#BlogTour The Secret of Karabakh by Fidan Bagirova

 It's my turn on the BlogTour The Secret of Karabakh by Fidan Bagirova.

About the Author

Fidan Bagirova is a writer, sculptor and multimedia artist. She was born in Geneva, to parents from Azerbaijan. They, like hundreds of thousands of others, lost everything during the Armenian invasion described in The Secret of Karabakh, and for Fidan, writing this novel has been a way of expressing her longing for the Azerbaijani people’s identity and stolen heritage. Follow @FidanBagirova1 on Twitter

About the book

You are not who you think you are. Your future is not what you think it will be. You are in danger…

 Alana Fulton, the beloved only child of wealthy American parents, is bookish and passionate about the past. In the final stages of a PhD in archaeology at the University of Cambridge, Alana’s future is bright and assured. Then comes the anonymous note: You are not who you think you are. Suddenly, everything in her life – including her sense of self – is under assault.

As Alana flees unknown pursuers and mounting danger, all that is familiar crumbles away. In time, it becomes clear to Alana why she’s being pursued; and she must ask herself where her loyalties and her future lie.

Review

It's a timely story, in a sense that it serves as a reminder how quickly an entire culture and population can fade into obscurity, due to the actions of an enemy and aggressor. The world watches as atrocities are committed, genocide takes place, and entire generations are killed, disappeared and displaced.

Alana, the daughter of wealthy American parents, suddenly becomes the target of an anonymous person. There doesn't seem to be any logical reason for the targeted harassment and threats, and then there are also the curious notes. Suggesting that she is living a lie, that Alana is not who she thinks she is.

The deeper Alana digs for the truth the more shocking the details get. Life as she knows it is a staged play for the global world to keep her family safe - who is determined to threaten that security.

It's a thriller with political and historical overtones, a learning experience whilst delivering a gripping read. Simultaneously it's also very much a story about culture, identity and family. I enjoyed the fact it had a poetic tone to the prose - the writing echoes how deep this is rooted in emotion and history. I almost wished the path that leads Alana to her heritage and past wasn't paved with the stones of a thriller - the story of the past would have been sufficiently beautiful.

Buy The Secret of Karabakh at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Lume Books pub date 14 April 2022. Buy via Lume Books.

#BlogTour The York King by Amy Licence

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The York King by Amy Licence. This is the second book in the House of York trilogy.

About the Author

Amy Licence is an historian of women’s lives in the medieval and early modern period, from queens to commoners. Her particular interest lies in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century, in gender relations, queenship and identity, female orthodoxy and fertility and childbirth. She is also interested in modernism, specifically Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, Picasso and Post-Impressionism. She has been a teacher for over twenty years. 

Amy has written for The Guardian, The TLS, The New Statesman, BBC History, The Huffington Post and contributes regularly to BBC History Magazine. Follow @PrufrocksPeach on Twitter

About the book

1464. Family conflicts, Lancaster against York, the fight for the English throne continues...

During the early years of his reign, Edward IV of York battles to bring peace and stability to the country, as Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, raises support in the north, attempting to return the Lancastrian king, Henry VI, to the throne. With uprisings imminent, the Earl of Warwick pursues a marriage alliance with France, determined to bring about a friendship between the two countries and suppress support for Lancaster.

Unhappy with the match, Edward meets Elizabeth Woodville, daughter of a squire, and marries in a secret ceremony. With verbal agreements broken, friendships damaged and old divisions reappearing, Edward finds himself facing new enemies much closer to home.

Set during the Wars of the Roses, this is the second volume in the House of York trilogy.

Review

The War of the Roses is one of the most fascinating periods in English history, although admittedly there are many more. The bloodshed, betrayal, and fights for the throne. What a dangerous time to live in. This book focuses on Edward IV and the battle to retain and indeed regain his place on the English throne. His choice of wife in Elizabeth Woodville leads to conflict and a revolt, which see his closest ally and a brother turn on him.

Interestingly this is the prelude to one of the most intriguing mysteries during the conflict between the Houses of Lancaster and York. Edward V and his brother Richard go on to become the infamous Princes in the Tower. I wonder if the next book in the trilogy will reference these events or focus on Richard III - there are doubts about the true physical appearance of Richard, the Duke of Gloucester - later Richard III, for instance. And the finger tends to be pointed in his direction when it comes to the aforementioned mystery.

I digress, as I am wont to do when it comes to this topic. The author does an excellent job of telling the history as historical faction. The topic itself can be event, character and fact heavy, and indeed keeping track of titles, names and places can be a bit of a task. Being able to engage a reader from beginning to end with a story that does due diligence to the actual events is not an easy task, however Licence does it very well.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the book or to read further work by this author.

Buy The York King at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Lume Books; pub date 3 Mar. 2022. Buy at Amazon com.

#PublicationDayPush The Tobacconist's Wife by AnneMarie Brear

Today it's the Publication Day Push for The Tobacconist's Wife by AnneMarie Brear.

About the Author

Award winning & Amazon UK Bestseller AnneMarie Brear has been a life-long reader and started writing in 1997 when her children were small. She has a love of history, of grand old English houses and a fascination of what might have happened beyond their walls. Her interests include reading, travelling, watching movies, spending time with family and eating chocolate - not always in that order! She is the author of historical family saga novels.

Follow @Annemariebrear on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit annemariebrear.com, Buy The Tobacconist's Wife

About the book

Having lost her father, Thea Goodson is alone in the world.

It is true she has a husband, but Ernie is a brutal man, more inclined to use his fists to keep Thea in line than to build on their marriage. And besides, Ernie Goodson has secrets – secrets that even his wife cannot share.

But in Victorian Yorkshire, appearances must be kept up, so Thea goes on powdering her bruises and forcing a smile as she toils in Ernie’s home and tobacco shop. There seems to be no other option.

That is, until a handsome and well-bred stranger arrives to set up shop next door…

Can Thea escape her misery and break from the conventions of society? Or will the clutches of her abusive husband confine her forever?

Review

Thea is trapped in a repetitive cycle of violence and her fate being controlled by men, as was usually the case in this particular era. Every day she tries to prove her worth to a man, who is neither interested in her or in any profit he could make from her or in her as a wife. She is merely a burden. A favour to her, as he often reminds Thea, saving her from the streets.

Is a roof over her head, food and clothing worth the physical and verbal abuse and resentment she receives. When it comes down to making a choice Thea isn't brave enough to choose what is best for her personally.

She doesn't realise how much her life is going to change when a new neighbour takes over the shop next door. One can only hope it gets better than the humiliation and pain she already has to endure.

Brear writes a story of determination, survival, pain and endurance. The slim shiver of hope on the horizon of a bleak existence, and yet with it a blossoming friendship and love. Fighting against what society considers to be the norm and thereby ignored.

Buy The Tobacconist's Wife at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lume Books; pub date 12 Nov. 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Hive. Buy at Bookshop.org.