“The Lost Vintage” by Ann Mah

Title: The Lost Vintage
Author: Ann Mah
Publisher: William Morrow
Year: 2018
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary fiction
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Why I Read It: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: Kate returns to her family’s vineyard in France to prepare for the prestigious Master of Wine test. While there, she discovers a family secret that dates back to the Nazi Occupation of France. As Kate digs deeper, will she be able to find the truth? And if she does, will it bring only shame…or much needed absolution?

“15 Minutes of Flame” by Christin Brecher

Title: 15 Minutes of Flame
Author: Christin Brecher
Publisher: Kensington
Year: 2020
Genre(s): mystery, modern
Part of a Series: Yes, book #3
Rating: 

Why I Read it: Once Upon a Book Club Halloween box

Summary: After agreeing to help the local Girl Scout troop with a Halloween fundraiser, Stella ends up biting off more than she can chew when she finds a dead body in the house she convinced a friend to let them use for it.  The body is determined to be a couple centuries old, reigniting interest in an old Nantucket mystery. It brings some newcomers to Nantucket and when a more modern murder occurs, Stella finds herself trying to figure out who is there for good and who is there for ill. Can she solved two mysteries before it’s too late?

“The Selection” by Kiera Cass

Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperTeen
Year: 2012
Genre(s): young adult, romance, futuristic
Part of a Series: Yes, Part 1 of 5
Rating: 

Why I Read It: I think Goodreads recommended it to me.

Summary: In a future where all the countries we know are gone and combined to make new ones and monarchies have replaced democracy, America Singer is coming of age in the kingdom of Illea – and so is the future king, Maxon. Which means it is time to find him a bride and future queen in a process known as the Selection. Several young women are selected from across the country and brought to the palace to compete for the prince and a chance to be his wife. When America is selected, she reluctantly goes and is certain she will get kicked off relatively quickly. But when she develops a friendship with Maxon, she starts to rethink everything she wants from her life.

“Where the Lost Wander” by Amy Harmon

Title: Where the Lost Wander
Author: Amy Harmon
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Year: 2020
Genre(s): historical fiction, romance
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: Recently widowed, Naomi decides to head west on the Oregon Trail with her family and some friends. At the starting point, she meets John Lowry, who works with his father raising and selling mules to the pioneers getting ready to cross the American frontier. He and Naomi feel pulled toward each other and he decides to join their wagon party to start a new life out west as well. But the Oregon Trail is not kind to the pioneers who traverse it and John Lowry must also contend with the fact that he was born to a white father and a Pawnee mother, a man who has a foot in both worlds but doesn’t feel at home in either. Will he and Naomi survive the trials and challenges of the Oregon Trail? And if so, will they be able to find a life together? Or will life on the Oregon Trail prove too much?

My Books of 2020

 

I made my reading goal for 2020! Most of it was done at the end of the year but I got it done! in 2021, I hope to read one book a month. Can I do it? Let's find out! 

“The Lost Queen” by Signe Pike

Title: The Lost Queen
Author: Signe Pike
Publisher: Touchstone
Year: 2018
Genre(s): historical fiction
Part of a Series: No
Rating:

Why I read it: It was a Once Upon a Book Club pick.

Synopsis: Lailoken and Languoreth are the twin children of Morken, a chieftain in the time before Britain was Britain. Various tribes throughout the island continue to clash and it grows worse as Christianity starts to spread, bringing more strife as Christian monks threaten the people’s pagan ways. In these tense times, Lailoken is destined to become a Wisdom Keeper, trained in the Old Ways, while Languoreth is destined to marry a great lord to strengthen her father’s lands. But will her destiny lie with the upstart Pendragon, a champion of the Old Ways, or with ruthless Tutegal, who welcomes Christianity?

With an Old World on the verge of becoming a New World, Lailoken and Languoreth find their lives tied to both – and to one of the greatest stories of all time: King Arthur and the wizard Merlin.

“Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland” by Susan Fraser King

Title: Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland
Author: Susan Fraser King
Publisher: Crown
Year: 2010
Genre(s): historical fiction
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Why I read it: It was recommended by Amazon years ago

Summary: Margaret is a princess without a kingdom. Her father was supposed to take the throne of England but died before he could do so. And when the king protecting her family dies, they are even more at risk. They flee to Scotland, hoping to find protection with King Malcolm. He grants it to them and Margaret ultimately marries him to secure their alliance. Margaret works to help reform what kind of king he is and her own spirituality pushes her to help those less fortunate in Scotland as well as push them closer to the church in Rome.

Eva is the granddaughter of Macbeth and there is still tension between her family and Malcolm. She is sent to his court in order to discover if he has really ordered a book written to detail Scottish history and if so, to find out how he has ordered Macbeth to be depicted. She is also to provide information to her grandmother about Malcolm’s court. And while Eva and Malcolm clash, she develops a close friendship with Margaret. Her loyalties are soon divided and she must choose between her grandmother and her friend.