Friday, October 25, 2019

Book Review: The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul

Hi all,

I’ve been reading a great many books about the Romanovs, some non-fiction and some fiction – so believe me when I say that this historical fiction novel about what might have happened to one of the daughters – Maria – is excellent. Here is more about this novel and my review.


The Lost Daughter


Gill Paul


Book Description:

1918: Pretty, vivacious Grand Duchess Maria Romanov, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the fallen Tsar Nicholas II, lives with her family in suffocating isolation, a far cry from their once-glittering royal household. Her days are a combination of endless boredom and paralyzing fear; her only respite are clandestine flirtations with a few of the guards imprisoning the family—never realizing her innocent actions could mean the difference between life and death

1973: When Val Doyle hears her father’s end-of-life confession, “I didn’t want to kill her,” she’s stunned. So, she begins a search for the truth—about his words and her past. The clues she discovers are baffling—a jewel-encrusted box that won’t open and a camera with its film intact. What she finds out pulls Val into one of the world’s greatest mysteries—what truly happened to the Grand Duchess Maria?



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My 5-Star Review:

The Romanov family never expected what would happen to them until up to the very last minute. History proves that to be true. So as the Tsar and Tsarina and their daughters and son waited under house arrest, they had no idea what was to be their fate. Maria, with her vivacious personality made friends with her captors, often spending time with the guards and getting to know them. But then when the family’s tragedy occurred, she wasn’t ready for what was to come.

Without giving away the story – I’ll just say that decades later, a women discovers her father’s past is nothing like she’d been told. With a few clues to guide her, she researches his past – and what she finds is extraordinary. And what we learn may have happened to the Grand Duchess Maria is also shocking.

This is a well-crafted tale that you truly do not want to put down. I was enthralled by the history woven with the fictional story, and one could believe that it may have happened this way. A wonderful story that historical fiction readers are sure to enjoy.


About the Author:

Gill Paul's historical novels have reached the top of the USA Today, Toronto Globe & Mail and kindle charts, and been translated into twenty languages. They include two bestselling Romanov novels -THE SECRET WIFE and THE LOST DAUGHTER - as well as WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST, which was shortlisted for the 2013 RNA Epic Novel of the Year award, NO PLACE FOR A LADY, shortlisted for a Love Stories award, and ANOTHER WOMAN'S HUSBAND, about links between Wallis Simpson and Princess Diana.

Gill also writes historical non-fiction, including A HISTORY OF MEDICINE IN 50 OBJECTS, and she speaks at libraries and literary festivals on subjects ranging from the Titanic to the Romanovs.


Gill lives in London, where she is working on her tenth novel, and she swims daily in an outdoor pond.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Chasing Bailey Release Day!

Release Day!

I'm so excited to share that it's Release Day for my new romance CHASING BAILEY! 
CHASING BAILEY is the third book in The Lake Harriet Series, but can be read as a stand-alone novel as well. Grab it now on Amazon in Kindle or Paperback formats. 


Chasing Bailey (A Lake Harriet Novel)


First we met Kristen and Ryan in Walking Sam. Then we met Mallory and James in As the Snow Fell. Now, we'll meet two more residents of the Lake Harriet neighborhood and a wiley dog named Bailey in the sweet romance, Chasing Bailey.

Book Description:

A Lake Harriet Novel

In the charming Lake Harriet neighborhood where we first met Kristen, Ryan, and their dog Sam in Walking Sam, two people are struggling to put their lives back together with the help of a rambunctious dog named Bailey.

Lisa Evan’s life has been in turmoil since her husband, Andrew, left her nine months earlier. With two-year-old Abby to care for and a new full-time job as a school nurse, she’s just trying to keep her head above water both emotionally and financially. It didn’t help that her ex-husband gifted a rambunctious puppy to Abby for her second birthday. But Abby instantly fell in love with Bailey, so Lisa didn’t have the heart to say no. Even though Lisa’s quiet neighborhood is a great place for kids and dogs, there’s one neighbor who isn’t thrilled about Bailey—the hermit across the street. And try as she might, Lisa can’t keep the dog from digging his way out of the yard and running to the hermit’s house. But after one particularly nasty clash with the hermit, Lisa discovers that maybe the man across the street isn’t as terrible as she’d once thought.

Avery McKinnon moved to the quiet neighborhood to hide out after an extremely nasty divorce. In one year his entire world has fallen apart. His wife left him, he lost his house, and his novels are no longer selling as well as they used to, taking a bite out of his income. He’s bitter and angry and the last thing he wants is to become chummy with all the annoyingly happy people in his neighborhood. When the puppy across the street keeps running over to his house and digging up his yard, Avery explodes. Can’t that annoying woman across the street control a puppy? But when he finally sees Lisa for who she is, he realizes that maybe he’s been angry long enough. Maybe it was time to let someone back into his life. And then her ex-husband comes back into the picture and ruins everything.

Contemporary Romance
Sweet Romance



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Audiobook coming soon.