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Reviews by Diana C. (Delray Beach, FL)

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The Roaring Days of Zora Lily: A Novel
by Noelle Salazar
Interesting premise, but... (8/31/2023)
This book started with an interesting twist: a modern day Smithsonian curator coming across a 1920s Hollywood costume designer mystery, at which time the book takes us back to 1924 where the story unravels and the mystery is eventually solved. While that story line soundsmore
The Gifts: A Novel
by Liz Hyder
A remarkable tale (2/27/2023)
As the author explains in her end of book conversation, The Gifts is a book about many things. The lush Victorian-era English backdrop is the perfect setting for a serious, heartwarming and oftentimes fantastical account of diversely gifted women navigating through themore
Pieces of Blue
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
An unexpected treasure (1/31/2023)
Not every book has to read like a Shakespearean masterpiece, and sometimes treasures are found in the least likely of places. This book is way out of my usual genre (historical fiction) but something about the story appealed to me. The BookBrowse blurb reflects exactly whatmore
Jackie & Me
by Louis Bayard
Shakespearean in its scope (6/3/2022)
I knew I would adore this book. This author never fails to take the reader to places they were not expecting. This is at once a love story and a fable, with the moral being the all too familiar love lost amid a backdrop of poignant and sometimes painful memories. Itmore
The Last Grand Duchess: A Novel of Olga Romanov, Imperial Russia, and Revolution
by Bryn Turnbull
The end of Imperial Russia (12/13/2021)
Books on the Romanovs, much like World War II, are everywhere. And while we all know the last chapter of this well chronicled story, this particular book focuses specifically on the eldest Romanov daughter, Olga, and her coming of age. Clearly well researched, this book ismore
The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal
by Bryn Turnbull
Entitlement at its finest (7/4/2020)
This book tells the story of an American woman romantically invoved with Edward, The Prince of Wales prior to his much storied relationship with Wallis Simpson. I tried with every page I read to find some redeeming quality in each and every one of the characters in thismore
Red Letter Days
by Sarah-Jane Stratford
McCarthy Era Hollywood (10/6/2019)
This is a period in history in which I was not very familiar, and this book sheds a lot of light into the strong-arm tactics of the U.S. government during this period. The book follows various writers and Hollywood luminaries both caught up in and negatively affected by themore
Cartier's Hope: A Novel
by M. J. Rose
Historical Fiction Chick-Lit (9/5/2019)
While I have enjoyed a couple of this author's previous novels, I would categorize them as historical fiction chick-lit. This book, while entertaining, fits perfectly within that description. It tells the story of an early 20th century woman born into privilege yet yearningmore
Courting Mr. Lincoln
by Louis Bayard
"The ballot is stronger than the bullet." (2/10/2019)
I am so disappointed this book was not 779 pages instead of 379 pages. Having read this author before I knew the book would be riveting, but I did not have any idea to what extent. The author's skillful use of 19th century turn of phrase and nuance of speech is perfect. Hismore
At the Wolf's Table
by Rosella Postorino
Unresolved loose ends (10/9/2018)
This novel based on the real life German women who were Hitler's food tasters during World War II, reveals their unlikely friendships, rivalries and intimate stories. I generally do not read books from this period in history because so much has been written a lot of itmore
The Kennedy Debutante
by Kerri Maher
It all seems like a beautiful dream... (6/10/2018)
The words Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy wrote to her father in 1939 and again in her diary in 1943, "it all seems like a beautiful dream..." echo hauntingly in this moving and fascinating account of the life of Kathleen Kennedy. Often the Kennedy family is viewed as fanciful ormore
Sometimes I Lie
by Alice Feeney
Enthralling, from start to finish (11/7/2017)
The narrator of this story is a woman in a coma. The circumstances by which she came to be in a coma are ambiguous at best and is just one of the myriad mysteries that eventually become unraveled. To call this book a psychological thriller doesn't begin to do it justice.more
The Necklace
by Claire McMillan
Short on literary substance (6/4/2017)
This is a story about a necklace, once part of an Indian royal dynasty, that made it into the hands of a wealthy American family in the early 20th century. I liked this story, but throughout I felt as if there was more that needed to be told. Whether it was because themore
If We Were Villains
by M. L. Rio
"Lord, what fools these mortals be..." (3/16/2017)
Take a bit of Donna Tartt's "The Secret History," plenty of Shakespearean passages, riveting prose and you have "If We Were Villains." I am always awed by authors whose first works are destined to become classics. This book is no exception. The story is part murder mystery,more
The Second Mrs. Hockaday
by Susan Rivers
Civil War Era Mystery (12/2/2016)
Told in haunting and moving prose through journal entries and correspondence, this story based on actual events tells of a newly married young woman left home alone with just the servants and her husband's infant son after her officer husband is called back to fight for themore
Cruel Beautiful World
by Caroline Leavitt
Storytelling brilliance (8/8/2016)
I have never read any of Carolyn Leavitt's books, but after reading Cruel Beautiful World, I have a feeling I'll be reading more. I love the author's seamless prose, as if she and the characters are right before you, speaking and living their lives. It's 1969 and the worldmore
The Secret Language of Stones: A Daughters of La Lune Novel
by M. J. Rose
A Great War Romance Novel (4/7/2016)
I have read several of MJ Rose's novels, and reviewed The Witch of Painted Sorrows for Bookbrowse. I was originally drawn to this book because I love historical fiction, and in this novel the Romanov dynasty features prominently, and have a vast knowledge of gems and theirmore
The Return of the Witch
by Paula Brackston
Entertaining sequel (1/18/2016)
The Return of the Witch is a sequel to the author's debut novel, The Witch's Daughter. Having read the first book but not recently, I found the second book transitioned the reader seamlessly into the second story. Supernatural and fantastical, it's a fun read that doesn'tmore
The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins
by Antonia Hodgson
Another Georgian Era Mystery (12/25/2015)
I read, loved, and reviewed for BookBrowse, Antonia Hodgson's first book, The Devil in the Marshalsea. Her latest, The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins, brings back the main character from her first book, along with several of the same secondary characters. As in her firstmore
Lamp Black, Wolf Grey
by Paula Brackston
A Welsh Mystery Steeped in Arthurian Legend (7/5/2015)
From the start, this story captured my imagination. Alternating between present day Wales and medieval Wales, the story interconnects the lives of a 21st century artist and Merlin the wizard from Arthurian legend. Although parts of the story are fantastical and force themore
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