Tag: historical fiction

This Chick Read: The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley

It’s 1613 and King James is sending Andrew Logan, King’s Messenger, to Scotland to take into custody Sir David Moray, close friend and confidant to the late Prince Henry. Joined by a scrivener and his daughter Phoebe it slowly becomes clear that Sir David Moray is being framed for the Prince’s murder, but Andrew is unwilling to betray an innocent man. Phoebe doesn’t trust Andrew Logan but as they journey together she begins to see that everything she thought she knew about him was false.

Susanna Kearsley writes wonderful historical fiction. She uses her research of that time period to really build a world that the reader can visualize and her characterizations if the people from that time ring true. I read quite a bit of historical fiction and somehow never stumbled upon the fact that there were King’s Messengers whose sole job were to deliver messages, or in this case capture someone and bring him back to the King. That was interesting enough on its own but Andrew Logan also had the sight, giving him a view of the future. Something in this time that would be feared and possibly get him killed. I thought this supernatural element really added a neat twist to this historical novel and made Logan’s character just a tad bit more interesting.

The mystery element to this story unfolded slowly, really allowing the reader to develop feelings for the characters and care about the outcome of their journey. Was David Moray implicit in the death of the Prince? This story will make you feel for these characters and care about the resolution to that mystery. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* The King’s Messenger

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Garden of Lost Secrets by Kelly Bowen

Stasia finds a haven in France when she visits her grandparents every summer outside the small town of Rouen. She meets a young man, Nicolas, and as they get older they look forward to spending their summers together. When the war breaks out she is back home in Holland, her father is killed and she barely survives the bombing of her hometown. Stranded, she joins a resistance to help steal paperwork for Jewish families who need to leave the area. She soon becomes one of the most hunted resistance fighters in Holland.

In current time, sisters Isabelle and Emilie purchase the Chateau de Montissaire near their home town of Rouen. They find demolished WWII communications devices and some paperwork of names of German military men along with the name “Briar Rose”. While hunting down this heroine’s story they come upon a drawing that looks remarkably similar to one that was drawn by their own grandmother. Could they be the same person?

This historical drama is two stories, one told through flashbacks, and the other in current time. The story of Stasia and Nicolas during WWII was the more striking and dramatic. From the moment they met to their separation by the war, to their reunion after both of their lives had changed so dramatically it was more historical than romance, but I was still drawn to the outcome of their story and invested in seeing it through to the end. I liked how Kelly Bowen wove Isabelle and Emilie’s journey into Stasia’s. There weren’t any surprises from the reveals but I did think it was deftly told and I liked the characters emotional travails. This was a well written story that entertained on every page.

I like the new direction Kelly Bowen has taken with her novels. The Paris Apartment, her last novel, was similar in style and content and The Garden of Lost Secrets delivered in creating an entertaining story for the readers. If you like historical novels you may want to pick this one up! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Garden of Lost Secrets

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl by Renée Rosen

Two young women’s lives intersect in 1938 New York during the Great Recession, Gloria Downing, whose father had just been caught swindling money from his clients, and Estée Lauder a young woman selling face cream in the beauty parlor where Gloria finds a job. They strike up a friendship and each of them pursue careers in the beauty industry although on slightly different paths. Estée takes on the beauty moguls Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden while Gloria works her way into the back offices of Saks Fifth Avenue, while staying friends through thick and thin.

This historical novel takes on the rise of Estée Lauder into the beauty icon that her brand has become today. The story covers her many relationships and marriage to her long time live Joe and is based on fact but is also fictionalized to create and interest story. Contrasting her tale with the story of a young woman on her own for the first time while also dealing with the betrayal from her father and family was smart. Each had to have strength and fortitude to strike out on their own and create these lives during a time when jobs were scarce and women were not treated as equals. It was a really interesting read!

I think for me that even though the story and historical time frame was interesting neither of these characters were particularly likable. Estée was single minded and although married, divorced, and then married again to her husband Joe carried on with other men and ultimately her brand and building her business superseded her family life. Joe was so likable that it was hard to see him get walked all over by this strong-willed woman. Gloria had a LOT of daddy issues and viewed all men with distrust, and herself with weakness. Despite overcoming her upbringing she built a career, which was admirable, yet I still couldn’t connect with her character. I wished that Gloria was a little more likable to balance out Estée’s strong-willed personality. Although I totally understood where each of their characters were coming from it just would have made the story slightly easier to read.

If you like historical novels that mix fact and fiction this might be a novel you would be interested in reading. It does give a very interesting take on how women worked to keep the country moving during WWI, and the friendship between Gloria and Estée was both strong and giving. Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl is a solid novel with two interesting views of this time in history. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton

Mystery, danger, and love collide in this historical novel set in 1934 on a cruise ship sailing from New York to Havana Cuba. Recently engaged heiress Catherine Dohan is traveling with her fiancé and young daughter when someone tries to kill her by pushing her over the railing of the ship. Elena Palacio is traveling in disguise back to her homeland after surviving an attempt on her own life back in New York. Wanting revenge on the man responsible these two women join forces in order to change both of their destinies.

The Cuban Heiress was an enjoyable thriller set in the 1930’s when men had all of the power and women were commodities used for their looks and/or their wealth. The author didn’t take long to enmesh the reader in the stories of these two women whom at first didn’t seem to have that much in common but as the book moved forward we saw that their circumstances forged that connection. The setting of the cruise ship, as well as the destination of Havana certainly added to the Noir-esque vibe of the story and the opening chapter started quickly and the story never lost its pace.

Each woman’s story arc gave the reader more reasons to root for them and the feeling of danger escalated so that I was turning the pages rapidly wanting to reach that final outcome with no delay. This historical thriller was a fun, glamorous excursion into the dark waters of the Atlantic. I wasn’t sure how it would end, but wasn’t disappointed in the least. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Cuban Heiress

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick’s Audio Review: The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5) by Diana Gabaldon, narrated by Davina Porter

The Fiery Cross, as a novel, is a behemoth. The paperback novel numbers 1008 pages and the audiobook somewhere around 55+ hours. This is truly a commitment to read and listen to, however Diana Gabaldon’s writing does a great job of continuing the story of one of the most beloved romantic couples, Jamie and Claire Fraser. It is the year 1771 and war is quickly approaching. As the founder of Fraser’s Ridge, Jamie and his family have founded a Scottish community based upon those he trusts. He does so with land he received from the Governor of North Carolina, stating that he will gather a group of men and support the Governor’s and England’s cause. Twice in this novel, Jamie must gather the troops assured somewhat by his time traveling wife and daughter that the war is still a few years in the future.

After 55 hours of listening to The Fiery Cross over six weeks I have determined that this novel is one of those that connects the dots to future novels. Davina Porter, our narrator, does a great job with all of the characters voices, accents, and imbuing life into situations and scenes about everyday life that were just interesting enough to keep me listening. Or maybe it was just my resolve to just finish. I’m not sure, but if I had stopped listening it would not have been Davina Porter’s fault. She is truly amazing. As a lot of other reviews have said, The Fiery Cross gets bogged down in details and descriptions, moving at a snail’s pace and ultimately only reaching a conclusion that is similar to the sun setting on another day.

I read the Outlander series for Jamie and Claire, not Roger and Brianna, so I’ll admit to wanting to hurry the book along when the scene shifts away from the main duo. However, if it weren’t for all of the bad things that happened to Roger in this book, and Jamie’s intense feelings of needing to save his daughters husband time after time that kept this book interesting. So, for once, I will say “thank you Roger” you kept this book moving, while at the same time I have to say to this author, “Ms. Gabaldon, you need to give this guy a break!”. I swear, Roger had just about every bad thing that could happen to him happen in The Fiery Cross. Maybe the book should’ve been re-titled “Roger’s Cross to Bare”. I felt really bad for him.

If, like me, you are reading this series for all of the romantic moments between Claire and Jamie, you won’t be disappointed. He is truly lovely in this novel and his love for Claire only grows stronger as they age. They have been through a separation for 20 years, her raising his daughter in the future while married to another man, his being married to another woman, having a son out of wedlock, and then reuniting and overcoming all of these hurt feelings etc. It is a wonderful thing to still see how strongly they feel for each other.

Would I recommend listening to 55 hours of The Fiery Cross? If I were reading the novel I could’ve skimmed ahead and skipped some gruesome medical descriptions or banal day to day activity, but I’m not sure I would’ve felt as strongly about these characters and their future stories. Listening to all 55 hours takes commitment between the reader and these characters. A commitment that will give me the resolve to listen to book #6 A Breath of Snow and Ashes. I’ll admit that I may let another year go by before I commit the time. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase!* The Fiery Cross

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: The Last Dress From Paris by Jade Beer

When Lucille’s Granny Sylvie asks for her help in collecting a dress in Paris from an old friend she gladly takes on this errand. When she arrives in Paris she finds not one but eight dresses, each with a written note card and a quote, but the one dress she is expecting to find is missing. With the help of two new friends she visits each place noted on the cards to try to discover the mystery of why her granny has sent her on this mission. This story follows both Lucille’s journey and flashes back to the 1950’s where a woman named Alice wears each dress.

Alice’s story is the more dramatic of the two storylines but Lucille’s introspection and self-discovery is the raison d’être that binds the two stories together. Her new friendship with Veronique, the daughter of the woman who was holding the dresses for Sylvie, provides a parallel for Lucille to view her own life and the impetus for her to change her path. Her flirtation with Leon provides fun and joy, and a comparison to Alice’s story as it unfolds. I loved how all three of these characters interacted and the friendships they made.

Alice’s story told through her wearing each of these fabulous Dior gowns was a fascinating look into the political social scene during the 1950’s. Her job as the wife of the British Ambassador to France was to provide a setting where their peers would gather and gossip. That life sounded romantic and glamorous but as the story unfolds we see how structured and trapped that life would be. The mystery of each note card and quote tells a story that holds romance and sadness. I’ll admit to shedding a few tears and hoping for a happy outcome.

The Last Dress From Paris did what my favorite historical novels do, it took me away from my own world and dropped me into another setting in a fascinating place and allowed me to play voyeur. Like I said above I found Alice’s story more riveting but it was a great comparison to Lucille’s current day life and the journey that she herself could possibly take. The mystery of why her granny Sylvie sent her to find these dresses is the greatest story of them all and one that each reader should unwind on their own by reading this story. I would hate to unwrap this present and reveal anything that would spoil your own enjoyment of this story. It’s a good one! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Please click this link to purchase!* The Last Dress From Paris

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner

It’s post WWII England.The town of Bloomsbury is filled with boutique shopping, quiet cafe’s and Bloomsbury Books. Open for 100 years, and owned by Lord Basking, it’s an institution resistant to change, or at least the men who run it are resistant. London is certainly eager to move on from the war. Bloomsbury Girls follows three women who work in the store and who want to make changes in their lives. Vivien is tired of men holding all the power and making all of the decisions. She has a vision for a bookstore that features female authors. Grace is married with two small boys and has taken a job at Bloomsbury Books to get away from a controlling husband and her worsening circumstances. Evie has finished her education at Cambridge but was beaten out for an assistant position in large part due to her being a woman despite better grades and higher intelligence. One night after a successful female author’s event Bloomsbury Books becomes the centerpiece for gathering women and the impetus for change.

While Bloomsbury Books is not the second in a series if you’ve read Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society, you’ll recognize quite a few of the characters. Evie was one of the six in that society in Chawton, England who found and helped evaluate Jane Austen’s library in her home. Now, after graduating, we see an older, yet still slightly naive Evie navigating a large city filled with different cultures and societal expectations. She was certainly the most shy of the three women yet grew the most throughout the novel. I loved her love story, but also how she started the novel naive and learned a little gamesmanship by the end.

Vivien was opinionated, outrageous, and super talented. She was an aspiring writer, but also saw how changes would make their bookstore grow. The men who managed the store were only interested in maintaining things the way that they’d always been done. Vivien was that strong wind of change and her wind was a hurricane gale force.

Grace, like a lot of women of her time found herself in a marriage that no longer gave her what she needed. She and her husband were on different paths and Grace’s journey throughout the book was a voyage of discovery and bravery. Would she or wouldn’t she take that chance to make a change.

Bloomsbury Girls had a methodical pace that allowed the reader to engage with each of the characters in the story and and feel for their circumstances, even if the time we live in has made some inroads into equality on the job and in the household. I really enjoyed the evolution of these characters and loved the conclusion to this novel. It might just be because I’m a woman but it was so satisfying! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Bloomsbury Girls

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: A Counterfeit Suitor (Rosalind Thorne Mystery #5)

Rosalind is brought in undercover to determine if a determined suitor of a young heiress is honorable or if he is a fortune hunter. While making this determination her estranged father shows up in London in the hands of a man who has threatened Rosalind in the past. She and Russell Thorne have crossed paths many times, and her sleuthing efforts have cost him money. What is her doing with her father? Does this have anything to do with her client’s unsuitable suitor?

A Counterfeit Suitor had a much quicker pace than the previous novel and I have to wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with the change in scenery. Back in London, Rosalind seems to be racing from one place to the next as she follows the twists and turns of her investigation. The underlying threat that Russell Thorne represents to her life and livelihood also adds tension to an already dramatic storyline. With the addition of her love interest Investigator Adam Harkness, I found myself engaged and enthralled with this plot and eagerly turning each page.

There was really a LOT going on in this novel, which helped to capture my attention and hold it. Rosalind’s living depends upon her respectable reputation and it ran the risk of being irredeemably damaged throughout this novel. This time in history is not a favorable one to unmarried women, the details of which are fascinating and really disturbing. It also makes for some great reading.

A Counterfeit Suitor could be read without having any of the background you would know from having read the previous books but I really wouldn’t recommend it. You need to know the history behind each character’s actions, which only add to the reasons Rosalind makes certain decisions, as well as why these people stand by her side. If you are already a fan, don’t wait to pick this book up, it is one of the best in the series to date. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* A Counterfeit Suitor (Rosalind Thorne Mystery Book 5)

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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Portrait of a Scotsman (League of Extraordinary Women #3) by Evie Dunmore

Hattie Greenfield is a bluestocking, a woman who has thoughts about her independence and rights. She, along with her friends, belong to the Women’s Suffrage Movement. An organization that is hoping to overturn and reform women’s rights in their homes, as well as being given the right to vote. Hattie does have some form of independence as one in a class of female scholars at Oxford and her father gives her a little bit of freedom. However, when she ditches her guard to take a tour in the home of an unmarried gentleman, Lucian Blackstone, she starts the ball rolling in a direction she doesn’t intend. She finds Mr. Blackstone enigmatic and interesting and she is drawn to him, but when she “leans in” to him to give him a kiss they are discovered and her actions prove to much for her father to overlook. She ends up married to Lucian Blackstone.

Hattie is the daughter of a banker in a family full of business minds. Because of her dyslexia she finds herself shuffled into the “pretty” catagory by her family and her intelligence is discounted. Mind you, she’s smart enough to be taking classes at Oxford, but her inability to write things down without getting numbers and letters confused makes her father think she’s not bright. Hattie is also a victim of circumstance. Her father has built his wealth but they are not in the higher levels of society and her marriage to a lord is of the utmost importance to help elevate her family’s station. When she is seen giving Mr. Blackstone a peck on the lips, in front of a group of people no less, she is forced to accept his hand in marriage and despite her fascination with him she has a lot to learn about her husband and his intentions.

Lucian comes from a coal mining family background. Her mother after being knocked up by the lord of the manor (who probably raped her) comes back to live in the coal mining town she is from, which is where Lucian starts his life. When he’s a young teen he becomes homeless and lives on the streets of London and talks his way into a shop keeper’s job, and his upward trajectory is started. He never forgets where he came from and who the man was who took advantage of his mother. The rest of his life is built for him to make money so he has the chance to take him down. So you can see that Hattie has a lot to deal with when she becomes married to Mr. Blackstone.

I have been fascinated with this era and have found this series to be so interesting! I think Portrait of a Scotsman portrays that world in black and white, and what it means to be a woman in it regardless of how much money you have. Until Hattie’s world changed by marrying Lucian Blackstone she was just going through the motions of being in the Suffrage Movement. Her handoff from her father to a husband without being given a choice brought the truth home. She had zero control over her own life. So what is Hattie to do about it? You’ll just have to read this riveting novel yourself to find out.

Never fear, there is romance in Portrait of a Scotsman, although Hattie certainly makes Lucian work for it, but for me this story is more revelatory for our main character (and me!) than it is romantic. Yes, there is a lot of heat between Hattie and Lucian, but she is on a journey of self-discovery and just because she’s married doesn’t mean that’s going to be the end of her education. Truth be told her journey does not actually happen alone, her husband learns quite a few things himself, and after quite a bit of conflict they do achieve their happily ever after.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link if you’d like to purchase this book!* Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women)

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams

Her Last Flight tells the story of two women, wartime photographer Janey Everett, and legendary pilot Irene Foster. Told in current time (1947) and in flashbacks to the mid 1920’s, Janey is hunting down the story of Sam Mallory, Irene’s one time teacher and co-pilot. She travels to Hawaii where she has tracked down Irene and hopes to convince her to tell her story.

Historical novels can often be slow and get bogged down in the details of the era in which the story is told. Her Last Flight, taking place in two timelines does a great job of giving you the flavor of those era’s yet doesn’t take time away from the plot by being over descriptive. Because of this, the pace was quick and I found myself speeding through this fascinating novel of these two women.

Janey is tracking down the story of the famous pilot Sam Mallory which is done through Irene’s memories, yet at the same time we are given flashbacks to Janey’s own life and the people who have influenced who she has become. As we read her story we are given hints that she and Irene’s stories have parallels and I read eagerly to see how or if they might intersect.

Did I have a favorite between the two characters? I’ll admit I leaned a little more towards Irene’s story because it was a little more glamorous, despite her life’s hiccups. Janey as the narrator, didn’t lay all of her cards on the table until the end, but with each reveal about her past you realized her’s was the more difficult life and I ended up pulling for her to find her happiness by the end. So, it was kind of a toss up! I liked them both for different reasons.

As a pilot’s daughter myself I was fascinated to read about the early days of flight and how women became involved in it. Irene’s and Sam’s story took place in the 1920’s when the country was recovering from the Great Depression and flying and air shows were a bit like going to the circus At that time; exciting and dangerous. To read how far flight advanced, even in the 25 years told in this story, was also pretty incredible, a point made by Irene’s love of aviation becoming tainted when she realized the damage in Spain from bombs being dropped from planes. A much more modern view of the capabilities technology brings.

There were quite a bit of twists and turns in Her Last Flight, none of which I want to go into as it would spoil your enjoyment of reading this story on your own. I’ll just say that it was deftly done and despite the turbulents the journey was completely enjoyable. I would recommend this story to everyone who loves this genre, it’s not one to be missed. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* Her Last Flight: A Novel

Copyright 2020 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you should purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads