Category: Book Review

The Time Traveler’s Guide to Regency Britain: A Handbook for Visitors to 1789-1830 Book Review

When traveling to a place that one has never been to before, a travel guide is often used to get a basic lay of the land.

The Time Traveler’s Guide to Regency Britain: A Handbook for Visitors to 1789-1830, by Ian Mortimer, was published last year. Taking the reader back in time, Mortimer completely immerses us in the Regency era. No aspect is untouched. The experience is a visceral one as if we had been there ourselves.

Obviously, there is a specific audience for Mortimer’s book. As a history (and a Regency) nerd, it is right up my alley. Mortimer’s image of the time is complete. He is not afraid of pointing out that it was not all sunshine and roses. For all of the imagery of romance that is conjured up, there is also a dark side that is not so rosy.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

The Time Traveler’s Guide to Regency Britain: A Handbook for Visitors to 1789-1830 is available wherever books are sold.

Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage Book Review

In our modern world, we are told that marriage is supposed to start with “happily ever after”. A couple (either gay or straight) is living with a couple of kids in their own version of the white picket fence. But this image is a modern one. Love and marriage have not always gone hand in hand.

Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage, by Stephanie Coontz, was published in 2006. In the book, Coontz details how, for most of human history, getting married was not about love. It was a business and more about who you knew rather than the compatibility and emotional connection of the couple.

In many cases, women (and some men)were sold in the name of marriage to benefit their families or communities. The chosen spouse was not just the business of the individual or their loved ones. Neighbors and distant acquaintances had their say in who one would say “I do” to.

Jane Austen put it best in Mansfield Park:

Since marriage is a “maneuvering business,” both men and women often tried to “market” themselves to potential spouses by showing off certain qualities. Since women and wives in this period were supposed to be obedient, Sir Thomas is basically marketing Fanny as a good potential wife by showing how easy she is to boss around.

Coontz has a way of reaching her readers that is both intellectual and down to earth. She presents the subject in a way that teaches without relying on dry facts and figures. It makes me appreciate that as a female, I can choose who my legally wedded partner is and that I am no longer seen as his property.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage is available wherever books are sold.

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The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir Book Review

The path that we figuratively walk on to figure out who we are is not easy. But it is definitely worth it.

RuPaul is an icon. He tells his story in the new memoir/autobiography, The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir. Growing up as a queer Black child in San Diego with a less-than-ideal family, his start in life did not indicate where he would go. His father was not always around and his mother was not the huggy kissy type.

Later in life, he moved to both Atlanta and New York and found his people in the punk and drag scenes. He would marry the love of his life and finally become sober after years of drug addiction.

I enjoyed this book. RuPaul is open about his past, warts and all. It is heartfelt, honest, and revealing. His difficulties are not sugarcoated or ignored. Overall, his message to his readers is to put yourself out there (despite the fear) and see what happens.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir is available wherever books are sold.

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The Women: A Novel Book Review

It was not that long ago that a woman’s path in life was chosen for her. That started to change when some females decided to take fate into their own hands.

The Women: A Novel is the latest book by Kristin Hannah. It was published in February. It’s 1965. Frances “Frankie” McGrath is a twenty-year-old nursing student from an upper-class conservative California family. She could marry a nice boy and become a mother. But that is not what Frankie wants.

When her brother joins the Navy to fight for his country in Vietnam, she follows him by enlisting in the Army Nurse Corps. Over the next few years, Frankie will experience death, destruction, life, and loss on a scale that leaves an emotional scar that never truly heals.

Upon returning home, she discovers that a whole new set of battles await her. Sexism, mental illness, and a country torn by conflict create new wounds that only add to the unspoken emotional scars.

Wow. Hannah has outdone herself. Frankie’s arc over twenty-odd years is mindblowing. She goes from an enthusiastic and idealistic young woman to a survivor who has walked through the darkness and made it out alive.

Beyond the narrative, it is a reminder that the women who served for (and died for) their country in Vietnam deserve as much recognition as their male counterparts.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely. It is so far, one of my favorite books of the year.

The Women: A Novel is available wherever books are sold.

Women Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality Book Review

It is a truth universally acknowledged that for most of human history, women have been undervalued. This extends to the paycheck she received if she had to go out and earn a living.

Women Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality, by Josie Cox, was published last month. The book details the fight for equal pay and access to both careers and financial assets that were naturally given to men. Instead of just taking it, we fought back.

Throughout several generations, barriers were broken, and attitudes changed. That does mean, however, that everything is hunky dory. The battles that our mothers and grandmothers fought decades ago have not yet been won. Sexism is still unfortunately alive and well in our world.

I enjoyed this book. Well-written and easy to read, Cox reminds her readers of how far we have come and how far we still need to go.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Women Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality is available wherever books are sold.

Waking Lions Book Review

Guilt is a powerful emotion. It holds a certain power over us that other emotions cannot.

Waking Lions, by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, was published in 2018. Dr. Eitan Green has nothing to complain about. He has a successful career as a neurosurgeon, is happily married to a police officer, and has two healthy children.

After a long shift, Eitan is driving home when he hits an African migrant, killing him. Instead of waiting for the authorities to come, he pretends like he was never there.

The next morning, the man’s widow comes calling. She knows that Eitan killed her husband. Instead of asking for a financial bribe, she threatens to reveal secrets that could destroy everything he has built.

The premise of the novel is promising. The problem is that this promise is surface-level. I tried to get into it, but I couldn’t.

Do I recommend it? No.

Waking Lions is available wherever books are sold.

Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America Book Review

When chaos reigns, destruction does not always come from outside. The attack that is often unseen and devastating comes from inside.

Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America, by Barbara McQuade, was published last month. In most democratic societies, disagreements are normal. But there is a vast gulf between differing opinions and using disinformation to threaten the very foundations of the United States.

Some of the topics include authoritarianism (citing Ruth Ben-Ghiat), how lies and half-truths are disseminated, and how we can prevent it from creating irrevocable damage.

This book is a must-read for anyone who truly believes in the power of true democracy and protecting it. Given how precarious our current political position is, this title is if nothing else, a reminder of what we are fighting for.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America is available wherever books are sold.

Forever Your Earl Book Review

Cross-class differences always make for a great story. Within the romance genre, this tale has been a staple for a millennium.

Forever Your Earl, by Eva Leigh, is the first book in the Wicked Quills of London series.

Eleanor Hawke is a self-made woman. While most of her gender are financially reliant on the men in their lives, she is proud to have built up her newspaper from nothing. Her life revolves around her work and her friends. The last thing she is expecting is to see Daniel Balfour, the Earl of Ashford walk into her office.

Ashford’s reputation is that of a rake. His exploits are legendary. But he is also on a secret mission that is of the utmost importance. The only way to hide his real mission is to offer her an opportunity to experience his world firsthand and then report back to her readers. Ashford has no idea that their relationship will become more than a professional one.

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Their romance is an unlikely one. Eleanor had to raise herself. Though she is not a fresh out of the schoolroom virgin, marriage is far from her list of priorities. Especially to a member of the aristocracy.

Underneath the image of a man who has done it all and seen it all, Ashford is a man with conviction and heart. When he loves, he loves completely. Like Eleanor, he is not looking for a spouse. But fate has other plans.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Forever Your Earl is available wherever books are sold.

Temptations of a Wallflower Book Review

Some of the best romances start out as friendships.

Temptations of a Wallflower, by Eva Leigh, is the third book in The Wicked Quills of London series. It was published in 2016.

As the unmarried daughter of a Duke, there are certain expectations that Lady Sarah Frampton has to live up to. That includes marrying a man of appropriate stature. But her reputation as a wallflower has kept any possible suitors at bay. No one knows that staying on the sidelines has kept Sarah’s identity as the author known as The Lady of Dubious Quality a secret.

The youngest son of an Earl, Jeremy Cleland was forced into the Church by his father. Though he plays the role of the prim and proper Vicar, he is more than his uniform. The problem is that when his dad asks him to jump, he asks “how high”. Though Jeremy secretly loves the books by The Lady of Dubious Quality, he has been tasked with finding the writer and publicly outing them.

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I loved this book. I knew who Sarah was from the get go. I also understand why Jeremy continued to obey his father’s orders as if he was still a child.

What made this narrative is that the leading characters had an initial attraction that was more than physical. It was emotional and intellectual, opening the door to being friends before they can be lovers.

Sarah is definitly a proto-feminist character. Though she is of her time, she wants more than just to marry and become a mother. She wants to be a writer and tell stories on her own terms.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Temptations of a Wallflower is avaliable wherever books are sold.