#TuesdayBookBlog – Rosepoint Publishing

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid #AudiobookReview #FictionSagas

Goodreads Choice Award – Winner for Readers’ Favorite Historiacal Fiction (2025), Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Audiobook (2025)

Book Blurb:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time, NPR, Good Housekeeping, Them, Marie Claire, Book Riot, Library Journal, Chicago Public Library, She Reads

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love—this time among the stars.

My Review:

Well, phooey. Not what I expected. But it says right up top that it’s a love story. Obviously, not one of my favorite genres.

I really enjoyed Daisy Jones and The Six, and somehow expected that same level of realism in the space industry turned fiction for the consumption of the masses.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid — Atmosphere – US cover

Joan Goodwin has always been fascinated with the stars and space, and though she is a successful professor at Rice University is immediately consumed with the desire to become an astronaut when she reads an advertisement looking for women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program.

Despite all the odds, she and a select few other women complete the training and are now vying for the upcoming scheduled missions with the few men also selected. These are the elite of the elite: scientists, engineers, and military combat pilots.

The storyline, which is told in a split timeline, details Joan’s story, her family, and her academic achievements. She is singularly devoted to her little niece, Frances, with whom she’s at times at odds with her sister, Barbara. Lots of support characters, mostly lightly developed, who run the gamut from the light-hearted to the back-stabbing Lydia.

I enjoyed some of the discussions regarding the stars, their positions, and history. Somewhere in the middle, however, the storyline veered away from the original mission and strongly into the love story. Once started as an ode to the stars, now drowning in emotional philosophical discussions.

I felt like I was promised an explosive, cutting-edge women in space piece with a double-edged sword. Also, the ending was too predictable. Too much personal development; too little in the aerospace industry. (I think it’s a 3-star effort, but I’m adding a half-star for the subplot with her sister. A well-written antagonist—kept me listening.)

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Fiction Sagas, Family Saga Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Random House Audio
ASIN: B0DKZMG16C
Listening Length: 9 hrs 52 mins
Narrators: Kristen DiMercurio, Julia Whelan, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. Her newest novel, Malibu Rising, is out now. She lives in Los Angeles.

You can follow her on Instagram @tjenkinsreid.

Tis the Season!

The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

A Mercy Carr Mystery Book 7

Book Blurb:

Mercy and Troy are looking forward to baby Felicity’s first holiday season, and they’re determined to make it a Christmas to remember. At Northshire’s annual Solstice Soirée, hosted by Northshire’s finest and funded by Mercy’s billionaire pal Feinberg, Amy’s little girl Helena is sitting on Santa Claus’s lap. She’s telling him she’d like a Bitty Baby doll just like little Felicity when the bearded man leaps up, thrusts the toddler at her mother Amy, and staggers away from the festivities. He disappears into the woods. By the time Elvis and Mercy find him, Santa Claus aka the town mayor, is lying on his back, dead. A yule log made of oak sits on his chest, burning bright, a beacon of light on the darkest day of the year.

This strange murder is the first of a series of similar Solstice-themed killings targeting the town’s most prominent citizens. Beloved family friend Lillian Jenkins, the grande dame of Northshire, could be next. Mercy and Troy and the dogs must team up with Thrasher and Harrington to capture The Yuletide Killer before he strikes again, this time far closer to home.

My Review:

I’ve been a fan of the author and this series since the first Mercy Carr mystery I stumbled across, the last one being Home at Night (#5) read and reviewed in July 2023. (Dang! I missed number six!) And I greatly enjoyed them all, so grabbed this one as soon as I saw it offered on NetGalley.

Last I read, Mercy and Troy (her game warden hubby) had bought an old Victorian called Grackle Tree Farm as they were expecting to expand their family beyond their respective working dogs, Elvis (the Malinois) and Suzy Bear (the Newfoundland). “A fed bear is a dead bear.”

I still trip over that name every time I see it printed, but this installment has the couple looking forward to baby Felicity’s first Christmas. They are preparing for the Solstice Soirée, as well as other activities, including choirs and Santa.

Unfortunately, Elvis finds Santa (the town’s mayor) dead in the woods with a Yule log burning on his chest. It’s followed shortly by the second murder, and soon the Druid-inspired celebration and ensuing village festivities are not looking so jolly.

I still love those dogs, complementary to each other, and look forward to their contributions to the plot line. However, this novel, meant to be a Christmas-themed narrative, tries to keep the spirit of the season at the forefront.

“As she spoke, she was struck by the contrasts that marked their lives: crime and crib, poaching and playtime, murder and motherhood…a seemingly random and yet eternal cycle of hope and despair, happiness and sorrow, light and dark.“

The storyline appears to put the domestic themes in front of the mystery. Mercy tends to find babysitters easily enough when she wants to dash off on another clue in the murders. (So much for “just being a mom” now.) Also, while I was fascinated with the Druid folklore and practices, I became a bit disillusioned that the antagonists reverted to the Russian oligarch thing. (There’s gotta be other bad guys out there.)

“The neo-pagan legend recounted the story of two brothers, the Holly King and the Oak King, and their endless battle of the seasons. The Holly King ruled winter…the winter solstice marked the victory of the Oak King…until the summer solstice when the Holly King won the crown…”

I do enjoy the author’s writing style, which includes quotables and prose:

“May the log burn,
May the wheel turn,
May evil spurn,
May the Sun return.”

While I was a bit disappointed in this installment, I look forward to the next, and indeed will go back and see if I can find the one I missed.

“The past is prologue.”

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery, Cozy Animal Mysteries, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 978-1250389992
ASIN: B0DPTMPYYZ
Print Length: 308 pages
Publication Date: December 2, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: PAULA MUNIER is a literary agent and the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Mercy Carr mysteries. A BORROWING OF BONES, the first in the series, was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and was recently named the Dog Writers Association of America’s Dogwise Book of the Year. The second, BLIND SEARCH, pubbed in November 2019. The third, THE HIDING PLACE, will debut in March 2021.

Paula was inspired to write the series by the hero working dogs she met through Mission K9 Rescue, her own rescues, Newfoundland/retriever mix Bear, Great Pyrenees/Australian cattle dog mix Bliss, and Malinois mix Blondie, and a lifelong passion for crime fiction.

Paula also written three popular books on writing: PLOT PERFECT, THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO BEGINNINGS, and WRITING WITH QUIET HANDS, as well as the acclaimed memoir FIXING FREDDIE: A True Story of a Boy, a Mom, and a Very, Very Bad Beagle, and HAPPIER EVERY DAY: Simple ways to bring more peace, contentment and joy into your life.

She lives in New England with her family, her three rescue dogs, and a rescue torbie tabby named Ursula. Find Paula at http://www.paulamunier.com.

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger #AudiobookReview #ComingofAgeFiction

Best Mystery, Thriller and Suspense

Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Mystery & Thriller-2013

Book Blurb:

Award-winning author William Kent Krueger has gained an immense fan base for his Cork O’Connor series. In Ordinary Grace, Krueger looks back to 1961 to tell the story of Frank Drum, a boy on the cusp of manhood. A typical 13-year-old with a strong, loving family, Frank is devastated when a tragedy forces him to face the unthinkable – and to take on a maturity beyond his years.

My Review:

Krueger has found his chops and he’s using them again—or perhaps this is the one that started it, given Ordinary Grace was published in 2013. This Tender Land (set during the Depression) was published in 2019, The River We Remember in 2023 (Iron Lake in 2010. The latter is the only one whose main character is not a child and the start of a series.)

The characters are richly developed, become real, and easy to care about them all. The settings describe 50s or 60s landscapes, people, and morality. Frank, at thirteen, is growing up in an average household in an average small town, Minnesota. It’s so easy to visualize the area and feel the upper Midwest weather, almost like a cloak.

While his mother does not have a career, she is an accomplished musical director, musician. Frank has a younger brother, Jake, who has an unfortunate stutter and an older sister.

When eighteen-year-old Ariel is murdered, it spells the end of innocence as the boys knew it, and pretty much destroys their mother. Only their father, a local minister who lives the faith he preaches, manages to hold on and struggles with keeping his family together. The impact the death has on the little town is enormous and most have an unsubstantiated idea of who was responsible.

Once again, in Kreuger’s story, there is a sympathetic Native American that is the accused, although he manages to disappear before they can apprehend him. Also, as in This Tender Land, the narrator is a pre-teen or early teen on the cusp of losing his innocence in people and the world.

Themes of discrimination, intolerance, heart-crushing circumstances. The plots between his books are eerily similar, multi-layered, and complex. The author also examines love and faith, the latter of which plays a heavy part in the storytelling.

The twist at the end caught me by surprise—never really a person of interest—nor one I gave thought to. It’s tragic and forever.

Still, how would I rate this one, compared to the three others I’ve read by the same author? This one holds the interest, it’s engaging, and you must know who and why.

I can recommend this one. But I prefer This Tender Land.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Coming of Age Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B00BPA1T8G
Listening Length: 10 hrs 59 mins
Narrator: Rich Orlow
Publication Date: March 26, 2013
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at freelance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He currently makes his living as a full-time author. He’s been married for over 40 years to a marvelous woman who is a retired attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves.

Krueger writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. His work has received a number of awards, including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, the Dilys Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. His last five novels were all New York Times bestsellers.

“Ordinary Grace,” his stand-alone novel published in 2013, received the Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition for the best novel published in that year. “Manitou Canyon,” number fifteen in his Cork O’Connor series, was released in September 2016. Visit his website at http://www.williamkentkrueger.com.

Read with a friend.

Judge and Jury by Stephen Penner #BookReview #LegalThrillers #TuesdayBookBlog

in Murder Thrillers

Book 7 A Rain City Legal

Book Blurb:

Seattle attorney Dan Raine is hired by an old friend, Judge Michael Hawkins, to help with a delicate family matter. Hawkins’s son has been romancing Lydia Szabo, the daughter of a local crime lord, and now owes her brother a large sum of money.

The Szabo family is using this debt to blackmail the judge into a favorable verdict on an upcoming case. Raine’s job is to scare them off by digging up some serious dirt on their criminal empire. But before he can do it, Lydia is murdered and Judge Hawkins is found standing over her body, a smoking gun in his hand.

Despite overwhelming evidence, Raine believes Hawkins’s claim that he is innocent and throws himself into finding the real killer. His investigation leads him deep into the Szabos’ organization, where human trafficking, corrupt cops, and deadly secrets lurk around every corner.

But the closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous the game becomes. And when the real killer is finally revealed, Raine discovers that the deadliest betrayals are the ones you don’t see coming.

My Review:

Not our first experience with this author and, of course, we enjoy the Seattle location of the novel. My motobuddy always called it the “great Northwet” and heaven knows the protagonist as well as the series is named well with an average annual rainfall in the area of 37-39 inches per year.

In this installment, attorney Dan Raine has been retained by an old friend, a judge, who appears to have a sticky wicket with the apparent death of his son’s girlfriend in his upstairs study. Unfortunately, his son’s girlfriend is part of a large local crime family thought to run a number of deadly secrets.

An experienced attorney himself, the author knows his way around the legal system and courtroom procedure, and his main character reflects that expertise. In his years of practice, the MC has also accumulated a number of valuable contacts, a few of whom are happy to return a favor when requested. He is also friends with a bail bondsman with deep pockets and a clever way of negotiation.

The courtroom drama puts you square in the jury box, the legalese explained, and the maneuvering suspenseful. Raine comes off as an intelligent and competent attorney as well as investigator. His moral compass both in and out of the courtroom is held in high regard.

I thought we had a solid verdict and conclusion when the author threw a gotcha at the end I didn’t see coming and almost had to chuckle.

Okay, that was a good one. If you’re a fan of legal thrillers, this one is for you. The CE read two of the installments in this series, the last one being Body of Evidence and loved it. Even if you aren’t, there are always enlightening moments and the plot and pace are programmed to keep your interest in moving pages. It can be read as a standalone.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Legal Thrillers, Murder, Murder Thrillers
Publisher: Inkubator Books
ISBN: 978-1837566495
ASIN: B0FYHGK6TV
Print Length: 246 pages
Publication Date: November 16, 2025 – Just Released!
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK

The Author: Stephen Penner is an author, artist, and attorney from Seattle, Washington. He has written more than 30 novels and specializes in courtroom thrillers known for their unexpected twists and candid portrayal of the justice system. He draws on his extensive experience as a criminal trial attorney to infuse his writing with realism and insight.

Stephen is the bestselling author of several top-rated legal thriller series. The RAIN CITY LEGAL THRILLERS deliver the adventures of Seattle attorney Daniel Raine and his unlikely partner Rebecca Sommers. The DAVID BRUNELLE LEGAL THRILLERS feature Seattle homicide D.A. David Brunelle and a recurring cast of cops, defense attorneys, and forensic experts. And the TALON WINTER LEGAL THRILLERS showcase tough-as-nails Tacoma criminal defense attorney Talon Winter and her closest allies. Stephen is also the author of the MAGGIE DEVEREAUX PARANORMAL MYSTERIES, recounting the exploits of an American graduate student in the magical Highlands of Scotland, and several other stand-alone works.

In his spare time, Stephen enjoys painting, drawing, and spending time with his family.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Muddled Through by Barbara Ross #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

A Maine Clambake Mystery Book 10

Book Blurb:

Mud season takes on a whole new meaning in the coastal town of Busman’s Harbor, Maine, when local business owners sling dirt at one another in a heated feud over a proposed pedestrian mall. Vandalism is one thing, but murder means Julia Snowden of the Snowden Family Clambake steps in to clean up the case . . .

When Julia spots police cars in front of Lupine Design, she races over. Her sister Livvie works there as a potter. Livvie is unharmed but surrounded by smashed up pottery. The police find the owner Zoey Butterfield digging clay by a nearby bay, but she has no idea who would target her store. Zoey is a vocal advocate for turning four blocks of Main Street into a pedestrian mall on summer weekends. Other shop owners, including her next-door neighbor, are vehemently opposed. Could a small-town fight provoke such destruction? When a murder follows the break-in, it’s up to Julia to dig through the secrets and lies to uncover the truth . . .

My Review:

When last I tuned in to the Snowden Family Clambake mysteries, the family had decided to renovate the mansion on the Busman’s Harbor land where they hold their seasonal popular clambakes.

Julia Snowden has not quite started prep for another clambake season when the owner of the pottery shop where her sister Livvie works is arrested for the murder of Phinney Hardison in the unit on the other side of her shop. Zoey Butterfield is rather new to Busman’s Harbor and is lobbying for an unpopular pedestrian mall proposal. She and the ole boy had a big row at the town hall meeting the previous evening. Livvie asked Julia for help in the investigation as having found the guy in their shared basement makes it look like a done deal for the cops.

Well, shucks. Where’s my fish story? No fight over lobster traps or clam field? Where’s my perfumed ocean scent hanging in the air over fire coals? I rather missed that.

Okay, well, of course, there are other issues going on, not the least of which the recent breakup with Chris. I was rather ambivalent about him—but now it looks like there might be another prospect in the wind. Julia, however, does have a new friend in Zoey that I assume will appear in future series installments.

I loved Book 9, Shucked Apart, and later read Book 11, Hidden Beneath, and have read a number of her other Maine Clambake mysteries as well as another of her series, but keep coming back to this series with the atmospheric odors of the coast, the vision of the area, and the food—oh my stars—the food! You just can’t get fresh seafood in the Midwest and we must live vicariously through these delightful cozy series.

So, although I understand there is a mud season in Maine, it just didn’t compare to those clambake seasons for me. Mind you, there were recipes in this one as well at the end of the narrative. Somehow, this installment didn’t capture that ocean breeze excitement for me.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuths, Women Sleuths, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 978-1496735706
ASIN: B09HRCJYXF
Print Length: 274 pages
Publication Date: June 28, 2022
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Barbara Ross is the author of the Maine Clambake Mysteries and the Jane Darrowfield Mysteries. Her books have been nominated for multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and have won the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Portland, Maine. Readers can visit her website at http://www.barbararossauthor.com

#TuesdayBookBlog

Greetings from Lavender Valley by Tammy L Grace #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Sisters of the Heart Book 1

Book Blurb:

Six women. Four decades. One long, unexpected reunion.

Jewel Austin is a foster mother to dozens, but forms a special bond with five foster girls she welcomed under her roof long ago. Through handwritten letters, Jewel keeps in touch with these women she nurtured to adulthood.

Now in her eighties, Jewel’s time is short, and her last letter spells out an unusual request. The five women have never met but Jewel’s last wish is for them to return to Lavender Valley Farm together, back to the refuge where they once found the love and support they craved. Jewel has a keen sense of knowing their needs before they do and she knows they are going to need their sisters of the heart.

Life’s been hard, but facing the inevitable loss of the only parental figure you’ve known can be harder. Will the five women be able to overcome the obstacles that stand in their way of granting the beloved matriarch of their family her last wish?

My Review:

Not my first experience with the author as I’ve read offerings in a couple other series, the most recent being Welcome Aboard, a collaboration.

This short and sweet offering is actually a prequel to the Sisters of the Heart series and through a series of letters to her foster children introduces the five who stood out from the dozens. Of course, not all children were with her long term and these were those with whom she had extended experience from child to adult.

The setting is rustic, rural farm country in Oregon where Jewel and her husband Chuck took in dozens of foster children. It’s a look at not only those who sacrifice to take in children, some in the worst circumstances, but of the children themselves and the stake that is given them to continue.

Each of the letters introduces us to that special someone who stayed until aged out and moved on. Then she continued to follow them, through triumphs and tribulations, marriages, happiness and heartbreak. She wishes for a grand reunion in which each now adult acknowledges the sisterhood that was created in the home that became their shared sanctuary.

It’s an interesting concept, the letters, though I assume would not be everyone’s cup of tea, particularly as it’s a one-way communication, only getting ideas of what the response might have been to the previous letter by the next.

Still, the letter whets the interest in what the girls might be like now, the reunion, and how they might all relate to each other—and to their foster mom. Might very well be something of interest to you and worth checking out. Enjoy unusual domestic fiction? Uncommon concepts of family?

Many thanks to our local library for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Friendship Fiction, Women’s Sagas, Saga Fiction
Publisher: Lone Mountain Press
ISBN: 978-1945591419
ASIN: B0BQ4T1C39
Print Length: 119 pages
Publication Date: April 5, 2023
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Tammy L. Grace is a USA Today bestselling author of women’s fictions, family sagas, mysteries, and Christmas stories. She’s known for writing perfect escapes, unforgettable characters, and binge-worthy stories. Readers often say her characters feel like old friends and love the dogs she weaves into all her books. She brings readers entertaining stories that take them on an emotional journey, filled with complex relationships of friendship and family in her women’s fiction novels. Mystery readers delight in her fast-paced whodunits and fans of Christmas love her small town holiday stories filled with family, friendship, and furry characters.

Tammy also writes under the pen name Casey Wilson and has released two emotional and heartwarming stories about the bond we have with our beloved canine companions.

When Tammy isn’t working on ideas for a novel, she’s spending time with family and friends or supporting her addiction to books, tea, and chocolate. She and her husband make their home in Nevada and have one grown son and a spoiled golden retriever.

Tammy invites you to subscribe to her newsletter at http://www.tammylgrace.com/newsletter and she’ll send you a free interview with all the dogs in her Hometown Harbor Series as a thank you gift. Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tammylgrace.books

#TuesdayBookBlog

Soaring Above by Amanda Hughes #BookReview #HistoricalWorldWarIFiction

Bold Women of the 20^th Century Book 2

Book Blurb:

For readers who like historical fiction with a bit of a love story. This is a stand-alone book.

1904-Tethered to Earth, Sabina Rys is consumed with longing. Throughout her life, she has looked to the sky, envying the birds their freedom and their opportunity to be soaring above.

Although performing as an aerialist in vaudeville is thrilling, she yearns for something more. Then tragedy strikes, and she is forced into burlesque. Thrown into a world of predators and reprobates, it takes years to escape, but once she breaks free, she can pursue her dream to be an aviator of lighter-than-air machines.

When an ambitious, charismatic man named Julian Bach sees Sabina’s talent, he offers her a job flying Allied agents across enemy lines in WWI. It is perilous and terrifying work, and equally grueling is smothering her growing attraction to him. But Julian is not interested. And does it even matter? She may not live beyond tomorrow anyway.

Join Sabina Rys as she pursues her dreams and Amanda Hughes as she sweeps you up into the gripping tempest of Soaring Above.

My Review:

Wow, I missed those bold women that Ms Hughes writes about so eloquently! It’s been a while, and I’m delighted to review the latest in the Bold Women series—this one of the early 20^th Century who blazes new contrails in the sky.

Sabina comes alive on the page from the first chapter. She’s a bull-headed young woman, knows her talent, and performs it very well as an aerialist with her family until an unfortunate accident ends her days on the trapeze.

But only temporarily. After a few side trips into Vaudeville and burlesque, she is forced to seek new employment by joining the service in WWI France—any chance at getting into the air—and she’s there, using her knowledge of her favorite little flying machine introduced to her from her wing walking days.

Her expertise at mechanics on the planes in WWI France places her in the hazardous position of flying agents behind and out of enemy territory. Loved the support characters she is introduced to, as well as the man with whom she can’t deny interest. The characters are well developed as are the scenes within the military. It’s easy to picture a cavernous aerodrome or hear the strains of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” and “Over There.”

“She knew what she lacked in marksmanship; she made up for in flying…”

Sabrina and Julian, who watched her progress from mechanic to expert flyer, suggests a new way to use that flying talent after the end of the war when women were no longer accepted in the service of flying. A fascinating twist on the old “when one door closes, another opens.” Not the first in the narrative, but a brainchild that gets the mind spinning.

“There is only one constant and that is change.”

And yes, the relationship between Sabrina and Julian is a tough one. There is enough push and pull to keep it real. Both are singularly independent, strong willed and passionate in their idea of duty and use of their gifts, and it’s that passion that keeps the sparks flying.

Many thanks to the author for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical World War I Fiction, World War I Historical Fiction
ASIN: B0FMKHMPD7
Print Length: 292 pages
Publication Date: August 28, 2025
Source: Author

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK

The Author: Amanda Hughes Bestselling Author of the Bold Women Series

Amanda Hughes splashes the pages with gritty adventures and love stories about audacious women through the centuries. Her page-turning tales will keep you on the edge of your seat as you take wild rides through dramatic and dazzling periods of history.

Bold Women of the 17th Century
Bold Women of the 18th Century
Bold Women of the 19th Century
Bold Women of the 20th Century

Bestselling and award-winning author, Amanda Hughes is a “Walter Mitty”, spending more time in heroic daydreams than the real world. At last, she found an outlet writing adventures about bold women through the centuries. Well known for her genre-busting books, she is the winner of the Gems National Medal for Writing, featured in USA Today and is nominated for the 2017 Minnesota Book Award. Amanda is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and when she isn’t off tilting windmills, she lives and writes in Minnesota. Don’t miss these page-turning novels for readers who like historical fiction with a just bit of a love story. All of her books are stand-alone and can be read in any order.

The Bold Women of the 17th Century: The Firefly Witch Book 1, The Sea Bandits Book 2, Painting with Fire Book 3

The Bold Women Series of the 18th Century: Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry Book 1, The Pride of the King Book 2, The Sword of the Banshee Book 3

The Bold Women Series of the 19th Century: The Grand Masquerade Book 1, Vagabond Wind Book 2, The House of Five Fortunes Book 3

The Bold Women Series of the 20th Century: Beneath a Blazing Sky Book 1, The Looking Glass Goddess Book 2, The Image Seeker Book 3

Interested in her new books or need more information? Go to http://www.amandahughesauthor.com

Rosepoint Recommended-5 Stars

Allied Flames: The Knocknashee Series Book 6 by Jean Grainger #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog #WWIIHistoricalFiction

The Knocknashee Story

in Historical British & Irish Literature

Book Blurb:

After years of letters and missed chances, Grace Fitzgerald and American journalist Richard Lewis have finally confessed their love. Though the world is at war, their bond feels certain and unshakable. But when Richard and Jacob’s plane is shot down over occupied France in 1943, Grace’s world is thrown into turmoil.

Invited to Savannah by Richard’s family, Grace is drawn into their refined yet uneasy world—a stark contrast to her humble life in Ireland. With Richard missing and every sign pointing to tragedy, Grace refuses the luxury of despair. Some things are simply to be borne.

Amid secrets, divided loyalties, and the unrelenting shadow of war, Grace must summon all her quiet strength to endure what cannot be changed. Love may not conquer fate—but it can outlast it.

Allied Flames is the sixth book in the bestselling Knocknashee Series

My Review:

After the apparent loss of Richard in Book 5, Grace goes into deep grieving, embarrassingly more so than the loss of her late husband. Everything, including Richard’s own family, who have invited her to Savannah to join their memorial, points to his irretrievable loss.

But if that is true, why can’t she shake the feeling that he is not well and truly gone? (Isn’t it the hope we all hold that it can’t really be true and we’re simply waiting for proof?)

But devastated or not, she must go on, and does so grudgingly with the help of friends and the community. Wrestling with the invitation to the memorial, she is determined not to go and finds herself doing it anyway. Richard’s family lovingly accepts her into their fold while her (ex-) father-in-law seeks his daughter and her adopted family in a separate thread.

(Yes, it’s a complex story with a number of threads and though Book 6 is beautifully written and compelling, you would probably do best to start with Book 1 if you haven’t already.)

The characters have all earned a place in your heart at this point, and it’s gratifying to be able to follow their lives and those of the village inhabitants. Meanwhile, the author paints a grisly picture of war-torn France and the desperate situation there. Can’t say much more than that. You’ll understand when you read it.

A Grainger book breathes the myths, history, and Irish lives into her emotional and heart-filled narrative’s characters. She is quite the storyteller—maybe it’s that ingrained Irish blarney?—and her stories are compelling and enriching.

Many thanks to the author for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this installment of the series. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical British & Irish Literature, Historical Irish Fiction, World War II Historical Fiction
ASIN: B0FCLD5RC3
Print Length: 335 pages
Publication Date: October 13, 2025
Source: Author

Title Link(s):

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The Author: Jean Grainger is a USA Today bestselling author with over 100,000 5* reviews of historical and contemporary Irish fiction. She is acclaimed for her authentic portrayal of Irish life and history. Born in Cork, she draws from her experience as a history lecturer, teacher, and tour guide to craft characters that feel like friends, and sometimes foes. Grainger’s works span multiple series and standalone novels, covering significant periods in recent Irish history, but told from the perspective of families, the humans behind the headlines. Her stories often intertwine historical events with personal journeys, exploring themes of family, friendship, and human resilience. Grainger’s writing style, characterized by its warmth and authenticity, has earned her comparisons to renowned Irish authors like Maeve Binchy. Her dedication to research and character development has resulted in a loyal readership who feel deeply connected to her stories and characters.