"Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen" by Sarah Bird

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird tells the fiction story of Cathy Williams.  Born into bondage, her mother never let Cathy believe she was just a slave.  One day the Union army took her and made her be a cook's helper.  At the war's end, she made a decision that would change her life forever!


This book kept me engaged from page 1.  There is good action and the book had good flow to it.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 11:  Terrill leaped forward, grabbed me roughly, and promised, "I shall personally ensure that he is delivered to headquarters, sir."  Then he shoved me in the direction of a bunch of soldiers, yet still I would not turn loose of Mama.

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"Eleanor" by Rachel Wesson - Book 10 in Clover Springs Mail Order Brides Series

Eleanor by Rachel Wesson is another good 1800 historical fiction story about how the ex-slaves longed to find their family members that they got separated from as slaves.  Eleanor is the new school teacher in Clover Springs who came from England.  This is a beautiful story of true friendships between blacks and whites as well as how racism still existed after the slaves were freed. 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from Kindle Loc. 207-8:  Seems I was an embarrassment to my family.  Despite my pale skin, I am the daughter of an ex-slave.

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"The Valiant" by Lesley Livingston (We Both Liked This!) UPDATED

The Valiant by Lesley Livingston is set during the time of the gladiators in Rome.  I would classify it more like historical fiction than fantasy, because it doesn't really have any magic in it and it is based on a real place and time period.  Fallon, the main character, starts out as a princess in love with Mael, a warrior she grew up with.  Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond her control, she finds no future with Mael.  Instead, she runs away and is taken captive and sold as a slave to become a gladiatrix for Ceasar!  She is shocked at what she learns and focuses on trying to earn her freedom by becoming a Gladiatrix. 

I liked this book because it moved along quickly, was not complicated and yet had some interesting twists.  I thought Fallen was a bit naive but then, she was young after all.  I really liked her older sister, Sorcha, Thalestris, Elka, and Cai.  It has lots of action and adventure too!  I always looked forward to getting back to it to see what would happen next.  The sister relationship was very interesting. 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

In The Valiant by Lesley Livingston, Fallon is the proud daughter of a Celtic king. She is about to be 17 and wants to join the war band like her older sister did and fight for her country. At the huge birthday bash, her father announces a different plan for his daughter. Fallon runs off and will have to use all her training to survive.

Wow! What a non-stop thrill ride this book is! Fallon is a great character who reminded me of Celeana in the Sarah J. Mass Throne of Glass series. I loved the action in this and the story line moved along nicely. I want more of Fallon! This is my “book of the month.”
(Gerard's review3/15/17, 5++ stars)



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"An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir is Fantastic YA Fantasy

Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir lives up to all the hype and I agree with the reviewers who loved this book.  The characters are well developed and very interesting.  The story is told from alternating points of view of Laia, a slave girl who is a spy trying to find and free her brother who was arrested by the Empire because of his weapon drawings in his sketchbook, and Elias (a mask), a soldier of the Empire who really wants out because he does not want to kill innocent people.  He has been trained at Blackcliffe to kill since he was 6 yrs. old along with his best friend, Helene--the only girl mask in their class.

I loved this book and am glad I finally got around to reading it.  Can't wait to see what happens in the second book of this series!  The world building in this one is pretty simplistic (which I liked) and the action and dialogue if fun to read.  There is a lot of personal dilemmas that different characters face as well as the overall plot of Laia trying to rescue her brother before he gets killed.  Helene, Izzi and Cook are also fantastic supporting characters!  The woman commandant of the school is unbelievably cruel, even to her own son but it makes for a great story! 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)


(Gerard's review 5/27/15, 5++ stars):
 An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is told by two people.  Laia and her brother are captured by the empire forces.  Laia becomes a slave girl all the while trying to find a way to get her brother out of prison--even to the point of being a spy.

Elias is the best soldier in the empire forces and stands a very good chance to become the head of the empire.  The problem is he does not want this at all.  Elias wants to escape this life and become free.

Does Laia free her brother?  Does Elias get his freedom?  Read this to find out!

This is a fantastic read especially for an author's first book!  I was glued to this book right from the beginning.  If you like YA fantasy, this is a must read!  It kept me turning pages for sure.   I hope there is a book two!  Click here to view my video review of An Ember in the Ashes.


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"Snow Like Ashes" by Sara Raasch is Great! (Updated)

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch is her debut fantasy novel about courage, determination and a mission of 8 Winterians to free their captured slaves and rebuild their kingdom. Meira, the main character and one of the surviving remnant, is a 16-yr-old orphan girl who wants to be a soldier and contribute to help Winter. This looks like an in surmountable task especially since Winter has lost its magic conduit. The secrets, betrayal and lies all create a very good story line.

This book sailed along. Once Meira decides to do whatever it takes to help Winter even if it’s not the way she wants, the book took off. I liked the love triangle and the fighting scenes best. For me, it was really hard to pull for Winter because I don’t like Winter. The kingdoms were named for the four seasons and then four other kingdoms were rhythms which I really didn’t understand. The magical part didn’t make much sense to me either, but it did make things interesting. I really liked the ending and think this is a very good debut novel. (Karen's review 8/19/15, 4 stars)


In Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, a YA fantasy novel, the kingdom of Winter has been conquered.  A few people remain and vow to rebuild their land.  Meira is one of them.  She would do anything to help Winter make a comeback!  This book is very good because there is lots of action which made it fly by.  Meira is a fantastic character who I cheered for all the way!

If you loved the Sarah J. Maas books, which I did, you will love this one too!  It is hard to believe this is the author's first book which she first drafted at age 12!  I LOVED this book and look forward to the next one in this series.  Books don't get any better than this!
(Gerard's review 8/12/15, 5++ stars)

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"Under a Painted Sky" by Stacy Lee

Under a Painted Sky by Stacy Lee is about a young girl named Samantha in 1849.  She longs to move back to New York to be a professional musician.  When a tragic accident takes her father’s life and then another problem comes to her, she is forced to go to the frontier with the help of a runaway slave named Anna Mae. 

I liked the action in this book.  Its been a long time since I read a book about the Old West so I enjoyed it.  I liked the two girls very much—well worth reading!  

 (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

 

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"The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd is GREAT! (Updated)

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd set in the early 1800s tells the story of Sarah, a young white Quaker girl and Handful, a young black slave girl given to Sarah for her 11th birthday.  The story concentrates on both of them as they grow up and face their own adventures.  It is a great read right from the start.  I loved both girls.  This is the number 1 fiction book right now and I am not surprised.  I think it would make a fantastic movie and highly recommend it!  
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd is about slavery in Charleston during the early 1800s.  The story is told by Sarah, the daughter of a Judge, and Handful, the slave Sarah was given for her eleventh birthday.  It is the story of the lives of both these girls and their families.  Not only does it point out the injustice and brutality of slavery, but also addresses the women’s rights issue.  From a young girl, Sarah’s desire was to be a lawyer but no one encouraged her because she was a girl.  She gave Handful back to her mother but later offered to buy her back several times so she could set Handful free, but her mother would not give in.  Sarah searches for purpose and meaning to her life while Handful seeks to fulfill her mother’s dream of one day being free.

Although this book is very sad, it held my interest because I had to keep reading to find out what happened to Handful and her mother.  This is  great historical fiction novel about slavery and the abolition movement.  If I hadn't recently read the Sisters of Shenandoah series by Michael Phillips, I would have given this book 5 stars, but since I liked that series a bit better, I have to give this one 4 stars.

(Karen's review)

 

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Joining in with the Feline Friday hop.  It's easy, just post a picture of a cat.

"A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton" by Michael Phillips (Book 2 of Shenandoah Sisters Series)

Image source:  Goodreads (Read on Kindle)

A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton by Michael Phillips picks up right where Angels Watching Over Me left off and is just as good!  This series is about two white girls and two black girls all working together to run a plantation by themselves during the post-Civil war days when racism in the south was rampant.  Katie, the orphan of the plantation owners, has a warm heart and even though she is barely managing, takes in yet another young white girl to care for whose mother died and whose father is mean to her since being back from the war. 

The story is told by both a plantation owner's daughter and her former slave girl friend, but mostly from the slave girl's point of view.    This second book is about courage to survive and has both happy and sad parts to it.  Although it is the second of a series, it could also stand alone.  I loved it and can't wait to read the next one of this Shenendoah Sisters series.  It has interesting character development, excitement, suspense and a very good plot.  It's hard to put down and I highly recommend it!(Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"Angels Watching Over Me" by Michael Phillips

image source:  Amazon

Angels Watching Over Me by Michael Phillips is about two teen girls whose families both got killed after the Civil War. Katie is a daughter of a white plantation owner and Mayme is a black slave girl who grew up on a different plantation. Shortly after the death of their families, the two girls actually become friends and help each other. Although they have different backgrounds and different talents, they work together to protect each other, and run the plantation on their own. Mayme is practical and Katie a dreamer, but both girls open their hearts up to God and seek His direction when they find themselves in a desperate situation.

I loved this historical fiction book and look forward to the next in this Shenandoah Sisters series. It was a good page turner with likable characters and action too! The story is told from the slave girl’s point of view for the most part. I am so glad I finally found this author and can't wait to read more by him!

This is currently free for Kindle on Amazon--hurry!

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