IN THE SHADOW OF A QUEEN By Heather B Moore

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Shadow Mountain (October 4, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639930507

#IntheShadowofaQueen, #HeatherBMoore, #HistoricalFiction, #VictorianFiction, #BiographicalFiction, #Bookstagram, @authorhbmoore, @shadowmountainpub, @austenprose

Based on the true story of the free-spirited daughter of Queen Victoria.
Princess Louise’s life is upended after her father’s untimely death. Captive to the queen’s overwhelming mourning, Louise is forbidden to leave her mother’s tight circle of control and is eventually relegated to the position of personal secretary to her mother—the same position each of her sisters held until they were married.

Already an accomplished painter, Louise risks the queen’s wrath by exploring the art of sculpting, an activity viewed as unbefitting a woman. When Louise involves herself in the day’s political matters, including championing the career of a female doctor and communicating with suffragettes, the queen lays down the law to stop her and devotes her full energy to finding an acceptable match for her defiant daughter.

Louise is considered the most beautiful and talented daughter of Queen Victoria, but finding a match for the princess is no easy feat. Protocols are broken, and Louise exerts her own will as she tries to find an open-minded husband who will support her free spirit.

In the Shadow of a Queen is the story of a battle of wills between two women: a daughter determined to forge her own life beyond the shadow of her mother, and a queen resolved to keep the Crown’s reputation unsullied no matter the cost.

MY REVIEW:

Reading about royalty had always fascinated me. As a commoner, being allowed a glimpse of their extravagant lives of privilege, wealth, and the unattainable, are what my dreams were made of. That is why reading IN THE SHADOW OF A QUEEN was so interesting to me, because of the life of Princess Louise, who is clearly the anti-princess and also somewhat of a hero to me. Princess Louise's life truly is quite a story to be told, and Heather B. Moore did this amazing justice. I enjoyed every bit of this book. 

About the Author:

Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestselling author of more than ninety publications. Heather writes primarily historical and #herstory fiction about the humanity and heroism of the everyday person. Publishing in a breadth of genres, Heather dives into the hearts and souls of her characters, meshing her love of research with her love of storytelling.

Her historicals and thrillers are written under pen name H.B. Moore. She writes women's fiction, romance and inspirational non-fiction under Heather B. Moore, and . . . speculative fiction under Jane Redd. This can all be confusing, so her kids just call her Mom. Heather attended Cairo American College in Egypt and the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel. Despite failing her high school AP English exam, Heather persevered and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in something other than English.

Please join Heather's email list at: HBMoore.com/contact/

Website: HBMoore.com

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And yes, the Blog still lives: MyWritersLair.blogspot.com

Literary honors: 2020 Goodreads Choice Award Semi-Finalist, Foreword 2020 INDIES Finalist, ALA Best New Books - September 2020, 6-time Best of State Recipient for Best in Literary Arts, 2019 Maggie Award Winner, 4-time Whitney Award Winner, and 2-time Golden Quill Award Winner.

2/22/2022 Jane and the Year Without a Summer (Being a Jane Austen Mystery Book 14) @AUSTENPROSE @sbarronauthor

 

· Title: Jane and the Year Without a Summer

· Series: Being a Jane Austen Mystery (Book 14)

· Author: Stephanie Barron

· Genre: Historical Mystery, Austenesque

· Publisher: Soho Press (February 8, 2022)

· Length: (336) pages

· Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook

· ISBN: 978-1641292474

· Tour Dates: February 7-20, 2022

"If you have a Jane Austen-would-have-been-my-best-friend complex, look no further . . . [Barron] has painstakingly sifted through the famed author's letters and writings, as well as extensive biographical information, to create a finely detailed portrait of Austen's life—with a dash of fictional murder . . . Some of the most enjoyable, well-written fanfic ever created."—O Magazine

May 1816: Jane Austen is feeling unwell, with an uneasy stomach, constant fatigue, rashes, fevers and aches. She attributes her poor condition to the stress of family burdens, which even the drafting of her latest manuscript—about a baronet's daughter nursing a broken heart for a daring naval captain—cannot alleviate. Her apothecary recommends a trial of the curative waters at Cheltenham Spa, in Gloucestershire. Jane decides to use some of the profits earned from her last novel, Emma, and treat herself to a period of rest and reflection at the spa, in the company of her sister, Cassandra.

Cheltenham Spa hardly turns out to be the relaxing sojourn Jane and Cassandra envisaged, however. It is immediately obvious that other boarders at the guest house where the Misses Austen are staying have come to Cheltenham with stresses of their own—some of them deadly. But perhaps with Jane’s interference a terrible crime might be prevented. Set during the Year without a Summer, when the eruption of Mount Tambora in the South Pacific caused a volcanic winter that shrouded the entire planet for sixteen months, this fourteenth installment in Stephanie Barron’s critically acclaimed series brings a forgotten moment of Regency history to life.

ADVANCE PRAISE

“Outstanding...Barron fans will hope Jane, who died in 1817, will be back for one more mystery.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“No one conjures Austen's voice like Stephanie Barron, and Jane and the Year Without a Summer is utterly pitch-perfect.”— Deanna Raybourn, bestselling author of the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries

“…a page-turning story, imbued with fascinating historical detail, a cast of beautifully realized characters, a pitch-perfect Jane Austen, and an intriguing mystery. Highly recommended.”— Syrie James, bestselling author of The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen

“Jane and the Year Without a Summer is absolute perfection. Stephanie Barron expertly weaves fact and fiction, crafting a story that is authentically Austen in its elegance, charm, and wit. The characters and setting will enchant you, and the mystery will keep you guessing to the last page. This Regency-set gem is truly a diamond of the first water.”— Mimi Matthews, USA Today bestselling author of The Siren of Sussex



PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | BOOKBUB | GOODREADS

MY REVIEW:

JATYWS is the fourteenth installment in the Jane Austen Mystery Series written by Stephanie Barron. Set during the Sumer of 1816 when Jane’s sudden onset ailments leads to seeking an apothecary’s advice - so off to Chaltenham Spa Jane goes for its curative waters with her sister Cassandra. While there m, the sisters are faced with some difficult boarders who may have a taste for murder.

I really enjoyed the superlative writing and extensive research without distracting and overwhelming the story. As a nurse, I really appreciated the medical historical facts sprinkled throughout the novel - including history about vaccines and also the determination of some physicians blaming the uterus for much of female maladies and discomforts.

Overall, an enjoyable quick read perfect for fans of Jane Austen, who will devour this Historical Regency Murder Mystery read.

Thank you Austen Prose for having me in the tour.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Francine Mathews was born in Binghamton, New York, the last of six girls. She attended Princeton and Stanford Universities, where she studied history, before going on to work as an intelligence analyst at the CIA. She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Since then, she has written twenty-five books, including five novels in the Merry Folger series (Death in the Off-Season, Death in Rough Water, Death in a Mood Indigo, Death in a Cold Hard Light, and Death on Nantucket) as well as the nationally bestselling Being a Jane Austen mystery series, which she writes under the penname, Stephanie Barron. She lives and works in Denver, Colorado.

 

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