When the Irish Invaded Canada

When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland's Freedom- Christopher Klein
Doublday
Release Date: March 12, 2019

Rating:
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Synopsis: Just over a year after Robert E. Lee relinquished his sword, a band of Union and Confederate veterans dusted off their guns. But these former foes had no intention of reigniting the Civil War. Instead, they fought side by side to undertake one of the most fantastical missions in military history: to seize the British province of Canada and to hold it hostage until the independence of Ireland was secured.

By the time that these invasions--known collectively as the Fenian raids--began in 1866, Ireland had been Britain's unwilling colony for seven hundred years. Thousands of Civil War veterans who had fled to the United States rather than perish in the wake of the Great Hunger still considered themselves Irishmen first, Americans second. With the tacit support of the U.S. government and inspired by a previous generation of successful American revolutionaries, the group that carried out a series of five attacks on Canada--the Fenian Brotherhood--established a state in exile, planned prison breaks, weathered infighting, stockpiled weapons, and assassinated enemies. Defiantly, this motley group, including a one-armed war hero, an English spy infiltrating rebel forces, and a radical who staged his own funeral, managed to seize a piece of Canada--if only for three days.

When the Irish Invaded Canada is the untold tale of a band of fiercely patriotic Irish Americans and their chapter in Ireland's centuries-long fight for independence. Inspiring, lively, and often undeniably comic, this is a story of fighting for what's right in the face of impossible odds.

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An interesting, well-researched book, Klein tells the little known story of Irishmen fighting for Ireland's freedom in America. Plenty of context is provided to understand Irish and English feelings (both politically and personally), culminating in the Great Hunger when millions of Irish died and millions travelled to America to avoid the potato famine. Irishmen fought on both sides of the American Civil War, but many saw this battle as a training ground for a larger, more important, war- the war for Irish freedom from England.

As with any story of a large group of people, political and idealogical differences divided those planning to free Ireland. The focus here, as the title suggests, is the decision by Irish nationalists to hurt England by invading Canada. Three main invasion plans over a few years led to battles, the breaking of neutrality laws, political fighting, and eventually the largest unintended consequence of all: Canada as a separate nation. The political maneuverings were fascinating, with America working secretly (or not) to claim Canada for itself, Irish nationalists trying to hold land hostage to negotiate for Ireland's independence, and individuals searching for glory.

Klein does an excellent job showing the reader how the seemingly ridiculous plan to take Canada by a group of overly optimistic individuals directly influenced the twentieth century Irish rebellions and led to the country we know today. Fascinating and fast-paced, "When the Irish Invaded Canada" is a must read for anyone interested in nineteenth century America and Canada, let alone the evolution of the Irish national movement towards independence.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Boyfriend Experience

The Boyfriend Experience- Carly Phillips & Erika Wilde
CP Publishing
Release Date: March 19, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: He’s the total package.  

Except … 

Eric Miller isn’t looking for a long term relationship. And he definitely isn’t thrilled when a friend signs him up for The Boyfriend Experience app behind his back. It’s not like he has a problem getting women on his own. But when he gets a notification that someone is in need of his . . . services, he’s intrigued enough to check out her profile and can’t resist the sexy, sassy little brunette who only wants him as a decoy for a family event.  

Evie Bennett needs a boyfriend, stat. Someone who can accompany her to her family reunion so she doesn't have to explain that she's been recently dumped. Again. She’s perfectly happy being an independent woman, but what’s a girl to do when her new fake boyfriend starts to feel like the real deal?

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When Eric's friend signs him up for the Boyfriend Experience app without telling him, Eric's first response is to blow it off.  When he gets a notification that someone wants to hire him, he figures he'll tell the lady it was all a mistake and that will be that.  When he meets Evie Bennet for the first time, sparks fly.  Eric has been hurt enough by life to believe avoiding long-term relationships are the best way forward.  Evie has lost her confidence in herself and her judgement  after two bad boyfriends.  But she wants a fake boyfriend for a family weekend so she can avoid the pity and the Boyfriend Experience seems like the perfect deal.  Both people go in with eyes wide open, no expectations, and a set end to the 'relationship'. But when feelings refuse to be suppressed, can they turn this into something real?

The hype (and title) leave you with no doubt about what to expect from hero Eric Miller and Carly Phillips and Erika Wilde deliver: this guy is your new perfect book boyfriend.  Smart, kind, confident, with a wicked sense of humor and ability to roll with the flow, Eric has it all.  He's also well versed in keeping walls around his heart and up front about not doing long term relationships- although he doesn't generally share his reasons.  The instant attraction between them means Eric doesn't even consider telling Evie the truth about not signing up for the app, but dives right in with her idea- into what readers can predict will be quite a ride! 

 I loved how instantly protective and sweet Eric was with Evie and that he wanted her to have a weekend that would build up her self confidence.  Whether it was Evie, his mom, or a complete stranger, Eric wanted to make them feel better about themselves after talking to them. It wasn't a gimmick, or something her felt he had to do as a 'fake' boyfriend, but just a part of his personality.  The differences between Eric's family and Evie's were both intentionally humorous and deeply touching.  And I loved the emotional, poignant, and sweet way Eric remembered his sister Trisha and various times throughout the book.         

The Boyfriend Experience is a short and sweet book with intensely hot chemistry between Eric and Evie that will keep you glued to the page from start to finish.  A book I can definitely see re-visiting whenever I need the book equivalent of a good cuddle, and a must read romance!  

I received an ARC of this book from Booksprout in exchange for an honest review

Escape Artists

The Escape Artists: A Band of Daredevil Pilots and the Greatest Prison Break of the Great War- Neal Bascomb
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: September 18, 2018

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: In the winter trenches and flak-filled skies of World War I, soldiers and pilots alike might avoid death, only to find themselves imprisoned in Germany’s archipelago of POW camps, often in abominable conditions. The most infamous was Holzminden, a land-locked Alcatraz of sorts that housed the most troublesome, escape-prone prisoners. Its commandant was a boorish, hate-filled tyrant named Karl Niemeyer who swore that none should ever leave.

Desperate to break out of “Hellminden” and return to the fight, a group of Allied prisoners led by ace pilot (and former Army sapper) David Gray hatch an elaborate escape plan. Their plot demands a risky feat of engineering as well as a bevy of disguises, forged documents, fake walls, and steely resolve. Once beyond the watch towers and round-the-clock patrols, Gray and almost a dozen of his half-starved fellow prisoners must then make a heroic 150 mile dash through enemy-occupied territory towards free Holland.

Drawing on never-before-seen memoirs and letters, Neal Bascomb brings this narrative to cinematic life, amid the twilight of the British Empire and the darkest, most savage hours of the fight against Germany. At turns tragic, funny, inspirational, and nail-biting suspenseful, this is the little-known story of the biggest POW breakout of the Great War.  

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The Escape Artists tells the true story of a number of prisoners of war during World War I (mostly British pilots) and their attempts to escape German POW camps and into the safety of neutral Holland.  The book is well-written, well-researched, and thrilling from start to finish.  While most people have at least vaguely heard of the Great Escape of World War II (or at least know it was a movie), how many of us know about the POW camps of the first World War?  Did you know that many of the WW II pilots were taught by their first war counterparts?  Pilots who made it back to England helped prepare young men going into the second war by sharing their experiences in the camps and sharing the methods they used- or knew others used- to break out.

Bascomb's descriptions of the early fighter planes are terrifying- the fragility of these early planes meant it was a brave person willing to go up in them.  The POW camps sound like they would drive even the strongest to insanity.  I was surprised to learn how much of the treatment of POWs in the first war was still being negotiated between countries as the war progressed.  The various escape plans designed by the prisoners were often something you would expect out of a movie- from disguises as German officers or women to chutes out of windows to tunnels under the camps, complete with carefully forged papers.  For every failed escape attempt there was a lesson learned, leading to the final success of the POWs who escaped from Holzminden- considered a land-locked Alcatraz where Germans sent the most escape prone prisoners in the belief that it was escape proof.  

The Escape Artists is by turns humorous and tragic, inspirational and full of edge-of-your-seat suspense.  A wonderful and much needed look into this lesser known aspect of World War I.  A riveting, well-written, carefully researched, must read for history buffs!   

Ten Caesars

Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine- Barry Strauss
Simon & Schuster
Release Date: March 5, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Barry Strauss’s Ten Caesars is the story of the Roman Empire from rise to reinvention, from Augustus, who founded the empire, to Constantine, who made it Christian and moved the capital east to Constantinople.

During these centuries Rome gained in splendor and territory, then lost both. The empire reached from modern-day Britain to Iraq, and gradually emperors came not from the old families of the first century but from men born in the provinces, some of whom had never even seen Rome. By the fourth century, the time of Constantine, the Roman Empire had changed so dramatically in geography, ethnicity, religion, and culture that it would have been virtually unrecognizable to Augustus.

In the imperial era Roman women—mothers, wives, mistresses—had substantial influence over the emperors, and Strauss also profiles the most important among them, from Livia, Augustus’s wife, to Helena, Constantine’s mother. But even women in the imperial family faced limits and the emperors often forced them to marry or divorce for purely political reasons.

Rome’s legacy remains today in so many ways, from language, law, and architecture to the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Strauss examines this enduring heritage through the lives of the men who shaped it: Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian and Constantine. Over the ages, they learned to maintain the family business—the government of an empire—by adapting when necessary and always persevering no matter the cost. Ten Caesars is essential history as well as fascinating biography.

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A concise, yet detailed, history of the Roman Empire and its emperors in one book seems like it would be impossible.  Yet in Ten Emperors: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine Barry Strauss manages the feat.  Structuring his book around ten of the most influential of the Roman emperors (Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian, and Constantine) Strauss provides readers with a comprehensible, detailed view of the Roman Empire: its rise, its fall, and everything in between.

Each chapter provides a biography of an emperor, examines the larger world he grew up in, how he came to the throne, and the impacts he had on the empire- whether for better or worse.  Strauss also explores the sources this information comes from and reminds us that many of the more famous stories (like Nero fiddling while Rome burned) were written by people with their own agendas and not a recording of unbiased facts.  Whether today we can believe what is generally "known" about many of these figures is often up for debate and Strauss does not hesitate to say so.

Another excellent highlight of Ten Caesars is Strauss' crediting the powerful women involved in the empire.  Mothers, sisters, and wives of emperors get their due here as influential people- even if women technically played no part in Roman politics.  Strauss is upfront about the idea that Roman society itself often felt threatened by powerful women, and so stories of women poisoning their emperors husbands, fathers, brothers, etc abounded.  The reality probably involved far less poisoning.  Although since women around the emperors were used as pawns to strengthen dynastic alliances, and those alliances often involved the emperors than murdering the men their women married, one can see the temptation.

Although often repetitive, Ten Caesars is well-researched, well written, and maintains a steady pace.  Whether novice or expert on the Roman Empire and its emperors, any reader will enjoy Strauss' Ten Emperors and come away from it with a more detailed understanding of this fascinating and complicated period of history, and the men and women who influenced it.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review