First World War Trials and Executions

 First World War Trials and Executions by Simon Webb is a book about crimes taking place during World War I (1914-1918) and the executions of the criminals that took place. The book is broken up into 10 chapters, each one about different murders or espionage that was taking place in England at the time. They aren't mini-biographies, but mini-stories that show how trials and executions took place during the First World War.

There are ten chapters, with each chapter covering a different type of crime: murders with a razor, an axe, a poker, a gun, beatings, knives, child murder, and spying. Each chapter gives great details without being overly gruesome, at least not to me. However, as I mentioned, there is child murder, as well as spousal abuse and uxoricide, the murder of a wife or girlfriend. The book does talking about botched hangings, which is as unpleasant as it sounds. There are all three appendices that go into more detail about the hangmen, how they did the actual hanging, and a list of the executions. 

Overall, I found the book to be very interesting. I don't know much about the World War I time period, so it was nice to learn something new, even if it was the unfortunate murders of so many people. Everything is laid out neatly and explained very well, without being provocative. Simon Webb takes great care to make these people real and not just facts on a page.

The section I thought was the most interesting was chapter three, which was about the spies in England during the time. It was darkly funny in a way because the spies the Germans chose were very bad and the Germans themselves were so inept at spying, keeping the same address and having the same contacts for almost all the executed spies in this section.

I would recommend this book if you like true crime, World War I, or just want to learn more about the era.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lawmen of the Wild West

Lawmen of the Wild West by Terry C. Treadwell are minibiographies of some well known and not as well known lawmen. The introduction has a lot of information about the background of the jobs, from the 14th century up until the time of the men in this book. It also describes what the western lawmen, from Sheriffs to US Marshals, did in their day to day and what they had to deal with. There are a ton of pictures, not only of the famous lawmen, but different types of badges, images of the outlaws that have been killed, and much more.

The book starts with Robert Forsyth, who was an early US Marshal and the first to be killed in the line of duty. Luckily, the biographies get longer after the first one. There are thirty-five chapters about individual lawmen talked about in the book including; Judge Isaac Parker, Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp, Bass Reeves, Pat Garrett, and Seth Bullock. Many of the biographies have some historical background about the times, the range wars, and the outlaws these men chased. The book also shows that the Wild West wasn't like the old westerns have shown us, black and white, good versus bad. A lot of the lawmen had an outlaw past or used their badges to gain for themselves.

I enjoyed the book, but at times found it slow, especially when the stories diverted away from the men being written about. I understood why the author had to add in the extra details, it just ruined the flow for me a bit. I was also thrown whenever the author talked about the Earps and their exploits. He doesn't seem to like the family at all. I did like how some biographies mentioned a man that the next biography was about. I also enjoyed how many of the men popped up in the others stories, showing that they all knew and maybe respected each other. There is a companion book about the outlaws of the west, which I will have to check out

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

The Ravine

 The Ravine is the true story of a photograph showing the murder of a Jewish family by Nazis collaborators during World War II. The author, Wendy Lower, discovers as much as she can about the photo and the people in it. The image is shown in the book and described in detail. There is a massive trigger warning for murder, anti-Semitism, war time atrocities, and everything else associated with the Nazis. It's not for the faint of heart and I would recommend you take your time with it if you want to read it.

This book is hard to review, if I'm being honest. It's not something I can recommend for everyone, not even if you enjoy history or learning about what happened during WWII. It's a tough read, as it should be, but it is fascinating to see how this one image can mean so much. Wendy Lower goes into detail about how studying the Holocaust isn't just about a historian learning something new, but almost like forensic detective work.

There is plenty of history of the Holocaust; from how it started to how it got really going. There is also an interesting history of the city where the murders in the photo took place, Miropol in the Ukraine. It covers the Jewish history as well as the non-Jewish history of the city. There is also a biography of the man who took the photo, how it managed to save it, and what happened to him afterwards. 

Wendy Lower also has a timeline of what happened the day before and the day of the mass murder. She interviewed people who are still alive from that time and even has a video of a survivor of the day. Because the government in the Ukraine doesn't want to acknowledge anything that regular people did during the war, the names of those interviewed were protected. 

The only sad thing is that Wendy Lower was unable to definitively say who the people in the photograph were, but she has a good idea of who they might have been.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

 

Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency

Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency is a set mini biographies during the Regency Era (1810-20) of women. There is also a short explanation of what each chapter is about, before diving into the biographies. Some of the women I knew of or heard of, others I didn't. It was quite interesting to read about them and the effect that each of them had had on those ten years.

The book is broken up into eight chapters that include the women who ran the social circle of the era, the royals, the famous mistress (who were more than that), artistic women, scientific women, queer women, black women, and Jewish women. At the end of each chapter there is a recommended reading/viewing after each section, which is nice. There are also pictures, which my copy of the arc is missing some.

Most of the women that I heard of were of course the famous mistress and the royal women. I had also heard of Mary Seacole, Anne Lister, and Mary Anning. I loved learning about women like Anne Mee, Jane Marcet, Anne Damer, and Judith Montefiore, who all had something to contribute even as the patriarchy tried to shut them. I also learned that there was another Mary Berry who was a writer of the time. 

I enjoyed the book, since most of what I know about the Regency is from movies or books. These biographies brought the era to life in a new way and showed that women have always had an impact on society.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Rebel Spy

Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi is a fictional tale of a real female spy, 355, during the Revolutionary War. 355 was never named, so everything about her is unknown. No one even knows what exactly she spied upon or what information she gave.

Since this is a war novel, in a way, there are hints of the ongoing war, especially when the Loyalists talk about their exploits. Nothing is ever shown full force however. The one thing that is shown, is the press ganging of sailors by the English Navy. It's pretty violent and brutal, but toned down from how I'm sure the actual press ganging was. There is murder and death as one would assume in a war. One other thing that is pretty awful is the prison of war ship, it's as nasty as it sounds. There are also some stories of past rapes done by the Red Coats on American women. There is also a near assault by the main characters step-father in the opening chapters.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I liked the historical parts, but also the fictional parts. They were weaved together very well. There are some YA tropes; falling in love fast, two men loving the same woman and hating each other, but they don't stand out as obnoxious or overbearing. The cast of characters is well written and add a lot of heart to the story. A few of the characters are based on real life people, mainly the male characters. The main characters friends are funny and charming. They also care for each other deeply, which is always nice to see.

I think that anyone who enjoys the mystery of who spies are behind the scenes, especially in a war as old and important to America as this one, will enjoy the novel. It has action, romance, and enough factual evidence to make it almost real.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Not a Gentleman's Work

 Not a Gentleman's Work by Gerard Koeppel is a non-fiction, true crime book about the mysterious murders of Captain Charles Nash, his wife, Laura, and the second mate, Blomberg. Only three of the other men on the boat could have done it, but no one was sure who. Thomas Bram, the first mate, was convicted twice, but eventually released on parole and pardoned. Because of this, the case is now unsolved.

I don't know who did it, but it seems that many things were inaccurate and overlooked just because a rich, white man was there. Koeppel doesn't outright say who did it, but he gives good evidence about how and why Lester Monks, the passenger on the ship, and one of the men who could have committed the murder, was overlooked. He was from a wealthy, white, Bostonian family. Bram, who white passing and said he was white, had an African background, which everyone knew, so seems to be easily blamed for murders. Monks was able to speak for everyone else because he was white and spoke English. The other crewmen didn't speak English very well and the steward was black, so his testimony wasn't as highly valued.

I really enjoyed this book. I love true crime and I had never heard of these murders before. I am very interested in this case now, but besides this book there is hardly any information out there. Google brings up very few results and many of the bibliography references are in Boston. As it is a true crime book, there are graphic details of the three murders and even mentions of vomit. I would recommend this book if you like true crime and also like lesser known unsolved mysteries.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Forgotten Women: The Leaders

 Forgotten Women: The Leaders is part of a four book series called "Forgotten Women". The other three are about writers, artists, and scientists. All four books are written by Zing Tsjeng. The book is broken up into five categories; The Rebels, The Warriors, The Rulers, The Activists, and The Reformers. Under each section, are mini-biographies of many different women from many different time periods and cultures.

I thought this was a great book. It gave a lot of information on women I knew of like, Grace O'Malley, Ida B. Wells, or Hatshepsut, and even women I had never heard of like, Doria Shafik, Anacaona, or Lillian Ngoyi. I really enjoyed learning about all the women and everything they did. It makes me want to learn even more, since these biographies aren't able to go into great detail. That might be hard since some women are from ancient times with not many (if any) historical records. However, the women with more information should be easy to look up.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about some of the people that history has overlooked and undervalued. I am looking forward to being able to pick up the other books someday and see what other women I can learn about.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

The Glowing Review

The Glowing (The Glowing, #1) by Tom Rimer 

Nice guys often finish last, but sometimes last is all that's left. Majestic Mount Greylock always cloaked the small berkshire town of Adams in its shadow...until now. Until the skies illuminated. Until the Glowing began. When Kamryn Coe, her disheveled teacher, and a group of geeks that'd put a comic convention to shame witness the destruction of their hometown, they must combat a land teeming with drooling alien hordes, while Kam faces the truth of her own birth and its connection to the catastrophe unfolding around her. Time travel, extraterrestrials, humanity's end.

TIME TO SAVE THE WORLD. (Summary from Goodreads)

The Glowing has a definite 80s vibe to it, which I liked. A group of kids (and one adult) against a group of aliens, seems like such an 80s movie. It was really good. This book has trigger warnings for blood, gore, and death.

Kam is a good main character. She shows real emotions when things go to hell, but she also shows strength at the end of the book. There are some things about her and her family that are set up very nicely at the start. It has a great follow through at the end as well.

Kam, her friend Lucy, and her crush Olin have a love triangle that thankfully goes nowhere because they have more to worry about at that moment. There are also some nice moments between Heather, a bully type character, and a girl Dani, who he used to bully. The group of kids really do pull together to make it out alive. The one adult, Mr. Flowers, is just as messed up as the kids, but really tries to hide it for their sakes. It doesn't always work, but he tries.

The aliens are very interesting. They speak a broken English as well as their own language, are violent as hell, and have interesting powers. They sound terrifying in all honesty. They come down in purple stones in the meteors and are connected to them somehow.  Purple is very much a theme of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I wasn't sure how I felt about two characters being an unwashed, geek stereotype, but I suppose it fit into the 80s vibe of it all. The book has 48 chapters, but it a quick read. The pace really picks up when the aliens arrive and doesn't slow down. I am looking forward to the sequel.

The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea Review

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall 

A desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial daughter find a connection on the high seas in a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic.

Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora, former starving urchin, the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don’t trust, don’t stick out, and don’t feel. But on this voyage, as the pirates prepare to sell their unsuspecting passengers into slavery, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is en route to a dreaded arranged marriage with her own casket in tow. Flora doesn’t expect to be taken under Evelyn’s wing, and Evelyn doesn’t expect to find such a deep bond with the pirate Florian.

Soon the unlikely pair set in motion a wild escape that will free a captured mermaid (coveted for her blood, which causes men to have visions and lose memories) and involve the mysterious Pirate Supreme, an opportunistic witch, and the all-encompassing Sea itself. (Summary from Goodreads)

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea is an amazing book. It's filled with romance, pirates, and more. There is murder, torture, and blood, so beware of that. These pirates do not mess around. There is also mentions and hints of the rape of a young boy, but it is never shown or stated outright.

The story focuses on Evelyn and Florian as they navigate their feelings and the pirate ship. Evelyn has cold, uncaring parents who force her to marry a man she has never met. She, Lady Ayer, a friend of Evelyn's mother, and others are passengers aboard the Dove. Actually, the Dove is pirate ship lead by the Nameless Captain and they will be sold into slavery.

Flora is needed to watch over Evelyn so that the male pirates don't try to rape her. Evelyn doesn't know Florian's true identity until much later, but doesn't care as they come to fall in love. Together they rescue a mermaid, gain the Seas favor, and manage to slip away from the pirates. Then things just go wrong.

They are separated and Flora is trained by a witch to use their powers. They do and help Evelyn escape from her husband-to-be. In the end, everything works out for the best for the couple. I don't want to say more because of spoilers, but as a reader, I got hit in the feels right near the end.

I would love a sequel or continuation of the world, as it was interesting and well built. There was enough information about the world that you could extrapolate information, but I just want to dive into more of it. There is also a wonderful character called the Pirate Supreme who I would definitely read a whole book about.