Intriguing and enjoyable, with an engaging female protagonist.
Harold’s historical novel follows an American-expat Civil War widow living in Paris during its heady, La Belle Epoque days.
Anna Kneeland Haggerty Shaw came to Paris with her family close to 20 years ago. Now, in May of 1892, at 56 years of age, she finds herself for the first time totally on her own, no longer responsible for being the dutiful daughter or attentive aunt. It has been almost 30 years since Anna was widowed after barely three months of marriage—her husband Robert Gould Shaw died a hero, shot while commanding the 54th Massachusetts infantry, the Union’s first Black Negro regiment. At the conclusion of a Debussy piano recital, Annie hears a voice calling out her name. It is that of Julia Shaw Greene, Robert’s aunt, who Annie has not seen in many years, even though Julia is also an American expat living in Paris. It is a fortuitous meeting that leads to a close friendship. Julia introduces Annie to Henrietta Reubell’s salon, where wealthy intellectuals and art aficionados mingle joyfully and a bit mischievously with the struggling artists in search of patronage (“she attracts a rather fascinating circle”). Immersed in the buoyant, irreverent crowd, Annie sees the glimmer of a new path she can follow, one which may allow her to express her own artistic talents and participate in the freedoms that Paris has to offer. In Harold’s tender, frothy, and witty novel, populated by an eclectic group of Bohemian artists, Paris itself occupies a prominent role. When Annie learns that her dreaded former mother-in-law intends to visit and (gasp) perhaps move in next door, the humor is kicked up a few notches as Annie and her friends devise ways to shock the old lady into returning to America. Through acerbic social commentary and biting dialogue, the author takes readers on entertaining tours of artists’ studios and one or two dens of iniquity. Elaborate descriptions of the fashions, foods, and lifestyles that made Paris the center of the arts and social rebelliousness of the era are peppered throughout, along with thought-provoking pre– and post–Civil War historical tidbits.
Intriguing and enjoyable, with an engaging female protagonist.Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9781578691944
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Rootstock Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Still, a respectful and absorbing page-turner.
Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II.
In 1995, an elderly unnamed widow is moving into an Oregon nursing home on the urging of her controlling son, Julien, a surgeon. This trajectory is interrupted when she receives an invitation to return to France to attend a ceremony honoring passeurs: people who aided the escape of others during the war. Cut to spring, 1940: Viann has said goodbye to husband Antoine, who's off to hold the Maginot line against invading Germans. She returns to tending her small farm, Le Jardin, in the Loire Valley, teaching at the local school and coping with daughter Sophie’s adolescent rebellion. Soon, that world is upended: The Germans march into Paris and refugees flee south, overrunning Viann’s land. Her long-estranged younger sister, Isabelle, who has been kicked out of multiple convent schools, is sent to Le Jardin by Julien, their father in Paris, a drunken, decidedly unpaternal Great War veteran. As the depredations increase in the occupied zone—food rationing, systematic looting, and the billeting of a German officer, Capt. Beck, at Le Jardin—Isabelle’s outspokenness is a liability. She joins the Resistance, volunteering for dangerous duty: shepherding downed Allied airmen across the Pyrenees to Spain. Code-named the Nightingale, Isabelle will rescue many before she's captured. Meanwhile, Viann’s journey from passive to active resistance is less dramatic but no less wrenching. Hannah vividly demonstrates how the Nazis, through starvation, intimidation and barbarity both casual and calculated, demoralized the French, engineering a community collapse that enabled the deportations and deaths of more than 70,000 Jews. Hannah’s proven storytelling skills are ideally suited to depicting such cataclysmic events, but her tendency to sentimentalize undermines the gravitas of this tale.
Still, a respectful and absorbing page-turner.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-312-57722-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
A thrilling, immersive tale that shows that some bargains demand more than just a crown.
A reluctant princess is thrust into deadly political intrigue in Perry’s sweeping, high-stakes romantasy.
Odessa is the overlooked and underestimated princess of Quentis, whose life takes an unexpected turn when a deal is struck between her father and the formidable Turan warriors force her into an arranged marriage with their enigmatic prince, Zavier Wolfe. Intended as a mere formality to secure trade routes and military alliances, the betrothal spirals into something far more dangerous when ancient magic, a ruthless Guardian, and a looming war threaten to upend everything she knows. Finally emerging from the shadow of her seemingly perfect half sister, Mae, Odessa must navigate court politics, monstrous creatures, and her own uncertain place in a world where survival often depends on strategy rather than strength. As tensions rise, she finds herself entangled with the dangerous, enigmatic Guardian—a man whose silver eyes hold secrets of their own. Perry’s worldbuilding is lush and immersive, crafting a kingdom rife with old magic, deadly beasts, and political machinations that add depth. The pacing is relentless, carrying Odessa from one life-altering event to another as she grapples with duty, defiance, and a destiny she never chose. Her internal conflict is compelling, torn between the expectations placed upon her and the fierce independence that threatens to make her an outcast in her own kingdom. Romance simmers as Odessa struggles to reconcile her obligations with her growing attraction to the Guardian, whose past is as shadowed as his reputation. Mae is introduced as Odessa’s political foil, and although her presence drives much of Odessa’s internal drama—being constantly overshadowed or underestimated—she’s mostly seen through Odessa’s perspective. Her motivations, ambitions, and political maneuverings might have benefited from deeper exploration to give more nuance to the power dynamics. However, Perry’s evocative prose and intricate plotting make for a gripping tale. Readers looking for a slow-burn romantasy with rich political intrigue and a protagonist forced to create her own fate will find much to enjoy.
A thrilling, immersive tale that shows that some bargains demand more than just a crown.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781649378514
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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