Monthly Archives: June 2022

6 Favorite Historical Fiction in 6 Months [2022] #6BooksIn6Months #ThrowBackThursday

June 23, 2022

6 in 6 [2022]

6 Best Histfic in 6 Months (collage of covers)

The Six in Six is a meme created by Jo at The Book Jotter At the end of June, we are halfway through the year,  so the idea is to share the books we have read in these first 6 months. When I looked at my list of the top 6 so far this year, I realized that they were all Historical Fiction. You’re not really surprised, are you?!

I’m also linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #ThrowBackThursday (since I’ve previously reviewed 4 of the 6 titles).

In the true spirit of the 6 in 6 meme, we are asked to share 6 books in 6 categories. Coming up with 36 books will take more brain power than I have available right now, so I will share 6 of the best (most memorable) historical fiction books I’ve read so far this year. Bonus: At the end of the post, I’m sharing 6 books in 6 more categories!

If you need to fill your beach bag or your summer TBR, I hope you’ll find something here to match your reading taste! I highly recommend each one!

***Titles are links to my reviews or Amazon affiliate links.

a cartoonish number 6

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The Last Dress From Paris [Book Review]

June 21, 2022

The Last Dress From Paris by Jade Beer

The Last Dress From Paris by Jade Beer (cover) Image: the back view of a youing woman in a long red gown standing

Genre/Categories/Setting: Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Romance, Complicated Relationships, Fashion, Paris

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thank you #NetGalley @BerkleyPub #BerkleyWritesStrongWomen #BerkleyBuddyReads for a complimentary e-Arc of #TheLastDressFromParis upon my request. All opinions are my own.

In dual timelines (2017 and 1952), The Last Dress From Paris is a page-turning story of family secrets, romance, and couture. In the present-day timeline, Lucille’s grandmother asks her to go to Paris and retrieve a priceless Dior dress for her. Upon Lucille’s arrival in Paris, she realizes that there’s more than one dress and a mystery involving her grandmother’s past to solve.

My Thoughts:

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Recommendations For Historical Fiction With a Side of Thriller #WhatsOnYourBookshelfChallenge #WOYBC

June 17, 2022

Do you have a histfic with a side of thriller on your bookshelf?

Historical Fiction With a Side of Thriller (white text over a background picture of a stack of hardback books)

Today for the June #WhatsOnYourBookshelfChallenge I’m focusing on Historical Fiction with a side of Thriller.

First, thrillers are not my go-to genre. I’m an HSP (highly sensitive person/reader) and susceptible to nightmares. However, I don’t mind a side of a gentle thriller as a mashup with another genre.

(Kate Quinn is the queen of histfic/thriller mashup!)

***Titles in this post are links to my reviews or Amazon affiliate links.

Recommendations For Historical Fiction With a Side of Thriller

(in no particular order)

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (cover) grayscale cover....a woman in a dark long coat walks into a grove of tall trees (red and black text)

The Huntress by Kate Quinn

The Huntress by Kate Quinn (cover) Image: black and white image of a woman with her back to the camera walking into a shadowy room

Rose Code by Kate Quinn

a woman dressed in a rose dress stands with her back to the camera overlooking a balcony and a gold wall

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner (cover) Image: blue-toned picture of a woman and young girl holding hands and walking down railroad tracks with backs to camerai

The Invisible Woman by Erika Robuck

The Invisible Woman by Erica Robuck (cover) Image: a woman stands with her back to the camera and shadows of airplanes on the ground surround her

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon (cover)

Woman 99 by Greer Macallister

Woman 99

Mrs. England by Stacey Halls

Mrs. England by Stacey Halls (cover) Image: a young woman in a long white dress peeks around the corner of an open door

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys (cover) Image: grayscale image of a man standing outside a building holding a blue/yellow/red torn flag

QOTD:

Do you have a favorite histfic with a side of thriller to share?

 I’m linking up with Deb @ Deb’s World and Sue @ Women Living Well After 50, Donna @ Retirement Reflections, and Jo @ And Anyways…. for the June installment of #WhatsOnYourBookShelfChallenge.

Whats On Your Bookshelf Challenge

Happy Reading Book Buddies!

“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke

“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes

“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text

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***Blog posts may contain affiliate links. This means that I can earn a small percentage of your purchase price at no extra cost to you.

Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.

Book Cover and author photos are credited to Amazon or an author’s (or publisher’s) website.

© ReadingLadies.com

All the Devils Are Here [Book Review] #ThrowBackThursday

June 16, 2022

All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny
#throwbackthursday

Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery/Detective/Thriller, Paris

Welcome to Throwback Thursday where I highlight an older review or post a current review of an old read. Today, I’m re-sharing a story from a mystery/detective series, All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny.

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is one of my favorite literary detectives and the imagined Canadian village of Three Pines is one of my favorite settings. Although each installment in this loosely connected series can be read as a stand-alone (with a satisfactory conclusion for the central case), each book is a richer reading experience when read in publication order because of the overall character arcs. Some installments I like better than others and this one is among my favorites.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

The title references a line from the work of William Shakespeare: “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.”

All the Devils Are Here, #16 in the Inspector Gamache Series, is set in Paris. The death of Armand Gamache’s godfather is made to look like an accident, but Gamache and his family suspect it is a deliberate murder. Soon the entire family is involved in searching for the truth, unraveling a web of lies and deceit, and facing danger from many directions. Can Gamache trust his beloved godfather? His son? His instincts? His past?

….Mystery/Detective with a side of Thriller…

Continue here for my full review of All the Devils Are Here…

QOTD:

Have you read All the Devils Are Here or is it on your TBR?
Are you an Inspector Gamache and Three Pines fan?

Flying Solo [Book Review]

June 14, 2022

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes (cover) Image: a graphic picture of a small house by a lake....ducks swim in the lake and one flies overhead

Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Maine

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thank you #NetGalley @RandomHouse #BallantineBooks for a complimentary e ARC of #FlyingSolo upon my request. All opinions are my own.

On the heels of her unexpectedly canceled wedding, Laurie returns to her small hometown in Maine to recover from the disappointment and to handle the estate of her great-aunt. At the bottom of a storage chest, Laurie finds a hand-carved decoy duck and a love letter to her never-been-married aunt. These mysterious items cause a great deal of curiosity and send Laurie on a hunt to uncover the secrets in her aunt’s life. In the process, she reconnects with her old high school friend/boyfriend and begins to reevaluate her decisions about marriage and children.

carved wooden duck decoy

My Thoughts:

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Last Summer on State Street [Book Review]

June  13, 2022

Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe

Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe (cover) Image: black text over a colorful graphic of large apartment buildings

Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary “Own Voices” Fiction, Coming of Age, Friendship, Gang Life, Poverty, Family Life, Chicago Housing Projects, African American Women’s Fiction, Diverse Reads

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #Netgalley @WmMorrowBooks @WilliamMorrowBooks for a complimentary e ARC of #LastSummerOnStateStreet upon my request. All opinions are my own.

In 1999, twelve-year-old Fe Fe Stevens lives with her mother and older brother in the 4950 Building of Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes, and her high rise is next in line to be torn down by the Chicago Housing Authority. Fe Fe and her three friends attempt to stay away from the gangs and all the danger in their community by playing a lot of double dutch (jump rope), hiding from bullets, and avoiding crack addicts. They find safety at school, church, and with some of their mothers and trusted adult friends. As the girls begin to lose their childhood innocence, it becomes more difficult to avoid the realities of life and the girls begin going their separate ways.

My Thoughts:

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A Place to Hang the Moon [Book Review]

June 10, 2022

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus

A Place to Hang tthe Moon by Kate Albus (cover) Image: three children stand on the steps of a library

Genre/Categories/Setting: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, WW11, Found Family, Siblings, Books About Books, Books About Libraries/Librarians England

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

During WW11, Anna, Edmund, and William are evacuated from London to the countryside where it is safer from bombing. The children are seeking more than safety from bombs as they have just lost their grandmother, their only guardian, and are in need of a “forever” home. The children encounter cruelty, cold, and hunger. They find one place of comfort and refuge in the library; The librarian, Mrs. Müller becomes a significant person in their lives. With her, they experience cozy fires, hot chocolate, hot buttered thickly-sliced toast, bedtime stories, and someone who thinks they “hang the moon.”

My Thoughts:

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Red Sky Over Hawaii [Book Review] #ThrowBackThursday

June 9, 2022

Red Sky Over Hawaii by Sara Ackerman
#throwbackthursday

Red Sky Over Hawaii by Sara Ackerman (cover) Image: a young woman in a blue dress stands with her back to the camera overlooking a Volcano landscape....four planes in the sky

 

Genre/Categories/Setting: Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, WW11, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, Love Story

Welcome to Throwback Thursday where I highlight an older review or post a current review of an old read. Today, I’m re-sharing a story set in Hawaii during WW11, Red Sky Over Hawaii by Sara Ackerman. She’s one of my auto-buy histfic/women’s fiction authors, and I’ve read each of her five books.

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

WW11 + Hawaii + Saving Neighbors + a Side of Cowboy Romance

The attack on Pearl Harbor during WW11 sets the events in motion. Lana has recently learned of the passing of her father. Even though they were estranged at the time of his death, Lana is saddened by his passing and is left with unanswered questions. As the government begins to arrest her German and Japanese neighbors as suspected sympathizers, she takes two young German girls and a Japanese fisherman and his son to a secret property hidden away in the remote rain forest of Kilauea volcano. Lana struggles to keep her secrets and those in her care safe. Would you save your neighbors in a time of crisis?

Women’s fiction with a WW11 perspective….

Continue here for my full review of Red Sky Over Hawaii…

QOTD:

Have you read Red Sky Over Hawaii or is it on your TBR?
I’m a Sara Ackerman fan and love her histfic/women’s fiction books set in Hawaii around the time of Pearl Harbor. Her other work set in the same time and place: The Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers, The Lieutenant’s Nurse, RadarGirls, and (soon to be released) The Codebreaker’s Secret.

Nora Goes Off Script [Book Review]

June 7, 2022

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan (cover) Image: graphic image of a young woman carrying a cup of coffee across a green lawn towards a small house....a man stands in the doorway

Genre/Categories: Women’s Contemporary Fiction, RomCom, Romance, Family Life

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thank you #Netgalley @PenguinRandom @PutnamBooks for a complimentary e ARC of #NoraGoesOffScript upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Nora is a romance scriptwriter (think Hallmark Channel). Nora’s husband has walked out on her and their two children, and Nora uses her real-life experiences as the basis for her latest script. Because of the unique “tea house” setting, the movie is being filmed in her own home. Leo, recently named “sexiest man alive,” is cast as the husband and Nora’s life is changed forever. After the shooting wraps, Nora finds Leo on her porch offering her a thousand dollars a day to rent her “tea house” for one week, Movie making intersects with real life, and It all gets complicated!

My Thoughts:

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Book Lovers [Book Review]

June 3, 2022

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Book Lovers by Emily Henry (cover) Image: a young man and woman sit back to back on separate hassocks reading books .....the woman hands the man a book

Genre/Categories: Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Romance, RomCom, Rural/Small Town North Carolina

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Nora (in a nod to Nora Ephron) is a competitive and aggressive literary agent and loves the big city. Nora’s sister Libby convinces Nora that they need a girls’ vacation to small-town Sunshine Falls, North Carolina where Nora can be the heroine in her own (Hallmark) romance. Instead of running into a handsome country doctor, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie, a book editor she knows from the city. What’s he doing in this small, rural town? Their accidental meetings are not meet-cute but they are thrown together again and again. Plot twist!

My Thoughts:

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