#BlogTour High Blue Sky by Victoria Connelly

It's my turn on the BlogTour High Blue Sky by Victoria Connelly.

About the Author

Victoria Connelly lives in a 500-year old thatched cottage in rural Suffolk with her artist husband, a springer spaniel and a flock of ex-battery hens. She is the million-selling author of two bestselling series, The Austen Addicts and The Book Lovers, as well as many other novels and novellas. Her first published novel, Flights of Angels, was made into a film in Germany. Victoria loves books, films, walking, historic buildings and animals. If she isn’t at her keyboard writing, she can usually be found in her garden either with a trowel in her hand or a hen on her lap. 

Follow @VictoriaDarcy on Twitter, Visit victoriaconnelly.com 

About the book

Summer has arrived and it’s over a year since strangers Abigail and Edward bought Winfield Hall at auction and restored it together. Now, two new tenants are about to join them at their beautiful Georgian home.

Workaholic Harry Freeman has forgotten what it is to relax so when he meets healer, Aura Arden, and learns to meditate with her, he can’t believe how good he feels and he soon finds himself falling for her. But, with her bare feet and crystal beads, Aura’s not a big hit with Harry’s old-fashioned parents, and he finds himself torn between the people he loves most in the world.

It isn’t just Harry and Aura finding love. Summer has woven its spell over Edward and his brother Oscar, and both are making a play for Abi. But Abi isn’t happy at having to choose between these two very different men and, when Oscar’s behavior spirals out of control, she realizes that some decisions can have devastating consequences.

High Blue Sky is the second novel in the heart-warming trilogy from the bestselling author of The Rose Girls and The Book Lovers series.

Review

This is the second book in the House in the Clouds series. Abi and Edward have finished renovating Winfield Hall and are ready to find the perfect candidates to share their spectacular home. Of course their choices are as different as night and day, which is also reflected in the way Abi chooses her love interests.

I love the whole idea of splitting up an old building or estate between two people who have different views about the people who should live there, as long as it isn't acrimonious. There is nothing worse than having your safe haven disturbed, invaded and destroyed by nightmare neighbours. 

Also the idea of retreating from the rat race and having a peaceful place that allows you to take a breath. In all honesty it is only that way for a small group of the population. The majority either have no choice and have to accept the negatives that come with living in overpopulated areas or enjoy the rat race element of life.

Connelly delves quite deeply into the aspect of peace, taking time to relax and enjoy life, through the character of Aura. I think it's an important aspect of wellbeing and health in our day and age. It's a feel good read with some serious sub-plots, but the infusion of joy and good intention is woven throughout the story.

Buy High Blue Sky at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave by Ryan Holiday

 It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave by Ryan Holiday. Courage is Calling will be the first in his highly anticipated four book series on the four Stoic virtues.

About the Author

Ryan Holiday is one of the world's foremost writers on ancient philosophy and its place in everyday life. His books, including The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego Is the Enemy, The Daily Stoic, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Stillness Is the Key have sold millions of copies and been translated into over 40 languages. He lives outside Austin, Texas, with his wife and two boys... and cows and donkeys and goats. Follow @RyanHoliday on Twitter, Visit ryanholiday.net

About the book

Fortune favours the bold. All great leaders of history have known this, and were successful because of the risks they dared to take. But today so many of us are paralysed by fear. 

Drawing on ancient Stoic wisdom and examples across history and around the world, Ryan Holiday shows why courage is so important, and how to cultivate it in our own lives. Courage is not simply physical bravery but also doing the right thing and standing up for what you believe; it's creativity, generosity and perseverance. And it is the only way to live an extraordinary, fulfilled and effective life. 

Everything in life begins with courage. This book will equip you with the bravery to begin.

Review

The hardcopy of this book is small, compact and beautiful. The kind of book a bookworm collects, so the fact this is the first in a series of four is great news. Courage, Temperance, Justice and Wisdom. Beginning with Courage.

In a time and era where being courageous enough to swim against the current and not toe the line, especially when it usually means the possible loss of status, means and power - it's not to be lightly dismissed. In a time where we have a term for people who fear to get involved when a crime is committed in front of them, the brave should be acknowledged and not pitied for the consequences of involvement.

Having spent many years talking philosophy, albeit many decades ago when I was younger and less cynical about life and the meaning of it, I group philosophers into certain groups. You have the bog standard historical figures you studied at school or uni, the academics who teach and debate, those who enjoy the thought process regardless of academic status, and the ones who distort the essence of philosophy for fame and financial gain. Sam Harris is one of the last.

Holiday takes the stoic virtue of courage and evaluates it from every angle, both historically and in our present situations. How do we react to acts of courage or treat the person who dares to act with boldness, whilst others don't? Which emotions does it awaken in us, why do we differentiate when it comes to the why, when and where?

I really enjoyed this. It's a riveting and engaging read, but it is also food for thought and conversation. In fact I need to think about who I can buy it for in order to discuss the content. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Buy Courage is Calling at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Profile Books; pub date 28 Sept. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Nick by Michael Farris Smith

 It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Nick by Michael Farris Smith. - 'September marks the 125th Anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Birth - Nick Carraway steps out of the shadows and into the spotlight in this exhilarating prequel to The Great Gatsby, leading up to Carraway’s meeting with the enigmatic Jay Gatsby.'

About the Author

No Exit Press also publish Michael Farris Smith’s novels The Fighter, Desperation Road and most recently Blackwood. Farris Smith has been a finalist for the Gold Dagger Award in the UK, and the Grand Prix des Lectrices in France, and his essays have appeared in publications including The New York Times. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his wife and daughters. Follow @michael_f_smith on Twitter, Visit michaelfarrissmith.com

About the book

This rich and imaginative novel from critically acclaimed author Michael Farris Smith breathes new life into a character that many know only from the periphery. Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby’s world, he was at the centre of a very different story – one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I. Floundering in the wake of the destruction he witnessed first-hand, Nick embarks on a redemptive journey that takes him from a whirlwind Paris romance – doomed from the very beginning – to the dizzying frenzy of New Orleans, rife with its own flavour of debauchery and violence.

NICK is an inspired concept realised with delicate, rhythmic prose, profound characterisation and deep emotion. Charged with enough alcohol, heartbreak, and profound yearning to transfix even the heartiest of golden age scribes, NICK reveals the man behind the narrator who has captivated readers for decades.

Review

First and foremost I now have to go back and read The Great Gatsby again in order for this prequel of sorts to find a better lace in my reading experience and literary consciousness - Nick Carraway before he meets Jay Gatsby, the story previously untold.

The author makes a really interesting point in the foreword, which is probably something readers who go back to the same books now and again will be aware of. Your reading experience is always subjective and always seen through your own frame of reference. Those frame of references change depending on what age or stage of life you are currently in. It changes the way you interpret and experience the words you are reading.

Take that concept and adapt it to a book of notable literary fame and then consider the experience. The awed young reader, becomes the disenchanted one and the older reader is perhaps the one who comprehends as never before. It's an incredibly insightful thought. Now combine that with the fictional backstory of  a character from The Great Gatsby, hence now needing to read the GG again.

It absolutely helps that the author does this with an astute emotional connection to Nick, the prose is both lyrical and at times brutally frank, which lends itself to the creation of a beautiful piece of work. It's an homage to the work of scribes of the golden age.

Buy Nick at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎No Exit Press; pub date 24 Sept. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke

 It's my turn on the The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke - 'the brand-new chilling gothic thriller from the bestselling author...'

About the Author

C.J. Cooke is an acclaimed, award-winning poet, novelist and academic with numerous other publications written under the name of Carolyn Jess-Cooke. Her work has been published in twenty-three languages to date. 

Born in Belfast, C.J. has a PhD in Literature from Queen’s University, Belfast, and is currently Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, where she researches creative writing interventions for mental health. C.J. Cooke lives in Glasgow with her husband and four children. She also founded the Stay-At-Home Festival. Follow @CJessCooke on Twitter, Connect with CJ via linktr.ee/CJCooke

About the book

Upon the cliffs of a remote Scottish island, Lòn Haven, stands a lighthouse. A lighthouse that has weathered more than storms. Mysterious and terrible events have happened on this island. It started with a witch hunt. Now, centuries later, islanders are vanishing without explanation. Coincidence? Or curse?

Liv Stay flees to the island with her three daughters, in search of a home. She doesn’t believe in witches, or dark omens, or hauntings. But within months, her daughter Luna will be the only one of them left. Twenty years later, Luna is drawn back to the place her family vanished. As the last sister left, it’s up to her to find out the truth . . . But what really happened at the lighthouse all those years ago?

Review

At the midst of this story is the fate of innocent women, women scapegoated by fearful communities looking to find reason and solution to tragedy, pain, destruction and death. Lòn Haven has it's own troubled past where this is concerned, a black hole of suspicion and folklore, which is eventually what Liv Stay encounters when she moves there with her young daughters.

The story is written like a wave of Kodak moments in history, both past and present. The witches, Liv and then her daughter Luna. Along the way children go missing, some of them return, although there is a question whether those who return are who they say they are.

I loved the premise, I just thought the execution was lacking. It's disjointed, confusing and there is an essence of outsmarting the reader, which is often detrimental to a story. Even the speculative element can't erase what it lacks in flow and continuity. A missed opportunity for a spectacular read. 

What Cooke does do well is pull the threads of history, mystery, myth and folklore together, and then sets fire to it all with the speculative idea that is woven into the fabric of this treble timeline read. It's magical realism, historical fiction, a thriller and a mystery. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another of her books, because of the creativity, the bending of boundaries and the melding of each element. Clearly one to watch.

Buy The Lighthouse Witches at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HarperCollins; pub date 30th September 2021 - Hardback £14.99 - Ebook | Audio. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Collector's Daughter by Gill Paul

 It's my turn on the BlogTour The Collector's Daughter by Gill Paul.

About the Author

Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specialising in the twentieth century and often writing about the lives of real women. Her novels have topped bestseller lists in the US and Canada as well as the UK and have been translated into twenty-one languages. The Secret Wife has sold over half a million copies and is a book-club favourite worldwide.

She is also the author of several non-fiction books on historical subjects. She lives in London and swims year-round in a wild pond. The Collector’s Daughter is her tenth novel. Follow @GillPaulAuthor on Twitter, on Instagram, on Goodreads, Visit gillpaul.com

About the book

An unforgettable discovery - In 1922, Lady Evelyn Herbert’s dreams are realised when she is the first to set foot inside the lost tomb of Tutankhamun for over 3,000 years.

A cursed life - But the months after the discovery are marred by tragedy, when Eve’s father dies suddenly and her family is torn in two. Desperate to put the past behind her, Eve retreats into a private life with her new husband.

A deadly choice - But she is harbouring a dark secret about what really happened in Egypt. And when a young woman comes asking questions years later, the happiness Eve has finally found is threatened once more…

Review

Poor Eve is unable to grasp all the memories she once retained, to remember what a fantastic opportunity she had as a young girl. Being part of one of the most important excavations of the 20th century. Her body no longer listens to her as it used to, but then again perhaps there are things that are best forgotten.

Interesting combination of a historical fact and fiction - taking the essence of an idea and filling in the blanks of an existing map. Aside from the fact it deals with an intriguing part of history it also throws up a genuine question antiquities experts, historians and governments are battling with more frequently.

The treasures unearthed during archeological digs and research, the treasure hunting and the plundering by our colonial ancestors - who owns those artefacts and items? Surely the exploitation of historical artefacts should come under the same remit as war crime plunder. It's only understandable that the country of origin may try to retrieve said artefacts eventually, especially if they are of immense historical value.

One could argue that those items are in danger of being destroyed in the country of origin - terrorists and agitators often target priceless artefacts, monuments and buildings - however that would be a very colonial attitude, wouldn't it? It seems such a tragedy, and again par for the course when it comes some items being kept in private collections.

It's a fascinating subject, which Paul weaves cleverly into this dual timeline story of a woman who is no longer able to remember just how important a role her own family played in history.

Buy The Collector's Daughter at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Avon; pub date 30 Sept 2021 - Paperback £7.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogBlitz A Nun for the Viking Warrior by Lucy Morris

 It's my turn on the BlogBlitz A Nun for the Viking Warrior by Lucy Morris.

About the Author

As a little girl, Lucy Morris was obsessed with myths and legends. She regularly escaped into the adventures of her imagination, with characters who were strong and fierce. Now fully grown she finds she can't forget the stories plaguing her mind and has to write them down. A book by Lucy Morris will sweep you away on a historical adventure filled with vivid characters haunted by their pasts. Her books will have you flying through her pages, desperate to reach her characters passionately romantic happily ever after. 

She lives in Essex, UK, with her husband, two young children, and two cats. She has a massively sweet tooth and loves gin, bubbly and Irn-Bru. A member of the UK Romantic Novelists' Association, she was delighted in 2020 to accept a two-book deal with Harlequin after submitting her story to the Warriors Wanted submission blitz for Viking, Medieval, and Highlander romances. Writing for Harlequin Historical is a dream come true for her and she hopes you enjoy her books! Follow @LMorris_Author on Twitter, @lucymorris.author on Instagram, on Facebook, Visit lucymorrisromance.com

About the book

Forced to wed the warrior - Falling for the man… Noblewoman Amée Évreaux had pledged her life to God, until her father promised her in marriage to thundering Norseman, Jorund Jötunnson. After escaping her overbearing father, Amée vows never to fall under another man’s thumb, but her resistance to being Jorund’s wife turns to desire as she gets to know her intriguing new husband. For beneath his fierce exterior she’s glimpsed an unexpectedly pure heart. If only she can penetrate the fortress that surrounds it…

Review

Amée is in preparation to give herself entirely to God, just a few more steps and she will be become one of his many brides. Her plans are thrown into disarray when a brutal Viking and his merry band of warriors literally knock down doors to get to her - the bride to be of said Viking.

Her father has decided to use her as a political and economic pawn, under certain restrictions of course, but very much as a bargaining chip. She is horrified by the news and simultaneously excited by this stranger who has burst into her life.

This is Highland romance without the Scotsman more or less. The innocent maiden is consumed with desire whilst simultaneously being scared out of her wits by the rugged eye-candy aka Viking warrior - standard plot, although Morris does go the extra mile to give her characters some depth. Naturally the story doesn't disappoint when it comes to the excruciating pulsating attraction, which culminates in smouldering 'it takes two to tango' scenes. 

If you're looking for a heartbreak, desire and passionate encounters, then this will be right up your street. 

Buy A Nun for the Viking Warrior at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mills & Boon Historical; pub date 1 Oct. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Add Cyanide to Taste by Karmen Špiljak

 It's my turn on the BlogTour Add Cyanide to Taste by Karmen Špiljak. Illustrations by Luka Rejec.  

About the Author

Karmen Špiljak is a Slovenian-Belgian writer with a taste for dark and twisty tales. Her short fiction has been awarded and anthologised. Her as yet unpublished thriller was shortlisted and received an honourable mention on 'The Black Spring Crime Fiction Prize 2020'. She writes across different genres, from suspense to horror and science fiction.

She currently lives in Brazil with her husband and two cats. Find out more on karmens.net, Follow karm3ns33ta on Twitter, facebook.com/karmenspiljak or instagram.com/karmenseeta

About the book

A sinister cook, a cursed cake, and a casual dinner between neighbours that goes murderously wrong. This debut collection of dark tales and recipes by Karmen Špiljak ascends the jagged culinary heights you’ve hungered to explore but could never find on a map. As the characters swoon over every unforgettable mouthful, and sometimes bite off more than they can chew, you’ll find yourself asking: What would I be willing to pay for the meal of a lifetime?

If feasting on culinary noir leaves you hungry, extend your pleasure by preparing the dishes featured in the stories. All recipes provided are cyanide-free.

Review

In a collection like this it is hard to pick favourites and leave others by the wayside. Each story is indeed its own self-devouring snake of mystery, revenge, darkness and evil. Ending with the inevitable and never in quite the same way.

The only downside to culinary noir, crime or stories in general is the jiggling of the synapses that will eventually convince you to eat or snack. It's a talent in itself being able combine the delight of taste and smell with the depravity of death.

A special nod for Three Roses - I loved the combination of magical realism, mystery, folklore and the fallacy of human nature. 

Špiljak has a knack for the short story - not everyone has - and for creating sharp bursts of darkness. There is often a misconception about how easy it is to write short stories. Imagine having to fit an entire plot, characters and tentative worldbuilding into the smallest space possible, and still be able to engage the reader.

Not only does the author do that, but also successfully. I sincerely hope she decides to engage readers with a greater and longer noirish encounter or perhaps just a venture into the world of crime, because it's clearly her forte.

And - depending on the cookie, I will always eat the last one.

Buy Add Cyanide to Taste at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.