Blog Tour - The Last Village by Audla English

Blog Tour - The Last Village by Audla English

Today I'm joining the blog tour for the Last Village by Audla English and am happy to share my review to see if this lovely book tempts you too.

My Review

What drew me straight to this book like a moth to a flame is the setting in the North East of England, near where I live and set in locations where my own ancestors came from.

It’s not a long book so is perfect for a quick weekend read full of atmosphere which is quick to lose yourself in and easy to enjoy.

It is a dual timeline story set in the present day and 70 years earlier when the narrators grandmother reminisces about her earlier life.

There is plenty of romantic interest too as the book begins as modern day Anna is recently engaged and planning her wedding. This sets her Grandma Lillian off on a foray down memory lane to the 1940s when she was a young woman herself and times were very differ then. Living in the present day vicinity of the renowned landmark the Souter lighthouse, Lillian reminisces back to when the area was surrounded by a small close knit community of Old Marsden a former pit village typical of the North East, which now no longer exists. We visit many real locations including Souter lighthouse, Mardsen rocks and Marsden grotto all places I vaguely remember my own Mum talking about in her own past.

With a really strong empathy with the local area, the authors love for the North east shines through and the dialect and traditions are portrayed eloquently.

The main thing which comes through is the huge contrast in the lives of the two women, a mere 70 years separate them but the lives of the people living in the back to back houses of the old village were so very different yet in many ways simpler and despite being harder, remembered with such fondness. Its lovely and romantic and gently emotional.

It made me a little wistful and I wished I could have sat down with my lovely Grandma (who died when I was only seven) as I’m sure she would have had some wonderful similar tales of Northern life to tell.

Its just 2 lovely ladies sitting down and talking and we are afforded the privilege of listening in. Atmospheric, charming and very descriptive it’s a delightful look at the recent past and a testament to the North east of England.

The Blurb

CHILL WITH A BOOK AWARDS- PREMIER READERS' AWARD WINNER
2019 AMERICAN FICTION AWARDS FINALIST- ROMANCE: HISTORICAL

The majestic Souter Lighthouse stands proudly at the edge of the cliff top surrounded by open grassy empty fields and overlooking a vast blue wilderness. Anna Charles knows nothing of the life that her grandmother once had here. It wasn’t until an unexpected engagement, that Anna discovered the past of her Gran and the truth behind an enduring love.

Seventy years earlier, Lillian Smith, had been part of the close-knit community that once thrived in the village that existed next to the lighthouse. A chance meeting with a sailor one day, would change the course of her life forever.

A moving novel set in the North East of England. The Last Village is an enduring love story which spans the 1940's and modern day, binding the generations.

The Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Audla English grew up in the North East of England.

Born in Sunderland, a graduate of Newcastle University and living in South Tyneside, she is passionate about this wonderful region which acts as an inspiration to her writing.

Her award-winning debut novel 'The Last Village' is a dual time-line historical fiction and is written as a dedication to the now sadly demolished Old Marsden Village which was built by the Whitburn Coal Company in the 1870's. The Marsden Rock coastal setting is also used to weave a family saga style narrative around a beautiful part of north east England.

The novel is a moving love story about the life of Lily, a young woman growing up with her friends in 1945 whereas the other side of the story, in 2017, is about Anna and her own discovery of her grandmother's past life- it is a novel which spans and binds the generations through family and friendship.

Twitter @AudlaE
Website http://www.audlaenglish.co.uk/

Buy the book here

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Blog Tour - The Rectors Daughter by Jean Fullerton - review

Blog Tour - The Rectors Daughter by Jean Fullerton - review

Today is my stop on the Blog Tour from Rachels Random Resources for the latest historical romance by Jean Fullerton - The Rector's Daughter.

This is a sweet, heartwarming, romantic historical saga and I’m sure fans of this genre will already be familiar with the author as she is a prolific and well-loved saga writer.

The rectors daughter of the title is Charlotte, the only daughter of reverend Percival Hatton, Rector of the title who is a very dislikeable character who’s nasty nature puts you firmly on Charlotte's side from the start. As she attends the opening of the new tunnel beneath the Thames we get an idea of what her life is like as she is bossed around and made to feel like a second class citizen. 

This story is set mainly in Rotherhithe, London in the early 19^thcentury when the ground breaking Rotherhithe tunnel under the River Thames was being constructed. Anyone familiar with the area will recognise well known landmarks and enjoy reading how it differed in the past from today.

There is thwarted love and plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading.

It’s a nice easy to follow story with a loveable handsome hero from a lower class than it is respectable for a well-bred young woman to fall in love with, so of course she does fall head over heels. Her snobbish father magicks up an unlikely and unlovable suitor for his daughter and banishes her to be wed post haste.

The plot is a little predictable but the story won’t fail to enchant readers of romantic sagas with lots of historical detail about the locations, well drawn and believable characters and a hero to rival Ross Poldark in your affections.

The Blurb

Charlotte, daughter of Reverend Percival Hatton, has been content to follow the path laid out for her. Charlotte has an understanding with Captain Nicolas Paget – every inch the gentleman – who she expects someday to marry. But then she meets Josiah Martyn, and everything changes...

A driven and ambitious Cornish mining engineer, and the complete opposite to Captain Nicholas, Josiah has come to London to help build the first tunnel under the river Thames. When unpredictable events occur at the inauguration of the project, Josiah and Charlotte are suddenly thrown into an unexpected intimacy.

 But not everyone is happy with Charlotte and Josiah growing closer. As friends turn to foes, will they be able to rewrite the stars and find their happy ever after, although all odds seem to be stacked against them…?

Buy the book here

Amazon UK - 

Amazon US -

Author Bio – Jean Fullerton is the author of thirteen novels all set in East London where she was born. She also a retired district nurse and university lecturer.  She won the Harry Bowling prise in 2006 and after initially signing for two East London historical series with Orion she moved to Corvus, part of Atlantic Publishing and is half way through her WW2 East London series featuring the Brogan family.

Jean Fullerton Author

Find her on Social media

Social Media Links –

Website:
Facebook: 

Twitter:  @JeanFullerton_

Why not support the blog tour by joining both my fellow bloggers who share todays tour date with me?

Joyful Antidotes

Black Books Blog

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Dragon Lady by Autumn Bardot - Extract and blog Tour

Dragon Lady by Autumn Bardot - Extract and blog Tour

Today I'd like to invite you along on the Historical Fiction virtual Blog Tour for the hot and exciting Dragon Lady by Autumn Bardot.

As I haven't yet managed to read this book I'm offering a free extract to tempt you to investigate further. I think you'll agree that Dragon Lady offers something sultry and exciting for readers of historical fiction set in exotic locations. Its a story based on a factual character, of a determined young woman and her struggle to succeed in a world where women are only valued for their bodies

EXTRACT

By the time the lookout sighted Donghai Island I was familiar with both Zheng Yi’s temperament and the ship’s layout.
Man and boat were much the same. The iron-like strength of the main mast matched Zheng Yi’s unyielding and strong will. The watertight camphor and pine bulkheads were as impenetrable as Zheng Yi’s command, his leadership sealed by experience as a former Tâyson rebel leader. The pirates’ tiny sleeping compartments on the lower deck corresponded to the size of Zheng Yi’s intolerance for laziness and disrespect. Like the giant retractable rudder that controlled the ship’s course, so too did Zheng Yi guide me towards a new direction. His squad boss face was as rough and crude as his ship’s exterior. His private face—expressive and handsome—much like the lavishly appointed saloon and cabin. His smile-sneer, I decided, was meant to confuse and intimidate.
Zheng Yi was the first man I respected. The first man who made my stomach flutter.
Like today, when he strode into the saloon where Golden Moon, the headman’s wife, taught me how to mend a broken teacup with rivets.
“Donghai Island is just ahead.” Zheng Yi examined the teacup’s seam. “Excellent. Do you enjoy this sort of work?”
“It’s a satisfying way to pass a few hours, although I much rather the helmsman teaches me how to steer.”
Golden Moon covered a giggle with her hand.
“That’s a man’s job.” Zheng Yi’s mouth scowled but his eyes flashed with pleasure. He set down the teacup, beckoned me to follow, strode out the door, and to the ship’s bow. “How long has it been since you set your feet on land?” His gestured to the strip of land in the distance.
“I went with Madam Xu into port to conduct business.”
“I’m not talking about the odor and noise of a thousand merchants. How long since you felt sand between your toes, smelled fresh flowers, rested against a tree, and slept on solid ground?” His brow lifted, expectant.
“I don’t remember.” Memories of fragrant orange blossoms, tall grass, bird songs, insect hums, and comforting stillness rushed into the locked-up place in my heart. I squeezed shut my eyes, willed myself not to cry.
Zheng Yi’s thick brows knotted with concern. “Do you miss the life stolen from you?”
My spine rippled with fear. Was Zheng Yi’s plan to sell me to someone on the island? I took a ragged breath and met his incomprehensible gaze. Perhaps this was his way of telling me he was getting rid of me. How foolish of me to think I had any value other than being his concubine. And although my flower girl skills included fawning over a man enough to make him a repeat customer, I knew this was no whore’s game.
My life rested in Zheng Yi’s hands. His rough pirate hands. He was nothing like the queue-wearing, soft-bodied, rich men I entertained with flattery and false sighs. If Zheng Yi had reason to believe I playacted, that my respect for him was false, he would kill me. My answer must be true, leave no room for misinterpretation, and yet excite and delight him.
“Do I miss my former life?” I twisted my lips.  “I don’t miss the poverty. If Father hadn’t sold me I would be married to another poor farmer and birthed nine children by now. I don’t miss the flower boat either, even if I did wear silk. The work was dull and too boring for my curious mind.” I touched his hand, which rested on the rail. “For ten years I have merely existed. All joy gone. Until you came. The sea. Your ship. You. I’m alive. You’ve made my soul sing.” I looked out at the sliver of land. “I don’t know your intentions. Whether you want to sell me or kill me, but it doesn’t matter. You and your ship, for some reason, make me happy. And a little bit of happiness is better than none at all. I thank you, Zheng Yi.”
Zheng Yi pushed me against the bulwark, his lust evident, and wrapped me in his arms. “I won’t sell you, Xianggu. You’re not mine to sell.”
My stomach lurched with fear. “What!? Am I the chieftain’s property? Your Uncle Qi?”
Zheng Yi’s mouth dropped open. “No. No. You’re mine. Not as a slave but…” He rubbed his grizzled cheek against mine, “you delight me in ways I can’t explain.”
My heart leapt. I delighted him! In unexplainable ways! Which meant he liked me, not just my flower girl skills. “Is your wife on Donghai?” I kept my voice light. How could he not have a wife? Or several?
Zheng Yi rubbed his chin. “Wives are expensive and dull.”
“Why do you think the flower boats are always so busy?” My mischievous grin made Zheng Yi laugh.


I hope you enjoyed reading that extract and if its whet your appetite you can buy Dragon Lady now.

Heres the blurb

The triumph of the notorious Zheng Yi Sao is the fierce and unflinching adventure of how a prostitute became the most powerful and successful pirate in the world.

Xianggu is sold into slavery to work on a floating brothel, her virginity bought by the highest bidder. Determined to rise above her poverty and lowly status, she learns the business from the madam. But a violent midnight pirate raid destroys her ambitions. Kidnapped by the powerful pirate boss, Xianggu embarks on a journey that demands beauty, brains, and brawn. Yet she must do more than learn to wield a sword, sail a ship, and swim across the bay if she hopes to survive. She must prove her worth to the Red Flag fleet.

The winds never blow in the same direction and tragedy forces Xianggu to make a risky decision that changes not only her life but the lives of thousands of pirates. Surrounded by jealous men, devious women, ancient prejudices, and the Qing navy, Xianggu battles to save her empire, her family, and her own heart.

In 18th century China, when men made and enforced the rules, the Dragon Lady lived by her own.

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Review - A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier

Review - A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier

What makes this book a wonderfully enjoyable read is the authors' talent at taking subjects I have absolutely no interest in and weaving such a lovely story around them that I am absorbed and entranced throughout. 

Her writing is outstanding and the book is a delight to read.

It tells the story of a very ordinary young woman, Violet, who has had the misfortune to become one of the thousands of "surplus" women following World War One. In an era when a woman’s worth was measured by the quality of husband she could marry and at a time when men are extremely thin on the ground and eligible ones almost non-existent, there are a plethora of such unattached ladies, the archetypal spinster.

Violet lives at home with her overbearing and crotchety Mother who neither appreciates nor values her daughter. Violet has known love, she is one of many women whose fiancé was killed in the war. Approaching early middle age her opportunities are few and her life is so dull and stifling she takes the quite bold decision to break free and manages to get a job in Winchester, a cathedral city which surely must hold more promise than slowly being suffocated as her Mothers drudge.

Moving into a respectable lodging-house for impoverished ladies, she becomes instead a slave to poverty. Trying to stretch a woman’s meagre wage to provide a roof, food and clothe herself proves almost impossible and any kind of social life also seems out of her reach.

At work she doesn't feel as though she fits in, working in a small office with 2 slightly younger women, who have already formed a clique they are reluctant to grant her access to. Her life is little better than before but at least she has broken free and she relishes this freedom even if she doesn't quite know what to do with it.

In a world filled with people broken by the recent war, she eventually finds a little niche for herself by "gatecrashing" an event at the nearby Cathedral which she so admires and discovers a group of ladies who embroider kneelers for the Cathedral. Eventually, she manages to join this little group and makes a new friend Gilda, who is also a “surplus woman” and as much a misfit as Violet (and most of the women who are in this group). With the Cathedral as central a character to the story as Violet herself, with the bells ringing as a backdrop she manages to stitch together a kind of life for herself.


What she doesn't expect is to fall in love, with someone very unsuitable with whom she can have no possible future. Little does she realise at first that her lively and outgoing new friend Gilda is also involved in an unconventional relationship she needs to conceal and the story unfolds as each tries to come to terms with choosing whether to love the wrong person or to forego love at all as they try individually to flout rigid convention and prejudice and find love where they can. 

There are a few idiosyncrasies which rather than detracting from the tale, add to it. Violets encounters with whom she refers to as Sherry men and an unpleasant character who seems to follow her with ill intent.

There is a lot of detail about embroidery and later in the book, about bell ringing, which although central to the story I must confess I rushed through wanting to get back to Violet's story.

It’s a warm and gentle story, in which you think nothing much at all is happening but when you reach the end you realize you've lived someone else's mundane life instead of your own and you know what - jolly well enjoyed every moment of it.

Violet is an unlikely heroine, living a very unremarkable life. She doesn't change the world in any huge way but she fights bravely for her own right to a life of her own and represents the small moves made by women in the past to open doors for us women of today to choose to live as we want to and not how other people want us to.


I unreservedly recommend this book to women of any age, who are interested in what life was like for the women who paved the way for us and who enjoy heart-warming women’s fiction and appreciate quality writing.

The Blurb

It is 1932, and the losses of the First World War are still keenly felt.

Violet Speedwell, mourning for both her fiancé and her brother and regarded by society as a ‘surplus woman’ unlikely to marry, resolves to escape her suffocating mother and strike out alone.

A new life awaits her in Winchester. Yes, it is one of draughty boarding-houses and sidelong glances at her naked ring finger from younger colleagues; but it is also a life gleaming with independence and opportunity. Violet falls in with the broderers, a disparate group of women charged with embroidering kneelers for the Cathedral, and is soon entwined in their lives and their secrets. As the almost unthinkable threat of a second Great War appears on the horizon Violet collects a few secrets of her own that could just change everything…


Warm, vivid and beautifully orchestrated, A Single Thread reveals one of our finest modern writers at the peak of her powers.

Quotes from the Publisher  -The Borough Press at Harper Collins

‘Told with a wealth of detail and narrative intensity’ Penelope Lively

‘I loved it. So compelling and warm and subtle, and very moving’ Bridget Collins


‘Deeply touching … careful, beautiful’ Louisa Young

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#TheLostDaughter by @SylviaBroady - #Review and #BlogTour

#TheLostDaughter by @SylviaBroady -  #Review and #BlogTour

Today I'm part of the Blog Tour for the lovely engaging emotional read that is The Lost Daughter by Sylvia Broady and I'm thrilled to announce that it is available to purchase for the ridiculous sum of just 99p between 22nd and 29th August, now considering its a gorgeous book and you can't buy a cup of coffee for 99p these days, please read my review and let yourself be tempted.

Amazon UK  - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Daughter-Sylvia-Broady-ebook/dp/B07F3KPN1J

Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Daughter-Sylvia-Broady-ebook/dp/B07F3KPN1J 

My Review

To say I got swept along with this story is no exaggeration, I found it a completely immersive read, very easy to get involved with and just pure reading delight, pretty emotional throughout, by the end I had a soggy tear-soaked tissue in my hand.

We first meet our main character, Alice, as she is running for her life as her big bully of a husband, tries to beat her senseless. With nothing but the nightgown she has fled in, terrified, she runs in front of a car and is badly injured.

Awaking in hospital her injuries aren’t just physical, at first, she has complete amnesia. But as her memories return she looks forward to being reunited with her little girl, 6-year-old Daisy. 

But it’s not just her husband who has let her down, her poverty-stricken and overworked Mother, at the end of her tether trying to keep her families heads above water, has done the unthinkable and handed over little Daisy to the authorities and as Alice becomes increasingly more desperate to get her daughter back, the more difficult it becomes. 

Life goes on, world war two breaks out and we follow Alices life and loves as she first gets a job to keep a roof over her head, meets someone else and battles with her own guilt, as she is still officially a married woman.

The book really grabs your attention and gets you involved in the story straight away with the mystery of what has happened to Daisy keeping you interested and it’s a real page-turning saga, very emotionally engaging.

Set in Hull, in the grim interlude after world war one, then leading into the second world war, when poverty was rife, this is an emotional family saga, which will appeal to fans of Lesley Pearse, Anna Jacobs, June Tate and similar authors of womens historical fiction. 

In fact, I found it extremely similar in style and content to many of Lesley Pearse's books and if you are a fan of hers I'm certain you'll adore this too.

It deals with the stark difficulties of a woman on her own trying to fight the authorities and build a new life for herself when women were expected to stay at home and be subservient to their husbands even if they were battered and ill-treated, it makes my blood boil that this happened to so many real women in a past relatively recent, yet which feels so long ago.

Historical fiction with heart and soul an easy to follow and very engaging book.

The Blurb

Hull, 1930. A terrified woman runs through the dark, rain-lashed streets pursued by a man, desperate to reach the sanctuary of the local police station. Alice Goddard runs with one thing in her mind: her daughter. In her panic she is hit by a car at speed and rushed to hospital. 

When she awakes, she has no memory of who she is, but at night she dreams of being hunted by a man, and of a little girl.

As the weeks pass and her memories gradually resurface, Alice anxiously searches for her daughter, but no one is forthcoming about the girl’s whereabouts – even her own mother is evasive. 

Penniless and homeless, Alice must begin again and rebuild her life, never giving up hope that one day she will be reunited with her lost daughter.

About the author

Sylvia Broady was born in Kingston upon Hull and has lived in the area all her life, though she loves to travel the world. It wasn’t until she started to frequent her local library , after World War 2, that her relationship with literature truly began and her memories of war influence her writing, as does her home town.  

A member of the: RNA, HNS, S of A and Beverley Writers. She has had a varied career in childcare, the NHS and East Yorkshire Council Library Services, but is now a full-time writer. Plus volunteering as a Welcomer at Beverley Minster to visitors from around the world, and raising money for local charities by singing in the choir of the Beverley Singers, both bringing colour and enrichment to her imagination and to her passion for writing. 

Social Media Links – https://www.facebook.com/SylviaBroadyAuthor

https://twitter.com/SylviaBroady

Website:  https://sylviabroadyauthor.com

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#TheGiverofStars - Jojo Moyes my #Review #historical #histfic

The Giver of Stars by JojoMoyes My Review

Recently I was asked the question who is your go-to author? Whose books I'd read regardless of the subject and would know, without doubt, they were going to be completely satisfying. Well, my choice is Jojo Moyes - she gets it right EVERY SINGLE TIME. This woman is a genius and I adore her work. So I was doubly thrilled to find her newest book coming out soon (from my go-to publisher, to boot) and delighted to be able to read it before it's even released. It didn't disappoint in any way whatsoever.

Jojo Moyes writing is the epitome of top quality women's fiction and like her previous novels which have included the highly acclaimed Me Before You, The Giver of Stars cast me under its spell as soon as I turned the first page. It ticks ALL my boxes. In this historical setting, I discovered some wonderful characters to keep in my heart forever and some loathsome ones which infuriated me.

From the stifled mundane existence of middle England between the 2 World Wars, still a very misogynistic society, emerges our protagonist Alice, stifled and oppressed by her domineering parents and longing for a way to escape her humdrum life.

Her opportunity arrives in the form of handsome, clean-cut, all American boy Bennett Van Cleve, who, after a whirlwind courtship, proposes and she willingly follows her new husband to the other side of the world. Harbouring hopes and dreams of the Glossy New York Society gleaned from the movies, her hopes of dinner parties, cocktails and society are soon shattered by the reality of her new life. In rural Kentucky where many men are bullies and most women, downtrodden doormats, Alice has swapped a domineering and uncaring mother for a life in the household of an aggressive and bullying father in law and her dream husband turns out to be a fastidious wimp!

Alice already feels she is a constant disappointment, not just to her family back home in the UK but her new husband seems to rapidly grow disillusioned with his new wife and with no woman to ask about the more intimate side of her relationship, has no idea what is wrong and takes the blame and sense of failure firmly on her own shoulders.

Life in rural Kentucky where she now lives in stifled luxury as the daughter in law of the local mine owner proves as boring as the life she struggled so hard to leave. But when opportunity of a job which involves working with her beloved books, she seizes the opportunity to join a small team of mobile librarians in a new enterprise the mounted library service taking books to remote and outlying regions where families live in abject poverty, often in isolated shacks, where hunting and brewing moonshine is their only income. Regarded with suspicion and scorn by some clients as frequently as joy and delight by others they help to spread learning and literacy by supplying much more than mere books, they bring contact to the isolated and friendship to the lonely.

As the library service grows and Alice’s contribution to it begins to make her re-evaluate her own worth, make friends and build her own confidence, her marriage still founders. Her fellow workers are a great bunch, especially Marjory, a briskly spoken, gun-toting equestrian, from a renowned rough family, bordering on criminality whose name taints her own respectability.

It is heart-warming and lovely, a stunning story, perfect for any book lover (and which reader wouldn’t be?) filled with wonderful characters, diverse women and a few totally vile men. Based on a true story, focussing on friendship, loyalty, and reminding me as a woman how far we have come in so relatively few years, from days when women really were second class citizens with few if any rights.


From the pen of this author flows a tender and genuine story of hope and redemption and the power of books. A little bird tells me it may soon be a movie – I will be at the head of that queue too!

The Blurb

England, late 1930s, and Alice Wright - restless, stifled - makes an impulsive decision to marry wealthy American Bennett van Cleve and leave her home and family behind.

But stuffy, disapproving Baileyville, Kentucky, where her husband favours work over his wife, and is dominated by his overbearing father, is not the adventure - or the escape - that she hoped for.

That is, until she meets Margery O'Hare - daughter of a notorious felon and a troublesome woman the town wishes to forget.

Margery's on a mission to spread the wonder of books and reading to the poor and lost - and she needs Alice's help.

Trekking alone under big open skies, through wild mountain forests, Alice, Margery and their fellow sisters of the trail discover freedom, friendship - and a life to call their own.

But when Baileyville turns against them, will their belief in one another - and the power of the written word - be enough to save them?

Inspired by a remarkable true story, The Giver of Stars features five incredible women who will prove to be every bit as beloved as Lou Clark, the unforgettable heroine of Me Before You.

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Historical novel #TheRedPearl by Chloe Helton - guest post and excerpt

Today I have a wonderful guest to welcome to Beadyjans books - Chloe Helton author of several exciting historical novels and this post is about her latest book The Red Pearl.

The cover is just beautiful and the storyline sounds amazing, just my cup of tea, I'm sad I just haven't been able to fit it in to my reading schedule yet, but after having read this extract which the author has generously shared I'm even more keen to read it. I'll hand over to Chloe Now.....


Thank you, Janet, for allowing me to share The Red Pearl with your readers!

If you’re hoping to finish off your summer with a crackling, suspenseful read, take a peek at an excerpt of The Red Pearl. You’ll find a marriage on the rocks, a little bit of lost love, the trials of wartime, and the main event -- espionage.

During the American Revolution, a meek innkeeper’s wife becomes privy to some explosive secrets. Read more below! And if you want the rest of the book, you can visit my website or find it on Amazon.

 

Boston, 1778

For a moment, when I woke up, I was back at home. My mother had started to boil water for the porridge, and the faint smell of cinnamon shimmered near my nose. My father’s heavy boots sounded on the steps, and he hummed as he went down. My father was always humming, just as my mother was always praying. Between the two of them, his song and her prayer, there was never silence in the house.

But I wasn’t at my father’s home anymore, and it was silent now. I hadn’t lived with my parents in almost six years. When I married Jasper, I’d vowed never to speak to my father again, and although I had eventually broken that promise, I still kept my distance. When Ma got sick in ‘77, the bitterest winter I’d ever lived through, I stayed there awhile to help her. Not much since then.

No, I was not at home. Jasper’s arms were around me, his body the only warmth in our bed now that we were nearing winter, his face nuzzled in my hair. In the beginning, I told myself it was only for warmth that I let him wrap around me like a parasite, but now we did it every night, even during the summer. I’d begun to accept it, just like I now tolerated the rough taste of stone fence, a drink of hard cider and rum, now that I was a tavern-keeper’s wife.

When I started to move, Jasper mumbled something. He wasn’t much of an early riser, but the sun was splashing through the windows now and we couldn’t let the guests wake before us. It had become my responsibility to make sure of that. “Up,” I urged, nudging his shoulder. “Imagine if Robby gets in the kitchen before we do.”

Now he blinked. Robby, our hired boy, was an honest worker, but he was useless without direct and clear orders. If he tried fiddling with the pots and pans without my direction, they’d all be broken before we even made it downstairs. “Didn’t we just fall asleep?” he groaned.

“Oh, enough. You’re terrible in the morning.”

“Come back down,” he said, wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me. “Lay next to me just a minute longer.”

I couldn’t have resisted, really, even if I wanted to. He was too strong. I brushed a hand through his clipped black hair. There had been days when I yearned for another kind of man, shaggy blonde hair and sharp blue eyes, but although he crossed my mind every day, almost, he was now little more than a ghost swirling in the morning fog. I was here with Jasper, who was dark and quiet and excruciatingly clean-shaven. There was drink to brew and mouths to feed here and I wasn’t a girl anymore.

“Jasper,” I said. I hadn’t been planning to mention this, but he was the one who pulled me back down to bed. “Are you planning to let those Tory meetings go on long?”

“What d’you mean?” he mumbled, his eyes barely open. “If they pay for it, they can have their meetings. And you shouldn’t call them that.”

It had been a long while since the word “Tory” was something to gape at. A group of half-a-dozen men had been holding clandestine late-night meetings in our pub for the past few weeks, and you couldn’t tell by looking at them but the various chatter that caught my ears as I poured their drinks made things clear. Nobody who supported the revolution called the Continental army “rebels” and “hooligans”. It was unclear what they met about, but their leanings were no mystery, at least not to me.

“They might scare the others away, is all I mean. You know how our city is; think what would become of us if our neighbors discovered loyalists under our roof.” In Boston, of all places, it was no good to play both sides.

He rubbed his eyes, apparently realizing that he actually had to participate in this conversation. “We don’t know that for certain. All that matters is that they’re fine customers. Pay on time, leave coins on the bar for us when they leave, and they don’t shout and fight like the patriots do. It wouldn’t be so bad if we scared off a few radicals, now would it?”

He’d never listen. Jasper Finch refused to take a side in the war, and yet it was impossible not to. We had married while the harbor was closed after the Tea Party, and I’d watched him buy smuggled rum and sugar, because if the Crown had its way we would all have dry throats and empty bellies: fair retribution, in their eyes, for our act of rebellion. So the rum had to be snuck in bales of hay, among other methods, and Jasper struggled for months with the books in order to keep bringing those goods in. And yet, he claimed to be neutral, as if such a thing were possible in Boston, where the spark of revolution had first been lit, and where it still echoed through the streets even after every last redcoat had scampered away in terror behind General Howe.

To house Tories in our inn, even if he was doing naught more than accept their business, wouldn’t do him well. There was no city that hated the British more than ours. “I suppose not,” I lied. “I know it’s best to be neutral.”

“Neutral,” he repeated, satisfied. “That will get us through this.”

I remembered my father saying much the same. Jasper knows not to pick sides, he’d told me, unlike that boy of yours. And that was why I was in this soft bed in a tavern called The Red Pearl rather than with Sam on the battlefield, wiping sweat from my forehead as I threw pitchers of water on the cannons. My father had not wanted that life for me, so I was here.

“Well, I suppose it is time,” Jasper said finally, grunting as he pulled himself out of bed. “Sometimes I wish I could sleep all day.”

Funny, because in this place, where the dusty wooden walls closed us off from the war that raged outside, it seemed we were asleep all day. “Someday, when we’re very old and we have a son and a sweet daughter-in-law to take care of us, we’ll do just that. Sleep from dawn till dusk.”

“With you, I would,” he smiled.

My heart skittered, and he pecked me on the cheek. “I hope Robby hasn’t tried to make porridge already.”

“God’s bones,” Jasper cursed. “It would taste like pig slosh.”

With that, we hurried downstairs.

Hungry for the next chapter? Click here to get a new chapter in your inbox every week, or find it on Amazon!

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The Daughters of Ironbridge - Mollie Walton - My Review

The Daughters of Ironbridge - Mollie Walton - My Review

My thoughts:

The Daughters of Ironbridge is an already well-known authors diversification into historical saga's under a new pseudonym and as expected she adapts to this style of writing extremely well. 

This is women's fiction which will appeal to fans of authors such as Diney Costelloe and Katie Flynn, which explores aspects of friendship and life on both sides of the class division of the early 19th century The story begins when an uncommon friendship springs up between two young women from very different backgrounds. Working class Anny, daughter of an ironworker is thrown in the path of wealthy Margaret and surprisingly, against all odds the girls soon become staunch allies. 

Despite their huge lifestyle differences the girls find a lot in common and soon decide to band together as a force to be reckoned with. Strong feisty women, a great historical setting in an inimitable location in Shropshire combine to make this book a sure-fire winner. It is easy to relate to the women within these pages, enough historical detail so you know it's been very well researched but don't feel as though you're being educated and above all a lovely warmth which makes it a feel-good read.

Secrets and lies are uncovered in the kind of novel often described as gritty and definitely authentic to the period it is set in and there are plenty of twists and heart-wrenching scenes to keep the reader enthralled.

This is the first in a planned trilogy which I am sure will be a great success with wide subject appeal for many women readers.

You can find The Daughters of Ironbridge on Amazon or in your favourite bookshop.

The Blurb:

1830s Shropshire.

Anny Woodvine's family has worked at the ironworks for as long as she can remember. The brightest child in her road and the first in her family to learn to read, Anny has big dreams. So, when she is asked to run messages for the King family, she grabs the opportunity with both hands.

Margaret King is surrounded by privilege and wealth. But behind closed doors, nothing is what it seems. When Anny arrives, Margaret finds her first ally and friend. Together they plan to change their lives.

But as disaster looms over the ironworks, Margaret and Anny find themselves surrounded by secrets and betrayal. Can they hold true to each other and overcome their fate? Or are they destined to repeat the mistakes of the past?

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The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh Blog Tour extract

The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh Blog Tour & extract

Please join me today on the Blog Tour for The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh. Published by Sapere Books it is an exciting historical novel which is inspired by the Women of the Tudor Court and is part one of The Marquess House trilogy which sounds amazing and fab for anyone enthralled by Tudor history.

I have a free extract for you to read and enjoy before you rush out and buy the book. I'm not kidding it makes me want to read on and I just long to lounge around on a sunny beach reading this.

Extract

Chapter One

Catherine shivered as she waited. The corridor in Whitehall Palace was a thoroughfare bustling with people, but it was draughty and the icy wind cut across it like a shining blade. She hugged her new shawl more tightly around her, glad of its warmth. As she did, she admired the soft leather gloves her uncle had given her as a gift before she left home.

“Soft gloves to protect your soft hands,” he had murmured. He had always singled her out for attention, been kinder to her than any of the other Howard girls, and he had arranged for her to be a maid to the new queen, the Lady Anne of Cleves. It was an honour but now she was here, her excitement was turning to nervousness.

She had grown up in her step-grandmother’s house a few miles away in Lambeth. A ramshackle home full of orphans like her and other members of the hugely extended Howard clan. She had innocently thought that the court of King Henry VIII would be like that, only with more jewels. Now as she watched the parade of courtiers, she realised she could not have been more wrong. People hurried busily to and fro. Yeoman guards marched past in their daunting green and white Tudor uniforms, pikes aloft, metal-heeled boots ringing with a chilling authority. The women in their elaborate dresses, the men equally as ornate: it was an endless visual feast.

Court was more intense, more splendid and more glamorous than anything she had ever imagined and she was only on the edges; a mere nobody waiting with her trunk for her elder half-sister, Lady Isabel Baynton, to collect her. As she glanced up the corridor searching for a familiar face, a tall, good-looking man dressed in a sumptuous velvet cloak caught her eye and winked. Glancing over her shoulder to see if the true recipient of his intended favour was behind her, she heard the man laugh and blushed furiously as he walked by, still chuckling.
“Kitty!”

To her relief, she saw Isabel hurrying through the courtiers. Torches guttered casting shadowy light on her as she approached. It was early afternoon but the weather was cold and stormy and the sky had barely lightened all day. Taller than Catherine, with dark hair and dark eyes, Isabel was married to Sir Edward Baynton, who was to be vice-chamberlain to the new queen.

He was an important man, having worked for each of the king’s wives — including Catherine’s cousin, Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second bride. Now Edward was once again to hold this important role in the new queen’s household and his stature was reflected in Isabel’s dress, demeanour and, to Catherine’s surprise, her spectacular jewels.

“Isabel!” exclaimed Catherine, curtseying to her half-sister as etiquette required, before being swept into a warm embrace. “Your diamonds! Did Edward give them to you?”
Isabel laughed and turned her head so the magnificent diamond drops in her ears shimmered with cold fire in the winter light.
“An early Christmas gift,” she smiled. “We have a present for you to welcome you to court but we’ll give it to you when you’re settled. Is that yours?” She pointed to the trunk.
Catherine nodded. “Although, there isn’t much in it,” she admitted.
“Never mind,” said Isabel. “We’ll organise a new wardrobe for you. We must maintain the Howard family name. Cox, take my sister’s trunk to the maids’ rooms,” she said to the servant standing respectfully behind her. Then, tucking her hand under Catherine’s arm, she led her along the busy corridor. “What do you think of court?”
“I’ve been here barely half an hour but it seems, well…”
“Daunting?”
“Yes,” agreed Catherine.
“Don’t worry, my dear, we’re all here to help you; myself and Edward, your Uncle Norfolk and, of course, our brother Charles. Although, he seems rather preoccupied at the moment.”
“Is he in love again?” asked Catherine, grinning.
“Yes, but this is a little different from his usual infatuations.”
“You mean the object of his affection isn’t married?”
“She isn’t but, well, there are other complications. However, it’s never wise to discuss such things in the open court, even in jest, remember that, Kitten,” said Isabel. “The court has ears everywhere and like the smiling serpent who was the undoing of Eve, there are endless charlatans lurking in unexpected places in this merry Eden.”

Catherine nodded, but she was disappointed. She always enjoyed hearing about her brother’s latest romantic escapades. The true chivalric and charmingly penniless knight, Charles Howard was always infatuated with someone, and Catherine suspected he was more in love with the idea of romance than the most recent recipient of his amour.

As they walked, she tried to memorise the winding route, wondering if this sprawling building would ever feel familiar. Eventually, they arrived in a quieter, but even more beautifully decorated section of the palace.

“These are the queen’s new rooms,” explained Isabel. “And along here are the maids’ rooms. I’ve arranged for you to share with our cousin, Kathryn Carey. She’s an old hand and will look out for you if neither Edward nor I are available to help.”
“And Uncle Norfolk?” Catherine asked.
“He’s a very busy man but I’m sure once he knows you’re here, he’ll invite you to his rooms to keep you up-to-date with family business.”
Catherine laughed but she was secretly delighted.
“Hardly, Issy,” she said. “I’m far too lowly for such important conversations.”
“Don’t underestimate your new status, Mistress Howard,” said Isabel. “The position of maid of honour is not one given lightly and there were many noblemen fighting for places for their daughters. Enjoy your rise in status and use it wisely. You’ll need a husband soon and being at court will improve your prospects of a lucrative match.”

Are you tempted? You can order this historical thriller now from Amazon

The Author

From tales spun for her teddies when she was a child (usually about mermaids) to film scripts, plays and novels, Alexandra Walsh has always been a storyteller. Words are her world. For over 25 years, she has been a journalist writing for a wide range of publications including national newspapers and glossy magazines. She spent some years working in the British film industry, as well as in television and radio: researching, advising, occasionally presenting and always writing.

Books dominate Alexandra’s life. She reads endlessly and tends to become a bit panicky if her next three books are not lined up and waiting. Characters, places, imagery all stay with her and even now she finds it difficult to pass an old wardrobe without checking it for a door to Narnia. As for her magical letter when she was 11, she can only assume her cat caught the owl!

Alexandra’s other passion is history, particularly the untold tales of women. Whether they were queens or paupers, their voices resonate with their stories, not only about their own lives but about ours, too. The women of the Tudor court have inspired her novels. Researching and writing The Marquess House Trilogy (Book One: The Catherine Howard Conspiracy) has brought together her love of history, mysteries and storytelling.

Find out more about the Author on her website  or find her on Twitter 

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Blog Tour Son of The Moon by Jennifer MacAire extract @rararesources

Blog Tour Son of The Moon by Jennifer MacAire

Today I am welcoming author Jennifer MacAire to Beadyjans Books for the BlogBlitz Tour of her latest historical novel Son of the Moon.

I have an Excerpt from Son of the Moon by Jennifer Macaire

Can you face the consequences of cheating the Fates?

Alexander the Great journeys to India, where he and Ashley are welcomed with feasts and treachery.

With their son, Paul, being worshipped as the Son of the Moon, and Alexander’s looming death, Ashley considers the unthinkable: how to save them and whether she dares to cheat Fate?

Excerpt: 

Alexander found many men willing to marry and stay in Taxila with the king. The city would become the biggest center of Hellenic culture in India. Greek would be spoken there for centuries. It would become one of the greatest exchanges between east and west. Taxile didn’t know this, of course, but he seemed thrilled to meet Alexander. He wouldn’t stop rubbing his hands together and beaming. 

He was also very impressed with the army. He saw Alexander as the chance he’d been waiting for. To the south was his greatest enemy, the rajah Porus, whom he had been fighting against on and off for decades. Alexander had sent ambassadors to Porus asking for right of passage through his lands. The second night we stayed in Taxila, news came that the demands had been rejected, and Porus was massing his army on the banks of the river Jhelum.

Alexander grew very still when the news came. I think he was bitterly disappointed. He had been looking forward to coming to India and being received everywhere. The idea of fighting his way through India displeased him enormously. Nonetheless his military mind was already busy making plans. We left five days after we arrived.

I used those five days to go shopping. I’d been in the mountains, away from civilization for so long. I’d forgotten what it was like to go to the market, to buy food and clothes, to go to the theater, or eat at a restaurant. 

I insisted Alexander accompany me and do all those things, except the restaurant. There weren’t really any restaurants in those times; just food stands in the market place. We strolled through the city. The people acclaimed us, and everyone tossed flowers at us; flowers and colored rice. I loved it. I felt like a bride the entire time. 

Alexander covered me in beautiful, bright silks and cottons, and we ate curried lamb and peacocks. Alexander loved Indian food and Taxile adored Greek art. Alexander’s men put on sports exhibitions in the plains, and the people of the city swarmed out to see them every evening. 

Lanterns made of colored silk, and ribbons of bright cotton decorated everything. All the hues were bright and vibrant. Gold! Red! Pink! Violet! they screamed. The Greeks were entranced. It was a mutual love affair between the pure, classical Greek style and the colorful, elaborate Indian manner. It was sparkling white marble meeting bright fuchsia silk. It was like cold vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce. It was calm restraint meeting wild abandon. Everyone exclaimed at everything. There wasn’t a single thing that the Indians didn’t adore about the Greeks, and the Greeks thought that everything in Taxila was fabulous.

The Author - Jennifer Macaire

Find her at 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimeforAlexander/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jennifermacaire/

twitter @jennifermacaire

https://jennifermacaire.wordpress.com/

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Review and Blog Tour – A Dangerous Act of Kindness by L P Fergusson

A Dangerous Act of Kindness by L P Fergusson

My Review

A thought provoking and harrowing Wartime Romance which packs quite a punch. Set during the Second World War in the UK I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading it.

The lead character Millie is a young widow left alone to manage her husbands farm and battle daily with guilt and shame over the manner of his death. Aided mainly by a helpful landgirl whom she also regards as a friend, her loyal dog Gyp and occasionally by the young farmer Hugh, a friend of her late husband who secretly carries a torch for Millie.

Life is hard on this rural farm and her working days are long, but when she hears about a nearby German plane crashing she never imagines she will find an injured German Luftwaffe pilot on her own farm, hiding in a barn which already holds horrific memories for Millie.

She is drawn to this enigmatic and strangely gentle fighter pilot and a moments decision to help him will lead to repercussions she could never have forecast.

It’s not just forbidden to help the enemy but a crime punishable by death if found out so she has to proceed to help Pilot Lukas with stealth and great care. She finds herself choosing him over her own safety when she chooses this small, dangerous act of kindness with deadly consequences.

We watch the flames of romance flicker and burn and experience some tender moments of extreme passion. Then, when I read about Lukas’ struggle to even believe, never mind come to terms with, the atrocities committed by his fellow German compatriots he wormed his way into my heart too.

This is quite a deep and dark romantic novel it’s certainly not all fluffy and light. Some of the barbarous acts committed by the Nazis is sickening and even though we read about them third hand, as described to Lukas by fellow Germans they are nonetheless pretty harrowing.

The book itself is a sheer joy to read and swept me back in time to the days before I was born as though they took place yesterday, I felt every heartbeat.  If, like me you like your historical fiction filled with detail and your romance to have a sombre flavour this book will fit the bill perfectly.

Published by Canelo you can find the ebook on Amazon

The Blurb

When widow Millie Sanger finds injured enemy pilot Lukas Schiller on her farm, the distant

war is suddenly at her doorstep. Compassionate Millie knows he’ll be killed if discovered,

and makes the dangerous decision to offer him shelter from the storm.

On opposite sides of the inescapable conflict, the two strangers forge an unexpected and

passionate bond. But as the snow thaws, the relentless fury of World War Two forces them

apart, leaving only the haunting memories of what they shared, and an understanding that

their secret must never see light.

As Millie’s dangerous act of kindness sets them on paths they never could have expected,

those closest to them become their greatest threats, and the consequences of compassion

prove deadly…

About the Author

LP Fergusson grew up on the borders of Wales in a Tudor house on the banks of the River

Wye. 

As a child, she longed to go back in history. Now she does, through her writing. She

has an MA in Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes University and won the Blackwell’s Prize

for MA Creative Writing. 

Her psychological thriller reached the final three of a Quercus/Psychologies Thriller competition and her wartime novel A Dangerous Act of Kindness was Highly Commended in the Caledonia Novel Award 2018. 

She edits the historical blog With Love from Graz which was featured on BBC Radio Wales, Radio 2 and BBC4’s A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley. She now lives in an Oxfordshire village beneath the chalk downs where her debut novel is set.

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