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Blog Tour - Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton Blackberry and Wild Rose was one of those books which could have been written just for me. I read the advance copy I felt so privileged to receive last in 2018 and immediately needed to shout aloud just how much I LOVED it. In fact it made it on to my top ten reads of 2018. I was therefore delighted to be invited along on this blog tour to help promote and raise awareness of this book, which is great as I want EVERYONE to get their own copy and love it as much as I did. Here's my review, again, and I urge you to read it too. My Review Anyone who knows me, even the tiniest bit, will know, as surely as I did the minute I saw the cover of this book, that it is exactly the kind of book I fall head over heels in love with. And I did. For several reasons... (1) I swooned when I saw the absolutely gorgeous cover art. I am loving the current trend for historical novels to have a rich tapestry of all-over design and this one is covered wi...

Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton - my Review Anyone who knows me, even the tiniest bit, will know, as surely as I did the minute I saw the cover of this book, that it is exactly the kind of book I fall head over heels in love with. And I did. For several reasons. (1) I swooned when I saw the absolutely gorgeous cover art. I am loving the current trend for historical novels to have a rich tapestry of all-over design and this one is covered with a lavish illustration of the woven floral silks which wind their way through the story. (2) it is highly recommended by one of my very favourite authors the sublimely talented Laura Purcell (If she told me I'd enjoy reading the labels on sauce bottles, you wouldn't be able to get in my kitchen for ketchup and pickles) (3) It is set in England, Spitalfields, London to be precise, in the late 18th century - Mmmmm it's piqued my interest. (4) it is peopled with strong, willful women, who are all utterly believable a...

Review - A Little Bird Told Me by Marianne Holmes What a terrific debut novel, I take my hat off to the author who has recreated the long hot summer of 1976 and turned it into a simmering heat haze of suspicion, misunderstandings and mystery. A Little Bird Told Me is the story of siblings Robyn (nicknamed Little Bird) and her older brother Chistopher also known as Kit. The book sweeps effortlessly back and forth in time from 1976 when the pair were children and 1988 when as young adults, they return to the small town of their childhood so that Robyn can try and make amends for an injustice she blames herself for. In 1976 as the youngsters swelter in the heat, make dams by the river, play with friends and put up with bullying as well as a fractured family life. As they watch their Mum, keeping things hidden and constantly trying to evade someone or something it's clear that there is more going on than meets the eye. Events which occurred in the past have left their mark on both thes...

Among the Branded – Linda Smolkin Today I am taking part in the Blog Tour for the new debut novel by Linda Smolkin, arranged by RandomthingsTours. My Review: Among the Branded is a very modern and contemporary novel with historical connections to the fairly recent past. In it, we meet Stephanie, a 40 something Mum who is a dedicated career woman juggling family life. This busy art director is planning a family day out, and ends up spending a day out at a world war 2 re-enactment day. Whilst there, she chances on a bundle of old letters she can’t resist buying. Little does she know they are going to draw her in completely and possibly even put her hard earned career in jeopardy. Even though time is one thing she doesn’t really have to spare she can’t resist a mystery to get her teeth into. These faded letters contain a real puzzle to solve at the same time as fostering an unlikely friendship. One of the letters really connects with her, it’s from a desperate young mother who is imprison...