Maiden Behind the Mask by Tara Chevrestt

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review. This in no way affected my opinions.

A short, but gripping story of a fabulous sword wielding female Zorro!

After almost being assaulted one day, Catalina vows never to be a damsel in distress again. Not only that, but she will help other women from being victims. She learns to sword fight in secret, and finally has the opportunity to put her plan into action... at her engagement party. Donning men's attire, and a mask, Catalina assumes the identity of El Capitan. Catalina is successful as her alter ego for a while, but soon finds it hard to keep her identity a secret from her new husband.

One of my favorite historical interests are women pirates, but I'm pretty much interested in any story that has a women wielding a sword and assuming the protective role that has mostly been associated with men. So, I knew that I would like this story. The sword fighting was, of course, my favorite parts, and it was told in great description.

I loved the setting, characters, and the blow-by-blow of the action scenes. A fantastic, quick, and creative read that will satisfy anyone looking for something different.

Book Trailer for The Distant Hours

The trailer for Kate Morton's newest novel The Distant Hours has popped up and it is very intriguing!



Link

Synopsis:

It started with a letter. A letter that had been lost for a long time, waiting out half a century, stifling summer after cooling winter, in a forgotten postal bag in the dim attic of a nondescript house in Bermondsey…

Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives one Sunday afternoon with the return address of Millderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect that her mother’s emotional distance masks an old secret.

Evacuated from London as a twelve year old girl, Edie’s mother is chosen by the mysterious Juniper Blythe, and taken to live at Millderhurst Castle with the Blythe family: Juniper, her twin sisters and their father, Raymond, author of the 1920s children’s classic, The True History of the Mud Man. In the grand and glorious Millderhurst Castle, a new world opens up for Edie’s mother. She discovers the joys of books and fantasy and writing, but also, ultimately, the dangers.

Fifty years later, as Edie chases the answers to her mother’s riddle, she, too, is drawn to Millderhurst Castle and the eccentric sisters Blythe. Old ladies now, the three still live together, the twins nursing Juniper, whose abandonment by her fiancé in 1941 plunged her into madness.

Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother’s past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Millderhurst Castle, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. For the truth of what happened in the distant hours has been waiting a long time for someone to find it...

The anticipation is killing me! I can not wait until November!