#Blogtour The Priest's Wife by A. G. Rivett

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Priest's Wife by A.G. Rivett. This is the second part of The Isle of Fincara Trilogy, published by Pantolwen Press: Publication Day 19 October 2023. 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

When her husband the priest dies, Morag loses more than her life partner. With him goes her home and her place in the community. When her identity is also called into question, she sets out on a quest to find herself anew.

Meanwhile, the new priest brings with him a religion that seeks to sweep away the mix of Celtic myth and Christian story that has sustained the islanders for many years.

In the conflict that unfolds, each is challenged to know themselves more deeply, and at last to recognise the new roles that await them.

Review

Bringing it back to the basics of structure, the death of Hugo reveals the instability of Morag's life. Everything is built upon the premise of her position as his companion and partner, and when he no longer exists neither does her position. It's a bit of a blow to her heart and soul. Not only has she lost the man she loved, she is suddenly relegated to a position of non-importance. She loses her role, her standing and her home. In a way she also loses her community. 

For an outsider looking in it looks like the ultimate betrayal, but it is merely one of the many inconviences of being a woman in a world run by men. Or at the very least a world run by lineage and born from societal structures.

The grief, the rejection, the replacement and the displacement, all serve as inner and outer drivers to push Morag on a path to discover her identity. Who is she and where does stem from, what is her maternal lineage? The discoveries she makes eventually lead her on an eye-opener of journey. One whihc may or may not lead her back to the fold of friends and her family.

Whilst the journey to find self is still a core element in the second book in the Isle of Fincara trilogy, this time it is defined by the way women are perceived in roles of influence and authority. We delve further into Celtic myth and the advancement of a patriarchal religious system, which strides without losing pace towards societies who prior to this were determined and ruled by a more earth based set of rules interwoven with folklore and mythology.

Buy The Priest's Wife at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy via Barnes & Noble. Via Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Seaborne by A.G. Rivett

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Seaborne by A.G. Rivett. This is the first part of The Isle of Fincara Trilogy, published by Pantolwen Press: Publication Day 21 October 2025. 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

John Finlay is fleeing from failure. - His engineering business has failed. His relationship has failed. His flight from debts leads him to disaster – and to the Island, where he must learn to live anew. 

Dermot, pulling a boy barely alive from the water, has never seen anyone so strangely dressed. His Celtic island knows nothing of debt, nor engineering. Where has this man come from? John struggles to accept that he has been carried across time and into another world – both like and unlike his own. How he got there is a mystery.  

But John, the foreigner, must turn slowly into Dhion, the Islander. Still, he brings with him unfinished business that must be faced, and ideas that may not always be welcomed.  

Meanwhile Dermot, consumed with a growing jealousy, develops his own deadly agenda. The whole community finds itself caught up in what becomes a matter of survival – or transformation. A tale of loss and change. A spiritual inquiry. And a love story. 

Review

Although the story, which is the first part of The Isle of Fincara Trilogy, is speculative in nature it also brings together a myriad of aspects and perceptions. The spritual awakening for one. Not so much in a religious, pagan or the natural origin of past societies who are perhaps isolated from greater advancements and developments, but rather an awakening of self. 

How John/Dhion adjusts and then comprehends that in this new setting he is no longer John with the burden or lightness of his previous life and identity. In this setting he is in fact Dhion and walks in the shoes of this emerging identity, albeit with the bonus of being able to access the knowledge and ability of John.

I did wonder why Dhion doesn't really delve deeply into the why or how of his new existence. Is it perhaps because he welcomes a new beginning or the concept that something more unusual than being recovered from the sea is at hand.

To some of the people who surround him he will always be the one borne of the sea, and that mirrors the way modern society distinguishes born and bred from the outsider, even if the outsider has a generational standing in said village, town or society. That inkling of other often brings an element of distrust with it, which explains the wariness when Dhion uses modern ideas to enhance the lives of those around him.

I think it's a book - or a start of a journey - that is better served without too much pre-knowledge from others. What I will add is that one of the last sentences captures not only the entirety of John becoming Dhion, but also serves a gentle reminder of something not everyone experiences - 'my feet feel they have found a path' - it encapsulates so much of this story and more.

Buy The Seaborne at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Pantolwen Press, published 21 October 2025. Buy via Barnes and Noble. 

#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 False Heart by Jane Whiteford

It's a plaeasure to atke part in the Blogtour False Heart by Jane Whiteford. Published by‏ The Book Guild Ltd, pub date‎ 28 July 2026. Blogtour courtesy of Zooloo's Book Tours.

About the Author

Jane Whiteford’s writing is inspired by the history and landscape of the northwest of England where she has lived for more than forty years. Her first novel, Till All the Seas, was shortlisted for The Lakeland Book of the Year 2023. False Heart was realeased on the 28th of July 2026.

About the book

1914. As war looms over Europe, the quiet village of Stainwick prepares for change. Acland’s Black Powder Works must expand to meet the demands of conflict, and young accountant David Ainsworth is sent to oversee the transformation. He meets Sarah Liddell, a widowed schoolteacher and mother, whose life is already shaped by loss. Before he is deployed to serve in the Army, David persuades Sarah to marry him, despite her reservations.

When David returns from the trenches four years later, mentally scarred by war, he and Sarah try to salvage their marriage. But when a lightning strike on the powder works triggers a series of explosions and her husband’s secrets are revealed, Sarah’s life is turned upside down.

False Heart is a story of love, deception, and the courage it takes to rebuild after everything has been torn apart.

Review

Sarah is perhaps more vulnerable as a widow with a child. The most obvious predators often hide the less obvious ones. One could argue that false pretenses are expanded upon and that vulnerability is used against her for others to be able to maintain a status quo and clever deception.

When you remove the surrounding trauma of loss, grief, pre-war, war and post-war, there is core issue of deception at the heart of the story. Is keeping your true self hidden at the expense of everyone around you worth it if you hurt those you allegedly care for in the process. I think the story answers that question, and it doesn't matter that the secret being hidden is one that could destroy the person keeping it in the first place. It suggests that the feelings and emotions of one person are more important than those of another.

It's historical fiction, which incorporates certain interesting elements of the historical setting. It also delivers a relatable scenario of grief, trust, love, deception, vulnerability and very much one of survival. When one door closes another one opens, as they say. However the lesson in life should be that we have the ability to create doors where we think there are none.

Buy False Heart at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: The Book Guild, pub date 28th July 2026. Buy via at mybook.to/falseheart-zbt

#Blogtour Consider The Ravens by Cressida Downing

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Consider the Ravens - A Gripping Medieval Mystery of Murder and Secrets on Lindisfarne,The Scribe of Lindisfarne by Cressida Downing. Published by No Exit Press, pub date 16 July 2026. Blogtour courtesy of Random Things Tours.

About the Author

Cressida Downing is a freelance editor, has worked in bookshops and for publishers, and owns a business taking people on reading retreats. She lives near Cambridge and has planned 6 further novels in the series. Follow @DowningCressida on X

About the book

The scribe Linnet is running from her criminal past and seeking sanctuary in the island of her childhood. She’s friendless in the monastery, the monks resentful of a woman scribe, and her only company is Tom the fisherman and a child, Isabelle – watchful, clever and unlikeable – with her partly tamed raven Pol.

The monastery bursar Oswyn threatens to expose Linnet’s past but she isn’t the only one with secrets to hide. Intent upon uncovering the monks’ misdeeds is the fanatic inspector, sent by the new Bishop of Durham to write a report on the monastery.

When Oswyn is found drowned, Linnet suspects the death is not accidental. After another death, Linnet realises there’s a killer amongst the brethren, and her own precarious position makes her vulnerable – unless she can first identify who it could be…

Review

Tones of Sansom and a smidgen of Umberto Eco, but with a light-hearted sense of mystery, mayhem and murder. Secrets are the currency of the power plays inside the monastery. Linnet walks a precarious tightrope of staying hidden in plain sight with her basic needs cared for, whilst managing to be in every corner when trouble shows its face. It's no wonder she has a hard time keeping her secrets from potential enemies.

Then again it's highly unusual for a woman in that era to be able to read and scribe. It creates questions and a spotlight finds her more often than not. Can Linnet keep herself safe, despite being driven by her curious nature and the need to solve dangerous mysteries.

An sudden death brings more unexpected attention to the doors of the monastery. An accident? Or perhaps something more dangerous is at hand. Linnet finds herself in the midst of everything - not really a good idea when you want to keep a low profile.

It's a bit of a slow starter, however I can only suggest sticking with it. It gains traction with each page and culminates in the setting in motion the next book in the series and also a few revelations. I think it has a lot of potential and can't wait to see where the author takes it.

Buy Consider the Ravens at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy via Bookshop org.

#Review The Children by Melissa Albert

About the Author

Melissa Albert is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of the Hazel Wood series and Our Crooked Hearts, and a former bookseller and founder of the Barnes & Noble Teen Blog. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages and included in the New York Times’ list of Notable Children’s Books. She enjoys swimming pool tourism, genre mashups, and living in Brooklyn with her hilarious husband and magnificently goofy son.

About the book

Their childhood was yours. They want it back . . .

Guinevere's late mother, Edith Sharpe, needs little introduction. Bestselling author of the unendingly successful Ninth Cityseries, her books brought so much joy and inspired the imagination of countless children the world over. Guin's childhood with her mother, brother Ennis and her actor father was a blissful, bohemian affair, filled with continuous laughter and surrounded by artistic types in their Vermont barnhouse. At least, this is the story Guin presents as she prepares for the press tour for her upcoming memoir about life in the Sharpe family.

Now estranged from her brother and her parents long dead after a devastating fire, strange events threaten the veneer of serenity and familial harmony Guin is keen to project. Ennis, now a notorious artist with a troubled past, announces a new installation – his first since a disastrous last show one year prior – simply entitled Mother. And Guin can't help but worry that the truth behind their idyllic childhood is about to blow her world apart.

Told in alternating narratives between 1990s Vermont and present-day New York, The Children is a twisting narrative of family secrets and long-held resentments, which asks whether we can ever really exorcise the ghosts of a childhood forsaken in favour of a parent's artistic vision.

Review

I wonder if the author realises that after this book the expectation is a set of the Ninth City books - written retrospectively, which can be read as readers navigate their way through the story of the Sharpe children. We also demand (okay I demand) not only the aforementioned, but also a sequel (maybe more) to this fascinating venture into magical realism with a smorgasbord of fantasy and speculative fiction woven into the story.

Guin and Ennis appear to live a life of freedom in the midst of the creatives of the world. They explore their surroundings, whilst their parents are consumed by their own egocentrical meanderings. Father, the talented actor who despises being drawn away from the limelight. Mother, the writer who will draw power, steal ideas and sacrifice anything to continue her written exploration into her beloved world of the Ninth City.

The childhood of Guin and Ennis is indicative of the time and era, children were a side-piece and an afterthought, often left to their own devices. I think that is especially the case for the Sharpe children who are seen as the physical representations of their parents creativity. The muses for their mother. It creates a breeding ground for pain. neglect, dangerous situations and eventually a division that can't be mended.

I adored the way this book sets up the illusion of a coming-of-age meets literary extravaganza and then evolves into an intriguing combination of fantasy and occasional magical realism. It's delivers so many elements to a variety of readers. The complex relationship between Guin, Ennis and their parents. The co-dependency of the siblings relationship. The way the world, the media and the fandom interacts with the Sharpe legacy. The depth of darkness bouncing back and forth between Guin and Ennis, which culminates in the most fascinating of twists.

It's a great read. I need more. And did I mention that we the readers need the Ninth City books too!

Buy The Children at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Bloomsbury Circus; pub date 4th June 2026. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Bookshop org.

#Blogtour Fresh Start by Johnny Worthen

It's an aboslute pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Fresh Start by Johnny Worthen. Published by Flame Tree Press, publication date June 2026. Tour courtesy of Random Things Tours.

About the Author

Johnny Worthen is an award-winning, multiple-genre, tie-dye-wearing author, voyager, and damn fine human being! Trained in literary criticism and cultural studies, he writes upmarket fiction, long and short, mentors others where he can and teaches at the University of Utah. Follow @JohnnyWorthen on X, Visit johnnyworthen.com

About the book

A ship, a gun, and a nice teal robe to find one killer on a planet of criminals: will Qays Mendoza get the answers he is looking for? New novel from the bestse ling author of the Coronam series.

On the edges of mankind’s domain there is a penal planet called Fresh Start where a sentence is at best exile to five generations, but more likely death in its harsh unforgiving wastes. It is to this planet the empire sends the worst of the worst and it is on this planet that Qays Mendoza searches for his old captain.

The galactic empire is falling, civilization contracts. Fresh Start is abandoned. Without oversight, the planet is wild, without guards; the Oubliette, the supermax prison on the supermax planet, lies open, and the Butcher of Raznak, a killer worse than the one Qays seeks, is on the loose.

With the help of a street waif called Patience, Qays seeks answers. His soul is stained with guilt and his spirit broken by complicity. Religion did not have the answer; duty did not explain it. Birthright and station were not enough. His answers lie somewhere on Fresh Start.

Review

First of all - I'm with Wallen. 

I love it when I find a gem of a storyteller and in this case a writer who also has the ability to write a incredibly clever multi-layered story in a science fiction scenario. I really enjoyed this read.

Humans, societies, communities, cults, political groups and civilisations, they eventually always evolve in the same way. Regardless of planet, era or space-time continuum. The same pockets of oppressors, the same religious zealots, the same type of persona who enoy inflicting pain and violence upon others, and of course the people who live in the space between trying to stay alive.

Qays is the very definition of a tortured and conflicted soul. His belief system has been rattled to the core, which is buried beneath a layer of guilt, grief and disbelief. He is on a quest to find answers and perhaps absolution from someone who made a decision that change the projectile their life and his own.

He is a walking contradiction, especially when the going gets tough. His inability to do what needs to be done in certain situations makes him a liability. A danger to himself and others. That broken spirit recognises the correct response, but the mind and body are unable to act upon it. His snarky retorts often enrages or confuses the people he engages with, who can't see it as the protective shield it functions as or rather the way to discourage people from digging any deeper.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the comparisons we can make to current situations, history has a way of repeating patterns, because we learn nothing and humankind is predictable. The other gold nugget is the moral of the decisions made by certain characters. Still with Wallen by the way. Superb read, highly recommend!

Buy Fresh Start at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Flame Tree Press, Publication date June2026. Buy at Amazon com.