Review: Fever 1793

Title: Fever 1793

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Published: September 1, 2000

In 1793 there was a Yellow Fever outbreak in Philadelphia. Over the course of three months one in every ten people died. This story is about a girl, Mattie, trying to survive.

This is not my usual type of story. I only read it because it fit the criteria of a challenge I was trying to do. That being said I did become emotionally invested in the characters. I came very close to crying a couple of times.

I found it difficult to try and imagine living through something like that. I honestly don't know how I would handle myself. I think I would have been one of the people to have fled or maybe one of the people to get sick and not make it. I am not sure I have the character to be able to not only survive, but be able to help others as Mattie and Eliza did.

I really liked how it ended. I was impressed with the personality growth of Mattie through the story. In the beginning she was a child who thought she was grown up. By the end she was an adult who had not only survived, but had come out stronger and had the ability to decide what she wanted.

Overall I gave this book 4 stars out 5.

Title: An Untitled Lady

Author: Nicky Penttila

Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction

Published February 12, 2014

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Under the guise of a regency romance this book tells of the instance leading up to the Peterloo Massacre.

The book was unlike normal romances considering the historical relevance and upheaval which lead up to and resulted from the events.

I will admit I had never heard of the massacre until this book. I was curious enough to actually look it up and learn a little about it. I found the story dealing with the build up to be very repetitive, this lead me to be frustrated with the story a couple of times.

I did enjoy the characters. They were thought out and well rounded. A couple of times I felt as if Maddie, the main character, just needed to really get a brake. By the time I reached half way I thought okay she has been through enough now. Unlike a lot of other romance books where I think seriously the problem the characters are facing are just made up and corny, get over it already. The problems the characters faced were real problems that potentially real people faced.

Overall I gave this book 4 stars out of 5.

Title: Daughter of Camelot (Empire of Shadows #1)

Author: Glynis Cooney

Genre: Historical Fiction

Published: September 24, 2013

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

There was talk of war against Arthur and discord within Camelot. Deirdre wanted to do everything in her power to help her country. Instead she was sent to court to learn to be a lady.

There were mystical aspects to parts that were interesting, but they were few and far between with no real explanation. The scenes would happen and then they would not be explored. Deirdre was a twin and because of that she was thought to be a witch. There was no explanation beyond that. There was no background mythology why the characters believed that. It was an odd fact to bring up more than once. It would have been interesting to learn back story behind it. Most of the scenes in the story would happen and when they were over it was over. There was very little thought given to consequences of actions taken.

At one point something happens to the main character. The event along with the fallout would have been traumatic for Deirdre, but she had no real emotional or psychological reaction to it. Then a few chapters later she arranged for another character to go through something similar. There was no remorse. In fact it was barley mentioned. Deirdre just continued on living her life.

The intrigue could have been potentially exciting, but in the end it was long and repetitive.

Overall I gave this book 2 stars out of 5.