To celebrate the release of the new book in the series, Veiled Scars, we want to reacquaint you with the first installment, The Timewalker Archives! Visit our Instagram page for a chance to win a paperback edition of this beauty!
The Timewalker Archives (The Timewalker Archives, Vol 1)
Publication Date: May 2023
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Time Travel
Hidden Abilities
Secret Societies
Deadly Competition
Historical Descendants
Slow Burn
Trauma & Anxiety Rep
Rivals to Lovers
Women in History
Hidden Clues
Unlikely alliances, ancient lineages, and a rich history shrouded in secrets propel Adelaide Anson in her search for the only thing that matters—the truth behind the fire that claimed her parents’ lives.
When a mysterious letter appears promising answers, she finds herself joining the allusive time traveling order of the Red Rose Society. As she makes her way from the French Revolution to the American Civil War and back again, Adelaide is left wondering who she can trust, and more importantly, who she’ll be. With danger and dashing companions at every turn, her emerging ability to see fragments of history leads her on a path to uncover the answers she seeks—and some she did not ask for.
While time unravels in ways she never thought possible, she’s forced to examine her role in history’s making. But as she quickly learns, the truth comes with a price, and some secrets are better left buried. Adelaide’s tale of twisted time will leave her asking the ultimate question—is protecting the past worth sacrificing your future?
The Timewalker Archives is the first book in a young adult historical fantasy series perfect for fans of NBC’s Timeless and Alyson Noël’s Stealing Infinity.
Adored only child of Henry VIII and his Queen, Katherine of Aragon, Princess Mary is raised in the golden splendour of her father’s court. But the King wants a son and heir.
With her parents’ marriage, and England, in crisis, Mary’s perfect world begins to fall apart. Exiled from the court and her beloved mother, she seeks solace in her faith, praying for her father to bring her home. But when the King does promise to restore her to favour, his love comes with a condition.
The choice Mary faces will haunt her for years to come – in her allegiances, her marriage and her own fight for the crown. Can she become the queen she was born to be?
MARY I. HER STORY.
Alison Weir’s new Tudor novel is the tale, full of drama and tragedy, of how a princess with such promise, loved by all who knew her, became the infamous Bloody Mary.
Alison Weir is a bestselling historical novelist of Tudor fiction, and the leading female historian in the United Kingdom. She has published more than thirty books, including many leading works of non-fiction, and has sold over three million copies worldwide.
Her novels include the Tudor Rose trilogy, which spans three generations of history’s most iconic family – the Tudors, and the highly acclaimed Six Tudor Queens series about the wives of Henry VIII, all of which were Sunday Times bestsellers.
Alison is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an honorary life patron of Historic Royal Palaces.
alisonweir.org.uk – @AlisonWeirBooks
BLOODY MARY?
Alison Weir’s personal take on Mary I.
When Headline commissioned my Tudor Rose trilogy of novels, I was gripped by the prospect of writing the final book in the trilogy, Mary I: Queen of Sorrows. I had already covered her reign in my non-fiction work Children of England: The Heirs of Henry VIII, which was published in 1996 and focused on Henry’s three successors, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, and his niece, Lady Jane Grey. Having undertaken extensive research, I was very familiar with Mary’s story and her later notoriety as ‘Bloody Mary’. But there was a personal reason for my enthusiasm too. I have enormous sympathy for Mary as the child of a broken marriage and, later, a woman fighting for the right to practise her religion. She was eleven when her parents’ marriage started to fall apart; I was eleven when mine split up. In each case, there was another woman involved, whom I loathed as much as Mary loathed Anne Boleyn. In each case, the break-up was complicated and painfully drawn out. My father did not spare me the emotional traumas from which he should have protected me, and the same could be said of Henry VIII’s treatment of Mary. My mother was as staunchly loving and supportive of me as Katherine of Aragon was of Mary. Like Katherine, she was threatened with prison if she defied my father. I understand Mary’s nervous reactions, for I reacted in a similar way, having suffered life-long anxiety as a consequence of what my father did, and I too frequently hark back to the safe, happy world of my childhood, which seems like a golden age in retrospect, as Mary’s must have done to her. My own experiences therefore inform this book. I am well placed to understand how the ‘Great Matter’ of the ‘Divorce’ impacted on Mary. I would not now define myself as a victim, but that was nevertheless what I was – and what Mary was. And both of us, I feel, eventually rose above it. Since I published Children of England, much new research has been done on Mary, and new biographies have been published, focusing on her achievements. In recent years, I have become aware that there has been a concerted attempt to rehabilitate her reputation. Yet when I came to write this novel, and revisited my own research, I found that I could not entirely support this new view. Yes, it is important to credit Mary for her achievements, the greatest of which was her successful taking of the throne that was rightfully hers. No one could doubt her courage or her presence of mind. Against tremendous odds, she overcame an attempt to replace her with her cousin, Lady Jane Grey, and emerged triumphant, to a roar of popular acclaim. But there, with her accession, my sympathy for Mary begins to evaporate. As a novelist, it was a challenge to make her a wholly sympathetic heroine, because I find it impossible to see her that way. I have tried to look at things from her point of view, but I cannot go against what the historical evidence is telling me – and this book is based closely on the historical record. And so this novel offers what I hope is a balanced – if controversial – portrayal.
My thoughts: I found this to be quite a balanced view of Mary I, from her turbulent childhood and all it’s worries, over succession and legitimacy, being shunted from Royal residence to Royal residence, having the people she cared for removed and given new servants depending on the whim of the King and whichever Queen he had at the time. Being separated from her mother for long periods of time, her complicated relationships with her siblings and stepmothers.
Then when she does take the throne, the repressive nature of her reign. The terrible religious persecution of those years, the political upheaval and throughout, her terrible health problems. She married late in life and her inability to produce an heir weighed heavily on her. Her insistence that England should return to Rome caused endless problems that she refused to allow her council to temper.
Alison Weir is a writer I really like, her novels are always well researched and written, she makes even the most unpleasant members of the court interesting, I think Henry VIII was a monster, but she gives us his daughter’ loving but bewildered view of him here, she cannot understand his behaviour towards her mother, Katherine of Aragon, or herself, when he declares her illegitimate.
Mary is not the most likeable monarch and history has not portrayed her well, but I can empathise with her health worries and loneliness, if not her intolerance and rigidity. Her marriage isn’t a good one, and the weight of expectation on her was somewhat cruel, although her life was one of extreme privilege.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
‘Tis said, if the Dragon Prince falls, so falls the kingdom. Lucky for the kingdom, I—a nobody thief—am here to catch him. But now he won’t let me go, and I may be the next feast of The Dreadmarked Dragon.
We’re celebrating the release of Lightfall by Elsa Jade! Make sure you treat yourself to this one!
LightFall: The Dreadmarked Dragon
Publication Date: May 13, 2024
Genre: Romantasy/ Adventure
Epic romantasy adventure
Snarky heroine makes bad choices
Doomed prince
Found family
We all have wounds
You are my only light
He is the Dragon Prince, cursed and bound by sacrificed auras to a savage demon dragon. Wielding the barely tamed monster like a weapon, the prince fights the hellish horde to preserve the light of all the Living Lands.
Me… I’m nothing. Or not quite nothing. I’m a good thief, with clever fingers and a wayward tongue—which only gets me in trouble when the glowering Dragon Prince rescues me. He wasn’t rescuing just me, of course. There’s a fine lady and a brave soldier and a shy little shepherd boy, and also a holier-than-me cleric and a king.
Now, because of a mistake that was not really mine, I’m trapped in a dangerous adventure. Demonic verges are splitting across the kingdom, releasing ghastly spawn from the Lost Lands. Even worse, the enchanted chains on the dragon are fraying, and the lifetime of scars that wound the Dragon Prince are bleeding where only I can see.
We must find our way through ancient tomes and fabled talismans and terrible battles before the kingdom crumbles. But I might be falling too—falling for the dreadmarked prince. He did save me, after all, so I might just save him in return.
Enter the exciting world of the Living Lands in LIGHTFALL, book one of The Dreadmarked Dragon duology, an epic romantic fantasy, where noble intrigue and demonic war are equally fatal, where one touch in the dark may lead to desire or damnation—and love might be most lethal of all. For fans of slow-burn romantasy who thought The Lord of the Rings needed a few more kisses.
Elsa Jade (also writing as Jessa Slade) fell in love with Tolkien’s stories way back in the day but always wished for just a bit more kissing. Now she writes paranormal romance, science fiction romance, and fantasy romance for everyone who howls at the moon or looks up at the stars to dream—with happily ever afters, guaranteed. The Dreadmarked Dragon duology is her first epic “romantasy” adventure. Learn more about Elsa Jade and the worlds of the Mating Season and Mating Fever, the Court of the Steel-Born Fae, and the Intergalactic Dating Agency, then sign up for the Elsa Jade Occasional Newsletter at ElsaJade.com
Programme highlights include an all-star lineup of acclaimed writers and global bestsellers including Mick Herron, Louise Candlish, M.W. Craven, James Comey, Lucy Foley, Femi Kayode and Saima Mir joining Special Guest headliners Chris Carter, Jane Casey, Elly Griffiths, Peter James, Erin Kelly, Vaseem Khan, Dorothy Koomson, Shari Lapena, Abir Mukherjee, Liz Nugent and Richard Osman, the crowning of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the much anticipated Critics’New Blood panel which showcases four talented debut novelists. This year’s cohort, selected by a panel of the UK’s leading crime fiction critics, are Jonny Sweet, Martta Kaukonen, Claire Coughlan and Colin Walsh. For aspiring writers, Creative Thursday offers an immersive day of workshops and talks led by bestselling writers and industry experts, with the unique opportunity to pitch work in the ‘Dragon’s Pen’.
A Festival for everyone, the evening events offer a host of opportunities for readers to engage with their favourite writers and include the hotly contested Late Night Quiz hosted by Val McDermid and Mark Billingham and the highly anticipated Confessions of a Crime Writer where well-known authors disclose deliciously dreadful secrets from their past and the audience decide if they should be forgiven, or not. Two hot-ticket Author Dinners will seereaders join forces with crime writers Kia Abdullah, Chris Brookmyre, Sunny Singh, Imran Mahmood,Lesley Thomson, Syd Moore, John Sutherland, Trevor Wood, Araminta Hall and many more to solve a murder mystery with a twist.
Ruth Ware, bestselling author and 2024 Festival Programming Chair said:
“After so many months of plotting and planning, I’m thrilled with the incredible showcase of crime writing talent the Festival committee has put together. From newcomers to titans of the genre, from cosy crime to hard-boiled whodunnits, from psychological thrillers to forensic procedurals, therereally is something for everyone at this year’s Festival. But for me the true joy of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival has always come down to one thing: the sheer pleasure of being among so many fellow book lovers, in a festival that puts the reader at the heart of everything. If you’re a booklover, this Festival is for you.”
Airus Lamar’s life seemed normal behind the walls in place by HAVEC – an organization in charge of the world, and their lives. Airus weaves his way through the cage of life alongside his best friend, Tarika. They must fight to survive among order where daily scans permeate their lives. Their survival is measured by tasks and the worth they hold, earning rations and avoiding the keen eyes and rules in place by the jurisdiction. They must work together to navigate a world where they know nothing beyond the walls around them.
But when Tarika is suddenly taken from Airus, everything he’s come to believe and taken for granted is brought into question. As he searches for answers, the life he once knew and the world around him begins to unravel. Where scans dictate not just the value of a life, but what’s beneath them that the organization hides. He comes to learn that not just their lives have been taken from them, but everything they’ve ever known.
In search for the truth and in hopes to be granted a glimpse of what life was like outside the facility, Airus joins a group called the Tithes alongside Dimitri and Gertrude. But when a member of the team suffers a tragedy that brings into question HAVEC’s methods, their hope for survival rests not just beyond the walls, but in the ruptured life that eludes them. In their race against time, they have no choice but to abandon the facility that once protected but enslaved them to face the cataclysm of a torn world that threatens to break their very selves.
With the help of his new friends and obscure acquaintances, will Airus be able to save Tarika and everyone he holds dear from the clutches of HAVEC?
CWs: Murder, graphic deaths, infant death, graphic violence, described blood, blood draining (off page), mutilation, decapitation, gore, rape (on page, mentions of and implied), profanity, brief mention of suicide, substance abuse (not my MCs), and sexual content.
Welcome to the tour for Descended by Ingrid J. Adams! Can love endure life after life? Find out for yourselves!
Descended
Publication Date: March 15, 2024 (Second Edition)
Genre: Coming-Of-Age Fantasy Romance/ Takes Place in the 90s
Nominated for Victorian Premier’s Literary Award 2024, Aurealis Award 2023, and State Library of Queensland Literary Award 2023. For fans of Stephenie Meyer, Gabrielle Zevin, and Matt Haig, DESCENDED ponders whether love can endure, life after life.
1990s SYDNEY. A LOVE THAT SPANS LIFETIMES. FOR SOME, THE VEIL BETWEEN REALMS IS STRETCHED THIN…
An imaginative tour-de-force debut about the big and small decisions we make every day and the ripple effect they have on the rest of time – even if they’re celestially pre-determined.
Indigo Wolfe, the mysterious high school heart throb everyone wants to be or be with, is barely holding on by a thread. Because he isn’t what he seems. He has secrets – secrets that consume him. Pain. Emptiness. The unending noise of all that he sees, and feels and hears that no one else can.
Why is he cursed by abilities others are not?
When he meets the ethereal Cordelia Carlisle, he’s hit with a sense of recognition that traverses lifetimes. Only she can make his world silent. He’s welcomed into her family, and as they grow closer he lets her see the parts of him he keeps hidden.
The only thing he can’t show her is that she’s everything to him.
When they’re torn apart, Indigo descends into darkness and is left standing on the precipice. He must search the depths of his soul – and his powers – and choose, whether to give up, or to fight: for himself, for answers, and for Cordelia, the one he seems destined to love and to lose over and over, life after life after life…
Fresh, masterfully written, and deeply moving, this award-nominated debut is the first in a gripping four-book series that melds paranormal romance with magical realism.
Last Testament in Bologna is the fourth in Tom Benjamin’s critically-acclaimed Bologna-set series featuring British private detective Daniel Leicester.
When an old man makes a bequest to investigate the mysterious death of his son, English detective Daniel Leicester follows a trail to one of Bologna’s wealthiest families – makers of some of the world’s most coveted supercars – and discovers that beneath the glamour of the Formula One circuit lurk sinister interests that may be prepared to kill to keep their secrets.
Tom Benjamin grew up in the suburbs of north London and began his working life as a journalist before becoming a spokesman for Scotland Yard. He later moved into public health, where he led drugs awareness programme FRANK. He now lives in Bologna. Follow Tom @tombenjaminsays on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or at tombenjamin.com
Praise for Tom Benjamin:
‘The locale is brought to life.’ The Times
‘The first division of crime writers’ Daily Mail
‘Ideal holiday reading for those pining for the tastes and smells of the Mediterranean’ The Herald, Scotland
‘Outstanding… An essential guide for armchair travelers to Italy.’ Publishers Weekly (US)
‘As many twists and turns as a plate of spaghetti’ Italia!
‘An insider’s view of life in the heart of Bologna – I felt transported there.’ Harriet Tyce
My thoughts: called in to hear the will reading of a former engineer, Daniel and the Comandante are charged by the deceased to investigate the death of his youngest son. Ruled an accident, the father never believed there wasn’t something suspicious about a racing car driver messing up a turn and driving over a drop-off.
As Daniel digs into world of Formula One racing, and the personal lives of the …. family, the Comandante is in hospital for a hip replacement, the family are all worried about him, even though it’s a straightforward operation.
Dolores seems to be undertaking her own investigation, and Daniel is a bit worried about her, and he’s teaching Rose to drive, which is a little harrowing in its own way.
It was great to be back in Bologna with Daniel and the team/family, I don’t know anything really about Formula One, and it wasn’t really needed, thankfully, as the case boils down to people and relationships. There’s lots of fathers and sons, and father-in-law/son including Daniel and the Comandante here, some relationships better than others. And Daniel is good at understanding people.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
I’m not me when I kill people. At least, that’s what I tell myself. I wake up, and I know I’ve done something horrible. My hands are covered in blood, my clothes are gone, and my stomach feels full. I don’t remember what I did. All I remember is the pain. It’s impossible to forget…
Division X
Publication Date: October 2022 (First Edition)
Genre: Paranormal Horror
The monster killing business isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
We all have a monster within… understatement of the year. For 24-year-old Randi Matheson, she quite literally does. On every full moon, it rears its hairy head. She wasn’t always like this. Ever since her attack, the animal comes out to play. And on one full moon, the beast inside tries to eat her younger brother.
Division X, a paramilitary group hellbent on the eradication of monsters, intervenes and saves Randi’s brother from being devoured. They take Randi far away and imprison her in a place no monster can escape. Held captive, Randi is given an ultimatum. Work for Division X as a new weapon in the fight against evil or be dissected. Without a real choice, she chooses the former and experiences the dark underbelly of reality as she faces off against vampires, demons, and redneck serial killers. Promised a cure to her condition along the way, Randi does her best to stay alive.
When Milla Graham returns to her childhood home of Raven’s Edge after eighteen long years away, she finds the perfect English village looks much the same – all rose-covered cottages, nosy neighbours, and quaint teashops full of scones and gossip.
But her nostalgic visit takes a dark turn when the body of a local woman is discovered in an abandoned manor house on the edge of the forest. The murder scene is chillingly close to that of Milla’s own mother, whose death was never solved. As she begins to investigate the connection, Milla realises this adorable village is guarding some dark secrets.
Handsome, grumpy local police detective Ben Taylor doesn’t believe in coincidences, and he doesn’t think mysterious newcomer Milla Graham is as blameless as she seems. Why is she really here in Raven’s Edge, and how come she keeps turning up at his crime scenes, causing trouble? Can he solve this murder case without losing himself – or his heart – to the rather distracting Ms Graham?
When another body is found, everyone becomes a suspect – from the barmaid at the local pub toMilla Graham herself. It seems that in Raven’s Edge, not everybody is as friendly, or as innocent, as they first seem.
This picture-perfect English village is full of rumour, romance… and murder! A gripping, funny, absolutely unputdownable murder mystery, which is perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Fiona Leitch and M.C. Beaton.
My thoughts: Milla Graham has returned to the village she left as a child in order to find out what really happened the night her mother and siblings died. She was also supposedly killed that night, which is causing some problems.
When a body is found in the ruins of her old family home, complete with her missing purse and ID, things get even more complicated.
DI Ben Taylor, who also grew up in the village, is intrigued by Milla, but also a bit suspicious. Her story doesn’t entirely add up. Both Ben and Milla are trying to solve the murder, and then another body turns up.
Things get very complicated and Milla’s family is very messy and pretty terrible. There’s a lot of things she’s believed, that turn out to be false, and others that when she finds out, answer questions she had a long time. And she and Ben are falling for each other.
A gruesome murder in charming Raven’s Edge sends Milla Graham sleuthing to catch a killer, win back her detective ex, and dig up a decades-old secret along the way…
When a shocking murder rocks the picture-perfect English village of Raven’s Edge, erstwhile amateur detective Milla Graham finds herself right at the centre of the mystery. Still reeling from her recent breakup with local police officer Ben Taylor, Milla sets her sights on solving the case, hoping to win Ben back.
But when the evidence begins to point to Milla’s old friend and former paramour Lorcan Black, she must choose between her loyalties to the past and the possibilities of the future. Meanwhile, Ben is on a different trail – he’s begun to suspect that the murderer could be someone from his own family’s dark history.
Further complicating matters are Milla’s meddling grandmother, Ben’s no-nonsense police partner Harriet and David the surprisingly young and sexy new vicar.
With shocking twists around every cobblestone corner, the truth refuses to stay buried for long in this quaint village, whose picture-postcard façade hides decades of buried grudges, plots, and betrayal.
Will Milla solve the mystery in time to rescue her relationship with Ben? Can Ben face the skeletons in his family’s closet before one of his own relatives meets the same bloody end?
Brimming with drama, intrigue, romance and quirky characters, this addictive tale will have cosy mystery fans racing through the pages long into the night. Fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Fiona Leitch will love this book!
My thoughts: Ben and Milla are now in a relationship, although things are not smooth sailing. A headless body is found in the village pond, and an unconscious rock star is found in the local church.
The rock star turns out to be a member of Ben’s family – and this case turns out to be connected to the relatives he prefers not to acknowledge. His father and uncles were all involved in a crime years before – and the younger generation have all dealt with it differently.
But did Ben’s cousin kill the woman in the pond or is someone taking out a vendetta on the family?
Once again Milla and Ben are both investigating, one more officially than the other, as Lorcan turns out to be someone Milla knows, this doesn’t help Ben and Milla’s relationship as she’s not keen to talk as usual.
There’s a highwayman on a horse, wielding a sword, which ties into an old legend about the town, a raven called Eddie, and Harriet eats an enormous amount of cookies, as she fancies the barista (just ask him out!) and I have really enjoyed these two books and can’t wait to see what happens next in this far from sleepy village.
Louise Marley writes murder mysteries and romantic comedies. She is lucky enough to live in a village where there is a famous library and TWO ruined castles. (Her husband still thinks they moved there by accident.) Her first published novel was Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, which was a finalist in Poolbeg’s ‘Write a Bestseller’ competition. She has also written articles for the Irish press and short stories for women’s magazines such as Take a Break and My Weekly. Previously, Louise worked as a civilian administrative officer for the police.
It was supposed to be a romantic getaway weekend in New York City. Breanna’s new boyfriend, Ty, took care of everything—the train tickets, the dinner reservations, the rented four-story luxury rowhouse in Jersey City with a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline. But when Bree comes downstairs their final morning, she’s shocked. There’s a stranger laying dead in the foyer, and Ty is nowhere to be found.
A Black woman alone in a new city, Bree is stranded and out of her depth—especially when it becomes clear the dead woman is none other than Janelle Beckett, the missing woman the entire Internet has become obsessed with. There’s only one person Bree can turn to: her ex-best friend, a lawyer with whom she shares a very complicated past. As the police and a social media mob close in, all looking for #JusticeForJanelle, Bree realizes that the only way she can help Ty—or herself—is to figure out what really happened that last night.
But when people only see what they want to see, can she uncover the truth hiding in plain sight?
Kellye Garrett is the author of Like a Sister—an Edgar nominee for Best Novel, Anthony Award winner for Best Hardcover Mystery, and Lefty Award winner for Best Mystery—as well as Hollywood Homicide, which won Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Independent Publisher “IPPY” awards for Best First Novel and was named one of Time’s 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time and BookBub’s Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time, and Hollywood Ending, which was nominated for both Anthony and Lefty awards. Prior to writing novels, Garrett spent eight years working in Hollywood, including a stint writing for Cold Case. She is a New Jersey native, a cofounder of Crime Writers of Color, and a former board member of Sisters in Crime.
My thoughts: this was a really interesting, thought provoking, and enjoyable read. I liked Bree, who after finding a dead body in her Air B&B and her boyfriend going missing, turns detective in order to prove that neither she or Ty, her boyfriend, had anything to do with the body she found.
With a blend of social media and traditional news media dogging her – Bree is relying on the blend of both to keep her updated, even after she gets doxxed, and help her figure things out. The current obsession with true crime and citizen detectives puts pressure on the police to move faster as the 24/7 online focus is getting in the way.
Bree can’t risk being seen at the crime scene but she needs to find clues, things she half remembered that might prove her innocence and give her the key to why the woman in the Air B&B was left there and Ty vanished.
There’s a serious point to this book too – the hyper focus on missing attractive white women that means missing and murdered women of colour are overlooked and receive little to no coverage in either traditional media or online. Had Bree been the victim, the chances are no one would be obsessing about her and trying to find her killer in the same way.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 