FATE: Tales of History, Mystery and Magic by Annie Whitehead, Jean Gill, Marian L Thorpe, Helen Hollick, Alison Morton, Elizabeth St.John, R. Marsden, Anna Belfrage, J. P Reedman, Debbie Young. With an introduction by Cathie Dunn and endword by Helen Hollick New Release Book Blast

Publication Date: 16th June 2025
Publisher: Taw River Press
Pages: 244
Genre: anthology: short stories of history, mystery and magic

Book Description

If you had a crystal ball to predict what lay ahead, would you be tempted to use it? Or would you leave the future to the turn of Fate?

Tales of Variety. Tales of History, Mystery and Magic – some comprising just one of these popular fiction genres, others, a mild mixture of all three. Perhaps you prefer historical fiction rather than a story about magic or fantasy? Maybe you enjoy exploring new themes or prefer sticking to the familiar? Historical fiction can often inform, imparting knowledge of the past, of its events and its people. Stories of mystery

The Dutch Muse by Heidi Eljarbo Spotlight

Publication Date: 17 June 2025
Publisher: Independently published
Series: A Fabiola Bennett Mystery
Pages: 270
Genre: Historical Art Mystery, Dual Timeline, Historical Fiction, Dutch Historical Fiction, Dual-timeline Fiction

Book Description

A ruthless thief leaves a private Dutch gallery with a coveted seventeenth-century painting. The owner lies unconscious on the floor. Art historian Fabiola Bennett is on vacation in Holland and takes on the case.

Amsterdam, 1973.
It’s late summer, and Fabiola and Pippa join their friend, Cary, for a few days of sightseeing, museums, and riding bikes around the beautiful city.

Bess - Tudor Gentlewoman by Tony Riches Spotlight

Publication Date: May 2nd , 2025
Publisher: Preseli Press
Series: The Elizabethan Series, Book #6
Pages: 337
Genre: Historical Fiction/Tudor Fiction

Book Description

Bess Throckmorton defies her notorious background and lack of education to become Queen Elizabeth’s Gentlewoman and trusted confidante.

Forced to choose between loyalty and love, duty and desire, will she risk her queen’s anger by marrying adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh without permission?

Entangled in a web of intrigue, from the glittering Palace of Whitehall to the cells of the Tower of London, Bess endures tragedy and

Last Train to Freedom by Deborah Swift Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: 8th May 2025
Publisher: HQDigital
Pages: 361
Genre: Historical Fiction

Book Description

'Taut, compelling and beautifully written – I loved it!’ ~ DAISY WOOD

'Tense and thought-provoking' ~ CATHERINE LAW

1940. As Soviet forces storm Lithuania, Zofia and her brother Jacek must flee to survive.

A lifeline appears when Japanese consul Sugihara offers them visas on one condition: they must deliver a parcel to Tokyo. Inside lies intelligence on Nazi atrocities, evidence so explosive that Nazi and Soviet agents will stop

Lady of the Quay by Amanda Roberts Read a Snippet

Publication Date: May 9th, 2025
Publisher: Hickory Press
Series: Isabella Gillhespy Series, Book #1
Pages: 256
Genre: Historical Mystery/Suspense

Book Description

Knowing she is innocent is easy … proving it is hard

1560, Berwick-upon-Tweed, northern England

Following the unexpected death of her father, a series of startling discoveries about the business she inherits forces Isabella Gillhespy to re-evaluate everything she understands about her past and expects from her future. Facing financial ruin, let down by people on whom she thought she could rely, and suspected of crimes that threaten her

Luminous by Samantha Wilcoxson 5th Publication Anniversary Book Blast

Publication Date: June 5, 2020
Publisher: independently published
Audio narration: Joanne Joyce
Pages: 319
Genre: biographical historical fiction

Book Description

Tragic true story of a radium girl.

Catherine's life is set on an unexpected course when she accepts a job at Radium Dial. The dial painters forge friendships and enjoy their work but soon discover that an evil secret lurks in the magical glow-in-the-dark paint. When she and her friends start falling ill, Catherine Donohoe takes on the might of a big corporation and becomes an early pioneer of social justice in the era between world wars.

Emotive and inspiring - this book will touch you

Falling Pomegranate Seeds by Wendy J. Dunn Read a Snippet

Publication Date: February 28th, 2025
Publisher: Poesy Quill
Series: Omnibus Edition
Pages: 1030 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction/Tudor Fiction

Book Description

In the Falling Pomegranate Seeds Duology, readers are transported to the rich historical tapestry of 15th and 16th-century Europe, where the lives of remarkable women unfold against the backdrop of political upheaval and personal struggles.

In the first book, beginning in 1490 Castile, Doña Beatriz Galindo, a passionate and respected scholar, serves as an advisor to Queen Isabel of Castile. Beatriz yearns for a life beyond the constraints imposed on women, desiring to control her own destiny. As she

A Darn Good Read Named One of the 70 Best Historical Fiction Blogs & Websites for 2025

This year I'm taking a step back from blogging for a number of reasons, although I am still participating in blog tours and will post the occasional review.

Recently, my spirits received a welcome boost when I learnt from Feedspot that my blog had been included in the 70 Best Historical Fiction Blogs and Websites in 2025.

My fellow recipients are some of the popular and well-respected historical book blogs and websites on the internet today and I am very flattered that A Darn Good Read is ranked amongst them.

The complete list and the criteria used for selection can be viewed here.

Thank you, Feedspot!

White Feathers by Susan Lanigan Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: 21/3/2025
Publisher: Idée Fixe Press
Series: White Feathers, Book #1
Pages: 398
Genre: Historical Fiction

Book Description

"Anti-war and anti-patriarchy without ever saying so - a bravura performance of effortless elegance" - Irish Echo in Australia

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROMANTIC NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015

In 1913, Irish emigrée Eva Downey receives a bequest from an elderly suffragette to attend a finishing school. There she finds friendship and, eventually, love. But when war looms and he refuses to enlist, Eva is under family and social pressure to give the man she loves a white

The Cross of Ciarán by Andrea Matthews Spotlight

Publication Date: June 18, 2020
Publisher: Inez M. Foster – self-published
Series: The Cross of Ciarán series #1
Pages: 362
Genre: Time Slip Romance

Book Description

When a fifth century pagan priest is unearthed in Ireland fifteen hundred years after being entombed, archaeologist Caitlin O’Connell is convinced it’s the find of the century. The body is in perfect condition, right down to the intricate tattoos adorning the Celt’s skin. In fact, if scientific data hadn’t proved otherwise, she would swear he hadn’t been interred more than a few hours.

Eager to discover more about the mysterious Celt, Caitlin accompanies the body back to the New York museum where she’s employed,

Oscar's Tale by Chris Bishop Spotlight

Publication Date: February 25th, 2025 (new paperback)
Publisher: Historical Fiction Company
Pages: 166 (pb)
Genre: Historical Fiction

Book Description

Oscar’s Tale is that of a Saxon boy who sets out to find and rescue his father who has been taken by Viking slavers.

The story begins in 877, just prior to the Viking attack on Chippenham in which King Alfred was routed. Against this backdrop, Oscar is obliged to set out on his all but impossible quest and quickly becomes embroiled in all that’s going on in Wessex at this turbulent time, culminating in him playing a small but important part in the battle at Edington.

Ghost Encounters: The Lingering Spirits of North Devon by Helen Hollick with Kathy Hollick Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: 27th February 2025
Publisher: Taw River Press
Pages: 201
Genre: Non-Fiction (with a bonus of two short stories)

Book Description

Everyone assumes that ghosts are hostile. Actually, most of them are not.

You either believe in ghosts or you don’t. It depends on whether you’ve encountered something supernatural or not. But when you share a home with several companionable spirits, or discover benign ghosts in public places who appear as real as any living person, scepticism is abandoned and the myth that ghosts are to be feared is realised as nonsense.