It has been a hot minute (three years) since I posted a book review on the blog. I’ve definitely been reading, but my blogging game has not been the best. Since Prime Day is coming up (I’ll share some of the things I’m looking for there in another post), I wanted to review some of my recent reads in case any of y’all want to scoop them up next week.
Isabella: The Warrior Queen – Kristin Downey
This biography details the life of Isabella of Castille, queen of Spain and a major player in the late Renaissance period. She (and her husband, Ferdinand) funded Columbus’ expedition to the new world, drove the Muslims from Spain, and began the Spanish Inquisition (it wasn’t all good). Isabella is remembered in the Tudor world as the mother of Katherine of Aragon. I love a good biography of medieval queens, so I enjoyed and would recommend it.
Liar, Temptress, Solider, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War – Karen Abbott
I grabbed this book on a Barnes & Noble trip. Longtime readers of my blog know that I really enjoy women’s history, and this title intrigued me. This has to be one of the best written works I’ve read in a while. Karen Abbott interweaves the tales of the four women and the roles they played in the Civil War (liar, temptress, solider, spy). I honestly couldn’t put it down at times. If you only pick one book on this list to read, this should be it.
Spoken from the Heart – Laura Bush
I must confess that I bought this book years and finally read it. I wish I had read it sooner. Laura Bush is a fantastic storyteller, and her memoir covers not only her life, but a brief history of Texas. I think her time as an educator and librarian shaped her voice so much that I felt like she was reading it to me. This is honestly the first memoir or biography I’ve read of a modern First Lady, and it did not disappoint.
Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma – Camilla Townsend
As a descendant of Pocahontas, I buy biographies on her whenever I come across them. This read has a unique perspective because it looks a the whole picture of the story of Pocahontas, not just her rescue of John Smith. It was a pretty easy read and wasn’t too long.
The Mistresses of Cliveden: Three Centuries of Scandal, Power, and Intrigue in an English Stately Home – Natalie Livingstone
I think I came across this book because it was suggested based on something else I purchased. I threw it in my cart (I buy books in bulk) and read it last summer. As the title suggests, it traces the women who served as mistress of Cliveden, a famous English mansion. It covers five of those women over the course of three hundred years. I get that this book looks at these women in relation to the house, but it left me wanting more. The first mistress was an actual mistress: her lover bought her the house for their affair then killed her husband in a duel. This was all breezed over in about a page. I enjoyed it, but I wanted to know more about each woman.
Share your recent reads in the comments!
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