The best part of reading this compilation of short stories was the chance to sample the work of seven wonderful authors and I enjoyed all of the stories very much. The theme of the collection is women taking charge of their lives in the middle of the twentieth century when such a thing was difficult and frowned upon. Each of the protagonists faces situations that seem impossible to get out of but they are not deterred. Many of them are fictionalized versions of true stories of women achievers.

Whether Amelia Earhart and Ruth Nichols who went on to make a name for themselves in avionics as pioneering female pilots or Frances Gleeson Lee whose dioramas for the study of crime are fascinating to read about or the ambitious Abby Taylor who makes her own way in a male dominated 1950s television world, all of these women are not just survivors but true achievers whose stories are inspiring.

I will definitely check out their full length works too.

I've now read all seven stories in this collection, which are stories of women in history, so a few thoughts:

In Amelia's Shadow by Marie Benedict - it's hard to judge a first story when you don't know what's coming up next. I can't say I enjoyed this story about a pilot and her connection to Amelia Earheart.

The June Paintings by Maggie Shipstead - the only story I was initially interested in (beacuse of the author) and one of the ones I enjoyed. A young woman and her relationship with a famous artist - satisfying ending.

The Forgotten Chapter by Pam Jenoff - set in WWII London, perhaps my least favourite story. It felt anachronistic and unbelievable.

Fires to Come by Asha Lemmie - a young, Black girl is adopted into an Italian crime family in NYC. Decent, but too much going on in a short space.

Tune in Tomorrow by Melanie Benjamin - a woman is a pioneer in bringing radio soap operas to TV, but at what cost to her personal life? Comes across as trite, perhaps it would work better expanded into a novel with more space to develop the characters.

Fallen Grace by Sadeeqa Johnson - a young, Black girl escapes a mother and baby home with her newborn. One of the stronger stories with well-developed characters. I've learnt it's a kind of spin-off from a novel so I'll look out for more from the author!

Barriers to Entry by Ariel Lawhon - my favourite of the collection! Can't believe this real-life story of the godmother of forensic science and her "nutshell" crime-scene dioramas was called boring on Goodreads! If you don't read this, I certainly recommend researching Frances Lee!

Overall a fairly average collection with a couple of stand-outs. If you are looking for a quick read and particularly female centered, historical fiction, then these stories might be for you!

I recommend Barriers to Entry, The June Paintings and Fallen Grace.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC.

This is a collection of historical short stories about women overcoming odds that are stacked against them. It took me a while to get into reading this collection of stories because I didn’t care for the first story (Amelia’s Shadow). My favorite stories from the collection were Fallen Grace, Barriers to Entry, and the Forgotten Chapter. Fallen Grace follows a pregnant unwed African American teenager who is the daughter of a pastor. It showcases her strength and determination as she fights against societal norms. By the end of the story, I loved Bubbles and was extremely disappointed in Gertrude. Barriers to Entry showcases a woman who is at the forefront of forensic science. Although Frances is not allowed to enter the field in conventional ways, she finds a way to follow her passion and to get some respect for her hard work and expertise. Forgotten Chapter is about is about the love affair between an orphaned young woman in London and an American soldier. It shows her in present day talking to her daughter as she explains what happened in the past. If you like a good romance story, this one is for you. 4 star stories: Fallen Grace, Barriers to Entry, Forgotten Chapter, Fires to Come. 3 star stories: Amelia's Shadow, June Paintings, Tune in Tomorrow

Some great authors and interesting stories! Unfortunately it left my kindle before I could finish all of them.

This was a series of short-stories from the Amazon Blaze Collection about women being bold and courageous ahead of their time. There are 7 Stories all by authors that are favorites of mine, I encourage anyone to try this collection. It is nice reading one each day. It is also a fantastic way to see if you enjoy the writing style of an author.

Fires to Come was my absolute 5 Star Favorite. It has quite a bit of violence in the story. It involves a young woman who is adopted into a White Catholic Family that also happens to be in the Mafia. This one drew me in and I loved the ending. Definitely, the best short-story I have read.

I also really loved Barriers to Entry, by Ariel Lawhon. I found the story to be fascinating. I loved how perfect models were created of Crime Scenes for Classrooms to figure out how to investigate a crime. This is Forensic Science and a woman started this on her own.

The one selection I did not enjoy was The June Paintings, by Maggie Shipstead. I love this author, but really thought the story of a young woman going on a boat with an older painter was really exploitive and she had to put up with emotional abuse. This one bothered me. I did not see a bold woman, but one almost forced into a path she did not want.

Recommend this collection if you have Amazon Prime or Unlimited, can Read these for Free. Thank you NetGalley for granting me this Series.

I loved "Blaze" by a collection of fabulous authors. Wonderful short and powerful stories. Was just fantastic.

Great stories told by great writers. Well narrated audiobook that is provides an immersive experience which brings the characters to life. I enjoyed the storyline, quality of the writing, and character development. Each story was very well written, emotional, and compelling. I enjoyed the entire series.

enjoyed reading this. Left me wanting more stories from each of the authors. Enjoyed this and can't wait for the authors next books.

I really enjoyed reading these inspiring stories about women from the past and their adventures. My favorite author here is Marie Benedict but I am happy to learn about other historical fiction authors. My favorite story is the final one. "Barriers To Entry" by Ariel Lawhon, about Frances Glessner Lee. Ms. Lee became the mother of forensic science when she created a Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard University and created crime scene dioramas for instructional classes. The story led me to further readings on the dioramas and Ms. Lee. Excellent series! Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for providing an ARC.

A wonderful collection exploring how the human spirit can fight through so much turmoil. Each story allowed the reader to know the personal struggles based on the specific time period. I connected well with each woman through experiences in motherhood, creativity, personal history, and professional growth. My favorites of the collection were The Forgotten Chapter and Barriers to Entry.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to provide my honest review of this collection.

This anthology of short reads is a most fascinating tribute to women and womanhood by award-winning and best-selling authors of historical fiction.

An eclectic collection which boasts of stories about woman who are trailblazers, pioneers, masters, manipulators, and co-conspirators in their undaunted march towards success and finding their rightful place.

Tales of quiet courage, stubborn resolve, dreams big and small which pay the most heartfelt homage to the unsung heroes, the unnamed women pulling the strings and running the show and the ones who dared to change the world.

I really appreciate the Amazon Original stories because not only do they bring together our favourite authors on a common platform, embracing a common theme but also provides an excellent way of exploring the works of renowned authors from our lesser read genres.

Rooted in history, these stories resonate with the trials and tribulations of modern womanhood and is a must have collection for anyone who identifies as a woman.

thank you netgalley and amazon original stories team for the arc <3

i love reading short stories so ofc i had to read this collection !! and ofc i dared myself to read it because i don’t usually enjoy historical fiction books but this was a good one, with incredible women that broke barriers even if the people thought it was wrong to do.

the june paintings by maggie shipstead

i need to start this review saying that fritz fox sucks. i really wasn’t expecting him and june to be part of a “romance” and i wasn’t getting where the book was going but the last 5 pages were worth it. i didn’t see it coming and i need to laugh when i think of it because who would think of doing that?? i’m on team june !

"Blaze" offers a captivating journey through time, highlighting the remarkable stories of women who dared to challenge norms and break barriers. Each short story, penned by esteemed authors, provides a glimpse into the lives of indomitable women who left an enduring impact on history. From aviation pioneers and artists to wartime heroines and trailblazers in science and television, these narratives resonate with courage, resilience, and empowerment.

Marie Benedict's "Amelia's Shadow" delves into the complex friendship between Ruth Nichols and Amelia Earhart, revealing the secrets and dangers faced by determined women in the aviation industry.

Maggie Shipstead's "The June Paintings" transports readers to a remote island, where a young female painter discovers her own identity and strength amidst isolation and inspiration.

Pam Jenoff's "The Forgotten Chapter" portrays a shy bookseller's journey to finding love and courage amidst the chaos of war, showcasing the resilience of the human spirit.

Asha Lemmie's "Fires to Come" explores the struggle of a young woman torn between cultural loyalty and personal aspirations in early twentieth-century New York City.

Melanie Benjamin's "Tune in Tomorrow" offers a glimpse into the ambition and sacrifice of a pioneering woman who revolutionized daytime television in the 1950s.

Sadeqa Johnson's "Fallen Grace" poignantly depicts a single mother's defiance against societal prejudices and family judgment in segregated Virginia.

Ariel Lawhon's "Barriers to Entry" sheds light on the remarkable journey of a woman who defied expectations to become a trailblazer in forensic science.

"Blaze" ignites the imagination with its diverse array of stories, celebrating the strength, resilience, and unwavering spirit of women who dared to defy convention and pave the way for future generations.

Blaze brings a collection of seven short stories set in the 20th century and involves strong female characters who tried to pave their own way by breaking through different barriers including art, science and injustice.

These are fascinating stories. However, some of them quickly turn into romance which didn’t hold my interest.

With personal preference of historical figures, I enjoyed the story of Amelia Earhart and her rival. It was also interesting to learn about Selfridges department-store through Paige’s story.

The stories are certainly written by very talented authors with prose that is enjoyable.

Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blaze collection is all about the strong women. There are seven short stories set in the past in various cities like New York, London and more. The women have different professions ranging from aviator to bookseller but the common thread of brevity and unfulfilled wishes make them alluring enough.

I liked all the seven stories but I loved The Forgotten Chapters and The June Paintings.

The protagonist of The Forgotten Chapters is a bookseller set at the time of the London
blitz. Amid the chaos of war an unforgettable friendship buds but the untimely horrific events of time hover over all. There's a beautiful twist and I am going to read more from the author, Pam Jenoff.

The June Paintings has certain whiff of Pablo Picasso and his muses. The bohemian atmosphere at some obscure villa in a seaside is enchanting. There's art and and erotic interlude but the twist of the tale is the one which is going to stay with me for some times.

I read one story a day and I recommend this collection wholeheartedly. It's available on Amazon Prime Reading from 22nd February. You should not miss it if you love historical fiction with promising young women.

Thanks to @netgalley for this collection.

A great conglomeration of historical fiction short stories by some of my favorite authors. Very good!

I received an advanced reader's copy thru netgalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

I loved it! There's something really great about short stories- and it's a really great way to get a feel for different authors (some of these I'd read before, some on my list TBR, some I'd not heard of before. This was a good mix of actual historical people and historical period. Each story was like an evening reading- and I loved what I'd read so much I preordered the audio version from Audible. The one I was most excited about was the Frances Glesner Lee story, and it did not disappoint!

Ranked from Favorite to least
Barriers to Enty (Lawhon)- Frances Glessner Lee (mother of Forensics )
Amelia's Shadow (Benedict)- Pilot, contemporary of Amelia
Forgotten Chapter (Jenoff)- bookseller/codebreaker
June's Paintings (Shipstead)- artist
Fires to Come (Lemmies)-mob boss
Tune in tomorrow (Benjamin)- soap opera star
Fallen Grace (Johnson) -unwed mother! (the ending was so unsatisfying!)

Unstoppable Women Igniting Change

This fierce collection from New York Times bestselling historical fiction authors sweeps readers back in time with exhilarating short stories of unforgettable female characters. Spanning decades, these indelible women broke through barriers in disparate worlds of art, war, science, love, and injustice and paved the way for other women to follow. Strike a match and blaze a trail.

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BLAZE COLLECTION:
Overall Rating for Blaze Collection: 5⭐Stars

I loved this wonderful collection of short stories about strong and fearless women! The well-written collection with stunning covers and top-named authors draws you in. It also allows you to read/Listen to authors you follow and those you read for the first time. I also grabbed the audiobooks for each as well. I highly recommend this collection with various stories to keep you entertained. 7 Kindle short stories with audio narration. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.


~FALLEN GRACE (favorite)
AUTHOR: Sadeqa Johnson
NARRATOR: Channie Waites
MY RATING: 5⭐Stars

THOUGHTS: I love anything Sadqa writes, and FALLEN GRACE was my favorite of the Blaze Collection! I adored Bubbles, who grew up as the daughter of a Southern Baptist minister in Virginia. She finds herself pregnant, and her parents send her to a home for wayward girls. However, she decides she will keep the baby and escapes, finding herself with more challenges, betrayal, and obstacles. She decides to use her God-given talent of singing and here finds her life amidst hypocrisy. She stands up and uses it to her advantage with courage and grit. You will root for Bubbles to the end.

I loved this one and could have listened to a full-length novel. The narrator, Channie Waites, delivers an outstanding performance for all voices!


~BARRIERS TO ENTRY
AUTHOR: Ariel Lawhon
NARRATOR: Kate Reading
MY RATING: 5⭐Stars

THOUGHTS: Barriers to Entry is a fascinating story of Frances Glessner, a 67-year-old woman in 1945 in a man's world, a new Harvard instructor with six male students. She creates a crime scene diorama and gives them ninety minutes to solve a real-life whodunit murder mystery.

Three-Room Dwelling is still actively used to teach homicide investigation techniques (medical students and police organizations). The outcome of the real investigation is not public knowledge, and the author showcases her theories. She also includes more reading and online resources in the author's note.

A big fan of the author, I enjoyed this one and enjoyed reading about this intelligent woman and her methods of teaching forensic science. I also listened to the audiobook narrated by Kate Reading.


~THE JUNE PAINTINGS
AUTHOR: Maggie Shipstead
NARRATOR: Cassandra Campbell
My Rating: 5⭐Stars

THOUGHTS: I thoroughly enjoyed THE JUNE PAINTINGS, set on a remote island with a young artist, June Tremblay, who takes a summer job with the reclusive famous artist Hiram Lammergeier. Since his son's death ten years earlier, he has become a recluse, private, and produced no work. Split from his wife, the two enter into an affair; however, she breaks the rules and winds up with a painting, money, and a nice twist. This is another fabulous short story about women who take charge and defy all odds. My first book by the author, and I look forward to reading more.

Of course, Cassandra Campbell is a favorite narrator and loved the audiobook. She made the characters come alive in this world of art and intrigue.


~AMELIA'S SHADOW
AUTHOR: Marie Benedict
NARRATOR: Andi Arndt
My Rating: 4⭐Stars

THOUGHTS: AMELIA'S SHADOW is a fictional short story about real women aviators Ruth Nichols and Amelia Earhart and the world's most talented pilots, the Ninety-Nines. From the cockpit to the skies, the first female pilots to cross the Atlantic and the missing Amelia & farewell. A fascinating story of women who made contributions and a difference. I also enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Andi Arndt.


~THE FORGOTTEN CHAPTER
AUTHOR: Pam Jenoff
NARRATOR: Elizabeth Knowelden
MY RATING: 4 ⭐Stars

THOUGHTS: THE FORGOTTEN CHAPTER is a moving story of a young woman, Paige, a bookseller for Mr. Selfridge during the war (London 1943), who meets Danny and falls in love. Tragedy (a bomb) occurs, and years later (2019), she is married and with her daughter, and her engagement ring is delivered (found). From past to present, we learn how this brave woman saved the SIGSALY machine during the flood. I enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden.



~FIRES TO COME
AUTHOR: Asha Lemmie
NARRATOR: Jordon Cobb
MY RATING: 4⭐Stars

THOUGHTS: FIRES TO COME is a gripping story of a young black woman, Carlotta, raised in New York in 1908 by Italian parents (dad Mafia), and she never quite fits in. After her mom passes away and her dad is at death's door, she knows she will have to defend herself from the older brother and outsmart him. No matter the odds, she steps up and takes control. My first book by the author, and I look forward to reading more. I enjoyed the audiobook narrated by the talented Jordon Cobb.



~TUNE IN TOMORROW
AUTHOR: Melanie Benjamin
NARRATOR: Tavia Gilbert
MY RATING: 4⭐Stars

THOUGHTS: A short story of a woman's journey of ambition, drive, and sacrifice in the 1950s featuring the tenacious and determined Abby Taylor, who had a million stories to tell in a male-dominated world.

TUNE IN TOMORROW is loosely inspired by the life of Irna Phillips, known as the "Queen of the Soaps" for her pioneering of the radio serial geared toward women in the 1930s and instrumental in moving this format to daytime TV in 19490 These Are My Children the first soap opera to air on major TV network. A fun story and narrated by Tavia Gilbert, who makes the characters come alive!


Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for ARCS for an honest opinion. Also purchased the audiobooks. Individual reviews to be posted on Goodreads, The Story Graph, Amazon, etc.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Feb 22, 2024
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The layout was initially quite jumbled on my kindle but once I got into it, I didn’t much mind it

My favour story was Fallen grace. Sadeqa Johnson you’ll always be famous. I was rooting for Bubbles so hard 🥹

The forgotten chapter was my second favourite. I love a love story that blooms in the unlikeliest of places. It was beautiful yet heartbreaking.

My least favourites were the June paintings and Tune in tomorrow
The June paintings because the romance threw me off and it felt like it came from nowhere. Tune in tomorrow because there was a particular plot point in the book that I didn’t much care for, can’t exactly ruin it for people who want to read it

Amelia’s shadow read like a love story with Ruth and Amelia, which I wasn’t mad at
Fires to come… I support women’s wrongs
Barriers to entry: I love a good whodunnit

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC

If you know me, you know that Ariel Lawhon is one of my favorite historical authors! I love her work because she writes about real women, who you probably never read about in history class.
Barriers to Entry, the short story about Frances Glessner Lee was fascinating and I loved the fact that you can find & look at the real crime scene diorama online! It made me want to learn more about this woman and how the case in the story was solved! (5 stars)

The other short stories in the Blaze collection were interesting as well, but when I’m reading historical fiction, it’s just a personal preference of mine to read about real people or real events. Maybe I just misunderstood the description of this collection, but I thought it was going to cover real women from history. My favorite stories were Barriers to Entry, Amelia’s Shadow, and The Forgotten Chapter, but I thought they were all well done!

Amelia's Shadow: I really enjoyed this one! I had never heard of ruth Nichols, and her connection to Amelia Earhart was fascinating! (4 stars)

The June Paintings: This one was well written and interesting, but I'd still rather read about a real painter from the 60's! (3 stars)

The Forgotten Chapter: While this story wasn't about a real person either, I found it very sweet. I also loved learning how the famous store, Selfridges, was used in World War 2! (4 stars)

Fires to Come: I thought this story was so unique! I've never read anything like it, and it was very well written! (3 stars)

Tune in Tomorrow: I think this story was my least favorite of the collection. The author kept referencing Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and I think I just would have preferred to read a short story about them! The real pioneers of TV! (2 stars)

Fallen Grace: I felt a little more invested in the main character of this story! I also thought it was very well written and I really liked the ending! (3 stars)

The Blaze collection of short stories is available now and if you’re an Amazon Prime member, it’s free to read and/or listen to!

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the advanced copy!