Category: Historical Fiction - GRANT LEISHMAN

conflict on the yangtze by greg kater

18/3/2019

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

Author Greg Kator brings us an Asian action adventure with his latest novel, Conflict on the Yangtze. Featuring many of the characters already introduced in his previous works, the author takes us on a journey up the famous Yangtze River in post-war China to attempt to destroy an opium smuggling ring that is flooding Australia and the U.S. with illicit drugs, transported via The Philippines. Jamie Munro and half-aborigine Jack “Jacko” O’Brien, from the Australian Commonwealth Investigation Services will team up with Colonel John Cook from Britain’s MI6 and Harry Williams from the U.S. Office of Strategic Services to try to destroy the smuggling ring. Entering a China wracked with virtual Civil War, as Mao ZeDong’s Communists battle with Chiang Kai Shek’s Kuomintang Government was always going to be fraught with danger for the pair, especially with various Warlords also struggling for control of a country left in a vacuum with the defeat of the Japanese invaders. Fortunately for Munro and O’Brien they have a secret weapon – the diminutive but incredibly brave and resourceful half-sister of Jacko’s, the Aborigine girl Sarah. Together they will tackle the drug cartel from production to transport, to distribution.

Conflict on the Zangtze reads very much like a “boys own” adventure story from my childhood, with action and excitement on almost every page. Author Greg Kator has a direct and engaging style of writing that draws the reader into the familial group of characters and imbues them with a sense that they belong to the reader. As a New Zealander, I appreciated the sometime not so subtle “Aussie” speak and references but I imagine for many readers an “Aussie” glossary would be a useful tool for this book. Undoubtedly the star of the show was none of the big brave Intelligence officers but rather the tiny Aboriginal girl, Sarah. Her resourcefulness and her charming humility were beautifully portrayed by the author and one was totally endeared to her by the end of the story. This is a continuation of characters previously introduced by Kator but one does not have to have read his earlier books to be enthralled by this one – it stands alone, as a wonderful story. If you are a lover of action/adventure with a very ethnic twist or a lover of Historical Fiction (as I am) this book will be right up your alley. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and can highly recommend it.

You can find Conflict on the Yangtze by Greg Kater, here on Amazon:

The Stockton Insane Asylum Murder (Portia of the Pacific Historical Mysteries Book 3) by James Musgrave

26/2/2019

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

The Stockton Insane Asylum Murder (Portia of the Pacific Historical Mysteries) by James Musgrove takes us inside a typical Californian Asylum at the end of the nineteenth century. At this time, committal of a patient in the asylum was common for both women and children in the patriarchal paradigm of that era. It seemed, when women became too strident or too annoying to their husbands, or they could see a financial benefit in jettisoning her, it was an, all too easy, thing to do. Clara Foltz is a private detective and a loud champion of women’s rights. When she is approached by an aunt of a young girl committed to the asylum after witnessing a murder committed on her wealthy parents’ estate, she joins forces with a former asylum inmate, the redoubtable Mrs Elizabeth Packard also a crusading activist to investigate what may be a miscarriage of justice. What Clara and her team find is much more than just a wrongly committed patient, but a systematic and endemic attitude of corruption, misogyny and racism at the highest levels of the asylum and the government. The crusading team are determined to unravel the mystery of the committed child but also to bring down the corrupt and evil experimenters who are trying to prove the superiority of the white elites of America.

What I did enjoy about The Stockton Insane Asylum Murder (Portia of the Pacific Historical Mysteries) was the mirror it held up to us today. Despite well over a century having passed by, many of the deep set beliefs and ideals portrayed by author James Musgrove in this story of “white superiority” are still alive and kicking and sadly finding more traction than ever before in the United States at present. I found it fascinating that these strong, crusading women even back then, knew the answers to society’s ills and yet today, we are still crying out for powerful female leadership, with the compassion and common sense evident in this story. Clearly the patriarchal paradigm is still a long way from being fractured and done away with. The secondary characters in the story were, in some ways, the stars of the tale. I was particularly taken with the two sets of triplets, two sets of whom were conjoined twins. They added an almost Barnum and Bailey character to the story and brought to mind the sorts of experiments that would be practised some sixty-odd years later in another evil attempt to prove Aryan elite superiority. The story flows well, with the author’s style being readable and succinct. I did, initially have some difficulty isolating, in my mind, who was who and doing what to whom, but that aside, this was a satisfying read. If you love historical fiction rooted in reality and you look for strong, independent and fierce female lead characters, I have no doubt you’ll enjoy this book immensely.

You can find The Stockton Insane Asylum Murders by James Musgrave, here on Amazon:

yield by b. j. .tiernan

23/1/2019

I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed B.J. Tiernan's novel of love, loss and relationships, based in 1960's small-town middle America. Perhaps it was the nostalgia effect on a child of that period, but I found myself totally transported into the main character's lives and their angst, especially as they faced the most pressing situation of the time - the Vietnam War, head on. This is a story that examines the questions of what is love and how to cope with abuse and loss. I was delighted with the characters Tiernan created for this story. Marley, the young woman who had been sexually abused as a child and carried that weight deep inside her for all her childhood.
Marley, following a botched abortion, as a teenager, decides she is not loveable. With cold, undemonstrative parents, Marley concludes she is not worthy, so when the good-looking, wealthy and successful Peter comes into her life, she "settles" for a relationship that whilst not being "in love" is at least, safe and comforting. When, on her wedding day, she meets Peter's best friend, Warren, she realises, to her horror, that this man is actually the man of her dreams. The electricity between the pair is palpable.
All this is played out against the background of the horror, the loss and the music that was the dominating factor of the 60's and early 70's - the Vietnam War and the country's opinion of that war. As a child of the 60's and 70's I enjoyed the nostalgia trip, but more importantly, I enjoyed the story of these characters, as they tried to come to terms with who they were and what to make of the situations life had thrown at them.
This is not deep, sophisticated literature; this is a simply told, beautifully written tale of a woman attempting to find her place in a world she's not sure she belongs in. The friendship between Marley and her best friend since childhood was one of the highlights of the book. I have to be honest, there's not a lot I can read that makes me emotional, yet this book has that ability. I wondered how the author would conclude the story given the first person POV and I was both satisfied and moved by her writing.
If you love romance, relationships and the dynamics between them, you really will love Yield. It's a winner in my book and worth every one of the five stars I've given it.

You can find Yield here, on Amazon.

dark serenade (montenegro #2) by estela vazquez perez

2/1/2019

Dark Serenade (Montenegro, #2) is a continuation of the story of Victor Montenegro, from a well-to-do and influential Californian family, who gets more than he bargained for when he travels to New Orleans to escape a broken heart. Montenegro, a devil-may-care, treasure hunter is caught up with a group of vampires in New Orleans and discovers to his horror, what vampirism and demons are all about.
You do not have to have read Book 1, to enjoy this dark and mysterious tale, but I have and this is just a continuation of the wonderful story and beautiful language of author Estela Vazquez Perez. Perez very definitely has a way with words and her books are a delight to read, as the stories just trip off the tongue and draw fantastic mind pictures for the readers. At its heart, this series is very much a story about unrequited love and the pain that goes along with living forever, as a vampire, combined with the inability of a vampire to consummate true and lasting romantic love with another person. The characters from the first book are still there, but this book focuses very much on the life of Montenegro, after he returns to California and comes to terms with the idea that he is now an abomination and will live forever, but can never find true and lasting love.
I am generally not a great reader of vampiric fantasy, but Perez not only makes her characters real and the reader empathetic to them, she weaves a beautiful story as she goes. I cannot wait for the next iteration of this series to see where Perez takes these characters that I have come to adore.
Dark Serenade is an excellent read and one I can highly recommend.

You can find Dark Serenade here on Estela Vazquez Perez's Amazon page, along with the rest of her superb stories.

of knights and dogfights: a WWII Novel by ellie midwood

26/12/2018

I am an enormous fan of Ellie Midwood's and I await each new release with anticipation and excitement of another fantastic story from World War II. Of Knights and Dogfights is a wonderful example of what Midwood does and in my opinion, does much better than anyone else. She researches possible characters, finds real-life participants who pique her interest and then fictionalises them into magnificent stories of deering-do and romance.
This was very much the case with Of Knights and Dogfights, which is based on two real Luftwaffe aces from World War II. Although the two never met in real life, in Midwood's fictional world, they not only met, but trained and fought side by side in the skies above Europe and Africa. Her two characters, Willi and Johann, were, in many ways, the antithesis of the hatred, evil and prejudice that stalked Nazi Germany. Neither believed the racial purity lines spouted by the party and both were chivalrous and gallant toward their enemies, in a way that was always destined to bring them into conflict with the "powers that be" in 1940's Nazi Germany.
As a reader, I found myself totally invested in the lives of these two fine, upstanding, young men. I think perhaps the greatest moment of revelation was when I realised that despite being the highest and second-highest aces of WWII, both Willi and Johann were just a mere twenty-three-years of age. The horrors of war, that had required both boys to become men, way too early was reflected in their even-handed treatment of all people, regardless of their race, creed or religion. These were the Germans, who loved their beloved Fatherland and would fight to the death to protect it, but hated and despised everything the Nazi cancer had done to their home and their people.
I have yet to read a Midwood story that has left me unfulfilled as a reader and Of Knights and Dogfights will not be the first. It was a wonderful story that takes the reader soaring high amongst the clouds but doesn't shy from the realities and horrors of war that kills a nation's youth, whilst its old men plot and plan.
Another absolute winner from the doyen of WWII literature and one of my favourite authors, never mind favourite Indie Authors. Midwood stands proudly amongst the best of the legacy published authors. This book is another triumph in an already glittering portfolio.

Absolutely do go and take a look at Of Knights and Dogfights, along with the rest of her amazing portfolio, here on Ellie Midwood's Amazon page.

ketsumeidan by maRK MOREY

7/12/2018

Ketsumeidan provides us with a fascinating look inside the world of the Japanese Geisha and its rituals and ceremonies. Set in Tokyo, prior to World War II, we meet Aiko, a successful and much sought after Geisha, who, it seems, has her life well and truly sorted. She loves her role as a Geisha and the lifestyle it affords, plus she has a patron who she loves dearly. The only thing that darkens the horizon is the increasingly militaristic attitude of many in the armed forces and the parliament of Japan. It seems that Japan's slide into war is inevitable and many feel it is a war they cannot win, especially if the United States declares war on Japan.
When Aiko becomes privy (through a Geisha banquet) to information on an ultra nationalist organisation called the Ketsumeidan, she contacts the Tokyo police. Tokyo Police Inspector Yuudai Sato. The unlikely alliance join forces to try to prevent the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister and to try to stave off the inevitable march to war. When they prove unsuccessful, both must face the horrors that war will bring to them and their loved ones.
Ketsumeidan is a solid, chunky read and gives us some real insight into the life, culture, customs and social mannerisms of pre-war Japan. The sharp contrast between the "average man or woman" and the ruthless, vicious, indoctrinated conscripts could not be more apparent. Many of those left behind cannot believe the atrocities committed by their military on behalf of the Japanese people. This juxtaposition is perhaps no more eloquently highlighted than that between the serene, world of the Geisha's and the murder and rape of thousands of innocent Chinese civilians in the Japan/Chinese conflict.
I found the story dragged ever so slightly at times, but the stark horror of those left behind to face the Allied bombing raids on Tokyo as well as the atrocities being committed in China, were always enough to keep me reading. As a social history of a long-forgotten time, Ketsumeidan served as an excellent read to someone for whom historical fiction is a "junkie's fix". I enjoyed the read and can definitely recommend it.

You can find Ketsumeidan, here, on Mark Morey's Amazon Page, along with the rest of his work.

the persecution of mildred dunlap by paulette mahurin

23/11/2018

Regular readers of my reviews will know I am a big fan of Paulette Mahurin's historical fiction. When I realised there was one of her books I had yet to read, I quickly set about to remedy that oversight.
The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap did not disappoint in any way. Set in 1895 in a small Nevadan town, Mildred and her cousin Edra had long ago realised their attraction to each other and as time had passed they had developed a deep and loving relationship, always cognisant of the effect such a relationship would have in their small town, should it ever become known.
Like all small towns Red River Pass was a hotbed of gossip, much of it generated from the telegrams from the outside world that would bring news and were posted on the public noticeboard outside the General Store. When news came of Oscar Wilde's conviction and imprisonment for homosexuality in England, tongues and minds turned to the evils and sins of same-sex relationships. For Mildred and Edra, they walked a very taut tightrope that threatened to drop them at any point. The pair had always shunned the local gossips, but when things get tight, it is often surprising where true friends and allies can emerge from.
What I've always loved about Mahurin's writings is her ability to weave true life events from the past into a fictional tale which conveys relevance to the happenings of the time. She has excelled at this in the past and does so again, here. Her messages of love, tolerance and understanding shine through her works and are as equally applicable (perhaps even more so) today as they were in 1895.
I don't know how I ever missed reading this before, but I am truly glad to have done so now. As a fellow author, I doff my cap to Mahurin, who shows me regularly what I could also be capable of. Having excellence to aim for is always a challenge and Mahurin always provide excellence in reading. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Absolutely do pop on over to Amazon and take a look at The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap, plus the rest of Paulette Mahurin's superb portfolio, here, on her Amazon page.

innocent bystander (the innocent mystery series book 3) by c.a. asbrey

21/11/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

Abigail MacKay is a rarity, a detective for the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency at the end of the nineteenth century. In Innocent Bystander (The Innocent Mystery Series Book 3), by C.A. Asbrey, Abigail is drawn west, from her home in New York in search of her missing sister, Madeleine who it appears has run off with a man who is suspected of leaving a trail of dead, rich, wives behind him. The problem is nobody appears to know how he is killing his wives and although suspected of murder, no charges have ever been brought against him. When Nat Quinn, notorious bandit and leader of the Innocent gang, and his erstwhile Uncle Jake rob a train in Wyoming, they discover among the passengers, the beautiful and seductive Madeleine, who instantly reminds him of Abigail, with whom he has had previous romantic and unresolved issues. When Abigail realises Nat and Jake are her best chance to find Madeleine and save her from her killer husband, she heads into outlaw territory and persuades the pair to accompany her to San Francisco where they will try to discover the mysterious method by which the killer disposes of his wives without medical professionals being any the wiser.

Innocent Bystanders (The Innocent Mystery Series Book 3) is a powerful and exciting adventure that captivated me, as a reader, from the first page. I had not read the previous two iterations of this adventure, but author C.A. Asbrey did a superb job in filling in the gaps of what occurred in books 1 & 2. The characters of Abigail, Nat and Jake could almost have been taken from a “western adventure annual”. They are overdrawn, but purposely, I’m sure, by the author, to emphasise their characters. Nat and Jake were far from your average outlaws, with both having a strong moral compass buried beneath their outward bluster and toughness. Similarly, Abigail was your archetypal heroine; strong, independent, free thinking and wilful, everything you’d expect from a Pinkerton female detective. The author marvellously managed to imbue her with a softer, feminine and uncertain side to her character that just rounded her out perfectly. The plot was cleverly constructed and keeps the reader fascinated. Although this story could probably be classified as a “western” genre, it is far more than that and will appeal to aficionados of western, romance, murder/mystery and adventure. All in all, this is an excellent read and highly recommended.

Do pop on over to Amazon where you can find Innocent Bystander, plus the previous two books in the series, here on C.A. Asbrey's Amazon page:

sometimes trouble comes in two's! by raymond cook

13/11/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

When Rosenda and Angelique Martinez waved their parents and brothers goodbye, as their family headed off to sell their 200 horses, to the Army in Fort Collins in 1898, little did the girls realise they would not return to them. Set upon and murdered by the very men, their father had hired to help them, the two sisters were suddenly left alone in the world. Rather than wallow in self-pity the girls, full of righteous anger vow to hunt down the five men responsible for their family’s murder. In Sometimes Trouble Comes in Two’s by Raymond Cook, the main problem faced by the girls, to their plan, is that neither of them has any experience in guns or gun-fighting. After hiring a passing gunslinger, they witnessed in a gun-fight in their town, to teach them the rudiments of drawing and firing a pistol, the girls are finally ready to begin their journey of vengeance and justice. Two females, with Colts strapped to their waists was a rare sight in Colorado in 1898 and Rosenda and Angelique soon draw plenty of attention from both those upholding the law and those breaking the law as they travel around the small towns, of early Colorado, searching for the five killers.

The thing I liked most about Sometimes Trouble Comes in Two’s is the two main characters Rosenda and Angelique Martinez who, as two strong female leads are not robbed of their femininity and their emotions by the role of “bounty hunters” that they have chosen to embrace. Author Raymond Cook does well to soften the harshness of the action and the violence with his two protagonists who display their caring, understanding and nurturing nature often in the story. The author’s style is very straightforward, simple and matter-of-fact, as the girls travel the roads and towns of frontier Colorado. In this sense it is a very readable story and could appeal as much to young adults as adults. The premise of two female gunslingers is rare and unusual enough in itself to capture a reader’s attention and Cook does a good job of telling their story. If the author’s intent was to show the counterpoint between the generally accepted version of the “west” as a wild and lawless frontier with the idea that the majority of settlers were good, simple folk just seeking a quiet and peaceful life, I feel he achieved his result. This was a satisfactory read, especially if western fiction is your genre.

Do pop on over to Amazon and take a look at Trouble Sometimes Comes in Two's on Raymond Cook's Amazon page, along with the rest of his extensive portfolio.

touching the wire by rebecca bryn

22/10/2018

Touching The Wire by Rebecca Bryn is an amalgam of two stories, vastly different and yet inextricably linked. We travel back to the horrors and evil of the holocaust concentration camps and perhaps the worst of them all, in Auscwhitz. The author shows us firsthand and in graphic detail the pain, the suffering and the abomination that was the death camps. Juxtaposed on top of this heart-rending story is the lives of two twins, Charlotte and Lucy, who have always believed their Grandfather held a secret that dated back to World War II. Grandfather would never talk about the war, but they knew of his nightmares and the frequent looks of deep sorrow that would cross his face from time to time.
When the twins' Grandfather dies, they discover a carving he had made, which leads them on a mystery hunt, similar to those he had organised for them as children, however, this time the prize will not be a bar of chocolate but perhaps the truth about what really happened in that murderous death camp and who was ultimately responsible.
At times, the horror of life in the camps is almost impossible to read, but that serves only too highlight the incredible and utter inhumanity of that period and is necessary to remind us that; "he who keeps silent, consents". The author has captured the brutality of the camps, but also she has beautifully captured the indomitable spirit of so many of those who lost their lives, to Nazi madness and the humanity of characters, such as Miriam, shines through the narrative to blunt the evil.
As I said, this is really two stories in one; we have the life and love of Charlotte, as she seeks to find her way in the world, after an abusive and failing marriage, plus we have the mystery of why Grandfather made these sculptures, what they tell, and where they all are, now.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and yes, although the conditions described in the camps are hard to bear, there is enough good in this story to counterbalance the evil. If you are a WWII story devotee and you like a good mystery, then Touching The Wire is an absolute "must read", for you. Author Rebecca Bryn has performed a superb balancing act with this tale.

You can find, Touching The Wire, along with the author's full portfolio, here on Rebecca Bryn's Amazon page:

red tears by n. k. parten

11/10/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

Red Tears by N.K. Parten is one of those rare historical fiction books that is so based in actual events that you wonder at times, as a reader, whether the author’s fictionalisation of the event did indeed actually happen, exactly the way described. The time is the turn of the seventeenth century in the southern United States, where colonial interests are coming into conflict with the burgeoning, new nation of the United States. In southern Alabama, the Mimms family have fashioned a good lifestyle on their plantation, just north of Pensacola, in what was then Spanish Florida. We see the events unfold principally through the eyes of the young, teenager, Prudence Mimms, who watches, in trepidation and then horror, as the family’s relaxed lifestyle is overtaken by events. When the local, native American population of Creek Red Sticks seek revenge for an attack on their tribal lands, the Mimms family residence quickly becomes Fort Mimms, overseen by a drunken officer of the Mississippi Volunteer Militia. When the attack on Fort Mimms finally came, it was both brutal and devastating to the Mimms family, some of whom would escape south to Mobile, as the inhabitants of Fort Mimms were massacred.

Red Tears is obviously very personal to author N.K. Parten. As a distant, yet direct, descendant of the participants in this action, the author has a vested interest in the story and that shows through in the writing. This vested interest showed through the strength and frailties of the two main female characters, Prudence and her Mother. Prudence, unusually for a young woman of that time was forthright and independent and wanted more from life than to be just married off to some Southern Gentleman or Military Officer, as had her sisters. She was prepared to question the role of women in this early 1800’s and more especially the right or wrongs of slavery. Although the Mimms family were known to be “good” slaveowners, the very moral question of the rights of one human being to own another, was something Prudence was prepared to debate and question. The writing style of this story is easy, flowing and apart from giving the reader a good basic knowledge of the time period and the events of the massacre, it is an excellent action adventure, in its own right. Although the many maps and photographs sprinkled throughout the book were not brilliantly reproduced in the Kindle version, I have no doubt they would greatly aid a reader in a paperback version of the book. I love historical fiction and I loved this story. Its closeness to reality and attention to historical detail, made it special, in my mind.

You can find Red Tears, by N. K. Parten, here, on Amazon:

the hunt for the mountain man: book #24 by raymond cook

2/10/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

The Hunt for the Mountain Man by Raymond Cook takes us back to the turn of the twentieth century, as the “wild west” was just beginning to take on an air of respectability and prosperity. The small town of Marble, Colorado, so named for the magnificent marble quarried nearby, was overrun and destroyed by 400 Shoshone, Sioux, and Paiute Indians, in search of food and trying to recover their lands, stolen from them by the settlers. For the U.S. Government, it was time to make a stand and a Company of U.S. Army troops were sent to Marble to construct a fort and to rebuild the town, thereby encouraging those that survived the 1900 massacre to return and to entice newcomers to settling on the farms nearby and building new businesses in the rebuilt town. The coming of the railroad to Marble would also be a great fillip for the new town and things were looking up for the settlers in Marble. The early 1900’s in Colorado, though, were still rough and ready and a good supply of quality lawmen, led by Sheriff Mark Stein would be needed to keep peace amongst the soldiers, the miners and the settlers. The Indians were not the only problem facing the town of Marble. The wild and violent Mountain Men were always a danger and when four of them came to Marble to try to assassinate Colorado’s Governor at the inauguration of the rail line, all hell would break lose and the hunt was on to rid the district of these Mountain Men.

The Hunt for the Mountain Man is a very readable story, especially if you are a fan of the genre. Author Raymond Cook does an excellent job of setting the scene for the novel and providing a social commentary of this period in history, where expansion and prosperity were rapid, as the west was totally opened up by the arrival of the railroad. Cook provides a superb juxtaposition of the differing characters that inhabited the west in this period. The differences between the soldiers, far from home and isolated in this small community, with the hopeful, conservative and respectable settlers who had come to Marble to settle, to raise families and to build a solid, God-fearing community. When you throw the miners and the notorious mountain men you have a volatile mix that was always going to be a handful for the lawmen. The characters of Mark Stein, the town Sheriff and William Gracey, the hulking U.S. Marshall, were both pivotal to the story; Stein providing the solidity, common sense and even nature to ensure trouble in Marble was kept to a minimum, whilst, Gracey, a trouble-shooter of a U.S. Marshall who would go wherever he was sent, to fix the most difficult of situations, worked well. All-in-all, if you love historical fiction and if you love stories that tell of the privations and trials of early American settlers, this book will resonate with you. A satisfying read and one to recommend.

You can find Hunt for the Mountain Man, here on Raymond Cook's Amazon page, along with his other offerings:

where summer strives by thomas thornburg

13/9/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

Author Thomas Thornburg takes us on a journey to a working class neighbourhood of a Midwestern city, towards the end of the Second World War, where social and racial divides are very much still the norm, in his novel Where Summer Strives. When a wealthy, educated, but disillusioned young man, Harvey Sloan, decides to lose himself in alcohol, he winds up falling from a freight car he had jumped, right into the working class neighbourhood and decides to stay a while. The bulk of the story is told through the eyes of eleven-year-old Tobe Jackson, who witnesses the profound changes taking place all around him, with the guileless eyes that only the young can possess. When a black family moves into the exclusively white neighbourhood, Tobe is drawn to the young black boy Samuel and they become fast friends. With Harvey’s educated ways and Samuel’s family’s racial heritage the scene is set for confrontation and a challenging of old ideas and prejudices.

Thomas Thornburg has shown considerable bravery, as an author, to tell this story through the eyes of a child, but he has done an excellent job. He captures extraordinarily well, the spirit of 1940’s America, rife as it was with its racial and social prejudices. Where Summer Strives shows that the key to understanding those who are different to us is communication and friendship. Samuel, as a character, was the perfect foil to Tobe. Before Samuel’s arrival, Tobe was the smart one at school, he was the learned one of their group, but despite that Tobe and Samuel could find common ground and make their differences work for them, rather than against them. The dialogue, although at times difficult to read because of the local and time-period colloquialisms, certainly seemed to ring true of the period and the seeming nothingness that can capture immediately the interest of young boys and hold them rapt for a length of time was portrayed perfectly. As a social commentary of the time period and the location this book does a fine job and I enjoyed the read. I can definitely recommend this story for those readers who like to think a little as they read, not to suggest there isn’t plenty of action in this book, because there is.

You can find Where Summer Strives here on Amazon:

noemie's journey by victoria saccenti

9/9/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

When Richard Winters points his Harley away from New York and heads south, looking for peace and a release from the memories of a devastating love affair, he wants nothing more than solitude and an opportunity to find himself again. The small town of Summitville in North Carolina where nobody knows him seems a great place to start again, but what he doesn’t count on, though, is meeting the beautiful and desirable young Creole woman by the name of Noémie whose desirability he must fight if he truly is to fulfil his promise to himself of no romantic entanglements. Set in the mid-sixties, against the background of the Civil Right’s Movement, Noémie’s Journey by Victoria Saccenti explores the reality of life for a beautiful coloured woman in the South. Laws may have changed, but attitudes will take generations to change. Richard, a Yankee, from up north, has no perception of what an interracial relationship will entail in North Carolina in the sixties, but Noémie knows well the ingrained racism of her fellow residents that she deals with every single day of her life.

Noémie’s Journey serves to remind us just how far we have come in the forty years in race relations, but equally it also makes us examine our feelings toward people who are different to us, today – a touchstone for American society, as much now, as it ever has been. Author Victoria Saccenti does a superb job of highlighting the institutional and deep racism that was just below the surface of civil society, especially in the South, in those turbulent years of the mid to late sixties. At its heart this book is a love story and a beautiful one at that. I particularly loved the author’s ability to convey the depth of love and the power of their passion, in her words, without ever having to resort to crudity or erotica. As a reader, I felt the build-up of sexual tension and revelled in the “when will they”, just as much as the participants. This is a real fillip to the author and it is what makes this book so very readable and one of the best of its genre. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and can highly recommend it to all readers who like a true romance, but also enjoy a bit of action and thoughtful social comment.

You can check out Noemie's Journey, here on Victoria Saccenti's Amazon page, along with the rest of her portfolio

a different kind of Angel by paulette mahurin

6/9/2018

As a professional book reviewer, I read and review around two hundred books per year and every year there are ten to fifteen books that do more than just provide a good read; they make the reader think, they inflame our emotions, and perhaps most importantly they highlight the very best and the very worst of the human condition. Every year, it seems, one of these such books that I read is written by the inimitable Paulette Mahurin. Whether it be her gut-wrenching Seven Year Dress, her inspirational The Day I Saw the Hummingbird, or this year's offering; A Different Kind of Angel, Mahurin manages to touch our souls, with her fictional portrayals of real people and the ages in which they lived. Now, I love Historical Fiction, but what Mahurin brings to the table is a little bit more than your average historical story. She takes real situations, real people and then tells their story in a fictionalised way - an incredibly difficult skill that requires great care in research and a deep commitment and sympathy to the characters involved. Mahurin has all that in spades.

A Different Kind of Angel relates the story of Klara Gelfman, a Jewish refugee from the Russian pogroms of 1881. After Klara's entire family was butchered in the violence in Kiev, just her and her father escaped to freedom in America, but sadly Klara's father died of illness on the voyage to New York. Alone and lost in a new world, Klara struggles to survive, with virtually no English. When she is mugged and left bewildered and stunned in a New York alleyway, the police, believing her to be a drunk, vagrant, prostitute arrest her and before she knows what is happening to her she is committed to the infamous Blackwell's Island Lunatic Asylum in the middle of the East River, where, for five long years, she will encounter both the worst and the best of the human condition. It will take the intervention of a brave, young investigative journalist, Elizabeth Cochran (better known as Nelly Bly), to expose to the world the horrific activities of the staff of that institution and the dreadful conditions under which many woman (a lot of whom were no more insane than you or I) were kept, usually for the rest of their lives.

This, like so many of Mahurin's books, is a hard book to read, not because it is not well-written, which it is, but because the sheer mindless violence and inhumane treatment of the patients at Blackwell's Island is so horrific. As always Mahurin manages to make the book readable and palatable by showing us the indomitable nature of the women's spirits and the idea that no matter how bad things are, it is always possible to find something to be grateful for. I cringed at some of the things that were done to these women, but equally I marvelled and cheered at the way they were able to rise above the pain, the suffering and the hopelessness of their situation and find something in each other, to sustain them.

Paulette Mahurin has perfectly captured this human thirst for love, for life, and for freedom in this book and I cannot recommend it highly enough as a great read and a great inspiration. I have no doubt this book will feature highly in my awards at the end of this year, as her books always do. Don't miss this one, it is a benchmark for this type of fiction.

You can find A Different Kind of Angel, plus the rest of Paulette Mahurin's amazing portfolio, here on her Amazon page:

Laurel's choices by exie wilde henson

30/8/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

Laurel was a young woman from a middle-class family who followed her beloved father into teaching. When she meets and marries Justin Worth, a professional photographer, her life will change forever. Justin has a sense of adventure and realising photography, alone, cannot sustain a family, he moves Laurel and his young children to a ramshackle hut in the middle of the Pisgah Forest in the mountains of Western North Carolina, to set up a logging team. Set in the early 1920’s and flowing through to the War years, Laurel’s Choices by Exie Wilde Henson takes us on a remarkable journey, with this incredible family, as they endure the hardships and dangers of live in a primitive logging camp, the privations of losses of The Great Depression, and the heartbreak of World War II. All through this Laurel and Justin attempt to bring their family up with love and respect for each other and the utmost love and respect for, their neighbours, the wonderful, proud, but hard-living mountain people of Western North Carolina. They face all their trials and tribulations with humour, dignity and a profound sense of faith in a power greater than them. Anything the Worth’s can do to help their fellow man or woman, they will gladly do.

I read a lot and few books have moved me as much as this simple story of familial love and devotion presented to us by Exie Wilde Henson, in Laurel’s Choices. I am sure the story, although fictionalised, was a recounting of the author’s own experiences growing up and as such it provides a truly wonderful social commentary on that particular region and that particular period of history. The two main characters, Laurel and Justin were selfless, dedicated and showed compassion and love beyond what anyone could expect, given the difficult circumstances they faced. This was truly one of those books I didn’t want to end and deliberately slowed down as I came toward the finale. The writer’s style is so natural, flowing and so easy to read. Her knowledge of the area and the social history was extensive and leant an absolute realism to the story. I love historical novels, but most importantly I love historical novels with a purpose and a message for us in today’s world. This book truly does that, with its simple, yet profound comments on what constitutes a “life well lived”. I can’t recommend this story enough – it’s an absolute winner.

Go take a look at Laurel's Choices, here on Exie Wilde Henson's Amazon page:

brandenburg: a story of berlin by james cloud

20/8/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

Brandenburg: A Story of Berlin by James Cloud takes us on a journey through the Germany of the early twentieth Century, through the eyes of some ordinary and not so ordinary Berliners. Beginning with the declaration of WWI by Kaiser Wilhelm, we travel through the false bravado and patriotism of a nation at war to explore the horrors and senselessness of the killing fields of Ypres, The Somme and Passchendaele. With the war and the deprivations it brought, almost over, the people of Germany must then face, along with the rest of the world, the ravages of the Spanish Flu. What follows, is the constraints of the Treaty of Versailles, the incredible hyper-inflation of the early twenties, five years of relative prosperity to be followed by the share-market crash of 1929 and the perfect storm that would see the rise, in Germany, of two competing ideologies, Communism and its vicious and violent enemy, Nazism and Adolf Hitler. Through the eyes of a young Prussian aristocrat and his beautiful Jewish wife, along with their best friends, a working-class girl and her farming-stock husband, the author examines the class structures and the political pressures that were exerted on Germany during this period that would lead to one of the darkest times in world history.

I particularly enjoyed this simple, story of love and family; Brandenburg: A Story of Berlin by James Cloud is set against the momentous event of the first third of the twentieth Century. The author clearly is well versed in the city of Berlin and its history. I really appreciated his main characters that represented all stratum of German society. In Herbert, we could see the young, liberal, Prussian aristocrat who wanted to go his own way and saw nothing unusual or wrong in falling in love and marrying a rich, young Jewess. That their best friends should be from a working-class and a rural background provided a wonderful counterpoint to the political turmoil that was happening all around them. That their families were able to generally reconcile and accept the breaking down of class, religious and political barriers within German society, was well expressed by the author. This book did a wonderful job, for me, in laying the groundwork for what was soon to plunge Germany and the world into further chaos, as Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor in 1933. That this story ended there gives me hope that there is a sequel coming, as I for one am excited to find out what happens to this diverse range of characters as Nazism takes over and dominates Germany for the next ten plus years. I highly recommended this read to all historical fiction buffs and readers in general.

You can find Brandenburg: A Story of Berlin, here on James Cloud's Amazon page:

miss etta: a novel by deanna lynn sletten

30/7/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

We’ve all seen and enjoyed that great movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but have you ever wondered what happened to the real woman, named Etta Place, from that movie? Well, author Deanna Lynn Sletten has given us a fictional account of who she may have been and what may have become of her, following Butch and Sundance’s supposed demise, in her novel Miss Etta. We will discover her life, as a young woman, before her chance encounter with the infamous outlaw, Harry Longabough, better known to history as the Sundance Kid. The author takes us, through Etta’s eyes, on a journey through the American West, to New York City and down to South America, where it is believed Butch and Sundance met their end. The story is told as flashbacks for Etta, who now lives quietly in a small mid-western town, as Emily Pleasants, where she is a highly respected and loved schoolteacher, yet all the while always aware that her past could catch up with her and knowing those famous Pinkerton Detectives are still looking for the whereabouts of the criminal Etta Place.

Miss Etta is a truly sweeping novel that spans the decades and the country. Author Deanna Lynn Sletten has taken her beautiful lead character, Etta and imbued her with a strength of character required to not only survive the trying times of living with two outlaws, but to overcome them with cheerfulness and hope for the future, despite the overwhelming odds. I particularly loved the moral dilemmas Etta faced in loving Sundance and Butch. Constantly all three of them found their lifestyles at odds with the morals drilled into them as children and with justifying what they were doing, when they all knew deep down it was wrong. Ultimately they all longed for a life where they could put the past behind them and begin again. I appreciated that when Etta was faced with the choice between the deep love she had for Sundance and anything other option, it was always love that won out. At its core, this is a beautiful love story about family, about a deep, passionate love for one man, and life-long love and friendship for another. I did enjoy the sometimes jealous interplay between Butch and Sundance, both of whom loved Etta with all their hearts. This is a fantastic story, a great adventure and a real joy to read. I recommend this book highly to all lovers of romance, action, adventure and history.

You can find Miss Etta, by Deanna Lynn Stretton, along with the author's full and extensive portfolio, here on her Amazon page:

For the Love of Maude (The Dear Maude Trilogy #2)by Denise Liebig

23/7/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

For the Love of Maude: The Dear Maude Trilogy Book 2, by Denise Liebig takes up again the adventures, through time, of our young hero, Emily. After graduating from college on a scholarship provided by The Evergreen Foundation, Emily is required to work for the corporation for a minimum of four years after graduation. What Emily discovers to her shock and horror is that The Evergreen Foundation is a front for an group that has conquered the barrier of time travel, but even worse they are using time travel to alter the past and help their clients to manipulate known events to their strategic and financial advantage. After meeting, falling in love and marrying Dell, another time traveller from a different organisation, Emily escapes The Evergreen Foundation, by faking her own death and then hiding in the past, always on the run and just one step ahead of discovery. As a young girl, Emily’s hero was her Great-Aunt Maude and after discovering Maude’s journal, she uses it to inspire her to overcome the very real fears and doubts her life on the run have instilled in her.

I have read Book One of this series and although it is not essential to do so before reading Book Two, it will give the reader a much more thorough grounding in an area that at times confounds understanding (not just for the reader, but also for the characters of the story). Time-travel, it seems has been “done to death” in books, but occasionally an idea and an author can lift the story above the “same-old, same-old” and Denise Liebig is just such an author, in the story, For the Love of Maude: The Dear Maude Trilogy Book 2. What I truly love about this unique concept of the past and future is that the issue the forms the basis for most time-travel stories; “the time-travel paradox” is addressed in such a fascinating way. Even the main characters themselves, Emily and Dell, confess to not truly understanding how this whole time thing works and what are the consequences of meeting their earlier selves, or indeed how their can be several different versions of themselves, in different time periods. I loved this and found it so thought-provoking. Beyond all else, this book is a fantastic action/adventure/ romance and the time-travel is merely an adjunct to a fantastic story. I can highly recommend this book and cannot wait to read the third instalment and find out how it all ends for our Dell and Emily.

You really should pop on over to Amazon and take a look at For the Love of Maude, plus the rest of Denise Liebig's fantastic Maude trilogy, here on her Amazon page.

transatlantic ticket 1852: passage to the new world by jan frazier

11/7/2018

Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman

In the middle of the Nineteenth Century, life in Germany, for the average person was incredibly hard. A failed revolution, crop failures, the potato blight, plus political and religious repression made many look to the “new world” of the United States, for salvation and freedom. Along with many other Europeans of the mid-1800’s thousands upon thousands of Germans decided to make the long, arduous, risky and frightening voyage into the unknown, often in appalling conditions, in the hope of a new life. In Transatlantic Ticket (Passage to the New World), by Jan Frazier, we meet two simple farming families, in exactly that dilemma; whether to leave the familiar, all that they know and love in the German countryside, for the unfamiliar and scary world of the frontier, Midwestern USA. The Pollmann and the Haas families made this hazardous journey together, along with their retinue of young children, little understanding the trials and tribulations that awaited them before they could even arrive at Christian Pollmann’s brother’s house, in the town of Pekin Illinois.

Based on the true journey of author Jan Frazier’s great-grandparent’s own journey, Transatlantic Ticket (Passage to the New World) is a compelling story of the despair and travails, as these families seek somewhere to call home, where they can be free from political and religious interference and where their children can experience a better life than that which was left behind. Overriding all the angst and horror of the journey is an unshakeable faith that their God was protecting them and a determination to do whatever was necessary to protect each other and their young children. I found the story gripping and the descriptions of the horrors on board the steerage sections of these immigrant ships simply riveting and yet the faith and belief of the parents that they were doing the best thing for their families shone through and overcame even their own doubts. This is an incredibly easy read, well written, with beautifully descriptive prose. I have not come across this author before, but will definitely keep an eye out for her works in the future. If you like historical novels (and I love them) you will adore this book and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

You can find Transatlantic Ticket 1852, here on Amazon:

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