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Showing posts with label Fiction: Historical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiction: Historical. Show all posts

Friday, September 24, 2021

Elise Cooper Reviews St. Martin's Press Entry


Defending Britta Stein 

Series: Book 6 Liam Taggert and Catherine Lockhart

Author: Ronald H. Balson

Genre: Historical Fiction

St. Martin’s Press

Sept 7th, 2021

Available on Amazon


Reviewed by Elise


Elise Cooper Reviews St. Martin's Press Entry

Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson is a wonderful read. Although the book has some courtroom drama including legal strategy and loopholes, most of the story is Britta Stein’s recounting of the events leading up to and during World War II in Denmark. This is historical fiction at its best with bravery, betrayal, and redemption.

 

Britta Stein is a 92-year-old Jewish Danish woman who emigrated to America. She is being sued for defamation after being seen and then admitting to spray painting “Coward,” “Traitor,” “Collaborator,” and “War Criminal” on the walls of a restaurant. The owner, 95-year-old Ole Henryks, will be honored by the Danish/American Association for his many civic and charitable contributions. Frequently appearing on local TV, he is well known for his actions of saving Jews in Nazi-occupied Denmark during World War II and is considered a hero.  But not to Britta who claims he was anything but and sent Jews to their deaths including her sister and brother-in-law. 

 

Attorney Catherine Lockhart and Investigator Liam Taggart, husband, and wife, have agreed to defend Britta and have as an assistant counsel her granddaughter Emma. The plot alternates between present day Chicago (2018) and Britta’s oral account of her memories of her homeland of Denmark prior to the presence of the Nazis and during World War II. They are up against “Six o’clock” Sterling Sparks, Henryk’s’ shady attorney, who pushes for a speedy trial and is willing to waive witness lists and pretrial exhibits. Readers anxiously turn the pages hoping Britta will be vindicated since they take a journey with her during the horrific events.

 

What is very interesting is the way Balson contrasts defamation versus freedom of speech, the consequences of staying versus leaving, and Denmark’s role in protecting its Jewish citizens. “I wanted to show how the Danes were wonderful. I hoped to get across through the civil jury trial here in America what it was like to be a Dane and Jewish.  As I recounted in the book, there were plenty of non-Jews who put themselves at risk to help save the 7600 Jewish citizens in Denmark.  They were hidden in hospitals, churches, stores, and homes.  Many also helped the Jews get to Sweden. I wanted to show how the Danes had emotional pride and belief in their own country.”

 

“I have this scene in the book between Catherine her lawyer, and Britta.  Catherine says, “I know it’s easy for me to say in hindsight, and it’s not fair, I shouldn’t judge, but the consequences of staying were dire, yet they found some reason to ignore the writing on the wall, which to me defies logic and good sense.”  Britta responds, that if they could see into the future a wiser decision could have been made; yet, they “would have packed up and left everything and everyone… your job, your home, your profession, and headed off blindly in some unknown direction… At that time, in 1943 Hitler owned Europe.” It is a constant theme in a lot of my books.  They all had the same opportunity to leave.  But how does someone leave everything including family and community.  Where would they go? How many countries would have taken in millions of Jews? What the Nazis did continued to escalate, and no one could imagine the concentration camps.  Many thought they could last out the war.”  

 

This book will stay with readers well after they finish the book. The author has an incredible way of telling a story with sympathetic heroes and monstrous villains before and during World War II. The story has mystery, intrigue, suspense, and history all intertwined into a riveting novel.

More About the Reviewer

Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women's fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.


More About #TheNewBookReview Blog 


The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Author Idelle Kursman Shares "The Paris Library" with #TheNewBookReview Readers


Title: The Paris Library
By Janet Skeslien Charles 
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books 2021 
ISBN: 978-1-9821-3419-8
Published on February 9, 2021
Available on Amazon

Reviewed by Idelle Kursman

Book lovers everywhere will savor reading The Paris Library.  During the years leading up to the Second World War, Odile Souchet is a young girl living in Paris who relishes her job as a librarian at the American Library in Paris. She is also developing strong friendships and finding love, but then the Nazis invade France and thrust hardships upon French citizens--food is scarce; curfews are imposed; and Jews, communists, so called “enemy aliens,” and anyone opposed to Nazi rule are imprisoned or worse.    
 Odile tries hard to carry on but she inadvertently betrays a friend at the closing of the war. Odile eventually leaves the country and settles in Montana, where years later she becomes a mentor to a young girl experiencing growing pains and family issues.  I found it moving to read about a caring, sincere person who has made terrible mistakes and yet uses those experiences to help another person make wiser decisions.  A winner!
About the Reviewer
Idelle Kursman is the author of True Mercy and The Book of Revelations. She also does editing and SEO copywriting. To contact her, please log onto her website at https://www.idellekursman.com.

Author Idelle Kursman Shares "The Paris Library" with #TheNewBookReview Readers


More About #TheNewBookReview Blog




 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Janice Ottersberg Reviews Southern Fiction Award Winner

Title -- Crooked Truth
Author -- Kristine F. Anderson
Author's Website  -- www.kristinefanderson.com
Genre --  Historical Fiction
Age -- YA, Adult
Pages - 215
Awards --- Received Mercer's Ferrol Sams Award for Fiction
                  Nominated for the Willie Morris 2021 Southern Fiction Award
Publisher -- Mercer University Press, Macon, GA
Available on Amazon



             

Crooked Truth

WRITTEN BY KRISTINE F. ANDERSON
REVIEWed BY JANICE OTTERSBERG originally for Historical Novel Society 
In the post WWII South, fifteen-year-old Lucas lives with his Granny, Paw Paw, and Uncle Robert on their cotton farm. Thirteen years older than Lucas, the childlike Robert has Down Syndrome. Lucas is his protector, tasked with watching him as the two help out around the farm. Lucas would love to go off by himself to fish, but he accepts his responsibility. He is patient, kind, and protective to his uncle, who cannot do simple things and whose speech is hard to understand.
Alvin Earl, Robert’s much older half-brother, bullies and pokes fun at him whenever he shows up at the farm. He refuses to use Robert’s name, instead calling him “that boy.” This is Georgia in 1948, and there is no tolerance of anyone different, especially from the cruel Alvin Earl. He relentlessly demeans and spews hatred toward Robert and the Black help. Corinthia, Little George, and Cotton have worked for them so long, they are part of the family. When Lucas’s Paw Paw dies, Alvin Earl is furious when Little George inherits part of the land Alvin Earl expected to have, and Lucas is given money for college. Granny, Lucas, and Robert are allowed to live in the house as long as they like. Alvin Earl moves into the house, and their lives become filled with anxiety and distress. He threatens to commit Robert to the state hospital and remove Lucas from school to work the cotton fields.
Anderson perfectly captures family life in a small Southern community and the bigotry of that time. Lucas is a character to love for his quiet compassion and kindness in contrast to Alvin Earl’s despicable life as a bully and petty criminal. This is a coming-of-age story with a thread of malevolence running through. It will warm your heart one minute and disturb you the next.








  

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kristine F. Anderson has been nominated for the Georgia Writers 2021 Author of the Year Award in the debut novel category.

Janice Ottersberg Reviews Southern Fiction Award Winner



MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. 

Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing 

Saturday, July 25, 2020

Chelsea Falin Reviews Karen A. Wyle's Second in Cowbird Series



--Title: What Frees the Heart 
--Series: Second in Cowbird Creek
--Author: Karen A. Wyle
--Author's website: Karen A. Wyle Author Website 
--Genre/category: Western historical romance
--ISBN: 978-0-9980604-7-7
--Publisher: Oblique Angles Press

Reviewed by Chelsea Falin, originally for Goodreads and Pen Possessed 
Five Star on Goodreads

THE REVIEW

I was so excited for this book to come out. I read and fell in love with “What Heals the Heart” and was excited for another Cowbird Creek title to come out. Wyle did NOT disappoint. This story may have been even more gripping than the first, and I absolutely loved to see yet another “not so
common” romance bloom.

One of the things I love best about this book is that it takes two flawed people and puts them together. Anyone who has read my reviews knows I love flawed characters because it creates a more realistic story for me. Perfect heroes and heroines are so hard to relate to. But I also love the combination of old fashioned and female empowerment Wyle uses in her stories. The females aren’t helpless, but they do need help. They can do much of everything on their own, but the few things they can’t, the hero can – while the heroine can do what he can’t. It’s less a damsel in distress and more a real union of meeting the other’s needs.

I highly recommend this title to anyone who wants a realistic yet swoon-worthy romance that will leave you begging for more. I also recommend it to anyone who enjoys westerns, historicals, or mostly clean romance.

The cover is engaging and offers an accurate depiction of what readers should expect inside the story.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen A. Wyle was born a Connecticut Yankee, but moved every few years throughout her childhood and adolescence.  After college in California, law school in Massachusetts, and a mercifully short stint in a large San Francisco law firm, she moved to Los Angeles, where she met her now-husband, who hates L.A.  They eventually settled in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. They have two wildly creative daughters.

Wyle's voice is the product of almost five decades of reading both literary and genre fiction.  It is no doubt also influenced, although she hopes not fatally tainted, by her years of law practice.  Whether writing science fiction, afterlife fantasy, or historical romance, she tends to focus on the often-intertwined themes of individual identity, liberty, family, communication, unintended consequences, and the persistence of unfinished business. She has also published one nonfiction book, a resource for authors, law students, or anyone else interested in understanding more about American law.
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ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Chelsea Falin is a multi-genre author of 35+ books, including The Growing Roots Series, Taming the Dragon Clan Chronicles, and Think You Know Your States? series. Learn more about her at https://cfalinhammond.wordpress.com/

Chelsea Falin Reviews Karen A. Wyle's Second in Cowbird Series


MORE ABOUT BLOGGER AND WAYS TO GET THE MOST FROM THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.



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Wednesday, August 15, 2018

A Symphony of Rivals Review from Kirkus Reviews

A Symphony of Rivals
Historical Fiction
ISBN: 978-0-9987319-3-3
Ebook and Hardcover available at Amazon

 Printed with permission of Kirkus Reviews

“A Suspenseful bridge to the final volume to a historical fiction series. Alejandra Stanford Morrison is a strong-willed woman with ambitions to become a symphony conductor, though it defies the gender expectations of the 1930s. When she learns of her acceptance into a prestigious conservatory in Berlin, her ecstasy is met with reluctance from her husband, Richard. Part One chronicles their travels and musical training amid increasing political tensions in Germany and Austria. Calatayud-Stocks portrays her characters clearly, each with a unique voice and agenda. The novel raises stimulating questions regarding work-life balance and the entwinement of art and politics.  The momentum accelerates with the emergence of more serious conflicts, leaving readers with a cliffhanger that should entice them to pick up the next volume. And for culture enthusiasts, the author once again offers musical selections corresponding to each chapter. 

A Symphony of Rivals Review from Kirkus Reviews


MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG AND GETTING REVIEWS

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Nicole Brown Reviews Clifford Browder's Historical Novel





Title: Bill Hope
Subtitle: His Story
Author: Clifford Browder
Genre: Historical fiction
Paperback:157 pages
ISBN: 978-1-68114-305-7
Purchase links: 



Reviewed by Nicole W Brown  Originally for Amazon.

 "A real yarn of a story about a lovable pickpocket who gets into trouble and has a great adventure. A must read. "




The book opens with Bill Hope in jail writing down the tail of his life starting with the first time he got arrested. He tried to pick the pocket of a great detective who came and visited him in jail. He told him that he would drop the charges if Bill would come and see him after he was released. He took Bill's prized onyx ring to ensure that he would come. When Bill came the man, Mr. Minick, asked him to do a job for him in return for dropping the charges. A notorious pickpocket prince's girl friend who has a habit of shoplifting and taking things from the dearly departed and mourners at funerals. She took a one-of-a-kind stick pin from someone who wants it back. Mr. Minick would like Bill to lift it off of her without her knowing it. Bill succeeds in this and Mr. Minick offers him work as one of his street informants, or as Bill calls them the League of Snitches. He won't have anything to do with it, but the two part on good terms.

Bill finds a rather expensive, yet highly unusual Tiffany ring. He goes to the local dealer and finds out how much he could get for it, but decides not to sell it. Soon he sees in the paper that someone is looking for it. He meets with a person to give the ring back and finds out that the ring belongs to someone new and big in town and instead of taking the money now he tells him that he'd rather have him owe him. This will prove to be a smart move later on when he gets into trouble and needs bailing out. He winds up working for the ring's owner, Mr. Vail then embarks on a dangerous adventure.

This book is a really good yarn of a story. Bill Hope is a sweet rascal of a character who doesn't give up on people once he's invested in them. He's an honorable thief who never steals from women or kids just rich men. He is always trying to improve himself by working on his speech to make himself sound better and buying clothes to make him look smart. Trouble still manages to always find Bill, though and it's great fun to read about how he gets out of it. I can't recommend this book enough.


MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Clifford Browder has a blog titled No Place for Normal: New York with the tagline by T. S. Eliot, "Humankind cannot bear very much reality." He signs himself, "Geezers rock."   


MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everithing from Amazon vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. 

This blog is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.