The Dreams we Knew by Rachel Scott McDaniel Review

Title: The Dreams We Knew 

Author: Rachel Scott McDaniel 

Ch: 31 plus epilogue 

Pg: 320

Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance

Rating: 5 stars 

Publisher: Kregel

No one writes 1920s like Rachel Scott McDaniel and it just gets better with each book. I loved DelvinaI mean what’s not to love about a socialite turned private investigator in New York City. Ans of course Kent who you first meet in Walking on Hidden wings. 

Not only I am I  a sucker for 1920s set novels I’m a sucker for a good mystery and romance full of banter which The Dreams we knew has in spades along with a second chance romance.  I finished this one in one day because I had to know what happened and I loved every minute McDaniel is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. 

 

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a blog tour  I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

The Wing Tiara by J'nell Ciesielski

 I've enjoyed everything that I've read by J'nell Ciesielski and The Wing Tiara is no different. She writes historical fiction that makes you feel like your there. Jasper Truitt is a jewel thief with a a heart of gold, Esme Fox is a rival jewel who also happens to be Jasper's estranged wife. He married on whim at the end of the great war. Now they are looking for fabled Valkyrie tiara.  However for both of them there's more at stake than he tiara.  I have to say that this one gave me slight Mr and Mrs. Smith vibes though without the assassin’s for hire. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

The Ice Swan by J'nell Ciesielski review

 Title:  The Ice Swan

Author:  J’nell Ciesielski

Ch: 33 Plus epilogue 

Pg:  400

Genre: Historical fiction, Historical romance   

Rating: 4.5 stars

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

 

The Ice Swan is the newest book by J'nell Ciesielski and is set in Paris during The Great War though we get one chapter in Russia.  Sventlana Dalsky is a Russian Princess who's also a Ballerina who has fled to Paris to escape the Red Army and the Russian Revolution with her sister and mother.  She ends up needing help, help that comes in the form of Doctor Wynn MacCallan and a a marriage of convenience.  She accepts.

This is the second book of J'nell's that I've read, and I haven't been disappointed yet.  She knows how to thread romance through a story without it being too much.   The Ice Swan to me was a bit of an Anastasia retelling but with a happier ending more like the animated movie from the 90s Though I wanted a little more Russia I understand why we only got a chapter. But I loved the Paris and later Scottish setting.    Not mention it had one of my favorite historical romance tropes marriage of convenience or as I like to call it marriage of necessity a trope I only recently discovered I loved and now I can't get enough of books with it.  The Ice Swan like most of J'nell's Ciesielski lean more towards main stream historical but they are clean no language and any implied steamy scenes are off the page and not mentioned.  The Ice Swan was a wonderful read and I look forward to J'nell's next book The Brilliance of Stars that proposes the question of What if the Winter Solider fell in love, what can I say that tagline has me hooked.



 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone. 

 

 

The London Restoration

Title:  The London Restoration

Author:  Rachel McMillan

Ch: 30

Pg:  315

Genre:  Historical Romance

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher:  Thomas Nelson

               

The London Restoration by Rachel McMillan answers the question I’ve always asked at the end of a book or when the movie credits roll what happens after the happy ever after or the wedding. This book focuses on the couple after the wedding and what happens after a couple separated by war are reunited

Not only do Diana and Brent have to figure out how to rebuild their lives together and separate but they have to come to terms with Diana’s secret life in the war. While around them the city of London figures out how to rebuild. And even through churches were bombed they weren’t destroyed.

I loved The London Restoration. A strong and capable heroine who still wants the hero in her life. And a redhead nerdy hero my favorite kind of hero. Brent is one of my favorite historical fiction heroes and the fact he’s nerdy professor with red hair doesn’t hurt. But he’s a flawed hero scares both inside and out from the war. Showing that even in WWII there’s no such thing as uninjured soldiers even the ones who never fired a weapon. Brent is showing symptoms of PTSD even if that wasn’t the name of it. Making him even more realistic and even more loveable in my opinion. And love Diana even more because she doesn’t run away.

All of Rachel’s books are awesome but The London Restoration shows that her authors heart is with historical romance and I for one can’t wait for The Mozart Code and any other historical romance from her.

 

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Review of Drums of Autumn

Title: Drums of Autumn

Author:   Diana Gabaldon

Ch: 71

Pg: 1070

Series: Outlander book 4

Genre: Historical fiction, Historical romance, time travel

Rating:  4 Stars

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon is the fourth book in the Outlander series. And two me the first book in the series that starts turning it in two a family saga instead of a romance between the series main characters of Jamie and Claire. As in this book Jamie’s and Claire’s daughter Brianna starts to play a bigger role in the books as does Roger Mackenzie Wakefield. The Oxford history professor. 

     Outside of Outlander the first book in the series Drums of Autumn is my favorite book. I think that’s mostly due in part to fact that I like Roger more than Jamie I know it’s an unpopular opinion but it’s mine.  This book to me was the most emotional of the books so far. There were a few scenes in this one that I either skipped or skimmed over for personal reasons.

     Diana did her research for this one. She got the anger and reaction spot on for a father would react to hearing a certain type of news from his daughter. And not just for the time period. It’s the emotions that I think even a modern father would feel. They just couldn’t react the way Jamie did.

     As much as I enjoyed the Scottish highland setting of book 1 and part of book 3 I am looking the backwoods 1760s North Carolina. As a history nerd American Colonial history leading up to the American revolution is one of my favorite time periods.

     I am looking forward to book 5 The Fiery Cross and hope that Brianna and Roger continue to play a big part in the series as well as Jamie and Claire and I also want to see Ian again.  Drums of Autumn was my favorite of the series so far.

Review of The Girl that Came Home

Title: The Girl that Came Home

Author: Hazel Gaynor

Chapters: 38 plus epilogue

Pages: 384

Genre: Historical fiction

Rating: 4 stars

I normally don’t read books that take place on the Titanic because it’s easy to know how the story generality ends. But I decided to take a chance with The Girl That Came Home by Hazel Gaynor, because it was about third class Irish passengers on board the Titanic. Which actually was something that I hadn’t actually seen before.  

Maggie Murphy is a seventeen year old Irish girl who has to leave behind the love of her life Seamus Doyle behind when she travels with her aunt Kathleen to her aunt’s home in Chicago. It then details her journey on the Titanic.

I also love how the book flips between Maggie on the titanic and her great granddaughter Grace in the 80’s. (I’m not giving anything away. You find this out by reading the back.   Both Maggie and her great granddaughter Grace both learn things from Maggie’s time on the Titanic. There was also a scene that reminded me a bit of Jane Eyre.

I loved that Hazel based the people traveling with Maggie on real people. From a similar town in Ireland. Also that Maggie was loosely based on a real person as well.  The Girl that came home was a bitter sweet read but still a good read. I cannot wait to read Hazel’s new book. A Memory of Violets. There is some slight language issues, but its still a good book.