“Desert Beloved” by Gin Coleman

Princess Adara al-Az’im is determined to be the sheikh of her desert kingdom. She can ride horses and wield a scimitar as well as any of the men. But daughters of sheikhs don’t get to rule. Her parents believe Adara should wed her childhood friend, Jabari, the son of their family’s biggest ally. But Adara loves Jabari only as a brother. She is vehemently against marrying. Then Casey Bender walks into her world. The American pilot, bomber, and horse rancher is simultaneously irritating and intriguing.

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“The Frenchman’s Table” by Julie Lomax

In The Frenchman’s Table, Julie Lomax tells stories whose outlines are familiar.  We know about concentration camps, the bombing of Europe, the occupation of France, the overrunning of Austria and Poland.  We know that there was a Resistance movement, made up of men and women, many of whom gave their lives to stop or thwart the Nazis.  Here, a table made by a French father and son records the comings and goings of people who are smuggled out of occupied territory and are passed along toward safety.  Dates and initials are carved into the underside of the table as a means of remembering those who’ve found a temporary haven in the house of the Frenchman’s son, Yves.  He is a member of the Resistance, and his wife Paula is more than willing to help shelter those who are on the run.

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“Two Spies in Time” by Suzy Ryan

I love early American history fiction stories and time travel adventures. So of course, Two Spies in Time by Suzy Ryan caught my eye just by its title. The story begins in the British province of Kansas in 1980. Yes, I did say British province! In this world, the red coats won the Revolutionary War! HH (Helen), a middle school teacher, is getting ready to go to the airport and catch her British Airways flight to New York, where she will meet her students for her school field trip tour of the city. HH has never been away from Kansas and is beyond excited. But as she dozes off during her flight, a young, handsome officer appears to her in a dream that will change the trajectory of her trip, and maybe history.

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