The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner

Brendon Prescott was a foundling raised in the household of the Dudley family in Tudor England.  Brendon knows that his appointment to be the squire of Robert Dudley is an honor, but it is one he doesn't relish because he has been the butt of the Dudley brother's cruelty his whole life.  Once he get to court Robert sends Brendon to the young Princess Elizabeth with a secret message.  In the process of delivering it Brendon is recruited to be a spy on Elizabeth's behalf. Meanwhile, Robert's family are plotting to marry off a different son to Jane Grey who is a neice of Henry VIII, and then put them on the thrown in place of the catholic heir, Mary Tudor.  As Brendon is led deeper into the dark underside of political rivalry, he begins to undersand he needs to be more than a just a pawn in the hands of the conspirators.

My sister-in-law recommended this one to me and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It is based on historical events, but with fictional elements and characters.  I thought Gortner did a good job fleshing out the characters of Elizabeth and Mary, and was also good at clearly conveying a lot of complicated political machinations of the time period. It wasn't as squeeky clean as the Christian historical novels I usually read, but it wasn't too bad and I only had to skip to the end of a chapter once. This book is the first in the series and I would be open to reading more in the future.  (2011, 352 p)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

 Minli lives in a poor village at the base of Fruitless Mountain. She feels badly that her parents have to work so hard just to put rice on the table, and that her mother fills each day with disappointed sighs.  Minli loves her father's stories about The Old Man in the Moon and one day decides to find him and ask him how to improve the fortunes of her family.  On the way Minli meets a dragon and other characters from Chinese mythology who each give Minli a piece of the puzzle of her destiny.  

I have read this before and read it again in preparation for the July Parent/Child Bookclub.  I was surprised to find that I hadn't blogged about it before, though I have written about the subsequent books in the series. Grace Lin is a lyrical writer with a wonderful way of blending the real with the fastastic. I love how the stories Minli hears from her father and others foreshadow later events so that in the end everything comes together in a single complete whole. I look forward to discussing this book with the young families who come to my book club. The only difficulty will be deciding which of all the rich topics presented in the book to discuss. (278p, 2009)

The Widows by Jess Montgomery

 Lily Ross's life starts to fall apart when she hears that her husband, Sheriff Dan Ross, has been killed while transporting a prisoner from a nearby town to the county jail.  In another town, Marvena Whitcomb worries about her wayward daughter who hasn't come home for Sunday dinner in a month, and heads out on foot to ask Sheriff Ross what he has discovered about her disappearance.  She happens to show up in Kinship, Ohio on the day of Sheriff Ross's funeral.  When Lily meets Marvena, she begins to discover that there was a lot about her husband she didn't know. As the two women are driven to discover what has happened to their loved ones, they form an unusal friendship, and then a partnership in the pursuit to rid their communities of the forces of greed and corruption that have made more widows than even the infamous Widow-maker Mine.

This is a well-written, strong-woman story that delves into the evil practices of mining companies in the 1920's. It starts out very emotionally heavy, so much so I almost didn't continue after the first couple of chapters.  I was thinking, "All I nead now is another book that is going to pull down my emotions for the next week."  But several of the ladies at work recommended it, so I switched the playback speed to 1.25 and pressed on. I am glad I read it.  It reminds the reader that people can accomplish great things if they perservier in the pursuit of justice and right. Both Lily and Marvena and deeply wounded, but they keep going, lending each other strength, until things really do get better. Montgomery is a great writer, giving just enough detail to paint the scene and characters, but leaving enough unsaid that the reader is challenged to bring part of themself to the world that book creates. People who liked The Giver of Stars will like this one. (2019, 336 p)

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

In this second Maisie Dobbs mystery, Miss Dobbs is all set up as a private investigator in her new office, with the use of a motor car and living in her patroness's summer home.  She is ready for another case, and when a weathly father asks her to find his run-a-way daughter, Maisie jumps in with gusto.  She soon begins to suspect that the girl's disappearance is not jut a case of youthful rebellion against an overbearing parent.  Three of the girl's college chums have turned up murdered, and Maisie is afraid the missing heiress will be next.

I checked this out in a hurry when I realized I hadn't downloaded an e-book to read on my flight to Washington DC.  I enjoyed the first Maisie Dobbs so I thought the second was a safe bet.  I was right. Winspear creates a whole cast of interesting characters, each dealing with wounds from the past, and weaves them together in engaging and well crafted mystery plots. These are not really light-hearted, but they are warm-hearted and the reader, dispite the struggles of the characters, feels uplifted in the end. The interesting interbellum setting is just an added bonus. (2014, 320 p)

Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck

Susanna Truit is an ordinary Georgia girl, trained as a landscape architect, but working in a family owned barbecue shack while waiting for her long time soldier boyfriend to finally commit to making her his bride. When he, instead, breaks up with her, her life seems to fall apart. Cue Nate, a charming tourist from the small European country of Hessenberg, who keeps showing up when Susanna needs him most.  Their romance proceeds quickly until Susanna discovers Nate is really a the crown prince of Hessenberg traveling incognito.  His country is in political turmoil, and marrying an American is not a possibility...or is it?

After reading American Dirt I really needed something light and cheerful.  This is the first in a series of Christian romances, all of which involve people either marrying a royal, or discovering they are royal, but never knew it.  They also have a fairly heavy handed Christian element, and this one is loosely based on Cinderella. So, silly? improbable? kind of ridiculous? Well, yes.  But fun to read? Also yes.  I didn't like these as well as the Roseanna White series I read, but it fit the bill for this week and I will probably be tempted to read another when I find myself in the mood for feel-good fluff. Also, I just discovered it was made into a Halmark movie in 2018.
(2014, 352 p.)

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 Lydia Perez and her 8-year-old son, Luca, have to flee Aculpulco when most of their family is gunned down by a cartel run by a man, Javier, that Lydia knew and liked before she found out he was a narco jefe. Now as his men try to track her and Luca down, Lydia must give up the life she has always known and use all her wits to keep them alive and moving toward el Norte. They pass through migrante camps and ride on the top of a freight train nicknamed La Bestia.  She meets other immigrants and learns of their tragic pasts.  All the time she is mourning the death of her husband, the betrayal of her friend, and worrying if there really will be a better life across the border.  

This is a powerful and intense novel. Cummings doesn't spare the reader any of the grim and grusome details of life under the cartels or as a migrante. She draws all of the characters with full shading.  The most evil has a patch of good and the most nobel has a bit of evil. Since this is not a children' novel, I wasn't sure whether they would make it, die in the desert, or arrive just to be deported or mistreated once they arrived. I wonder if that was the main point of the book.  As a reader who has become attached to the characters, you hope they make it and have a good life.  Anyone who was anti-immigration, after reading the book, would have to rethink their stance.  In all honesty it was a hard book to get though because it is so unflinching, but I am glad I stuck it out.  (2020, 386 p.)