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The Cotillion Brigade

4/28/2021

2 Comments

 
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About the Book:
THE COTILLION BRIGADE: A NOVEL OF THE CIVIL WAR AND THE MOST FAMOUS FEMALE MILITIA IN AMERICAN HISTORY
BY GLEN CRANEY
Publication Date: March 15, 2021
Brigid’s Fire Press
Paperback & eBook; 399 pages

Georgia burns.
Sherman’s Yankees are closing in.
Will the women of LaGrange run or fight?

Based on the true story of the celebrated Nancy Hart Rifles, The Cotillion Brigade is a sweeping epic of the Civil War’s ravages on family and love, the resilient bonds of sisterhood amid devastation, and the miracle of reconciliation between bitter enemies.

“Gone With The Wind meets A League Of Their Own.”

1856. Sixteen-year-old Nannie Colquitt Hill makes her debut in the antebellum society of the Chattahoochee River plantations. A thousand miles to the north, a Wisconsin farm boy, Hugh LaGrange, joins an Abolitionist crusade to ban slavery in Bleeding Kansas.

Five years later, secession and total war against the homefronts of Dixie hurl them toward a confrontation unrivaled in American history.

Nannie defies the traditions of Southern gentility by forming a women’s militia and drilling it four long years to prepare for battle. With their men dead, wounded, or retreating with the Confederate armies, only Captain Nannie and her Fighting Nancies stand between their beloved homes and the Yankee torches.

Hardened into a slashing Union cavalry colonel, Hugh duels Rebel generals Joseph Wheeler and Nathan Bedford Forrest across Tennessee and Alabama. As the war churns to a bloody climax, he is ordered to drive a burning stake deep into the heart of the Confederacy.

Yet one Georgia town—which by mocking coincidence bears Hugh’s last name—stands defiant in his path.
Read the remarkable story of the Southern women who formed America’s most famous female militia and the Union officer whose life they changed forever.


AMAZON | B&N | KOBO | IBOOKS

Review:
In 1856, Nannie Colquitt Hill makes her debut in a plantation in Georgia amidst Southern Senators.  Meanwhile, Wisconsin farmer Hugh LaGrange is brought into the Abolitionists cause and made a conductor on the Underground Railroad while fighting to ban slavery in Kansas. When the Civil War begins, Hugh and his brother join up and Hugh leads  the First Wisconsin Cavalry.  Nannie's husband joins the Confederate troops leaving Nannie and the other women of the town alone.  Nannie decides to form a brigade, The Nancy Hart's, to help defend their town.  With the help of Nannie's cousin, Gus, the women become skilled and fierce defenders as The First Wisconsins come to town. 


The Cotillion Brigade is not a typical Civil War novel, focusing less on the battles and more on the stories of Nannie and Hugh.  Written with rich historical detail, Craney has brought to life the enigmatic Nannie Colquitt Hill, the real leader of the Nancy Hart Brigade in LaGrange Georgia.  Nannie is fiercely determined and once she sets her sights on something, she does not back down.  These qualities helped her to lead this amazing group of female militia.  While Nannie believed in the Southern ideals of the time, her story is important in remembering the women who were willing to fight.  Through Nannie's eyes we also see the devastation and destruction of war as well as the emotional toll on those who were left behind.  Hugh LaGrange was also the real leader of the First Wisconsin Cavalry.  Hugh is a pragmatic problem solver whose nature helped him to win battles without losing more lives than necessary.  The beginning of the story, before the war broke out was a little slowly paced as we learned the backgrounds of both characters and what made them into the people they became.  Overall, a detailed and character based story of courage, bravery and foraging relationships during the Civil War.


This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

About the Author
A graduate of Indiana University School of Law and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Glen Craney practiced trial law before joining the Washington, D.C. press corps to write about national politics and the Iran-contra trial for Congressional Quarterly magazine. In 1996, the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences awarded him the Nicholl Fellowship prize for best new screenwriting. His debut historical novel, The Fire and the Light, was named Best New Fiction by the National Indie Excellence Awards. He is a three-time Finalist/Honorable Mention winner of Foreword Magazine’s Book-of-the-Year and a Chaucer Award winner for Historical Fiction. His books have taken readers to Occitania during the Albigensian Crusade, the Scotland of Robert Bruce, Portugal during the Age of Discovery, the trenches of France during World War I, the battlefields of the Civil War, and the American Hoovervilles of the Great Depression. He lives in Malibu, California, and has served as president of the Southern California Chapter of the Historical Novel Society.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | PINTEREST | GOODREADS


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The Cotillion Brigade
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2 Comments

Runaway Train

4/26/2021

2 Comments

 
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Book details:

Runaway Train
by Lee Matthew Goldberg
Publication date: April 29th 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Synopsis:They told me I was an out-of-control train about to crash…

Everything changed when the police officer knocked on the door to tell me – a 16-year-old – that my older sister Kristen had died of a brain aneurysm. Cue the start of my parents neglecting me and my whole life spiraling out of control.

I decided now was the perfect time to skip town. It’s the early 90’s, Kurt Cobain runs the grunge music scene and I just experienced some serious trauma. What’s a girl supposed to do? I didn’t want to end up like Kristen, so I grabbed my bucket list, turned up my mixtape of the greatest 90’s hits and fled L.A.. The goal was to end up at Kurt Cobain’s house in Seattle, but I never could have guessed what would happen along the way.

At turns heartbreaking, inspiring, and laugh out loud funny, Runaway Train is a wild journey of a bygone era and a portrait of a one-of-a-kind teenage girl trying to find herself again the only way she knows how.


Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56045360-runaway-train

Purchase:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/32zRUoB

​

Review: 

​Nico's life changes the moment she finds out that her older sister, Kristen has died suddenly from an aneurysm on Halloween 1993.  Nico is still reeling from finding out about the death of River Phoenix and spirals out of control.  With her parents dealing with their own issues, Nico turns to her best friends, Winter and Jeremy who encourage Nico to fulfill her own bucket list which includes an epic road trip to visit Kurt Cobain's home before an aneurysm takes her too. 


Runaway Train is a young adult coming of age story set within the Grunge scene of the 1990's.  Nico's character is a wonderful embodiment of a teenager in 1993, deeply emotional, but not knowing how to express themselves and finding their outlets in the lyrics of the Grunge greats that helped define the movement and generation.  I could easily picture Nico and her friends' style, demeanor and rooms through the writing.  I absolutely loved that each of the chapters was titled after a specific song, it helped to set the mood and tone of the scene and provided insight into Nico's emotional state. It would have been perfect if the ebook could have had links right in the chapter to play the songs along with it. Nico's journey could only take place in the 1990's and the writing totally nailed the 90's vibe.  I was intrigued with each of Nico's stops on her trip and what she accomplished in coming to terms with her sister's death and moving forward. Nico's road trip was a wonderful tool to explore her grief, reasons for self-destruction and eventually finding herself.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

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AUTHOR BIO:
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Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels THE ANCESTOR, THE MENTOR, THE DESIRE CARD and SLOW DOWN. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the Prix du Polar. His first YA series RUNAWAY TRAIN is forthcoming in 2021 along with a sci-fi novel ORANGE CITY. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Monkeybicycle, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, Necessary Fiction, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fringe, dedicated to publishing fiction that’s outside-of-the-box. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City. Follow him at LeeMatthewGoldberg.com

Author links:
http://www.leematthewgoldberg.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8001634.Lee_Matthew_Goldberg
https://www.facebook.com/LeeMatthewGoldberg
https://twitter.com/LeeMatthewG
https://www.instagram.com/leematthewgoldberg/

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2 Comments

The Forsaken Children

4/19/2021

1 Comment

 
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About the Book: 
THE FORSAKEN CHILDREN 
BY NAOMI FINLEY
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Huntson Press
Series: The British Home Children, Book 1
Genre: Historical Fiction


A riveting tale of endurance and resilience, illustrating the spirit of a child and the bond between siblings.

It’s 1922. Fifteen-year-old Hazel Winters and her six-year-old brother, William, are placed on a ship by an organization that relocates British orphans and children of poverty to new homes in Canada. Arrivals in the new land are exported to distributing houses, where devastation and heartache greet the youngsters as headmistresses govern their fate.

The assurance of a better life across the ocean is far from what Hazel experiences. Through hardships and loneliness, she is determined to survive. Finding refuge in memories of the past, she clings to the dream of returning to her homeland while preserving a reunion in her heart.

In 1890, orphaned Charlotte Appleton and her sister Ellie were scooped up from London’s streets and sent to new homes across the ocean. Although mere miles kept them apart, Charlotte never knew her sister’s whereabouts until a chance interaction reunites them. Together the siblings vow to make a difference for the families and home children of an institution in Toronto, Ontario.

Can an unexpected guardian give Hazel renewed strength and resolve for a future of promise?

Based on the child emigration movement that occurred from 1869 through the late1930s, this poignant tale follows the lives of siblings who were burdensome byproducts of Britain’s poverty.

Buy the Book: 
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
​
Review: 
The Winters family has lived in poverty since the death of fifteen-year old Hazel and six-year old William's father.  Hazel and William try to do their best on the streets, but after their mother loses her position, she makes the decision to place Hazel and William in an orphan's home.  The home, however, is in the business of shipping the children to other countries to be farmed out as indentured servants.  Hazel and William are placed on a boat to Canada and separated.  Hazel can't bear to be separated from William, but her placement in a home where the previous girl died suddenly does not bode well for Hazel.  Luckily, Hazel's situation has caught the attention of two of the children's home staff, Charlotte and Ellie who were also separated in the system and were able to find one another later in life. 

The Forsaken Children is an intimate look into the lives of two pairs of siblings who were separated in Britain's exportation of impoverished children.  The point of view changes between Hazel and Charlotte who are both determined, caring and mentally strong.  Hazel and Charlotte's stories are heartbreaking and emotional showing their fortitude in survival when everything is against them.  I was especially engrossed by Hazel's time with the family that took her, the Gagnon's. Mrs. Gagnon was especially repulsive and I was amazed that anyone was able to survive her treatment.  Hazel's story is a reminder of the strength of these children who were overcoming immense hardships and difficult living situations while keeping a state of mind for survival.  The Forsaken Children is an in-depth look at an often overlooked time in history where countries were brokering impoverished children as slaves to grow their workforce and economies.  


This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

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About the Author
Naomi is an award-winning author living in Northern Alberta. She loves to travel and her suitcase is always on standby awaiting her next adventure. Naomi’s affinity for the Deep South and its history was cultivated during her childhood living in a Tennessee plantation house with six sisters. Her fascination with history and the resiliency of the human spirit to overcome obstacles are major inspirations for her writing and she is passionately devoted to creativity. In addition to writing fiction, her interests include interior design, cooking new recipes, and hosting dinner parties. Naomi is married to her high school sweetheart and she has two teenage children and two dogs named Egypt and Persia.
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For more information, please visit Naomi Finley’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.

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The Forsaken Children
1 Comment

Paris In Ruins

4/14/2021

2 Comments

 
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About the Book:
Paris in Ruins

by M.K. Tod
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
Heath Street Publishing
Genre: Historical Fiction

Paris 1870. Raised for a life of parties and servants, Camille and Mariele have much in common, but it takes the horrors of war to bring them together to fight for the city and people they love.

A few weeks after the abdication of Napoleon III, the Prussian army lays siege to Paris. Camille Noisette, the daughter of a wealthy family, volunteers to nurse wounded soldiers and agrees to spy on a group of radicals plotting to overthrow the French government. Her future sister-in-law, Mariele de Crécy, is appalled by the gaps between rich and poor. She volunteers to look after destitute children whose families can barely afford to eat.

Somehow, Camille and Mariele must find the courage and strength to endure months of devastating siege, bloody civil war, and great personal risk. Through it all, an unexpected friendship grows between the two women, as they face the destruction of Paris and discover that in war women have as much to fight for as men.
War has a way of teaching lessons—if only Camille and Mariele can survive long enough to learn them.
Buy the Book:
Amazon | B&N | Google Play | Kobo

Praise for Paris in Ruins
“The story of two women whose families were caught up in the defense of Paris is deeply moving and suspenseful.” -Margaret George, author of Splendor Before the Dark: A Novel of the Emperor Nero

“Tod is not only a good historian, but also an accomplished writer … a gripping, well-limned picture of a time and a place that provide universal lessons.” -Kirkus Reviews.

“M.K. Tod’s elegant style and uncanny eye for time and place again shine through in her riveting new tale, Paris in Ruins.” -Jeffrey K. Walker author of No Hero’s Welcome

Review:
The Noisette and de Crécy families are among Paris' wealthy and elite at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Camille Noisette and Mariele de Crécy are future sister in laws who want to fight for what is right and protect their family and city during the time.  Camille finds her place as a nurse in the Odeon theatre alongside Sarah Bernhardt, quickly Camille becomes accustomed to blood and amputations as she realizes that more and more of Paris' men are dying around her.  To help even more, Camille agrees to go to radical meetings with family friend Andre Laborde and report back on anything dangerous that the women's factions are planning.  Camille then recruits Mariele to help her brother Victor at the local church taking care of children whose parents are fighting and being forced to work longer hours for meager pay.  Mariele finds that she loves spending time with the children and that caring for them comes naturally to her.  She also finds a heightened sense of compassion and courage to keep the children safe.


Paris in Ruins is the engaging story of two women who dared to care for the people in their city in a time of war when they had the means to escape.  Camille and Mariele are both women of means who have been protected their whole lives.  After seeing the effects of the war on the people of Paris and the stark contrast between their families and the poor of the city, they are both compelled to open their hearts and homes to help. I was very interested in the Paris Commune group that was able to overtake Paris after the war.  I would love to know more about the war from the Commune's point of view other than just Camille's time within the group.  It was wonderful to see Camille and Mariele change their attitudes and behaviors due to their involvement in the war and I wish I could have seen how they continued to change their behavior to help the divide in Paris.  I was very interested in The Franco-Prussian War is not a time period that I know a lot about, I was glad that the writing was rich in historical detail.  I loved learning more about the eccentric actress Sarah Bernhardt and her amazing work to turn the Odeon theatre into a hospital.  Overall, a compelling story of two courageous women during the Franco-Prussian War.

This book was received for free for an honest review.


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About the Author

Paris In Ruins
is M.K. Tod’s fourth novel. Mary began writing in 2005 while living as an expat in Hong Kong. What started as an interest in her grandparents’ lives turned into a full-time occupation writing historical fiction. Her other novels are Time and Regret, Lies Told in Silence, and Unravelled. Beyond writing novels, Mary’s award-winning blog, www.awriterofhistory.com features the reading and writing of historical fiction. When she’s not writing, or thinking about writing, you can find her hiking, golfing, traveling, or hanging out with friends and family. Mary is married and has two adult children and two delightful grandchildren.
For more information visit M.K. Tod’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.


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Giveaway

We have one paperback copy of Paris in Ruins up for grabs!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on April 20th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Paris in Ruins


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Secrets of the Whales

4/7/2021

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About Secrets of the Whales

• Publisher: National Geographic (April 6, 2021)
• Hardcover: 192 pages

This provocative book of photography offers bold new insight into the lives of the world’s largest mammals, along with their complex societies. In these pages, we learn that whales share an amazing ability to learn and adapt to opportunities, from specialized feeding strategies to parenting techniques. There is also evidence of deeper, cultural elements of whale identity, from unique dialects to matrilineal societies to organized social customs like singing contests. Featuring the arresting underwater images of Brian Skerry, who has explored and documented oceans for over four decades, this book will document these alluring creatures in all their glory–and demonstrate how these majestic creatures can teach us about ourselves and our planet.

Social Media
#SecretsOfTheWhales
@tlcbooktours.


Purchase Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

​Review: 
Brian Skerry has spent decades capturing the unique and mysterious world of whales.  Through his up close and magnificent photography the ocean is presented as a magical place, one that we are lucky enough to share with the many enchanting species of whales.  Through his photographs Skerry highlights the comparisons between human and whale behavior in order to strengthen our bonds.  


Focusing on six groups of whales: Right Whales, Belugas, Orcas, Sperm Whales, Humpbacks, and Dolphins, Skerry gives us a rare glimpse of the whales personal world and intimate moments.  Right Whales, so named because they were the right whale to hunt are among the most endangered.  Through pictures we are able to see their curious and sensitive nature.  The Belugas' tight knit social structure, use of language and care of their young is displayed with this playful and charismatic species. Orcas are clever, strategic and organized with distinct feeding plans in each population.  Sperm Whales are caring with highly developed societies and tight knit family groups as well as expressive as they are the largest brained animal.  Humpbacks carry out singing contests and prefer to group feed even though they are capable of feeding alone.  Dolphins are smart, charismatic and playful.  They need a social structure, can solve complex problems, show self awareness and use tools.  Through these photographs we are reminded that we are more similar to these great creatures than different and we should strive to change our actions in order to protect our oceans and the many species that call it home.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

​About Brian Skerry
BRIAN SKERRY is a visual storyteller specializing in ocean wildlife and underwater realms. Since 1998 he has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine. He was named a Photography Fellow by the National Geographic Society in 2014 and a Storytelling Fellow in 2017, the same year he was awarded the title of National Geographic Rolex Explorer of the Year. His work has also been featured in publications such as The NY Times, The Washington Post, Paris Match, and Audubon. He has spoken at venues worldwide including The United Nations General Assembly, The World Economic Forum, TED Talks, The Royal Geographical Society and the Sydney Opera House. He lives with his family in Maine.

Find out more about Brian at his website, and follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.


2 Comments
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    Hi there! I'm Stephanie and I obviously love reading.  As, the title suggests, I read at least one hundred pages a day.  I enjoy most book genres; however, my favorites are historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, thriller, horror and YA.  I also read a lot of non-fiction science and gardening books for my occupation.  I enjoy reviewing books and as always, any book that I receive for free is read in return for my honest review.  

    ​https://share.simonandschuster.com/stephanierhildreth

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