Ally's Book Blog

Inspired by Outlander: Culloden and its Aftermath

It probably would not surprise anyone to know that I am a huge Outlander fan. The premiere of season three featured heartbreaking scenes from the battle of Culloden and its aftermath. Apparently, it took nine days of filming and over 1,000 extras to create those intense battle scenes, though they were only in the episode for the first few minutes. I am not Scottish myself, but part of Outlander…

I believe I have not properly introduced myself on this blog before and thought that there should be a post about my own history. My name is Allison and I am a 22 year old living in the great state of Michigan. I graduated Bowling Green State University in 2016 with a B.A. in history. Currently, I am working in the mortgage industry, but I wanted to create this blog to keep history and continuous…

The Fiery Cross

Diana Gabaldon

Book 1. Ross Poldark

Book 2. Demelza

Winston Graham

Many of you have probably seen the new BBC/Masterpiece show Poldark starring Aiden Turner and, like me, are probably dying because season 2 has been so delayed. I loved that show and during this drought has picked up the original books. I have read the first two and they are amazing. I was so happy to be brought back into the world of 18th century Cornwall and with the characters I loved. I was surprised these historical fiction books were actually written in the 1940s, as I did not think they would be as old as they were. In fact, they are written like any modern historical fiction today. The Poldark series has become some of my favorite historical fiction of all time. 

Ross Poldark returns home to Cornwall after a long time fighting for the English in the Revolutionary War. Though what he finds when he returns is devastating. His father has died, the mine/homestead he inherited is in shambles, and the woman he loved has become engaged with his cousin. This is a story of his recovery and also a romance (though not with his old flame). I really enjoy how Graham gives two perspectives: one of Ross and the other Poldarks who are the upper class and then of the poor commoners/miners who live on Ross’s land and work at the mine. Their stories and POV are often some of the most interesting. Then there is Demelza a girl caught between two worlds. Originally the daughter of a drunk and one of the common folk she soon finds herself elevated to the upper class and has to adjust her way of life. It is a wonderful series (from the first two books at least) and I can’t wait to read more. 

I just found out it has 12 books in the series so I have a LOT to go!

Also, here’s some eye candy of Ross (according to the BBC show ;) )

1066: The Year of Conquest

David Howarth

I picked up two nonfiction books that came out in 2016 that I really enjoyed and I wanted to recommend them to others.

1. Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds by Pamela Sakamoto

This book was really interesting and follows a Japanese- American Family who became split during World War II. Two children, Harry and Mary, were living in America and experienced the internment camps. Harry found a job as a interpreter and experienced life in the American military as a Japanese-American. Their brothers, Victor, Frank, Pierce, all lived in Japan during this time. They experienced the brutal imperial military training and having to go through the draft. Their mother was living in Hiroshima during World War II and experienced the atomic bomb. Their story is amazing and worth telling. It intrigued me because just imagining my own family being split over two different sides of the war hurt me. How could they have made it? This book also gave me an interesting perspective on how difficult it was to be Japanese-American on the West Coast during this time and actually long before World War II. Highly recommended. Sakamoto gained much of her information from actual oral interviews with most of the family members. This is a unique way to have fairly accurate research and not just assumptions. This is a record of their voices even after they are gone. Learning about different cultures intrigue me as well and this book gives a good perspective of how Japan and the United States societies differed during this time. 

2. Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas

Me Before You

JoJo Moyes

I had never heard of this book until I saw that a movie was being made with some of my favorite actors. The movie looked cute and yes I am a sucker for romances. I was able to finally pick up this book and, well, it was not what I expected from the description or the movie trailers.

It was a wonderful book and I loved it, yet I hated it at the same time because basically at the end I was literally sobbing (yes, one of those). The story revolves around quirky girl Louisa who has been helping her family struggle by during the recession. During this time she gets a job as a caretaker for a disabled man (paralyzed from the chest down after a motorcycle accident and must be in a wheelchair constantly) who comes from a wealthy background. His name is Will and before the accident was a kind of playboy, a big time business man and a daredevil. To him, his whole life ended the day he was in the accident. Louisa wants to change his thinking and wants him to see that he can still have a great life despite the limited motion of his body. 

It might sound cheesy, but it really is not. I just don’t want to give too much of the story away. What I loved about this book (and something I love most from books) is how it got me thinking, even after, about issues I have never thought of before. I feel bad that I had never thought how the mental state of someone who goes through incidents that cause them to become disabled changes and how people of the outside treat disabled persons. One of the things the book deals with is how outsiders take away the person’s choice. They always want to choose for the disabled person thinking they are helping, but it is the opposite. This book also dealt with the moral/ethical issues of assisted suicide. These were some of the harder sections of the book and honestly I do not know what I would do in the situations of the characters.

This book dealt with a lot of tough topics, but there were also many funny and happy moments. I really enjoyed this book and I know there is a sequel but I will not be reading it. I believe this book ended how it should have. I still will be going to see the movie when it comes out! I love Emilia Clarke! 

The Secret Garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett

This book actually used to be one of my favorites as a kid and I would read it over and over again. I think I loved the sense of mystery of the old house and the finding of the garden. I had not touched this book though since being a child and I thought it was a good time to revisit it (since it came as a free book on my new Nook). 

Basically the story goes is that Mary Lennox a spoiled, rude, and neglected child must move to England after her parents die while they are living in India. From the hot climate of India she is brought to the fresh air of an English moor to live with her depressed Uncle who wants nothing to do with her. His wife had died ten years before and he had never gotten over that fact so he lived in gloom. Mary discovers the secret of a garden (Mr. Craven’s dead wife’s garden) and finds purpose in finding the garden and bringing life to it again. By finding new purpose and getting fresh air Mary begins to change, along with a whole cast of very interesting characters.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

George RR Martin

For all of those Game of Thrones fans who are impatiently waiting for the release of Winds of Winter I would like to bring to your attention that Martin has actually written other stories in the Westeros universe. Before my dad showed this collection of short stories to be I did not know this either. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a collection of three short stories that take place about 100 years before the events in Game of Thrones. The Targaryans are still in power at this point. The stories follow the life of a hedge knight named Ser Duncan the Tall and his sassy, yet extremely clever, squire named Egg. There is something special you will learn about Egg, but I will not spoil it here. Together they travel Westeros and end up unintentionally getting involved in the politics of the land. 

Each of these short stories is one tale of Duncan and Egg’s adventures and are very good. There are tourneys, fights, Targaryans, and many mysteries to be solved. I liked these stories because unlike A Song of Ice and Fire (and I am a huge Song of Ice and Fire Fan) they are simple without too many complexities but still make a great story. It also just got me back into the world I love so much which this long wait for Winds has taken me away from. These are great stories and any ASOIF or medieval fantasy fan will love them. It is hinted that Martin wants to write more and has planned more stories with Dunk and Egg, but probably not  for a while as he is preoccupied :). 

The Last Wish (first book of Geralt the Witcher)

Andrzej Sapkowski

I am a big gamer and the Witcher 3 has been one of the best games I have ever played. What I did not know until after I played was that these games are a continuation of short fantasy stories by a Polish man named Andrzej Sapkowski. I actually had to find a translation of these stories in English. Not only do I love the world that this author created and the games illustrated, but my family came from Poland originally and it is awesome reading something that is inspired by so many Polish traditions and legends. 

Avalon 

Anya Seton

Katherine by Anya Seton is one of my most favorite books of all time and was excited to pick up another book by this author that took place in a medieval setting. Avalon was an entertaining book, but unfortunately fell short when compared to Katherine.

Many reviewers of this book agree with me that the first half was the stronger half of this book. It introduces two very, in my opinion, unique characters who I enjoyed (at first). It takes place in tenth-century England during a time when the country was just starting to unite and a time of the Viking threat. Rumon is a prince of France and is sent by his grandmother to England where he hopes to find his destiny. “Avalon” is a place he has been having visions of and has a strong urging to go West. Meanwhile, he meets a girl named Merewyn in wild Cornwall who believes she is a descendant of the legendary King Arthur. Together they travel to the court of King Edgar and each begin to find their own path. Merewyn matures and discovers the realities of the world, while Rumon...well he just goes off the deep end. The second half was meh to me. Seton liked to employ these time gaps that took too much time away and actually left me kind of confused every time there was a jump. For example, Merewyn was captured by Vikings then a time jump happens and suddenly shes married to and is in love with a Norseman and has a child. She also suddenly has a relationship with her long lost father. I really would have liked to have seen her development in forming those relationships and how she literally got over being captured enough to be embracing this whole new society. I also felt the main characters became less interesting as the book went on, to the point where I just couldn’t stand Rumon. The ending was also anti-climactic...it just kind of ended. So no this wasn’t one of my favorites and I feel it could have made for a great story.

Something I did enjoy was the historical setting. Seton does a great job with historical accuracy and actually putting you in that time period. This is a time in England I haven’t really studied and after reading this book I plan on pursuing it more. She also was very good at comparing and contrasting two (even three) different cultures as she highlights how the Viking lifestyle was and how the English lifestyle was. 

Cold Mountain

Charles Frazier 

I finally actually read this book and I did enjoy it a lot. I had seen the movie previously, but I found the book to be different. It was different not because of specific plot details, but the overall feeling of the story. This book is a historical romance taking place in the South during the later years of the Civil War. Inman has been gone four years fighting for the Confederate army and has finally had enough. The war has changed him from the more optimistic man who left to someone who sees the flaws in life. He decides to deserts and takes an Odyessy type journey back to his home in Cold Mountain and the woman he has loved, Ada. Meanwhile, Ada’s father died during the course of the war and she has been left alone on a rural farmer with no idea how to run anything. She becomes friends with a rough girl named Ruby who puts Ada to work and teaches her a new way of life. 

Killing Lincoln

Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

I picked up this book with some hesitation. I am a student of history and, well, many people who deem themselves “professional” historians and do historical work the traditional way have not liked this book; believing it had some inaccuracies in order to make a better story. It may be because they actually want to make sure good history is being read by the public or maybe they are just jealous of the popular success of a mere journalist in the field of history.

In my opinion, this book did not read like a history book, but more like a thriller. I can’t deny that it was exciting to read (in fact I finished it the day I began it). Yes, I do agree that definitely some parts were slightly exaggerated or possibly fabricated/assumed in order to make a more exciting history, but I also believe it did have some good information. Killing Lincoln discusses the plot behind one (if not THE) of the most famous assassinations in American history. It describes John Wilkes Booth & Co plans, motives, and then actual execution of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. O’Reilly and Dugard take the reader through in a style that goes day by day and at the beginning of every chapter they mark the date and time. So yes it kind of is like a thriller and it is written more so like a narrative, but while giving historical information.

The Black Prism

Brent Weeks

I’ve been looking for a new fantasy series to get into for a while. I absolutely love the genre, but often I have difficulties finding a good series to get into. A lot of fantasy is often very similar to each other. Someone recommended Brent Weeks Lightbringer Series to me and I am so happy they did. I had never read anything by Weeks before, but I had heard of his Night Angel Trilogy before. The Black Prism took me some time to get into the story and the characters, but once I did I was hooked!

I enjoyed the sassiness of the protagonist, Kip, and the mysterious nature of the Guile brothers (still blowing my mind rn). The two main female characters were very strong and I can see a lot more coming for them in the future books. Most of all I found the magic system in the book very unique and it was awesome how someone thought of a system some complex and different. It bases the magic on the color spectrum and so different drafters (those that can use the light as magic) can draft certain colors. I don’t think I could explain it well here because there are some parts that are still confusing me, but that doesn’t stop me from being intrigued by it!