Bookish Blog Hop April 2022--Day 5: "A Book Set In The Past"

Louisa Smith - www.epicbooksociety.com

I have been obsessed with Cassandra Clare since I was at University when I read The Mortal Instruments series. When I heard she released a new series, The Infernal Devices trilogy, set in Victorian-era London, I knew I had to read it. The first of the trilogy is Clockwork Angel, which introduces Tessa, then a teenager from New York who comes to London in search of her brother. What she finds is the supernatural world of shadowhunters, vampires, warlocks and werewolves. She finds allies in Jem and Will, two shadowhunters from the London institute, where they are soon up against an evil society, the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of downworlders equipped with a magical clockwork army, intent on destroying mankind and all who get in there way…

Clockwork Angel was full of suspense, action and a romance love-triangle. If you enjoyed Cassandra Clare’s young adult novel series, The Mortal Instruments, then you must certainly add The Infernal Devices trilogy to your reading list.

Jo Linsdell - www.JoLinsdell.com

I love historical fiction so there’s lots of books I could pick for this but I’m going to go with one I recently read, The Girl From Venice by Siobhan Daiko which was an amazing 5 star read for me. 

The book is set in Venice in 1943 during the war as Germans occupied Venice. It tells the story of Lidia and how she had to flee the city to save her life. 

Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains, where she meets David, an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him, harsh German reprisals and Lidia’s own ardent patriotic activities threaten to tear them apart.

Decades later in London, while sorting through her grandmother’s belongings after her death, Charlotte discovers a Jewish prayer book, unopened letters written in Italian, and a fading photograph of a group of young people in front of the Doge’s Palace.

Intrigued by her grandmother’s refusal to talk about her life in Italy before and during the war, Charlotte travels to Venice in search of her roots, There, she learns not only the devastating truth about her grandmother’s past, but also some surprising truths about herself.

Leslie Conzatti (Me!)

I would have to say that one author in particular whose books are all set in the past, (compared to my current times!) is Michael Crichton–but in particular, one of my favorite books of his would have to be The Great Train Robbery, which was actually set in the relative past for him as well, being set in Victorian-Era London. The premise is this: a steam locomotive pulling a load of gold is considered the most secure transport available, with contingencies upon contingencies to ensure the protection of its valuable load. Regardless, the train leaves one station with a full shipment of gold, and arrives in the next station completely empty. Who has managed to rob a moving train? How has he done it with none of the modern burglary tools or technology that so many heist films rely upon? Only Crichton could craft such a creative and intriguing plot!

Becki Svare  abookloversadventures.com

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

This was my favorite book that I read in 2021. This book is a historical fiction that takes place mostly in a bookshop in London. This book felt like a love letter to books. It showed the power that books & storytelling have in our lives and basically it’s just a beautiful story.

This book will bring on all the feels. It will make you smile, dream, cry, and sigh.

Summary:

August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and blackout curtains that she finds on her arrival were not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.

Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.

Kriti @ Armed with A Book

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My latest favorite is A Ballad of Love and Glory by Reyna Grande - Must read historical fiction to expand your historical knowledge beyond the World Wars.

A beautiful book about the love for one another, love for our country and standing up for our morals. I learned so much! There are two main characters: John Riley is an Irishman and actually existed in the flesh. He decided to join the Yankees army, hoping they would keep their promise of better pay and promotion, promises that the English had so easily broken back home. Ximena won my heart. Renya shares at the beginning of the book how she read this poem that mentioned a woman named Ximena, letting the people know that the soldiers were coming and that scene sparked this character. A healer and wartime nurse, even before the Mexican War, Ximena’s family was part of the conflict when Texas separated from Mexico, years prior. 

Immigration is the one of the themes I least expected to find in A Ballad of Love and Glory. While immigration is an integral part of wartime conflicts, it is usually portrayed in the sense of the ones being invaded moving to safer territories. I have never read immigration in terms of soldiers from other countries helping and potentially moving to a country they were hired to fight. Through John’s experiences in Ireland, we also glimpse religious tensions and the role they play in making people abandon the groups that disrespect them.

A Ballad of Love and Glory, in a heartbreaking manner through Ximena, is able to convey the effect of changing boundaries and how our perception of where we belong is rooted in our knowledge of history.

Related to immigration is invasion. A Ballad of Love and Glory is the most detailed book I have read in terms of sharing what happens on the battlefield. This is no longer limited to finding a wounded soldier, but actually the physical acts of organizing and training soldiers, working with ammunition, understanding military tactics and formations. This book is more real than most historical fiction I have read because it is about a soldier and a nurse working at the battlefield. Reyna researched this very thoroughly and, in the process, has been able to expose aspects of history that remain buried to people.

For the remaining themes and an in-depth look at the main characters, read the full review on my blog. I also interviewed the author and you can read the interview here. Add it to your shelves on Goodreads and Storygraph.

Valerie - Cats Luv Coffee https://catsluvcoffee.com

I’ve always been interested in the history of the Titanic. With the massive cruise ships of today, it’s hard to imagine how exciting the launch of the British passenger liner RMS Titanic was. Its maiden voyage was a transatlantic sailing from Southhampton, UK to New York, USA carrying some of the richest people in the world as well as hundreds of immigrants seeking a new life in America. Four days into the crossing, it hit an iceberg and disappeared under the −2 °C (28 °F) water three hours later. Of the 2,224 passengers and crew onboard, more than 1500 died–most of cardiac arrest within 30 minutes due to the frigid temperature of the water. Around 750 people survived and were carried on to New York by a passenger steamship. 

That’s where Alma Katsu’s The Deep comes in! In her fictional portrayal of these real events from that fateful night, Annie Hebley is a maid serving the first class passengers. Those on the Titanic are convinced that something treacherous is at play, though from paranormal means and not physical. Of course, we know what happened to the Titanic. Years later, Annie is working as a nurse on the HMHS Britannic, requisitioned as a hospital ship in 1915 during WWI. She stumbles onto a wounded soldier that she knows from the Titanic cruise, but he can’t possibly have survived the sinking. 

I’m about halfway through The Deep and it’s been fascinating but not in the way I expected. I thought it was more of a horror novel, but I’m finding myself interested more in the characters and the way Katsu has layered fiction on to fact. 

Vidya Tiru @LadyInReadWrites  (Instagram | Twitter | Facebook ) 

Some of my favorite reads are historical fiction, so it is tough to pick one for this theme. So I decided to settle on one I featured in my favorite reads of last year: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles.

Book Description: Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family, and the power of literature to bring us together, perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls and The Paris Wife.

My Thoughts: A book about books and libraries; about WWII, and dual timelines. This combination is a surefire win for me! I enjoyed the read a lot and overall, the obvious love of books and the passion to share that love shines throughout the book, and kept me reading to the end.

How about you? What is a book set in the past that you would recommend? What do you think of the books in this post? Comment below to join the conversation! And don't forget to stop by CatsLuvCoffee tomorrow for the next topic!