Tag: 1920s

Book Review:   The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, by H. G. Parry

Image belongs to Redhook Books.

Title:  The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door  
Author:  H. G. Parry        
Genre:  Fantasy       
Rating:  4 out of 5

All they needed to break the world was a door, and someone to open it.

Camford, 1920. Gilded and glittering, England’s secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother Matthew, one of the few survivors of a faerie attack on the battlefields of WWI which left the doors to faerie country sealed, the study of its magic banned, and its victims cursed.

But when Clover catches the eye of golden boy Alden Lennox-Fontaine and his friends, doors that were previously closed to her are flung wide open, and she soon finds herself enmeshed in the seductive world of the country’s magical aristocrats. The summer she spends in Alden’s orbit leaves a fateful mark: months of joyous friendship and mutual study come crashing down when experiments go awry, and old secrets are unearthed.

Years later, when the faerie seals break, Clover knows it’s because of what they did. And she knows that she must seek the help of people she once called friends—and now doesn’t quite know what to call—if there’s any hope of saving the world as they know it.

I loved this setting and world and found it fascinating. The whole magic school premise has been overdone, but this story focuses on the characters and their friendship, not the minutiae of what’s happening in the classroom, and that sets it apart. I loved that friendship was the center of this book, without getting distracted by romance and flirtation. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and found it hard to put it down when I had to go do something else.

H. G. Parry lives in New Zealand. The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Redhook Books in exchange for an honest review.)

















































Website:      https://hgparry.wordpress.com/Amazon:    https://www.amazon.com/Scholar-Last-Faerie-Door-ebook/dp/B0CTZVT4NG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UB4Y11NXMXOQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.W5eKafWFGHJ67Mh2g_jQ_w.zigeTOhQcqFY3H6YaZNjmyKTtAtWfI59tC2GUkp6Y_4&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+scholar+and+the+last+faerie+door+by+h.+g.+parry&qid=1729873009&sprefix=The+Scholar+and+the+Last+Faerie+Door%2C+by+H.+G.+Parry+%2Caps%2C603&sr=8-1 Title:  The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door  Author:  H. G. Parry        Genre:  Fantasy       Rating:  4 out of 5  All they needed to
break the world was a door, and someone to open it. Camford, 1920. Gilded
and glittering, England’s secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a
commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has
fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother Matthew, one of the few
survivors of a faerie attack on the battlefields of WWI which left the doors to
faerie country sealed, the study of its magic banned, and its victims cursed. But when Clover catches
the eye of golden boy Alden Lennox-Fontaine and his friends, doors that were
previously closed to her are flung wide open, and she soon finds herself
enmeshed in the seductive world of the country’s magical aristocrats. The
summer she spends in Alden’s orbit leaves a fateful mark: months of joyous
friendship and mutual study come crashing down when experiments go awry, and
old secrets are unearthed. Years later, when the
faerie seals break, Clover knows it’s because of what they did. And she knows
that she must seek the help of people she once called friends—and now doesn’t
quite know what to call—if there’s any hope of saving the world as they know
it.
 I loved this setting
and world and found it fascinating. The whole magic school premise has been
overdone, but this story focuses on the characters and their friendship, not
the minutiae of what’s happening in the classroom, and that sets it apart. I
loved that friendship was the center of this book, without getting distracted
by romance and flirtation. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and
found it hard to put it down when I had to go do something else. H. G. Parry lives in
New Zealand. The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is her newest novel.
 (Galley courtesy of Redhook
Books in exchange for an honest review.) Book Review:   The
Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, by
H. G. Parry

Book Review and Blog Tour: The Roaring Days of Zora Lily, by Noelle Salazar

Image belongs to Harlequin/MIRA.

Title: The Roaring Days of Zora Lily     
Author: Noelle Salazar    
Genre: historical fiction   
Rating:  5 out of 5

2023, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History: A costume conservator is preparing an exhibition featuring movie costumes from the 1920s to present day. As she gingerly places a gown once worn by Greta Garbo on a mannequin, she discovers another name hidden beneath the designer’s label, leaving her to wonder—who is Zora Lily?

1924, Seattle: Poverty-stricken Zora Hough spends her days looking after her younger siblings while sewing up holes and fixing hems for clients to bring in extra money, working her fingers to the bone just to survive. But at night, as she lies in the bed she shares with one of her three sisters, she secretly dreams of becoming a designer like Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin.

When her best friend gets a job dancing in a club downtown, Zora is lured in by her stories of music, glittering dresses and boys. She follows her friend to the underground speakeasies that are at once exciting and frightening—with smoke hanging in the air, alcohol flowing despite Prohibition, couples dancing in a way that makes Zora blush and a handsome businessman named Harley. It’s a world she has only ever imagined, and one with connections that could lead her to the life she’s always dreamed of. But as Zora’s ambition is challenged by tragedy and duty to her family, she’ll learn that dreams come with a cost.

This was a fantastic read! Granted, the 1920s are one of my favorite time periods to read about, but Zora captivated me from the very first page. She is so determined to move past her present and make a life that she loves for herself, but she also remains loyal to her family and those who helped her. It’s a testament to the writing and story that the fashion details fascinated me instead of boring me, but Zora herself is truly the reason I couldn’t put the book down. This is so well done, and I would recommend it to everyone!

Noelle Salazar lives in Washington. The Roaring Days of Zora Lilly is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/MIRA in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays Are for Writing #244

I’m happy with this writing week: a review for The Roaring Days of Zora Lily, by Noelle Salaza, which was a fantastic historical fiction read, and I actually did some fiction-writing. Five hundred words is better than no words!

Happy writing!

Book Review: Dead Man’s Chest, by Kerry Greenwood

dead man's chest
Image belongs to Poison Pen Press.

Phryne Fisher has decided that a vacation by the sea is just the thing, so she packs up her household, heads for Queenscliff, and sets out, promising her companions there will be no murders to solve.

But when they arrive at their vacation home, the caretakers have vanished, along with most of the home’s contents. When their missing dog shows up a few days later, Phryne is sure something is amiss. Added to that, a group of Surrealists is causing a stir, there are rumors of smugglers on the coast, and a movie crew has the town in an uproar. And let’s not forget the dreaded pigtail thief. This vacation is anything but relaxing.

Dead Man’s Chest is a fun, light read filled with entertaining characters, set in my favorite time period—the 20s. Phryne is fascinating, a female James Bond, but with more style and class. I enjoyed this mystery, and the characters were the stars of the show.

Kerry Greenwood is the award-winning author of the Phryne Fisher series. Dead Man’s Chest is the 18th novel in the series.

(Galley provided by Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

I Wanna Be Loved by You, by Heather Hiestand

i-wanna-be-loved-by-you
Image belongs to Kensington Books.

Heather Hiestand writes period romance, as well as contemporary. Her current series, Grand Russe Hotel, are set in the 1920s. I Wanna Be Loved by You is her newest release.

Sadie Louden grew up in her grandfather’s vicarage, but now she’s left that constricting environment for a life of excitement in the big city. She dreams of a glamorous life like the starlets she reads about, and even before she starts work as a chambermaid at the glitzy London hotel the Grand Russe, she meets a handsome, charming, stranger who seems like he might make all her dreams come true.

Les Drake is a British Secret Intelligence agent on the lookout for Bolsheviks when he meets sweet Sadie and decides to use her as part of his cover. But when his dangerous targets put Sadie in danger, Les must decide just how deeply his feelings for Sadie run.

Confession:  I love the ‘20s era, so the setting of this novel made me want to read it. The flappers, the clothes, the attitudes…. love it. Poor Sadie is completely clueless—and completely charming—and Les doesn’t know what’s hit him. I enjoyed reading about a historical era (with the Bolsheviks) that I know next to nothing about, and these characters are a lot of fun.

(Galley provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley.)