All Blood Runs Red: the legendary life of Eugene Bullard-boxer, pilot, soldier, spy by Phil Keith with Tom Clavin

All Blood Runs Red: the legendary life of Eugene Bullard-boxer, pilot, soldier, spy by Phil Keith with Tom Clavin
352 pages

"Eugene Bullard lived one of the most fascinating lives of the twentieth century. The son of a former slave and an indigenous Creek woman, Bullard fled home at the age of eleven to escape the racial hostility of his Georgia community. When his journey led him to Europe, he garnered worldwide fame as a boxer, and later as the first African American fighter pilot in history.

"After the war, Bullard returned to Paris a celebrated hero. But little did he know the dramatic, globe-spanning arc of his life had just begun.

"All Blood Runs Red is the inspiring untold story of an American hero, a thought-provoking chronicle of the twentieth century and a portrait of a man who came from nothing and by his own courage, determination, gumption, intelligence and luck forged a legendary life."  --from the publisher

What an amazing person! I'd like to have half his adventurous spirit. The authors do a great job relating his story and putting it in context of world events. I give it four out of five stars.

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
(Bess Crawford #1)
336 pages / 9 hrs, 49 mins

"A Duty to the Dead introduces readers to an unforgettable new protagonist...Bess Crawford, a courageous World War I nurse and determined investigator. Once again the New York Times bestselling author brilliantly evokes post-Great War Europe, casting an indomitable heroine into a simmering cauldron of village secrets, family intrigues, and murder."  --from the publisher

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale.  It is well written with unique characters so that I had no trouble keeping the large cast straight as I read.  And Bess Crawford is such an everyday protagonist that it was easy to relate to her.  I gave it 4.5 stars out of 5.

American Duchess by Karen Harper

American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt by Karen Harper --- 357 pages, including About the Author, Behind the Book, and Reading Group Guide.

"Bestselling historical fiction author Karen Harper turns her attention to the tale of American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, and her 'Wedding of the Century' to the 9th Duke of Marlborough. Although mostly forgotten now, Consuelo was the "Princess Diana" of the Gilded Age. One of several American "Dollar Brides," bartered by their ambitious, wealthy families to debt-ridden English aristocrats in exchange for an ancient title, Consuelo was coerced into marriage to a man she hardly knew by her domineering mother when she was just 18 years old.

The Vanderbilt fortune bought Consuelo a title she never wanted and a husband who either ignored or criticized her every action. Once she had satisfied her other primary duty by providing the Duke with two sons --- "an heir and a spare" ---- she and her husband lived separate lives: she inhabiting the London mansion built with her father's money, and busying herself with her numerous charities; while the Duke lived at Blenheim Palace, his primary estate, with his American mistress, and devoted his energies to restoring Blenheim and currying favor with the royal family.   

After ten years of a loveless marriage and thirteen years of separation, Consuelo finally found the courage to begin the arduous process of divorcing her husband to marry the handsome French aviator who had been patiently waiting for her. But the new and happy life that they made for themselves in France was soon threatened by the Nazi's blitzkrieg invasion and occupation during World War II. 

A fictional interpretation of a woman searching for meaning during a period of enormous social change and the upheaval of two world wars.

Click HERE to listen to an interview with the author of American Duchess.

Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read the review from Fresh Fiction.com

Click HERE to read the review from the New York Journal of Books.