Thursday 31 October 2019

A Wedding in December
by
Sarah Morgan
REVIEW
by
JULIE WILLIAMS

**PAPERBACK PUBLICATION DAY**
Congratulations to Sarah Morgan on what looks like a fabulous winter read. I know Julie Williams loves reading this authors books, so I am delighted to share her review on paperback publication day for you.

REVIEW
This lovely Christmas story is set in the picturesque resort Aspen, Colorado in the USA. Surrounded by gorgeous snow filled mountains and forests this book really does set the scene for a perfect Christmas. The characters are wholesome and warm but os course there are a few bumps along the way for some of them.
The White family always look forward to celebrating Christmas together in their family home Honeysuckle Cottage in Oxford but when the youngest daughter, Rosie announces out of the blue that she is getting married in Aspen, plans have to be quickly rearranged.
Rosie is an impulsive, lovely girl and after meeting Dan only a few months previously alarm bells ring for her sister Doctor Katie and her parents that she is making a mistake.
On arrival sparks fly but they can all see that Rosie is madly in love this does not however stop the questions so falling outs are inevitable. Surprises are abundant for all the family members as this delightful tale evolves, there are also laughter as well as tears moments.
The location is dreamy, a true winter wonderland in which to hold a Christmas wedding, just wish I had an invite!
My thanks to Net Galley for the digital ARC and to Julie for allowing me to review this book on her blog as she knows I am addicted to Sarah Morgan’s books.

To order a copy of A Wedding in December on Amazon click here



Wednesday 30 October 2019

The Secrets of Ironbridge
by
Mollie Walton

** COVER REVEAL **


I am delighted to bring you the cover for the second instalment in the Ironbridge series, The Secrets of Ironbridge.

I read the first one in this series and it was fabulous, so am eagerly awaiting this one!

What a gorgeous cover it is and if you are a saga lover and haven't read The Daughters of Ironbridge, what are you waiting for?...

Blurb
1850s Shropshire.

Returning to her mother's birthplace at the age of eighteen, Beatrice Ashford encounters a complex family she barely knows. Her great-grandmother Queenie adores her, but Beatrice's family's privileged social position as masters of the local brickworks begins to make her uncomfortable.  

And then she meets Owen Malone: handsome, different, refreshing - and from a class beneath her own. They fall for each other fast, but an old family feud and growing industrial unrest threatens to drive them apart.

Can they overcome their different backgrounds? And can Beatrice make amends for her family's past?
 
The Secrets of Ironbridge is available to pre-order now. #secretsofironbridge
@rebeccamascull
@ZaffreBooks

Friday 25 October 2019

The Familiars
by
Stacey Halls
REVIEW

Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. But as the mistress at Gawthorpe Hall, she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. When Fleetwood finds a letter she isn't supposed to read from the doctor who delivered her third stillbirth, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not survive another pregnancy.Then she crosses paths by chance with Alice Gray, a young midwife. Alice promises to help her give birth to a healthy baby, and to prove the physician wrong.

As Alice is drawn into the witchcraft accusations that are sweeping the north-west, Fleetwood risks everything by trying to help her. But is there more to Alice than meets the eye?

Soon the two women's lives will become inextricably bound together as the legendary trial at Lancaster approaches, and Fleetwood's stomach continues to grow. Time is running out, and both their lives are at stake.

Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.



REVIEW
I have to thank my son for badgering me to read this book! I do love historical fiction and this one has really left me wanting more!


Fleetwood is a young bride who is desperate for a child of her own, but as she keeps miscarrying, she is becoming increasingly despondent and will go to any lengths to get help to carry a child full term. Even if it means employing a local "midwife" (Alice) who promises to help Fleetwood have a baby with the help of herbs and local remedies.


Fleetwood's husband Richard is very influential within the community and doesn't want to be embarrassed in any way and will do whatever it takes to have an heir to his estate.


Anybody who is interested in history or witches will have heard of the Pendle Witches and I am no exception. This was my first read when I went on holiday to Cyprus in October and I devoured it in a couple of days.


I'm not going to give any spoilers or go into too much detail, but this is a super read and now I know that the authors next novel is called The Foundling, I am so excited and eagerly awaiting this one.


The Foundling Museum in central London is absolutely fascinating, but also very upsetting knowing that children and babies were often left on the doorstep with "tokens" from their parents for the children to remember them by when they were older.


To order a copy of The Familiars on Amazon click here


Tuesday 22 October 2019

Keeper of Secrets
by
Lynda Stacey
PUBLICATION DAY!


Congratulations to Lynda Stacey on the publication day for her new novel Keeper of Secrets. I wish her every success with this one as I know it means a lot to her as it is based in her home town and you can read my review below. Thank you so much to the author for contacting me and asking me to review this fab book.

Blurb
For as long as Cassie Hunt can remember her Aunt Aggie has spoken about the forgotten world that exists just below their feet, in the tunnels and catacombs of the Sand House. The story is what inspired Cassie to become an archaeologist.
But Aggie has a secret that she’s buried as deep as the tunnels and when excavation work begins on the site, Cassie is the only one who can help her keep it. With the assistance of her old university friend, Noah Flanagan, she puts into action a plan to honour Aggie’s wishes.
It seems the deeper Noah and Cassie dig, the more shocking the secrets uncovered – and danger is never far away, both above and below the ground …

Review
As a child, Cassie Hunt is bullied so badly because her so called friends at school thinks her dad is a crook, but the more she tries to defend his honour, the worse the bullying gets. So she decided to make her future more prosperous by doing something she has wanted to do all her life and that is to become an archaeologist. 

Cassie and her sister have to live with their aunt Aggie when they are growing up as their dear mother dies, so their aunt becomes like a second mum to them and Cassie particularly, becomes very close to her.

Whilst working in Herculaneum, Italy, on an excavation site, Cassie is called home to the devastating news that Aggie is very poorly with terminal cancer. 

Whilst visiting her aunt in hospital Cassie hears her aunt give a confession regarding some local tunnels and a secret that she doesn't want to take to her grave with her. She asked Cassie to go to the tunnels and do one last thing for her, before it's too late...

This is a real page turner with a few twists and turns along the way! And what makes it more interesting is that the tunnels are real, so it makes you wonder what else has happened down those dark places in the past.

Obviously, the author knows a great deal about the tunnels and has researched extensively, which makes this a cracker of a read and one that I hope is very successful for the author as I know it means a lot to her. 

Thank you so much Lynda for asking me to read and review this book and to be able to give my review on publication day is a real pleasure.

Below are some photos that the author has kindly agreed for me to show you of the area where the tunnels are. Looks absolutely fascinating.





To order a copy of Keeper of Secrets on Amazon please click here