#Blogtour The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

The 40 Rules of Love has sold over 500,000 copies internationally and is one of Elif's most successful novels, a standout backlist title. Redesigned with a beautiful new package along with the rest of her backlist to tie in with the paperback publication of her latest novel There are Rivers in the Sky.

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak, published 3rd July 2025 by Penguin Uk.

About the Author

Elif Shafak is an award-winning British Turkish novelist, whose work has been translated into fifty-six languages. The author of nineteen books, thirteen of which are novels, she is a bestselling author in many countries around the world. Shafak's last novel, The Island of Missing Trees, was a top ten Sunday Times bestseller, and was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and the Women's Prize for Fiction. Her novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the RSL Ondaatje Prize. There Are Rivers in the Sky is her latest novel. Follow @Elif_Safak on X

About the book

Ela Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children, and a pleasant home. Everything that should make her confident and fulfi led. Yet there is an emptiness at the heart of Ela's life - an emptiness once fi led by love.

So when Ela reads a manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and his mentor Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, she is ready to look at her life anew. Compeled to embrace change, she embarks on a journey to meet the mysterious author. It is a quest infused with Sufi mysticism and verse, taking Ela and us into a faraway world where faith and doubt are heartbreakingly explored. The Forty Rules of Love is a mesmerising tale of discovery, language, truth and, of course, love itself.

Review

I think there was a side note of unfulfilled and unhappy people, especially women, who are susceptible to anything that looks like a solution to their problems It makes them vulnerable to persuasion and concepts that suggest a happier life, a better body, someone who loves and desires them.

It's easy to get swept away by the idea of something more when life has become a series of repetitive actions, emotional necessities and overall nothing more than societal expectations and daily routines.

It's an exploration of faith, spirituality and love - the Sufi concept or path of love. Whilst I admire the prose and the deep meaningful rules, I think it's a fallacy to believe that a life without love is of no account. The assumption that everyone encounters a love or love in general, is a gross overestimation of how everyone experiences life and relationships with the people around them.

It's novel of dual paths, that of Ela and then that of Rumi and Shams. Despite being centuries apart the three collide in thoughts, shared pathways and steering the course of their lives. The story lives a little in a hype bubble of its own creation.

Buy The Forty Rules of Love at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Penguin Uk, pub date 3rd July 2025. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Trap by Ava Glass

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Trap by Ava Glass. - The Trap by Ava Glass is published by Penguin in Paperback (£9.99).

About the Author

The Trap follows Ava Glass’ debut spy thriller The Chase and her critically acclaimed 2023 thriller The Traitor, which was a Grazia Book of the Month, Sunday Times Book of the Year, Washington Post Book of the Year, Cosmopolitan Book of the Year, and Richard & Judy Book Club pick.

Film rights to The Chase and The Traitor have been acquired by the producers of The Night Manager, who are currently working on a pilot, now in the final stages. Next step will be casting!

One of very few women shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, the UK’s spy fiction prize, and one of the vanishingly few female authors writing about spies, Ava Glass is breaking down the door to the most male dominated genres in the English language – the espionage novel.

Ava Glass’ fiction is based on her first-hand experience working with female spies for the British government, which has seen her dubbed “the new queen of spy fiction” by The Guardian. This alongside a decade working as an investigative journalist and crime reporter in America covering homicides for publications including the New York Times and Reuters makes her writing both fresh and dangerously believable. Follow @AvaGlassBooks on X

About the book

Edinburgh. The 50th annual G7 Summit is being hosted by the UK, and intelligence agent Emma Makepeace, has less than a week to decode, defuse and disable a deadly threat to the leaders of the free world.   

The Russians are in town and Emma and her team know a high-profile assassination is being planned. But who is their target? And who is the assassin? There is only one way to find out. Emma must set a trap using herself as bait.

From the majesty of the Scottish Highlands to Europe’s most lavish hotels, using private jets, phone taps, and her training and instincts honed by three years hunting Russian spies, Emma Makepeace must trick her way into the moneyed, champagne-fuelled playground of the super-rich in order to trap the killer.

But Emma doesn’t count on liking her target, or the fact that he might actually fall for her, and with the clock ticking and her cover wearing increasingly thin, danger looms over her. One false move and they could both be dead.

This summer’s hottest read by “The new Queen of Spy Fiction” (The Guardian) Ava Glass’s storytelling is compulsively readable, combining twisting plotlines, intelligent dialogue and ambiguous characters, all skilfully brought together in an epic climax. Never before has spy fiction been so nail-bitingly real. 

Review

Intel suggests someone is planning something big at the G7 summit in Edinburgh. The presence of certain high value targets in the same place as particular agent who is known for being in the midst of plots to destabilise countries, political spheres and just peace in general - it's a recipe for well-planned disaster. No wonder Emma ends up smack bang in the middle.

It's interesting how the relationship between Emma and Kate evolves - from initial irritation to an acknowledgement of similarities, and what could be deemed as recognition of the need to recruit. I wonder if there is an element of disassociation when it comes to ignoring the negative aspects of her job, because they outweigh the thrill and the positives.

If The Traitor and/or this series in general gets developed I hope they get the casting right. Whoever embodies Emma will have to be the same follow your instinct, tough cookie with the ability to adjust to the need of the moment, and the operative who never hesitates to do whatever necessary to achieve her goal. 

This is the kind of series with the potential to go a long way, and it's refreshing to have a spy thriller series with a female main character. All Emma needs now is to be pulling those strings herself.

Buy The Trap at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Penguin | August 1st 2024 | £8.99| Paperback Original. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Forgotten Promise by Paula Greenlees

 It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Forgotten Promise by Paula Greenlees.

About the Author

Paula has lived in various places, including Singapore, where she was based for three years. It was while living in Singapore that the first seeds of her debut novel, Journey to Paradise, developed. The crumbling buildings and the modern high-rises popping up almost overnight seemed to be a metaphor for the social diversity and change in Singapore at that time. However, as a young mother living there, she wondered what it must have been like as a post-war colonial wife living miles away from the familiarity of home. Despite the gloss and glamour of colonial living, women were frequently stuck in unhappy marriages, often unable to follow careers or have the independence to divorce if things went wrong – which they inevitably did. 

Her writing, although set against exotic backgrounds, is set on the cusp of change – the shift from colonial dominance to independence. She likes to dig into a variety of issues and her main protagonist is, in many ways, a metaphor for the political and social events surrounding her at that time. It isn’t always an easy journey, but in the end, success comes her way. 

The Forgotten Promise tells the story of Ella, a young Eurasian woman, whose life is turned upside down by the Japanese occupation of Malaya, and it is through her lens and that of Noor, her cook, that the narrative is revealed.

As for Paula – she has always wanted to be a writer. As a little girl she used to spend hours writing stories and turning them into books, even using flour and water as paste to stick the pages together.  She spent hours writing poetry and plays as a teenager and has always written short stories in her spare time. It is this need to write and a love of reading that led her to take a degree in English and European Thought and Literature, and later a Masters Degree in Creative Writing.

Apart from her writing, Paula hosts a regular author interview on her website. You can find out more about new and existing historical fiction authors, such as Liz Trenow, Frances Quinn and Louise Fein, by hitting the ‘author interview tab.’ 

As a writer, she feels it is important to have a wide range of interests – not only does it adds flavour and layering to prose, but allows it allows time for ideas to mull and to percolate. People watching in cafés is one, long walks is another. And food! Good food is essential to her and she loves to cook using the best ingredients she can find.  As well as a love of travel, she is a keen amateur photographer and her next trip takes her to Cambodia where she is hoping to discover an exciting hook for a new book - you can find out more about her progress there by following her on Instagram.

Paula has a grown up daughter and lives in Warwickshire with her husband and an extremely friendly Labrador. Follow @PGreenlees on Twitter, Visit paulagreenlees.com

About the book

Malaya, 1920: Two girls make a promise in the shadows of the jungle. A promise that life won't let them easily keep.

Malaya, 1941: Ella is running her late father's tin mine in the Kledang hills, while Noor works as her cook. When the war that felt so far away suddenly arrives on their doorstep, Ella is torn apart from her family. Her daughter Grace is left in Noor's care as Japanese soldiers seize the mine.

Ella is forced to make an impossible choice that takes her to England, thousands of miles from home. She is desperate to be reunited with her loved ones. But will the life she returns to be anything like the life she left behind?

Review

We meet Ella as a child, when the first invisible boundaries between herself and her friend become visible to herself and others. Then later as she lives the life of a tin mine owner, her friend now the family cook. The two of them separated by social and class structures. As the story progresses we return to the two, who have had to make extremely difficult choices to ensure their survival as their home and country is invaded during WW2.

Although the title references the bond between two young girls and a promise they make in all innocence, it is also about the way we deal with curveballs in life. Adapt and survive. Making hard decisions, sometimes at the expense of others and often made in the moment.

Despite the fact Ella is Eurasian, she is very much a product of white colonisation and privilege. I think it is frequently evident in her reactions when she returns to Malaya - the lack of understanding of a place and people who have had to adjust to extreme conditions of an oppressed country.

The destruction, pain, torture and war crimes committed by the Japanese during WW2 often take a second place to the atrocities and warfare in Europe during the same period. This opens a small window to some of it, whilst maintaining the essence of the family saga and dynamics. It was a pleasure to read.

Buy The Forgotten Promise at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎ Penguin pub date 1 Sept. 2022. Buy at Amazon com.

#Review Operation Moonlight by Louise Morrish

 A great story based on real events during WW2 - Operation Moonlight by Louise Morrish. 'Wartime France. A newly trained agent. A deadly mission.'

About the Author

Louise Morrish is a Librarian whose debut novel won the 2019 Penguin Random House First Novel Competition – chosen from over 4000 entries – in partnership with the Daily Mail. She finds inspiration for her stories in the real-life adventures of women in the past, whom history has forgotten. She lives in Hampshire with her family. Follow @LouiseMorrish1 on Twitter, Find out more about Louise at linktr.ee/louisemorrish

About the book

1944: newly recruited SOE agent Elisabeth Shepherd is faced with an impossible mission: to parachute behind enemy lines into Nazi-occupied France and monitor the new long-range missiles the Germans are working on. Her only advice? Trust absolutely no one. With danger lurking at every turn, one wrong move for Elisabeth could spell instant death.

2018: Betty is about to celebrate her 100th birthday. With her carer Tali at her side, she receives an invite from the Century Society to reminisce on the past.

Remembering a life shrouded in secrecy and danger, Betty remains tight-lipped. But when Tali finds a box filled with maps, letters and a gun hidden in Betty's cellar, it becomes clear that Betty's secrets are about to be uncovered . . .

Nostalgic, heart-pumping and truly page-turning, Operation Moonlight is both a gripping read and a novel that makes you think about a generation of women and men who truly knew what it meant to survive.

The inspiration for Operation Moonlight - The real-life SOE heroines of WW2

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a clandestine government organisation, authorized by Winston Churchill in 1940 to ‘set Europe ablaze’, which recruited and trained over 400 secret agents, 39 of them women. Only a handful of these female secret agents have been remembered for their brave achievements.

In 1942, in an unprecedented move, women were recruited into the organisation. The decision shocked and angered some people, not least because if women were given the right to bear arms they would no longer be protected by the Geneva Convention. This meant that if they were caught by the enemy, they could not expect to be treated as prisoners of war.

Nevertheless, 39 French speaking women, some of them wives and mothers, their ages ranging from 19 to 51, from a variety of backgrounds, were recruited. Once recruited, the women embarked on a 4-stage course, training alongside their male counterparts.

If the agents passed the stringent criteria, they were then sent to paramilitary training in Arisaig, Scotland. Here, they learned to survive in the beautiful, yet wild and unforgiving Scottish landscape. On the remote beaches and secluded moors, they were taught the rudiments of demolition and sabotage.

The second stage of the agents’ course was parachute training, which took place at Ringway Aerodrome in Manchester. Up until now, the women had endured everything the male agents experienced. But when it came to jumping from a plane, the women were only expected to make three practise jumps, their fourth being into France. The men, however, performed an additional night jump, and thus were awarded their ‘wings’.

The final stage of training was known as Finishing School, and took place at various Stately Homes such as Beaulieu in Hampshire. Here, the agents honed their skills in espionage, and undertook pseudo-schemes, evading capture by the Southampton police force, in readiness for their real missions in France.

Of the 39 women who risked their lives as agents, 12 were executed following their capture by the Germans, while one died of meningitis during her mission. The remainder survived the war.

Writing Operation Moonlight, Louise Morrish took inspiration from all the female agents of the SOE, but three women – in addition to Louise’s grandmother Betty – in particular: Noor Inayat Khan, Violette Szabo, and Odette Sansom Hallowes, whom Morrish researched in detail at The National Archives, at Kew.

Review

This is a dual timeline read - the reader is taken back and forth from 2018 and to the 1940s, as the secrets of an old lady who is about to celebrate a milestone birthday start to emerge. Betty still finds it hard to change old habits, which is to let sleeping dogs lie because you've been taught to never say a word, ergo periods of her life have been hidden from everyone around her. It also means there has never been any recognition for the her bravery.

You already low-key know you're going to enjoy a book when you start casting the characters for the screen version shortly after starting the book. It has the emotional bonding of Home Fire with Bletchley House suspense, and I would very much like to throw in a pop culture reference  - it absolutely gave me Fall From Grace vibes.

It's both tragically sad and disappointing that although we remember the casualties of war every year, we seem to forget the service and sacrifice of the living, during the same periods of time in history. It's a strange phenomenon that those who returned were revered less than those who didn't, to live forever in the shadow of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and yet is or was theirs not equally as great.

It's a riveting historical fiction read, which is even more fascinating given the true events it is based on, and the author absolutely does her personal connection to the story justice. These women were incredibly brave, especially considering the lack of support they knew to expect if they were caught. It's an incredible part of history that has taken a secondary place in comparison to the actions and deaths of others.

Buy Operation Moonlight at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Century, pub date 21 July 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Penguin Uk.

#Blogtour The Flames by Sophie Haydock

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Flames by Sophie Haydock. The Flames: This is the story of four muses. Let them speak...

About the Author

Sophie Haydock is an award-winning author living in east London. The Flames, is her debut novel. She is the winner of the Impress Prize for New Writers. Sophie trained as a journalist at City University, London, and has worked at the Sunday Times Magazine, Tatler and BBC Three, as well as freelancing for publications including the Financial Times, Guardian Weekend magazine, and organisations such as the Arts Council, Royal Academy and Sotheby's. 

Passionate about short stories, Sophie also works for the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award and is associate director of the Word Factory literary organisation. Her Instagram account @egonschieleswomen - dedicated to the women who posed for Egon Schiele - has a community of over 110,000 followers, and continues to grow. For more information, visit: sophie-haydock.com. Follow @Words_by_Sophie on Twitter

About the book

Every Painting tells a story, but whatt if the women on the canvas could talk...

Vienna, at the beginning of the 20th century, is an exhilarating social whirl, a city of ideas, of music, of ground-breaking art, led by Gustav Klimt until the arrival of his scandalous protegee, Egon Schiele. Into this world come four women, each with their own story to tell:

Adele: passionate, fierce, obstinate. The daughter of a bourgeois family, she rails against the strictures of her class and harbours her own wild fantasies.

Gertrude: spirited, single-minded, possessive. The sister to budding artist Egon Schiele, she longs for an exciting life away from their tempestuous family home.

Vally: determined, independent, proud. A model for celebrated artist Gustav Klimt, she has carved her way out of poverty and is now forging a brave new path for herself.

Edith: quiet, conventional, loyal. Or is she? Younger sister to Adele, Edith is overlooked and wonders if there is another version of the woman she might become.

Four flames, four wild, blazing hearts, longing to be known. In an elegant bohemian city like Vienna, everything seems possible - until an act of betrayal changes everything. For just as a flame has the power to mesmerize, it can also destroy everything in its path.

Review

The story of the women, the muses of Egon Schiele. Set in dual timelines, we meet one of the women as an older woman, desperate to find peace and forgiveness. In moments of confusion it's hard to detect the truth and clarity of the life she has led and the role she played in the world of art.

In the past the reader is introduced to the artist, who in the 21st century would have been embraced for his vision, but in the early 20th century was a scandal unto himself. Egon Schiele, a protegee of Klimt, has no concern for those around him. He wants to paint what inspires him, even if it is considered scandalous in the eyes of society. 

In pre-war and subsequently the duration of the Great War his relationships with the women who inspired such imagery unfold before us, and perhaps give an insight into his process, passion and psyche in a way that helps others to understand the font of creative source.

There is a fine line between genius and insanity, passion and borderline abusive behaviour, between obsession and the embers of mutual attraction. The author captures this untamable wildness of creative passion, and the victims who are left trailing behind in the wake of creation. Although I am certain the majority wouldn't see themselves as such, but rather as the chosen who have been deemed worthy  enough to be the source of said creativity.

Haydock draws readers into her fictional narrative and interpretation, which is supported by historical facts and nuances. The result is a riveting, powerful, passionate and visceral read. It's an excellent story I wouldn't hesitate to recommend and gift this book.

Buy The Flames at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Doubleday Uk; pub date 17 March 2022. Hardback - £14.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Penguin.

#BlogTour Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes - the 25th Anniversary Edition

Twenty-five years ago Rachel Walsh arrived on the literary scene. Funny, sad, headstrong and achingly vulnerable, fun-loving Rachel connected with readers the world over. Ahead of her return in Again, Rachel (17th February 2022), a brand new 25th anniversary edition of Rachel's Holiday will be released on 9th December 2021.

Pre-order the sequel - Again, Rachel at Amazon Uk, at Waterstones

The 25th celebratory edition will include a new foreword with celebrations from some of Marian's many fans, including Dawn French, Graham Norton an David Nicholls who reflect on the significance of Rachel's Holiday since its first publication an what it continues to mean to them today. Buy the 25th anniversary edition of Rachel's Holiday here

About the Author

Marian Keyes is a phenomenon. As a multi-million copy, internationally bestselling author, she has amassed an army of millions of fans around the world, who have been empowered by her honest portrayal of difficult topics and her relatable characters told with insight, warmth and humour.

As a beloved author herself, Marian is a passionate champion of storytellers everywhere, playing an active role in encouraging new voices. She has been the chair of judges for the Comedy Women in Print prize, a sponsor of the Curtis Brown Creative Marian Keyes scholarship, and most recently ran her own hugely popular Instagram Live series bringing free creative writing courses to thousands of viewers. Marian also uses her position to raise some of the most challenging issues of our time, including addiction, immigration, depression, domestic violence and the Repeal the Eighth campaign.

Both critically acclaimed ad commercially unstoppable, Marian's fourteenth novel Grown Ups went straight to No.1 in hardback and paperback in four global territories: UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards Audiobook of the Year. In addition to her novels, Marian has written two collections of journalism, as well as been the star of the second series of her hit show Between Ourselves aired on BBC Radio 4 at the start of 2021.

Again, Rachel, the sequel to her ground-breaking novel Rachel's Holiday, will be Marian's fifteenth novel. Marian is based in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

Follow @MarianKeyes on Twitter or @marian_keyes on Instagram, Visit www.mariankeyes.com

About the book

She's been living it up in New York City, spending her nights talking her way into glamorous parties before heading home in the early hours to her adoring boyfriend, Luke.

But her sensible older sister showing up and sending her off to actual rehab wasn't quite part of her plan. She's only agreed to her incarceration because she's heard that rehab is wall-to-wall Jacuzzis, spa treatments and celebrities going cold turkey - plus it's about time she had a holiday.

Saying goodbye to fun and freedom will be hard - and losing the man who might just be the love of her life will be even harder. But will the road to recovery help Rachel learn to love herself, at last?

Review

I bet I'm not the only one who finds it hard to believe it has been a quarter of a decade since this book was first published, and Keyes has certainly published a lot more fantastic books and reads since. What a wonderful way to celebrate her success and the impending release of the sequel to Rachel's story, than by releasing an anniversary edition.

Rachel is a party girl enjoying life and love to the fullest, right? Her family doesn't think so, and they are willing to make her confront her issues and her serious addictions in an attempt to save her.

Even though it's not my first read of this book, I am a great believer in re-reading books at different times in our lives, because our frame of references and lessons in life define the way we experience a read. The person reading this book twenty-five years ago is not the same person who has just read the same book. This can be particularly evident when it's a poignant book that left an impact in some way. 

A younger person will probably find Rachel's problems and life very relatable, whereas someone who has been around the block for a few decades will see the possible outcomes and flaws. The charming carefree party girl suddenly becomes the young person struggling to cope.

I am really looking forward to reading the sequel and finding out where Rachel went from here, and indeed where the author decided to take her story. The frank, often hilarious and equally tragic approach combined with Keyes gift of gab and storytelling - is what makes this a story that resonates with many readers regardless of whether of when and how many times they read it.

Buy Rachel's Holiday at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Penguin - Michael Joseph Books, pub date 9 Dec 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Before My Actual Heart Breaks by Tish Delaney

 It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Before My Actual Heart Breaks by Tish Delaney.

'An incredible debut exploring loneliness, grief and the long-lasting repercussions of trauma set against the backdrop of the Northern Irish Troubles.'

About the Author

Tish Delaney was born and brought up in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. Like a lot of people of her generation, she left the sectarian violence behind by moving to England. After graduating from Manchester University, she moved to London and worked on various magazines and broadsheets as a reporter, reviewer and sub-editor. She left the Financial Times in 2014 to live in the Channel Islands to pursue her career as a writer. Follow @TishDelaney2 on Twitter

About the book

'If I could go back to being Sixteen again, I'd do things differently.' When she was young Mary Rattigan wanted to fly. She was going to take off like an angel from heaven and leave the muck and madness of troubled Northern Ireland behind. Nothing but the Land of Happy Ever After would do for her. But as a Catholic girl with a B.I.T.C.H. for a Mammy and a silent Daddy, things did not go as she and Lizzie Magee had planned. 

Now, five children, twenty-five years, an end to the bombs and bullets, enough whiskey to sink a ship and endless wakes and sandwich teas later, Mary's alone. She's learned plenty of hard lessons and missed a hundred steps towards the life she'd always hoped for. Will she finally find the courage to ask for the love she deserves? Or is it too late?

Review

After reading this I stepped away and thought about the core of the story, which is surrounded by many other equally important issues, but what the core was for me. I say for me because it may be different, depending on each reader and their frame of reference. It's not easy given the fact that the author has created a poignant picture of family dynamics, political atmosphere, religious hierarchy and dominance, economic and social structure in Ireland from the 70s into the 21st century.

For me the way Mary, her personality, psyche and choices were formed and driven by and through the abuse she suffered. The fraught mother-daughter relationship, which at some point brings her to a crossroads and acknowledgement that a layer of umbilical loyalty cord results in a reversal of roles.

The way her expectation of self, her lack of self-confidence, and the constant feeling of having lost out or missed something along the way - it has defined her life and the way she loves or doesn't.

It's a story of incredible depth, and I think many readers will be able to relate to Mary or some element of the story in one way or another. Delaney is a fascinating storyteller.

Buy Before My Actual Heart Breaks at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Penguin - Windmill Books, pub date 28th October 2021 - Paperback, £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

I think the majority of people will have a certain image of Achilles in their heads thanks to the portrayal of his persona as a great warrior and handsome hero in major blockbuster movies. According to Greek mythology, Achilles was the son of the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and the immortal Nereid Thetis. She is a sea nymph, a goddess of water and also purported to be one of fifty Nereids, the daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus.

The latter is especially important during this story, because Achilles' obsession with his mother has a direct influence on the way he interacts with women, in this case Briseis. The initial attraction is caused by memories evoked by the smell of the sea on Briseis, which reminds him of the mother who abandoned him. He returns to the sea over and over again to connect with the feeling of love and protection he misses so much. Achilles becomes the young boy who yearns for the arms of his mother.

Of course in relation to Briseis and memories of his mother we are talking Oedipal complex.
The Greeks are fighting to get Helen back, the infamous Helen of Troy. This story is focused on the lives of the women in the camp of the Greeks during this conflict. Women and girls who are bounty from other conflicts and sieges. Any male above a certain age is considered a future threat and therefore annihilated.

It doesn't matter which status the women had before, they are all in the same boat when they are taken prisoner. Saying that, there is still a hierarchy with the worst position being the women no man of importance has any interest in. They are given to the soldiers as camp whores. The others are just whores by a different name. Although sometimes a woman might rise to the position of wife, it tends to be a rarity. The reality is that these women are treated like voiceless scum.

Barker combines mythology, history and women's fiction, the result is a beautiful bold and heart-wrenching piece of literature. It is the gift that keeps on giving. It speaks of the unheard voices and the imposed silence girls have always had to live with. Even the alleged hero, winner of hearts and ruler of warriors is but a man at the end of the day. A man who treats women with disdain.

Buy The Silence of the Girls at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.Publisher: Penguin; Paperback pub date 2 May 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond

Okay I admit I thought the premise was fascinating. Not just because it is messed up in a culty oppressive kind of way, perhaps more so because it is a feasible premise. It is exactly the kind of big brother organisation people like to be a part of, especially if it makes them feel elitist.

Cults like Scientology spring to mind when I read books like this. Their self anointed title of omnipotent makes them believe they can do and say anything they want to. Abuse, torture, maligning reputations are right up their alley, and all whilst making their sheople pay for the privilege of being played for a fool.

It has both a masochistic and sadistic streak all the way through it. Alice almost seems to enjoy or thinks she deserves the punishment she receives. She also appears to want Jake to feel the same way. Take your punishment, enjoy it and learn from it. Talk about messed up brainwashing and playing on the vulnerabilities of people.

The goal of The Pact is to keep marriages sustainable, intact and supposedly happy. The Pact comes with a whole manual full of rules and punishments. You break a rule and you get treated to the equivalent of justice via cult dictatorship.

Richmond doesn't just question what makes a marriage work long-term she also shines a great big spotlight on groups, religious or otherwise, masking as havens for those who need to feel as if they are more important than others and those who just want to belong.

It's a compelling thought-provoking read.

Buy The Marriage Pact at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Follow @michellerichmon @MichaelJbooks

Visit michellerichmond.com