Category Archives: Historical (20s)

August 15, 2016 · 11:57 pm

Review: The Winemakers by Jan Moran

Title: The Winemakers by Jan Moran
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Historical, Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

A young woman
A family secret
A devastating truth that could destroy the man she loves

Many years ago, the Rosetta family’s hard-won dreams of staking their claim in the vineyards of California came to fruition. Now high-spirited, passionate Caterina Rosetta, who has inherited both her mother’s talent for crafting the finest wines and also her indomitable will, wants nothing more than to win her mother’s approval and wo rk at her side. But that can never happen, because Caterina is keeping a secret that could ruin her: a daughter of her own, fathered by the love of her life, who left her without explanation. Just as she feels she has nowhere to turn, Caterina discovers that she has inherited a vineyard in the Tuscan countryside in Italy, from a grandmother she’s never heard of, and she seizes the chance to start a new life for herself and her child.

But the past is not so easily outrun. In the country of her ancestors, Caterina meets the family of the father she never knew, and discovers that her mother is also hiding her own secret―a secret so devastating it threatens the future of everything her family has worked for. As an old murder comes to light, and Caterina uncovers a tragedy that may destroy the man she loves, she realizes her happiness will depend on revealing the truth of her mother’s buried past―if she has the strength to face it.

From author Jan Moran comes The Winemakers, a sweeping, romantic novel that will hold you in its grasp until the last delicious sip.

Review:

With an interesting cast of characters, a fascinating plot, a forbidden romance and a slight mystery element, The Winemakers by Jan Moran is an engrossing historical novel about a Napa Valley vintner whose secrets from the late 1920s come to light during the mid 1950s.

Caterina Rosetta dreads telling her beautiful and accomplished mother, Ava, about her now one year old daughter, Marisa.  Now having to face the harsh reality of keeping her illegitimate baby, Caterina can no longer keep the news from Ava and just as she feared, her revelation is met with anger and demands she give Marisa up for adoption.  Immediately following their heated argument, Caterina is stunned to learn she has inherited a cottage and vineyard in Tuscany from her paternal grandmother.  This discovery is just the first of many secrets that she learns her mother has been keeping from her and Caterina travels to Italy searching for answers to the questions about her family’s past.

Caterina never planned to be an unwed mother but her attempts to tell Marisa’s father about the pregnancy were unsuccessful.  Brokenhearted, she managed to find a wonderful home where she found a very supportive and understanding couple to help her through this difficult time.  From discussions she and her mother had over the years, Caterina knows exactly how her mom will react, so she feels like she has no choice but to keep the news of the pregnancy and subsequent birth to herself.  Unfortunately Ava’s reaction is exactly what she expected and with very few options available, she feels that moving to Italy with Marisa is the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. However, she is almost immediately confronted by unexpected revelations about her family and she is bewildered by her mother’s lies. Learning the truth about her father is difficult but her hopes for the future are shattered once Caterina hears the rumors everyone believes are true about her father and another woman.

Ava’s past is tragic but she worked hard make the Napa Valley vineyard a success.  She truly believed she made the right decision to conceal the truth about her husband and she never expected her lies to be uncovered.  Now regretting those long ago decisions, Ava is overcome with guilt for her angry outbursts during Caterina’s childhood. She also realizes that while she had good intentions, she did not always treat her daughter fairly.  Ava is deeply remorseful for her somewhat irrational reaction to Caterina’s announcement about Marisa and she fears her relationship with Caterina will never recover.  As she is trying to figure out a way to smooth over their relationship, a calamitous event threatens to destroy the vineyard.  When a person from her past returns, Ava lives in fear of what will happen to her beloved home.

The Winemakers is a multi-layered story that takes place in both California and Italy. Both settings are picturesque and the beautiful descriptions bring them vibrantly to life.  Through a series of flashbacks, the heartbreaking events from Ava’s past are slowly revealed throughout the course of the novel. Caterina’s storyline is equally compelling as she uncovers the truth about her family while attempting to make a difficult decision about her future.  Jan Moran’s extensive research adds a layer of authenticity to the plot and provides readers with an eye-opening glimpse of societal issues of the time period.  Although a little melodramatic and a little rushed, the novel’s conclusion is quite heartwarming. 

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Filed under Fiction, Historical, Historical (20s), Historical (50s), Jan Moran, Rated B, Review, St Martin's Griffin, The Winemakers

November 18, 2015 · 11:58 pm

Review: The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris

edge of lostTitle: The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Historical, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

From New York Times bestselling author Kristina McMorris comes an ambitious and heartrending story of immigrants, deception, and second chances.

On a cold night in October 1937, searchlights cut through the darkness around Alcatraz. A prison guard’s only daughter–one of the youngest civilians who lives on the island–has gone missing. Tending the warden’s greenhouse, convicted bank robber Tommy Capello waits anxiously. Only he knows the truth about the little girl’s whereabouts, and that both of their lives depend on the search’s outcome.

Almost two decades earlier and thousands of miles away, a young boy named Shanley Keagan ekes out a living as an aspiring vaudevillian in Dublin pubs. Talented and shrewd, Shan dreams of shedding his dingy existence and finding his real father in America. The chance finally comes to cross the Atlantic, but when tragedy strikes, Shan must summon all his ingenuity to forge a new life in a volatile and foreign world.

Skillfully weaving these two stories, Kristina McMorris delivers a compelling novel that moves from Ireland to New York to San Francisco Bay. As her finely crafted characters discover the true nature of loyalty, sacrifice, and betrayal, they are forced to confront the lies we tell–and believe–in order to survive.

Review:

Spanning nearly twenty years, The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris is a captivating story of friendship, second chances and redemption. This well researched and intriguing novel follows Shanley “Shan” Keagan as he immigrates from Ireland to New York where he is unofficially adopted by an Italian-American family.

Orphaned at a young age, Shan is a gifted entertainer who travels to New York with hopes of finding his biological father. Calling in a favor with Nick, the young man he helped rescue from a tricky situation during the voyage, Shan is grateful to his adopted family for helping give him a fresh start in America. Shan remains loyal to his new family and while he manages to stay out of trouble, Nick is rebellious and begins working for gangster Max Trevino. Following a terrible misunderstanding with Nick, Shan strikes out on his own where he eventually achieves a modicum of success with his vaudeville act. Years later, Shan unwittingly gets involved in a crime while trying to save Nick and eventually winds up incarcerated at the infamous Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco.

Shan is a wonderful protagonist who makes the best of the opportunities afforded to him. He is hardworking, smart and loyal but he still manages to find himself in situations not of his own making. Not wanting to disappoint his adopted parents or end like up his dissolute and abusive uncle, Shan is determined to make an honest living and he keeps his distance from Nick’s illegal activities. When he feels he must leave his adopted family behind, he uses his skills as an entertainer to make a living traveling with other vaudeville and burlesque performers. Despite going out of his way to keep out of trouble, his well-intentioned effort to save Nick backfires and he is convicted of armed robbery.  Following altercations with another inmate, Shan transferred to Alcatraz where he stays out of trouble with hopes that his good behavior will help get him released from prison early.

The Edge of Lost is an engaging novel that paints a vivid portrait of life as an immigrant during the Roaring Twenties. Kristina McMorris touches on the rise of illegal activity in the wake of Prohibition and the difficulties of trying to run an honest business in the midst of strong arm tactics by gangsters. The meticulous attention to detail brings the time period, characters and various settings vibrantly to life. Unexpected twists and turns bring the novel to a dramatic and highly satisfying conclusion.

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Filed under Historical (20s), Historical (30s), Kensington, Kristina McMorris, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Edge of Lost

October 21, 2015 · 11:58 pm

Review: The Lake House by Kate Morton

lake houseTitle: The Lake House by Kate Morton
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery
Length: 512 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

From the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of The Secret Keeper and The Distant Hours, an intricately plotted, spellbinding new novel of heartstopping suspense and uncovered secrets.

Living on her family’s idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure…

One midsummer’s eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. What follows is a tragedy that tears the family apart in ways they never imagined.

Decades later, Alice is living in London, having enjoyed a long successful career as an author. Theo’s case has never been solved, though Alice still harbors a suspicion as to the culprit. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, is staying at her grandfather’s house in Cornwall. While out walking one day, she stumbles upon the old estate—now crumbling and covered with vines, clearly abandoned long ago. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone…yet more present than ever.

A lush, atmospheric tale of intertwined destinies, this latest novel from a masterful storyteller is an enthralling, thoroughly satisfying read.

Review:

In Kate Morton’s latest release, The Lake House, the seventy year old unsolved kidnapping of eleven month old Theo Edevane takes center stage when DC Sadie Sparrow stumbles across the family’s abandoned home while out for a jog. Told from multiple points of view and through flashbacks, this perplexing mystery is brimming with history, family secrets and colorful personalities.

In 1933, the Edevane’s annual midsummer house party is a time of heartbreak for many of the family members and cherished friends. Sixteen year old Alice, an aspiring mystery writer, has just completed her first novel and her schoolgirl crush on one of the family’s gardeners is about to end in heartache. Oldest daughter Deborah’s relationship with mom Eleanor is fraught with tension as they plan Deborah’s upcoming wedding. Youngest daughter Clementine is a tomboy clinging tightly to childhood but she absolutely adores Theo. Longtime family friend Daffyd Llewellyn is anxious and fighting not to sink into another depression. Grandmother Constance is embittered and her relationships with all of inhabitants reflect her dour, strict nature. Parents Eleanor and Anthony are deeply in love and they are shattered by Theo’s kidnapping. In the wake of Theo’s unsolved disappearance, the entire family departs from the estate with no one returning for the next seventy years.

In 2003, Sadie’s own personal history plays a role in her belief that Maggie Bailey did not abandon her young daughter, but with little evidence to support her theory, Sadie goes a little too far once the case is officially closed. Now trying to salvage her career, she is spending four weeks with her grandfather when her curiosity about the Edevane’s abandoned estate leads her to begin an off the books investigation into the unsolved kidnapping. Stunned to discover one of the policeman from the original case is still living in the local area, she gets a firsthand look into the original file. This information, along with her discoveries from her personal research, provide her with a few theories about what happened to Theo.

Deciding she needs to take a look inside the house, Sadie contacts Alice who is now living in London where she is still writing a popular detective series. Although now in her eighties, Alice shows no signs of slowing down and she still has a keenly analytical mind. Alice is convinced she knows what happened to Theo and she is wracked with guilt over what she perceives to be her role in the events of that long ago night.

The narrative seamlessly flips back and forth in time and through different characters’ points of view, the truth about the Edevane family is slowly revealed. These shifts in perspective and time periods are clearly marked but the story gets a little bogged down in superfluous details. The characters are well-developed with distinct voices and the Edevane family dynamics are quite fascinating. The revelation of long held family secrets effectively keeps readers guessing the truth about Theo’s fate and Kate Morton throws in a whopper of plot twist that is as delightful as it is unexpected.

Atmospheric with plenty of family secrets, The Lake House is an intriguing mystery that I recommend to readers of police procedurals.

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Filed under Atria Books, Contemporary, Historical (20s), Historical (30s), Kate Morton, Mystery, Rated B, Review, The Lake House

May 27, 2015 · 11:58 pm

Review: A Flying Affair by Carla Stewart

flying affairTitle: A Flying Affair by Carla Stewart
Publisher: FaithWords
Genre: Historical (20s), Romance
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Ever since Mittie Humphreys agreed to join dashing barnstorming pilot Ames for a joyride in his airplane, her lifelong love of horses has been surpassed by one thing–a longing for the skies. It seems she’s not the only one–with Charles Lindbergh making his victory tour in the Spirit of St. Louis, aviation fever is spreading across the country. Mittie knows flying is the perfect focus for the soaring ambition and taste for adventure within her, and whenever she can slip away from her duties on her family’s prosperous Kentucky horse farm, she heads to the airfield.

Considering their shared passion, it’s no surprise that Ames begins to vie for Mittie’s time. But when handsome British aviator Bobby York offers her flying lessons, he is equally surprised-and beguiled-by Mittie’s grit and talent. Driven to succeed, Mittie will do whatever it takes to compete in the Women’s National Air Derby alongside Amelia Earhart. But when Calista “Peach” Gilson, a charming Southern belle, becomes her rival both professionally and in love, Mittie must learn how to navigate her heart’s romantic longings as well as the skies.

Review:

Carla Stewart enthralls readers with her newest release, A Flying Affair. Set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties, this fascinating novel centers around Mittie Humphreys, a young woman whose love of horses is soon eclipsed by her passion for aviation.

Mittie is also captivated by fellow aviator Ames Dewberry, a daredevil who appeals to her adventurous side. With Ames constantly flying in and out of her life, Mittie begins flying lessons with newcomer Bobby York, but she is also intrigued by wing-walking as well. As competitions for women aviators begin springing up across the country, Mittie turns her attention to honing her skills as a pilot. Her introduction to Calista Gilson piques her jealousy as Calista forms friendships with both Bobby and Ames but surprisingly, their professional rivalry quickly turns to friendship.

Mittie is torn between helping her parents on the family’s horse farm and her interest in aviation. With her father still recovering from a riding accident, she puts her dream of learning to fly on hold until he is well enough to resume his duties.  She is headstrong and stubborn and while she respects her mother’s fears for her safety, Mittie still begins flying lessons with family friend Bobby while Ames teaches her how to wing-walk. Ames is more flamboyant of the two men and he talks Mittie into joining his barnstorming act as a wing-walker.

Ames is also the man who makes Mitte’s heart beat faster, but their romance simmers on the back-burner due to Ames’ long absences and sporadic communication. While Ames comes and goes, Bobby is always around and he is instrumental in helping Mittie achieve her goal of becoming a pilot. He is a quiet, unassuming presence in her life and although she is occasionally drawn to him, their relationship never really develops beyond friendship because of her infatuation with Ames.

Meticulous research, daring exploits and exciting adventures bring A Flying Affair vibrantly to life.  The novel is well-written with unique and interesting characters. The historical aspect of the plot is richly detailed and Carla Stewart beautifully incorporates fact with fiction. A fast-paced and riveting read that is sure to be a hit with anyone who enjoys a sweet, clean romance with a very light undercurrent of faith.

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Filed under A Flying Affair, Carla Stewart, FaithWords, Historical (20s), Rated B+, Review, Romance

September 24, 2014 · 11:58 pm

Review: An American Duchess by Sharon Page

duchessTitle: An American Duchess by Sharon Page
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HQN
Genre: Historical (20s), Romance
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

At the height of the Roaring Twenties, New York heiress Zoe Gifford longs for the freedoms promised by the Jazz Age. Headstrong and brazen, but bound by her father’s will to marry before she can access his fortune, Zoe arranges for a brief marriage to Sebastian Hazelton, whose aristocratic British family sorely needs a benefactor.

Once in England, her foolproof plan to wed, inherit and divorce proves more complicated than Zoe had anticipated. Nigel Hazelton, Duke of Langford and Sebastian’s austere older brother, is disgraced by the arrangement and looks down upon the raucous young American who has taken up residence at crumbling Brideswell Abbey. Still reeling from the Great War, Nigel is now staging a one-man battle against a rapidly changing world—and the outspoken Zoe represents everything he’s fighting against. When circumstances compel Zoe to marry Nigel rather than Sebastian, she does so for love, he for honor. But with Nigel unwilling to change with the times, Zoe may be forced to choose between her husband and her dreams.

The Review:

An American Duchess by Sharon Page is a vibrant story that has a nice mix of drama and light-hearted fun. This absolutely delightful romance takes place during the Roaring Twenties and the English countryside is the perfect setting for this incredible novel. But it is the charming cast of characters that brings this spectacular book vividly to life.

Zoe Gifford is an American heiress who needs to access her trust fund, but in order to receive the funds, she needs a husband. English nobleman Sebastian Hazelton needs a wife and a fortune to save his nearly destitute family from financial ruin. A marriage of convenience is the solution for both of their problems, but once Zoe meets her fiancé’s older brother, Nigel, she is stunned by her unexpected attraction to the elusive Duke.

Zoe is a refreshing breath of fresh air and her arrival at her fiancé’s home in England is just what the stuffy Hazelton family needs. She is outspoken, adventurous and fully embraces all of the changes that are taking place during the time period. She is an ardent supporter of women’s rights and she refuses to give up her newly found freedom. Zoe is also kind, caring and quite perceptive and although she suffered some terrible losses, she believes in living life to the fullest.

Zoe is stunned to discover just how out of touch the Hazelton family is with the changing times and she immediately shocks the family with her forward thinking, fashionable attire and daring pursuits. Zoe quickly butts heads with Nigel when she encourages his sisters to do what is right for them even if it bucks traditional expectations. She is not intimidated by Nigel’s standoffish attitude and she quickly sees past his gruff and rather cold exterior.

Nigel’s experiences in the war haunt him and he keeps a tight control on his emotions. Both mentally and physically scarred, he has become a virtual recluse as he battles his demons on his own. Although Zoe initially irritates him with her bold, modern ways, he is also quite captivated by her enthusiasm and joie de vivre.

Zoe is shocked by the changes in Sebastian when she arrives in England. As she finds herself spending more time with Nigel, her attraction to him deepens, but she still plans to go through with her marriage to Sebastian. It is no secret that Zoe eventually weds Nigel instead and their marriage is a passionate love match. However their relationship is soon plagued by terrible losses but it is their different styles of handling their problems that drives a wedge between them.

An American Duchess is a very engaging romance with a fabulous cast of well-developed and likable characters. Sharon Page does an excellent job balancing the lighter aspects of this lively era with the lingering realities of war and the inevitable clashes between the older and younger generations.  It is an all around entertaining and emotional novel that I highly recommend to fans of historical romances.

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Filed under An American Duchess, Harlequin, Historical (20s), HQN Books, Rated B, Review, Romance, Sharon Page