The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore

Publication May 21, 2024=Kensington-Historical Fiction-384pp

https://www.amandaskenandore.com/the-medicine-woman-of-galveston/

Book Summary

This spellbinding story of a determined female doctor pushed into life as part of a menacing swindler’s traveling medicine show in order to support her son is rife with unflinching prose and set against the backdrop of the devastating Galveston Hurricane of 1900.

Once a trailblazer in the field of medicine, Dr. Tucia Hatherley hasn’t touched a scalpel or stethoscope since she made a fatal mistake in the operating theater. Instead, she works in a corset factory, striving to earn enough to support her disabled son. When even that livelihood is threatened, Tucia is left with one option—to join a wily, charismatic showman named Huey and become part of his traveling medicine show.

Her medical license lends the show a pretense of credibility, but the cures and tonics Tucia is forced to peddle are little more than purgatives and bathwater. Loathing the duplicity, even as she finds uneasy kinship with the other misfit performers, Tucia vows to leave as soon as her debts are paid and start a new life with her son—if Huey will ever let her go.

When the show reaches Galveston, Texas, Tucia tries to break free from Huey, only to be pulled even deeper into his schemes. But there is a far greater reckoning ahead, as a September storm becomes a devastating hurricane that will decimate the Gulf Coast—and challenge Tucia to recover her belief in medicine, in the goodness of others—and in herself.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Mounting debt forces Dr. Tutia Hatherly and her son, Toby to join a traveling medicine show led by Hugh Horn, “The Amazing Adolphus.” Skenandore’s startling, graphic descriptions of medical practices in the late 1800’s, the struggles and discrimination of women in medicine, and the dangerous working conditions in factories set the desperate mood of Tutia (Tu-sha) as she valiantly attempts to support her son.

The tenuous relationships with the performers, snake oil sales, palm reading, and shady, vagabond adventures consume Tutia as she travels with the medicine show for several months. Stressful situations and an anxiety disorder caused by Tutia’s guilt and deception are alternated with the life story of four of the performers, the Giant, the Indian, the Tinker, and the Musician. These backstories add emotional connections for readers as Huey announces that the medicine show is headed to Galveston, Texas, to “overwinter.”

The Great Storm of 1900 becomes a pivotal time for Tutia, the performers and the medicine show. Skenandore explores themes of unrealized dreams and new beginnings as Tutia and Huey are pitted against the hurricane’s raging storm surge. Discover some of Galveston’s well-known landmarks, Post Office Street, The Strand, and Murdoch’s Bath House in The Medicine Woman of Galveston, as the “worst natural disaster in U. S. History” washes ashore.

The Hudson Collection by Jocelyn Green

Publication June 4, 2024-Bethany House-Christian-Historical Fiction-368pp

Jocelyn Green (JocelynGreen.com) inspires faith and courage as the bestselling author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books, including the Christy Award-winning The Mark of the King and Drawn by the Current and her On Central Park series.

Book Summary

Step into the beguiling world of 1926 New York and discover the power of resilience, friendship, and love from award-winning author Jocelyn Green.

Elsa Reisner’s lifelong dream of working as an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History is fading as the job begins to drain her passion. But fate takes an unexpected turn when she is assigned to catalog the bequest of a recently deceased patron whose Gothic country mansion holds secrets and treasures waiting to be discovered.

As Elsa delves into her task, she forms an unlikely bond with the estate’s delightful gardener and her daughter, as well as an architectural salvage dealer who still bears scars from the Great War. Together, they embark on a thrilling treasure hunt for a missing relic intended to safeguard the servants’ futures before the estate is sold. At the same time, Elsa’s body seems to betray her with new symptoms from a childhood disease that isn’t through with her yet.

With the brooding veteran and her handsome colleague joining the search, Elsa must navigate the tangled web of secrets and hidden motives along with the changing state of her health. As her deadline looms ever closer, will she be able to secure a new life for her friends before the estate slips from their grasp?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

New York City’s Central Park and Elmhurst, a country mansion on the Hudson River, set the scene for Jocelyn Green’s The Hudson Collection. Green’s main character, Elsa, is sent to Elmhurst from the American Museum of Natural History to catalog the vast collection of birds, recently bequeathed to the museum. She’s just in time to join the manic search of the mansion for a valuable medieval manuscript filled with illuminated bird illustrations.

This treasure hunt takes place in the fall of 1926. Green’s narrative is filled with lush descriptions of birds, garden paths at Elmhurst, and iconic Central Park. These details add extra depth to the development and growth of the relationships between Elsa, Luke Dupont, and the gardener’s daughter, young Danielle. Mother-daughter relationships, fear of limitations, and family expectations are themes explored as tension builds and Green weaves clues to the manuscript’s hiding place with obstacles and twists.

Well known NYC historical sites like Central Park, Coney Island, Nathan’s Famous, the Plaza, and the Beresford Hotel enhance the early twentieth century feel of the novel. In contrast to the hurried Manhattan setting is the peaceful Hudson River Valley and its sprawling, fictional Elmhurst Mansion, based on the Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York. (pictured below)

Green presents valuable lessons as she parallels how to handle life’s challenges with Luke’s crumbling mansions and architectural salvage business. Elsa’s important personal discovery, “doing less to make room for what really matters,” is a gem. Jocelyn Green’s readers will be inspired by The Hudson Collection; an insightful, faith-based approach to dealing with how life’s choices and personal perspectives change through experiences and relationships.

**Lyndhurst Mansion- Elmhurst** in The novel

Fun Fact: The Eurasian Eagle-Owl that escapes from the Central Park Zoo in 1926 is based on Flaco, an eagle-owl that escaped from the zoo in 2023 as Jocelyn Green was in NYC for research!

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

Publication June 4, 2024-Random House-Ballentine-Historical Fiction, 368pp.

Book Summary

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a sweeping novel inspired by the untold history of women pioneers who fought to protect children caught in the storm of land barons hungry for power and oil wealth.

Oklahoma, 1909. Eleven-year-old Olive Augusta Radley knows that her stepfather doesn’t have good intentions toward the two Choctaw girls boarded in their home as wards. When the older girl disappears, Ollie flees to the woods, taking six-year-old Nessa with her. Together they begin a perilous journey to the remote Winding Stair Mountains, the notorious territory of outlaws, treasure hunters, and desperate men. Along the way, Ollie and Nessa form an unlikely band with others like themselves, struggling to stay one step ahead of those who seek to exploit them . . . or worse.

Oklahoma, 1990. Law enforcement ranger Valerie Boren-Odell arrives at newly minted Horsethief Trail National Park seeking a quiet place to balance a career and single parenthood. But no sooner has Valerie reported for duty than she’s faced with local controversy over the park’s opening, a teenage hiker gone missing from one of the trails, and the long-hidden burial site of three children unearthed in a cave. Val’s quest for the truth wins an ally among the neighboring Choctaw Tribal Police but soon collides with old secrets and the tragic and deadly history of the land itself.

In this emotional and enveloping novel, Lisa Wingate traces the story of children abandoned by the law and the battle to see justice done. Amid times of deep conflict over who owns the land and its riches, Ollie and Val traverse the rugged and beautiful terrain, each leaving behind one life in search of another.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Shelterwood is a forestry term for older, larger trees that protect the smaller, younger growth beneath. Lisa Wingate’s Shelterwood slashes through that canopy shining a blinding light on the history of “rampant graft and mindboggling land grabs during the Oklahoma statehood era.”

Wingate artfully weaves this little-known history in alternating timelines as she illuminates a mystery uncovered by a female park ranger involving the bones of “elf children.” Readers are immersed in the 1909 world of starving, indigenous “elf children” through Ollie and Nessa’s harrowing escape from harmful, greedy guardians and the community they struggle to create in the southeastern portion of Oklahoma known as the Winding Stairs. In 1990 Park Ranger, Val attempts to sort out the story of skeletal bones in a cave and the disappearance of three members of the same family. Wingate’s narrative takes readers on trails though the woods of southeastern Oklahoma peppered with crisp descriptions as she lines steep grades through Horsethief Trail National Park with obstacles to the mystery by adding suspense step by step; an abandoned car, a missing teenager, a body found in the woods. Wingate’s orphans are wily, witty, and so loveable, readers will easily forgive their crimes and even cheer for their ingenious successes. Through experiences of the “elf children” readers will gain a new understanding of survival. Readers will also appreciate Officer Curtis’ relationship with Val and Charlie, a male character with high emotional intelligence.

This adventurous mystery through the woods of Oklahoma is really about the history of the tribal lands of the Cherokee, Creek, and Choctaw Nations, their legacy, and the oil found on the land allotments. Another historical thread is the untold impact of Kate Barnard’s fight for child labor laws and compulsory education. Shelterwood, Lisa Wingate’s soulful, heartfelt tale, ties the past to the present through the history of indigenous children and the horrendous lives of our nations’ youngest before child labor laws.

Eye-opening. Redemptive.

Lisa Wingate is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Before We Were Yours, which has sold more than three million copies and been translated into over forty languages worldwide. The co-author, with Judy Christie, of the nonfiction book Before and After, Wingate is an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, a Goodreads Choice Award winner, and a Southern Book Prize winner. She was named a 2023 Distinguished Alumni of Oklahoma State University. She lives with her husband in Texas and Colorado. https://lisawingate.com/

From Lisa’s wonderful website: You will want to read more!

The most shocking stories hide in places we think we know. Despite countless field trips, museum tours, and history classes growing up in Oklahoma, I heard not a mention that the most powerful politician of the state’s fledgling years was—a woman? In an era when women couldn’t even vote? The true story of Kate Barnard, her 1909 investigation of bizarre reports of “elf children living in a hollow tree,” and her eventual discovery of the children’s true identity inspired the events in Shelterwood. Told through the eyes of two girls who flee a home filled with dangers to seek safety in the wilderness, Shelterwood follows a perilous journey to Oklahoma’s remote Winding Stair Mountains, where the girls soon discover they are not alone. I hope you will enjoy meeting Ollie and Nessa along with all the characters of Shelterwood, both real and imagined. To learn more, click here for a behind-the-scenes tour including historical photos, location photos, and materials for book clubs.

The Goddess of Warsaw by Lisa Barr

Publication May 28, 2024-Harper Perennial and Paperbacks-Mystery-Women’s Fiction-368pp

Book Summary

The Goddess Of Warsaw is an enthralling tale of a legendary Hollywood screen goddess with a dark secret about her life in the Warsaw Ghetto. When the famous actress is threatened by someone from her past, she must put her skills into play to protect herself, her illustrious career, and those she loves, then and now.

Los Angeles, 2005. Sienna Hayes, Hollywood’s latest It Girl, has ambitions to work behind the camera. When she meets Lena Browning, the enormously mysterious and famous Golden Age movie star, Sienna sees her big break. She wants to direct a picture about Lena’s life—but the legendary actor’s murky past turns out to be even darker than Sienna dreamed. Before she was a Living Legend, Lena Browning was Bina Blonski, a Polish Jew whose life and family were destroyed by the Nazis.

Warsaw, 1943. A member of the city’s Jewish elite, Bina Blonski and her husband, Jakub, are imprisoned in the ghastly, cramped ghetto along with the rest of Warsaw’s surviving Jews. Determined to fight back against the brutal Nazis, the beautiful, blonde Aryan-looking Bina becomes a spy, gaining information and stealing weapons outside the ghetto to protect her fellow Jews. But her dangerous circumstances grow complicated when she falls in love with Aleksander, an ally in resistance—and Jakub’s brother. While Lena accomplishes amazing feats of bravery, she sacrifices much in the process.

Over a decade after escaping the horrors of the ghetto, Bina, now known as Lena, rises to fame in Hollywood. Yet she cannot help but be reminded of her old life and hungers for revenge against the Nazis who escaped justice after the war. Her power and fame as a movie star offer Lena the chance to right the past’s wrongs . . . and perhaps even find the happy ending she never had.

A gripping page-turner of one of history’s most heroic uprisings and an actress whose personal war never ends, The Goddess Of Warsaw is filled with secrets, lies, twists and turns, and a burning pursuit of justice no matter the cost.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Forbidden love. Polish Resistance and Treblinka 1942. Survival and a Stradivarius. These elements are packed into Lisa Barr’s saga of the Warsaw Ghetto and the world of Hollywood in 2005. Lena Browning, an 85-year-old Hollywood star telling her life story to aspiring director, Sienna Hayes, lets the reader know, “There will be betrayal, deception, death, blood, and revenge.”

Lena’s past life as the Jewish blond, Bina Blonski, is revealed in Book 1, as Sienna records the gripping horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943. This part of Bina’s life is intense and gut-wrenching, evoking primal survival instincts of fear, anger, resentment, and revenge. Readers get a feeling of short relief when Bina emerges in Hollywood, USA, becoming Lena Browning in Book 2, but then are immersed in the political world of Hollywood as Sienna and Lena make preparations for the “final scene” in Book 3. Lena’s life is filled with truth, lies, and forbidden, but true love. Revenge and Love. Which one wins in the end?

Powerfully captivating, forcibly convicting.

Her new historical thriller THE GODDESS OF WARSAW makes its debut on May 28th, 2024. She has appeared on Good Morning America and TODAY for her work as an author, journalist, and blogger. In exciting book news: Actress Sharon Stone has optioned the movie rights adaptation of WOMAN ON FIRE. https://lisabarr.com/

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

Publication May 14, 2024-St. Martin’s Press-Historical Fiction-336pp

Book Summary

The bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls returns with a brilliant novel of love and art, of grief and memory, of confronting the past and facing the future.

In 1955, Vivien Lowry is facing the greatest challenge of her life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Lowry’s last chance for a dramatic career. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job in as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a vibrant movie making scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeates the very soul of Italy.

As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also must face the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the mystery of what really happened to her deceased fiancé. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a brilliant exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City casts a golden glow over Rome and its many visitors. Vivien Lowry may sense her script writing is more in its shadow than its glow. Natalie Jenner sinks readers into the complexities of Italian political, economic, and cultural life in the 1940s and 1950s. Her dual timeline alternates between La Scolaretta, the resistance fighter in 1943 and Vivien, the London playwright in 1954-1956.

Jenner’s novel is a standalone, laced with characters her readers will recognize from The Bloomsbury Girls, though Jenner provides excellent background and details to support them in the plot. How we atone or make reparations is a theme rooted in Vivien’s realization that she has been operating out of fear and anger. Through Vivien’s new relationships Jenner also explores mother-child dynamics. The characters, motivated by many different circumstances, experience surprising twists which provide ample topics for discussion.

Every Time We Say Goodbye shines a light on the absolute power and prevailing influence of the Vatican on the movie industry in the mid-20^th century. Through Cardinal Marchetti and Vivien’s script writing experience the tangled threads of the Church, the police, the state, and movie studios are unraveled. Jenner also highlights the power of cinema to eventually create a new reality.

Discovering the true nature of friends and family, which may be heartbreaking or uplifting, is another theme. Jenner’s characters represent the invisible damages of war- using acts of goodness as a shield or as an emotional cocoon. My favorite, Sir Alfred Knox, the British industrialist, and philanthropist, is a wonderful homage to all those who risked their own lives to save others, helping hundreds of Jewish children escape.

Risk, relationships, renewal-wrapped in an Italian love story.

NATALIE JENNER is the author of the instant international bestseller The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls. A Goodreads Choice Award runner-up for historical fiction and finalist for best debut novel, The Jane Austen Society was a USA Today and #1 national bestseller and has been sold for translation in twenty countries. Born in England and raised in Canada, Natalie has been a corporate lawyer, career coach and, most recently, an independent bookstore owner in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives with her family and two rescue dogs. https://www.nataliejenner.com/

Tomorrow is for the Brave by Kelly Bowen

Publication May 14, 2024-Forever, Grand Central Publishing-Historical Fiction-384pp

Book Summary

Based on true events, Tomorrow Is for the Brave is a gripping World War II page‑turner about a courageous woman who risks it all for what is right—perfect for fans of Natasha Lester and Kristen Harmel.

1939, France: Lavish parties, fast cars, and a closet full of the latest fashion—to the average eye, socialite Violet St. Croix seemingly has it all. But what she truly wants is a life full of meaning and purpose. So when France falls to Germany, Violet defies her parents’ wishes and joins the war effort. With her impeccable skill for driving under pressure, she is soon sent to North Africa to shepherd French Foreign Legion officers carrying valuable intelligence through dangerous territory.

But as the Allies encounter one mishap after another, Violet becomes convinced there is a spy in their ranks. And when her commanding officer is murdered, Violet realizes she might be the only one who can uncover the traitor and save the lives of countless soldiers on the front lines. Convincing others to believe her is difficult enough. Finding someone she can trust just might be impossible.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Kelly Bowen tactfully embeds Violet St. Croix, a protected socialite, a terrible nurse, but fantastic mechanic and driver in the desert sands of North Africa, in World War II. Bowen’s character portrayal is true to the time with the expectations of young women in the 1930’s. Violet’s basic desire is to choose her own dreams and make her own choices, not easily accomplished with her controlling father and condescending fiancé.

Violet is inspired by the life experiences of Susan Travers, the only woman to officially become a member of the French Foreign Legion. Violet’s service leads her from Nice, France, 1932 through Syria, Libya, Egypt, Italy and back to France in 1945. Motivated initially by anger, disappointment, and resentment, Violet evolves before readers eyes. Taunting voices of doubt, “You won’t last a day!” urge her on as she volunteers as a nurse against her father’s wishes and is eventually pressed into service as an ambulance driver. The transformation of Violet is exciting to follow as she escapes her domineering father, using her keen observation skills and intellect to become a trusted, confident driver requested by generals. Lovingly known as La Fleur or “flower of the desert” due to her devotion and inspiration to her patients, the bravery and courage of Violet blossoms as generals, soldiers, and medical staff in the French Foreign Legion become dependent on her skills.

Kelly Bowen’s Tomorrow is for the Brave, set against the exhilarating, expansive backdrop of the North African campaign of World War II, is filled with espionage, intrigue, finding friendship, and freedom. Super suspenseful

North Africa Campaign https://www.britannica.com/event/North-Africa-campaigns

**Kelly’s Website:** **https://kellybowen.net/tomorrow-is-for-the-brave**

Award-winning author Kelly Bowen grew up in Manitoba, Canada, and attended the University of Manitoba, where she earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in veterinary studies. She worked as a research scientist before realizing her dream to be a writer of historical fiction. Currently, Kelly lives in Winnipeg with her husband and two sons.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

Publication-May 7, 2024-Random House-Historical Fiction-432pp

Book Summary

It is the summer of 1919 and Constance Haverhill is without prospects. Now that all the men have returned from the front, she has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or—horror—a governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. Despite having only weeks to find a permanent home, Constance is swept up in the social whirl of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after she rescues the local baronet’s daughter, Poppy Wirrall, from a social faux pas.

Poppy wears trousers, operates a taxi and delivery service to employ local women, and runs a ladies’ motorcycle club (to which she plans to add flying lessons). She and her friends enthusiastically welcome Constance into their circle. And then there is Harris, Poppy’s recalcitrant but handsome brother—a fighter pilot recently wounded in battle—who warms in Constance’s presence. But things are more complicated than they seem in this sunny pocket of English high society. As the country prepares to celebrate its hard-won peace, Constance and the women of the club are forced to confront the fact that the freedoms they gained during the war are being revoked.

Whip-smart and utterly transportive, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is historical fiction of the highest order: an unforgettable coming-of-age story, a tender romance, and a portrait of a nation on the brink of change.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“Paradise on the English seashore?” This novel is brimming with British snobbishness, hijinks at the Peace Parade festivities, a business wager with grave consequences, and a love story with a twist. These elements create a race from start to finish!

Simonson exhibits the bold nature of the characters as Constance rescues motorcyclist Poppy Wirrall on the Meredith Hotel veranda. Several star characters appear at dinner that very evening. The humorous sibling rivalry of Poppy and Harris is woven between their incorrigible mother, Lady Wirrall, friend Tom Morris and his twin sisters, Evangeline and Guinevere. The wry banter, honesty, and discernment shown in this scene are perfect examples of the narrative to come. Constance reveals she has but the summer months to map out a plan for her future. Buckle up for a great ride!

Behind the planning of the Peace Parade, the burgeoning motorcycle club, and saving Lady Wirral’s estate, are themes of loss, women’s rights, social class distinction and prejudice. Simonson exquisitely examines dealing with loss through the guarded transformation of Harris inside and out. A new law requiring businesses to hire returning soldiers creates anxiety and anticipation, highlighting this struggle for women of the post war era. Class distinction and prejudices are exposed with snooty, haughty, maddening remarks, but handled immediately by Simonson with insightful discerning dialogue and even some rewarding groveling. Cheers for Constance as she reveals her brilliance and finds the voice to prove it, “Women should always aim to be competent rather than decorative,” says it all.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying club, filled with analogies, witty banter, and unforgettable characters, evokes emotions from glee to outrage. Constance decides she “can’t be bitter simply because life was not a fairy tale.” Or is it? Trousers, riding goggles, and a jaunty scarf suggested, but not required.

Helen Simonson was born in England and spent her teenage years in a small village in East Sussex. A graduate of the London School of Economics, she has spent the last three decades in the United States and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. Simonson is married, with two grown sons, and is the author of the New York Times bestselling debut novel Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and The Summer Before the War.

Daughter of Snow and Secrets Defying the Crown Series-Book 3 by Kerry Chaput

Publication March 21, 2024-Black Rose Writing-318pp

Book Summary

1681. Isabelle lives safely in Geneva but travels to the French countryside along secret Huguenot trails to rescue Protestants from the king’s vicious dragonnade program. She protects her family from the dangers of battling the Royal Army, but her wild daughter Elizabeth has other ideas. Eager to prove herself, Elizabeth attempts a solo rescue that goes horribly wrong. Isabelle comes out of hiding and travels to Paris while all of France wants her dead.

On a dangerous mission to Versailles, old enemies threaten to tear her family apart. She must rely on surprising allies and the daughter she’s fought to protect to keep them alive and rescue every Protestant in France.

In the final installment of the award-winning Defying the Crown trilogy, Kerry Chaput takes readers on another thrilling adventure through the outlandish world of Paris and Versailles. Daughter of Snow and Secrets immerses you in a breathless tale of danger with a cast of brave, fierce women as they fight for love and freedom. You won’t want to miss the stunning conclusion to this riveting historical fiction series.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab First Published-May 2024 Issue-Historical Novels Review Magazine

Daughter of Snow and Secrets is the final adventure in the award-winning series Defying the Crown by Kerry Chaput. Isabelle’s journey begins in Daughter of the King as she flees from France to Canada, denying her Protestant beliefs to escape persecution of the Catholic King in 1661. In book two, Daughter of the Shadows, Isabelle is leading a double life as a spy travelling from Quebec to Paris to challenge King Louis XIV in 1667. In Daughter of Snow and Secrets, Chaput masterfully weaves the tangled threads of Isabelle’s childhood persecution and early marriage to a Catholic soldier with the Protestant Resistance in 1681, as she tenaciously leads Huguenot’s through the French countryside to safety in Geneva.

Isabelle’s thoughts, dreams, and memories give readers a glimpse into her plans creating anticipation and injecting suspense into the fast-paced plot. After rescuing Huguenot families and killing many of the king’s dragoons, Isabelle, a warrior, fighter, becomes known as the Red Fox. The loss of a long-time friend and the need for revenge forces Isabelle’s return to Paris. Humorous banter with a rescued Duke adds levity to the decision as readers are whisked to the ornately ostentatious Palace of Versailles and its labyrinth of gardens. Vivid details of the nobility, their dress, and activities pale in comparison to the elaborate scheme Isabelle and her family have concocted to defy the king. From poisoning guards to the stench of the mirrored halls, Chaput creates impassioned escapades that fill readers and guests with desperation and fear as word spreads that the infamous Red Fox is indeed inside the palace.

This thrilling series conclusion demonstrates how after years of preparation fierce women must choose between survival instincts and personal convictions to keep their cause alive. Series highly recommended.

All my stories explore the journey of young women, found family, and first love. I blend history, adventure, and magic into my own version of historical fantasy. I believe in inclusion and exploring the broad range of experiences with young women so my readers may see how truly diverse women’s history is. Born a California girl, I now live in Bend, Oregon where I can be found hiking and enjoying the amazing trails of the Pacific Northwest. I live with my husband, two children, and two dogs, sharing the love of Oregon and finding inspiration in the world around me. I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I love writing them. https://www.kerrywrites.com/kerrychaputbio

The Trilogy and Reviews

**Book 1**
**https://gratefulreader.home.blog/2021/12/06/daughter-of-the-king-by-kerry-chaput/**

Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles

Publishes April 30, 2024-Atria Books-Historical Fiction-336pp

Book Summary

A brilliant new novel based on the true story of Jessie Carson—the American librarian who changed the literary landscape of France.

1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France. Founded by millionaire Anne Morgan, this group of international women help rebuild devastated French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen—children’s libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears.

1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she becomes consumed with learning her fate. In her obsessive research, she discovers that she and the elusive librarian have more in common than their work at New York’s famed library, but she has no idea their paths will converge in surprising ways across time.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

An homage to librarians, this novel based on the true story of Jessie Carson, recruited to serve with the American Committee for Devastated France in 1917, highlights how sharing the love of reading changes the lives of children and families. The abbreviation for the group in French is CARD, so the women called themselves Cards. Jessie’s courage to leave the New York Public Library and serve in France is captivating.

Readers sink into the 1918 war zone through descriptions of the devastation and mindboggling courage of the Cards. Charles captures the haunting aura of the demolished castle in Blérancourt, now CARD headquarters, along with breathtaking accounts of Cards navigating minefields, searching for orphaned children hiding in caves, and rebuilding bombed villages. The bonds of respect forged between the millionaire Anne Morgan, Anne Murray Dike, “Kit” Carson and “Brecki” create the undying support needed for families and businesses to return to Blérancourt at the end of the war. The adoption of separated pets, socials for soldiers, and creative puns; calling Cards or my favorite, report Cards, lighten the novel’s somber mood as villagers are extended a lifeline through mobile libraries and books.

The dual timeline Charles maps into the plot routes readers back to the New York Public Library in 1987. She creates tension down in the Remembrance Department between aspiring writer Wendy Peterson and fellow librarian Roberto as they comb through microfiche; older readers will know this antiquated technology. Charles laces their long hours of research with flirty banter and catchy Jeopardy questions as readers root for Wendy’s writing career. Wendy endures condescending Professor Hill, a well-drawn, extremely maddening, unlikeable character, and determines to find the elusive Jessie Carson.

I highly recommend this impressive novel and my favorite section, the Author’s note, filled with the history of librarians in France during World War I. Janet Skeslien Charles reminds us “books are a lifeline.”

Use your library Card and check it out!

The chateau at Blérancourt, France

**https://museefrancoamericain.fr/en/anne-morgan-and-world-war-i-1917-1924**

Anne Morgan- (July 25, 1873 – January 29, 1952) was an American philanthropist who provided relief efforts in aid to France during and after World War I and II

Anne Murray Dike -(1878-1929) was an American doctor, chair of the American Committee for Devastated France from 1917 and recipient of the Croix de Guerre and member of the Legion of Honour. ^[1]

The Search by Dewayne Rahe

Published Feb.6, 2024-Palmetto Publishing-304pp-American Historical Fiction

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-search-dewayne-rahe/1144669803

Book Summary

Journey into 1910 Iowa: Where Mystery, Adventure & Destiny Collide in Fred Schmidt’s Pursuit of Life’s True Purpose in The Search.

In rural Iowa, 1910, Fred Schmidt faces life’s pivotal question: How should he live his life? This compelling historical fiction transports readers into a world bursting with real and mystical characters. Teamed up with Artie Holberg, the ambitious son of a renowned horse trader, Fred embarks on an enthralling adventure-from a daring scheme in Minnesota to a treacherous escapade in pre-World War I Europe. Encounters with enigmatic figures like Count Von Drathen and the beautifully captivating Baroness Van Essen weave a tapestry of suspense, mystery, and revelation.

Dewayne Rahe, inspired by the rich background of his cultural heritage and history, masterfully blends history, destiny, and adventure in The Search. A tale about finding oneself amid life’s mysteries, this riveting narrative beautifully encapsulates the universal struggle of choosing one’s own path.

A must-read for fans of historical fiction, journey with Fred as he navigates the intricate map of destiny, love, and intrigue. Will the mystical voice guiding him reveal the truth he seeks? Dive in to uncover the thrilling conclusion. Don’t just read a story, experience the search for destiny.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Search is an extension of Last of the Wild, about the Pioneers that settled Northeast Iowa. Rahe continues the saga in 1910 as Fred Schmidt is coming of age, making decisions, and learning life lessons as he navigates the workings of the Holberg Horse Trading Company. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about finding family, heritage, and purpose.

There are elements for readers of all ages to appreciate. The omniscient counselor that whispers in the wind lends a mystical, magical thread that will enthrall younger readers. Rahe expertly weaves the concept of gathering advice and opinions from parents and grandparents, suggesting searching for wisdom from those with life experiences. Fred learns that people do misrepresent themselves, promises aren’t always kept and it’s necessary to figure out who to trust. Fred is not always successful, which is certainly real life! He experiences amazing travel opportunities along with the complexities of family responsibility and the impact of birth order on personalities. There are emotions to explore such as fear, guilt, and regret surrounding personal and business decisions. Fred also faces conundrums, situations where a difficult decision will have lasting, ripple effects. Rahe handles these situations with grit and finesse. His characters are well developed through dialogue and scenes are filled with detailed descriptions and historical background. The Scotsman farmer, Thomas Ferguson and his Clydesdales, David and Goliath, along with his meal of haggis is a perfect example.

The Search is a novel of suspense and adventure laced with pearls of wisdom; filled with anticipation and surprises right to the last whistle.

Dewayne Rahe, a retired Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and author of Last of the Wild, resides near Dyersville, Iowa. Influenced by his rich cultural heritage and history, Dewayne writes captivating stories, seeking to share wisdom and guidance, especially for his ten beloved grandchildren. His books are highlighted with illustrations by his artist wife, Krystal. Beyond writing, Dewayne enjoys spending time with his family, gardening, biking, and traveling to his grandchildren’s numerous athletic events.

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