Tag Archives: Historical Fiction

ARC — The Murder of Mr. Wickham — Claudia Gray

“Anywhere in the world will be home, as long as you are with me.”

Genre: Historical Fiction
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses death, sexual assault, and mental illness.

“The Murder of Mr. Wickham” brings together the characters we loved (and hated) from Jane Austen’s novels and brings them into a summer they won’t forget. As they’re all gather in a summer house, Mr. Wickham mysteriously gets murdered. With the party-goers as the only suspects, Jonathan Darcy—son of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy (nee Bennet)—and Juliet Tilney—daughter of Mr. Henry Tilney and Mrs. Catherine Tilney (nee Morland)—set out to unmask the murderer, let someone else be wrongfully accused for the… misfortune?

This book had me sold by the end of the Prologue. When I was younger I was the biggest fan of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie novels. The two styles couldn’t be any more different, yet Claudia Gray has found a way to mesh them and I’m here for it. In an expertly told story, Gray has given us more to love about the characters Jane Austen so carefully crafted. But you don’t have to have read all of the Jane Austen books to understand this novel, as Gray has taken the time to insert the Austen characters’ stories here and there, subtly building her story up with those pre-existing back stories that some may or may not know. For instance, I have not read “Mansfield Park” and so was not familiar with the Bertrams, yet I did not feel like I understood Gray’s story any less because of this.

Told through regal language, I would recommend this book to readers who’ve enjoyed Jane Austen and other classical novels, and who are up for some murder mystery vibes. I would love love love to see this book made into a movie, to the likes of the “Murder on the Orient Express” 2017 movie.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 03, 2022

ARC — The Lives of Diamond Bessie — Jody Hadlock

“Do you know why most of us are here? Because we’ve been betrayed by the men who wanted to enjoy the pleasure of our company, who lead us down the primrose path, promising to defend our reputations, to marry us, but then abandon us because they’re engaged or married to someone else. Then they claim they’ve never known us (…).”

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mysteries and Thrillers, Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings: Domestic violence, mentions death, sexual assault, suicide, and drug abuse.

“The Lives of Diamond Bessie” follows the story of Annie Moore, a woman in the 1860s who, after getting pregnant out of wedlock, is sent to a convent to pay for her sins and not bring shame upon her family. After giving birth and having the baby taken away from her by the nuns, she runs away in hopes of being reunited with her daughter. With no references, she can’t find a decent job and is left with no other option but to resort to prostitution. This is essentially what’s given to us by Jody Hadlock through the book’s description, but I must say this isn’t even one-eighth of the story.

You build so many preconceptions about what will happen in this book based on its summary… and then Jody takes them all and rips them apart. Annie, Elisabeth, Bessie, you were such an amazing character, such a resilient woman. Once you learn why they call her Diamond Bessie, you’ll be devastated and hoping it’s all a dream or some kind of premonition.

This book is very fast-paced, and maybe to a reader that enjoys extensive details and narrative it may seem like it skips through some steps. I think it was paced differently from other books I’ve read, and so I enjoyed it very much.

I would recommend this book to any reader who thinks sex work is real work (because it is) and to readers who like historical fiction and true crime.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can pre-order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: April 5, 2022