A Blaze of Glory by Jeff Shaara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third book of this trilogy recently printed, and my husband and I started to read the first book of the trilogy together. This is a historical narrative of the Battle of Shiloh from the viewpoints of both Union and Confederate generals, officers, and infantrymen.
Don enjoyed it better than I did. That is not surprising for he is more familiar with the facts about the battle and the generals. I found myself referring back to the beginnings of the chapters where pictures of flags let me know whose viewpoint from which I was reading. Kudos to Mr. Shaara for his descriptive writing and pacing of the battle scenes. His writing brought me to tears more than once.
I recommend this book to all readers of American history.

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Any Other Name by Craig Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Boy howdy, this is an exciting book. This is the tenth book in the Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson. If you are only watching the A&E tv series, you are missing out on the excellent writing craftsmanship of Craig Johnson who writes excellent dialogue for his characters and paces the story so this reader has to keep reading.

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Blessing in Disguise by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blessing in Disguise is the sixth novel in the Red River of the North series, and I finished reading it in a day. As with most family trees there are so many characters, the author does not have much space to work the updates into the story of Augusta Bjorklund emigrating to North Dakota and ending up in South Dakota.
I recommend the series to all readers who want entertainment with history of Dakotah territory.


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Tender Mercies by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am enjoying the Red River of the North series, and this is the fifth book of the series. This book takes us from September 1887-April 1888. Singer Sewing Machines contribute a lot to this story, as do blizzards, disease, and childbirth.
I recommend it to all readers who enjoy the history of our country as a family saga.



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The Reapers' Song by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the fourth book of Red River of the North series, and I did not expect it to start with the consequences of gun violence. The scene pulled me right into this novel. In the fourth chapter we meet up with the Bjorklund family who are expecting arrivals of more family members from Norway.

Once again I recommend this series to readers who enjoy the history of our country and its pioneers when it is told as a family saga.

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A Land To Call Home by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Land to Call Home is the third novel of the Red River of the North series, and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first two novels.
I expected this novel to be about the story of Hjelmer and Penny. There might not have been enough material to base an entire novel about Penny waiting for Hjelmer to return for he never writes to her to tell her what he is doing and the weekly letters she sends to him never seem to find him. There is the occasional chapter about how a blacksmith might work for the railroad. Penny is farmed out from the Baard household to work for Kaaren Knutson so we are told more about pioneer housework. Kaaren is also expecting the arrival of her sister Solveig from Norway. There are additional characters in this novel who are introduced through quilting bees, the new school, and church services.
I recommend this book and the series to readers who enjoy historical fiction and those who enjoy visits to living history sites and pioneer museums.

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