historical fiction

Book Review: Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor
by Roseanna M. White

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical romance

Though marriage to Cyril Lightbourne, a very distant relation that Mariah Lyons’s father’s estate will pass to someday, would be convenient, Mariah has to face the fact that he’s not the same kid she played with years in the past when he first visited Plumford. Their letters became strained over the years, and she’s heard that he’s set his sights on the flirtatious, malicious Lady Pearl, which lowers Cyril in her own esteem anyway. Still, she’s glad that their old friendship is rekindled when he comes to Plumford at Christmastime, and she has enough to deal with anyway, since a Danish lord is visiting Plumford at the same time, set on winning Mariah’s hand.

I’m always wary of romances set at Christmastime, since they’re often much more sappy and devoid of plot than other romances, but I recently fell in love with some of Roseanna M. White’s other works, so I was excited to receive an ARC of this novella. And it did not disappoint. It’s short enough that there aren’t any major surprises, but there are some lovely minor surprises, and I actually found myself cheering at some moments near the end of the story. I was confused at first when a 3rd POV popped up, that of the Danish Lord, Søren Gyldenkrone, but it really paid off in the end.

I’m a complete novice when it comes to what this book is based on—The Nutcracker—but that by no means lowered my enjoyment of it. The Christian element is mostly related to the characters clearly being Christ-followers themselves and some allowing their faith to change their thinking (for the better). The only downside to getting an ARC of a Christmas book in August is that I don’t get to read it while ensconced in a colorful, wintery environment myself (technically, I could have, but I don’t like putting off ARCs like that). I may have to re-read this one next December (only because this December would be too soon), just for the full effect. In case it’s not clear, I highly recommend this sweet, well-themed Christmas romance.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.
Publication date: September 3, 2024

Find out more about Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Regency Brides Collection

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Regency Brides Collection
by multiple authors (see details below)

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical romance, short stories

This book contains short stories from 7 different authors, taking place in England during the Regency period. My overall rating for the book is an average of my ratings for each story, shown below. Below the ratings is a brief review for each story.

“First Comes Marriage” by Amanda Barratt – 3 / 5
“Masquerade Melody” by Angela Bell – 4 / 5
“Three Little Matchmakers” by Susanne Dietze – 4 / 5
“The Gentleman Smuggler’s Lady” by Michelle Griep – 3 / 5
“When I Saw His Face” by Nancy Moser – 2 / 5
“The Highwayman’s Bargain” by MaryLu Tyndall  – 3.5 / 5
“Jamie Ever After” by Erica Vetsch – 4.5 / 5

“First Comes Marriage” (3 / 5) is a marriage of convenience story with a nice forgiveness angle, plus a focus on the change in a person that comes from following God. Overall, though, it didn’t stand out, and there was a major coincident near the end of the story that bugged me a bit.

“Masquerade Melody” (4 / 5) is well-written and sweet, with a romance that isn’t as overly obvious as they often are, especially in short stories. Though I think I may not be musical enough to enjoy this much as I could have, it was one of my favorites in the book.

“Three Little Matchmakers” (4 / 5) has Sound of Music vibes to it, with a grumpy father-figure and kids that end up endearing themselves to him. The kids’ constant eavesdropping bothered me a little (like, does no one watch or discipline them?), but it ended up being kinda cute. I also really liked Henry’s arc in dealing with his temper.

“The Gentleman Smuggler’s Lady” (3 / 5) was overall fairly simple and didn’t stand out to me. The female main character had this way of trying to convince herself to pretend things weren’t as bad as they were or pretend something she wanted was really going to happen—it’s difficult to explain, but it made her seem very immature to me.

“When I Saw His Face” (2 / 5) is the story of a widow who accepts a marriage proposal mostly out of obligation, and then starts to fall in love with someone else. I did not care for her at all or the terrible way she treated both of these men, especially the fiancé, with barely any consequences. The story in the end is too easy and too predictable, and was my least favorite in the book.

“The Highwayman’s Bargain” (3.5 / 5) was maybe a bit predictable, but it ended up sweet. I was a little frustrated with how long the female main character held out before letting her better judgment prevail. And I don’t particularly care for so much deception without consequences in a Christian setting, but overall, the story wasn’t bad.

“Jamie Ever After” (4.5 / 5) was my favorite story in the series, and no surprise, since the author has recently become my favorite author of this genre of novels. Her inclusion in the collection is the main reason I read it. I liked both of the main characters as individuals and the relationship that built between them. It’s a marriage of convenience story, and though there is a contrivance in it that caused the half-star detraction in my rating, it’s overall a very sweet story that left me very happy.

In the end, though my overall rating for this collection isn’t wonderful, I liked more than I didn’t, and I think that others who like Christian romance from this time period will enjoy the book even more than I did.

Find out more about The Regency Brides Collection

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank
by Ellen Feldman

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Historical fiction

What if Otto Frank wasn’t the only survivor of those who hid for years in the Secret Annex? What if Peter also survived the war and went to America afterward, reinventing himself like he’d told Anne he would do if he made it out? This is the story of what could have been, as Peter van Pels keeps his identity a secret, even Anne’s diary becomes public and subsequent adaptations are released.

I’ve had this book on my shelf for a while, but finally read it because my daughter recently read The Diary of a Young Girl (and I re-read it to be able to remember it enough to talk to her about it) and was curious about this book. I think the author handled a very difficult subject well—severe PTSD of a kind that most of us will never be able to understand. The fact that Peter reminded me a bit of the Art Spiegelman’s father in the Maus books makes me think that Feldman did a decent job portraying someone who survived the horrors of the Holocaust. However, I think the title is a bit deceptive, in that it gives the impression that the story will delve at least a little into Peter’s time in the annex, his time with Anne. Instead, a large part of what Peter does in the book to protect himself is to completely disown his past, even in his own mind, so he considers the day he landed in America as when his life began and doesn’t think about the time before that at all. Understandable, but not quite what I expected from this story.

In fact, I think that’s a lot of what I felt about this book: understandable, even decently written, but not really what I was expecting or my normal reading preference. So I will just say that if you are intrigued by the concept and stories that delve into psychology, PTSD, dark subjects, etc., definitely give this book a try. I wasn’t the right audience, but maybe you will be.

Find out more about The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Captain’s Daughter

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Captain’s Daughter
by Jennifer Delamere

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Historical Christian romance

Chased to London by a false accusation of theft, Rosalyn Bernay soon finds herself without any possessions or a place to stay. A chance encounter lands her both a job and a friend who offers to let her stay at her small flat. The job is at a theater that is currently running the most popular show in London and also happens to be where Nate Moran is working as a stagehand. Nate is recovering from an injury, after which he intends to return to his army unit in India. Meeting Rosalyn has made him question the plan to return, but he is determined not to let her shake his resolve.

In a lot of ways, this book checked boxes that normally make a book in this genre perfect for me. However, I think the plot may have had too much going on for my taste. The focus on the theater and Rosalyn beginning to find a passion to perform herself was interesting, and it probably would have provided enough plot on its own. But add to that Nate’s stubborn insistence that he must return to India to make up for a mistake he made there before he left and the brothel owner that Rosalyn runs afoul of when she first comes to London, and there are side plots that aren’t resolved well enough for my taste. The false claims that chase Rosalyn to London in the first place to have a satisfactory conclusion, at least.

I do like that the romance is overall pretty subtle, and I appreciated Nate’s family—full of kind, wise, fun people. I don’t know that I really understand the choice of title, in that Rosalyn’s father being a captain is a pretty small part of the book. But I do wonder if I might have gotten more out of the story in general if I actually knew anything about the opera that’s being staged in the theater throughout the book (H.M.S. Pinafore). Though the next book in the series has a considerably higher rating on Goodreads, I don’t plan to continue this series. However, if it sounds interesting to you, please do check it out.

Find out more about The Captain’s Daughter

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure
by Angela Bell

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical romance

A failed engagement leaves Clara playing protector to her family of eccentrics, lest her ex-fiance have them committed as insane. When her grandfather takes in an apprentice for his clockmaking shop, a broken vagabond with a false name, Clara is certain he’s a spy sent by her ex-fiance. Then her grandfather takes to the skies in a flying machine he invented, bidding both Clara and Theodore, his apprentice, to follow his clues in a scavenger hunt across Europe. As Clara attempts to find her grandfather before the wrong people do, she may just have to let go of the idea that protecting everyone she loves is entirely up to her.

This book has everything I love in this genre and then some. Both of the main characters are complex, well-crafted characters. Side characters are colorful and fun. There’s adventure, symbolism, and romance that doesn’t take over the story. Though perhaps the heavy burdens that both Clara and Theodore carry throughout much of the story is a bit overdone, they both separately culminate in ways that I loved. There’s one scene in particular on Theodore’s side that brought tears to my eyes. There is quite a bit of Christian-related content in this book, but to me, it’s not the amount of references to God or the Bible that can make that content feel forced or preachy but the way it’s used, whether it’s well-infused with the story being told or not, and I felt Bell did a great job of having it all work together.

What really made this book fun and adventurous was the side characters, namely Clara’s mother (lovingly denoted “Mrs. S.” by Theodore), with her penchant for collecting abandoned or broken critters, and Clara’s grandfather (“Grand” to her and “Drosselmeyer” to Theodore), who isn’t present for much of the story overall, but drives the plot with his scavenger hunt and words of wisdom about Clara’s tendency toward self-reliance. I don’t know how realistic Grand’s automaton inventions were for that time period (or for modern times, even), but I truly do not care. They appealed to my escape-room-loving heart and added so much whimsy to the story.

I’m a fairly picky reader, but I loved this book and recommend it for fans of historical Christian fiction. If you enjoy this book, I strongly suggest checking out the author’s contribution to The Lassoed by Marriage Romance Collection, a book of short stories by different authors. Her story was my favorite in that collection (and also involved automatons) and what led me to look for other writings of hers just in time to read this debut novel, and I’m so glad I did!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Find out more about A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Embers in the London Sky

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Embers in the London Sky
Allegiance Under Pressure #1
by Sarah Sundin

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Christian historical romance

While fleeing the Netherlands that has just been invaded by the German army, Aleida’s abusive husband sends their son with strangers, shortly before losing his own life to the Germans. Once in London, she starts a long, difficult search for her son. There, she meets Hugh Collingwood, a BBC radio correspondent trying to inform the public and boost morale while reporting on the Blitz. When his uncle and friend are murdered, it looks like the bombs falling on the city every night aren’t the only danger.

In a way, this book almost seems like two different stories. The first is a combination of Aleida searching for her son while also trying to shine light on the way some of the kids are treated as they’re evacuated out of London during the Blitz and Hugh trying to maintain integrity in his reporting while struggling against the threat of censorship. This main part of the story kept me engaged, and I liked seeing these different sides of London during this part of history. Then the book turns into a murder mystery as Aleida and Hugh, both apart and separately, try to solve a series of murders. I’m a fan of mystery, and the rest of the story was interesting enough that I didn’t need the mystery angle to be expanded on. Still the pacing of the mystery being in the background for a long time to then suddenly jump into the foreground threw me off just a little. 

I appreciated the development of the relationship between Aleida and Hugh and that it didn’t come across as the main point of the story. I prefer a subtle romance, and Aleida and Hugh developed a great foundation of friendship first. Though some of the drama involving their relationship felt too much like it was thrown in there just to prolong the inevitable declarations of love. I look forward to the next book, which appears to be about Aleida’s cousin, who is still in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, and I recommend this one to anyone who likes historical fiction from this time period in the Christian romance genre.

Thank you to Netgalley and Revell for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Find out more about Embers in the London Sky

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Juliet Code

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

The Juliet Code
Frederick & Grace Mystery #3
by Pepper D. Basham

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Historical Christian mystery

In Italy for their honeymoon, Lord and Lady Astley, Frederick and Grace, become entangled in an investigation involving stolen art and a purported treasure that can only be found by deciphering a code in the missing artwork.

Due to my issues with the first book in this series, I went into this one really uncertain about how it would go. I did like it a little more than the other, mostly because the mystery was a little more involved. Though Grace is ready to dive head-first into the case, Frederick drags his heels a little bit before accepting that their usefulness could be needed by their detective friend who has been brought in to investigate. This may have provided the most enjoyable parts of the story, but overall, Grace’s character was just too immature and silly for my taste. The mystery is convoluted, with so many people involved and suspected, so many different times when people get hurt and the motive is uncertain, that it was difficult for me to follow. When the truth is revealed, it’s a bit anti-climactic for me.

The first book in the series is super steamy for a Christian book, and I was worried about how one would go. It’s maybe toned down a little, but there are still a lot of references to them enjoying each other and teasing each other for later. Then at about 80% into the story, another romance sort of starts to develop, but it’s almost completely about physical attraction as well. This section of my review alone is enough for me to say I have no desire to read any other books in this series, and I’ll be cautious about other books by this author in the future. If you are interested in the genre and aren’t bothered by the issues mentioned, please check out the link below to see what others thought. You certainly might like it more than I did.

Find out more about The Juliet Code

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Al Capone Does My Shirts

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Al Capone Does My Shirts
Tales from Alcatraz #1
by Gennifer Choldenko

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade historical fiction

Moose Flanagan’s family moves to Alcatraz in 1935, where his dad will be working as a prison guard. Now Moose has to get used to a new school, keep his sister out of trouble, and deal with strict rules imposed by the prison warden, whose own daughter does whatever she can to break them.

I’d heard of this book and seen it around for a long time before deciding to read it. I expected something pretty light, maybe a little goofy or immature. And while it’s not exactly heavy, it’s definitely deeper than I expected. Moose’s sister, who is a few years older than him, is autistic, in the days before it had a name and when kids with autism were given a lot of different diagnoses. She tends to live in her own world, and sometimes that means fits of anger that can’t be controlled. Moose is left with Natalie now and then, and eventually his mother asks him to take her everywhere he goes. On top of that, his mother grasps at every possibly cure for Natalie that she hears about, in a way that is detrimental to her own mental health.

The author did a great job of making me feel connected to the characters in such a way that I felt a lot of emotions while reading the book. I was annoyed with the warden’s daughter, her schemes, and her dad’s refusal to see the truth about her. I both felt for the mom who didn’t know how to deal with having a daughter with mental issues and wanted to give her a stern talking to sometimes. And Moose himself is just trying to be a kid in very unusual circumstances. Though Al Capone is kind of obsessed over throughout the book, it seemed like he was to be more of an abstract figure than anything. But without giving any spoilers, he actually does have a more active part by the end, in a moment that actually made me let out a gasp and made me really intrigued about the next book. I’ve already recommended this book to my 13-year-old daughter, who might be on the top end of the age group for it, but I think she’ll like it. I also recommend it for other pre-teens and young teens as well as any adults who enjoy younger-audience books.

Find out more about Al Capone Does My Shirts

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: A Noble Scheme

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

A Noble Scheme
The Imposters #2
by Roseanna M. White

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical mystery

Gemma Parks keeps to the shadows in her capacity as newspaper columnist writing about high-society functions, which is also useful for the investigative team she’s part of, the Imposters. The Imposters normally work for the wealthy, charging a lot of money for their services, but when a working man begs their help to find his kidnapped son, they can’t refuse. Unfortunately, this case puts Gemma in close proximity with Graham Wharton, one of the other Imposters, with whom she used to have a relationship before something went terribly wrong, and she’s been avoiding for almost a year since. Graham, for his part, hopes that this case will end both with a return of the boy to his parents and a return of Gemma to his side.

I loved this second book as much as the first, with the focus turning from Marigold and Merritt to Graham and Gemma. Marigold’s brother Yates, leader of the Imposters, again provides the third POV for the book, and I was happy to continue seeing his side of things. In the first book, we’re given allusions to something causing a rift between Graham and Gemma, but no details. I knew that would be brought out in this book, then, and I was a little annoyed when the “why” was danced around for over 1/4 of the book. Little hints were dropped, maybe even big ones, but I definitely missed the big picture until it was plainly stated (actually, I was spoiled by a review on Goodreads, so be careful what you read). When I did realize the full story, I understood completely why it was held back for so long. It broke my heart and made the journey for these two so much more than I imagined (I suppose what I imagined was an almost humorous tiff that just needed a quiet moment together to put to rights). The progression of their story brought tears to my eyes more than once, and I love the way their views of God were just as big a part of it as were their feelings for each other. Rather than a twisted idea that Graham’s reunion with God was somehow dependent on him (re)gaining the love of a good woman, which I’ve sadly seen in other Christian books, I felt this book had its priorities straight. That’s all the more I’ll say on this subject to avoid spoilers.

Like in the previous book, the case the Imposters work on isn’t a huge mystery, at least in regards to the culprit(s) involved. However, there were certainly facets to the villainy that were kept back and revealed at moments that allowed for suspense and even more emotion. The climax maybe got a little over-dramatic for my taste, but not even enough for me to lower my rating, because of how much I loved the book as a whole. I’m excited to see the next book in the series has already been announced; I love the synopsis so much, and I think that giving us little glimpses of Yates on the way to “his” book really heightens the anticipation of that third book. I highly recommend this book for fans of Christian historical mystery (this is set during the Edwardian era in London).

Thank you to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Find out more about A Noble Scheme

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: Escape from Warsaw

/ Kristi / 2 Comments

Escape from Warsaw
by Ian Serraillier

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Middle grade historical fiction

I thought this book might be a sort of introduction to fiction set during WWII and the Holocaust for my daughter, since these are subjects I’ve been very interested in since I was a teenager. However, while the book isn’t bad, it’s very shallow overall. Most of the story takes place after the war has ended, jumping forward 2 years from when the children’s mother is arrested early in the book. And the title implies that the children struggle to escape their home city, but the story is more of a journey across a war-torn landscape, through multiple countries from Poland to Switzerland, where they’re sure their dad is waiting. It’s a story of survival and relying on the kindness of strangers, of family helping each other at all costs, and of children who are displaced by the war. It’s almost a series of vignettes, which makes sense, since the author used real accounts of things that happened to people around this time period, piecing them together into a mostly cohesive story of one family trying to reunite. However, at 13, I would say my daughter is already too old for this book, though I can see it being a decent one for younger kids. As a side note, apparently the book was originally published under the title The Silver Sword, which I think was a much more apt name for the story (especially considering that the actual escape from Warsaw was quick and not super difficult).

Find out more about Escape from Warsaw

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!