Review: The Ballad of John MacLea (War of 1812 Book 1) by AJ MacKenzie

Release Date: January 14, 2019 (sorry, getting behind on my ACR's!)

An adventurous novel set in Canada during the War of 1812 about a British militia Captain caught up in a spy ring.

There's a lot of action, which is fun, but there's also some head-hopping which is generally a bit jarring and I'm not a big fan of it. I know it's intended to give the reader perspective of more than one character, but that can be done without head-hopping. For me, it does the complete opposite and jars me out of the scene and makes it more difficult for me to connect with the characters. There's nothing wrong with multi-character perspectives, but keep them exclusive to different chapters or sections, don't jump back and forth within the same paragraph or section (or worse, sentence, though I don't think that happened here).

As a result, I didn't feel much connection to the characters and found it dragged a bit. The writing was otherwise good, and the characters believable and sympathetic, just a shame about the head-hopping.

Advanced review copy from NetGalley via publisher. My opinions are my own.

Review: Dancing on Deansgate by Freda Lightfoot

A neglected and abused girl in wartime Manchester tries to find her way out of poverty and crime with music.

I originally picked this up because it was set during the Manchester Blitz, which my mother-in-law lived through, so I thought it might have some personal relevance. But it's really not about the Blitz. It still could have been a good story, but I found there was way too much "telling" and not enough "showing". The majority of the beginning of the book felt like a big info dump. I find I struggle to connect with the characters when that is the case because it feels more like a matter-of-fact narration than experiencing the story as the characters do. It's a shame because Freda Lightfoot has written several historical novels set in Manchester, which appeals to me since I lived there for 8 years, but not if the writing is like this.

Review: April in Paris, 1921 by Tessa Lunney

Release Date: July 3, 2018

Kiki Button, a former nurse and spy during WWI, is now a gossip columnist in post-war bohemian Paris who just wants to drown the memories of war with parties, booze, jazz, and sex... except her past isn't finished with her.

It sounds a little more exciting than it is. The majority of the first half of the book is primarily about Kiki hob-nobbing with the rich and famous, which is, to say the least, a bit boring. I understand it's setting the stage for the second half, but it's still boring. The author tries to keep things intriguing with sex scenes (though not very explicit) and constantly mentioning the mysterious and dangerous "Fox" character from Kiki's past and his poetically cryptic clues about finding a mole, but it fails to be quite as compelling as it's supposed to be, probably because he comes off more as creepy and stalker-ish than fascinating.

That said, it is well written with witty dialogue, and the characters do have well formed back stories. The second half was much more interesting and finally felt like there was a plot, but by that point I just wasn't hugely invested in it.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: The Serpent Sword (Bernicia Chronicles, #1) by Matthew Harffy

In 7th century England, Beobrand seeks his brother's murderer while becoming a warrior in a battle torn land.

The book's blurb says "perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell," but that isn't going to do this book any favors, because it does not live up to such hype. In fairness to Matthew Harffy, few could live up to Bernard Cornwell anyway. But even without the hype, this book was a bit of a disappointment.

As I am finding with many novels, it's the characterization that is lacking. I did not feel any kind of connection to the protagonists, and I felt the antagonists were very one-dimensional, they didn't seem to have any real motive for their actions, you were just supposed to accept the fact that they were evil and that's that.

The writing quality was good, apart from the fact that there was way more 'telling' than 'showing', which I think contributed to the poor character development. Likewise, the plot would have been better if I'd cared more about the protagonists, or if the antagonists seemed less superficial. As it was, I didn't really care much what happened and wound up skimming the second half.

Review: The Swan Daughter (The Daughters of Hastings, #2) by Carol McGrath

It's 1075, Harold Godwinson is long dead, and England is ruled by the Bastard King, William the Conqueror. Harold's family is separated and scattered so they can not conspire a rebellion. His daughter Gunnhild is destined for a nunnery, but she has other plans for herself.

I felt like this book was lacking a lot of things, but despite that it wasn't badly written, and the dialogue was believable. It's the only thing that made me bump it up to 2 stars instead of 1.

One of the things I felt it was lacking was good characterization, I didn't always completely understand the main character's thoughts or emotions. For example, when the main character makes an incredibly bold and rash decision that will massively change her life forever, and doesn't really have any idea whether this will turn out to be a good decision or the worst thing she's ever done, there appears to be no trepidation or second guessing. She blindly accepts what she is told without consideration to the fact that she might be being lied to. She does seem to have some moments of convincing herself this is the right decision, but that's the only inkling we get that she deep down might have an idea that this could go horribly wrong. I could maybe attribute it to youthful naivety, and the thrill of being a woman taking control of her own destiny in 11th century England, but I also felt like I never got a good sense of what she was feeling during it either. We hear her thoughts, but we don't feel her emotions. In the midst of this crazy decision she makes on a whim, the only mention of her feelings are "sublime exhilaration". But was her heart pounding? Was her stomach in knots with both excitement and fear at the same time? Were her hands shaking? Who knows? The author never tells us. She should have been boiling over with some kind of emotions but we barely get any mention of it whatsoever.

The complaint I had about the first book in this series was that I didn't really agree with or understand the main character's decisions. I thought that was primarily because the plot demanded those decisions, and so I thought the second book with a different plot would be different, but I think now my issue with both books is a flaw in the author's characterizations. In this book, I didn't necessarily disagree with the characters decisions, I just didn't understand her thoughts and feelings about those decisions.

The plot was also lacking as well. My other complaint about the first book was that it was anti-climatic and again, I attributed this to the nature of the plot, and hoped the second book would be different but unfortunately, I feel the same way. There's so much that could have been done with Gunnhild's life, for example bringing her face to face with King William, whose army killed her father. But Gunnhild's world was very limited to her home life, which may arguably be an accurate representation of the life of a countess at the time, but it felt like it could have been a story about any noble woman at the time. And not that home life can't be interesting, but other authors have done it better. There was a fabricated event near the end which was an obvious attempt to give it a climax or have something interesting happen with the plot, but it just felt deliberately planted.

On a side note, as a rider myself, I have to point out the scene where Gunnhild is travelling on horseback in her best dress she inherited from her beloved aunt, even though she had the opportunity to change into something more practical. Sorry, but that precious dress would have gotten filthy, even with a outer layer covering it, no one would wear their best clothing to ride a horse if they have another option. I could excuse the first time it happened because they had to rush to escape, but the second time it happened, there was no such excuse. The author made a point of the dress being put safely away while they were on a ship, so the salty sea water wouldn't ruin it, but there is no concern for it with the dirt one gets covered in while riding? This is perhaps nitpicking a bit, and I admit this alone wouldn't be enough for me to dislike a book, as it's not very important, but I still felt the urge to mention it.

Needless to say, I will not be continuing with this series.

Review: The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Release Date: January 10, 2017

This novel about a young woman who is thrust into a hard life as the wife of an absent soldier and farmer during the American Civil War is told through letters, diaries, and other documents. At only 17 years old, and after only one week at her new home, she is left alone to care for her husband's farm and his son by his previous marriage as he returns to the battle front. When he finally returns two years later, he finds his young wife has given birth to another man's child in his absence, and is being accused of murdering the infant.

I struggled to read this at first, because all dialogue described through the letters or journals is completely unquoted. I'm not sure why, because any quote should be in quotation marks, regardless of whether it's within a letter or diary or not. It was very difficult to know whether the start of a sentence was going to be narrative or dialogue until you reached the end of the sentence. It felt very disjointed.

But the other reviewers seemed to rave about it, so I stuck with it, and it did get easier to read. However, I found myself simply not caring very much about the characters or what happened to them, and I struggled to finished it.

Review: Catching the Eagle by Karen Charlton

This book caught my attention because it's based on a true story involving the author's own ancestors (and genealogy is one of my obsessions). In 1809 England, near the border of Scotland, a theft was committed at Kirkley Hall and this is an account of the people it influenced in the community and the Bow Street detectives sent from London to investigate.

It's well written in third person and the characters were well formed but I felt like the plot dragged. It seemed as though the author was more concerned with writing about her ancestors and the world they lived in than with writing an captivating story. In theory, a mystery about a real-life theft and the subsequent trial in 1809 should be exciting but too often, I found my mind wandering.

I think part of the problem was that even though the characters all had personalities and back stories, I didn't feel any connection to them. When that happens, it's difficult to care what happens to the characters, and therefore it's difficult to care about what is happening in the plot.

A good effort from a debut self published author, but if the reader has no empathy with any of the characters, it's difficult to remain interested in the story. That said, the author has written a companion book to the novel, a non-fiction piece called Seeking The Eagle which details the history behind the novel and how the author's family discovered this genealogical event in their tree. This may be more enjoyable.

Review: HFVBT Presents Amalia Carosella’s Helen of Sparta Blog Tour, April 1-22

Please join author Amalia Carosella as she tours the blogosphere with HF Virtual Book Tours for Helen of Sparta, from April 1-22.

Publication Date: April 1, 2015
Lake Union Publishing
Formats: eBook, Paperback
ISBN-10: 1477821384

Genre: Historical Fiction



Long before she ran away with Paris to Troy, Helen of Sparta was haunted by nightmares of a burning city under siege. These dreams foretold impending war—a war that only Helen has the power to avert. To do so, she must defy her family and betray her betrothed by fleeing the palace in the dead of night. In need of protection, she finds shelter and comfort in the arms of Theseus, son of Poseidon. With Theseus at her side, she believes she can escape her destiny. But at every turn, new dangers—violence, betrayal, extortion, threat of war—thwart Helen’s plans and bar her path. Still, she refuses to bend to the will of the gods.

A new take on an ancient myth, Helen of Sparta is the story of one woman determined to decide her own fate.

My Review

In Greek mythology, before the infamous Trojan War, Helen of Sparta was abducted by Theseus, King of Athens. Based in legend, this novel approaches Helen's 'abduction' with a new take on it, with Helen as a willing participant.

First, I think it should be noted that in my opinion, this is more like historical fantasy than straight up historical fiction. While it's not being marketed that way, there's several usages of magical or mystical powers, and actual Greek gods and goddesses play large roles in the storyline. Not as the characters' belief system, but as the gods and goddesses making actual appearances and interacting with the mortal characters. While that in itself didn't bother me, I felt as though there was too much being explained away by these influences, rather than by providing the characters with good reasons for their choices..

I really wanted to like this tale of the face that launched a thousand ships, because it focused on a less infamous period of Helen's life and I thought it would allow for more character development and let us get to know Helen and other characters and what would motivate their later choices. While it is well written with good descriptions, unfortunately, the characters are rather flat and there were too many times when I felt like their behavior or decisions just didn't make any sense. For example, Helen is worried that Menelaus will rape her and then she'll be forced to marry him - this part didn't bother me since it's true in history that a violated woman would be forced to marry her rapist to save her "honor". What troubled me was that if Helen was so desperate to escape marrying Menelaus, and so prepared to run away with Theseus, why not just claim Theseus raped her (or better yet, sleep with him and then claim it was rape) so then they would be "forced" to marry? As escape plans go, wouldn't this be a lot easier than an elaborate plan to slip away in the night, hid her on his ship, and then come up with a fake identity once in Athens? I understand the whole premise of the story is a twist on Helen's abduction so she needed some reason to run away with Theseus, but if you can't explain why the characters didn't chose a different, more logical, seemingly easier route, the whole concept falls apart.

I also struggled to understand why a princess was so often alone, or wandering the palace unescorted especially when it was full of suitors lusting after her. More than once she is told off for it yet she keeps doing it, even after experiencing unwanted attention when caught out on her own. The one time she does attempt to avoid crossing the palace alone at night, instead of just finding someone to escort her back to her quarters, she stays with her guests until so late at night she is literally nodding off. She has maids and servants, and there's no reason she wouldn't have one with her to see her back to her room.

I could go on with more, greater examples of such illogical behavior but I don't wish to add spoilers. Suffice to say, there was too much in this that didn't make sense or felt contrived for the sake of the plot or scene.

On top of that, I did not find the characters inspiring. Theseus has little depth and serves only as protector, while Helen defines the role of damsel in distress. Though it took guts to abandon and leave behind her whole world, she spends half the time in fearful frets and collapsing into Theseus's arms.

The biggest criticism I'm seeing from other reviews is that the ending is something of a cliffhanger, that it ends too suddenly without closure. I did not feel this to be the case because if you are familiar with the legend of the Trojan War and Helen's story, you know what comes next. The ending was supposed to show the reader why Helen later makes the fateful choice she does, igniting the Trojan War, which it does do. Perhaps it wasn't wise for the author to write a novel that, in the end, only suited people who are already familiar with Helen's story, but that doesn't mean I would say the ending is poor.

So there's definitely some good elements to the story since I was compelled to see the story through to the end, and it's well written, but unfortunately the characters let it down.

Buy the Book

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About the Author

Amalia Carosella graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelors degree in Classical Studies and English. An avid reader and former bookseller, she writes about old heroes and older gods. She lives with her husband in upstate New York and dreams of the day she will own goats (and maybe even a horse, too). For more information, visit her blog at www.amaliacarosella.com. She also writes fantasy and paranormal romance as Amalia Dillin. You can also connect with Amalia on Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter here and here.

Helen of Sparta Blog Tour Schedule

Wednesday, April 1
Review at Unshelfish
Review at Let Them Read Books

Thursday, April 2
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Friday, April 3
Interview at Flashlight Commentary

Saturday, April 4
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective

Monday, April 6
Review at Curling Up By the Fire
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Tuesday, April 7
Spotlight at leeanna.com

Wednesday, April 8
Review at Historical Readings and Reviews

Thursday, April 9
Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Friday, April 10
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Monday, April 13
Interview at Book Babe
Spotlight at Historical Fiction Obsession

Tuesday, April 14
Review at Forever Ashley

Wednesday, April 15
Review at Just One More Chapter
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Thursday, April 16
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Friday, April 17
Review at Impressions in Ink

Saturday, April 18
Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Monday, April 20
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Interview at The Maiden's Court

Tuesday, April 21
Review at Broken Teepee

Wednesday, April 22
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Review: The Lincoln Deception by David O. Stewart

On his deathbed, John Bingham tells his doctor that during the trials of the Lincoln assassination, Mary Surratt confessed a secret to him which would have been so destructive to the Union that he and the only other man to know the secret swore to take it to their graves. After Bingham’s death, his doctor teams up with an aspiring newspaper entrepreneur to uncover the secret.

This sounded a lot better than it turned out to be. I thought it would be a fun conspiracy theory thriller, not only about a historical event but also set in historical times too. Sadly, the historical setting didn’t really come to life, the dialogue was stilted, the character development was poor, and the plot was remarkably slow and dull for such a short thriller. Additionally, I felt like there were too many coincidences or things that happened conveniently just for the sake of the plot. The whole thing felt very contrived.

From the very beginning, I didn’t understand why Bingham would confess that he held a secret about the Lincoln assassinations if he genuinely didn’t want anyone to uncover it. He seemed to honestly feel it would destroy the nation, so why even admit there is a secret to begin with? If you’re going to take something to your grave, you don’t tell people about it first! But of course the confession was necessary to get the ball rolling with the plot - how else was the main character going to learn about it and be inspired to dig deeper? But this kind of sacrifice of logic for the sake of the necessary plot was exactly the type of thing that made it feel contrived.

Likewise, I didn't understand why a friend of Bingham's would go to such efforts to disrespect his dying wishes. His claims that the world deserved to know the truth fell short. If he truly believed that, it doesn't say much for his values in friendship.

I also couldn't bring myself to believe that a doctor who claimed to be so busy that he didn't have time to sit down and read a book for pleasure could suddenly drop everything and go traveling around the nation looking for clues regarding something that he was never involved in. What about his patients who kept him so busy?

The only reason I finished it was because it was short and I wanted to know what the conspiracy was. Unfortunately, in the end, it wasn't worth finding out. The secret was not so shocking and annoyingly, men went to extreme lengths to stop the secret from being revealed throughout the book even though in the end, they claimed their denial of it all would be enough to make people think it was just another crackpot theory. and therefore, it didn't even matter if the secret was revealed to the public. So lots of things didn't make sense and with the poor character development on top of that and stilted dialogue, it just didn't add up to a great read.

Review: Sisters of the Bruce, 1292-1314 by J.M. Harvey

Received free review copy from publisher via NetGalley.

Robert the Bruce was King of Scots and a key figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence against the English and as such, he plays a major role in several novels. This book attracted my attention because it’s the first novel I’ve seen devoted to the women of the Bruce family, initially the two eldest sisters of Robert, Isabel and Christina - or Isa and Kirsty as they are called in this novel. A large portion of it is told through letters between the two of them (and occasionally Robert the Bruce himself), and later letters include Matilda, so there is a lot more “telling” than “showing”, not my preferred method of storytelling. When events are described in the letters, however detailed they may be, they still felt as though they were merely glimpses of what should have been so much more, and I kept wishing I could read a scene of the event taking place, hear the dialogue, etc. It meant I never really formed an emotional attachment to what should have been important characters in the sisters lives.

It’s obviously very well researched and portrays the medieval world accurately. However, even once the letters cease being the primary storytelling method, the book continues to tell the story often more as like an overview of events. For example, there is rarely any dialogue, which I found very strange. Though there was internal dialogue, it was too little too late. I couldn’t get into it and spent the second half of the book skimming it. There could have been a great story here and I really wanted to like it but the method of storytelling let it down.

Review: The Iron King (The Accursed Kings #1) by Maurice Druon

A novel of Philip the Fair of France and the scandalous and violence of his court, first book in The Accursed Kings series about the Capets.

“If you like A Song of Ice and Fire, you will love The Accursed Kings” - George R.R. Martin.

You can imagine my excitement. A Foreward written by one of my favorite authors explaining how this series was one of his inspirations for possibly my favorite series ever.

I don’t know if it’s because this is a translation or if it’s because it was written nearly 60 years ago, or perhaps both, but I found the writing style and dialogue very stiff. The narrative even reads more like a history book at times - very matter-of-fact. I think this was an even bigger let down because of the hype around it, not only revered by readers but recommended by George R.R. Martin. Most of the criticism seems to be from GRRM fans who, like me, picked it up on the back of his recommendation, but it’s important to note that it’s the plot content, not the writing style, which is “Game of Thrones-like”. Don’t expect this to have Martin’s narrative. However, I also read a lot of historical fiction about royalty so this should have been right up my alley even if Martin had never spoken a word about it so it’s not just the comparison to ASOIAF which is causing this to be a disappointment.

I did see some of the influence it may have had on Martin's series though, mostly in the characters, so that is saying something. Isabella reminded me a little of Cersei sometimes, though not nearly as evil. But if I had to recommend something similar to ASOIAF, I'd probably go with any of Bernard Cornwell's medieval based novels/series. Though his cast of characters is not as extensive, his portrayal of the medieval world is very similar, as is his sense of humor. Apparently the two authors are good friends as well.

There is a great story here, if you’re willing to get passed the methodical style of the narrative and dialogue. Those who are used to Jean Plaidy’s writing style, for example, might get on board with this easily (evidence that it has something to do with being written in the 1950s) - and I have been able to enjoy Plaidy’s work so I feel a little hypocritical given this a lower rating. But after my anticipation was so high, this was a greater let down.

I would have liked to see what a more modern translator could do with this, since I’m pretty sure it’s just been reissued as it was at the time of the last release and not re-translated.

Review: Hild by Nicola Griffith

Received ARC from publisher via NetGalley.
Release date: November 12, 2013

A novel of the early life of Hilda of Whitby, Christian saint, founding abbess of the monastery of Whitby, and niece of King Edwin of Northumbria.

What attracted me to this novel was the fact that it’s written about a rather obscure time period. I love novels that introduce me to a lesser known part of history and make it feel more familiar to me. And when I open a book set in Anglo-Saxon England, I want it to feel distinctly different from the more stereotypical idea we have of the medieval world, which is usually of the high to late middle ages. It should reflect that this is pre-Norman Conquest.

Griffith did not let me down in this regard. Her narrative and historical knowledge made the period feel completely different from our own, to the point where she may have actually gone a little too far and so I had really mixed feelings about this book. Griffith does not spend a lot of time overtly explaining who’s who or what’s what - a lot of the history has to be worked out by the reader as the story progresses. Equally, there are a lot of Anglo-Saxon words that many readers may not be familiar with and though sometimes the context gives you a vague idea of what it means, if you want to know more, you’ll have to check the glossary or google it. On one hand, I can appreciate this because often, an obvious explanation can feel too much like an anachronistic narrative. However, taking this too far can make it too difficult to read and sometimes I felt like I was spending more time googling Old English words than reading the book (because the glossary was difficult to access in the ebook ARC - additionally, not every Old English word is included in the glossary!). I especially found it unnecessary when the word has a known modern equivalent - such as the use of “ælf” when “elf”, “fairy” or “nymph” could have just as easily been used. When the author was describing an Anglo-Saxon concept that does not have a modern name, it’s more understandable - but using Old English words when it’s completely unnecessary just came across as the author showing off or trying too hard to prove herself by throwing in so many words most readers won’t know.

Scene descriptions were very detailed which many people will love but for me, that made it drag a bit at times. Yes, a certain amount of scene setting and world building is necessary but there is such thing as too much of a good thing. I can enjoy a slow paced novel but this just dragged in too many places.

The characters and their interactions were the best part of this novel for me but it just got bogged down by these other things.