The Blue Cloak (True Colors #5) by Shannon McNear

Fiction Based on Strange, But True, History

True, riveting stories of American criminal activity are explored through unique stories of historical romantic suspense. Collect them all and be inspired by the hope that always finds its way even in the darkest of times.

Based on real events beginning in 1797 — Rachel Taylor lives a rather mundane existence at the way station her family runs along the Wilderness Road in Tennessee. She attends her friend’s wedding only to watch it dissolve in horror has the groom, Wiley Harpe, and his cousin become murderers on the run, who drag their families along. Declaring a “war on all humanity,” the Harpes won’t be stopped, and Ben Langford is on their trail to see if his own cousin was one of their latest victims. How many will die before peace can return to the frontier?

 

Kindle Edition, 256 pages

Published March 1st 2020

 by Barbour Publishing

3.5/5 stars

A couple weeks ago I posted my review for The Green Dress, which was book 6 in the True Colors series, today I am posting this review for book 5. This series does not have to be read in order as each covers a different part of US history that is usually something off the beaten track, dark, gritty and unfortunately true.

Taking place in 1797 begins with the wedding of Rachel Taylor's friend to Wiley Harpe, what follows is what the Harpe group call a 'war on all humanity'. It is a heartbreaking story of senseless violence, greed, and helplessness not just for young Rachel but those that end up in their path of destruction.

For Christian fiction , this is a very dark and gritty book, it does not hold back on the violence that takes place and the effect it has on the community. And yes, after I finished, I did Google and learn that the author did her research and stayed true to history. One can't help feel for Rachel as she shares her story along with that of Ben Langford.  There journey is both personal as faith plays a big part during the horrific events that test it.

I will continue with this series, but it is one that I will take a break between each reading just to cleanse my brain.

This book released in March of 2020 and is part of Reading of my Kindle Challenge.

Review: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

In this addictive and spectacularly imagined debut, a female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them—setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.

Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose—selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.

With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating exploration of women rebelling against a man’s world, the destructive force of revenge and the remarkable ways that women can save each other despite the barrier of time. 

Kindle Edition, 320 pages

Expected publication: March 2nd 2021 

by Park Row Books/HarperCollins

4/5 stars

Thanks to the fine folks at Park Row Books/Harper Collins this was a combination listen and read book.  I've done this a couple times, its great for getting a real sense of the voices through the audio and curling up on the couch for a read rounds it off nicely.

Debut author, Sarah Penner has written this dual time period story told through 3 different narratives, two in the past and one present day.  Naturally I was drawn to the past for its mystery and history.  I loved listening to Nella tell her story on the audio, the narrator had a dark edgy tone that had me visualising probably more then what was written - does that make sense? Definitely the audio for the past worked nicely.  

The present day story was interesting enough,  mud larking was a new term for me and now I want to go to England and mud lark, searching for lost treasures. It was an interesting thread, I liked Caroline's drive and watching her transition but it was the past that keep me reading.

The Lost Apothecary is a story of herbs, while usually to heal this time it's the opposite.  Getting to know Nella through her past answered the question of why she does what she does.  The friendship with Eliza and ramifications turned this into a story of survival with some suspense and sacrifice. 

A solid debut that I highly recommend.

Both the audio and ebook were provided by publisher (via Netgalley) in exchange

 for an honest review.

 

Review: The Game of Hope by Sandra Gulland

For Napoleon's stepdaughter, nothing is simple -- especially love. 

Paris, 1798.  Hortense de Beauharnais is engrossed in her studies at a boarding school for aristocratic girls, most of whom suffered tragic losses during the tumultuous days of the French Revolution. She loves to play and compose music, read and paint, and daydream about Christophe, her brother's dashing fellow officer. But Hortense is not an ordinary girl. Her beautiful, charming mother Josephine has married Napoleon Bonaparte, soon to become the most powerful man in France, but viewed by Hortense as a coarse, unworthy successor to her elegant father, who was guillotined during the Terror.     

Where will Hortense's future lie?

 Inspired by Hortense's real-life autobiography with charming glimpses of teen life long ago, this is the story of a girl chosen by fate to play a role she didn't choose.

Kindle Edition, 384 pages

Published May 1st 2018

by Penguin Teen

****

This is my second novel by Sandra Gulland and her first venture into YA, fitting as Hortense is a young adult herself. 

This is the first time reading anything about Hortense and I quite enjoyed it.  To get glimpses of the final years of the Revolution, though the eyes of the young, added that extra emotional element, it wasn't hard to feel empathy for what they went through.  The scars left were not always the physical ones.  Hortense didn’t ask to be stepdaughter of the famous Bonaparte but that was her lot in life. She is only 15 years old and has already experienced so much, her character was well-developed with memories and guilt of the past, along with a future not always of her choosing.

It’s definite from past books by this author that she has done an enormous amount of research into this time, based on actual events she stayed true to history.

The Game of Hope is a book that I was sad to see end, I would like to know where the next chapter in her life takes her (a sequel would be nice).

Thank you to the publisher (via Netgalley) for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for honest review.