Excerpt: Queen of Shadows by Anna Belfrage
Castile in the 1330s is a place of constant turmoil. King Alfonso must contend with the incursions from the Muslim Marinids eager to reclaim Al-Andalus while struggling with repeated rebellions against his firm rule.
Archaeolibrarian
6 days ago
Excerpt: The Lost Voices by Paul Rushworth-Brown
The Lost Voices is a work of historical fiction centered on those whose stories were never formally recorded—not because they lacked meaning, but because their lives unfolded beyond the reach of power, authorship, and recognition. In a world governed by rigid social structures and unyielding expectations, the novel follows a cast of individuals navigating the quiet, often invisible tensions of obligation, fear, and endurance.
Archaeolibrarian
Jun 22
Spotlight: COURAGE: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope by Helen Hollick & Friends
The lion has long been a symbol of courage, loyalty, and hope. A creature of power and, in some traditions, of the divine. We imagine it unflinching, unafraid. Yet the truest bravery is not found in the open, but within, where the lion lies hidden, waiting to be called upon. In moments of uncertainty or grief. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision to face it. It is the moment when we would rather flee, but instead, find a strength we did not know we possessed.
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Jun 17
Guest Post: Enheduanna's Song from the Sands by Ellen Rachlin
When Enheduanna is named High Priestess of Ur, her connection to the gods makes her a target. Lugalanne’s coup strips her of robes, power, and home, casting her into the perilous underworld. There, amid forests of shadows and treacherous trials, she discovers that divine favor alone won’t save her—only cunning, courage, and a willingness to embrace the ruthlessness of her enemies can restore her.
Archaeolibrarian
Jun 15
Excerpt: The Queen's Sister by Carol McGrath
At nineteen, Elizabeth Seymour is already a mother, has been recently widowed, and seen her Queen, Anne Boleyn, lose her life. Against the wishes of her father, she heads North, away from Wulf Hall and the court in London to Yorkshire, determined to establish a new beginning as a landowner and business woman. As her family in Wiltshire curry favour with King Henry, aided by Thomas Cromwell, Elizabeth makes Kexby Manor her home, finding loyalty among her people there.
Archaeolibrarian
Jun 11
Excerpt: Escape of the Grand Duchess by Susan Appleyard
Escape of the Grand Duchess by Susan Appleyard is a gripping historical novel that shatters the notion that royalty is synonymous with privilege and ease. At its heart is the youngest sister of Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna—a Romanov who defied a doomed destiny and survived.
Archaeolibrarian
May 21
Review & Excerpt: Beyond the Dark Oceans by Alison Huntingford
In 1906, the Huntingford family leaves England behind, crossing dark oceans in search of hope and opportunity in a new land. Canada promises a fresh start but for the eldest son, Georgy, it also brings hardship, responsibility, and a future shaped by forces far beyond his control.
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May 21
Showcase: Firevein: The Awakening (Firevein Saga #1) by Hanna Park
I went to Røros for a wedding—not to fall for a man who looked at me like he had already mourned me once.
From the moment Rurik touches me, something beneath my skin ignites. Every kiss feels inevitable. Every glance pulls at something I can’t remember—but can’t ignore. He says I’ve lived before. That I’ve died before. That he has loved me through it all.
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May 13
Review: Lady of Lincoln (The Nicola de la Haye Series #1) by Rachel Elwiss Joyce
12th-century England. Nicola de la Haye wants to do her duty. But though she’s taught a female cannot lead alone, the young noblewoman bristles at the marriage her father has arranged to secure her inheritance. And when an unexpected death leaves her unguided, the impetuous girl shuns the king’s blessing and weds a handsome-but-landless knight.
Merissa
May 8
Spotlight: That Catskill Summer (Lived-In Love #1) by Bart A. Charlow
Author Aaron Ben-Ami’s steamy novel, based on a failed youthful love affair in the "Summer of Love" Borscht Belt, is a sensation. Love was easy to come by in the resort culture of the early sexual revolution, but not so easy to keep. Now, as his story is being made into a movie starring Isobel “Izzy” Sandler, the past and present are about to collide.
Archaeolibrarian
May 7
Review: Rescued by the Rakish Lord by Sarah Mallory
When Lord Deveril Blackbourne meets Selina Wynter, he is intrigued. For she has all the accomplishments of a lady, but the fiery temper and spirit of a tavern maid! Then she is abducted by a dastardly suitor, and Deveril—for all his roguish reputation—can't stand idly by…
Debbie
May 6
Spotlight: Infidel: The Daughters of Aragon (Six Tudor Queens) by Nicola Harris
Born in the glittering courts of Castile and Aragon and forged in the shadow of war, Catalina de Aragón grows up surrounded by queens, rebels, and ghosts. She is her mother’s last daughter, the final jewel of a dynasty built on conquest and faith, and the one child Isabella of Castile cannot bear to lose.
Archaeolibrarian
Apr 28
Excerpt: The Enemy's Wife (Survivors of War) by Deborah Swift
1941. When Zofia’s beloved husband Haru is conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army, she is left to navigate Japanese-occupied Shanghai alone.
Far from home and surrounded by a country at war, Zofia finds unexpected comfort in a bond with Hilly, a spirited young refugee escaping Nazi-occupied Austria.
Archaeolibrarian
Apr 24
Excerpt: Lucie Dumas by Katherine Mezzacappa
London, 1871: Lucie Dumas of Lyon has accepted a stipend from her former lover and his wife, on condition that she never returns to France; she will never see her young son again. As the money proves inadequate, Lucie turns to prostitution to live, joining the ranks of countless girls from continental Europe who'd come to London in the hope of work in domestic service.
Archaeolibrarian
Apr 23
Spotlight: Another Soul Saved: A Story of the Holocaust by John Anthony Miller
Monika Graf, the wife of a wealthy Austrian military commander, steals two Jewish girls from the Nazis—a crime often punishable by death. With soldiers in rapid pursuit, a homeless Jew named Janik, a mysterious man who lurks in the shadows, helps her escape.
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Apr 21
Review: A Plethora of Phantoms (Spirited Encounters #2) by Penny Hampson
He is heir to the earldom of Batheaston and lives in an elegant, stately home, but handsome twenty-something Freddie Lanyon is not a happy man. Not only is he gay and dreading coming out to his family, but he’s also troubled by ghosts that nobody else can see.
Debbie
Apr 15
Excerpt: A Taste of Evil (Hani's Daughter Mysteries #5) by N. L. Holmes
In Tutankhamen's Egypt, the vizier's head cook dies suspiciously, and it looks like murder to Neferet and Bener-ib. Only, who would want to kill a cook, a man admired by all?
Archaeolibrarian
Apr 9
Spotlight: The Scald Crow (Beyond the Faerie Rath #1) by Hanna Park
Calla left her life behind, haunted by a curse she cannot control. She seeks refuge in the land of a thousand hellos, Ireland, for a fresh start—a place where no one knows who or what she is.
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Apr 1
Spotlight: The Queen’s Maid: Anne Boleyn in France (The Anne Boleyn Chronicles, #2) by Rozsa Gaston
After an enlightening period of training as a lady’s maid at Margaret of Austria’s court, Anne Boleyn has been sent to France.
She arrives at the Palace of Tournelles, home of ageing King Louis and his new English wife, Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII. As Anne speaks French, her main role is to serve as translator for Queen Mary.
Archaeolibrarian
Mar 27
Excerpt: The Lost Seigneur (A Chateau Laux Odyssey #2) by David Loux
It is the story of Jean-Pierre du Laux, a nobleman in southern France, who was wrongly imprisoned during a time of religious intolerance and subsequently endeavors to return to his family. Many years have passed since he saw them, and his long incarceration has broken his health.
Archaeolibrarian
Mar 26