Book Review: The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I find this a very difficult book to rate because of the creative license the author has taken when it comes to historical accuracies. I understand this is fiction, but I do still feel that when a historical fiction book is about a real figure, there is an onus on the author to portray that person and the facts as close to the truth as possible. The portrayal of Albert Einstein as a selfish, dismissive, and increasingly cruel husband surprised me. Upon reading the Author's Notes at the end, and other article's on Albert's character, I'm not sure how true to life his character is. Also the role of his wife, for which this book centres around, makes claims that are generally thought of as untrue in regards to her role with Albert's work.
The book was well written, and I appreciate the author's research, but for me, I would have preferred the narrative to be more focussed on Mileva rather than the relationship between her and her husband, and for there to be a little more truth than fiction to the characters and their actions.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.



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Book Review: The Birdman's Wife by Melissa Ashley

The Birdman's Wife by Melissa Ashley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Starting in the early 1800s, this book is told in first person by Elizabeth as she meets and marries John Gould who becomes a famous ornithologist during a period of intense public interest in exotic birds. Elizabeth is an amateur artist who finds herself encouraged (somewhat pushed) by her husband into drawings of bird species while also giving birth to 8 children and joining him on a 2 year trip to Australia! This was not usual for a woman of the time, and so the author became fascinated with Elizabeth and clearly did an amazing amount of research not just into the Gould's, but also their professions. While I admire her research and devotion to brining Elizabeth's story to the world, I found it a very slow book and the descriptions of the birds and the drawing techniques became very tiresome to me. I would have much preferred more images of Elizabeth's work and less descriptions.
I would recommend this book to historical fiction fans who would like to learn more about a woman who has been somewhat forgotten in the shadow of her husband, and who don't mind a slow paced book with lots of details.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: The Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

The Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hanneke is 19 and living in Netherlands during the German occupation in 1943. She finds and sells black market goods, but isn't interested in joining the resistance until chance and circumstance lead her to a meeting of other teens who are risking their lives in the resistance. At the same time she becomes borderline obsessed with finding a young Jewish girl whom she has never met, but who disappeared.
I found the historical aspect interesting, but it didn't really offer anything new that I haven't read before in other WWII books. I also found Hanneke quite frustrating and it was not really clear or really believable to me why she would take such a sudden interest into the disappearance of someone she had never met.
Possibly a book better suited to teens who don't know much about WWII and would like to explore some of the stories based upon real events.

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Book review: A Deadly Affection by Cuyler Overholt

A Deadly Affection by Cuyler Overholt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

New York, 1907 and Genevieve is lucky enough to have the means, and progressive parents, that enable her to come a Doctor. Specifically, a psychiatrist who is trialling out a new form of therapy which we now know as cognitive therapy. When one of her patients is accused of murder, she is convinced of her innocence and so tries to track down the real killer.
I liked the time period and the writing, and most of the characters were well developed. I didn't really warm to Genevieve though, and I found some of her actions quite frustrating. Also, the mystery became a little comical in how convoluted it was, and even despite this it wasn't too hard to guess.
In summary, I thought this was a pretty good book and would suit Historical Fiction fans that don't mind a mystery, but I didn't really "love" it.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed about 80% of this book. It had some interesting characters and setting with a bit of a mystery surrounding the watchmaker, Mori, his craft and his abilities. Unfortunately the end of the book was confusing and disjointed and left me feeling quite unsatisfied.

Great premise and cover and the writing was quite good, so I would probably read more by this author.

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Book Review: A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald by Natasha Lester

A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald by Natasha Lester
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Evie throws herself into New York and into a life that is completely shocking for the time (1922)... she decides she wants to be a Doctor. And not just any Doctor... and obstetrician! Add to this her night job as a Ziegfeld girl and you have a recipe for a book that embraces the glitz and glam of the time, while exploring the historical progression of women in the medical field.
This book is a lot of fun and has some great characters and romances, but it also deftly explores the role of women and medicine in the 1920s.
For those that have read Lester's previous work, I would say the writing is just as compelling, but the subject matter is much more "upbeat" I highly recommend this to Historical Fiction fans.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review, and to the author Natasha Lester for agreeing to participate in a give-away and Author Q&A with our book group, Nothing But Reading Challenges.

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Book Review: The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When this novel begins, it is 1922 and a middle-aged housewife from Kansas, Cora, volunteers to chaperone a 15 year old Louise Brooks across the country to New York City for a month. Louise is head-strong, flirtatious, and quite wild - the complete opposite of Cora and neither of them ever see eye to eye.

Spanning 60 years, although most of the book takes place between 1922 and 1929, we witness huge transformations in society through the eyes of Cora. This was my favourite part of the book, including being transported to a 1922 NYC summer.
We are also passengers to the awakening of Cora and her small town mindset during this short time in NYC, and how over the decades that shapes her life, although this is not obvious to most people around her.

Once I finished the book, I noted in the acknowledgements that Louise Brooks was a real historical figure, and so I did a bit of searching about her also. I like that this small part of history was injected into the book, and it made Louise's tale much sadder, but at the end of the day this is a book about Cora and how that one summer altered the rest of her life.

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Book Review: At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen

At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maddie is married to Ellis, and along with his best friend Hank, the trio are a selfish, spoilt, society set with no thought to WWII raging while they are cocooned in Philadelphia.
On a whim they decide to go to Scotland, and told through Maddie's eyes, this story explores their adventures looking for the Loch Ness Monster in a town where they are unwelcome and disliked. It is only Maddie who seems to start to understand their selfish ways and questions the life she is living.

I didn't like these three characters at all, and as the book went on, I warmed (just a little) to Maddie, but for the most part found her naivety eminently frustrating. The characters at the Inn in Scotland are lovely and well developed and the descriptions of the time period were very good.

The book just really lacked something for me. I didn't dislike it exactly, but I was just never really invested. Sara Gruen is a talented writer, but I much preferred Ape House and Water for Elephants.

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Book Review: The French Lesson (The Confessions of Henrietta Lightfoot #2) by Hallie Rubenhold

The French Lesson by Hallie Rubenhold
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Henrietta Lightfoot is living as a mistress to the wealthy Lord Allenham when he is required to go to Paris and she, despite his instruction, decides to follow him soonafter. This coincides with the timing of the French Revolution and Henrietta finds herself at the mercy of strangers to have shelter, food and safety.
Told through first person POV of Henrietta via letters, we experience the life of a "professional mistress" in a time of great upheaval. It is not often I come across historical fiction of this period, let alone from the persective of someone on the fringes of "good society".
I hadn't read the first book, and I didn't feel like that was an issue as Henrietta does refer to previous events, although it would have been nice to have that background of her relationship with Allenham.

A fun and interesting read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: The Lake House by Kate Morton

Why I read this: My Sister-in-law lent this to me a while ago and it has been on my bookshelf mocking me.

Genre: Historical Fiction

In a Nutshell: Family Saga, Mystery

Would suit fans of: Diane Setterfield, Phillipa Gregory

The Lake House by Kate Morton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is Kate Morton at her finest.
An intricate mystery, gorgeous country estate, characters that resonate and are easy to believe in.

Despite the large size of this book, I found it so easy to read and I became so impatient to get to the end to find out what happened! Although the ending was probably a little too tidy for my taste, I did thoroughly enjoy the book and I can see why so many people were disappointed in The Distant Hours which didn't quite have the pacing or suspense of this novel.

Also, the audio narration is fantastic.

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Book Review: The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Why I read this: Someone lent this to me a while ago and it has been on my bookshelf mocking me.

Genre: Historical Fiction, 

In a Nutshell: Family Saga, Gothic

Would suit fans of: Diane Setterfield, Phillipa Gregory

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton


Kate Morton's style of historical fiction that flips back and forth between two time periods is back, but this novel is slightly different from her other books as it focuses on the gothic castle of Milderhurst.
With nods to other gothic tales like Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Rebecca this story is all about the old and tragic events that occurred many decades earlier at the now crumbling, but not quite ruined, castle and its inhabitants.

I can see why there are quite a few poor reviews for this book, because it is true that it is slow and probably a hundred pages could have been removed. But I did enjoy the descriptions of the castle and its surrounds, and the sisters who are so tied to it.
It is a sad and haunting tale and the audio narration did it justice.
3.5 stars

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Book Review: The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Why I read this: I quite like Kate Morton and someone gave this to me to read quite a while ago!

Genre: Historical Fiction

In a Nutshell: 1941 London and then 50 years later

Would suit fans of: Elizabeth Wein, Anthony Doerr 

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kate Morton's style of historical fiction that flips back and forth between two time periods is back, but this novel is slightly different from her other books as it focuses on the gothic castle of Milderhurst.
With nods to other gothic tales like Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Rebecca this story is all about the old and tragic events that occurred many decades earlier at the now crumbling, but not quite ruined, castle and its inhabitants.

I can see why there are quite a few poor reviews for this book, because it is true that it is slow and probably a hundred pages could have been removed. But I did enjoy the descriptions of the castle and its surrounds, and the sisters who are so tied to it.
It is a sad and haunting tale and the audio narration did it justice.
3.5 stars

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Book Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Why I read this: It has been on my radar for a long time, but the volume of the book, and the Romance tags put me off. It was chosen as a Book of the Month with Nothing But Reading Challenges so I decided it was time to try it.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi

In a Nutshell: Lots of violence and scenes of torture. Very small amount of Sci-Fi (time travel concept), mostly Romance in an otherwise historical fiction novel.

Would suit fans of: I don't even know! Sweeping sagas like The Thorn Birds

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Good
Gabaldon's writing style is very episodic making the book a fast read despite the fact that it is HUGE (12 hours reading time according to my kindle and the audio is about 33 hours). It also makes it easy to see how this would be suited to a TV series. The historical fiction aspect was also interesting, throwing us into 1743 Scotland. The start of the book really reminded me of Deborah Harkness, although (as you're about to find out) I think Harkness is a far better author.

The Bad
I didn't care for the relationship AT ALL between Claire and Jamie from about 43% and "that" scene. It only got worse from there in terms of the power dynamic and I just can't abide by relationships where the male completely dominates. There are just far too many examples in literature of heroines that are meant to be strong and smart just letting themselves being trampled upon by their partner.
I also really struggled with how Claire could just forget her husband in the current day within about 2 weeks (view spoiler)[ and happily have sex every 2 pages with Jamie. Yes, we get it, they like eachother, they have sex. Now just move on with the story already (hide spoiler)]

The Ugly
And boy is it ugly. The unnecessary consistent violence, particularly the sexual violence just didn't work for me. By the end of the book I was comparing Claire and Jamie in my mind to those crazy sadist murderous couples you see on true crime shows every so often.

So although I'm glad I managed to get to the end, now I can move on and never read a Gabaldon book again. 

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Book Review: Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet by H.P Wood

Why I read this: I requested and received a copy from NetGalley. I thought the cover was awesome and the description really interesting. It is hard to resist a carnival novel!

Genre: Historical Fiction with a dash of magical realism

In a Nutshell: Coney island, plague, lots of death and some graphic scenes

Would suit fans of: Jessie Burton and Alice Hoffman

Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet by H.P. Wood


Set on Coney Island in 1904, this story follows an unlikely group of friends as the island is thrown into quaratine due to an outbreak of the plague.
Although there is some historical basis for the book, the plague never did hit Coney Island (or the east coast of the US), so for the most part this is a work of fiction about what may have happened if it did
.
So, if not exploring historical events what is this book about? There is a quote that I highlighted
"...But here on Coney Island, we learn to take each other as we are"
and for me this is the overriding theme and purpose of the novel. We have such an interesting bunch of characters including a man with no legs, a young boy with a flea circus, a con artist, a politician's son, and English lady, a leopard trainer, a "half and half" (one side male, one side female) and even an automaton. This doesn't even cover all of the characters, who call themselves "unusuals", but gives you a flavour of whom you will meet.

Towards the end of the book there is quite a bit happening, and I think that the sheer volume of characters did the book a disservice as the end felt like it was a rushed attempt to let the reader know what happened to everyone. However, I did really enjoy this novel and felt like I was on Coney Island right along with them.

3.5 stars


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Book Review: Orphan Number 8 by Kim van Alkemade

Why I read this: It was chosen as a Book of the Month at NBRC.

Genre: Historical Fiction

In a Nutshell: Early 20th century New York, medical ethics, LGBT themes

Would suit fans of: Susan Meissner, Elizabeth Wein

Rating: 4 stars

Orphan Number 8 by Kim van Alkemade

Lovely debut historical fiction novel exploring the Jewish orphanages in New York, and the ethics around medical experimentation on people without consent or knowledge that they are in an experiment.
Rachel and her brother Sam are suddenly orphaned in 1919 and are separated when taken to into the Jewish orphange system in New York where Rachel unknowingly becomes part of a medical experiment. Years later, in the 1950s, Rachel discovers the truth when she meets with one of the Doctors who was responsible for the experiment and so the novel weaves its way through the past 40 years of Rachel's life.

There is a lot to like about this book. The historical fiction element is interesting and perhaps not widely known and can create good discussion about medical ethics - somewhat like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. In addition is a very human story though about family and relationships and the impact of others on our life. The characters are well crafted and the pacing of the story leaves you wanting more, even when the subject becomes difficult to read.

I will be looking forward to more of Kim van Alkemade's work in the future.

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Book Review: Mary Bennet by Jennifer Paynter

Why I read this: I read a review for this a few years ago and it intrigued me as an alternate viewpoint to Pride and Prejudice

Genre: Historical Fiction, Retellings

In a Nutshell: A retelling (or is that fan fiction?) of Pride and Prejudice all from Mary's point of view

Would suit fans of: Jane Austen

Rating: 3.5 stars

Find more about this book on Goodreads here

Review:

I enjoyed this take on Pride and Prejudice which is all from Mary's point of view. Although she really only has two main scenes in the original novel,so the author has quite a bit of freedom to create a life for her during this time period. New characters and storylines were provided that sat outside of the purview of Elizabeth and Jane and that also meant that thank fully we were saved from too much of Mr Collins and Lady Catherine De Bourgh!

A lovely book for fans.