The Fall of Kings by Stuart Rudge Book Blast

Publication Date: February 5th 2021
Publisher: Independently Published
Page Length: 406 pages
Series: Legend of the Cid, Book 3
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

Castile. 1071AD. Three kings. One crown.

After Sancho II of Castile dispatches his champion Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar to capture his brother, King Garcia of Galicia, he hopes it is a defining moment in his quest to reunite the lands of his father under one banner. But Alfonso VI of Leon is one step ahead, and has already added the lands of Galicia to his domain. When the only alternative is war,

Six Degrees of Separation: From Redhead by the Side of the Road to The Unfortunate Victim

The first Saturday of the month is time to play Six Degrees of Separation. This meme is hosted by Kate of Books Are My Favourite and Best. The aim is to link six books to each other from the starting point, which today is Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler.

I've not read this book but have read several by an author with the same surname: L.C. Tyler. Len Tyler writes comic crime novels. I'm following his historical mystery series set in the 17th century which features John Grey, a lawyer and a spy. The latest and fifth book in this series is The Bleak Midwinter.

The fifth book in another series I'm following is The Bee's Kiss by Barbara Cleverly. Initially this series was set in 1920s India during the

2021 Cloak and Dagger Challenge My Sign Up Post

Hosted by: Carol @ Carol's Notebook
Challenge period: 1st January to 31st December, 2021
Sign Up: Ends March 15, 2021

You can read any book that is from the mystery/suspense/thriller/crime genres. Any sub-genres are welcome as long as they incorporate one of these genres.

The Woodsman's Rose by Gifford MacShane Spotlight

Publication Date: January 25th 2021
Publisher: Independently Published
Series: (Donovan Family Saga, Book 2)
Page Length: 329 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction / Western Romance

Synopsis

1880s Arizona

Daniel Donovan wants nothing more than to get married, unless it's to restore his friendship with his closest friend, Alec Twelve Trees.

Alec is raging about his mother's murderer, whose identity Daniel knows but will not reveal, as the killer is dead and the family he left behind would be compromised if the knowledge

Restitution by Janet Lee Berg Spotlight

Publication Date: 30th September 2020
Publisher: Koehler
Series: Sequel to "Rembrandt's Shadow"
Page Length: 262 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

“Restitution” is the riveting, multigenerational story of Sylvie Rosenberg, a Holocaust survivor traumatized by the memory of her art dealer father forced to trade paintings with the Nazis in an attempt to save their large extended family.  Sylvie’s adult life in 1970s New York is plagued by survivors’ guilt and bitterness.  But when her self-destructive ways threaten to upend the life of her Vietnam-vet son, Sylvie finally needs to face

The Canterbury Murders by E.M. Powell Book Review - Blog Tour - Giveaway (US Only)

Publication Date: November 12, 2020
Publisher: Crosshaven Press
Series: Stanton & Barling, #3
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

Synopsis

A fire-ravaged cathedral. An ungodly murder.

Easter, 1177. Canterbury Cathedral, home to the tomb of martyr Saint Thomas Becket, bears the wounds of a terrible fire. Benedict, prior of the great church, leads its rebuilding. But horror interrupts the work. One of the stonemasons is found viciously murdered, the dead man’s face disfigured by a shocking wound.

Aussie Author Reading Challenge 2021 My Sign Up Post

Hosted by: Jo at Book Lover Reviews
Challenge period: 1st January to 31st December, 2021
Sign Up: Anytime during the year
Aim: To showcase the quality and diversity of the books being produced by Australian authors.

All the information and how to join is here on the sign-up page.

This year I'm participating at the same level as last year

Australian Women Writers Challenge 2021 My Sign Up Post

Hosted by: Australian Women Writers.
Challenge period: 1st January to 31st December, 2021.
Sign Up: Throughout the year up until 30th November, 2021.
Aim: To help overcome gender bias in the reviewing of books by Australian women.

Further information about the challenge and how to join can be found here.

This year, like last, I'm opting for the Franklin level: read 10 books - if reviewing, review at least 6. Here is my list, with some titles carried over from last year.

Georgana's Secret by Arlem Hawks Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: January 12, 2021
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Inspirational Fiction
Length: 320 pages
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1629727929
eBook ASIN: B08Q5MW1SG
Audiobook ASIN: B08RLRZ65Q

Synopsis

A Regency romance on the high seas. Two hearts yearning to find a safe harbor, and possibly, a lasting love.

As a young girl, Georgana Woodall dreamed of beautiful dresses, fancy balls, and falling in love. However, when her mother dies, she

The Healer of Briarwood by MK McClintock Book Blast + Giveaway (US Only)

Publication Date: December 15, 2020
Publisher: Trappers Peak Publishing
Format: Paperback & ebook; 260 pages
Series: Montana Gallagher Series, Book 7
Genre: Historical/Romance/Victorian

Synopsis

A man with a healer’s touch. A woman with a healer’s heart.

Doctor Finnegan Brody tends his patients, keeps to himself, and vividly remembers the heartaches and trials from the Civil War and why he devoted his life to healing. He watches the townspeople live their lives, loving and laboring alongside one another, and wonders if one day he will give a woman as much time and

New Release Challenge 2021 My Sign Up Post

Hosted by: Brandee and Lexie at (un)Conventional Bookworms
Challenge period: 1st January to 31st December, 2021
Sign Up: By 1st September, 2021
Aim: To read and review books released in 2021.

All the information can be found here on the sign-up page.

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2021 My Sign Up Post

Hosted by: Marg @ The Intrepid Reader
Challenge period: 1st January to 31st December, 2021
Sign up: anytime during the year

All the details are available on the sign-up page.

The Things We Don't Say by Ella Carey Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: January 25, 2021
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: ebook & paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

From top-ten bestseller Ella Carey comes a gripping, haunting and utterly captivating novel about love, secrets and betrayal in a story that spans the most tumultuous decades of the twentieth century.

What happens when the truths you have built your life on start to crumble?

Emma Temple sits looking out of the window in her beautiful apartment in the heart of

The Danish King's Enemy by M.J. Porter Book Blast

Publication Date: 20th December 2020 (please note this is a rerelease of Viking Enemy, which was a rerelease of Ealdormen)
Publisher: Independently Published
Page Length: 211 Pages
Series: (The Earls of Mercia, Book 2)
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

Every story has a beginning.

Leofwine has convinced his king to finally face his enemies in battle and won a great victory, but in the meantime, events have spiralled out of control elsewhere.

With the death of Olaf Tryggvason of Norway,

The Last King by M.J. Porter Read an Excerpt + Giveaway (US Only)

Publication Date: April 23, 2020
Format: Paperback & eBook; 314 pages
Series: The Ninth Century, Book One
Genre: Historical Thriller

Synopsis

They sent three hundred warriors to kill one man. It wasn’t enough.

Mercia lies broken but not beaten, her alliance with Wessex in tatters.

Coelwulf, a fierce and bloody warrior, hears whispers that Mercia has been betrayed from his home in the west. He fears no man, especially not the Vikings sent to hunt him down.

The Other Cipher by Heidi Eljarbo Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: 2 December 2020
Publisher: Independently Published
Series: Soli Hansen Mysteries Book 2
Page Length: 200 Pages
Genre: Historical Mystery

Synopsis

In the captivating second book of the Soli Hansen Mysteries, two women—separated by more than three hundred years—are connected through their love of art.

1613. Fabiola Ruber is been wed to a man she does not know and must live in a country with a new language and different customs. The memories of a lost love in her hometown Malta haunt her, and she sets out to find an

All Manner of Things by Wendy J. Dunn Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: January 15th 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Poesy Quill Publishing
Series: Falling Pomegranate Seeds, Book #2
Print Length: 449 Pages

Synopsis

Winter, 1539

María de Salinas is dying.

Too ill to travel, she writes a letter to her daughter Katherine, the young duchess of Suffolk. A letter telling of her life: a life intertwined with her friend and cousin Catalina of Aragon, the youngest child of Isabel of Castile. It is a letter to help her daughter understand the choices she has made in her life