Category: Historical Fiction

This was an overall fun, sweet book, and I liked how it was narrated by the main character looking back over his life and telling his story to an unnamed (until the end) interviewer. If you’re looking for something fast, easy, and relatively feel-good, give this one a go. In some ways, it reminded me … Read More “Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson” »

This book received a lot of publicity, and I think I had it built up in my head more than was completely realistic. There’s a lot going on in this book, and I think it just got a bit bogged down. Cussy Mary Carter, age 19, lives alone with her father in Depression-era Kentucky, following … Read More “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson” »

For those who have read Lisa See’s The Island of Sea Women, you’ll be familiar with the haeneyo, the women who are deep sea divers in Korea. But, this is a very different story. Told in two parts, divided between post-WW2 Korea and present-day United States, we learn about Junja, a teenage girl who has become … Read More “The Mermaid from Jeju by Sumi Hahn” »

Over and over again, Lake Union Publishing releases books that I really enjoy and want to recommend to others, and The House at Mermaid’s Cove continues this pattern. Set in WWII, Alice washes ashore in Cornwall after her Ireland-bound ship is torpedoed by the Germans. Jack, the lord of the nearby manor rescues her, but … Read More “The House at Mermaid’s Cove by Lindsay Jayne Ashford” »