Review: A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn

London, 1887 ... 

Victorian adventuress and butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell receives an invitation to visit the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women. There she meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Accused of the brutal murder of his artist mistress Artemisia, Ramsforth will face the hangman's noose in a week s time if Veronica cannot find the real killer.

 But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems and unmasking her true identity is only the first of the many secrets Veronica must uncover. Together with her natural historian colleague Stoker, Veronica races against time to find the true murderer a ruthless villain who not only took Artemisia s life in cold blood but is happy to see Ramsforth hang for the crime.

 From a Bohemian artists colony to a royal palace to a subterranean grotto with a decadent history, the investigation proves to be a very perilous undertaking indeed...

Hardcover, 352 pages

January 10th, 2017, Berkley Books

*****

A Curious Beginning is the first book in this Veronica Speedwell Series and while A Perilous Undertaking does not give too many clues or back flashes to the first book I do recommend going back and starting with that one.  Not only is it that good, it was great getting to know Veronica and Stokers from the start. 

There are so many things I loved about this book, with the first one being Veronica, she is not your average heroine but rather someone who has spunk, is witty, rather feisty and loves her butterflies, she brings this story to life.  While there is definite sexual tension in the air her relationship with Stoker played out with its witty bantering giving this book a humorous and engaging tone. At times I found myself forgetting about the mystery and just enjoyed their relationship.  They both have haunting pasts creating stumbling blocks that I hope resolves in the not to distant future.

Deanna Raybourn has a writing style that I love.  How everything in this mystery wove together and was revealed kept me guessing.  There was enough action to keep the story moving right along and and it wasn't hard to feel the elements along the way.  I am not sure how many books will be in this series, but I know I am looking forward to the next installment.

Thanks to Berkley Books (via Netgalley) for arc.

Review: Good Time Coming by C.S. Harris

I killed a man the summer I turned thirteen . . .

Thus begins C. S. Harris’s haunting, lyrically beautiful tale of coming of age in Civil War-torn Louisiana. Eleven-year-old Amrie St. Pierre is catching tadpoles with her friend Finn O’Reilly when the Federal fleet first steams up the Mississippi River in the spring of 1862. With the surrender of New Orleans, Amrie’s sleepy little village of St. Francisville – strategically located between the last river outposts of Vicksburg and Port Hudson – is now frighteningly vulnerable. As the roar of canons inches ever closer and food, shoes, and life-giving medicines become increasingly scarce, Amrie is forced to grow up fast. But it is her own fateful encounter with a tall, golden-haired Union captain named Gabriel that threatens to destroy everything and everyone she holds most dear.

Told with rare compassion and insight, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching story of loss and survival; of the bonds that form amongst women and children left alone to face the hardships,deprivations, and dangers of war; and of one unforgettable girl’s slow and painful recognition of the good and evil that exists within us all.

Hardcover, 320 pages 

Expected publication: December 1st 2016

 by Severn House Publishers

*****

Good Time Coming is a powerful story of survival, a coming-of-age story that has made me see the Civil War from a different prospective. Where one usually reads from the point of view of either the North or South this book stays away from the political aspects and rather the reader gets a truly authentic look at those left at home. 

Amrie is only 12 years old when this story begins. With wonderful dialogue, vivid descriptions and a touch of humor it wasn't hard getting to know her and to become completely enraptured with her character. She is curious, adventurous and constantly on the move, this war forces her to growup and leave her childhood behind.

"The idea that someone could take all this from me - my sense of identity, my connection to ancestors I'd never known, the image of my dead brother - made me feel anxious and vulnerable in a way I'd never before realized I was.  It also made me quietly, powerfully, and enduringly furious....But such wishings came from the imagination of a child, and my childhood was rapidly slipping away from me."

Amrie is telling the story here and she does it flawlessly. There are many layers to Good Time Coming and she is able to convey how this conflict affects not just her family but the lives of those around her giving the reader a truly realistic and heartbreaking view of this war.

What stands out for me in this book is the authors writing, she was able to connect me with all the characters and situations, to feel empathy for the struggles and what they were forced to endure while the men were of fighting this war. At times some of it was hard to take in it but this was a realistic look at the American Civil War. The descriptions made it easy not just to visualize but feel what was taking place.

"I suppose the point is, life is capricious.  We can never know the outcome of our actions or decisions, and the idea that we can control our lives is more often than not an illusion.  All we can do is what we think is right, and acknowledge that sometimes things will turn out horribly wrong anyway."

While this book had a fitting conclusion I can't help but miss Amrie and would love to see what happens next in her life, one can always hope for a sequel. This is my first time reading anything by CS Harris and she has a new fan, her Sebastian St. Cyr series is already patiently waiting in my tbr pile.

As a big fan of audio books I feel, with the right reader, that this would work perfectly in that format. Thank you to the Severn House Publishers for an advanced copy via Netgalley.

Audio Review: Wildflower Hill by Kimberley Freeman

Wildflower Hill is s compelling and romantic novel spanning three generations and half the world, from modern day London to Australia in the 1930s.

Emma is a prima ballerina in London and at a crossroads after an injured knee ruins her career. When she learns of her grandmother Beattie’s death, and her own strange inheritance—an isolated sheep station in rural Australia—Emma is certain she has been saddled with an irritating burden. But when she returns to Australia, forced to rest her body and confront her life, she realizes that she had been using fame as a substitute for love and fulfillment.

Beattie also found herself at a crossroads as a young woman, but she was pregnant and unwed. She eventually found success—but only after following an unconventional path that was often dangerous and heartbreaking. Beattie knew the lessons she learned in life would be important to Emma one day, and she wanted to make sure Emma’s heart remained open to love, no matter what life brought. She knew the magic of the Australian wilderness would show Emma the way.

Kindle Edition, 546 pages

Published November 22nd 2012 by Quercus (first published 2010)

Audible - 16 hours 28 minutes

*****

I have discovered lately that there is a gold mind of Australian authors and have been on a quest the past few few years to find them. Thankfully with Kimberly Freeman her books are easily available worldwide.

Wildflower Hill was an audiobook for me and with dual narratives sometimes that is hard to pull off. The difficulty comes during the transition of time periods and whether the audio can handle the changes in a smooth manner not disrupting the narrative and flow of the story.  In this case there was no issues, with each chapter title paving the way.  As usual for me I am always drawn to the past story but the present day one was just as captivating.

Beattie Blaxland is introduced to us when she was only 19 years old, a young lady with a bright future ahead of her, but that future is dashed when she falls for a married man. Ending up clear across the globe she is forced to rebuild her future, which now includes a daughter. I loved her character I love the way she was portrayed, hard-working, smart and brave enough to take a stand as needed. There are many obstacles she is forced to deal with and it was a great process to watch.

In our present day story we have Emma who is Beattie's granddaughter returning to Australia from England after an injury sidelines her ballerina career. As she begins clearing out her grandmothers personal effects Emma not only discovers who her grandmother really was and the significance of Wildflower Hill but she also learned a lot more about herself and what really matters.

Kimberly Freeman is a wonderful author and I am so glad to have finally read one of her books, which, of course, has resulted in the rest being pushed to the top of my TBR our file. Her writing prose is such that I was drawn into the story right away and had me to caring about the characters and their plight. I was able to visualize so much of the Tasmania countryside and feel the emotional side of this wonderful story.

Definitely an author I highly recommend, especially fans of Kate Morton and Susanna Kearsley.

Review & Giveaway: A Song of War: A Novel of Troy

Troy: city of gold, gatekeeper of the east, haven of the god-born and the lucky, a city destined to last a thousand years.

But the Fates have other plans—the Fates, and a woman named Helen. In the shadow of Troy's gates, all must be reborn in the greatest war of the ancient world: slaves and queens, heroes and cowards, seers and kings . . . and these are their stories.

A young princess and an embittered prince join forces to prevent a fatal elopement.

A tormented seeress challenges the gods themselves to save her city from the impending disaster.

A tragedy-haunted king battles private demons and envious rivals as the siege grinds on.

A captured slave girl seizes the reins of her future as two mighty heroes meet in an epic duel.

A grizzled archer and a desperate Amazon risk their lives to avenge their dead.

A trickster conceives the greatest trick of all.

A goddess' son battles to save the spirit of Troy even as the walls are breached in fire and blood. 

Seven authors bring to life the epic tale of the Trojan War: its heroes, its villains, its survivors, its dead. Who will lie forgotten in the embers, and who will rise to shape the bloody dawn of a new age?

Publication Date: October 18, 2016

 Knight Media, LLC 

eBook & Paperback; 483 Pages 

Genre: Historical Fiction/Ancient History/Anthology

      

*****

Seven different authors penned this anthology, some of them  am familiar with and others are new to me.  This is only my second experience reading an anthology and I still wonder what the best approach is to writing up a review.  A Song of War is divided into 7 Songs, do I go through each one individual making this review longer than usual or would a general overview (spoiler free) do this book justice?  While I am fascinated with the time period,  I've really only read about Paris and Helen.  With A Song of War it's like getting the other side of the story from different points of view.

Kate Quinn starts this book off with the first Song, called The Apple and clearly demonstrated why she is a favorite of mine.  She knows how to grab the reader right from the beginning, she creates the characters of Hector, Andromache, Hellenus, Paris and Helen with unique personalities and I loved what transpired especially with Paris and Priam, it was original and totally plausible, not what I was expecting at all and it worked; I love when an author does that.

Stephanie Thornton  continues with The Prophecy and the story of Cassandra, someone I have never heard of before.  Thornton likes to take unknown women of history and breathe life into their story, which is exactly what she has done here.  I loved this chapter and I loved Cassandra, the misunderstood, frustrated daughter of Priam who can foresee 'truths no one wishes to hear'.

Russell Whitfield takes on Agamemnon with The Sacrifice and I will admit to actually knowing nothing about him except that he is the brother of Menelaus.  This Song opens with an emotional scene totally drawing my feelings for him in the opposite directions of what I anticipated. I saw what made him tick, Whitfield made be care and empathize about him.

Christian Cameron is a new author to me and he continues with The Duel.  Briseis, I love what I have read about her, a tragic past that has made her a slave in this war.  This is one of the bigger Songs and one of my favorites.  She had guts and determination I was anxious to read her story, I think I read it in one sitting, I couldn't help myself, she just drew me right in.   

Libbie Hawker is a new author to me, her Song, The Bow has me looking for her other works.  

Penthesilea, a Cimmerian, not really part of the Trojan Wars, is again another character I am unfamiliar with as was Philoctetes.  I loved seeing the War unfold through the eyes of other, which was the case here. 

"He that fights fares no better than he that does not; coward and hero are held in equal honor, and death deals like measure to him who works and him who is idle."

Vicky Alvear Shecter tackles the giant Odysseus in The Horse, what a job that was. She did it flawlessly, it was a pleasure to read.

 SJA Turney wrote with some of the same authors here as in A Year of Ravens, so I was looking forward to her Song, she doesn't disappoint.  This was the perfect conclusion to an awesome book.

My favorite, The Authors Note, was a fitting conclusion.  This was just as entertaining as the book itself.  I loved hearing from each of the authors with their thoughts and the tweaking necessary for all the pieces to fit nicely here.  

While I wasn't exactly sure what to expected with A Song of War, I got much more than anticipated and another book to add to my 'best of 2016'.  Hats off to this great team, while written by 7 different individuals with 7 different writing styles this book flowed together perfectly, the transition from Songs seemed effortless.  I loved this book, it was a pleasure to read.

Thank you to Amy at HFVBT for the invite to be part of this tour and to Stephanie Thornton for a digital copy of A Song of Fire.

Amazon | Amazon UK | Kobo

CHRISTIAN CAMERON was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1962. He grew up in Rockport, Massachusetts, Iowa City, Iowa,Christian Cameron and Rochester, New York, where he attended McQuaid Jesuit High School and later graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in history. After the longest undergraduate degree on record (1980-87), he joined the United States Navy, where he served as an intelligence officer and as a backseater in S-3 Vikings in the First Gulf War, in Somalia, and elsewhere. After a dozen years of service, he became a full time writer in 2000. He lives in Toronto (that’s Ontario, in Canada) with his wife Sarah and their daughter Beatrice, currently age four. And a half.

LIBBIE HAWKER was born in Rexburg, Idaho and divided her childhood between Eastern Idaho's rural environs and the greater Seattle area. She presently lives in Seattle, but has also been a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah; Bellingham, Washington; and Tacoma, Washington. She loves to write about character and place, and is inspired by the bleak natural beauty of the Rocky Mountain region and by the fascinating history of the Puget Sound. After three years of trying to break into the publishing industry with her various books under two different pen names, Libbie finally turned her back on the mainstream publishing industry and embraced independent publishing. She now writes her self-published fiction full-time, and enjoys the fact that the writing career she always dreamed of having is fully under her own control.

KATE QUINN is a native of southern California. She attended Boston University, where she earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Classical Voice. A lifelong history buff, she has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance detailing the early years of the infamous Borgia clan. All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate has succumbed to the blogging bug, and keeps a blog filled with trivia, pet peeves, and interesting facts about historical fiction. She and her husband now live in Maryland with two black dogs named Caesar and Calpurnia, and her interests include opera, action movies, cooking, and the Boston Red Sox.

VICKY ALVEAR SHECTER is the author of the young adult novel, Cleopatra's Moon (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2011), based on the life of Cleopatra's only daughter. She is also the author of two award-winning biographies for kids on Alexander the Great and Cleopatra. She is a docent at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Antiquities at Emory University in Atlanta. The LA Times calls Cleopatra's Moon, "magical" and "impressive." Publisher's Weekly said it was "fascinating" and "highly memorable." The Wall Street Journal called it "absorbing."

STEPHANIE THORNTON is a writer and history teacher who has been obsessed with infamous women from ancient history since she was twelve. She lives with her husband and daughter in Alaska, where she is at work on her next novel. Her novels, The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora, Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt, The Tiger Queens: The Women of Genghis Khan, and The Conqueror's Wife: A Novel of Alexander the Great, tell the stories of history's forgotten women.

SJA TURNEY lives with his wife, son and daughter, and two (close approximations of) dogs in rural North Yorkshire. Marius' Mules was his first full length novel. Being a fan of Roman history, SJA decided to combine his love of writing and love of the classical world. Marius' Mules was followed two years later by Interregnum - an attempt to create a new fantasy story still with a heavy flavour of Rome. These have been followed by numerous sequels, with three books in the fantasy 'Tales of the Empire' series and five in the bestselling 'Marius' Mules' one. 2013 has seen the first book in a 15th century trilogy - 'The Thief's Tale' - and will also witness several side projects seeing the light of day.

RUSSELL WHITFIELD was born in Shepherds Bush in 1971. An only child, he was raised in Hounslow, West London, but has since escaped to Ham in Surrey. Gladiatrix was Russ's first novel, published in 2008 by Myrmidon Books. The sequel, Roma Victrix, continues the adventures Lysandra, the Spartan gladiatrix, and a third book, Imperatrix, sees Lysandra stepping out of the arena and onto the field of battle.

Giveaway

To win a paperback copy of A Song of War: A Novel of Troy by the H Team, please enter via the Gleam form below. Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on November 12th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Giveaway is open to US & Canada residents only. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

  A Song of War

Review/Giveaway: Echoes of Family by Barbara Claypole White

 Sometimes the only way through darkness is to return to where it began. 

Marianne Stokes fled England at seventeen, spiraling into the manic depression that would become her shadow. She left behind secrets, memories, and tragedy: one teen dead, and her first love, Gabriel, badly injured. Three decades later she’s finally found peace in the North Carolina recording studio she runs with her husband, Darius, and her almost-daughter, Jade…until another fatality propels her back across the ocean to confront the long-buried past.

In her picturesque childhood village, the first person she meets is the last person she wants to see again: Gabriel. Now the village vicar, he takes her in without question, and ripples of what if reverberate through both their hearts. As Marianne’s mind unravels, Jade and Darius track her down. Tempers clash when everyone tries to help, but only by finding the courage to face her illness can Marianne heal herself and her offbeat family.

Paperback: 412 pages 

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (September 27, 2016)

*****
I am not sure if this review can accurately describe my feeling about this book.  While it has been many months since I agreed to be part of this blog tour and to be honest I didn't refresh my memory by reading the synopsis so basically I cracked open Echoes of Family blind.  All I can say is WOW, I just found another 'best of 2016'.

I love the first line in the synopsis above 'sometimes the only way through darkness is to return to where it began', which is exactly what Marianne had to do.  There are so many layers to this story, as Marianne returns to England it affects those not just from her past but present as well.  This intricate story played out so smoothly, I got to know the characters quite well, getting inside their minds as each dealt with the situation.  It was truly an authentic portrayal of bipolar and its effect not just for the individual but their loved ones as well.

It's not a book that I read when I could grab 5 minutes here and there but rather one to sit and savor,  I finished in a matter of days.  The author wrote with such compassion and sensitivity (plus a touch of humor) and just watching the story unfold with its twists and turns made it a pleasure to read.  It's one of those books that will stay with me for a long time.

"...you're never truly lost if someone cares enough to come find you.
  Lost is waiting to be found."

Thank you to TLC tours and Lake Union Publishing (via netgalley) for an arc (in exchange for honest review)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Claypole White’s gift is her ability to put us into the troubled minds of her characters in a way that helps us not only understand them but fall in love with them as well. We discover that while their minds may be different from ours, their hearts are the same.” —Diane Chamberlain, USA Todaybestselling author of Pretending to Dance

 “Echoes of Family is a masterfully written novel that is both difficult to put down, and difficult to forget after the final page. In this powerful novel, Claypole White weaves that narrative that draws the reader into a personal relationship with the characters and has you rooting for them, in spite of their many flaws. This book kept my attention until all secrets were revealed in its dramatic conclusion. I look forward to many more from Claypole White.” —Sally Hepworth, bestselling author of The Things We Keep

 “Barbara Claypole White has done it again—created a quirky cast of characters and then taken us along as they go on a journey through madness and out the other side. Music, England, love, loss, and nature all collide in this beautiful exploration of how the echoes of our past can sometimes drown out the present. Matthew Quick fans will feel right at home.” —Catherine McKenzie, bestselling author of Spin and Hidden

    Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble 

A Brit living in North Carolina, Barbara Claypole White writes hopeful family drama with a healthy dose of mental illness. Her debut novel, The Unfinished Garden, won the 2013 Golden Quill Contest for Best First Book, and The In-Between Hour was chosen by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance as a Winter 2014 Okra Pick. Her third novel, The Perfect Son, was a semifinalist in the 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Fiction. 

Connect with Barbara 

Website | Facebook | Twitter 

Echoes of Family

Review: Last in a Long Line of Rebels by Lisa Lewis Tyre

Debut novelist Lisa Lewis Tyre vibrantly brings a small town and its outspoken characters to life, as she explores race and other community issues from both the Civil War and the present day.

Lou might be only twelve, but she’s never been one to take things sitting down. So when her Civil War-era house is about to be condemned, she’s determined to save it—either by getting it deemed a historic landmark or by finding the stash of gold rumored to be hidden nearby during the war. As Lou digs into the past, her eyes are opened when she finds that her ancestors ran the gamut of slave owners, renegades, thieves and abolitionists. 

Meanwhile, some incidents in her town show her that many Civil War era prejudices still survive and that the past can keep repeating itself if we let it. Digging into her past shows Lou that it’s never too late to fight injustice, and she starts to see the real value of understanding and exploring her roots. 

 Age Range: 10 and up 

Grade Level: 5 and up

 Hardcover: 288 pages

Source: print copy as part of tour

*****

Well here you have it friends, another 'best of 2016'.  As I type this up I am trying to come up with things that I did not like about this book and you know what?  I couldn't come up with a single thing. Hopefully I won't gush too much or get your expectations so high that when (if) you read this book it won't invoke the same reaction - its happened to me before so I know the feeling about reading overly positive reviews.

So where to begin?  This book's targeted age is 10+ and it hits that perfectly, now I am well above that target and I enjoyed it immensely.  Lou is a character, she is sassy, impulsive, caring, curious and a fighter.  She wants excitement during her summer vacation so when prays are offered up for that exact thing she gets more than she bargained for.  Now she doesn't just pray and that's it, she attends church with her friends to help the process along - no it isn't preachy in anyway here.  But it does show her commitment and drive for 'excitement'.

With each chapter opening with a snippet of diary entries dating back to the 1860's, penned by another Louise Mayhew, the author created a setting of mystery and intrigue.  By connecting the past to the present with this old family home, it also showed that some of the prejudices from that old time period still exist today.  Taking place in 1999, there are no cell phones or internet to aid in this group of friends mission.  It was a refresh change to see kids being kids without all the techno devices. 

I loved the authors writing style, she was able to make me feel the wide range of emotions that Lou endured, to feel her passion in trying to save her home and motives. To see her grow and realize whats important and how she can make a difference, especially when things don't turn out the way you think they should.  Lou's friends round out the story perfectly, each with their own character traits and I gotta say  I loved Bertie, Lou's grandmother, she added so much sparkle to this story, reminding me of Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey).  

The cover of Last In a Long Line of Rebels fits this story perfectly.  A solid debut, definitely an author I highly recommend and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.  Thank you to TLC Tours for inviting me to be part of this tour.

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Chapters 

About Lisa Lewis Tyre:   I grew up in a small town in Tennessee surrounded by my crazy family and neighbors. I learned early on that not every child had a pet skunk, a dad that ran a bar in the front yard, or a neighbor that was so large his house had to be torn down to get him out. 

What else could I do but write? I’ve wanted to write for as long as I can remember. I think this is because I come from a long line of storytellers. I loved listening to my dad tell me about the escapades of his youth, like how he “accidentally” pushed his brother out of a two-story window, and “accidentally” shot his aunt’s chicken with a bow and arrow. Apparently he was accident-prone.

One of the stories they told me involved the name of our piece of the country. I lived in a tiny spot that the locals called Zollicoffer. When I asked why it had such a strange name, they said it was named after General Felix Zollicoffer who had camped nearby during the Civil War. One day I happened to ask my mom where exactly the camp had been. That’s when she pointed down the road and said, “Probably over there. That’s where some kids in the 50’s found GOLD.” And just like that, LAST IN A LONG LINE OF REBELS was born.

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 “Accomplished debut. . . . Strong secondary characters, including Lou’s thrice-divorced flirtatious grandmother, help build the strong sense of small-town community. Tyre masterfully weaves historical details into Lou’s discoveries in ways that never feel facile, while deftly and satisfyingly resolving past and present puzzles.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

 “Louise Duncan Mayhew’s perspective in the 1860s is an intriguing contrast to Lou’s modern narration at the turn of the 21st century. . . . The story addresses injustice in plain language that is accessible to young readers who enjoy whodunits.”—Kirkus Reviews 

 “Tyre’s debut features characters that are believable in their naïveté and sense of invincibility. . . . Louise’s account of their summer adventures, with chapters headed by entries from a Civil War diary, should please middle-grade readers looking for a solid story with an intriguing historical connection.”—Booklist 

“The characters are true to life. . . . In the midst of solving a Civil War–era mystery, Lou and her friends confront racism in their own time. Lou feels deeply and is single-minded in her pursuit of justice. A solid debut novel for middle graders who enjoy a blend of history and mystery.”—School Library Journal BEA Middle Grade Buzz Pick Amazon Editors Pick (October, 9-12 yr olds.)

Review & Giveaway: Follow the River by James Alexander Thom

Woman of Dignity
Woman of Spirit
Woman of Courage

Here is the magnificent saga of Mary Ingles' daring escape from Indian captivity and her remarkable journey home.

Mary Ingles was twenty-three, married, and pregnant, when Shawnee Indians invaded her peaceful Virginia settlement in 1755, kidnapped her leaving behind a bloody massacre. For months they held her captive.  But nothing could imprison her spirit.

With the rushing Ohio River as her guide, Mary Ingles walked one thousand miles through an untamed wilderness no white woman had ever seen.  Her story lives on, extraordinary testimony to the indomitable strength of a pioneer woman struggling to return to the comfort of her own people, the arms of her own man.

Paperback, 406 pages

Published November 12th 1986 by Ballantine Books(first published 1981)

personal library

*****

Well here you have it, my first 'Best of 2016'.  I would never have discovered this book on my own, but thanks to a friend on Goodreads I discovered it on the list 'The Unknown, Hidden Gems of Historical Fiction'.  Follow the River is number one.

It's great as a reader when you have your favorite authors, those trusted ones your go to and aren't disappointed.  On the other hand it is great to discover new talent out there.  Such is the case here with James Alexander Thom, though not a new author but new to me.

Follow the River is a story that showed a raw and violent side of early America.  It's the story of a remarkable young woman named Mary Ingles and her unrelenting determination in what looks to be a hopeless situation, she is forced to make decisions no mother should ever have to make, but was courageous in her quest for freedom.  When the Shawnee seeked to take revenge on white people, they targeted the settlers in Drapers Meadow, where Mary and her family lived.   

Thom's writing style was one I enjoyed, he didn't tell the story but rather showed it.  Told in vivid detail the author didn't hold anything back.  From the various aspects of the life style of the Shawnee to Mary's journey home I could visual and feel so much. It wasn't just Mary's emotional state but others as well, how they struggled to adapt to what was happening.  Be warned there were a couple of graphic/disturbing scenes that I had a hard time with (especially the opening massacre).  

"It seemed very important somehow, though she knew she was presuming things about the Indian character, that she and the others should exhibit all the dignity their destitute circumstances would allow. Somehow, she felt, dignity might be all that could keep them alive. It was a notion she had arrived at largely by watching the straight-backed carriage of the tall chieftain."

For Mary it wasn't just herself but 2 young sons and newborn baby as well.  Based on a true story makes it all the more heart wrenching, but at the same time to marvel at her determination and strength made this a very captivating story.

The authors knowledge and research is evident, he even hiked part (all?) of the route himself, showing his desire to tell Mary's story in a realistic manner (which were spot on).  The historical/author notes I enjoyed as much as the book itself.  Definitely an author I will be reading more of.

On that note I have a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader.  This is a mass paperback, used but loved.  Just leave a comment, tell me about a new author you've discovered.  It's open for a week, you can enter once a day and more entries if you spread the word and follow this blog.  Contest ends Feb 7th.