Historical Tour de Genre discussion

I'm just working on putting together my books right now

I just finished reading my first book for this challenge - under Historical Thriller - The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner. Loved the book, couldn't put it down. Will be posting my review sometime this month.

I finished reading books 2 & 3. Under Historical YA I read The Fifth of March by Ann Rinaldi. Under Historical Mystery/Gas Lit/etc I read India Black by Carol Carr. Reviews forthcoming.

First review: Historical Thriller

The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I know it is early in the year to say this and have it carry much weight but…Best…Book…of 2011! I am calling it now. I have never been a fan of the Princess/Queen Elizabeth I but anything that C. W. Gortner writes I will read. This book was amazingly well written – I am so pleased that he was allowed the opportunity to re-release this book (previously self-published under the title The Secret Lion) and thus allow a wider audience to enjoy it. Gortner seamlessly weaves Tudor lore with a mastery of suspense – even with all of the twists and turns you don’t lose anything in this novel.



This novel was a breath of fresh air for me in regards to Elizabeth. She is an important character, certainly, but the central focus of the book is Squire Brendan Prescott. We see him quickly develop from a slightly naïve squire to a dashingly handsome spy. It was so refreshing to have a male central character when the genre is typically filled with the other. We get to know all of the characters a little bit, but I felt the Dudley’s were a little underdeveloped for me. But, with this being the first in a series of books, I expect that there will be a lot more character growth throughout, so this doesn’t bother me too much. It was interesting that the majority of the characters were either fictional or lesser written about which added a new spin to the story being told.



The premise of this story is set mostly in the fictional setting with historical characters and real events weaving in and out. It is amazing to me how well the author was able to blend the historical with the fictional and nothing seemed out of place. Very quickly you are swept up in the intrigue and mystery of what is happening at court. Seeing everything from the viewpoint of Prescott keeps you in the dark more often than not, but that is one of the things that keeps you hanging on to every word. This novel is very fast paced and before you know it you will be closing the cover and be unable to let out your breath. There are some crazy revelations in this novel and it was an absolute joy to read. I cannot wait for book 2!



I have to share with you this one quote that seemed to speak directly to why many of us read: “But for me, learning became a passion. In those musty tomes I found a limitless world, where I could be whomever I wanted” (Gortner 8).







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Second Review: YA Historical


The Fifth of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre by Ann Rinaldi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Growing up my favorite author was hands down Ann Rinaldi. I owned probably about a dozen or so of them and I would frequently borrow those that I didn’t own from the school library. After about age 15 I got distracted by other books and really forgot all about this author until a few weeks ago. I was exploring the author’s website for a feature I was doing on YA Historical Fiction and realized that she has still been releasing books, almost every year, and still is. This made me want to take some time to get back to reading those books I loved – this time on audio book.

The Fifth of March is a story of the events in Boston that lead up to the Boston Massacre, the event itself, the trial of those British soldiers, and some of the outcomes of this conflagration. But it is also the story of Rachel dealing with figuring out who she is – does she still see herself as a British American or just a plain American (to use her own words)? It is a really interesting question – when do you start to see yourself as something different? You get to see Rachel really starting to open her eyes to what is happening around her and see how it affects her. I also really loved the sweet, little romance that developed. You really were able to see how this put added stress on a young girl too.

The author does an awesome job at giving the reader a visual layout of Boston. She also has a great ability to convey the drama, hysteria, tension, panic and drive to choose sides that enveloped Boston during that time.

Although this book is written for a primarily high school audience, I enjoyed it immensely. The historical facts and events were not brought down a level and would still be very enjoyable for an adult reader. This is a coming of age story with a teenage narrator – but also consider, people had to grow up a lot faster back then and were encountering situations that many teens wouldn’t be today.

Audiobook Impressions:

I have to say that I didn’t love this narrator. The way she read for the main character of Rachel made the character seem dumb. Having read this in paperback several years ago I had never gotten that impression – a little naïve, yes, but not the way this narrator made me feel about the character. The narrator did do a good job at evoking the feelings of the story and the world the characters were living in – the fear and panic. I think it would have been a more enjoyable listening experience with a different narrator.

3.5 out of 5 stars for the audio.



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Review #3 - Historical Mystery/Gas Lit-


India Black by Carol K. Carr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book. I had not read an HF/Mystery book before and my experience with novelized prostitutes or “ladies of the night” was next to nothing. I didn't know if this was going to be bawdy or what. If you are having these same thoughts when regarding this book, let those fly away because this was a hilariously funny read. Yes, much of it takes place in a brothel, but the comedy that ensues in the process is awesome.

India Black is a wonderful narrator for this story – she is frank, open, and to the point. She speaks right to the reader and tells you just what is going on. I loved how she is retelling this story and adds in little tidbits here and there that you wouldn’t have know if this story was being told as it was happening. One of the strengths of the author is her descriptions, especially of her characters. Let me show you one of my favorite examples about a street urchin you will grow to love from early in the book:
“In summer, he attracted more flies than a Cairo camel market, and in winter you could just tolerate being in the same room provided the fire was low and the window cracked open” (30).

I also loved French, a British spy, he is so dashing if he is a little cold. But he will certainly grow on you too.

Carol Carr is also superb at keeping the story moving along full speed ahead. You learn what you have to of back story but you don’t get bogged down in it. It really is a lively romp across England – by carriage, sleigh, foot, and boat! One of the ways she keeps you reading is the cliff hangers at the end of almost every chapter – for someone who likes to stop at the end of the chapter it is impossible to put down because you don’t stop for breath – must…keep…reading…

This is a light weight, fun, mystery. This would be perfect to read between two books that are heavy or very emotional because it lets you put your guard down. I am interested in reading book 2 and possibly beyond (if it is picked up for that). This would be a series I would always enjoy reading.

There were a couple of minor, trivial things that bothered me as I read, but the journey was so fun that by the time I reached the end and thought back over the book, I really can’t remember what they were! So they can’t have been that troubling.



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Review #4 - Historical Fantasy


Queen of the Summer Stars: Book Two of the Guinevere Trilogy by Persia Woolley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Guinevere in Queen of the Summer Stars takes on the role of a bridge between the young girl, innocent version of Guinevere from the first book and the Guinevere who is involved in the downfall of Camelot. Given that role, this Guinevere is more worldly and mature than her predecessor. She is actively involved in political discussions with Arthur and his men. She comes into her own as a lover, queen and a friend, as well as deals with issues of motherhood. We really see her relationship with Arthur grow into something much more solid than their early marriage showed. We see her torn between love and duty – something that is much more strained as she identifies her relationship with Lancelot.

I have to say that her relationships with Arthur and Lancelot were different than how I had imagined them prior to this book. I always believed that she belonged with Arthur and hated her for running off with Lancelot in the legends – but Woolley creates the relationship with Lancelot from the bottom up. You really get a sense of why she could be torn between these two great men and the emotions and decisions that impacted both Lancelot and Guinevere. I am very happy that Woolley took time to carve out Lancelot’s character – this allows the reader to identify with him more. The relationship between these characters felt like it developed naturally and by the end I was moved to their side. This book is certainly much more emotionally developed than the previous book in this series and very much appreciated by this reader.

When the narrative isn’t focused on Guinevere’s relationships it shifts focus to the politics of the time – and there is a lot of it here. Arthur is striving to bring together many different people and bring them under one law. We get to meet many of these groups of people and understand the difficulties in doing this.

The one story thread that I now really want to explore more is the story of Tristan and Isolde. Woolley brought their story to the forefront for a short period and I loved reading Guinevere’s reaction to their forbidden love.

I am now looking forward to Book 3 – Guinevere: Legend in the Autumn (releasing in November 2011) more than I was for Book 2. Queen of the Summer Stars is an overall better read in my mind than Child of the Northern Spring and I hope that Book 3 continues to build on that trend.




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Review 5: Historical Romance


The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have not encountered a novel that has been set (at least partially) in Newport, Rhode Island during the golden age of the “summer cottages” of the mega wealthy. It is such a beautiful setting and is probably one of the few settings in the United States that can evoke such a vivid world as European castles of old. Only a small portion of the novel is set here before it moves into well known Victorian England – but it still brought gorgeous pictures to mind.

It was also refreshing to read a romance novel for a change. This book treads more heavily on the romance side of the coin than the historical but there is enough there to certainly give you the sense of Victorian England. We even get to have Prince Bertie as a relatively important side character. It was also very interesting to see American upper class society juxtaposed against the English upper class – they were vastly different and it became quite an important plot device throughout the novel.

This was a great read and even though it ended in possibly not the most ideal situation it was still what I was rooting for. I even held off finishing the book for a few days because I really didn’t want it to end – it was such an enjoyable ride. I would certainly love to read another book by this author, it was a great debut.

And on a completely random note – I think the author had inspired choices for character names – I am particularly fond of Cora Cash!

he narrator was wonderful. She was a very flexible reader and had great accents for all of her characters. She had to switch between American and British accents throughout the story and I thought this was done seamlessly. At the end of the novel there was an interview with the author which was a wonderful treat. One thing that I found quite interesting was that she had never written dialogue before and so she would often read it out loud to hear how it sounded – which I think was perfect preparation for an audiobook.



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Review 6: YA Historical


Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read Out of the Dust for the first time in grade school – maybe 4th or 5th grade - and I remember being so absorbed in the book that I finished it in no time. It has been awhile since I read it and have been struggling to recall any details about the book – but I always had this lingering memory that I had really enjoyed reading it. That in and of itself says a lot – even if you don’t remember the exact details you know that a book touched your heart in some way and left an imprint there to be felt forever. I chose this book on audio this time because I wanted to see if the experience would be different – and I had unfortunately given away my copy of this book several years ago.

I had never before realized that this book was written as free verse poetry – let me rephrase that – I never realized it was written as poetry – because let’s face it, I don’t know the difference between free verse and any other type of verse of poetry. Quite honestly I shy away from poetry because of bad experiences in school and I just don’t “get it” quite like a novel. If I had known originally this was a poem I might have not picked it up purely based on that fact alone. But I couldn’t tell this was poetry. It flowed just like any other novel would have for me. And listening to it, you did not see the form it was written in which would be more of an indicator. So don’t do what I would have done and put this off because it is poetry.

I have read some reviews that say this book might be a little over the heads of its target audience – which according to the publisher is ages 9+. I have to say I disagree with those reviews. You don’t have to really know anything about the Dust Bowl to get valuable information from this book or to enjoy it – I’m sure that I didn’t know about it the first time I read this book. The book focuses on the characters but really creates the world for you. You see the world through the eyes of a 14 year old girl and she describes how hard it is to keep the dust out of the house and how you had to chew your milk. I think these are images that a young reader would be able to imagine. You really get the sense of severity and real depression of these people. Even though it is sparse and you get just the details you need and nothing more – the words chosen pack a punch. This is really an exemplary sample of keeping concise and to the point and being effective at getting your point across.

The narrator chosen for this book sounds like a teenage Midwesterner which is a perfect fit for Billy Jo. The story is told through her voice in her diary so it really helps you to get into her head a little more. While I thought that the narration was wonderful, I do think that it might be a better choice to read this book in its printed version. As the book is written as her diary, you lose a little bit of the sense of time and connection to her diary. A diary isn’t usually read out loud so a little bit is lost in the art this time.



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Review 7 - Historical Romance


The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was such a wonderful read that I am so glad I was able to squeeze it in this year. I hadn’t read any books set in Russia previously and I really haven’t read very much at all about WWII so this was a great combination on time and place for me. I also don’t typically read a lot of historical romance novels – which I didn’t realize this was until I saw the words “a love story” – but there was so much historical detail and a world brought to vivid life that I didn’t even care…that much.

Russia and particularly Leningrad became characters unto themselves. We walk the streets with Tatiana and Alexander and learn all about the monuments and buildings. You get a vivid picture of what it was like to live in Soviet style apartment type houses. When there are bombings, gun fights, building destructions you feel it all.

In my opinion the characters were well built and grow over time – Tatiana certainly does. I was actually quite frustrated by her in the beginning of the book. It is sort of slow moving and she is so naïve and it is frustrating her feeling of futility – she gives in to everyone too often. I LOVED Alexander. He was just the right amount of hero, dashing, daring, handsome, and brave. He did all the right things and you always cheered for him. On the other hand I could feel my hate for Dimitri grow over time – he is such a worm!

This is certainly a historical romance. While there is great detail of the attack on Leningrad, how people lived, and the battles that ensued – the focus of the story are the relationships between Tatiana and her sister Dasha and Alexander and Dimitri. There is a lot of sexual discussion, somewhat explicit, but it wasn’t like a bodice ripper by any means. There did come a point when I was like, “OK, I get it, could we please just move on with the story”.

For a lengthy book it pulls you right along by emotionally attaching you to the characters and making you care what happens to them as they encounter each new insufferable event. There are times of deep sadness and great passion. The ending of this book I thought was awesome and leads well into Book 2 – Tatiana and Alexander, which I can’t wait to read!



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