#Blogtour The Shareg by A. G. Rivett

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Shareg by A.G. Rivett. This is the third part of The Isle of Fincara Trilogy, published by Pantolwen Press: Publication Day 16 October 2026. Tour courtesy of Zooloo's Book Tours.

About the Author

Ceredigion author A G Rivett claims to have lived several lives in the course of his one life. Born in London, raised in the Home Counties, he has been a doctor, a priest, and a crofter in the Scottish Highlands. 

He has lived in rural Northern Nigeria and knows what a simpler life looks like, less dependent on technology. He now lives in West Wales with his wife, Gillian Paschkes-Bell, who works with him as a writing team. There, he grows fruit and vegetables and has sewn a wildflower meadow. He has three daughters and two grandsons. Connect with the author via agrivett.com

About the book

A world like eleventh-century Britain; an island like the Western Isles. Caerpadraig is the only town with a woman for their priest. And there lives time-traveller, John Finlay, whom the Islanders call Dhion. 

The town’s headman—the shareg—feels his age and must stand down. The contest to replace him is intense and even the foreigner, Dhion, is drawn in. Meanwhile, the Archpriest’s men are on the move, emissaries of a missionary push to replace longstanding Island traditions. As the new shareg is chosen, two of them appear, the first signs of the conflict that will change everything. 

Bookended by a body washed up on a beach and a glass of whisky on the Inverness train, the world of Caerpadraig comes alive with characters who dance to a different drum. 

Review

Without going into the details of the ending, I think it is what one would call a full circle moment. In a sense it puts forward the thought of purpose. Do we have - and I do think we do - a purpose to fulfill in our time. Not always one of great moments in history, because the majority of us come and go without great impact on the world. The prefice rather being that every person creates a set of connections and leaves an impact, regardless of whether negative or positive, and these ripples of connections are important in ways most people never comprehend.

Such is the story of Dhion, which begs the question - in this speculative tale - that perhaps his appearance was always meant to be. Was always his destiny, and he was always supposed to create ripples and share knowledge, and in doing so moving civilisation forward and leaving a mark upon the people around him.

It's a poetic and spritual ending to the trilogy. Taking each book, pathway and crossroads into consideration. From the new beginning, the birth of Dhion and his story culminating in a set of circumstances that protect his new people and family. Saving those who saved him. His purpose.

I think, after reading all three books, that they are the kind of reads that let you reflect on the depth in retrospect. Beyond the details of the surface information.

Buy The Shareg at Amazon Uk. Publisher: Pantolwen Press, publication date 16 Oct. 2026.

#Blogtour They Can't Burn Us All by Cathryn Kemp

From the award-winning author of  A Poisoner's Tale comes a powerful and moving examination of witchcraft in 17th century Iceland. They Can't Burn Us All by Cathryn Kemp. Published13th August 2026 by Bantam Books. Blogtour courtesy of Random Things Tours.

About the Author

Cathryn Kemp is an award-winning, bestselling author and ghostwriter of celebrity, true crime, addiction and nostalgia titles. Her personal memoir Coming Clean won the Big Red Read Prize for Non-Fiction.

Her debut novel, A Poisoner’s Tale won the Historical Writers Association’s Debut Crown Award. Praised for its complexity and power, she has channelled this and more into her second novel, They Can’t Burn Us All. 

Cathryn is based on the south coast and is available for interview, features and events throughout 2026. Follow @cathryn_kemp on Instagram.

About the book

Westfjords, Iceland. 1655 - Þuríður Jónsdóttir has grown up praying to the old gods and watching her father and brother practise rune magic.

But now, a witch-hunting craze is sweeping across the land of ice and fire, fuelled by the Protestant Reformation. Unlike elsewhere in Europe, those condemned as witches here are not women, but men of learning. And when Þuríður’s father and brother are accused of witchcraft and condemned to burn at the stake, she is helpless to save them.

As Lutheran Pastor Jón Magnússon's accusing gaze turns to Þuríður herself, the first woman to be called ‘witch’, he will find that she is no ordinary woman. She is prepared to fight back. But at what cost? And in an age of fear and persecution, whose side will the community take? Who will fight for justice?

Review

From the very beginning you are accompanied by the train of thought that although the title suggests they can't burn them all, you know that they can, will and certainly try to over and over again. It's the kind of resignation a woman or a girl sits with when you realise that the boot is always hovering somewhere over your neck in allegedly more progressive countries and just sits at various angles and depths in others. Same story no matter what era in history.

As the weaponry of witchcraft accusations evolves from country to country it's interesting to note how the patriarchal system realises that to put the predominant burden of blame on the men, in this case the men are only ones deemed worthy of learning the skills or reading and writing and of course wielding the power of magic, causes an error in their calculation. That miscalculation being the eradication of men, unless of course it suits the narrative - landgrab, moneygrab, powergrab and often the elimination of rivals - becomes a costly one and one less likely to succeed. Enter the women and girls stage left. 

It's much easier to create a powerbase of oppression, subjucation and control with fear and intimidation if you have a righteous cause and of course someone to blame. It's far easier to blame the people in society most likely to be skilled at using nature, plants, empathy and common sense to heal and help others. Soothing salve? Witchcraft!

Þuríður Jónsdóttir has already experienced the swift change in perception. One day her family is revered sometimes feared, then with a little push they become targets of a witchhunt. It's not a far stretch to realise that she might become the next on the list of targets. In fact her lack of voice since her mother's death might make people view her with more suspicion.

I was intrigued by my reaction to her trauma induced silence. Her inability to say her thoughts out loud, whilst we can read them, was frustrating. Tell them! Shout! Scream your outrage and anger! And then I realised the inability to speak becomes a physical and psychological representation of every single victim who was unfortunate to fall foul of these religious zealots, powerhungry egomaniacs and of course the willing enablers, the bloodthirsty crowds.

I really enjoyed the read. I would happily cast a spell or two after reading this, and despite what the title says it would be better to remember that they will happily try to burn us all if they are given the opportunity.

Buy They Can't Burn Us All at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Transworld Digital; Bantam books pub date 13 August 2026. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Bookshop org.

#Blogtour I Am You by Victoria Redel

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour I Am You by Victoria Redel. Published by Firefinch Books, pub date 26th of March 2026. Tour courtesy of Random Things Tours.

About the Author

Victoria Redel is a first-generation American poet and novelist. Her work has been widely anthologized, awarded, and translated in ten languages. Her debut novel, Loverboy (2001) was adapted for feature film directed by Kevin Bacon. 

Redel’s short stories, poetry and essays have appeared in Granta, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Bomb, One Story, Salmagundi, O and NOON. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts and the Fine Arts Work Center. Victoria is a professor in the graduate and undergraduate Creative Writing programs at Sarah Lawrence College. Visit  www.victoriaredel.com

About the book

A mesmerising historical novel, I Am You is a meditation on gender, an ode to artistic creation, and an unforgettable love story that reimagines the life of renowned painter Maria van Oosterwijck during the Dutch Golden Age. 

At eight years old, Gerta Pieters is forced to disguise herself as a boy and sent to work for a genteel family. When their daughter Maria sees through Gerta’s ruse, she insists Gerta accompany her to Amsterdam and help her enter the elite, male dominated art world. 

While Maria rises in the ranks of society as a painting prodigy, Gerta makes herself invaluable in every way: confidante, muse, lover. But as Gerta steps into her own talents, their relationship fractures into a complex web of obsession and rivalry, until the secrets they keep threaten to unravel everything.

Review

I think Maria is intrigued by Pieter because her instincts tell her what she sees, experiences and draws are not exactly the same. Captivated by the young boy, the shape, the story within the story. The forbidden enabling the exploration of her talents. 

Gender, societal class structures and the imbalance of power throughout the aforementioned is one of the core drivers of the story. The other would be art and the skill, science and exploration of it. The way Pieter becomes skilled at the creation of paint, which Gerta then develops to a fine art. Simultaneously it is also about Gerta realising that by being the constant companion and support network there has been a budding artist inside the entire time.

This discovery inches its way slowly into the relationship between Maria and Gerta, and whilst at first happy to accept the accolades for creating an apprentice from a mere servant, a sense of competitiveness slowly seeps in.

It's a fascinating door to the artistry and history of both Maria von Oosterwijck and Geertje Pieters Wyntges. A smooth melding of societal pressures and oppression, and the determined path forged to make a mark and explore with impunity the freedoms others grasp with such ease. However, life always requests payment in some way or the other, often a painful one.

It's a well written intriguing read.

Buy I Am You at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Firefinch Books, pub date 26 Mar. 2026 - Hardback: 26th March 2026 Price: £16.99. Buy at Amazon com. Bookshop org. Buy via Firefinch.

#Blogtour The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker

 It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker.

About the Author

Ellen Baker is the author of Keeping the House and I Gave My Heart to Know This. She has worked as a bookseller and event coordinator at an independent bookstore. Originally from the Upper Midwest, she currently lives in Maine. Follow @EllenBakerBooks on X

About the book

In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson’s mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she’s made enough money to support both Cecily and herself. But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the “little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the rest of the circus, Cecily finally feels she’s found the family she craves. But as the years go by, the cracks in her little world begin to show. And when teenage Cecily meets and falls in love with a young roustabout named Lucky, she finds her life thrown onto an entirely unexpected—and dangerous—course.

In 2015, Cecily is now 94 and living a quiet life in Minnesota, with her daughter, granddaughter, and great-grandson. But when her family decides to surprise her with an at-home DNA test, the unexpected results not only bring to light the tragic love story that Cecily has kept hidden for decades but also throw into question everything about the family she’s raised and claimed as her own for nearly seventy years. Cecily and everyone in her life must now decide who they really are and what family—and forgiveness—really mean.

Sweeping through a long period of contemporary history, The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson is an immersive, compelling, and entertaining family drama centered around one remarkable woman and her determination to survive.

Review

Hidden within the folds of familial relationships and complexities is the realisation that the parents we know often only allow us a brief look into their lives, before they disappear again. The child, the teen and the young person who came before is often an unknown entity to the family and children they create. Secrets, trauma, mysteries and many a chapter locked in deep vaults forever.

If a DNA project had never opened said vault then chances are Cecily would have taken her past and her memories to the grave. Instead something as simple as a genetic story of connections opens up the door to answers and healing.

I think it's important to note the atrocities committed in the name of profit, of virtue signalling and with a general lack of empathy. Just another massive statistic of children, girls and young women who were left traumatised and maimed in the name of the greater good. Tragic.

It's a story that would work well on-screen and in a sense is written in a way that plays to that thought. Historical fiction with a nod to a contemporary family structure, which includes both flaws and bonds.

Buy The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Mariner Books, pub date 20 Feb. 2024. Buy at Amazon com. Via Bookshop org.

#Blogtour The Booklover's Library by Madeline Martin

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Booklover's Library by Madeline Martin.

About the Author

Madeline Martin is a New York Times, USA TODAY, and international bestselling author of historical fiction and historical romance with books that have been translated into over twenty different languages. Follow @MadelineMMartin on X

About the book

A heartwarming story about a mother and daughter in wartime England and the power of books that bring them together, by the NYT bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London.  

In the tranquil rural town of Nottingham, England, widow Emma Taylor finds herself in desperate need of a job. She and her beloved daughter Olivia have always managed just fine on their own, but with shadows of war on the horizon and the legal restrictions prohibiting widows from most employment opportunities, she’s left with only one option: persuading the manageress at Boots’ Booklover’s Library to take a chance on her with a job.

Then the unthinkable happens: as England prepares to enter the war, Olivia must be evacuated to the countryside. In the wake of being separated from her daughter, Emma seeks solace in the unlikely friendships she forms with her neighbours and coworkers, and a renewed sense of purpose through the recommendations she provides to the library’s quirky regulars – including the (very handsome!) Mr. Fisk. But the job doesn’t come without its difficulties: books are mysteriously misshelved and disappearing, she desperately misses her daughter, and the library forces her to confront the memories of her late father and the bookstore they once owned together before a terrible accident.

As the Blitz intensifies in Nottingham and Emma fights to reunite with her daughter, she must learn to depend on her community and the power of literature more than ever to find hope in the darkest of times.

Review

I have to admit I'd never heard of Boots’ Booklover’s Library before - I always enjoy when historical fiction adds factual information that may not be well known. I actually told someone about this straight after reading the book. Absolutely fascinating, so it ends up being both an interesting fact and the epi-centre of the story.

Also leaning into the Booklover's Library the very patriarchal attitudes and rules towards women. The assumption or linear thinking that only single women without children would be a stable employee, because of course doing your 'duties' as wife and mother take precedent over everything else, especially work and being financially independent. Note the same people making up said rules were quite happy to use women as a workforce at home when the men were at war, then equally quite happy to return to previous arrangements when or if the men came home. 

This story was a story of loss, empowerment, sisterhood and also how the love of books can connect memories, people and relationships. It's also a story that shows a determination to survive, despite doors being closed and opportunities being taken away. In a way it also has an important message about the small moments of support, kindness and positivity towards someone who might need it more than you will ever know - how influential these moments can be. Lovely read.

Buy The Booklovers' Library at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hanover Square Press, pub date 10 Oct. 2024. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Lace by Catrin Kean

It's an absolute pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Lace by Catrin Kean.

Honno, Welsh Women’s Press presents Lace, the “enthralling” sequel to the prize-winning Salt. 

'Landing on shelves on the 18th July 2024, Honno, Welsh Women’s Press will be publishing Lace by Catrin Kean. An emotional and intricate follow-up to her award winning novel, Lace introduces us to a new generation and a dark history stirred by a birth in the family.'

About the Author

Catrin Kean was awarded a place on the Hay Festival Writers At Work scheme for emerging writers from 2016 – 18. Her short stories have been published in Riptide Journal, Bridge House Anthologies, The Ghastling, and Syncopation Journal. Her debut novel 'Salt' won the 2021 Rhys Davies Fiction award,  the Wales Arts Review People’s Choice Award, and the overall Wales Book of the Year Award. Lace is her second novel. She lives in the Garw Valley with her partner and three ridgeback dogs. Follow @kean_catrin on X

About the book

The sequel to the prizewinning novel Salt - Weaving between Cardiff in the mid-1920’s and a Wicklow convent in the early 1900’s, Kean recount’s Mary’s story, a tale inspired by her grandmother.

In the early 1900s in Wicklow, Ireland, the lives of six year old Mary and her siblings are torn apart when their father dies leaving the family penniless. Mary's mother is forced to travel to Dublin to find work. She places her children in an orphanage for a short stay, which turns into years. 

Many years later Mary settles in Cardiff with her Welsh/Bajan husband Louis, and is thrilled at the arrival of their first child, Teresa. But the birth of the baby dredges up long hidden memories that Mary must confront before she can bond with her daughter. 

Review

I'm going to have to read Salt now, not because this is a sequel - it's actually more of a giving readers a more complete picture of the story - but rather because Kean is such an incredible writer. Much like Claire Keegan, there is core talent of encapsulating either a moment or a lifetime of emotions in a short read. Not something every writer can pull off. 

Even without the racial element, the racism, fearmongering and hatred, the story is at the core is one of family. The deconstruction and restructuring of family units, which are constantly interchangeable and a moving living breathing entity. Trauma, grief, love and both new and old dynamics.

In Mary's case the birth of her daughter awakens deeply buried childhood trauma. The kind of traumatic losses, experiences and memories that cause a disconnect and lack of bonding between mother and child. This is an exploration of how the past impacts the present and the future. It determines whether one foot can be placed before the other.

I think it's easy to forget that ancestors, and indeed parents or grandparents, have lived entire lives before we enter the picture. What we as their children or grandchildren experience of them is often the version haunted by or the product of a sum of their prior relationships and experiences.

I hope to see this author receive the recognition they deserve and heading prize lists in the future. Excellent read.

Buy Lace at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Honno.

#Blogtour Costanza by Rachel Blackmore

It's an absolute pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Costanza by Rachel Blackmore. This book is going on my favourites of the year list.

About the Author

Born in Birmingham, Rachel spent her childhood in the Northeast, then the Midlands. She studied history at King's College London, where her fascination for women's history took root. After a brief stint in politics, Rachel built a career in corporate communications. In 2021, she was runner-up in the Harper's Bazaar Short Story Competition and won the Irish Writers Centre 2022 Novel Fair. Rachel lives in London with her three teenagers, two cats and one dog. Follow @rjblackmore1 on Twitter

About the book

History calls her a Muse. Temptress. Fallen woman. This is her story.

It’s 1636 and Rome hums with gossip and sin. Costanza Piccolomini is a respectable young wife - until she meets world-famous sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini, whose jet-black gaze matches his dark temper. From the second they set eyes upon each other, a fatal attraction is born.

Their secret love burns with a passion that consumes them. But with every stolen kiss and illicit tryst, Costanza's reputation is at stake. And Bernini has a more dangerous desire: he wants to immortalise Costanza in marble. When Bernini unveils his sculpture of Costanza it marks the beginning of a scandal which will rock Roman society. For Bernini would rather destroy Costanza than let her go.

Betrayed. Abandoned. Banished. This was meant to be the end of Costanza’s story. But Costanza is no ordinary woman: from the ashes, she will rise …

Costanza is a dizzying and sensual historical novel that brings to life a feminist icon who has been written out of history.

Review

I came away from this story, a retelling of a moment in history captured in art, with the feeling that the winner tells the history and it's always men doing the writing. Also that great art, memorable deeds and life-changing moments in history always excuse the misdeeds and whitewash the crimes.

Seen from the perspective of Costanza the Bernini brothers emerge as the predators they most certainly were. Passion, muse, inspiration all sound rather romantic and exciting for all parties involved, right? It sounds a little different when those words are exchanged for coercion, blackmail, non-consensual acts or possessive behaviour. Having someone carve up a women's face to deconstruct the beauty at the core of said inspiration is unforgivable, to try and destroy her reputation and life equally so.

It all sounds so reminiscent of the kind of misogynistic and abusive crimes we see in modern times, which of course just proves endemic and ingrained the violence and mistreatment of women and girls is in all societies. Interesting how everything is framed with such a dainty brush of romanticism. Oh how the great man was tortured, inspired and captivated by insert any woman/girl - poor man couldn't control himself and wasn't to blame for insert crime against woman/girl.

Loved this book. Brilliantly written with a touch of historical nuance, a deep sense of poetic beauty and both the consumerism and power of artistic talent. The author bows to the lasting legacy of creativity whilst simultaneously asking whether the legacy and talent should ever warrant erasing the truth.

Give this a Medici or Rome tv series development and it is guaranteed to be a hit, between the visual beauty of the art and the passion of the characters - it would be an intriguing venture. Equally important would be taking the core of this retelling and giving the power back to Costanza - where it belongs.

Buy Costanza at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Renegade Books; pub date 1st August 2024 / HB / £18.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Mary I: Queen of Sorrows by Alison Weir

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Mary I: Queen of Sorrows by Alison Weir. - Sunday Times bestselling novelist Alison Weir returns with the spellbinding story of Mary I.

About the Author

Alison Weir is a bestselling historical novelist of Tudor fiction, and the leading female historian in the United Kingdom. She has published more than thirty books, including many leading works of non-fiction, and has sold over three million copies worldwide.

Her novels include the Tudor Rose trilogy, which spans three generations of history’s most iconic family - the Tudors, and the highly acclaimed Six Tudor Queens series about the wives of Henry VIII, all of which were Sunday Times bestsellers.

Alison is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an honorary life patron of Historic Royal Palaces. Follow @AlisonWeirBooks on X, Visit alisonweir.org.uk

About the book

A Destiny Rewritten. A Royal Heart Divided. - Adored only child of Henry VIII and his Queen, Katherine of Aragon, Princess Mary is raised in the golden splendour of her father’s court. But the King wants a son and heir.

With her parents’ marriage, and England, in crisis, Mary’s perfect world begins to fall apart. Exiled from the court and her beloved mother, she seeks solace in her faith, praying for her father to bring her home. But when the King does promise to restore her to favour, his love comes with a condition.

The choice Mary faces will haunt her for years to come – in her allegiances, her marriage and her own fight for the crown. Can she become the queen she was born to be?

Mary I. Her Story. - Alison Weir’s new Tudor novel is the tale, full of drama and tragedy, of how a princess with such promise, loved by all who knew her, became the infamous Bloody Mary.

Review

I think this book, and Weir in her accurate interpretation of Mary, reminds us of the fact that Henry VIII destroyed many lives and had a negative impact on the women around him in particular. Both Mary I and her sister Elizabeth I are direct products of their unstable childhood and a father who was a pure narcissist in his private life and choices. 

It's ironic, that any other action considered to be one of greatness and a sign of his rich education, intellectual ability and great mind, is outshone by his misogyny and cruel treatment of family, friends and often his own country. Also perhaps that Elizabeth became more of a king than he ever was, and simply denied him the legitimate direct descendancy he sought.

I do enjoy a good author's note, especially when it sheds such an informative light on inspiration, direction and illuminates a path often tethered in revisionary versions of history, and that most definitely includes the way Mary I is viewed and discussed.

I also lean towards the more factual and brutal version when it comes to Mary. A girl who saw her mother set aside and treated with disdain, a mother who was deeply ingrained in her faith - an element mirrored in her daughter. The breaking of marriage being intrinsically linked to breaking with Rome probably became one and the same for mother and daughter, which explains the vicious approach Bloody Mary had in response to alleged heresy. Her lack of diplomacy when picking a spouse is indicative of where her loyalties lay, and of course the people recognised that.

It's the ability to fill in the holes, the lack of information in historical record, and create a more accurate version of an historical character - a trademark Weir move. The result is a riveting read and much deeper insight into the years after Henry VIII, more specifically the years of rulership under his legitimate heirs that are often glossed over.

Buy Mary I: Queen of Sorrows at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Headline Review; pub date 9 may 2024 - Hardback, eBook, Audiobook | £25. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Secret Keepers by Tilly Bagshawe

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Secret Keepers by Tilly Bagshawe.

About the Author

Tilly Bagshawe is the internationally bestselling author of nineteen previous novels and has written for newspapers and magazines including the Sunday Times, Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. She lives in London with her husband and 4 children. She is available for interview and to write features. 

About the book

Sweeping from the French Riviera to the wind-blown Cornish cliffs, this is a spellbinding novel about the fates and fortunes of the Challant family – and the devastating secrets that echo through the years . . 

The beautiful bastide at Beaulieu-sur-Mer has always been an idyllic retreat for the Challant family, a place of glorious memories and sun-drenched summers. But the summer of 1928 changes everything. 

One humid, stormy night, a young local boy suffers a fatal accident in the bastide’s grounds – and the suspicious circumstances around his death sets off a chain of whispers in the town on the Riviera. 

For the Challant children, they have no choice but to move on and leave those terrible events in the past. But through the years of loves and losses, marriages and betrayals, the Challants’ lives will always be tainted by that night. And it’s only by unlocking devastating family secrets that they’ll finally be set free…

Review

The Challant children are wedged between a mother who secretly despises herself and her husband for not being able to live the life she wants. Her soul wants to be the artist, and yet she is as caged as the birds she treasures in her remarkable aviary. Her husband rules the roost with a patriarchal sense of superiority. 

As the reader moves from the adult children in the future back to important periods in their past, it becomes clear that a tragic event has not only triggered a lifetime of fears and insecurities, but perhaps also determined the paths the children have taken. The adults they grow into, the baggage they carry and the secrets they keep - it has the potential to destroy them.

I think Bagshawe deviates from her usual popular recipe with this book - it has more of a family and tortured emotional bond meets the demands of unresolved trauma vibe. Evolving from the physical to the fraught webs of the kind of relationships that weave webs of invisible patterns across both decades and people.

It's contemporary fiction with a steadfast hold in the past. A story driven by past fears, trauma, conflicted feelings of guilt, and at the core of it all is a tragic mystery.

Buy The Secret Keepers at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harper Collins; pub date 11th April 2024 | PBO | Audio | Ebook | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Grand Illusion by Syd Moore

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Grand Illusion by Syd Moore, who is back with a thrilling new series set in WW2.

About the Author

Syd Moore is currently Essex Libraries’ first Author in Residence. Twice shortlisted for a CWA Dagger, she is best known for her Essex Witch Museum Mysteries, a series that explores the witch trials in Essex between 1560 to 1680.  The series was shortlisted for the Good Reader Holmes and Watson Award in 2018 and 2019.  Syd founded the Essex Girls' Liberation Front and successfully got the term ‘Essex Girl’ removed from the Oxford dictionary in 2020. Her debut screenplay, Witch West will go into production in 2024.  She lives in Essex. Follow @SydMoore1 on X

About the book

JUNE 1940.  As Hitler prepares to invade Britain, a secret office hidden away in Whitehall is catapulted into a frenzy of activity and expansion.  Aware of the Nazis’ obsession with the occult, the British Secret Service sets out to exploit this potential weakness in the enemy’s high command.

Twenty-two-year-old Daphne Devine is performing on the London stage as assistant to magician Jonty Trevelyan, aka ‘The Grand Mystique’, when the secret service calls.

Daphne and Jonty find themselves far from the glitz and glamour of the theatre, deep inside the lower levels of Wormwood Scrubs prison.  Here they join secret ranks of astrologers, illusionists and other theatre performers co-opted to the war effort.

Soon Daphne realizes she must risk everything if there is any chance of saving her country…

In the opener to a new historical fiction series Syd Moore brings her unique perspective to a different period - the Second World War. The Grand Illusion is inspired by an event alleged to have taken place in the New Forest in the summer of 1940 - a spectacular magical ritual -  “The Cone of Power” - that would be witnessed by German agents in the area and reported back to the Führer.  Its goal: to avert invasion on British shores.

Review

Can you even imagine being recruited to help save your country, to be part of the greater and wider war efforts to deter the enemy. Oh, and your talents are being a magician and his glamourous assistant. Yeh, either the math ain't mathing or this is going in a very interesting direction. How are you supposed to save everyone? Perhaps with the bunny in a hat trick?

I have always been intrigued by the strategic decision making during WW2 by Germany or Hitler and his leadership team. Just leaving aside the horrific obsession the man had with eugenics and his planned genocide of the Jewish population and just looking at his strategy to occupy one country after the other. From a strategic point of view the choice to focus on Russia and come back to Britain at a later date is what cost him the war. He overestimated his resources and their ability to stretch, supply across such a vast area, and underestimated the country.

By taking the what can only be described as one of many unusual approaches to saving Britain from an invasion or becoming one of the many occupied countries during the Nazi regime, the combination of fact and fiction come together to create this remarkable and interesting story. I kind of love the thought that this could have a smidgen of truth at the core. I've read other books that mention a certain obsession with the occult and asking for direction, which would have made a specific person susceptible to being led in decision making.

It has the old-school charm of Foyle's War with the chaotic element of wartime Jonathan Creek with Daphne as the driving force of the story. She is the glue that keeps Jonty upright, on task and from self-destructing. I can't wait to see where this series goes next.

Buy The Grand Illusion at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Magpie, an imprint of Oneworld, pub date 18 April 2024 - Hardback £16.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Romanov Brides by Clare McHugh

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Romanov Brides - A Novel of the Last Tsarina and Her Sisters by Clare McHugh.

About the Author

Clare McHugh is the author of A Most English Princess, a historical novel about the family of Queen Victoria, and The Romanov Brides. A former newspaper reporter and magazine editor, McHugh graduated from Harvard College with a degree in European history. She currently lives in London and in Amagansett, NY. Follow @Claremch on X

About the book

From the author of A Most English Princess comes a rich novel about young Princess Alix of Hesse—the future Alexandra, last Empress of Imperial Russia—and her sister, Princess Ella. Their decision to marry into the Romanov royal family changed history. They were granddaughters of Queen Victoria and two of the most beautiful princesses in Europe.

Princesses Alix and Ella were destined to wed well and wisely. But while their grandmother wants to join them to the English and German royal families, the sisters fall in love with Russia—and the Romanovs.

Defying the Queen’s dire warnings, Ella weds the tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Serge. Cultivated, aloof, and proud, Serge places his young wife on a pedestal for all to admire. Behind palace gates, Ella struggles to secure private happiness.

Alix, whisked away to Russia for Ella’s wedding, meets and captivates Nicky—heir apparent to the Russian throne. While loving him deeply, Alix hears a call of conscience, urging her to walk away. Their fateful decisions to marry will lead to tragic consequences for not only themselves and their families, but for millions in Russia and around the globe.

The Romanov Brides is a moving and fascinating portrait of two bold and spirited royal sisters, and brings to vivid life imperial Russia—a dazzling, decadent world on the brink of disappearing forever.

Review

This is the story of how Princess Alix and Princess Ella shape not only a shift in political landscape of Imperial Russia, but also become tragic symbols of said change. One could argue that sometimes the last drop in the overflowing barrel is the perhaps not the most significant drop, but certainly the trigger that tips the scales.

I wonder how many of the decisions Alix made in relation to her son and his healthcare, which ultimately contributed to putting herself and her family in a dangerous position, were driven by her experiences as a child. The trauma of losing a parent and a close sibling must have left scars and perhaps the haemophilia in her young son triggered a response that was not very rational.

I admit it's hard not to think of the fates Alix, Ella and their family members meet whilst reading about the paths they wandered to get to that point. Ultimately the connection both sisters create with the people and country of their choosing, costs them their lives. The inability to read the room/country and perhaps learn from history.

Kudos to the author for including genealogy and family origins, it creates a better understanding of the bigger picture. The way the monarchies are interlinked, related and the power base was spread across many countries. It's a good read, perhaps more so because the moments the sisters are most known for - their deaths - become secondary to the lives they led before.

Buy The Romanov Brides at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎William Morrow Paperbacks pub date 28 Mar. 2024. Buy at Amazon com.

#Review The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Absolutely fantastic new novel by Katherine Arden. The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a #MustRead for 2024!

About the Author

Born in Austin, Texas, Katherine Arden has always had a taste for wandering. She spent her junior year of high school in Rennes, France.

Following her acceptance to Middlebury College in Vermont, she deferred enrolment for a year in order to live and study in Russia. At Middlebury, she specialized in French and Russian literature, and her studies included sojourns at the Sorbonne in Paris and the Russian State University for the Humanities in Moscow.

After receiving her BA, she moved to Maui, Hawaii and worked every kind of odd job imaginable, from grant writing and guiding horse tours to serving as a personal tour guide. During this time she wrote what became her debut novel, The Bear and the Nightingale. After a year on the island, she moved to Briançon, France, and spent nine months teaching. She then returned to Maui, where she began writing The Girl in the Tower, the sequel to her debut, and officially launched her career as an author. Currently she lives in Vermont.

She is the author of the Winternight Trilogy for adults and the Small Spaces Quartet for children. The Warm Hands of Ghosts is her eighth novel. 

Follow @arden_katherine on X, Visit katherineardenbooks.com

About the book

World War One, and as shells fall in Flanders, a Canadian nurse searches for her brother believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise in this gripping and powerful historical novel from the bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale.

January 1918. Laura Iven has been discharged from her duties as a nurse and sent back to Halifax, Canada, leaving behind a brother still fighting in the trenches of the First World War. Now home, she receives word of Freddie's death in action along with his uniform -but something doesn't quite make sense. Determined to find out more, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about ghosts moving among those still living and a strange inn-keeper whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could this have happened to Freddie - but if so, where is he?

November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped under an overturned pillbox with an enemy soldier, a German, each of them badly wounded. Against all odds, the two men form a bond and succeed in clawing their way out. But once in No Man's Land, where can either of them turn where they won't be shot as enemy soldiers or deserters? As the killing continues, they meet a man - a fiddler - who seems to have the power to make the hellscape that surrounds them disappear. But at what price?

A novel of breath-taking scope and drama, of compulsive readability, of stunning historical research lightly worn, and of brilliantly drawn characters who will make you laugh and break your heart in a single line, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a book that will speak to readers directly about the trauma of war and the power of those involved to love, endure and transcend it.

Review

This book is definitely going on my best of the year list. Arden is an author I would always recommend, her Winternight trilogy solidified what an amazing writer and talented storyteller she is. I was only thinking a few months ago that I hadn't seen a new book and hey presto this popped up.

I have been telling everyone about this book, it's absolutely remarkable. It has the trademark wandering into the elements of life that cross the lines of preconceived norms and delve into things that lurk in the shadows. Simultaneously it also has such an accurate connection to not only that period in history, but also the emotional and physical wounds caused by the destruction and devastation of the Great War.

Capturing the conflict from a variety of views and people gives a better perspective of the tragedy, the losses and the terrible impact. The allies, the enemy, the medical staff, the volunteers, the civilians, the lost souls and the ghosts. In the end everyone is the same. This is especially evident in the relationship between Freddie and Winter. When push comes to shove, and survival or death are the only choices, is there really any room for two sides? 

The scenes with Winter and Freddie, especially when they first meet, they are extraordinary. The reader feels the darkness, the damp, the mud and the fear. Fear is the same regardless of which country you are fighting for.

Laura is on a quest to find her brother, despite the odds of him being dead being very high. Her own trauma makes her vulnerable to Faland, as indeed are many on the fields of battle. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book - it becomes a metaphor, a way to survive, a mindset and a conjured mass hallucination shared by destroyed and frightened souls. Or is it?

I loved this story, wouldn't hesitate to recommend it and think it is indicative of the power of word, storytelling and suggestion. It is a haunting experience - it is a haunting.

Buy The Warm Hands of Ghosts at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Century, pub date 7 Mar. 2024. Buy at Amazon com. At Bookshop org.

#Blogtour The Sleeping Beauties by Lucy Ashe

 It's my turn on the Blogtour The Sleeping Beauties by Lucy Ashe.

About the Author

After training at the Royal Ballet School for eight years, Lucy Ashe decided to change career plans and go to university, where she read English Literature before doing a PGCE teaching qualification, and she is now a teacher. Her poetry and short stories have been published in a number of literary journals and she was shortlisted for the 2020 Impress Prize for New Writers. Follow @LSAshe1 on X

About the book

May, 1945. - At long last, Rosamund Caradon is feeling optimistic. As she returns the last few evacuees to London from her Devonshire manor, she vows to protect dance obsessed daughter Jasmine from further peril. But a chance meeting with a Sadler’s Wells ballerina changes everything. 

When the beautiful, elusive Briar Woods bursts into Rosamund’s train carriage, it’s clear her sights are set on the immediately captivated Jasmine. And Rosamund cannot shake the feeling this accidental encounter is not what it seems. 

While Briar may be far away from the pointe shoes and greasepaint of the Sleeping Beauty ballet that is so much a part of her, this performance might well be her most successful yet. For what she is watching, Rosamund feels, is a strangely unique show, one that’s just for a mother and a daughter… 

Review

Not going to lie, this started out as a bit of a chaotic read for me. It opened up (digital) on the prologue, which I thought was a great beginning to a serial killer murder - in my defence I had forgotten the blurb and the title sounded like a catchy crime story. Then the first chapter - Act 1, it's war refugees being returned to their homes. Confused, I go back to before the prologue to read Stage Notes, then return to Act 1 for the mysterious and intense ballerina, who has now joined us. To be fair the glaringly obvious references should have been a clue.

Rosamund and her daughter Jasmine meet the persistent and intriguing Briar, whilst returning to London. Something about Briar triggers a gut reaction of concern in Rosamund, something just isn't right about this young woman, who like Jasmine is a lover of ballet. Briar burrows her way into the relationship between mother and daughter, but why?

Throughout the story there is a constant redefining of what motherhood is and whether being a mother is always the bog standard version of what society expects. Is knowing the truth about who you are always the right answer?

It's a good read, which gives great insight into the passion, work ethic and the almost obsessive dedication to ballet. How the world within it becomes its own microcosm of beauty, grace, art and expression. Perhaps also on a bigger scale how moments of pure beauty can bring a little joy in the most difficult of situations.

On a side note, there are no serial killers in the story at all, although I stand by the fact the prologue and title sound like a great idea for a crime novel.

Buy The Sleeping Beauties at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Magpie, pub date 15th February 2024 - Hardback £16.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Solstice by Helen Steadman

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Solstice by Helen Steadman.

About the Author 

Helen Steadman's first novel, Widdershins and its sequel, Sunwise were inspired by the 1650 Newcastle witch trials. Her third novel, The Running Wolf is about a group of master swordmakers who defected from Germany to England in 1687. Helen's fourth novel, God of Fire, is a Greek myth retelling as seen through the eyes of Hephaestus, perhaps the least well known of all the Olympians. 

Helen is particularly interested in revealing hidden histories and she is a thorough researcher who goes to great lengths in pursuit of historical accuracy. To get under the skin of the cunning women in Widdershins and Sunwise, Helen trained in herbalism and learned how to identify, grow and harvest plants and then made herbal medicines from bark, seeds, flowers and berries. 

The Running Wolf is the story of a group of master swordmakers who left Solingen, Germany and moved to Shotley Bridge, England in 1687. As well as carrying out in-depth archive research and visiting forges in Solingen to bring her story to life, Helen also undertook blacksmith training, which culminated in making her own sword. Follow @hsteadman1650 on X (the artist formerly known as Twitter

About the book

England, 1673. Still a world of witches, witch trials and witchfinders. - When a new vicar arrives to take over the parish of Mutton Clog, the village finds itself in the grip of puritan fever, and suspicious eyes are turned on Rose Driver. Rose’s mother, brother and grandmother were all put to death by the fanatical witchfinder, John Sharpe.

Almost quarter of a century after the Newcastle witch trials, Sharpe is no longer a threat. Rose should be safe in her quiet village, but is history about to repeat itself?

Find out in Solstice, the powerful conclusion to The Widdershins Trilogy, which tells the story of one woman’s struggle for survival in a hostile and superstitious world.

The Widdershins Trilogy was inspired by the little-known Newcastle witch trials, where fifteen women and one man were hanged for witchcraft on a single day in August 1650.

Review

The alternating views of Rose and Patience give an excellent overall view of how the majority of these witch hunts were created and driven, often to a disastrous conclusion. How the creation of doubt and rumour can become the perfect weapon of destruction, regardless of whether any accusation has any merit. Witch trials were a perfect way to tick quota boxes of the puritanical zealots who would rather have a living breathing scapegoat than accept not everything in life can be explained or predetermined.

Patience is the living breathing example of an almost innate hysteria grounded in false morality. How convenient is it to cast a shadow of doubt on others and in doing so to take a pedestal and elevate yourself to the higher spheres of saintliness. Can you tell she got on my nerves just a tad? It's interesting to note that the accused were unable to wash the stink of doubt from their reputations - such an efficient way to rid the world of people who don't fit in.

I really enjoyed how Rose is introduced and the innocent actions, words, thoughts so easily are twisted into something strange and threatening. The trauma she carries, and the empathy she feels for others, is perhaps part of her downfall.

This is the third book in the Widdershins trilogy, which the author has written with a bit of a reverse Star Wars vibe. It captures both the oddity, the tragedy and the repercussions of the accusations of witchcraft.  

Buy Solstice at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Bell Jar Books pub date18 Sept. 2023. Buy at Amazon com.