#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.