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The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog - History
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Short, but not always sweet! – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “The Dread Penny Society” by Sarah M. Eden. Summary: "This beautiful ... collector’s anthology compiles all the penny dreadful short stories from Sarah M. Eden’s five-book Victorian romance series. Included in this edition are three new, never-before-released stories. Each short story is written in the style of the Victorian fiction that became…
Films and Fairy Castles. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “From Dust to Stardust” by Kathleen Rooney. Summary: "Chicago, 1916. Doreen O’Dare is fourteen years old when she hops a Hollywood-bound train with her beloved Irish grandmother. Within a decade, her trademark bob and insouciant charm make her the preeminent movie flapper of the Jazz Age. But her success story masks one…
TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for September 2, 2023. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
From "Wifedom" by Anna Funder to "One Woman's War" by Christine Wells. This is a monthly link-up hosted by KateW at Books Are My Favourite and Best. Each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to…
#SomethingDifferentSunday – TCL Completes the 2023 #WIAN Challenge. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
YEAH! I've finished this challenge! If you recall from my 2023 reading challenge participation post, this is one of the challenges I decided to try for the first time this year. This post is to tell you that you still have four months to try to complete this challenge, and also to let you know…
Anthony’s Warriors. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “The Stockwell Letters” by Jacqueline Friedland. Summary: "... based on the true story of female abolitionist Ann Phillips and her connection to Anthony Burns, a young man who briefly escaped American slavery and rocked the nation with his astoundingly heroic story. A passionate advocate of abolition from her earliest years, Ann’s activism…
All that glitters… – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “California Golden” by Melanie Benjamin. Summary: "Southern California, 1960s: endless sunny days surfing in Malibu, followed by glittering neon nights at Whisky A-Go-Go. In an era when women are expected to be housewives, Carol Donelly is breaking the mold as a legendary female surfer struggling to compete in a male-dominated sport--and her…
TCL’s #DNF Friday #15 – Sorry, not Sorry. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Why I can't write a Book Review for “The Lilac Girls” by Martha Hall Kelly. Summary: "Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this powerful debut novel reveals an incredible story of love, redemption, and terrible secrets that were hidden for decades. On the eve of a fateful war, New York…
Venus in Transit. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “An Astronomer in Love” by Antoine Laurain (translation: Louise Rogers Lalaurie, Megan Jones). Summary: "In 1760, Guillaume le Gentil, real-life astronomer to King Louis XV, sets out for the oceans of India to document the transit of Venus. The weather is turbulent, the seas are rough and his quest may be more…
On Their Toes! – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “The Spectacular” by Fiona Davis. Summary: "New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion is over the moon to have been selected to be one of the Rockettes, Radio City Music Hall’s glamorous precision-dancing troupe. It’s an honor to perform in the world’s most spectacular theater, an art deco masterpiece. But with four shows…
Not Just Fred’s Sister! – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “Starring Adele Astaire” by Eliza Knight. Summary: "Adele Astaire was a glittering, glamorous star, dancing with her brother, Fred, endearing herself to audiences from New York to London. But although she is toasted by royalty and beloved by countless fans, Adele Astaire has dreams of a loving husband and a houseful of…
TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for June 3, 2023. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
From “Friendaholic” by Elizabeth Day to “The Phantom's Apprentice” by Heather Webb. This is a monthly link-up hosted by KateW at Books Are My Favourite and Best. Each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to…
Cherished and/or Cursed? – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “The Castle Keepers” by Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski, and Rachel McMillan. Summary: "1870. After a disastrous dinner at the Astor mansion forces her to flee New York in disgrace, socialite Beatrice Holbrook knows her performance in London must be a triumph. When she catches the eye of Charles Alnwick, one of…
The Formula of Secrets. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl” by Renée Rosen. Summary: "In New York City, you can disappear into the crowd. At least that’s what Gloria Downing desperately hopes as she tries to reinvent herself after a devastating family scandal. She’s ready for a total life makeover and a friend she can lean on—and into…
Angel of the Seneca. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “Two Wars and a Wedding” by Lauren Willig. Summary: "September 1896: As an aspiring archaeologist, Smith College graduate Betsy Hayes travels to Athens, desperate to break into a very male-dominated field and find work at some of the world’s most famous excavation sites. In the midst of the heat and dust of…
The Lie Detector. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “Only May” by Carol Lovekin. Summary: "Listen. The bee walks across my finger, slow as anything and I can see through the gauzy wing, to the detail of my skin. 'You aren’t looking in the right place.' If you look her in the eye and tell a lie, May Harper will see…
#TopTenTuesday – Jan 31, 2023 – Freebie! – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. The rules are simple: Each Tuesday, Jana assigns…
Sisterly Scandals. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “The Mitford Affair” by Marie Benedict. Summary: "Between the World Wars, the six Mitford sisters dominate the English political, literary, and social scenes. Though they've weathered scandals before, the family falls into disarray when Diana divorces her husband to marry a fascist leader and Unity follows her sister's lead, inciting rumors that…
Good Lies. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “The Lipstick Bureau” by Michelle Gable. Summary: "1944, Rome. Newlywed Niki Novotná is recruited by a new American spy agency to establish a secret branch in Italy's capital. One of the OSS's few female operatives abroad and multilingual, she's tasked with crafting fake stories and distributing propaganda to lower the morale of…
TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for December 3, 2022. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
From “The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey to “The Summer Country” by Lauren Willig. This is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. Each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be…
#T5T – Top Five Tuesday #8 – November 28, 2022 – Freebie! – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Top Five Tuesday was originally created by Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm, but is now hosted by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads. To participate, link your post back to Meeghan's blog or leave a comment on her weekly post. This week, Meeghan gave us a FREEBIE! It is hard to believe that 2022 is finishing so…
Under and Over Painting. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “The Marriage Portrait” by Maggie O'Farrell. Summary: "In the winter of 1561, Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner in the icy hall it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing…
#ShortStorySunday – Sleights of Words. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “Good Bones” by Margaret Atwood. Summary: "In Good Bones, first published in 1992, Margaret Atwood has fashioned an enthralling collection of parable, monologue, mini-romance and mini-biography, speculative fiction, prose lyric, outrageous recipe and reconfigured fairy tale, demonstrating yet again the play of an unerring wit overseen by a panoramic intelligence. Good Bones…
TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for November 5, 2022. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
From “The Naked Chef” by Jamie Oliver to “The Chef's Secret” by Crystal King. This is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. Each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be…
TCL’s #DNF Friday #13 – Killer Angst. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Why I can't write a Book Review for “Murder in the City of Liberty” by Rachel McMillan. Summary: "Hamish DeLuca and Regina “Reggie” Van Buren have a new case—and this one could demand a price they’re not willing to pay. Determined to make a life for herself, Reggie Van Buren bid goodbye to fine china…
TCL’s #DNF Friday #12 – The Con with No Pros. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Why I can't write a Book Review for “The Patron Saint of Second Chances” by Christine Simon. Summary: Vacuum repairman and self-appointed mayor of Prometto, Italy (population 212) Signor Speranza has a problem. He needs 70,000 euros to fix the village pipes, or the water commission will shut off the water, and residents will disperse.…
Trifecta of Terror. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “When We Had Wings” by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner. Summary: The Philippines, 1941. When U.S. Navy nurse Eleanor Lindstrom, U.S. Army nurse Penny Franklin, and Filipina nurse Lita Capel forge a friendship at the Army Navy Club in Manila, they believe they’re living a paradise assignment. All three are…
Charming, Mysterious Romance. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “To Capture His Heart” by Nancy Campbell Allen. Summary: "Eva Caldwell is an accomplished and well-known photographer who often works with the local constabulary to assist in documenting crime scenes, which means she also often works alongside the handsome and charming detective, Nathan Winston. She appreciates his intellect and how he treats…
Social Dressings. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “By Her Own Design” by Piper Huguley. Summary: "Raised in Jim Crow Alabama, Ann learned the art of sewing from her mother and her grandmother, a former slave, who are the most talented seamstresses in the state. After Ann elopes at twelve with an older man who soon proves himself to be…
Royal Artistry. – The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
Book Review for “In the Shadow of a Queen” by Heather B. Moore. Summary: "Princess Louise’s life is upended after her father’s untimely death. Captive to the queen’s overwhelming mourning, Louise is forbidden to leave her mother’s tight circle of control and is eventually relegated to the position of personal secretary to her mother—the same…