Estella's Fury

by

Barbara Havelocke

Daughter. Murderer. Saviour.

London, 1835.

To high society, Estella is the perfect lady. But her fair face hides dark secrets what has she done with her husband? And will her past crimes come back to haunt her?

Desperate to escape her troubled life, she visits her friend, Lady Taykall. But when a servant girl disappears, Estella stumbles on a horrifying web of crimes and feels the old fire for vengeance burning inside her.

To mete out her own brand of dark justice she must risk everything.

Even if it means she cannot survive.

REVIEW

After reading Estella's Revenge last year and it being my "book of the year", I was eagerly awaiting the sequel, but equally a bit anxious to see if it lived up to the first book. I wasn't disappointed. Estella's Fury slips back into the life of Miss Havisham's adopted daughter Estella (Great Expectations) and her wicked ways, but only to the people who have done her wrong and that starts with her husband Bentley. Having nearly killed her previously in a ferocious attack, Estella locks him in the attic and keeps him dosed up with laudanum, just enough to keep him alive whilst she deals with others in and around London who are doing wrong by innocent people, mainly the exploitation of children. 

There a lot of twists and turns in this one and the author uses the characters brilliantly to intertwine with each other - I certainly gasped a few times when I found out who a particular character really was! and I was also very pleasantly surprised when the author mentions Walworth (which is in South East London) which is where I come from!

When I started reading this one, I thought perhaps Estella had gone a bit soft and that she was going to go along with being a good wife, but it didn't take long to realise that she will do anything within her power to dispose of anyone who does her wrong... I love her!

There is definitely some unfinished business for Estella, so here's to the next installment and I can't wait!

 PHOENIX RISING

BY

ALBINA DU BOISROUVRAY

I was very honoured to be approached by the Publishers to host an extract for Phoenix Rising by Albina Du Boisrouvray and I am posting an extract below for you.

I am mixed-race, hybrid.
A jumble of geographical, ethnic, social, economic, and cultural contradictions. 15% French and Celtic, 20% Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese), 28% southern European of all sorts, and 21% Native American of southeastern Asian origin. The remaining percentages are divided between sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East: Arab, Jewish, and 1% African — most likely the legacy of an ancestor who was a slave in the sugarcane fields of the Bolivian lowlands.

A paradox. A walking oxymoron.

Luz Mila, my mother, was the youngest child of an extremely wealthy Bolivian family. Slight, short, and fragile, she was a chola (of mixed Quechua and Spanish heritage). She was tan, but she lightened her face by washing it with milk every night. On July 2, 1939, at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in the midst of seizures from pre-eclampsia, she gave birth to a little piece of ethnic patchwork weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces(2.25kg) — me. She even dislocated her shoulder during labour.

Saddled with the first name of my maternal grandmother, Albina Patiño, I landed in this affluent Parisian suburb on the eve of World War II. I embodied two traditions: my father was from the Jacquelot du Boisrouvray Polignac family, the old aristocracy of Brittany and Auvergne. And my mother was a Patiño, from a newly enriched family that was part Quechua and had risen from poverty.

I stayed in an incubator for one whole week. My mother couldn’t produce any milk and when I obstinately refused powdered formula, the hospital provided milk from an anonymous wet nurse from Levallois, to whom I am infinitely grateful. At the end of July, a certified British nanny who had raised almost all the grandchildren of the Patiño tribe arrived. Miss Eva Rust, whom we called “Nursie,” was the daughter of a Protestant minister. Tall with greying hair, she resembled a police officer in her dark blue uniform. She was solid and reliable, and, while somewhat prudish and harsh, she had an enchanting imagination.

Taken by my mother to her parents’ house at 32 Avenue Foch, a Bolivian enclave within Paris, and I was immediately stored on the top floor to spare the family my piercing cries. One afternoon, Marie-Louise Parent, my mother’s gentle and distinguished maid, heard my howls from afar and found me alone under the eaves. I was purple with rage, blue with cold, and had no blanket. “I warmed you up and comforted you,” she told me later. Though I lacked maternal tenderness, I was still born with a tin spoon in my mouth.

Tin. Several decades before, this metal had sealed the fate of my grandfather, Simon Patiño, before he became the dictatorial patriarch I knew. He was born in 1860 to an unknown father, just like his two half-brothers. A Quechua cholo from Cochabamba province (altitude: 8,900 feet), Simon was an orphan working in the mines by age sixteen. My great-grandmother Mali had run a café on a dirt road in the main square of Carrassa, a poor village in the Andes. She served chicha, a local beer made of corn. When their mother died, Simon took his half-brother Ernesto, who was only ten, to work in the tin mines at an altitude of 15,000 feet. After working in the mine, Simon was then hired at a store selling prospecting tools. Through luck and ingenuity, this adventurous young man discovered a deposit that would become the most gigantic tin mine in the world. Locate above Oruro, it was almost at surface level, at an altitude of 16,400 feet. In the early days, my grandmother Albina, escorted by llamas, would transport chunks of ore on the back of a mule when she went to borrow money from the bank in Oruro, her small hometown.

 The Whispering Muse

by

Laura Purcell

Be careful what you wish for... it may just come true.

At The Mercury Theatre in London's West End, rumours are circulating of a curse.

It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees.

What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in nature. On stage, it's as though Lilith is possessed by the characters she plays, yet off stage she is as tragic as the Muse who inspires her, and Jenny, sorry for her, befriends the troubled actress. But when strange events begin to take place around the theatre, Jenny wonders if the rumours are true, and fears that when the Muse comes calling for payment, the cost will be too high.

REVIEW

Jenny finds herself desperate for money when her brother disappears leaving the family destitute and when Mrs Dyer, the owner of the theatre where her brother worked approaches her to work at the theatre as a dresser for the new leading actress Lilith, Jenny jumps at the chance to help her family, but little does Jenny know that Mrs Dyer has an ulterior motive for wanting her to work closely with Lilith.

Lilith is a diva in the true sense of the word and wants to be the star of the Mercury theatre at whatever cost and when her lover (who happens to be Mrs Dyer's husband) gives her a watch that is supposed to contain a muse called Melpomene, she thinks that as long as she has the watch in her possession, nothing can harm her and that she will have the world at her feet. 

Lilith may think that the watch will bring her good luck, but every time there is a tragedy in the theatre, the watch has been there. Jenny wants to get the watch off Lilith, but in doing so, would she be passing the bad luck on to her and her family...

There was a good mix of characters in this book. I liked Jenny because she was no pushover with Lilith and stood her ground, it was the authors fabulous writing of the character of Lilith that made me feel a whole range of emotions towards her, from disliking her to actually feeling sorry for her. 

This is the second book I have read of this authors and can't wait to read more. Would thoroughly recommend to lovers of gothic historical fiction. 

 The Corset

by

Laura Purcell

Is prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain?

Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor and awaiting trial for murder.

When Dorothea's charitable work leads her to Oakgate Prison, she finds herself drawn to Ruth, a teenage seamstress - and self-confessed murderess - who nurses a dark and uncanny secret. A secret that is leading her straight to the gallows. As Ruth reveals her disturbing past to Dorothea, the fates of these two women entwine, and with every revelation, a new layer of doubt is cast...

Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?

REVIEW

Ruth and Dorothea come from completely different walks of life. Dorothea is rich and spends her time doing charity work which includes visiting and talking to prisoners awaiting the death sentence. 

Ruth was bullied when she was at school and her saving grace was when she went home and helped her mother with sewing beautiful gloves for the rich, but when her father dies and her mother becomes destitute, Ruth is sent to Metyards, a dressmakers, who her mother worked for previously. Ruth is treated so badly there, as were other girls, that she thinks she would have been better off in the debtor's jail, but she believes her sewing has magical powers and this will help her to get revenge on the Metyard family.

The corset that Ruth makes for Kate Metyard for her wedding is superb, but Ruth is convinced that it's power will kill Kate off. Is this why Ruth is in prison and having visits from Dorothea?

This is a great gothic thriller which keeps you guessing until the very last page. I really enjoyed this book. It was the first I have read by this author, but I have now started reading The Whispering Muse as I love her writing. 

Would thoroughly recommend to lovers of dark, gothic stories.

 The Household

by

Stacey Halls

1847, Shepherds Bush. Charles Dickens' home for fallen women is about to open its doors. Part refuge, part reformatory, the house and its location are top secret. Among it first inmates are Martha, arrived from a shelter for prostitutes, and Josephine, a convicted thief. But faced with the chance to redeem themselves, how badly do they want it?

Across town, in her Piccadilly mansion, Dickens' friend, the millionaire Angela Burdett Coutts, receives news that turns her orderly world upside down. Her stalker has been freed from prison, and she knows it's only a matter of time before their nightmarish game resumes once more.

As the women's worlds collide in ways they could never have expected, they will discover that freedom always comes at a price . . .

REVIEW

When Josephine is released from prison, she has been given the chance to go to Urania Cottage on the outskirts of London (Shepherd's Bush) which has been funded by the writer Charles Dickens and aristocrat Angela Burdett Coutts. It is supposed to help "fallen women" to become literate, to be good at keeping house etc for them eventually to be shipped overseas to start a new life. 

Martha is also there having been a prostitute and settles in quickly. Having shelter, food three times a day and warmth is much better than what she was used to and having a matron at the house to oversee things, it does seem as though Martha has landed on her feet and life will be easier from now on, but little does she know that Angela, as friendly as she is to the women at the refuge, has a stalker who will go to any lengths to get to her, even if it means tricking his way in to Urania Cottage.

Although the characters are fictional in this book, Urania Cottage did actually exist and was run by Charles Dickens and Angela Burdett Coutts. There was a great mix of characters and thoroughly researched by the author. There was also a mention of the Lying In Hospital in Waterloo (where I was born!). I do love a twist in a story and this had a great one! It also made me cry and gasp out loud a couple of times, which I feel is brilliant writing. 

Loved it and can't wait for this author's next one as I have read all her books. 

 Before Dorothy

by

Hazel Gaynor

Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own unforgettable adventure much closer to home…

When news reaches Kansas that her beloved sister has tragically died, Emily Gale must become a mother overnight. Her sister’s orphaned child, Dorothy, desperately needs a home.

But Emily doubts her ability to fill her sister’s shoes; her life on the barren Kansas prairies is no place for a child.

On the unforgiving plains, Emily's courage is endlessly tested. The prolonged drought and relentless dust storms threaten to destroy everything – including her home and her marriage.

Can Emily overcome her grief and let Dorothy heal her heart?

REVIEW

This story is based on the characters from The Wizard of Oz, but mainly about Dorothy's Auntie Em. She marries a lovely man called Henry and they buy land in Kansas to farm wheat. All seems to be going very well with plentiful crops until the rains never came, but plenty of tornados and winds like you could never imagine. 

Emily's (Auntie Em) sister Annie and her husband John are tragically killed in their home town of Chicago and in Annie's will she states that she wants Emily to be the guardian to her daughter Dorothy. 

When Emily brings Dorothy back to the farm in Kansas she is unsure how she is going to bring her up when there are no crops and therefore no money coming in. Dorothy is having weird nightmares (you can guess what about!) and also sleepwalks, therefore Uncle Henry brings home a dog to help protect Dorothy at night and to keep her company. Of course, Dorothy names him Toto.

The author very cleverly introduces characters that you just know are based on people in the book i.e. Wicked Witch of the West, The Good Witch etc and Dorothy has toys such as a furry lion and a tin man in a small box that was made by Emily's father when she was a child. 

I am a huge fan of this author and so couldn't wait to read this one and it didn't disappoint. The attention to detail to the characters and the research was superb. 

A real page turner from beginning to end which left me very emotional (yes I had a cry!)

Rosie's Dilemma

by

Jennie Felton

When war is declared in September 1939, Rosie Mitchell reluctantly returns from London to the Somerset mining town of Hillsbridge to be with her widowed mother. She had fled to the city some years earlier to escape the heartache and shame of a disastrous end to her relationship with the man she has always loved, and still does. Now she will once more be brought face to face with him, and with her rival and childhood friend, Anne Hastings.

Back in her hometown, there is no avoiding the attentions of Julian Edgell, the charming doctor who had broken her heart. But another man too comes into her life. A man she finds very attractive, but who will disclose nothing about himself. Can she trust either of them? Or will her heart be broken all over again?

Rosie's dilemma unfolds against the backdrop of war with all its hardship, danger, heroism and sacrifice. as well as the anxiety for loved ones which no-one, be they ordinary working folk or local aristocracy, can escape.

REVIEW

Rosie and Freda have moved from the Somerset village of Hillsbridge to Bermondsey in South East London, but when war breaks out in 1939 Rosie's feels it's time to go home to be with her widowed mother Winnie, but she feels torn about returning as she left to get over a romance with aristocrat Julian Edgell, who was the boyfriend of her once best friend Anne Hastings. 

Frances Hastings (Anne's mother) owns the grand house in Hillsbridge and Winnie works for her and when war is declared Frances takes it upon herself to be the leader of the local WVS (Women's Voluntary Service) and is trying to enrol all the ladies of the village (including Winnie). She also takes on an evacuee called Billy, who she may live to regret taking under her wing!

Freda decides to leave London also and joins the Land Army and is lucky enough to be sent to a farm not far from Hillsbridge and as soon as she arrives, she knows that this was the right decision for her and the farmer isn't bad looking either!

When Rosie is at Waterloo train station waiting for her train back to Somerset, she is accosted by some boys and a dashing Army Officer Clarke intervenes and fends them off and ends up being on the same train and so keeps Rosie company until they get to their destination. 

After a while there is a dance that is organised by Frances Hastings in the village and Clarke decides it is time he met up with Rosie again as he had taken quite a shine to her, but were Rosie's feelings mutual?

Rosie decides she quite likes the dashing Irishman and she goes to the dance with him and so starts a romance between them, but Rosie can't seem to forget Julian, so will this come between her and Clarke?

Rosie throws herself into the war effort and becomes an ambulance driver and also learns nursing skills where these are put to good use on a "secret" mission to France when Clarke asks her to accompany him to try to bring a family back to England who were in extreme danger from the Germans, little did Rosie realise how close to home this mission would be.

This was such a great story and even though this is one of the longest books I think I have read, it captured me from beginning to end. It had a great mix of characters (some I didn't like at all!) and even Rosie had me shaking my head sometimes because I just wanted her to come to her senses sooner rather than later!

This is another great read by the author and I have read nearly all of her books. Thoroughly researched with great detail of the war effort and characters that you will love, hate and everything in between!

Can't wait for the next one...