father, and nothing is more important than protecting his fortune and name. He shouldn’t be so beguiled by the charming young man who shows up on his doorstep asking for favors. And he certainly shouldn’t be thinking of all the disreputable things he’d like to do to the impertinent scamp.

But is who you need…

When Charity’s true nature is revealed, Alistair knows he can’t marry a scandalous woman in breeches, and Charity isn’t about to lace herself into a corset and play a respectable miss. Can these stubborn souls learn to sacrifice what they’ve always wanted for a love that is more than they could have imagined?

I’m a bit disappointed by this one. I had heard great things and wanted to explore a queer romance. This one just didn’t quite land for me and I’m not exactly certain why. Robin/Charity/Robert was a complicated character and I didn’t quite buy their entire motivation. I totally get their identification and nonbinary. I don’t really get their motivation when it came to the Duke and such. Or maybe it was because I didn’t buy the Duke and Robin together. They still seemed mismatched by the end of the book. I wanted a bit more conversation and connection… But I will be reading on in the series as many have said that the second one is better.

Regency Imposters

• #1 Unmasked by the Marquess

• #2 A Duke in Disguise

• #3 A Delicate Deception

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

Title: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (Doomsday Books #1)

Author: KJ Charles

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Rainbow Row; Finishing the Series

Spice Rating: 5

Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis grew up lonely, prickly, and well-used to disappointment. Still, he longs for a connection. When he meets a charming stranger, he falls head over heels—until everything goes wrong and he's left alone again. Then Gareth's father dies, turning the shabby London clerk into Sir Gareth, with a grand house on the remote Romney Marsh and a family he doesn't know.

The Marsh is another world, a strange, empty place notorious for its ruthless gangs of smugglers. And one of them is dangerously familiar...

Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy. When the new baronet—his old lover—agrees to testify against Joss's sister, Joss acts fast to stop him. Their reunion is anything but happy, yet after the dust settles, neither can stay away. Soon, all Joss and Gareth want is the chance to be together. But the bleak, bare Marsh holds deadly secrets. And when Gareth finds himself threatened from every side, the gentleman and the smuggler must trust one another not just with their hearts, but with their lives.

A random recommendation from a library list and it was a good one. We get a great romance between two seemingly opposite character and a big mystery. Sometimes I really enjoy a romance book that has a mystery or an action plot attached to it. We get a little something to propel the storyline forward while exploring a romance. This one was a good mix of the two. We get to meet Gareth and Joss and watch them attempt to find common ground out on the marsh. The setting really was another character in this book. I could definitely picture the surrounding area and the plants and insects that inhabit it. it made for a fun aspect to this historical romance.

The Doomsday Books

• #1 The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen

• #2 A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel

Next up on the TBR pile:

Silent Came the Monster by Amy Hill Hearth

Title: Silent Came the Monster

Author: Amy Hill Hearth

Publisher: Blackstone 2023

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 350

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Related to the Word “Monster”

“Sharks are as timid as rabbits,” says a superintendent of the Coast Guard, dismissing the possibility that a shark could be the culprit in an unprecedented fatal attack at the Jersey Shore. It’s July, and swimming in the sea is a popular new pastime, but people up and down the East Coast are shocked and mystified by the swimmer’s death. A prominent surgeon at the shore, Dr. Edwin Halsey is the one who examines the victim, and the only one who believes the perpetrator was a shark—and that it will strike again.

With the public and the authorities—and even those who witnessed the attacks—so stubbornly disbelieving, Dr. Halsey finds himself fighting widespread confusion, conspiracy theories, and outright denial. Seeking the input of commercial fisherman, he soon learns they have long been concerned about a creature they call the Beast. The Lenape, one of the tribes native to the area, have their own beliefs about this creature, but can Dr. Halsey convince the rest of the world before it’s too late?

The story of the 1916 Jersey Shore shark changed the way Americans think of the seashore, reminding us once again that nature plays by its own rules.

Another recommendation from my favorite book podcast. I was intrigued by the fictionalized account of a very true horror story. This is a very horrifying story full of people who aren’t all real, but feel very real. We are put back into a bygone era. At times, the writing was a bit stilted and the characters were hard to understand. But that’s all a part of fully inhabiting the time period and the story. Overall, I enjoyed the story. I would have liked a bit more to the author’s note, but that’s a minor quibble.

Next up on the TBR pile: