Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

In Swearing Allegiance, the first entry in The Carmody Saga by Jana Petken, the Carmody family is forced to face the devastating consequences of the First World War. Dublin has fallen apart and the British can’t keep the Germans at bay. Once an affluent family, the Carmodys now experience hardship and poverty. Readers are about to discover an interesting and entertaining family drama, set against the backdrop of war, a family story that explores secrets, politics, love, and what is left to keep a family together when everything else crumbles. It’s a story of love, patriotism, war, and loyalty.

Jana Petken is a gifted writer and this gift can be seen through the expertly developed characters, the gripping plot, and the complex conflict. Danny, Patrick, and Jenny are very compelling characters, each sculpted with a complex nature and a haunting problem to face. These characters are thrust into a family drama that makes relevant references to history. The plot is well-paced and conflict is developed at different levels, making the story even more gripping. From the very first page of the story, I felt irresistibly pulled in by the author’s powerful and vivid descriptions, a generous encounter with one of the key characters in the story. The conflict — or at least part of it — is introduced immediately. This is a beautifully written story that explores elements of the First World War and how different people coped with its effects. Swearing Allegiance is a family story that will resonate in the hearts of many readers, a story that will remind readers of the drama taking place in many families; it is entertaining, it is warm, it is hard to put down.

Reviewed by Trudi LoPreto for Readers' Favorite

Emilia is a very moving and powerful book that will touch your emotions by hurting your heart, and making you angry. Emilia is a very strong-willed young woman whom we meet at the beginning days of the occupation of Poland. We meet Emilia’s family and read in horror as they are forced to leave their home and board the train that will take them to the concentration camp. Emmi is forced to witness killings, beatings, and people starving to death. She survives because she is young and pretty and the Nazi captors take notice of her. She suffers their sexual attacks to stay alive and to get her family extra food. She is often beaten, forced to give her body, but because of it she receives the easier and preferred jobs, keeping her safe throughout the war. When the Russians and Americans finally arrive to liberate all of the concentration camp prisoners, Emmi moves on to living as a free woman. She takes with her all of her shame, pain and memories and has to learn how to survive in the new world of freedom.

Emilia was a hard book to read because of all the sadness, but it was also uplifting to watch Emmi do what she had to do and come out of it at the end of the tunnel. I cried, I hurt for the inhumanities that took place, I cheered when something good happened. Ellie Midwood has written a story that needed to be told. Her writing is beyond excellent and I found myself immersed in the book. This is a book that must be read to understand what really happened in the concentration camps and the anguish that was endured. I highly recommend this book to all history buffs and anyone who enjoys a good book.

Reviewed by Teresa Syms for Readers' Favorite

A truly incredible historical novel set in the beauty of Ireland’s dark and tumultuous past. In Tread Softly on My Dreams, Gretta Curran Browne successfully captures the raw emotion and powerful will of Robert Emmet, Anne Devlin and Sarah Curran as they fight for a free Ireland, justice and love. Robert Emmet is a quiet, intelligent young man who is a suspected traitor to the crown. He flees to France and begins setting his plans in motion. Five years later, Robert returns to his beloved homeland, and in Butterfield Lane his rebellion unfolds. Anne Devlin becomes his maid, confidant and trusted messenger. During this time, Robert falls in love with Sarah Curran, who is battling her own demons created by her parents. However, Robert stays true to the cause for a free Ireland while faced with deception, the Castle, and his dwindling wealth.

From the very beginning of Tread Softly on My Dreams by Gretta Curran Browne, I was captivated by the rugged beauty of Ireland’s mountains and its soft lush valleys. The author’s detailed description of each setting enhanced the vision for the story, while each new character increased the intrigue. Every path created provided clarity of the situation, both personal and political, and showed great determined strength of the human spirit to stand firm in the beliefs of a free Ireland, even at the expense of their own lives. I found myself cheering on the hero and heroines of the story, applauding their successes as well as shedding tears at the injustices, brutality, and suffering of the people who simply wanted their freedom. The reader’s heart will swell with the love Robert has for Sarah, and the dedication and unspoken love Anne has for Robert. A fantastic read from beginning to end.

Reviewed by Brenda Casto for Readers' Favorite

Mollie: Bride Of Georgia (American Mail-Order Brides Series Book 4) by Lorrie Farrelly is a wonderfully written mail order bride tale that takes place in Georgia, a few years after the Civil War. Mollie Winters responds to an ad placed in the Groom's Gazette and, when she receives a response and a train ticket, she heads to Atlanta to become a mail order bride. Nicholas Avinger is at the Atlanta train station to pick up supplies for the zoo when he meets Mollie and learns that she is there to become his mail-order bride, a bride that he knew nothing about! Mollie takes it in her stride and rents a room at the local boarding house, but when she shows up at the zoo where Nick works, he realizes that he needs her help and, more than that, he feels an attraction to her.

I loved this book! As someone who reads plenty of mail-order bride genre stories, I can say that Mollie: Bride of Georgia (American Mail-Order Brides Series Book 4) was an exceptional read. The reason I say this is because the author not only provides a touching story between the two main characters, she also provides snippets of humor, while also including more than a few twists to a very interesting plot. The historical aspects were very interesting, from the coming together of a zoo, to the diligent rules of pasteurization, and the effects of PTSD. It was really easy to see that the author had done her research, which made for a very readable and relatable story. Lorrie Farrelly creates a very interesting storyline around the main characters. First of all, I fell in love with the strength of Mollie. When she realizes that her intended groom wasn't even expecting her, she didn't swoon or wilt - instead she rented a room and proceeded to try to sell her book. It didn't take long for Nick to realize just how different Mollie was either. Nick, on the other hand, was haunted by issues from the war.

Ms. Farrelly handles the subject of PTSD very well, allowing the reader to understand how not all scars from war are shown on the outside. The fear that he could hurt someone he loved was devastating to him, and pushing them away was his only answer. Mollie had other ideas, though. Plenty of secondary characters really round out the story quite nicely. Fans of the mail-order bride genre will find this book a top notch read, but honestly it will appeal to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a page turning plot that deals with the very real issue of how war affects the soldier long after he comes home.

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Vanesa Neuman grew up in Tel Aviv, the only child of Jewish parents who were survivors of the Holocaust. She lived with her parents, her grandfather, and her Uncle Tomas. She loved them all, but she never really knew them. They were like closed books, unable and unwilling to share their stories because the stories were too horrific. Yet they had survived. When her father dies suddenly of a heart attack, his lawyer presents Vanesa with a bound journal. She’s seen this book before, but she was never allowed to look inside. Now she does and the stories she thought she understood quickly begin to unravel as her investigative powers take over, leading her to follow the trail of a sign that somehow leaves its mark on various historic places in Prague. What she discovers after unravelling the mysteries, and facing the death of some of her friends in the process, is a nightmare that is so inhuman in its horrific presentation that it sickens her to recognize it as part of her heritage.

In her father’s journal are eighteen stories, one story per month dated from February 1943 to October 1944. Vanesa knows its significance, as eighteen is the numerical value of the letters making up the Hebrew word ‘chai’ which means ‘life’. The horrors of her heritage may not have been her horrors, but without them, she would not have been born, she would not have had a life.

Steven Greenberg’s chilling novel, Galerie, opens the minds of readers to a time when there was no clear right and wrong, when there was only life and death, and the defining line depended on what the individual person was willing to do to assure the preservation of his or her life and that of their loved ones. As Vanesa’s Uncle Tomas tells her as a child, “Many things in your life will leave you, but we never really lose anything as long as we remember. Your memories, the good and the bad, will never abandon you.” And whilst some people might be willing to do anything, to sacrifice anything just to live, there are others who could not in good conscience give up their souls in order to live a mere shell of a life, one marred with disturbing memories. A powerful story about a troubling time in history with poignant lessons about choices and consequences.

Reviewed by Ica Iova for Readers' Favorite

Growing up, Victoria Woodhull — the sixth of ten children — knew nothing but abuse at the hands of her father, poverty, and all sorts of dysfunctional family ties. Her first marriage proves even worse than the family she was born into. In spite of being abused, she becomes very vocal about her opinions where women’s rights are concerned. She becomes an advocate of free love, by which she means the freedom to marry, divorce, and bear children without government interference. Then she meets handsome Civil War General James Blood, whose support encourages Victoria to fight for women’s rights. Named after the English monarch, Victoria lives in an era where women belonged in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, but her determination earns her a nomination for President of the United States in 1872 before women could even vote. But when Victoria adopts James’s radical ideas, she finds herself facing prejudice and prosecution. Eventually, her perseverance forces her and James to choose between their newly discovered love and their duties to their country.

Set against the backdrop of early America, Renegade Queen by Eva Flynn is one of the best historical novels I’ve had the pleasure to read in years, a page turner of strong characters who stand up for what they think is right, in spite of the costs. Eva Flynn has done her research. She skillfully textures history with engaging dialogue. She doesn't shy away from controversy. Engaging, realistic, historically accurate, it captivates the reader and makes the story memorable. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was surprised to find out that there was a woman running for president back when women did not have the right to vote.

Reviewed by Sarah Stuart for Readers' Favorite

The Austrian: A War Criminal’s Story by Ellie Midwood opens with a short prologue entitled “Nuremberg prison, October 1946.” Ernst Kaltenbrunner, a former leader of the Austrian SS, has been tried by the International Military Tribunal and sentenced to hang. He is preparing to meet his death, ten minutes ahead, with dignity. The chapters that follow recount the events that led to his trial and the verdict. The author has based this novel not only on actual historical events, but has fictionalised many of the main characters who lived and fought for the Third Reich, such as Ernst Kalterbrunner himself, Martin Bormann, Adolph Hitler’s private secretary, and Heinrich Muller, the Chief of the Gestapo.

Ellie Midwood’s historical novel, The Austrian: A War Criminal’s Story, has a prologue that features the last ten minutes of Ernst Kalterbrunner’s life. It seemed an unlikely start to the story, but the drama had me gripped instantly. The secret lies in the sixteen chapters being sub-divided into sections, each with the place and date stated. This makes it incredibly easy to follow a book written almost entirely in flashbacks. Some of them are set in the years immediately prior to WW2; others recount Ernst’s earliest childhood memories, including the departure of his father to fight in WW1. Still more show him growing to adulthood and his love life, his first interest being a girl with golden hair who is actually a Jewess. Well-written and researched, the whole book is vivid and intriguing. I recommend it to anyone, whether or not they have a special interest in war stories.

Reviewed by J. Aislynn d'Merricksson for Readers' Favorite

Storykeeper by Daniel Smith is a beautifully woven tale of stories nested inside stories. It is a tale of times long past and peoples long gone. Long before writing, stories were kept by shamans, Druids, lorekeepers, bards. They encoded history, myth, legend, and kept a people in touch with their ancestors. Storykeeper threads through the lives of several such lorekeepers, binding them together, even as the stories they tend bind family and tribe and the whole of a people together. There is Tantino, the elderly hermit, Nanza, called Manaha, whom he cares for after her family is killed, and Ichisi, who listens to Nanza tell stories. These stories encapsulate a history of several generations, from the time of Hernando de Soto’s arrival through to the next century.

I found this story to be so sad. My training, and one of my big interests, in archaeology is North and South America, and it never ceases to amaze and sadden me the utter devastation contact with Europeans had on the native populations of the Americas. Change is inevitable. It is the only constant and assured thing in life. Everything passes into something other. That's why it is so good to have storykeepers. So we never forget what once was.

I enjoyed the amount of research Smith seems to have put into this novel. It is a glimpse into the Americas of a bygone era, into lost names, lost places, and lost cultures. This story reminded me a bit of W. Michael and Kathleen O’Neal Gear’s First North Americans archaeological fiction. If you enjoy historical fiction, especially of early America, be sure to check out Daniel Smith’s Storykeeper.

Reviewed by Cee-Jay Aurinko for Readers' Favorite

Set in 1889, The Island of Worthy Boys is an historical novel by Connie Hertzberg Mayo. A Protestant boy named Charles befriends a Catholic boy named Aidan. Together they form more than a simple business partnership as little thieves in the streets of Boston; it's an unassailable bond that borders on the brink of brotherhood. One night, while scouting a drunken man, their lives change forever. With the weight of murder on their shoulders, and a witness to make things worse, the boys seek the help of a prostitute named Bess. With Bess’s help, the boys set sail for Thompson Island’s Farm School for Indigent Boys. Charles and Aidan must now, in very different but equally difficult ways, battle who they are in order to remain undiscovered on the island.

The book started off with the boys on their way to Thompson Island, where the initial sense I got from the “brothers” Charles and Aidan was that not everything was as it seemed. Divided into three parts, the middle of which depicts the boys' time at the Farm School, the book has more than enough to offer in a developmental sense. The entire plot is not a one-way rocket, but rather a thrilling roller-coaster ride filled with many sub-plots to keep the reader entertained from beginning to end. From a boy's struggle to make it in the world without a mother to the question of what it truly means to be a brother's keeper, this is one read I absolutely recommend to young minds everywhere. Words simply cannot describe how captivating this book is.

Reviewed by Chris Fischer for Readers' Favorite

Wow! That's the first word that popped into my mind after I finished reading The Errant Flock, the newest book by author Jana Petken. In an absolute thrill ride of a piece of grand historical fiction, the story follows four unique men in Spain in 1491. David Sanz, a young Converso knight, the Duke of Sagrat, Luis Perato, the Lord Treasurer, Sergio Garcia and the Inquisitor, Gaspar De Amo who are attempting to survive the Inquisition. Young David, a convert from Judaism to Catholicism, has been stripped of his knighthood after being forced to do something against his very nature by Luis and Sergio, and was subsequently blackmailed. His family members were tortured, killed and imprisoned, and his parents forced to flee Spain. Jewish people in general were being forced to give up their belongings and tortured for the "crime" of being Jewish. Times are dark, and darker times appear to be on the horizon for these four men, and survival, for any of them, no matter what side they come down on, seems uncertain at best.

The Errant Flock was a fantastic book. Absolutely fantastic. I am a fan of historical fiction in general, but this book stands out even among my very favorites. Author Jana Petken is an extremely talented author who has done an amazing job at describing scenes so clearly that the reader will absolutely feel in the moment, even if the moment occurred more that 500 years ago. Her character development skills are second to none, and the four principals of the story truly seem like real people. Jana Petken has quite obviously done her research into the Inquisition, and this comes through quite plainly throughout the book. Any reader who enjoys historical fiction, action or just a good book will love The Errant Flock. In fact, the only piece of advice I have for any potential reader is to be sure that you have time set aside to read this book, because you absolutely will not want to set it down once you start it, it's just that good. This is the first book that I've read by Author Jana Petken, but it certainly won't be the last, and I hope that she is hard at work on her next novel right now!