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The Real History of Wartime Federal Nurses - an Editorial Review for "Sparrow's Song"

The Real History of Wartime Federal Nurses - an Editorial Review for "Sparrow's Song"

The Real History of Wartime Federal Nurses - an Editorial Review for "Sparrow's Song"

Book Blurb: Shortly after Kathryn Scheibel leaves her cigar‑making job in 1917, she enters the Army School of Nursing, a pioneering WWI nurse‑training program that offers the education she’s longed for but couldn’t afford. More than two decades later, her career carries her, as an instructor, into the Cadet Nurse Corps, the federal WWII nursing‑education initiative created to support the war effort. There she sees the same pressures she once felt now directed at students with

Oct 184 min read

The Price of Survival in America - an Editorial Review of "The Refugees: Family Threads"

The Price of Survival in America - an Editorial Review of "The Refugees: Family Threads"

The Price of Survival in America - an Editorial Review of "The Refugees: Family Threads"

Book Blurb: Two centuries. One family. The price of survival in America. When sixteen-year-old Mary Johnson arrives in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, she dreams of freedom and a new life. But when a desperate act of violence forces her into exile, she must choose between family loyalty and forbidden love, setting in motion a legacy that will haunt her descendants for generations. A century later, the family is thrust into the upheaval of the Revolutionary War, a time f

Oct 174 min read

A Multigenerational Epic Tracing the Great Migration - an Editorial Review for "Divining Freedoms"

A Multigenerational Epic Tracing the Great Migration - an Editorial Review for "Divining Freedoms"

A Multigenerational Epic Tracing the Great Migration - an Editorial Review for "Divining Freedoms"

Book Blurb: Divining Freedom is a multigenerational epic tracing the Great Migration and its aftermath — the journey of Black Americans who escaped the Jim Crow South, built institutions in the promised cities of the North, and discovered that freedom in America is never granted, only contested. Set across 128 years and five generations in Detroit, East St. Louis, and the rural South, the novel follows the builders and the betrayers — the men who constructed churches, politic

Oct 155 min read

Revealing the Man Behind America's Most Enigmatic Founding Father - an Editorial Review of "The Thunder and the Silence"

Revealing the Man Behind America's Most Enigmatic Founding Father - an Editorial Review of "The Thunder and the Silence"

Revealing the Man Behind America's Most Enigmatic Founding Father - an Editorial Review of "The Thunder and the Silence"

Book Blurb: A sweeping historical novel revealing the man behind America’s most enigmatic Founding Father—Benjamin Franklin, whose brilliance built a nation but shattered his family… From Boston’s candlelit print shops to Paris’s glittering salons, The Thunder and the Silence follows Benjamin Franklin’s rise—from runaway apprentice to statesman—and the family torn apart along the way. For readers of Wolf Hall and The Book of Lost Names, this is Franklin’s story as you’ve neve

Oct 125 min read

A Sweeping Italian American Story - an Editorial Review of "Beyond the Copper Horizon"

A Sweeping Italian American Story - an Editorial Review of "Beyond the Copper Horizon"

A Sweeping Italian American Story - an Editorial Review of "Beyond the Copper Horizon"

Book Blurb: What would you do for your family? An epic saga inspired by real lives. BEYOND THE COPPER HORIZON brings a sweeping Italian-American immigrant story vividly to life. Opening at the Battle of Novara in 1849, conscripted farmer Domenico Zanotto returns home to his alpine village of Cuceglio anticipating domestic peace in a burgeoning Italian nation. The war-scarred, cavalryman is instead devastated by lost love and violent nightmares. He questions God and labors in

Oct 114 min read

Back to the Dangerous Days of Marie de Medici - an Editorial Review of "Serpent's Teeth"

Back to the Dangerous Days of Marie de Medici - an Editorial Review of "Serpent's Teeth"

Back to the Dangerous Days of Marie de Medici - an Editorial Review of "Serpent's Teeth"

Book Blurb: It's Paris, 1617, and Maria is desperately trying to avert the execution of her physician husband Manuel. Despite her friendship with the young King Louis XIII, his execution cannot be delayed indefinitely. Who could have added hemlock to the medicine Manuel had given the tailor? Concino Concini seems the most likely suspect, but when he is murdered by order of King Louis, and his wife Leonora sentenced to death, all hope seems lost. Leonora denies all knowledge o

Oct 104 min read

Two Women Linked 150 Years Apart - an Editorial Review of "What Time Has Kept"

Two Women Linked 150 Years Apart - an Editorial Review of "What Time Has Kept"

Two Women Linked 150 Years Apart - an Editorial Review of "What Time Has Kept"

Book Blurb: Two women, 150 years apart, linked by an enduring archaeological mystery "An intriguing and absorbing novel, meticulously researched." -Fiona Valpy, internationally bestselling author of The Sky Beneath Us In 1870s Scotland, Christian Maclagan--one of Britain's first female archaeologists--struggles for recognition in a world determined to silence her. Emboldened by her acquisition of a rare Neolithic carved stone ball, she becomes obsessed with unlocking its anci

Oct 96 min read

A Story of Two Worlds - an Editorial Review of "Island of Silver"

A Story of Two Worlds - an Editorial Review of "Island of Silver"

A Story of Two Worlds - an Editorial Review of "Island of Silver"

Book Blurb: A story of two worlds – one of darkness as the First World War rages in Europe – and one of ineffable light, where a little girl named Lorley lives through her jewel bright imagination. Lorley has a golden life on the island of Guernsey. Blessed with a wondrous imagination, she sees magic all around her. She dreams of mermaids in the waves and angels in the mist, a young girl who sees heaven in the wildflowers. But beyond this tiny island in the sea, the First Wor

Sep 255 min read

What Became of a Lost Colony - an Editorial Review for "A Strange and Terrible Wonder"

What Became of a Lost Colony - an Editorial Review for "A Strange and Terrible Wonder"

What Became of a Lost Colony - an Editorial Review for "A Strange and Terrible Wonder"

Book Blurb: Eleanor Dare, daughter of Roanoke's Governor John White, has no choice but to accompany her overly ambitious husband Ananias and her idealist, yet inexperienced father to England's new colony. Manteo of Croatoan wants nothing more than to cast off his association with the English and return home. Haunted by memories of an unexplainable event, he sets out to find the truth about what was brought to Roanoke by the English two years before as a weapon against the Sp

Sep 234 min read

Where the War Doesn't End - an Editorial Review of "Blueland"

Where the War Doesn't End - an Editorial Review of "Blueland"

Where the War Doesn't End - an Editorial Review of "Blueland"

Book Blurb: April 1865. Before the Civil War draws its final breath, Captain Alden Zur deserts the Union Army with three hardened soldiers: men fleeing the brutality of what they’ve seen, haunted by what they’ve done. With his family in tow, Alden leads them west—not in search of hope, but distance from a nation unraveling. The journey is unforgiving. Hunger gnaws. Violence stalks. Lawlessness erodes any semblance of order. Trust becomes a gamble, mercy a risk, and with every

Sep 194 min read

In 1912, Women Weren't Meant to Fly - an Editorial Review of "Beyond the Sky's Edge" (Hold Sept 8)

In 1912, Women Weren't Meant to Fly - an Editorial Review of "Beyond the Sky's Edge" (Hold Sept 8)

In 1912, Women Weren't Meant to Fly - an Editorial Review of "Beyond the Sky's Edge" (Hold Sept 8)

Book Blurb: They tried to keep her grounded. Livvie Newcomb dreams of more than what society dictates. When a tragedy strikes, she is drawn into the daring new world of aviation at Kinloch Field in St. Louis, where flying machines promise freedom unlike anything she has ever known. Yet in 1912, women weren't meant to fly. Facing ridicule, financial hardship, and fierce opposition, Livvie refuses to abandon the sky. As mysterious acts of sabotage threaten her training and long

Sep 175 min read

The Last Christian King of Jerusalem - an Editorial Review of "Blood and Faith"

The Last Christian King of Jerusalem - an Editorial Review of "Blood and Faith"

The Last Christian King of Jerusalem - an Editorial Review of "Blood and Faith"

Book Blurb: On July 4, 1187, Guy de Lusignan led twenty thousand men into the desert and lost everything. His army was annihilated at the Horns of Hattin. Jerusalem fell within months. The most sacred relic in Christendom was captured. History remembers Guy as the king who destroyed the Crusader States. But that is only half the story. Blood and Faith follows Guy from his arrival in the Holy Land as an ambitious younger son from France through his marriage to Princess Sibylla

Aug 315 min read

An Medieval Epic of Love, Loyalty, and Betrayal - an Editorial Review of "Lady of the Castle"

An Medieval Epic of Love, Loyalty, and Betrayal - an Editorial Review of "Lady of the Castle"

An Medieval Epic of Love, Loyalty, and Betrayal - an Editorial Review of "Lady of the Castle"

Book Blurb: GOLD MEDAL WINNER — Readers’ Choice Book Awards (2026) GOLD BOOK AWARD — Literary Titan (2026) ★★★★★ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED — The Coffee Pot Book Club (2026) SHORTLISTED — Historical Novel Society First Chapters Competition (2026) For a woman, holding power in a man's world is dangerous; holding faith in an intolerant one is deadly. England, 1185. Nicola de la Haye, constable of Lincoln Castle, commands her fortress with hard-won authority. Determined to protect her f

Aug 306 min read

Coming of Age and Fighting for the Resistance During WWII - an Editorial Review of "When the Light Flickers"

Coming of Age and Fighting for the Resistance During WWII - an Editorial Review of "When the Light Flickers"

Coming of Age and Fighting for the Resistance During WWII - an Editorial Review of "When the Light Flickers"

Book Blurb: They took her from her home. Now she must survive. Thirteen-year-old Madeline has already lost her mother during the Nazi occupation of France. When her father is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, she is taken from her farm home and forced into the estate of the Oberführer responsible for the loss of both parents. Inside the estate, every move carries risk, and as Madeline struggles to navigate a world of fear and manipulation, she is drawn into something eve

Aug 294 min read

A Queen's Ambition Sets Portugal Ablaze - an Editorial Review of "Leonor"

A Queen's Ambition Sets Portugal Ablaze - an Editorial Review of "Leonor"

A Queen's Ambition Sets Portugal Ablaze - an Editorial Review of "Leonor"

Book Blurb: A queen’s ambition. A kingdom on the edge. One woman’s hunger for power will set Portugal ablaze—unless she’s devoured first. A queen’s ambition. A kingdom on the edge. One woman’s hunger for power will set Portugal ablaze—unless she’s devoured first. Portugal, 1367. The court is a powder keg, and Leonor Teles de Meneses is the spark. Born noble, married off for duty, Leonor aches for more—freedom, passion, a place at the heart of power. Her wit is sharp, her enem

Aug 285 min read

A Novel of Love and Intrigue During Wartime - an Editorial Review of "Flight to Eternity"

A Novel of Love and Intrigue During Wartime - an Editorial Review of "Flight to Eternity"

A Novel of Love and Intrigue During Wartime - an Editorial Review of "Flight to Eternity"

Book Blurb: We tend to think of spies as being either James Bond or George Smiley: suave secret agents or orchestrators of betrayal. But what about everyday people who find themselves in the wrong place, at the wrong time, surrounded by lies, deceit and murder? In Flight to Eternity, Sally Edwards seeks to uncover the truth behind her grandfather’s role in World War II naval intelligence. She discovers more than she bargained for. "If you like fiction that captures a time and

Aug 274 min read

The Shameful Realities of an Orphan's Life in 1940s Canada - an Editorial Review of "Wildflowers Grow in Broken Places"

The Shameful Realities of an Orphan's Life in 1940s Canada - an Editorial Review of "Wildflowers Grow in Broken Places"

The Shameful Realities of an Orphan's Life in 1940s Canada - an Editorial Review of "Wildflowers Grow in Broken Places"

Book Blurb: Told in multiple viewpoints is a story that begins on a cold winter December night in Quebec 1941, the Jardin sisters, three-year-old Josephine and six-year-old Collette, were abandoned by their parents in a freezing cold house with scraps of food. They fell upon the mercy of Canada’s Ministry of Children and were quickly sent into the province’s Catholic-run orphanage system. When Premier Maurice Duplessis was voted in a few short years later, new radical laws of

Aug 264 min read

Espionage, War, and Passion in 1920s China - an Editorial Review of "The Dragon Gate Conspiracy"

Espionage, War, and Passion in 1920s China - an Editorial Review of "The Dragon Gate Conspiracy"

Espionage, War, and Passion in 1920s China - an Editorial Review of "The Dragon Gate Conspiracy"

Book Blurb: Wuhan, 1926. Civil war has reached the Yangtze. A Nationalist army sweeps north out of Canton, warlord regimes crumble ahead of it, and foreign gunboats ride at anchor off the Hankow bund while inside the concessions the great powers watch one another across the river. Second Lieutenant Jack Gaines came out to protect American lives and property, not to involve himself in other men's secrets. Then a Japanese businessman who claims to trade in wood oil keeps turnin

Aug 255 min read

An Irish Immigrant Family Raising Seven Boisterous Children in 1900 - an Editorial Review of "Growing Up O'Malley"

An Irish Immigrant Family Raising Seven Boisterous Children in 1900 - an Editorial Review of "Growing Up O'Malley"

An Irish Immigrant Family Raising Seven Boisterous Children in 1900 - an Editorial Review of "Growing Up O'Malley"

Book Blurb: From Mary Frances Fisher comes Growing Up O’Malley, her companion novel to Paradox Forged in Blood. Both are compelling works of historical fiction based on true events and stories passed down from the author’s family. Growing Up O’Malley is a poignant story of an Irish immigrant couple raising seven boisterous children in the early 1900s. Their antics provide the backdrop for a story filled with humor and determination to navigate life’s challenges—the Great Depr

Aug 244 min read

Capturing the Sephardic Jewish Experience During WWII - an Editorial Review of "Vidal"

Capturing the Sephardic Jewish Experience During WWII - an Editorial Review of "Vidal"

Capturing the Sephardic Jewish Experience During WWII - an Editorial Review of "Vidal"

Book Blurb: Part Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, and Art Spiegelman's Maus, Danila Botha's powerful debut graphic novel, follows young Vidal who grows up in Tiberias (Ottoman Empire and then British Mandate Palestine) and moves to Paris to pursue his art and freedom and gets trapped there during World War II. Botha traces the steps of Vidal's life through Chagallian vignettes, from his Sephardic upbringing in Tiberias to studies in the Technion in Haifa, his artistic life in Pa

Aug 234 min read

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