Historical romance harks back to a gentler time and yet, the women often come across as victims rather than 3-dimensional characters. Fortunately, this is not a problem in the third book of the Reluctant Bride Collection, by Megan Bryce, To Wed The Widow. This is a book that features nothing but “ladies with backbone”. What we find in truth is noblemen acting badly and clever women learning to get what they want from them. There may be a metaphor for our times buried within but I didn’t catch …
Historical
The Hardest Ride
The Hardest Ride is an incredible Western novel. It and its author have won a bucket load of awards and the rest of the “Ride” series is just as good. I can’t understand why this is being given away free when nearly 1,000 reviews on Amazon have given it 5 stars – so I’d grab it in a hurry if I were you before they make you pay for it again. It’s a story set in the Winter of 1886 on the Texas-Mexico border. A mute Mexican girl is wandering the land in terror when an unemployed cowpoke Bud …
Eye Of The Needle
Ken Follett is a massive hitter and this is a really good discount title for those of you unfamiliar with his work. The Pillars of the Earth is his biggest selling series which has moved millions of copies globally but Eye of the Needle is a very different novel from his epic tale of cathedral building in England. This is about “The Needle” a master spy for the Germans during the Nazi occupation of Europe and his relationship with a British woman who can save or destroy him and with him, the …
The Haunting Of A Duke (A Dark Regency Novel)
Chasity Bowlin had me as soon as I realized that The Haunting of A Duke is the first novel in her The Dark Regency series. This is a love story with a very fiery romance underpinning it. It’s also got plenty of murder and mystery to keep things interesting as our couple try to get things hot and steamy together. Emme Walters is a spiritualist and can, seemingly, speak to the dead and now she’s in danger and it appears that she may be the next one to end up dead. The dark, brooding and quite …
Bourbon: A History Of The American Spirit
There is no more American a hard liquor than Bourbon. It’s one of our nation’s best known exports too. That’s why Dane Hucklebridge’s Bourbon: A History Of The American Spirit is a brilliant read. It’s not just got the history of a drink down pat but it makes an emotional and spiritual connection between that drink and the people who consume it. The Wall Street Journal loved this book and I was surprised to find that I did too. This is the second history text this month that has really pushed …
Through Streets Broad And Narrow (An Ivy Rose Novel)
Gemma Jackson’s Through Streets Broad And Narrow is a fabulous introduction to the Ivy Rose series. It’s a dark historical novel which finds us joining Ivy Rose Murphy mourning the passing of her father and dealing with the harsh reality of the 1920s of Dublin. She’s got no backup in life now but she’s also free to do as she wants for now. Ivy seizes the opportunity to build a better life when an encounter with a wealthy woman in the morgue leaves her reeling. Will she escape her past and …
The Viking
Marti Talbott’s Viking series is an ambitious 7 books long and it begins with The Viking. It’s always great when an author’s freebie is the first book in the series. So, Marti had my favorable feeling before I began reading. The book itself is a perfectly serviceable historical romp for young adults. I found it a little hard work, but my son thought it was brilliant and I guess that’s what matters in YA fiction. The book tells the story of a young Viking stranded in Scotland after a mistake …
The Handfasters (A Lowland Romance)
Helen Susan Swift is the writer in our prestigious freebie of the day slot here on Mom Reads as we usher in the New Year. Happy New Year to all of our readers; we’ve had a great 2018 with you and we think 2019 will be even better. Certainly, The Handfasters is an excellent romance novel to get the year rolling nicely. This piece is set in Scotland in the 19th century and it’s steeped in history and mystery. Stealing kisses is scandalous and our heroine begins by being driven out of a polite …
Storykeeper (A Nine-Rivers Valley Book)
When I saw the cover, I thought I was getting a fantasy novel but what Daniel A Smith brings us is more complex than just another fantasy novel. This is a wonderful story that delves into the mythology of those that faced the first Europeans to cross the Mississippi. It’s based on the truth but ventures happily into fiction too. If you’re interested in America, then you’re going to find this fascinating. I loved it. It’s free, so you can give it a no risk try too! If you’d like to check …