Historical Fiction | Self-Publishing Review

Review: A Completing of The Watsons by Rose Servitova

Jane Austen started The Watsons in 1803, abandoning it after writing just a few chapters because, it is said, it was too close to her own life. Author Rose Servitova has effortlessly picked up where Austen left off, producing a delightful English Regency-period novel in a manner intrinsically true to Austen’s style and wit.

Sisters, suitors, and choices are at the heart of The Watsons. Nineteen-year-old Emma Watson is the youngest child of an impecunious clergyman. For the past fourteen years, she’s been the ward and expected heir of a wealthy aunt and uncle, but is returned home penniless […]

Marta Cheng2020-06-30T05:53:32+02:00June 5th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction, Rose Servitova|

Review: A Thin Porridge by Benjamin J. Gohs

A search for truth fuels A Thin Porridge, a powerful historical coming of age adventure by Benjamin J. Gohs.

On the morning after the death of publisher, Jon Browne, a rival newspaper publishes a scandalous article about his past. The article has the potential to ruin Jon Browne’s name and his good works as a fiercely-passionate abolitionist, rumored to have had Abraham Lincoln’s ear.

His daughter, Abeona Browne, furiously marches into Terence Swifte’s office, demanding that their lawyer sue the rival paper for slander and libel – and is dumbfounded when Terence reluctantly admits that there’s some truth to […]

Marta Cheng2020-06-25T07:51:57+02:00June 4th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction|

When Life Was Like a Cucumber by Greg Wyss

Author Greg Wyss expertly transports readers to the chaotic 70s with remarkable ease and charm in When Life Was Like a Cucumber. Following Jeffrey Hesse’s fiery split from his wife, this is a hilariously unpredictable story of his self-exploration, healing, liberation, and growth.

For those who lived through the 1960s and 70s, this book is a nostalgic plunge that practically exudes the whiff of patchouli, illicit substances, and motor oil. Couched in the tumultuous Watergate era, there is an unmistakable weight to this story as well, giving the book a relatability for modern readers who may have not lived […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-05-18T10:06:19+02:00May 17th, 2020|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Historical Fiction|

Review: Terribilita by Ben Wyckoff Shore

The powerful ties of blood and an ardent desire for vengeance fuels Terribilita, a strong new work of historical fiction by author Ben Wyckoff Shore.

Enzo Ferrando has lived in the shadow of his legendary father for three decades, but has managed to carve out his own place in the sun as an instigator and freedom fighter. Unfortunately, his rebellious behavior brings swift retribution, catapulting he and his son Lucca into new journeys taking them far from home – and the possibility for revenge.

Lucca is temporarily safe as a deckhand on a merchant ship under Captain Bartolo, set […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-04-02T10:49:49+02:00March 31st, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction|

Review: The Rez: An American Love Story by G. Michael Madison

Author G. Michael Madison offers an authentically deep plunge into reservation life in the 1960s and 1970s with his powerful novel The Rez: An American Love Story. The first in a trilogy of books, this is a profound examination of an oft-overlooked culture during a historically tumultuous time.

The most notable thing about this novel is the patience and care that has gone into its construction. It sets an immediate tone of intimacy in the storytelling, followed by a gradual introduction to the fraternal pair at the heart of this story: Jonny and Caj. The former – younger, introverted, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-04-29T06:16:21+02:00March 25th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction|

Review: The Pattern Maker by Richard Snodgrass

Murder and mysticism weave within the turbulent times of the 1970s Rust Belt in Richard Snodgrass’ new novel, The Pattern Maker. Subtle thematic elements of media consumption and the blending of reality and fantasy swirl around a violent spate of murders in Pittsburgh, a troubled city with a strange allure and a powerful heartbeat that permeates these pages.

Paul Slater, the honorable center point of this story, is a restless mill worker who returns to his hometown of Furnass after years of haunting military service. Perennially ready to fight for the underdog and put his life on the line […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-25T11:39:48+02:00February 2nd, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction, Richard Snodgrass|

Into the Suffering City by Bill LeFurgy

Baltimore from a century ago gleams under a sinister spotlight in author Bill LeFurgy’s electric Into the Suffering City.

Dr. Sarah Kennecott is a gifted medical examiner, but eccentric behavior and a brilliant mind in a woman is not appreciated in such misogynistic times. Finding herself an unlikely ally in a local private detective, Jack Harden, she is determined to see that justice is done for a murdered showgirl, even if that means doing it outside the boundaries of the law. In a town where violence, corruption, brutality and ignorance still reign, Sarah is a fiercely independent light and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-01-23T08:22:26+02:00January 23rd, 2020|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Historical Fiction, Thriller|

Review: Courage and Complicity by Claudette Languedoc

Memories of a former teacher in a residential school for Indigenous children are provoked by a strange gift and a mysterious visitor in the evocative novel Courage and Complicity by Claudette Languedoc.

Mary Block is a naïve but adventurous girl living in Toronto in relative comfort and safety when she answers an ad in 1947 to teach Indigenous children in the backwoods town of Bear Lake. She will board with a local lady and work under the sway of Catholic nuns and monks.

She at first concentrates on pleasing her employers, being the ideal teacher and tenant. But as initial […]

SPR2019-12-20T08:35:41+02:00December 20th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction|