Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Historical Fiction; Paranormal Romance; France, 15th Century, Gods, People with Abilities, Magic

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf? Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart.

Ismae is brought to the convent of St. Mortain and learns that he is actually her father. She agrees whole heartedly to join the convent and server. When she is sent on her mission to assist the high court of Brittany she learns that there are two sides to things. She feels unprepared. Under the care of Gavriel Duval, she doesn't know if she can trust him or kill him. This is a great book of intrigue. Ismae is a very dynamic character who is devout to her convent. Gavriel is one of those characters that you can't help but fall for. I loved reading this book as it kept you on your toes. I can't wait to read the next book in the series, Dark Trumph.

Publisher: Graphia

ISBN: 978-0544022492

Pages: 576

Series: His Fair Assassin

Volume: 1

Time of the Witches by Anna Myers

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Historical Fiction; Salem Witch Trials, 1692

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: An orphan named Drucilla finally has a place to call home with the Putnam family in Salem. Although her adopted mother is strange – haunted by a troubled past – Dru feels drawn to her as the mother she never had. When a new reverend and his family move into town with their servant Tituba, life takes a strange turn as young girls begin to fall ill and accusations of witchcraft begin to swirl. Reluctant to turn her back on the Putnams or her peers and overwhelmed by the power of groupthink among the other girls in town, Dru becomes one of the accusers herself. But when the boy she loves, Gabe, is accused, she must find a way to end the hysteria, or risk losing him forever.

                                  

The story starts from the main character’s birth and goes through to the end of the Salem witch trials. Dru is looking for the love of a family when she is placed with the Putnams. Goody Putnam is in her own world many times from bouts of depression. Dru seems to be one of the only people that can make her feel better. But Dru changes her tune when she is made to accuse Gabe. I liked the relationship between Dru and Gabe. It was a good story in how things happened in Salem. It also is a great show for peer pressure. I think that young adults in high school should read this just for that point alone. I really liked reading this book.

Publisher: Walker Books

ISBN: 0802798209

Pages: 208

Series:

Volume:

The Plague by Joanne Dahme

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Historical Fiction; 1300’s

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: Fifteen year-old Nell’s uncanny resemblance, to King Edward the Third’s daughter Princess Joan, brings the orphan and her brother George from the murky streets of fourteenth century London to a grand calling – a means of protection for the Royal Family by acting as a body double in times of danger. But as the plague that claimed the lives of Nell’s parents continues to ravish England and France, and eventually takes Princess Joan herself, Nell is forced by Joan’s brother, the Black Prince, to take on the princess’s identity for real. Nell must carry out a plan to expand the empire by marrying the Prince of Castile. Knowing she could never permanently play the role of the Princess, Nell is determined to return to England and report the truth of the Princess’s death to the King. With the help of a number of surprising characters – including a Spanish minstrel, a monk, a gravedigger, a band of merchants – and most devotedly by her brother and the young soldier Henry, Nell must escape not only the Black Prince and his army of rats, but the plague as well…

I haven’t read many historical novels. I got this book while I was at the Book Expo America. I couldn’t help but be curious about it having read the back cover. I thought that the character Henry was a brilliant one as he is seen at the beginning as a small youth and then we meet him again as a young man. Nell I found to feel as though she was week and yet she was able to stand up and protect those that she loved. She even tried to help those who where dieing of the plague. I really liked this story.

Publisher: Running Press Teens

ISBN: 0762433442

Pages: 272

Series:

Volume: 

The Union Street Bakery by Mary Ellen Taylor

Genre: Fiction; Bakery, Contemporary, Adoption, Alexandria, Virginia, Ghosts

Sub Genre: Historical Fiction; Pre-Civil War, Slavery, 1850's, Biracial

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: Life can turn on a dime. It's a common cliche, and I'd heard it often enough. People die or move away. Investments go south. Affairs end. Loved ones betray us. Stuff happens. Daisy McCrae's life is in tatters. She has lost her job, broken up with her boyfriend, and been reduced to living in the attic above her family's store, the Union Street Bakery, While Learning the business. Ufortunately, the bakery is in serious hardship. Making things worse is the constant feeling of not being a real McCrae since she was adopted as a child and has a less-than-perfect relationship with her two sisters. Then a long-standing elderly customer passes away, and for some reason bequeaths Daisy a journal dating back to the 1850's, written by a slave girl named Susie. As she reads, Daisy learns more about her family - and her own heritage - then she ever dreamed. Haunted by dreams of the young Susie, who beckons Daisy to "find her," she is compelled to look further into the past of the town and her family. What she finds are the answers she has longed for her entire life, and a chance to begin again with the courage and desire she thought she lost for good.

This is a great debut novel. The story follows Daisy through her discovery of herself as well as that of her childhood ghost, Susie. The two have always been connected, only Daisy never knew how. As you learn more about the family you see how much Daisy has struggled over the years to feel as though she was a part of them. You truly connect with this character and begin to feel her pain and want things to all work out. I really enjoyed reading this book and thought that it really showed great depth with it's mixture of contemporary and historical weaved together.

Publisher: Berkley

ISBN: 9780425259696

Pages: 344

Series:

Volume: