Chernobyl, 1986. The world is coming to an end. Dragged from her bed in the middle of the night and forced to leave her beloved puppy behind, Natasha has no idea if she’ll ever return home. Growing up in the shadow of the ruined nuclear power plant, pups Misha and Bratan need to learn how to live wild – and fast. Creatures with sharp teeth, scythe-like claws and yellow eyes lurk in the overgrown woods. And they’re watching the brothers… But will the dogs survive without humans? And can humans live without them?
Anthony McGowan is one of the most widely acclaimed young adult and children’s authors in the UK. His books have won numerous major awards. In 2020, he was awarded the CILIP Carnegie Medal for Lark. He was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal with Rook and won the Booktrust Teenage Prize and the Catalyst Award for Henry Tumour. His YA novel The Knife that Killed Me was made into a critically-lauded film in 2014. Anthony lives in London, with his wife, two children and dog.
My thoughts: this had so many White Fang and Call of the Wild (both by Jack London) vibes. I loved it. We all know I’m a sucker for any story with an animal in it and in this the animals were the stars. The Chrrnobyl disaster and I are the same age (a few months apart) so I don’t remember it, but my parents do and I watched that incredible drama about it during lockdown.
It was really interesting to read a story set in the evacuated area, where only animals and a few tricky people (like Katerina in this book) remained behind. It must have been a real shock to the domesticated animals when their people left. I liked the idea of some of them bonding with their wild cousins, as Zoya does, and joining wolf packs or like Shepherd, staying and guarding their homes. I imagine cats going completely feral. I grew up reading Colin Dann’s City Cats and Animals of Farthing Wood (sob), Watership Down, K.M. Peyton’s horse books, Dick King-Smith (The Sheep Pig among others) and Brian Jacques’ Redwall series. This certainly would sit nicely alongside all of those. Bits are sad and bits are frightening – “nature, red in tooth and claw” in action but the ending is lovely. I liked the Natasha sections less – the wolf-dogs were more interesting but I did enjoy the way the two stories wove together. Definitely one for any young (or not so young) animal lovers.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
In May 1939, when Professor Carl Mueller, his wife, Esther, and their three children flee Nazi Germany, and find refuge on the paradise island of Cuba, they are all full of hopes and dreams for a safe and happy future.
But those dreams are shattered when Carl and Esther are confronted by a ghost from their past, and old betrayals return to haunt them.
The turbulent years of political corruption leading to Batista’s dictatorship, forces the older children to take very different paths to pursue their own dangerous dreams.
And – among the chaos and the conflict that finally leads to Castro’s revolution and victory in 1959, an unlikely love begins to grow – a love that threatens the whole family.
Having escaped a war-torn Europe, their Island of Dreams is to tear them apart forever.
I am an award-winning British screenwriter, who was on the first writing team of the BBC’s EASTENDERS, and won the Writers’ Guild Award for Best TV serial for CORONATION STREET. I was Head of Development at Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group, producing seven major television series, including ‘Swiss Family Robinson’ starring Richard ‘John Boy’ Thomas, and ‘Twist in the Tale’, featuring William Shatner. I was co-creator of the UK Channel Five teen-cult drama series ‘THE TRIBE’, which ran for five series.
I have written two novels, CHICAGO MAY and BIRTH OF THE MALL RATS [an intro to the TV series THE TRIBE].
My thoughts: this was an interesting read, relating the story of a family – the Muellers – during a period of history I didn’t know a lot about – the Cuban Revolution.
Fleeing Nazi persecution in Germany, Dr Mueller and his family travel to Cuba, but have to ask an old acquaintance, Freddie Sanchez, to help them enter the country after the president refuses to allow the ship to dock. Freddie, despite the way they parted years before, agrees and so begins his long relationship with the family.
As the children grow up, they each find their place – Hans as a drug dealer and gun runner, Anna in the struggle against Batista’s regime and Klaus in his art. The complex relationship between their parents remains strained and sad, but they are ably cared for by their Nanny, Mrs Price and housekeeper Carlotta.
A lot happens in their lives, both personally, and politically. Freddie is a constant presence, reassuring in many ways as they grow up. His friendship with Carl is lovely, the two men bond professionally as doctors but also come to depend on each other emotionally.
Esther however is a menace, full of pills and self-delusion, she refuses to engage with reality and is the cause of a lot of misery in the family home. Her rejection of her husband and children, her bitterness and self pity poison the air around her. It’s tragic but self-inflicted. I didn’t take to her at all.
I enjoyed this book, I liked Freddie, he was so kind and gentle and I loved his bond with sweet Klaus. I also liked Carl, a man who tried to help people and fix the mistakes he’d made. I wasn’t overly keen on Hans or Anna, both selfish in different ways, they didn’t really seem too bothered about anyone else. But considering their childhoods, not really surprising.
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*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Welcome the the book tour for Joyana Peters’ latest historical fiction novel, The Girl from Saint Petersburg. The prequel to award-winning novel, The Girl in the Triangle. Read on for more info and a fantastic giveaway!
The Girl From Saint Petersburg (An Industrial Historical Fiction Series Book 1)
Publication Date: July 25th, 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction Sacrifice, Starvation and Survival.
What will she do to stay alive?
Russia, 1905: Thirteen-year-old Ruth dreams of growing up to marry the boy next door and living peacefully ever after.
But when he and her father are forced to flee to America after the Bloody Sunday Massacre, Ruth and the other female members of the family are left behind amid the violence and chaos of revolutionary Russia. Overcoming violence and hunger with a strength she never knew she possessed, Ruth resolves to do what it takes to keep her mother and sister alive—whether it be work, beg or steal.
Then she lands herself in a predicament that threatens to put her own neck in a noose. This time she may not be able to keep them all safe, at least not without sacrificing their love for her and all that makes life worth living.
In this prequel to the award-winning novel, The Girl in the Triangle, author, Joyana Peters, portrays a tight-knit family fighting to endure at a precarious and crucial time in Jewish history. Join the countless readers who can’t get enough of Ruth and her story.
Ruth tiptoed out of the bedroom and toward the front door. Her mother was crouched on the floor and peering over the window sill. Her eyes were puffy and red.
“What are you doing?”
“Shh!” Momme tugged Ruth down beside her. “Don’t let them see you.”
“Don’t let who see us? Where’s Tatty? Why were you crying?” Ruth glanced around.
Momme clenched Ruth’s wrist. “I need you to listen. They’ll break in soon. And they will interrogate and hurt me. You need to be brave.”
“Interrogate you? I don’t understand. Where are Tatty and Jeremiah?”
“Tatty left for America last night, but we can’t tell them that.”
Ruth shivered. Her father gone to America without saying good-bye? “Why? Did Jeremiah go too?”
An odd blankness came over her mother’s eyes. She seemed about to answer when an axe crashed through the door.
“Stay in the bed. Cover yourselves to hide and don’t leave Ester.” Momme pushed Ruth toward the bedroom.
Ruth scrambled to her feet and ran. She looked over her shoulder to see her mother dusting herself off. As the door gave way and the czar’s soldiers invaded the house, her mother’s lips moved in silent prayer.
Ruth found her sister hiding under the covers and held a finger to her lips as she crawled beside her. Ester nodded, suddenly appearing older than her ten years. As the men’s voices rose in the next room, Ruth wrapped her arms around Ester and they lay trembling.
There was a slap followed by a muffled sob. Ester cried out. Ruth clapped her hand over Ester’s mouth, but heavy boots stomped toward them and the covers were soon ripped away.
Two soldiers glared down from either side of the bed. They grabbed the girls with rough hands.
“Ruth!” Ester screamed.
“She’s a child!” Ruth begged. “Please, leave her be.”
The soldiers ignored her and dragged the two girls from the house. The street was in chaos. There were more soldiers, and families shivering in their bed clothes. Why was this happening?
The soldier flung her onto the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She scrambled toward Ester, but a soldier stepped between them.
“Please, don’t hurt us, sir!”
“That depends on your mother. If she tells us what we want to know, we won’t need to.”
Ruth tried to squash her instinct to reach for her sister, and instead forced herself to look for her mother.
And there she was—standing with her chin high, in the middle of four soldiers. Ruth could see a dark splotch on her face. Was it blood? But she remained straight and tall. She wasn’t even crying. Ruth was amazed by her mother’s control. How did she manage to appear so unaffected?
A soldier with a drooping mustache stepped close to Momme.
“Where are they?” he growled.
“I told you, I don’t know,” she replied.
“I don’t believe you.” He cracked her on the back of the head with the butt of his rifle and kicked her in the stomach. “Try again. Where are they?”
Momme crumpled forward, coughing. “I don’t know.”
“This is pointless. Grab the girl.” He gestured toward Ester.
The soldier standing near Ester grabbed her. Ester thrashed in his arms.
“No!” Momme lurched forward. “She doesn’t know anything and neither do I. They never returned home.”
“But they were in the square yesterday?” the droopy mustache soldier asked.
“Yes.”
“What was that? I can’t hear you.” He cupped his ear.
“Yes, they were there,” Momme’s voice rang out louder.
Ruth closed her eyes at Momme’s words. This was about Abraham and Jeremiah and wherever they’d gone yesterday. What trouble had they gotten themselves into?
The soldier leaned into Momme’s face. “And the meetings?”
Momme turned away. He popped her in the forehead with his rifle butt so hard she flew backwards. “Answer me!”
A shriek pierced the air. Ruth saw a man being pulled out of his house. His wife reached for him, but the soldiers held her back. They forced the man to his knees and a soldier held a pistol to the back of his head. A shot rang out. The man slumped forward.
Ruth looked to her mother’s horror-stricken face. Droopy Mustache grabbed Momme by the hair.
“Perhaps––now you see how serious we are, drabke?”
Momme moved her head up and down. “They never came home. They must be among the dead.”
“And the meetings?”
“They attended them,” she croaked. “But if they’re dead, what does it matter?”
He studied Momme. Finally, he turned to the other soldiers.
Growing up in New York, she always loved exploring the city, particularly the Lower East Side. This led to her discovery of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the stories it holds.
She currently lives in Northern Virginia where she takes in the sights of DC with her two kids and husband.
this short story introduces characters from The Girl in the Triangle, the author’s moving retelling of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. We follow Ruth as she desperately tries to gather the funds to get herself, her mother and sister Ester out of Russia during the Tsar’s purges. The family are Jewish and risk being sent to a ghetto, where they will never escape and follow their father to America.
Ruth is resourceful and brave, getting a job in a factory and pawning the few valuables the family have left to pay a people smuggler to get them out of St Petersburg, out of Russia and to a boat which will carry them to safety in America. Part of the problem is their mother’s lack of papers and the ban on Jews travelling. But Ruth will not let it stop her. The historical notes after the story add depth and detail, information that someone like Ruth wouldn’t have had, but we, all these years later do, and can use to better understand what life was like for young Jewish women like Ruth and Ester.
For 500 years, the once powerful Order of the Sibylline has kept the identity of its future prophetess hidden in the most famous painting in the world. Amid the chaos of post-World War II France, one woman discovers their ancient secret and its ability to transform a fragmented world.
Intricately plotted, Woman on the Wall by debut author Robin Rivers [ISBN: 978-1778135729; $18; September 2022] is a fast-paced historical fantasy set in Paris and Amboise, France in 1519 and 1945. It honors the Sibylline as so much more than ancient myth and celebrates their place in every woman’s journey to self-discovery.
The first book in the six-part series The Sibylline Chronicles, Woman on the Wall is an entrancing tale revealing the fate of two extraordinary women risking their lives to secure the future of humanity–five centuries apart. This rich alternate history binds a brilliant, devoted, and driven paleographer and a brave, bold, and potent prophetess beyond time, each fighting to restore sight to a world blinded by the power and control of men.
After 480 days as a Nazi political prisoner, Dr. Marie Guerrant returns to Paris to repatriate the Mona Lisa and find her daughter. When a British Colonel arrives claiming he needs her French Resistance connections to find the lost painting, which she helped hide seven years earlier, distrust is high. Tipped off about her daughter’s involvement and the Colonel’s obsessive belief that the Mona Lisa contains the identity of a modern-day Sibyl prophetess, Marie must risk her life to save her daughter and the masterpiece from men consumed by controlling destiny.
Five centuries prior… On the eve of rising as the Sibyl of Amboise, Aesmeh de la Rose must rely on her visions to find Leonardo da Vinci after he and the Mona Lisa disappear from his workshop at Clos Lucé. The precious painting and its creator cannot be lost or the ancient Sibylline Order faces extermination after more than 1000 years of rebuilding their powerful matriarchy.
Torn between duty and love, Aesmeh must tap into an ancient alchemy in a race to keep the Order safe. But, an unspeakable betrayal forces her to make an unfathomable choice to secure the future of the Sibylline. With the fate of the world resting on their courage to reclaim the ancient feminine powers of the Sibylline, Woman on the Wall is a sweeping fantastical tale of intrigue and hope for us all.
Fast-paced prose with vivid narrative, Woman on the Wall is perfect for readers who loved Kate Quinn’s recent novels, The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker, The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, and The Eight by Katherine Neville.
As an international award-winning former journalist, Robin Rivers now helps young writers learn the craft as the CEO of Quill Academy of Creative Writing. Combining her quick and direct journalistic writing with a thriller tone and pace, Rivers crafts a story celebrating the romance and beauty of the historical feminine. “The ancient Sibyls have been my obsession for the last decade of my life. Once their stories and the stories of other women from their time started to dominate my learning, they never let go. I went to France in 2019 to flesh out this story and had a life-changing experience that led to this novel,” Rivers says. “The fantastical world of the Sibylline interwoven with actual history is what sets it apart from others in the genre. You too could go to France and actually stand in every setting I’ve used in the novel, imagining the Sibylline as a part of it all.”
Robin Rivers is an award-winning writer who guides young authors as CEO of Quill Academy of Creative Writing. She has always been fascinated with stories of lost times and nerds out in the realm of all things historical, fantastical, female, and mythological. As a result, she spends her days in a literary universe best described as slipstream — a mix of historical, magical realism, and haunting romance. Robin lives with her husband, daughters, and their sphynx cat Hypatia on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and TsleilWaututh Nations in Vancouver, Canada. Woman On The Wall is her debut novel. Stay up to date on The Sibylline Chronicles at thesibyllinechronicles.com and follow Robin on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
How awkward this must be to have a dead woman about to declare the direction of your life. It is unclear to me, even at this crucial moment, how I should address you. Alas, as time can no longer keep us apart, let us dispense with being strangers and begin.
I am the Sibyl of Amboise.
I died here.
You have arrived in this tiny commune because of a five-hundred-year-old pact to find you and bring you home.
As I write these words, I wonder what you know of my kind. Do you know the names Hypatia and Lubna? Does history speak of Shushandukht and Shajar al-Durr? Or, are the Sibyls little more than mythological prophetesses painted upon the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? In truth, we are ancient, once powerful, and nearly vanished.
Born of the Great Mother’s very womb, each Sibyl’s sight gave men a glimpse of what might come. We predicted wars, warned against the rise of tyrants, shed light upon the fates of many. In the great capitals of Badari, Olmec, Xi, Khemet, the Jiroft, even the wilds of Scythia, we served humanity for more than eleven thousand years. And, then . . .
What do you know, Dear One? It pains me. What kind of world did my failures leave you? In the glimmers of your time, I saw only fire and death. Without the Sibyl, men know not the cost of their acts. Power is a seductive demon. Have I left you with the tyrants?
I must assume the world is well enough that Sister Maurine stands at your side in fulfillment of her vow. My regret is not being there beside you as well.
You are the hope of the Sibylline. I once was that hope, the first to complete training and enter the temple in more than one thousand years. Such care was taken to protect me. However, a malicious enemy lived amongst us. By the time I knew, my throat was nearly slit. It lays upon you now to do what I never fully could—to rise and serve the world.
Yes, Dear One, your coming has been foretold for five centuries. In those fifty decades, such knowledge has hung in the halls of the men who thought us eradicated. They celebrated that sublime smile, all without the fortune of knowing whom they kept safe. You are the oracle they could never burn, lying in state until this very moment.
Listen, Dear One.
Listen without fear.
Your life is an amalgamation of so many others. As you gain the sight, Amboise will return our memories to you. You shall reclaim them as your own. You may feel as if you have gone mad. Know that you are coming alive. This is where your service begins.
In the moments to come, others will attempt to strip your sovereignty. Such war is inevitable. You must prepare for it. Train. Fight as a warrior. Remain devoted to your purpose alone. Do not concede.
Then, call the Sibylline to your side. Step beyond the seven bridges of paradise and into hell in the forest beyond Gaillard. There, in the temple of the Sibylline, you shall rise and take my place at Amboise. That you might watch over humankind in beauty and justice as the Great Mothers before you intended.
Eternally in your service,
Aesmeh de la Rose
Robin Rivers Blog Tour Q&A
Robin Rivers is an award-winning writer who guides young authors as CEO of Quill Academy of Creative Writing. She has always been fascinated with stories of lost times and nerds out in the realm of all things historical, fantastical, female, and mythological. As a result, she spends her days in a literary universe best described as slipstream — a mix of historical, magical realism, and haunting romance. Robin lives with her husband, daughters, and their sphynx cat Hypatia on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations in Vancouver, Canada. Woman On The Wall is her debut novel. Stay up to date on The Sibylline Chronicles at thesibyllinechronicles.com and follow Robin on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Tell us about Woman on the Wall.
Robin Rivers: For 500 years, the once powerful Order of the Sibylline has kept the identity of its future prophetess hidden in the most famous painting in the world. Amid the chaos of post-World War II France, one woman discovers their ancient secret and its ability to transform a fragmented world.
It’s a rich alternate history that binds two women beyond time, each fighting to restore sight to a world blinded by the power and control of men. The fate of the world rests on their courage to reclaim the ancient feminine powers of the Sibylline.
You could have explored any matriarchal society in history. Why the Sibylline?
RR: The ancient Sibyls drew my attention for several reasons. First, they were prophetesses whom kings and emperors relied upon throughout history to foretell events such as war, rise to power, and even love. The mythology around them ranges from these women living a thousand years, to kings being cursed for going against them. The Sibylline Books, which held the prophecies of the Sibyls for thousands of years, vanished around 418 A.D. and the stories about them and their lives don’t exist or have been lost. What if we knew their stories? What if it turned out that women, particularly Sibylline, held some of the most powerful positions in society we have long thought as staunchly patriarchal? What if they had been systematically erased from history? I wanted to explore the potential of that alternate history.
How do the characters in your story relate to the modern world and the issues women face today?
RR: The desire to control women and the power that they possess is evident in almost every aspect of the modern world. We do not need to look far beyond laws related to reproductive rights, ongoing human trafficking, and missing Indigenous women in Canada to understand that. Modern women are the embodiment of the Sibylline and their ancient struggle to reclaim the values of their matriarchal society. It’s nuanced. Not every woman is onboard, and not every Sibylline wants the same thing. However, we cannot deny the work that must be done.
How does a fantasy novel such as yours allow you to explore the nuances of the role of women in society vs. if it were straight historical fiction?
RR: Fantasy serves the great purpose of allowing us the opportunity to consider a range of possibilities when it comes to historical truths. Let’s face it. There are so many historical mysteries for which neither the historical record or modern scientific theory can necessarily account. That, paired with the other reality that there is plenty of evidence that entire civilizations were pillaged and reframed, even claimed by those who overthrew them, leaves the door open for rich literary exploration. When we have lost stories to time or tyranny, it is the fantastical that allows us to rediscover those spaces and reclaim them.
How do you see women relating to the characters in this story?
RR: I set out to create a cast that people who identify as women my age would relate to because I rarely find myself in novels as a middle-aged woman. That was my starting point, to bring the feminine of a certain vintage and experience to the forefront of a novel where those qualities gave them what it took to succeed. From there, I wanted layers of gray in all of the characters so that we could find ourselves, imperfections and all, in their desires, strengths, and grief. My hope is that women are moved to see themselves in the Sibylline, Marie, and their collective recovery of the feminine.
Why combine the Mona Lisa, World War II, and the Sibyls?
RR: The Mona Lisa was hidden away and off the radar for most of World War II and her actual return to the Louvre coincided with my story timeline. It seemed ideal to combine that, the well-known Nazi obsession with occult artifacts (they also had their own woman who claimed to be an orcale), and the other reality that Fontevraud was a prison where many WWII political prisoners were kept. Layered on top of that, the Mona Lisa contains its own mysteries. The timelines came together in the most wonderful ways.
You traveled to France to research this story. How did going to these places shape what you wrote?
RR: Traveling to France changed the entire story for me. While I could research the heck out of anything online, there was something truly magical about being in Amboise, Fontevraud, and other places. I discovered several locations including the spring outside Château Gaillard and Les Greniers de Caséar that I would never really have known about from online research. Now, they are key locations in Woman On The Wall.
You also teach writing. What advice do you have for writers who may be hesitating to start writing their book?
RR: Write every day, but don’t do it alone. Work with a developmental editor or a teacher who can help you refine your skills and learn the craft. Yes, there is such a thing as natural writing ability. However, storytelling is as much a vocation—with specific tools and necessary training on how to use them—as it is an artform. Also, writing is hard work, like LOTS of hard work. Accept that and you are gold.
What’s next for you?
RR: The Sibylline Chronicles VOL. 2! The next installment in this series is already well underway. I will only say this–it picks up in 1950 as the nuclear arms race picks up pace and the Sibylline are right in the middle of it.
My thoughts: this was an interesting book, taking on historical details and blending them with a fantastical angle – that the Sibyls, a line of female prophets, hidden within an order of nuns for many centuries, ordered the creation of the Mona Lisa, La Jaconde, from Da Vinci as part of their future proofing. Instead of her being, as is now thought, the wife of a wealthy merchant, she is actually from a vision the order’s future leader saw.
In 1945 while restoring the Louvre, the search for the missing Mona Lisa, hidden away to save her from the Nazis, coincides with a hunt for the remaining members of the Sibyls order, and their potential new prophetess.
Dr. Marie Guerrant doesn’t believe in the Sibyls, but she wants to find the painting and her daughter, Serah, who was working with the Maquis, the French Resistance, risking her life while her mother was held captive as a political prisoner. The journey to reunite with both artwork and daughter will put Marie in danger as other forces are after the same goals.
We are also transported back into the 16th Century, as Da Vinci completes his masterpiece and foreign forces (this time Spanish) threaten France and the Sibyls. Can Aesmeh and her followers protect the painting and ensure its safety so in 500 years the new Sibyl can unlock its secrets and restore the order?
There’s a lot to take in and some serious historical research has clearly been done, but the plot wears it lightly and is enjoyable and action packed. In both time periods there is a lot at stake, I think I enjoyed the 1945 storyline more as Marie felt very real and we know that risks were taken to protect artworks and items of historical significance across Europe. I think Marie cones across well, she’s brave and resilient, an expert in her field and a devoted mother. It will be interesting to see where the story of the Sibyls goes next.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
He changed his identity. He moved to Hong Kong. He changed his life. But can he change who he really is?
Charles Balcombe, sophisticated, risk-taking lothario was a special investigator. He thinks that taking a PI job to find a missing boy will distract him from his killer instinct. But once a killer…
My thoughts: this was very enjoyable, gripping and intelligent. Balcombe – also known as Blackjack – is a dangerous man, but there’s some goodness in him as he frees imprisoned young women and deals with their captors during his investigation into the missing son of a banker.
In the deeply segregated world of post war Hong Kong, a white man wandering around Chinatown stands out, but somehow Balcombe avoids too much attention. Handy when a detective with the police – Munro, is suspicious of him.
I liked Albert, Balcombe’s rickshaw boy and assistant, I hope in future books there’s more of their partnership. I also liked detective Munro – promoted not just because he’s a good cop but also because they thought he was white! His relationships with Balcombe could be very interesting.
Balcombe was a bit of a mystery, I think there’s a lot more to him than so far revealed. Obviously he’s a killer on the run, having fled Malaya (now Malaysia) and changed his name. His signature moves with knives might bring the authorities down on his head if anyone connects the dots. I can’t wait to see what happens next and whether he ever crosses paths with the author’s more straightforwardly heroic Carter again…
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
“You should have trusted me. You should have given me a choice.”
AD 370, Roman frontier province of Noricum. Neither wholly married nor wholly divorced, Julia Bacausa is trapped in the power struggle between the Christian church and her pagan ruler father.
Tribune Lucius Apulius’s career is blighted by his determination to stay faithful to the Roman gods in a Christian empire. Stripped of his command in Britannia, he’s demoted to the backwater of Noricum – and encounters Julia.
Unwittingly, he takes her for a whore. When confronted by who she is, he is overcome with remorse and fear. Despite this disaster, Julia and Lucius are drawn to one another by an irresistible attraction.
But their intensifying bond is broken when Lucius is banished to Rome. Distraught, Julia gambles everything to join him. Following her heart’s desire brings danger she could never have envisaged…
Buying links for JULIA PRIMA: Ebook (multiple retailers) Paperback
Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her nine-book Roma Nova series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the ancient Roman Empire has survived into the 21st century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but with a sharp line in dialogue.
She blends her fascination for Ancient Rome with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history.
Alison now lives in Poitou in France, the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her two contemporary thrillers, Double Identity and Double Pursuit. Oh, and she’s writing the next Roma Nova story.
My thoughts: this was a really enjoyable, well written love story with a determined and intelligent protagonist in Julia – a princess from Noricum (now Austria and Northern Slovenia). She’s fallen in love with the son of a Roman senator and will stop at nothing to be reunited with him.
Accompanied by her body servant Asella and a centurion turned artist Aegius as their guide, she travels cross country, evading her father’s men and bandits, risking it all on reaching Rome. There’s another menace dogging her heels, one she’s not even aware of, that might prove truly dangerous.
I liked Julia, she was bright and engaged, her stubborn attitude keeps her going even when things get tough. I also liked Aegius and Asella – they were a great double act, keeping Julia from her more excessive ideas and guiding her in her decisions and journey.
I’ve read a couple of the later books in the series which feature Julia’s descendants so it was good to go back to where it all started with the first of the family.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
A love forged in fire lives on through the ages. She stared at the man again. Was he real? Her mind returned to the ghostly figure by the shore and to her strange dream. No, he was not a figment of her imagination. Skye Logan has been struggling to run her remote farm on Scotland’s west coast alone ever since her marriage fell apart. When a handsome stranger turns up looking for work, it seems that her wish for help has been granted. Rafe Carlisle is searching for peace and somewhere he can forget about the last few years. But echoes of the distant past won’t leave Skye and Rafe alone, and they begin to experience vivid dreams which appear to be linked to the Viking jewellery they each wear. It seems that the ghosts of the past have secrets . . . and they have something that they want Skye and Rafe to know.
Giveaway to Win a signed copy of Hidden in the Mists Viking tea-towel and Viking carved butter knife (Open INT)
Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip 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 former chairman 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. Hidden in the Mists (timeslip/dual time romance published by Headline Review 18th August 2022) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).
My thoughts: slightly different to the previous books in this series – instead of one person journeying back in time to live with Vikings, this time two people dream themselves into the bodies of two actual people from the past. When Skye and Rafe meet, there’s an instant connection and with both of them wearing mysterious jewellery decorated with runes, they are transported into the lives of two Viking-era people who lived on Skye’s land years before. They experience the past in dreams but the things they see and feel are very real.
This was quite fun, I loved Skye’s dogs, Pepsi and Cola, even if they were a bit rubbish as guard dogs. I liked Rafe and Skye, they seemed like good, genuine people, both with things in their pasts they’d rather forget. I was less involved with the Viking story of Ata and Otturr – I just didn’t connect with them very much. Though I was glad their story had a happy ending, as both had suffered.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
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It’s difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you’re a young lady with only half a soul.
Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment—an unfortunate condition that leaves her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season—but when Elias Wilder, the strange, handsome, and utterly ill-mannered Lord Sorcier, discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into peculiar and dangerous faerie affairs.
If her reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all high society, then she and her family may yet reclaim their normal place in the world. But the longer Dora spends with Elias, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love even with only half a soul.
Effie has most inconveniently fallen in love with the dashing Mr. Benedict Ashbrooke. There’s only one problem: Effie is a housemaid, and a housemaid cannot marry a gentleman. It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help her win Mr. Ashbrooke’s heart. All he asks in return is that Effie sew ten thousand stitches onto his favorite jacket.
Effie has heard rumors about what happens to those who accept magical bargains. But life as a maid at Hartfield is so awful that she is willing to risk even her immortal soul for a chance at something better. Now she has one hundred days—and ten thousand stitches—to make Mr. Ashbrooke fall in love and propose…if Lord Blackthorn doesn’t wreck things by accident, that is. For Effie’s greatest obstacle might well be Lord Blackthorn’s overwhelmingly good intentions.
Proper Regency ladies are not supposed to become magicians–but Miss Abigail Wilder is far from proper.
The marriageable young ladies of London are dying mysteriously, and Abigail Wilder intends to discover why. Abigail’s father, the Lord Sorcier of England, believes that a dark lord of faerie is involved. But while Abigail is willing to match her magic against Lord Longshadow, neither her father nor high society believes that she is capable of doing so.
Thankfully, Abigail is not the only one investigating the terrible events. Mercy, a street rat and self-taught magician, insists on joining Abigail in unraveling the mystery. Mercy is unpredictable, and her magic is strange and foreboding–but the greatest danger she poses may well be to Abigail’s heart.
A queer romantic faerie tale of defiant hope and love against all odds, set in Olivia Atwater’s enchanting version of Regency England.
My thoughts: these are delightful fairy tale influenced Regency era love stories. George III, who was technically still king in this period, was one of many who believed in fairies, so it makes sense that they pop up at balls and try to blend in to society.
Half a Soul reminded me a little of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, especially with magicians on the battlefields of Wellington’s campaign against Napoleon. There’s also elements of Bridgerton – with the endless rounds of parties and ‘at homes’ of the Season and the marriage schemes of the ton.
Ten Thousand Stitches had definite Cinderella and The Wild Swans – with poor Effie cleaning the house and spending her nights sewing. Although of course she’s brilliant and escapes to the land of faerie.
Longshadow is a bit different, bringing the daughter of England’s Lord Sorcier to the fore and giving us a queer love story too. Something you definitely wouldn’t find in a Regency era story elsewhere.
All three are tremendous fun to read and feature clever young women who don’t fit in with society’s expectations for them. Thankfully with faerie just next door they can escape and find their own happily ever afters.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Inheriting a run down house from a stranger isn’t exactly the present Laura had expected for her 30th birthday. Especially when the house in question holds memories of a frightening encounter from her prom night fourteen years ago… So when a man starts appearing in the house her first thought is that she must be dreaming. But Ben is very real indeed and somehow linked to an antique mirror and another life in 1942. As their friendship blossoms, Laura learns more about the house and its history…and even discovers some surprises about her own destiny. With her future foretold, Laura must find a way to alter destiny. But how can you change the future if it’s already written in the past?
Author Bio – I was born in Coventry but now live in Nuneaton. I married the love of my life over 20 years ago and we have two almost grown up children. We share our lives with two mad dogs as well. Writing is a great passion of mine, that one day I hope to be able to turn into a career but until that day comes, I will continue working in accounts and payroll. I also write for children as Lily Mae Walters. FacebookTwitterInstagram
In 14th Century Languedoc, after a century of persecution drove the Believers underground, a revival of the Cathar heresy gains a foothold in the mountain villages of the County of Foix. As it sweeps around the region, two men leave their homes and families and become embroiled in the forbidden faith.
Based on Inquisition records archived for nearly 700 years in the Vatican, this is a fictionalised account of the epic, true story of these two men, Pierre Maury (Pedro, the shepherd) and Guillaume Belibaste (Guy), who was fated to become the last of the Cathar Holy Men (Perfects).
As the Inquisition launch a brutal campaign against them, the men must again leave their loved ones and seek safety across the border in Aragon. As many Perfects are burned alive and friends and family are arrested, can Guy and Pedro stay safe? And can their faith and their friendship survive as the Inquisition become closer and ever more brutal?
Susan Kaberry lives in Manchester with her husband and two miniature dachshunds. She began writing fiction when she retired after working in the NHS for most of her life. Her first Cathar novel was The Chatelaine of Montaillou, also based on Jacques Fournier’s records. She has also written a memoir Britannia Street under her maiden name of Beth Cox.
My thoughts: based on records by Bishop Jacques Fournier, about the interrogation and torture of Pedro Maury and Guy Belibaste, Cathars and Good Men or Perfects, this is the story of how two ordinary men became important figures in what was called The Heresy, for which thousands of people were killed in the Middle Ages.
Pedro is a shepherd, working for his wealthier cousin Raymond when he is inducted into the secret faith of the Cathars, while Guy was raised in the beliefs. The religion was forced underground following the massacre at Beziers and incarceration at Carcassonne of many more. But Good Men or Perfects, as the leaders were called, still travelled to speak to believers, and Pedro and Guy become the last two. Their lives must have been shrouded in secrecy and fear.
The book tells of their attempts to live quietly and not attract the attention of the Catholic Church, while preaching to their flock and carrying out the duties of their office. Sadly they are betrayed by a man they thought was trustworthy and subjected to the offices of the Inquisition.
Based on the testimony of Pedro (Guy’s unfortunately has been lost) recorded by Fournier, this story about faith and strength, even to the cruellest of ends – Pedro is imprisoned, Guy burnt at the stake as a heretic, is moving and tragic.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
