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Every Good Folktale Reveals Both Heroes and Villains - an Editorial Review of "The Fern Flower"
Book Blurb: Russia 1908-1917 Every good folktale reveals villains and heroes. Mila Belova’s world is overflowing with both. Born into privilege as the daughter of the Tsar’s favored vodka maker, Mila appears to have everything: wealth, status, and a household devoted to her happiness. But behind the gilded doors of her family estate, she is trapped by the cruelty of a stepmother whose greatest wish is to give birth to her own child. Each summer on Ivan Kupala Eve, Russia turn
DK Marley
Jun 35 min read
One Small Island in the Crossfire - an Editorial Review of "Voices on the Wind"
Book Blurb: Early 1942: the fate of the Suez Canal and access to Middle East oil hangs on the fate of an island just 17 miles long by 9 miles wide: Malta. Determined to destroy the British forces threatening Rommel’s supply lines, the Axis powers drop more bombs on Malta than London endured throughout the Blitz. The population is forced underground, while the RAF struggles with inadequate resources to fend off defeat. Meanwhile, Britain’s Atlantic lifeline is fraying…. Voices
DK Marley
Jun 24 min read
The Fight for Democracy in Ancient Greece - an Editorial Review of "The Philosopher Kings"
Book Blurb: In the year 404 BCE, democracy is dismantled in Athens by the Lacedaemonians at the end of the Peloponnesian War. Installed in its place is a group of ruthless oligarchs known as the Thirty Tyrants. Athenian exiles, under the command of Thrasybulus and his partners, rebel against their despotic regime as they endeavor to restore democracy. The Philosopher Kings is the extraordinary true story of the fight for democracy and the quest for truth in ancient Greece. Th
DK Marley
Jun 14 min read
When All is Taken, the Spirit Remains - an Editorial Review of "A Heart That's True"
Book Blurb: “A heartfelt and deeply moving story of courage, identity, and hope. This is historical fiction at its most compassionate. A powerful, engrossing and memorable read.” Artisan Book Reviews When all is taken, what remains? In 1912, twelve-year-old Joseph Cross and his cousin Elizabeth White Cloud are torn from the foothills of Montana and sent across the country to the Carlisle Indian School, where children are stripped of their language, their traditions, and even
DK Marley
May 305 min read
Two Brothers, Two Paths, One Master of Lies - an Editorial Review of "The Sewers of Stalingrad"
Book Blurb: "A massively grand novel of ideas." — Satakunnan Kansa (Regional daily newspaper) "Brilliant." — Kulttuuritoimitus (Independent arts & culture journal) The lies were crafted in Berlin. The price was paid in the ruins of Stalingrad. Berlin, 1928. The Weimar Republic is dancing on the edge of a volcano. Two brothers, Werner and Valter Greiser, arrive in the city with nothing but ambition. They seek a future in the glittering metropolis, but they find themselves swep
DK Marley
May 285 min read
Ensuring a Wealthy Bride By Any Means Necessary - an Editorial Review of "A Winter's Disgrace"
Book Blurb: Cyprian, a marquess’s heir, will not let his mother choose his next bride. Leaving a house party in a blizzard to avoid her stratagems, he finds a woman trudging half frozen toward the London road. Rosamund fled disgrace hoping to reach the one person who might shelter her, but even if she reaches a coaching inn, she has too little coin to reach London. When a gentleman offers to take her to the nearest inn, can she trust him or will it lead to worse than lying do
DK Marley
May 274 min read
Love and Perseverance Spanning Three Continents - an Editorial Review of "The Soap Maker"
Book Blurb: From the French Resistance to the liberation of Paris, to the high fashion industry of post-WWII New York, and to the bucolic valley of Sonoma California, "The Soap Maker" is a story of tragedy, love, revenge, and finally a life fulfilled. Anton is thirteen years old when WWII starts and turns his idyllic family farm life upside-down. He grows rapidly to manhood, guided by his Papy (grandfather), known as the "Soap Maker" and a member of the French Resistance. One
DK Marley
May 265 min read
An Act of God or Something Earthly and Sinister? - an Editorial Review of "Death in the Church"
Book Blurb: A controversial priest dies suddenly on the steps of the great cathedral, moments before his long-awaited restoration after years of excommunication. Church leaders hail his death as a divine sign. But Captain Aurelius - the trusted imperial aide assigned by Constantine himself to investigate - is not convinced. Was this truly an act of God, or the work of someone far more earthly? As he retraces the priest's final moments and unravels the decades of disputes that
DK Marley
May 254 min read
A Story of Hardship and Redemption - an Editorial Review of "Through Our Own Wrong Eyes"
Book Blurb: If only we could see... *** Dustbowl Colorado 1930s. At 26, Paul had ridden the rails in search of work for years and now has returned to his hometown in Lamar. There he meets Ruby,14, whose innocence bolsters his confidence. Because she sees him as more than the alcohol abuser man of many get rich dreams, she marries him and begins writing a journal that spans over 40 years. This is the fictionalized story of that remarkable journal. From Depression Era Colorado
DK Marley
May 134 min read
A Ladies of the Revolution Novel - an Editorial Review of "Patriot of the Lowcountry"
Book Blurb: “Amid the desolation, the woman of Carolina exhibited an example of more than masculine fortitude…Far from being offended at the name of rebel ladies, they esteemed it as a title for distinction and glory.” —Eliza Yonge Wilkinson Eliza is no stranger to both privilege and heartbreak. Widowed at eighteen, she gained self-sufficiency while managing one of her father’s plantations. Now, at age twenty-two, marauding Redcoats destroy her home and hard-won independence.
DK Marley
May 55 min read
Return to Salem, Not as History, But as a Mirror - an Editorial Review of "A Name Unbroken"
Book Blurb: In 1692, Susannah North Martin was hanged during the Salem witch trials. Three centuries later, one of her descendants faces a different kind of trial—growing up under the weight of religious condemnation and queer erasure. A Name Unbroken braids these stories across time to reveal how fear misjudges difference across generations, and how the refusal to be false to oneself can become an act of survival. Blending lyrical first-person narrative, documentary fragment
DK Marley
May 34 min read
My Kind Refuses to Die Out - an Editorial Review of "M"
Book Blurb: Coming soon! Book Buy Link: Coming soon! Editorial Review: Title: M Author: Judi Lamble Rating: 4.4 "M" by Judi Lamble is a riveting historical adventure novel that follows a Jewish girl named Miryam (later called “M”) who is born at sea while her family flees the Inquisition in Portugal. She grows up in Madeira and Brazil, survives wars, famine, and betrayal, becomes a pirate and privateer in the Caribbean, loses her husband to murder, has her young daughter kidn
DK Marley
May 23 min read
A Poignant Tale of Loss and the Enduring Ties of Family - an Editorial Review of "No Man's Land"
Book Blurb: In the sweeping third installment of This Hallowed Ground, Donna E. Lane continues her powerful generational saga with a poignant tale of loss, legacy, and the enduring ties of family. When a tragedy claims their parents’ lives in New Zealand, brothers Fin, Buck, and Ian are uprooted and sent halfway across the world to live with their grandparents, Mac and Ester, on a quiet farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia. Grieving and disoriented, the boys struggle t
DK Marley
Apr 305 min read
A Strong Balkan Woman Hiding Her Identity - an Editorial Review of "Sirma"
Book Blurb: For the lovers of strong female leads, based on true historical events. 19th-century Eastern Europe. Sirma's world is shattered to pieces when she bears witness to the abuse and murder of her two best friends by a gang of mountain outlaws. The village elders do nothing because they fear the wrath of Hamza Bei. Not long after, the same outlaws raid Sirma's village, and she is fed up with keeping quiet. She disguises herself as a man and takes the lead of her own ga
DK Marley
Apr 295 min read
The Women Who Helped Win the American Revolution - an Editorial Review of "Bella's Tales of History: Remember the Ladies"
Book Blurb: The Untold Stories of the Women Who Helped Win the American Revolution Warm, thoughtful, and deeply rooted in primary-source history, Remember the Ladies restores the women of the Revolution to their rightful place in the story of America. When Freddy the Puppy tells his sisters they can't play “Revolution” because the Revolution was just for boys, their wise Momma Bella has a few things to say about that. Join golden retriever Bella and her puppies Abby, Emma, an
DK Marley
Apr 286 min read
Divided Loyalties on the Early American Frontier - an Editorial Review of "Tinker"
Book Blurb: For readers of Outlander and Stephanie Dray, Tinker is a propulsive Whiskey Rebellion tale of defiance and rebellion, love, and divided loyalties on the early American frontier. Pittsburgh, 1794. The people of western Pennsylvania suffer under a hefty tax on whiskey. When the local militia takes up arms against the hated tax collector, his estranged daughter finds herself caught in the crossfire. Her safety threatened and her name in tatters, Caroline Neville begs
DK Marley
Apr 226 min read
A Gripping WWII Historical Novel of Sacrifice and Moral Clarity - an Editorial Review of "Only Breath and Shadow"
Book Blurb: Only Breath & Shadow: in the atmospheric world of 1930s Vienna, Only Breath & Shadow is the final instalment of Andrew Tweeddale’s Castle Drogo series. Blending meticulous historical fact with a heart-pounding fictional narrative, this novel is perfect for fans of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See or Robert Harris's Munich and literary historical fiction exploring the humanitarian efforts of the Kindertransport . Unique Blind Perspective - The story
DK Marley
Apr 126 min read
Spiritual Elements Arise from a Prehistoric Worldview - an Editorial Review of "Singing Bones"
Book Blurb: Nearly 8,300 years ago, a sudden climate collapse reshaped the earth. Winters grew longer and colder, harvests failed, coastlines flooded, and the ground itself became unstable. For the Téuta, a settled Neolithic village that had endured for generations, survival became uncertain. Eini is born with troubling visions of disaster—warnings her people dismiss as superstition. As the climate worsens and violence spreads among desperate neighbors, Eini spends her lifeti
DK Marley
Apr 115 min read
Family Secrets Unravel in the Shadow of the Pyramids - an Editorial Review of "Records of a Voyage"
Book Blurb: "This historical mystery is compelling from the very first line." – Independent Book Review "Records of a Voyage is a moving story spanning the years 1885 to 1936. It shows how family secrets can have lasting effects over generations, and the social challenges that women faced during that era." – Readers' Favorite From the cotton mills of Lancashire to the sands of Egypt, Records of a Voyage tells the story of one family’s unraveling secrets. In 1885, Sara Ann Ar
DK Marley
Apr 105 min read
One Woman Protects Pirate Gold in Manhattan's Profitable Shadows - an Editorial Review of "The Willow"
Book Blurb: Manhattan, 1712. By day, Abigail Spragg is a respectable businesswoman living along Manhattan's Hudson River. By night, she guards one of the colony’s most dangerous secrets—the Pirate Bank, a hidden vault beneath her home where the plunder of the world’s most feared pirates lies buried in silence. For years, the bloodstained wealth has haunted her investments. Now, it calls her to action. A letter arrives from the vanished pirate king himself—“Long Ben.” Better k
DK Marley
Apr 86 min read