#BlogTour The Wheelwright's Daughter by Eleanor Porter

Today it's an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Wheelwright's Daughter by Eleanor Porter.

About the Author
Eleanor Porter has lectured at Universities in England and Hong Kong, and her poetry and short fiction has been published in magazines. The Wheelwright's Daughter is her first novel.

Follow @elporterauthor on Twitter, on Facebook, on Goodreads, Buy The Wheelwright's Daughter

About the book
Can she save herself from a witch's fate?

Martha is a feisty and articulate young woman, the daughter of a wheelwright, living in a Herefordshire village in Elizabethan England. With no mother Martha's life is spent running her father's meagre household and helping out at the local school whilst longing to escape the confines and small-mindedness of a community driven by religious bigotry and poverty.

As she is able to read and is well-versed in herbal remedies she is suspected of being a witch. When a landslip occurs - opening up a huge chasm in the centre of the village - she is blamed for it and pursued remorselessly by the villagers.

But can her own wits and the love of local stablehand Jacob save her from a witch's persecution and death...

Review
I'm going to say this right from the get  go - the title of the book may imply a certain kind of read, but it is in fact so much more.

Yes it tells the story of a convoluted romance in Elizabethan times, however it also speaks of scaremongering and profiteering in times of great unrest. Of a young woman who battles daily with the fact that being different makes her a target. Her knowledge, talents for healing, the fact she can read and write does nothing to dispel thoughtless and often dangerous rumours.

It's historical fiction, an intricately drawn picture of distorted fear and victims of group hysteria.

I really enjoyed the way Porter used the village people and their fears almost like a scythe swinging from one side to the next. Sometimes catching the crop and sometimes not. Martha doesn't comprehend the danger of gossip and the times she lives in, which when combined with her affinity to use herbs and her refusal to put up with the gossip and slurs -  makes her a prime target. The herd needs someone to blame when nature makes itself known and death comes calling.

Kudos to Porter for the ending. It's the kind you read, then read again. It's almost cruel to leave the reader with such uncertainty and yet simultaneously with complete certainty too.

This may be the author's debut novel, but by George it certainly shouldn't be her last. Porter is a writer and a storyteller, and not everyone is both.

Buy The Wheelwright's Daughter at Amazon UK on Kindle  Paperback and Audiobook or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Boldwood Books; pub date 21 April 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Boldwood Books.

Reap the Wind by Karen Chance

Well this book is certainly a whirlwind, I don't think the main character managed to stop and have a break for even a minute. 

It was non-stop fast-paced action. 

Faster than Chance's usual pace that's for sure. She usually gives us some drawn out moments of passion or touchy feely scenes.

If you have been following the life and troubles of Cassie Palmer since the beginning then you will understand the difference between the two of them when you read this book and this Cassie, as opposed to the Cassie of the first book.

Chance has kicked up the erotic scenes a notch. Easing slowly towards a romantic relationship between Pritkin and Cassie. She spends a lot of time reflecting upon the why of her relationship with Mircea. Is it love, is it lust or is it just compulsion? If so, has she possibly been ignoring a real connection between her and Pritkin all this time?

It seems as if Cassie spends all her time in the buff, in a towel or in general with no clothes in her general vicinity. She also seems to have an unfortunate amount of bathroom, shower and bedroom incidents. Old Cassie used to do all her stunts and crazy missions with clothes on, she also never used to spend half her time playing hole in one with her flavour of the month.

It is almost as if Chance is bowing down to the pressure of appealing to a mass audience and using the quick thrills to keep them captivated, instead of sticking to her unique style of writing and creativity.

In my opinion Chance is still quite underrated as an Urban Fantasy writer. She certainly deserves more recognition than she gets, especially for her Dorina Basarab series. She spins the worlds of vamps, fey, shifters and magic together like a well-constructed spider's web, and combines all of it with her feisty characters and charming wit.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley, courtesy of Penguin Berkley/Signet.

Buy Reap the Wind on Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for Amazon.com or for any other retailer.

Read Ride the Storm by Karen Chance

The Witch of Painted Sorrows by M.J. Rose

Sandrine is a shy woman, bound by the restrictions society has laid upon her, and yet traumatic events have encouraged her to run away from those restrictions.

She feels an intimate connection to the house her grandmother has suddenly vacated.

That connection turns out to be something quite sinister and frightening.

It awakens her passion, her emotional and physical needs, and her sensuality. But is it her or is it the house?

In the blink of an eye Sandrine becomes a completely different person. A whole new personality, which doesn't go unnoticed by her grandmother. Suddenly she is daring, brave, confident and ready to discover and embrace her newly found emotions.

The literary strength of this author is definitely more evident in the amorous scenes in the books. She has a talent for the pulse quickening sensual moments, I can't fault her for those at all.

However the same can't always be said for the rest of the story. Where the sensual scenes are full of emotion, prose and enticing imagery, the surrounding story is a little less stellar. It is as if two stories are mixed into one, but one of them is a slightly amateurish fantasy with continuity errors and superfluous information, and the other is more of a romantic and erotic nature.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.

Season of the Witch by Natasha Mostert

An information thief with a sideline in paranormal visions, sounds like a decent way to make a living right? Well, maybe if the people you are trying to outwit don’t turn out to be ten steps ahead of you in both the IQ and occult department, then you might just find yourself in a deep well of danger and mystical uncertainty.

Gabriel certainly thinks highly of himself and is quite arrogant about his abilities. That eccentric arrogance was his downfall once and the ruin of a promising career. Now it leads him straight into the arms of dimensions he cannot begin to comprehend.

His major issue at first is trying to discover the woman he thinks is his soulmate, all whilst trying to find out whether she or her sister have killed his clients son. He is so open to being seduced into the web of lies, seduction and immorality that the reader begins to suspect his intentions. This is especially the case when Gabriel finds out what Morrighan and Minnaloushe are really looking for.

In the end the tale of seduction and murder melds together with the mystery of alchemy. The search for the wisdom, knowledge and science of the soul turns into one of desperation and unfulfilled longing. It no longer seems important who killed whom and why. All that remains is to find the key to that of many doors.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.