historical - No Apology Book Reviews

Interview with Shari J. Ryan (The Girl with the List)

April 24, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Girl with the List by Shari J. Ryan is a powerful story that shows the emotional and physical cruelty of the Nazis. The plot has Rosalie Kaufman and Stefan Selig trying to fight for survival while in the Auschwitz concentration camp. This novel is told from the perspectives of Rosalie and Stefan where chapters alternate back and forth between them and their time in Auschwitz and the times before and early in the …

Interview with Linda Margolin Royal (The Star on the Grave)

April 3, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Star on the Grave by Linda Margolin Royal is a wonderful novel that explains the reasons why Holocaust survivors refused to talk about those horrific days and why some chose to no longer embrace their Jewish heritage, hoping future generations would never know the hatred and antisemitism that they had experienced. The story begins with Rachel Margol, a twenty-year-old nurse in 1968 Sydney who only learns she is Jewish after she becomes engaged …

Interview with Sarah Sundin (Mists over the Channel Islands)

March 27, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Mists over the Channel Islands by Sarah Sundin is another riveting story. All her books seem to educate the readers while presenting a compelling story, relatable heroes in both Ivy and Gerrit and incredibly memorable multifaceted characters. There is danger, suspense, a sweet love story, and family conflicts. The book opens with the German invasion of the Channel Islands. The female lead, Ivy Picot, has her father leaving the family’s medical practice to serve …

Interview with Shana Abé (A Crown of Stars)

March 6, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper A Crown of Stars by Shana Abé is a tale of survival, courage, fate and love. Once readers take the journey with the main character, Rita, on the events leading up to the sinking of the Lusitania, and the events afterwards, the book is hard to put down. The historical importance of this act of war and its aftermath becomes even more powerful since it is told through the eyes of the survivors, so …

Interview with Ellie Curzon (The Lost Orphans and The Lifeboat Orphans)

February 13, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Lost Orphans and The Lifeboat Orphans in The Runaway Evacuees series by Ellie Curzon, the pen name for Catherine Curzon and Helen Barrell, are two books that have touching, heart-warming, and heartbreaking moments, with a tinge of humor. The setting of London during the Nazi blitz of WWII shows how Londoners faced fear, survival, loss, and horror, but also were courageous, kind, brave, and strong. Both books are historical fiction based on the …

Interview with Donna Everhart (Women of a Promiscuous Nature)

January 30, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart is a compelling and fascinating read. This historical fiction sheds light on a lesser-known subject of how women were wrongly imprisoned. There are vivid scenes and compelling characters who fought their injustice with determination. The story was told from multiple points of view: two of the girls, Ruth Foster and Stella Temple, as well as the Superintendent Dorothy Baker. This allows readers to get an understanding …

Review Roundup Winter 2025-2026 – Part 1

January 12, 2026

A roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Winter 2025-2026. Beware of spoilers! Title: 100 Days of Sunlight Author: Abbie Emmons Series: Tessa and Weston #1 This author has a “writing how-to” YouTube channel that I’ve watched a few times, and when I learned she’s published a book with an interesting premise and it was available at my library, I wanted to check it out and see if Emmons can walk the walk or just talk the talk. DNF 19%. …

Interview with S. J. Bennett (The Queen Who Came in from the Cold)

December 5, 2025

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Queen Who Came in from the Cold by S. J. Bennett features Queen Elizabeth II as the protagonist and her private secretary Joan McGraw. Fans of Peter James, who’s latest The Hawk Is Dead, involves the current Queen Camilla and King Charles might also like to read this story. This plot has Queen Elizabeth II and her personal secretary Joan involved with spies, lies, and treachery involving the KGB. The Queen, Prince Philip, …

Interview with Julia Kelly (Evelyne Redfern Mystery series)

November 7, 2025

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Julia Kelly’s new series introduces a new heroine, Evelyne Redfern. She is intelligent, logical, and resilient with a love of reading detective stories. Readers are plunged into WWII where Evelyne ends up as a spy. These novels have secrets and friendships. A Traitor in Whitehall introduces Evelyne by going into her backstory. She was known as the Parisian Orphan after her mother died, and her father was in name only. Now many years later, …

Interview with Catherine Lloyd (Miss Morton and the Missing Heir)

October 24, 2025

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Miss Morton and the Missing Heir by Catherine Lloyd is a great read. The author makes the 1840s Regency/ Victorian era come alive within the compelling mystery and characters. Caroline was the daughter of an earl, but her father gambled away everything, leaving her and her sister at the mercy of relatives. A mother and her son Thomas, the Scuttons, show up and says to Caroline that the son is now claiming that he …