Category: reviews

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Skylark in the Fog – Helyna L. Clove

ramblingmads

Skylark in the Fog was the 9th place finalist in BBNYA 2024!

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 finalists (16 in 2024) 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. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

So when the universe falls to pieces, it doesn’t mean your life has to, right? That comes later.

Jeane Blake, captain of the spaceship Skylark, makes her living by looting dead worlds, planets fallen prey to naturally occurring wormhole-like rifts plaguing the cosmos. She survives the only way she knows how: avoiding commitment and arguing with her dead foster father’s ghost. But when her crew stumbles upon an alien device that could collapse the wormhole network and wipe out all sentient life, they catch the hungry eyes of the Union, a tyrannical empire hunting the sinister tech.

As she flees the Union’s brainwashed agents, Jeane is forced to take on a shady mission and gets stuck assisting the runaway monarch of a technocrat planet. Queen Maura Tholis is seeking the aid of an interstellar resistance to reclaim her war-torn world, with another trouble-magnet device as her bargaining chip: a glove that allows her to command AI systems. Jeane couldn’t care less about the whole deal, but things become personal when the Union annexes the place she calls home. And it might be her fault.

Reluctant to become weapons in the hands of power-hungry militants and desperate rebels, smuggler and queen join forces. But to save their homes, they must redefine themselves, work with the enemy, and face personal traumas they’d buried long ago-and only stars know which challenge might break them in the end. 

Amazon  Canada  USA  UK

Goodreads The Story Graph

Helyna L. Clove (she/they) is a lover of the written word, hot comfort drinks, a universe full of stars, and all things neat and kind. She was born in 1988 in Hungary, and was raised in a small village a few miles off the shores of Lake Balaton. Described as someone always having “her head in the clouds”, she spent the first fifteen years of her life mostly consuming books from her dad’s home library, watching some great 90’s sci-fi series and movies, slowly working on her eclectic music taste, and dreaming about being abducted by cool alien friends.

After the arduous years of acquiring her astrophysics degree (because if they were not coming for her, she would damn well at least try and spy on those aliens) she worked as a researcher in Budapest, moving onto the green pastures of South-France in 2018, then Wales in 2022, where she currently lives with her small family of a wonderful boyfriend and Puddle, the tortoiseshell cat. She spends most of her time commandeering telescopes, staring at molecular spectra, writing/reading, cooking, playing video games, and trying her hand at different crafts.

Although she has been, as the Hungarians say, writing to her desk drawer since she was a kindergartener, it wasn’t until 2019 that she stepped out into the world with her stories. In the hell-year of 2020 she finished her first full-length novel, Skylark in the Fog, a light-hearted but honest space opera featuring a grumpy spaceship captain and her wayward friends on a quest to find their metaphorical (and maybe literal) homes, and, if everything goes well which it rarely does, to save the universe as well.

Her current projects include Imbued and Untwined, a new adult/adult dark fantasy duology about magic and love and how those might break the world, a paranormal horror about a team of demonhunters, several other speculative story ideas, and the so-far-untitled sequel to the adventures of the Skylark-crew.

My thoughts: I loved this, it’s exactly the kind of sci-fi I enjoy, a crew of misfits, an impossible mission, chaos, adventure, secrets, overthrowing the evil empire. And it was just lots of fun. Jeane was my favourite, after ALU, that little tin can with its mysterious origin, love of helping and strong bonds of friendship, too cute.

Although if I’m really honest, I loved the whole gang – not a duff character among them. And poor Skylark, definitely here for Skylark 2: Taping the ship back together.

Jeane takes on a quick pick up job for an old friend, while avoiding the Union (evil empire) who are hunting their ship, because of the super secret alien tech they previously collected. Then they get involved in about three wars all at once. Everyone is forced to reckon with their families and upbringing, Jeane almost dies inside an AI system, the evil empire keeps trying to kill everyone, some stuff explodes, some people die (boo!) and then the gang goes their separate ways…which I did not like.

I really hope when book 2 arrives, my new pals are reunited, the evil empire is less evil and Jeane gets to smile occasionally, even though her permanently grumpy mood is very funny. Look, I loved this, it filled a sci-fi hole that I didn’t know I had.

*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: Happy is the One – Katie Allen

ramblingmads

Imagine you knew exactly when you were going to die…

Robin Edmund Blake is halfway through his life. Born in 1986, when Halley’s Comet crossed the sky, he is destined to go out with it, when it returns in 2061. Until that day, he can’t die. He has proof. With his future mapped out in minute detail, a lucrative but increasingly dull job in the City of London, and Gemma to share his life with, Robin has a plan to be remembered forever.

But when Robin’s sick father has one accident too many, the plan starts to unravel. Robin must return home to the tiny seaside town of Eastgate, learn to care for the man who never really cared for him, and face the childhood ghosts he fled decades ago.

Desperate to get his life back on schedule, he connects with fellow outsider Astrid. Brutally direct, sharp-witted and a professor at a nearby university, she’s unlike anyone he’s ever met. But Astrid is hiding something and someone from Robin and he’s hiding even more from her.

Katie Allen was a journalist and columnist at Guardian and Observer, starting her career as a Reuters correspondent in Berlin and London. Her warmly funny, immensely moving literary debut novel, Everything Happens for a Reason, was based on her own devastating experience of stillbirth and was a number-one digital bestseller, with wide critical acclaim. Katie grew up in Warwickshire and now lives in South London with her family.

My thoughts: I am the same age as Robin, we’re both 1986 babies, but the comet didn’t cross the sky on my birthday. Robin believes he is destined to live until Halley’s Comet returns in 2061. It’s very specific, and Mark Twain-ish. He’s got spreadsheets and everything.

But then his plans are knocked off course by his father requiring more care than the local council can provide, and he returns home to the small town he couldn’t wait to leave. His best friend Danny is still there, and as the two men reconnect, Robin has a lot to think about.

He also meets Astrid, who teaches German literature at the university, and who he forms a connection with, from rude garden gnomes to Kafka. She’s got a few secrets and doesn’t believe in pre-destination. So it’s not all smooth sailing.

Robin starts asking people what they’d do if they knew exactly when they were going to die. The answers range from the obvious – holiday of a lifetime, splurge, quit my job, to the more insightful. As he explores ideas around death and living, Robin stops keeping his spreadsheets and perhaps finally starts living in the moment.

Moving (there are some very sad bits), thought provoking, challenging but also very readable and enjoyable, this was an interesting and engaging 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

Blog Tour: Fire on the Fells – Cath Staincliffe

ramblingmads

Summer can be murder out on the sun-scorched Yorkshire Fells.

When the body of eighteen-year-old Tyler Prasad is found up on lonely Skye Moss, Detectives Leo Donovan and Shan Young are called in to investigate.

Tyler lies dead in a bone-dry ditch. His handsome face shattered in a brutal attack that leaves Donovan and Young baffled.
They dig into Tyler’s deepest secrets, following a twisty trail that leads straight to Patefield Grange, a luxury country-house retreat across the moors.
The well-heeled guests — gathered for a controversial grouse hunt in the sweltering summer heat — seem respectable on the surface.

But, beneath the façade, dark secrets smoulder. It’s only a question of which was worth killing for.

As temperatures soar, so does the pressure for Donovan and Shan to crack this impossible case.

Before tensions at the Grange ignite, and the body count rises again . . .

Goodreads
Purchase


Cath Staincliffe is a best-selling, award-winning novelist, radio playwright and creator of ITV’s hit show Blue Murder. Cath has been shortlisted for the CWA Daggers five times, winning 2012’s Short Story Dagger. She won the WGBB Best Radio Drama Award in 2019. Cath’s
standalone titles describe the human impact of crime on ordinary families, giving voice to victims, the bereaved, survivors and witnesses.
Cath is a reading junkie who loves hill-walking or pottering in the garden. Her new detective series features chalk and cheese duo Leo Donovan and Shan Young in the stunning setting of
the Yorkshire Dales.

Twitter Website

My thoughts: This was a really gripping and quite shocking read. A young man is murdered and his body dumped in a ditch, found by the ubiquitous dog walker. He’s an environmental activist, there for a local art protest camp, but he’s been shot and beaten, his phone and wallet stolen.

Tracing his path to a local grouse shoot (a horrible, cruel and quite frankly pointless “sport”) at a former country house, there are frankly, too many gun toting suspects. But someone isn’t telling the truth. Then another person is shot and the shooter goes on the run across the Fells.

Tragedy follows, and the duo of Leo and Shan are in terrible danger as they pursue their suspect. Summer out on the fells can be dangerous, a single spark can be lethal. Can they survive long enough to catch their killer?

Things on the home front are rocky too, with both detectives dealing with tricky relationships. Their brushes with death help put things in perspective, but you’d hope you wouldn’t need to go that far for some clarity.

I was hooked from the first page, Leo and Shan make a great team and this case is full of twists and turns, becoming more complex as they investigate.

*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: Murder at the Ponte Vecchio – T.A. Williams

ramblingmads


An iconic bridge…🌉
Private investigator, Dan Armstrong, lives and works in Florence and knows the world famous Ponte Vecchio well. Usually a magnet for tourists, on this occasion it is the scene of an unexplained death,
and Dan finds himself involved in the intriguing case.

An uncompromising man… 😠
Dan quickly discovers that the victim, an elderly jeweller, was every bit as hard as the diamonds he sold in his shop on the bridge. Few people liked him, not even his adult children, and his business
dealings look murkier than the waters of the River Arno. Dan suspects more secrets lie hidden…perhaps inside the massive safe in the old man’s luxury villa…

A complex case.💎🔍
As the evidence begins to mount up, so too do the suspects with their different motives. With a fortune in gold bullion and precious stones involved, Dan thinks the only way to catch the killer is to lay a trap, but might he be caught in the killer’s sights? Fortunately, he has Oscar, his canine wingman at his side, always eager to prove that he’s as good as gold. 🐶

Can Dan and Oscar sniff out the killer’s tracks or will this case be a bridge too far?

Purchase


T. A. Williams is the bestselling author of the Armstrong and Oscar cosy mystery series. Trevor studied languages at university and lived and worked in Italy for eight years, returning to England
with his wife in 1972. Trevor and his wife now live in Devon.

Facebook: @TrevorWilliamsBooks
Twitter: @TAWilliamsBooks
Newsletter
Bookbub profile: @trevorwilliams3

My thoughts: We return to Italy with another case for one of my favourite detectives, Oscar, and his human assistant, Dan. This time, a jewellery merchant has been killed in his shop on the famous Ponte Vecchio in Florence. It’s been made to look like a suicide, although very clumsily, and the police are suspicious that the man’s estranged children are all in town to meet with their father for the first time in years.

But of course, it’s not that simple. The victim was involved in some dodgy dealings, and it soon becomes apparent his death is connected to those of two asylum seekers. There also seems to be something strange going on at the police headquarters and Virgilio asks Dan’s help in quietly looking into it.

Once more, Oscar’s excellent nose for rooting out the bad guys saves the day, whatever would Dan do without him?

I love this series and it goes from strength to strength, this was a really interesting addition, exploring the dark underbelly of the beautiful city on the Arno, and the lives of those at the bottom of the social order, who are easily forgotten. Dan makes a new connection and even has a go at treading the boards, I found Zebra the theatre director very intriguing, I hope we see her again.

*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

Blogathon: The Night Stalker – Chris Carter

ramblingmads

When an unidentified female body is discovered laid out on a slab in an abandoned butcher’s shop, the cause of death is unclear. Her body bears no marks; except for the fact that her lips have been carefully stitched shut.

It is only when the full autopsy gets underway at the Los Angeles County morgue that the pathologist will reveal the true horror of the situation – a discovery so devastating that Detective Robert Hunter of the Los Angeles Homicide Special Section has to be pulled off a different case to take over the investigation

But when his inquiry collides with a missing persons’ case being investigated by the razor-sharp Whitney Meyers, Hunter suspects the killer might be keeping several women hostage. Soon Robert finds himself on the hunt for a murderer with a warped obsession, a stalker for whom love has become hate.

My thoughts: Another chilling and sinister case for Detectives Hunter and Garcia. Women are being abducted and murdered in horrific ways, and it hasn’t hit the police radar until now when a body is found in an empty old butcher’s shop. There is no obvious cause of death and I won’t tell you what the autopsy reveals, but it is shocking. As is what happens next. 

This killer is a monster, and Hunter, the man who can get inside a monster’s mind, is the only one who can catch him. But not before they find more victims.

I was hooked from the beginning. These books are dark and often very shocking but the writing is so good and I can help but root for the detectives to get the killer and save more potential victims from terrible deaths.

*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: Falling on a Duke – Stefany Nunes

ramblingmads

19th-century England. Benjamin Gerard Waldorf, the Duke of Waldorf, has resigned himself to a life of duty and responsibility. But when an antique cameo unexpectedly transports him 200 years into the future, his world is turned upside down.

Isabella Souza Kato, a struggling writer in London, is grappling with creative block after a painful breakup. Just as she’s ready to give up on love, a chance encounter with a man claiming to be from the 1800s alters her life completely.

As they navigate the complexities of time, culture, and their own hearts, Benjamin and Isabella must confront their fears and insecurities if they want to find a future together.
Will Benjamin find a way back to his rightful place, or will he choose to forge a new path with Isabella?

Goodreads
Purchase


Stefany Nunes is a Brazilian writer with degrees in Letters and Brazilian law. She’s been an avid reader for as long as she can remember, and with her passion for romance novels, she often created stories in her mind without ever putting them on paper. After moving to London with her husband, inspired by the city’s atmosphere, she finally found the courage to fulfil her dream of writing.

TikTok Instagram

My thoughts: If you needed further proof that e-scooters are dangerous, then you should read this book, Bella literally crashes into a nobleman from 200 years ago! Terrible.

He turns out to be rather dashing, and very bewildered to be in London several centuries later instead of Bath in the 1800s. At first Bella thinks Ben might be crazy, but as they get to know each other, she realises he might just be telling the truth. But as they fall in love (and lust), will Ben find a way to return to his own time, to his sister and his responsibilities or stay in the 21st century with Bella?

I liked Bella, she was funny and approached the issue of Ben’s time travelling and needing to go back in a way that I might, using books, films and Google to try to find a way to help Ben, even if she really wants him to stay. I liked Ben too. He’s conflicted, but the Duke part of him, the honourable and caring brother and newspaper owner, knows he can’t just abandon the life he had, and especially not Abigail (his sister) without trying everything to go back and set his affairs in order. 

A sweet, funny, enjoyable rom com for adult readers as it gets a bit saucy when our time travelling lovers give into their attraction. Plus a cute canine called Duke!


*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: One More Day of Us – Shari Low

ramblingmads


Would you give up your dreams for love?

1990: In a hot, humid Hong Kong summer, three young singers are loving life, performing to packed crowds every night in a swanky hotel bar. Twenty-three-year-old Scottish songbird, Moira Chiles is living the dream alongside Carina Lloyd and Lisa Dixon. They work hard, play hard, and always stick together… until one day Moira has to make a choice that changes everything.

Fast forward to…

2025: In a wet, chilly, Glasgow summer, Moira has just retired after singing in Glasgow pubs and Caribbean cruise ships for three decades. Now she’s ready for a new adventure – one that takes her to Hong Kong to revisit a world she left behind. Moira hasn’t seen Carina or Lisa for over thirty years, but will an invitation to join her on a holiday of a lifetime rekindle the friendships that changed her
life? Or will stepping back in time expose secrets that could break their hearts?

Purchase


Shari Low is the multi-million copy bestselling author of over 30 novels, including the #1 bestsellers One Day with You and One Midnight with You.

Facebook: @sharilowbooks
Twitter: @ShariLow
Instagram: @sharilowbooks
Newsletter
Bookbub profile: @ShariLow

My thoughts: I love it when I get to read a new Shari Low book, set in her interconnected world, and this one was a delight. Moira is about to open the drama school her movie star son has named after her, but she’s just got time to squeeze in a trip down memory lane.

At 23 she was singing in a night club in Hong Kong, living the life of an ex-pat, which wasn’t as glamorous as she’d hoped, but she’d found love and more importantly, friendship. And now, years later, she’s hoping those friends will join her in one last hurrah before she takes up teaching.

However, things have gone very differently for the three women who once dressed up as Fleetwood Mac and Cher to entertain crowds, and their very separate paths might not lead back to Hong Kong in quite the way Moira hopes…

Moving between the past and present, we get to see the glory days of Moira, Carina and Lisa, as well as see the more mature, but none the less fun seeking trio as they hunt out their old haunts, and maybe an old flame or two.

Tremendous fun, with lots of heart and plenty of laughs along the way. Moira is very entertaining and the reunited pals get up to all sorts as they relive their youth. A delight.

*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: Detective Marcy Kendrick Boxset – Theo Baxter

ramblingmads

SKIN DEEP
Star LAPD homicide detective Marcy Kendrick is infamous for killing three serial killers before they could be brought to trial.
Marcy knows her actions were in self-defense, but her co-workers wonder if she has a vendetta because Marcy’s mother was brutally murdered by a serial killer.
When a series of murders rocks the city, Marcy discovers the killer has the same MO as the man who murdered her mother.
Marcy is assigned to the case and the killer immediately taunts Marcy, telling her that they are very much alike. They’re both murderers.
Can Marcy catch the killer before another victim meets a grisly end?

BLOOD LINE
Det. Marcy Kendrick is feeling the heat from her ex-husband, now her boss.
He’s piling on the pressure and she needs a win.
Then heiress Audrina Dixon is killed with only her twin sons as witnesses. But the traumatized boys seem to have developed a form of mutism.
Or perhaps there’s another reason they won’t speak? Because there’s mounting evidence that the boys may be the killers.
As Marcy investigates, she realizes the murder is just one part of a much bigger picture. Behind it, lies a horrifying web of depravity and revenge….

DARK DUTY

Panic grips LA as a cop killer stalks the streets. So far, three officers have been murdered and there are no clues.
Det. Marcy Kendrick and her partner Angel are assigned the case but the dead cops’ partners  insist they have no idea why the victims were targeted.
But Marcy discovers they are lying, that the officers were connected to an unimaginable crime against an innocent girl.
As public outrage grows, Marcy and Angel are caught in the middle. Can they find the killer before the city blows up?

KILL COUNT
Det. Marcy Kendrick and her partner are called to investigate the murder of a young starlet.
They soon discover this was the work of El Gato, an infamous drug lord who has evaded police for years.
Marcy soon learns El Gato has secrets. But drug lords don’t want their secrets to become public.
Especially not these secrets…

PAY BACK
When an affluent woman is murdered, Marcy Kendrick and Angel Reyes are sent to investigate.
They soon discover that the victim is no ordinary housewife. She’s connected to an organized shoplifting ring.
Now, someone is killing off these women in a series of home invasions.
It’s a race against time. Can they stop the killer before it’s too late?

LOST SOULS
When Det. Marcy Kendrick and her partner investigate the death of a drug dealer, they discover he was waterboarded – with baptismal water.
Then the killer strikes again. This time the victim is a young woman with baptismal water in her wounds.
As the death toll rises, it becomes clear the killer is on a religious mission.
Marcy has no idea where he’ll strike next. Can she stop him before he kills again?

END GAME
Marcy Kendrick is struggling to get her life back to normal when a series of murders thrust her back into the limelight.
A serial killer is on the prowl. He calls himself Killer Cache because he posts the geocaching coordinates of the site where he’s left the body of his latest female victim.
Leaving no stone unturned in the search for the sadistic killer, Marcy must choose between her own safety and stopping a psychopath before he can kill again.

Goodreads
Purchase


Theo Baxter loves writing psychological suspense thrillers. It’s all about that last reveal that he loves shocking readers with.
He grew up in New York, where there was crime all around. He decided to turn that into something positive with his fiction.
His stories will have you reading through the night—they are very addictive!

Facebook

My thoughts: This boxset was so, so good, gripping, intelligent and shocking. Marcy and Angel (her best friend and partner) track down serial killers in LA. Each case is fiendish and horrifying, but Marcy keeps her cool and the duo dive into the cases, digging into the victim’s lives to find the killer.

They also juggle their personal lives and relationships, which suffer from their all-consuming jobs, the strange hours they work and the danger they put themselves in during the course of their jobs. Unfortunately some of the criminals they come up against take it personally and target Marcy and Angel, making it harder to do their jobs.

They also go after bad cops, the kind that take advantage of the vulnerable and exploit their positions. It might not make them popular in or out of the precinct, but they stand for justice and the victims.

Marcy’s brother Stephen is the most important person in her life, and he has his own demons, but she sticks by him through thick and thin, and he uses his computer skills to help her out from time to time. She also has an ex-husband, who is now her lieutenant and can’t stop losing his temper, he becomes a huge problem that Captain Robinson (their supportive boss) has to deal with.

The crimes are shocking, the interpersonal relationships fascinating, the characters realistic and empathetic, the writing gripping.

*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: Rain City Legal Thrillers Books 1-4 Boxset – Stephen Penner

ramblingmads

Seattle defense attorney Daniel Raine is relentless in his pursuit of justice. And he’s in the right place – the city’s streets provide an endless supply of cunning criminals and high-stakes cases.
With his career on the line and justice hanging in the balance, Raine will have to stay one step ahead of ruthless prosecutors and dangerous adversaries – or his next case may be his last.

BURDEN OF PROOF
Some people would kill for a fresh start.
Attorney Daniel Raine’s law partner is leaving their firm. If Raine can’t find a way to stay afloat, he’ll be practicing law out of his car.
Then, rich socialite Abigail Willoughby arrives at his door, wanting to divorce her even richer husband.
Raine takes the case but gets forced into an alliance with realtor Rebecca Sommers, who has her own motives for wanting to get close to his client.What seems like a straightforward case turns to chaos when Abigail threatens her husband Jeremy in front of dozens of witnesses. That same night, Jeremy is murdered.
Abigail swears she’s innocent and Raine believes her. Together with Sommers, he races to find out who really killed Jeremy and to save his client from serving a lifetime behind bars.

TRIAL BY JURY
Murder is an art form. And this one is a masterpiece.
When attorney Daniel Raine is invited to a gala at an art gallery, he sees it as a chance to find some new clients.
And it works in the most unexpected way when an artist is found dead in the restroom.
The police declare it a suicide and the young woman’s parents promptly sue the gallery owner for driving their daughter to take her own life. Raine is hired to defend the lawsuit and embarks on a mission to exonerate his client.
He soon becomes convinced that the young artist was murdered. But why? And by whom?

THE SURVIVAL RULE
A family on top of the world. With a long, long way to fall.
Daniel Raine is hired by Adam Harper, the son of Seattle’s biggest developer. Adam wants to  seize control of the family company by declaring his father mentally unfit.
There’s only one problem – the old man is very much in possession of his mental faculties and Raine is going to lose the case. Ever the pragmatist, Raine decides to stick with it and rack up some billable hours.
But he finds himself in the middle of a deadly dispute as various members of this powerful family fight to gain control. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. Including murder.
As Raine closes in on the final truth, he himself becomes a target in this twisted game.

DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Murder. Lies. Corruption. Just another day at the office.
A young man, Michael, dies while in custody at the county jail. The authorities claim it was a heart attack.
His mom thinks it was murder.
Daniel Raine agrees to take the case, suing the jail for wrongful death. But no one will talk about what happened in Michael’s cell on that fateful night.
Now Raine must unravel the mystery. Did someone order Michael’s murder?

Goodreads Purchase


Stephen Penner is an author, artist, and attorney from Seattle. He has written over 25 novels and specializes in courtroom thrillers known for their unexpected twists and candid portrayal of the justice system.
Stephen began his legal career as a criminal defense attorney, appearing in federal, state, and municipal courts throughout the State of Washington. After several years, Stephen ‘switched sides’ and became a prosecutor. He has been practicing criminal law for nearly 30 years, working his way up from misdemeanor offenses, to felonies, and finally to homicides. He has conducted over 100 trials and draws on his extensive experience to infuse his writing with
realism and insight.
In his spare time, Stephen enjoys painting, drawing, and spending time with his family.

Facebook Twitter Instagram Website

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this series, I was only going to talk about the first two books but I read all 4, they were so compelling and well written.

Daniel Raine is down on his luck, his legal partner has recently become a judge, and if he doesn’t get some clients who can pay him soon, he’s going to lose his office space too.

Then the very wealthy Abigail shows up asking if he’ll represent her in a divorce from her controlling husband. At the same time he also meets the fabulous Rebecca Sommers, estate agent par excellence, who agrees to help him out as his investigator. She has incredible connections throughout the city and a nose for finding things out.

Throughout the four stories in this collection, Daniel and Rebecca investigate the cases their clients bring them, even when the clients aren’t the nicest people. He’s a good lawyer, smart and insightful. Rebecca is my favourite character, she’s so well connected and people just seem to want to tell her things.

Daniel is also juggling co-parenting his sons with his ex-wife, who he’s still in love with, and puts himself in danger hunting for the truth for his clients, and himself. The author uses his legal knowledge and expertise to craft clever and intricate cases that keep you gripped and wanting to know what happens next and how Daniel will win in court.

*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: Shadows in the Spring – Christina Courtenay

ramblingmads


Two souls bound together but lost in time. Until now.

AD 80
Duro of the Iceni tribe escaped life as an enslaved gladiator and is now finally home in Britannia with one thing on his mind: vengeance. For 20 years he has sought the Roman legionary who destroyed his family. What he didn’t expect was Gisel: a fierce Germanic woman with long white-blonde hair, forced into slavery by the Romans. Hypnotised by her spirit and her beauty, Duro frees Gisel and slowly tries to win her trust as they work together to complete his quest.

Present Day
Mackenna Jackson returns to Bath with a broken heart, thanks to rockstar Blue Daniels. Luckily she can still count on Blue’s former bandmate Jonah Miller as a listening ear. But Jonah has secretly been
fighting stronger feelings, drawn to Mac’s quiet confidence and gorgeous white-blonde hair. As they explore the area, memories they can’t quite explain flood them both.
Is the spark between Mac and Jonah in fact a sign of something much deeper – a love enduring through millennia – or can it all be an illusion?

Purchase


Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip/dual time and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings.

Christina is a Vice President and former Chair and of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several
awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the
Runes.

SHADOWS IN THE SPRING (dual time historical romance published by Headline Review 24th April 2025) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Website Facebook Twitter/X Instagram Bluesky

My thoughts: By now, you should know that I’m a fan of Christina Courtenay and her time travelling romances, a history loving nerd and as someone who grew up visiting the Roman ruins of Veralanium (St Albans) this is right up my street. The Iceni are probably the most famous tribe of ancient Britons (Boudicca was their queen at one point and her statue stands on Westminster Bridge) in Roman occupied Britain. 

Duro has escaped a life as a slave and gladiator in the Roman Empire, thanks to a handy volcanic eruption (Pompeii) and returned to his home in search of his family. When he was taken his mother was brutally murdered and his sister also taken as a slave by a particularly unpleasant Roman soldier. He has long vowed revenge. And after reconnecting with his brother, he sets out to find his mother’s killer.

Along the way he saves a young Germanic woman from a life of slavery and rape, offering her the opportunity to join him in his journey and be free. Gisel is hesitant at first, but as they travel she sees he is genuinely a good man and they begin to fall for one another.

In the present McKenna too is finding a genuine person in her spoilt ex’s former bandmate Jonah. The two become friends after she moves into her aunt’s former home in Bath, while he lives not far away. They’re both interested in the Roman history in the area and after Jonah’s dog digs up a dead Roman in the garden, start looking into area’s past more closely. They too start to bond and fall for one another. But strange echoes from the past suggest this isn’t the first time they’ve known one another….

Both stories are really enjoyable to follow, although I did enjoy Duro’s travels more than anything else as I recognised a lot of the Roman place names from other things I’ve learnt and being from London, itself a Roman settlement.

Although no one actually time travelled in this book, it was still really enjoyable and I loved all the little things that happened in one storyline and then popped up in the other (like the dead man in Jonah’s garden, and the ring Mac wears).

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