blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: After Darcy – Joanna Nadin

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It is a truism, frequently invoked by the members of the Meryton Women’s Guild, that one is only ever as happy as one’s unhappiest child. So, with five daughters and four grandchildren, it was a miracle Mrs Hester Bennet ever raised a smile. At best, she was only ever tentatively pleased, and even then understood that her contentment rested on the edge of a gaping precipice into which she would inevitably tumble the second Kitty or Lydia (it was almost always those two) messaged in the clutches of yet another existential crisis…

Lydia, home from Paris on New Year’s Day in a welter of hangover and humiliation, finds herself swearing off drink, drugs and sex for the next 12 months. Through her unfamiliar sobriety, she’ll see a landmark year for all the Bennet sisters, including a disruptive 40th birthday, an engagement and a funeral: and, maybe, coming to terms with the results of a run-of-the-mill run-in with a jackknifed lorry on a wet stretch of the M1…

A sharply funny and unexpectedly tender modern sequel to Pride & Prejudice, this is a story of sisterhood, survival, and second chances. For fans of Marian Keyes, Dolly Alderton, and anyone who’s ever wondered what the Bennet sisters would be like in the age of therapy, WhatsApp, and wellness trends gone rogue.

Joanna Nadin is a former broadcast journalist, political speechwriter and special adviser to the Prime Minister. Since leaving politics she has written numerous books for children and adults, including an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility for younger readers, the Carnegie Medal-nominated Joe All Alone, which is now a BAFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated BBC drama, andthe Flying Fergus series with Sir Chris Hoy. Originally from Essex, she now lives in Bath, and is Associate Professor in Creative Writing at University of Bristol.

My thoughts: this modern day update to the sisters of Pride & Prejudice is fantastic, funny, sad, thoughtful, entertaining and hugely enjoyable. The Bennet sisters are up to date with dating apps, WhatsApp chats and a very different take on the 18th Century.

Lizzy is a doctor with twins who never stop asking questions, juggling a demanding job with parenthood, Jane is contemplating her future and that of Netherfield, Mary is still figuring things out, Kitty might be about to wreck her love life and Lydia is, well, a total mess.

While Mr Bennet takes refuge in his newspaper, Mrs Bennet is still meddling in her daughters’ lives, some things never change.

As the sisters’ year begins, there’s heart break, misunderstandings, arguments, gossip and a trip to Paris which might derail the close knit bond between the five for good.

So much fun, very cleverly done and with real heart, this is a terrific book.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

BBNYA Blog Tour: Miss Bennet’s Dragon – M. Verant

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Miss Bennet’s Dragon is the 10th place BBNYA 2025 finalist!
About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 (17 in 2025) finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official.

War threatens England, but Elizabeth Bennet’s battles are closer to home. She’s managing the family estate for her ailing father. Insufferable gentlemen keep bursting in to propose marriage. And most dangerous of all, she’s hiding a forbidden skill. Elizabeth can speak to draca, the small, fire-breathing dragons kept by gentry as frivolous status symbols.

When Napoleon’s spies attempt to steal draca, the distant war threatens even cozy Hertfordshire. Elizabeth seeks the aid of Mr. Darcy, the proud man whose proposal she once scorned. Amid the breathtaking halls of Pemberley, she discovers the truth: she is not the first woman to speak with draca. But with her secret revealed, the dark history of Pemberley tears her and Mr. Darcy apart.

One hope remains: her dangerous affinity to draca. But does she dare to trust legends and lost songs? And when a terrible betrayal threatens the man she loves, does she have a choice?

Miss Bennet’s Dragon is the first book in the award-winning Jane Austen Fantasy trilogy. For fans of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and of course Jane Austen.

Amazon Canada  USA  UK

Goodreads The Story Graph

M. Verant writes noblebright fantasy and sci-fi that’s exciting, romantic, and celebrates diversity and empowerment. His latest work is Emma’s Dragon, book 2 in the award-winning Jane Austen Fantasy series. Dragons of the Great Wyves, book 3 of the trilogy, is next, followed by Tiger Seed, a contemporary fantasy rooted in ancient Indus history. He collects Jane Austen paraphernalia and two-legged dragons while dodging wild turkeys in the San Francisco Bay Area. Follow him on Bluesky @mverant.com.

My thoughts: This was a lot of fun, it’s Pride & Prejudice & Dragons (not Zombies) and since I enjoy both the work of Miss Austen and dragons, right up my street, or should I say, in my library!

Lizzy Bennet discovers she can communicate with the small forms of draca that live in England, no true dragons exist, or so she believes (maybe St George put them off?) but married couples of her social class can bond with a variety of the smaller types, on their wedding night. A lot of the lore is shrouded in mystery, the church rather disapproves and not everyone can make it happen (like Mr Collins and poor Charlotte).

Mr & Mrs Bennet have a firedrake, a dog sized draca that Mrs B is somewhat afraid of, but Lizzy, and to some extent her sisters, are not. Which is handy when Lizzy starts to realise she can talk to them, and some of them talk back.

Most of the plot is familiar to fans of P&P but there are changes, the war against Napoleon is more important to this version than the original, and indeed a certain Arthur Wellesley shows up, turns out he and Darcy are old friends. There’s also a rather horrible change in one of the Bennet sisters, but Lizzy is still a remarkable, funny, intelligent heroine.

I really enjoyed this and now I’m off to read book two, which features a Miss Emma Woodhouse….

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

events, reviews

The Conversation; Hallie Rubenhold

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Last Tuesday I was kindly offered the opportunity to go and see historian and author Hallie Rubenhold talk about her work at the gorgeous St Martin-in-the-Fields in London.

Truly a great setting to listen to one of my favourite authors talk about The Five, The Covent Garden Ladies, The Scandalous Lady W and her most recent, Story of a Murder.  

This was all part of a series of talks called The Conversation 2026 where different very interesting people are invited to talk about their life and work and you can be in the audience, either in person or via live stream from your sofa.

I took my mum, who hadn’t read any of Hallie’s books before but was very interested in how she reframes the cases she writes about so that the women, who are often the victim, are the main character, not the killer, who is usually a man.

In the case of Story of a Murder, the victim is Belle Elmore, a music hall performer, by her husband Dr Crippen, who buried her in the cellar of their London home and then took off with his mistress, Ethel.

Hallie brings their world to life in her book, creating a wonderful sense of time and place, exploring why the police were so reluctant to believe anything was wrong, despite how often Belle’s friends in The Music Hall Ladies’ Guild insisted it was. The Belle they knew wouldn’t just vanish to America without a word, as her husband claimed, she would have written. It is really shocking how long it took to get Scotland Yard to investigate, and it ended in a transatlantic race to catch Crippen and Ethel who were trying to escape to Canada.

It was really interesting hearing Hallie talk about how she goes about researching and learning about the cases, and how she reconstructs the events from often quite small comments in trial transcripts and newspaper reports. She never loses sight of the fact that these were real people and only quotes dialogue that is in the record.

Honestly I could have listened to her for hours, she was so fascinating, her work intriguing and important in re-centering women in history and not letting them end up sidelined in their own lives. Her most famous book, The Five, upset a lot of Ripperologists, because of the focus on his victims, and not who the killer might have been.

Both The Scandalous Lady W and The Covent Garden Ladies have been adapted for TV (the Ladies as Harlots) and you can see why, the books are clever and full of fascinating details.

If you’re interested in seeing any of the other conversations, visit the link above to check out the upcoming dates and book your tickets.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Don’t Look Back – JJ Burgess

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He saved her. Now he owns her.

Exhausted new mother Lucy is rushing her baby to hospital. Distracted by her sick
child, she loses control of the car, and hits Roger, her elderly neighbor.

Terrified of being sent to prison and separated from her infant son, she makes a split-second decision and flees the scene.
Her boyfriend Ian realizes what she has done and helps her cover it up. Lucy is
incredibly grateful, until she begins to understand that his kindness comes at a price.

Small favors become demands. Demands become threats.

The bargain she has made is clear. If Lucy doesn’t do everything Ian wants, he’ll go to
the police and she’ll go to jail, losing access to her child.

Meanwhile, Roger’s wife Mary is circling closer to the truth and the police start asking questions. Lucy’s world has become a suffocating prison with no hope of escape.

Unless… if something were to happen to Ian…

Goodreads
Purchase

JJ Burgess has a degree in Economics and lives in Bristol with his wife and two sons.
By day he is the Director of a greetings card company, by night he writes
psychological thrillers that ask questions about the world we live in. When he isn’t
writing, he is usually running through the woods around Bristol, thinking of new
characters and dark plots.

Instagram X

My thoughts: Lucy makes a split second, terrible decision with her baby son in the car. She can’t bear the thought of being separated from him ever. So she tells a lie and let’s her neighbour die on the side of the road. Unfortunately she confesses to her slimy boyfriend Ian, who turns out to be genuinely awful. He manipulates her, threatens her, abuses her and uses her fear against her.

But Mary, the kindly neighbour whose husband was Lucy’s victim, is asking questions and she doesn’t like Ian. She sees through him and wants to help Lucy. 

As the story twists and turns and Lucy’s life gets worse and worse, her plans to flee with her son going nowhere, a virtual prisoner in her home, can Mary do anything to help her? 

Clever, gripping and with a really unpleasant antagonist (ergh, Ian, so gross) you’re rooting for Lucy and Mary all the way through.  

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

books

Book Blitz: Ghost Curse – Brittany Arden

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We’re celebrating the release of the next book in the Blakewell Mages series, Ghost Curse by Brittany Arden!

Ghost Curse: Blakewell Mages Book Two

Release Date: March 20, 2026

Genre: Urban Romantasy

  • Morally Gray Love Interest
  • Obsessive / Possessive MMC
  • “Touch Her and D!e” Energy
  • He Fell First (and harder)
  • Love Triangle (Shifting Allegiances)
  • Slow Burn → To Spice
  • Secrets Within Secrets
  • Power Awakening
  • Urban Romantasy

Sonia never expected her Ghost Whisperer powers to unravel a conspiracy buried beneath the Blakewell Mages—or to bind the ancient being of Death himself to her soul. But the bloodline curse hunting her is accelerating, draining her magic and fraying her mortality thread by thread.

When the mist that shields Blakewell shatters and chaos erupts, Sonia is pulled into a deadly battle: Blakewell is beginning to fracture—its magic failing, its people turning desperate—Sonia uncovers secrets in her mother’s ledger that the Black House would kill to keep buried.

Her only allies are the two men she shouldn’t crave.
McDara, the detective who keeps choosing grief over his own heart.
And Death—the immortal who would raze worlds rather than lose her.
But Death’s price presses her closer to him than she’s ever dared—and surrendering to it might break her in ways even magic can’t fix.

As Sonia’s magic burns unstable and a faceless ghost stalks her every step, she discovers a haunting warning: something beneath Blakewell is waking—and it is hungry.

To survive her twenty-fifth birthday, Sonia must face a realm built of shadows, lies, and the dangers that come wrapped in trust… even if doing so costs her the memory of the one person she was never meant to forget.

A dark, addictive romantasy full of devastating choices, breathtaking magic, and a love that defies life and death.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

 

Triggers:

  • On page spice
  • Brief moments of blood or body horror (mild, not graphic. Think murder mystery moment. The crime scene is found but is not gory.)
  • Themes of death, sacrifice, and betrayal

 

BOOK BLITZ ORGANIZED BY:

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Cover Reveal: The Secret Castle in the Highlands – Julie Shackman

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Prepare to escape to Scotland with a gorgeous feel-good romance this summer…

Returning to the Scottish Highlands was never part of Poppy Summers’ plan. But life had other ideas.

With her parents’ cherished holiday cottages losing money, Poppy is determined to carry on their legacy and save the business before they’re forced to sell.

Revamping the cottages is Poppy’s priority until she meets Mason Cooper, a charming historian drawn to the highlands for research. As their newfound friendship grows, is it possible that something more might be enough of a reason to make Poppy stay for good?

Pre-order Links

Publication Dates

30th August 2026 for Ebook and 10th September 2026 for paperback

Author Bio – 

Julie Shackman is a former journalist from Scotland, who has always wanted to

write feel-good romance.

As well as being an author, Julie also writes verses and captions for greetings card companies.

Julie admits to having an obsession with stationery and handbags.

She has two sons and a Romanian rescue pup, Cooper.

The Secret Castle in the Highlands is Julie’s fifteenth novel.

Social Media Links – 

Julie Shackman Author

Julie Shackman (@G13Julie) / Twitter

Julie Georgina Shackman (@juliegeorginashackman) • Instagram photos and videos

(2) Julie Georgina Shackman | Facebook

books

Cover Reveal: What Darkness Brings – Jenna Wolfhart

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We’re thrilled to present the cover of What Darkness Brings by Jenna Wolfhart!

Pre-order this beauty today!

What Darkness Brings

Expected Release Date: May 29, 2026

Genre: Epic Romantasy

  • Morally gray characters
  • Slow burn
  • Enemies to lovers
  • Forced proximity
  • Found family

The gods are dead. The stars have vanished. And the Order controls all magic.

Angharad Morgan has served them for as long as she can remember. She raises the recently dead to steal their secrets, a skill that has earned her a coveted place within the castle walls and the trust of the inner circle. Until she reveals a hidden power no one knew she had: she can kill by touch.

Now they see her as a threat.

To earn back their favor, Angharad travels to the windswept coast to hunt a dangerous exile, learn his secrets, and use her power against him. But he’s seen her in his dreams, and he’s been expecting her.
He takes her captive in his tower just as it comes under attack.

Bound by mysterious magic, they’re forced to work together against an unknown enemy, racing to find a relic that could heal the broken sky and awaken the dead gods.

She wants to trust him—and surrender to the irresistible pull between them—but believing him might be the most dangerous choice she can make.

Now the Order is coming for them both. Angharad must choose between the only world she’s ever known…and the man who makes her want to break it.

What Darkness Brings is the first book in a slow-burn, high-stakes romantasy duology that’s perfect for readers who crave morally gray characters and heroines forced to choose between loyalty and love.

PRE-ORDER HERE

 

Triggers: death, blood, captivity

 

COVER REVEAL ORGANIZED BY:

R&R BOOK TOURS

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: A Country Meadow Murder – Katie Gayle

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Julia loves donning her gardening gloves for the first blooms of spring. But when out working in the local wildflower meadow, she does not expect to find a dead body…!

Spring has come to Berrywick, and Julia Bird is determined to enjoy the fine weather. But not all life is in flower when she stumbles across the body of building expert Basil Crow next to a bright yellow digger. And Julia believes this is no accident.

Julia’s suspicions are confirmed when forensics report a brutal blow to the head. Julia soon learns from pie shop owner, and Basil’s first wife Delilah, that he was not widely liked and left behind three failed marriages. Could one of his ex-wives have wanted revenge? Julia’s friend Tabitha was in a neighbourly dispute with him after he blocked her car in her driveway. But is this motive enough to kill?

Then local choir singer Esmeralda is found dead in the woods. The police think the murders are unconnected. Unlike Basil, Esmeralda was a well-loved soul. Who would want her dead? Digging for clues, Julia realises that both victims had a link to the proposed redevelopment of the meadow Basil was found in. But would someone really kill to save it? Can Julia find the murderer before someone else is pushing up the daisies?

A page-turning and totally charming cozy mystery set in the English countryside. Fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands will love the Julia Bird Mysteries!

Amazon

Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cozy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats. Unlike their sleuth Epiphany Bloom, neither of them have ever stolen a cat from the vet.

My thoughts: Dog walker finds body, and once again it’s Julia Bird! This time she’s stumbled across the body of local council planning officer Basil, and it turns out there are plenty of people who might have a motive to kill him, including Julia’s librarian friend Tabitha, and it isn’t for defacing library books!

As the police threaten to stop Tabitha heading to Ghana for a family wedding, Julia goes into detective mode, determined to find the culprit and prove Tabitha’s innocence.

Could the develop of a local beauty spot, popular with picnickers and dog walkers, be the reason Basil, and his colleague Esmerelda, have met sad ends in the open air? Well, the only way to find out is to read the book!

It’s another entertaining installment of Julia’s misadventures, and as well as the murders, things could be moving to the next level with Sean and there’s changes ahead for one of the charity shop crew too.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour,but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Eye Spy – C.M. Ewan

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A high-speed train. A deadly game. Three hours to save your family.

A father and daughter are caught in a deadly game of ‘I Spy’ on a train journey from Paris to London in this brand-new claustrophobic thriller from C. M. Ewan, author of The House Hunt and One Wrong Turn.

Whilst queuing for the Eurostar in Paris, Mark’s four-year-old-daughter points out a fellow traveller – a ‘Bad Man’ – during a game of ‘I Spy’. As they board the train, he realizes her description may not have been wrong, as the man now carries a different suitcase – and is sitting very near to them.

This new high-octane thriller weaves an emotional family survival plot and will leave readers shuddering.

C. M. Ewan is a pseudonym for Chris Ewan, the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of many mystery and thriller novels. Chris’s first standalone thriller, Safe House, was a bestseller in the UK and was shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.

He is also the author of the thrillers One Wrong Turn, The House Hunt, The Interview, Dead Line, Dark Tides, Long Time Lost and A Window Breaks, as well as the Good Thief’s Guide series of mystery novels. The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam won the Long Barn Books First Novel Award and has been published in thirteen countries.

Chris lives with his wife and their two children in Somerset, where he writes full time.

Find Chris on twitter/X: @ChrisEwan and Instagram: @c.m.ewan

My thoughts: Travelling with children is stressful enough without one of them being kidnapped on the Eurostar between Paris and London, but that’s what happens to Mark as he returns from a solo parenting holiday with his young daughter and stepdaughter, teenager Freya.

He looks away for a few minutes and Freya’s gone. With his toddler in his arms, he can’t search as thoroughly as he’d like, but then a stranger tells him to sit down. If he does as he’s told then Freya will be fine. But if he doesn’t, she dies.

His wife Claire isn’t stuck at work dealing with IT chaos, she’s meeting someone, someone they all believed had died six years before. And the people who have Freya would like to talk to that someone. Mark has to make that happen. But with no way to talk to Claire due to the huge underwater tunnel he’s in, he’s stuck begging for the life of his teenage daughter and keeping his other daughter occupied. It might not be a long trip but for Mark it’s the longest train ride of his life.

It’s a really compelling and fascinating concept, they’re stuck on a train, there’s nowhere to go, no way to get help, but also super limited places to stash a teenage girl. Even when they arrive at St Pancras, with the millions of CCTV cameras everywhere, they still can’t rescue Freya from her captors without problems. And when you learn what it is the kidnappers want, and how totally beyond Mark and Claire’s normal life things have become, it’s jaw dropping.

Utterly gripping, very clever and filled with so many twists, you’ll be up all night!

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

books, blog tour

Blog Tour: Return of Atlantis – Amy Cip

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We’re celebrating the March release of Return of Atlantis by Amy Cip! Read on for more details!

Return of Atlantis (Atlantis Rising Book 2)

Release Date: March 3, 2026

Genre: Fantasy/ Space Pirates/ Dragons

Ember Weathers and her friends successfully returned the lost city of Atlantis to the ground after it was cursed to the sky – you’d think that meant their troubles were over.

While Atlantis is a city built on magic and love, not everyone was happy to see it returned. Immediately surrounded by enemies – both from this world and Atlantis – now is their time to fight for peace. That’s not as easy as it sounds. As soon as Atlantis falls from the sky, it’s people are cursed with a sleeping sickness. Queen Aura binds the gates closed with a magical ward, and they’re just as trapped as they were in the sky. In order to break the curse and broker peace, Ember and her boyfriend, Shepherd, will need more than the help of their friends. They must find old and trapped magical beings, and travel through time to unravel the problems from the beginning.

But will this help things, or will it trap them forever?

Fans of Holly Black, Rebecca Ross, Sarah J. Maas, Lauren Roberts, Kiera Cass, Tracy Wolff, and Jennifer L. Armentrout will enjoy Amy Cip.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

 

BOOK TOUR ORGANIZED BY:

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