Posts Tagged ‘historical fiction’
Book review: What the Lady Wants
I love historical fiction and have a softspot for America’s Gilded Age, so I was very pleased to discover What the Lady Wants. Not surprisingly, I loved the novel. This is my third Renee Rosen novel, each set in a different period of time. What the Lady Wants opens in 1871, on the eve of…
Read MoreBook review : The Piano Teacher
This is the second novel by Janice Y.K. Lee that I’ve read. A few years ago, I enjoyed her excellent The Expatriates, so I was curious to read this novel set in Hong Kong in the lead-up to World War II and the time of the Japanese occupation. Lee is from Hong Kong and covered…
Read MoreBook review: Midnight Blue
I bought this book at an airport bookstore in Amsterdam’s Schipol heading back home from a long flight. It then sat for two years on my bookshelf before I remembered about it and picked it up. Am I glad I did! Written by Dutch novelist Simone van der Vlugt, this novel was translated to English…
Read MoreBook review: I leoni di Sicilia
We all know the old adage that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But when lockdown ended in Rome and I could walk around and visit bookshops (!!) when they were one of the first non-essential businesses to be allowed to open, I couldn’t resist the stunning cover of I leoni di Sicilia.…
Read MoreBook review: The Masterpiece
This is the third Fiona Davis novel I’ve read. Her novels are ideal for someone like me, who enjoys dual storylines: one historical, one contemporary. It’s a plus that Davis’ novels always include a New York landmark that serves as an additional story protagonist. In her first novel, it was the Barbizon – housing for…
Read MoreBook review: A Gentleman in Moscow
I adored this novel, the story of “former person” Count Alexander Rostov. In 1922, Count Rostov – recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club and Master of the Hunt – is declared an enemy of the state and informed he will be shot if he ever ventures out of his…
Read MoreBook review: At the Edge of the Orchard
I enjoy historical fiction and I’ve read of all of Tracy Chevalier’s novels, so I was happy to learn about her latest when it was released. This was my favorite novel since A Girl With A Pearl Earring. At the Edge of the Orchard is set in the mid 1800s, and follows the difficult lives…
Read MoreBook review: Wake
Oddly, I’d had this book on my shelf for some time. I remembered it only after picking it up in French in a French bookstore and being drawn in by the story and the excellent blurbs – before realizing I shouldn’t buy it because I had the original version back home. : ) This novel…
Read MoreDoes an author owe something to her readers?
As a reader, there are many types of books I don’t like. If a book isn’t well written, it’s an easy write-off for me. If it’s not a genre I enjoy – most action/spy novels or science fiction fall under this category for me – I’m not expecting much either, even if they are well written.…
Read MoreBook review: Julian Fellowes’ Belgravia
Unlike Dante’s warning at the entrance to hell, all hope is not lost to ‘ye who enters here. I am speaking, of course, to those of us who find ourselves adrift now that Downton Abbey has come to an end. For Downton creator/writer/producer Julian Fellowes has a new historical fiction novel out – Belgravia. Like…
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