Whatever Holiday you celebrate, do remember to share books with friends and family this Season. I have been so blessed to receive many books as gifts. Just last week, a friend and fellow author all the way in Australia surprised me by sending me a duology she had written on a lady of the Tudor period. It's now a treasured part of my historical fiction library, and I can't wait to read both books. My TBR list (to be read--in case you're not familiar with the abbreviation) has doubled this Christmas Season! I went from having only seven books left to read to having fourteen now. Looks like I'll be busy reading as well as writing in 2022.
If you've not started a TBR list, it might be the perfect New Year's resolution! Hop on Goodreads and start compiling a reading list for the New Year.
And READ ON, everybody!
Ariana Franklin's City of Shadows
Reviewed by Brook Allen
Wow. This book's plot was so involved, I'm convinced that Franklin is some sort of author/genius to have compiled it. It's got EVERYTHING: the Romanov tragedy, Anna Anderson (Anastasia), the terror of anti-Semitism, beginnings of the Nazi Party and the SS, as well as a hearty murder mystery. I was enraptured with every page, and Franklin managed a delicious plot twist in the final pages, too.
Anna Anderson, who claimed to be the Grand Duchess, Anastasia.
Her characters are just as intriguing. A Jewess with a tragic past that came from a violent pogram--whose mind is as scarred as her face. Anna Anderson--the woman claiming to be Anastasia, Czar Nicolas's daughter who is crazy as a loon, yet loveable. Schmidt the Berlin police inspector who tends to take his job and his love-life too seriously, sometimes. And the supporting characters are all remarkably detailed.
This book was a gift from my cousin, and I had no clue what I was about to read, so it was a total treat and I looked forward to picking it up again during the week in which I read it. Granted, DNA results on skeletons found in the Ural Mountains have proven the demise of the entire Romanov family, but nobody knew that in the first half of the 20th century. I highly recommend this novel and I’ve already downloaded another book from Ariana Franklin! What a READ!
The Grand Duchess Anastasia, whose
remains were discovered in 1979 and later identified,
along with her sisters and parents.
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