The Rose and the Thistle by Laura Frantz Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Co
Length: (416) pages
Format: Hardcover, Trade paperback & eBook 
Genre: Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction

Synopsis

In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley's father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known.

Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer Book Review

Synopsis

Good old Uncle Willie - rich, truculent and seemingly propped up by his fierce willpower alone - has come to stay with the Redpaths for the holidays. It is just their luck for him to be found dead the morning after Christmas day, dressed in his Santa Claus costume, seemingly poisoned by his favourite chocolates. Or was there something sinister in the mince pies? If so, was it the ones stashed in his room or those sent to him mysteriously by post? More importantly, since his will was recently redrafted, who stands to gain by this unseasonable crime?

First published in 1944, Murder After Christmas is a lively riot of murder, mince pies and misdirection, cleverly playing with beloved murder mystery tropes to create

Under a Veiled Moon by Karen Odden Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books>br> Series: An Inspector Corravan Mystery (Book 2)
Length: (336) pages
Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook
Genre: Historical Mystery, Detective Mystery, Victorian Mystery

Synopsis

September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who

Top Ten Tuesday Books on My Summer 2022-2023 To-Read List

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. A topic is assigned to each Tuesday. For that topic you are encouraged to make a top ten list, putting your own spin on it, if needed. Upcoming topics and

The Sisters of Sea View by Julie Klassen Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Series: On Devonshire Shores (Book 1)
Length: (448) pages
Format: hardcover, trade paperback, & eBook 
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Inspirational Fiction

Synopsis

Some guests have come for a holiday, others for hidden reasons of their own . . .

When their father's death leaves them impoverished, Sarah Summers and her genteel sisters fear they will be forced to sell the house and separate to earn livelihoods as governesses or companions. Determined to stay together, Sarah convinces them to open their seaside home to guests to make ends

The Hearts of All on Fire by Alana White Spotlight

Publication Date: September 27, 2022
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Series: The Guid’Antonio Historical Mysteries
Page Length: 392
Genre: Historical Mystery

Synopsis

Florence, 1473. An impossible murder. A bitter rivalry. A serpent in the ranks.

Florentine investigator Guid’Antonio Vespucci returns to Florence from a government mission to find his dreams of success shattered. Life is good—but then a wealthy merchant dies from mushroom poisoning at Guid’Antonio’s Saint John’s Day table, and Guid’Antonio’s servant is charged with murder. Convinced of the youth’s innocence and fearful the killer may strike again

Murder in an Irish Castle by Verity Bright Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: 28 November, 2022
Publisher: Bookouture
Series: A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #12
Format: ebook, print and audio
Genre: Historical Fiction/Cosy Mystery

Synopsis

Irish whiskey, rolling green hills, a traditional Christmas feast and… a murder? Lady Swift will need the luck of the Irish to survive this holiday season!

Christmas, 1923. Lady Eleanor Swift has received a rather unexpected invitation to the village Christmas party in the tiny, rural hamlet of Derrydee in the west of Ireland. Eleanor is thrilled about exploring her ancestral roots at her late uncle’s estate and spending the festive season in a castle. Packing Gladstone the bulldog’s coziest Christmas jumper, they

The Brightest Star by Emma Harcourt Book Review

Synopsis

1496. It is the height of the Renaissance and its flowering of intellectual and artistic endeavour, but the city state of Florence is in the grip of fundamentalist preacher Friar Girolamo Savonarola. Its good people believe the Lord speaks through him, just as certainly as the Sun circles the Earth.

For Leonarda Lunetta, eldest daughter of the learned Signore Vincenzo Fusili, religion is not as interesting as the books she shares with her beloved father. Reading is an escape from the ridicule flung her way, for Luna is not like other girls. She was born with a misshapen leg and that, and her passion for intellectual pursuits - particularly astronomy - alters how society sees her and how she sees the world.

Literary Christmas 2022 Reading Challenge My Sign Up Post

Hosted by: In the Bookcase
Challenge period: Now to 31st December, 2022
Sign Up: Now
Aim: To read and review as many Christmas-themed titles as you can from a list you

Wolves of Wagria by Eric Schumacher Release Day Book Blast

Publication Date: Nov 15, 2022
Publisher: Bodn Books
Series: Olaf’s Saga Book 3
Page Length: 344 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction / Historical Action

Synopsis

Three kingdoms. Two friends. Only one way to survive.

For fans of Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden comes the tale of Olaf Tryggvason and his adventures in the battle-scarred kingdom of Wagria.

It is AD 972. Olaf Tryggvason and his oath-sworn protector, Torgil, are once again on the move. They have left the Rus kingdom and now travel the Baltic Sea in search of

The Case of the Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Mystery by J. Lawrence Matthews Spotlight

The end of the year is fast approaching and there is a plethora of Christmas-themed novels being released.

My Christmas reading usually takes the form of historical mysteries and I'm excited to share that the latest novella from J. Lawrence Matthews, the author of One Must Tell the Bees, is another interesting case involving Sherlock Holmes and, of course, Dr Watson.

Synopsis

Christmas morning, 1902: Sherlock Holmes discovers that the wine in a bottle of French Beaune (intended as a gift for Dr. Watson) has been switched with sand, and he suspects it means threat to the newly crowned King of England. Or does it? With Dr. Watson's help, he soon finds out...

I'm adding this to my Christmas reading list!

Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: November 1, 2022
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Length: (416) pages
Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook
  Genre: Historical Fiction, Biographical Historical Fiction, Austenesque

Synopsis

A richly imagined novel inspired by the true story of Anne Sharp, a governess who became very close with Jane Austen and her family by the #1 International bestselling-author of Miss Austen.

On January 21, 1804, Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. At thirty-one years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. Her mother

Floats the Dark Shadow by Yves Fey Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: September 2022 (Second Edition)
Publisher: Tygerbright Press
Series: The Paris Trilogy
Audiobook: narrated by Hollie Jackson
Page Length: 340 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery

Synopsis

Young American painter Theodora Faraday struggles to become an artist in Belle Époque Paris. She’s tasted the champagne of success, illustrating poems for the Revenants, a group of poets led by her adored cousin, Averill.

When children she knows vanish mysteriously, Theo confronts Inspecteur Michel Devaux who suspects the Revenants

The Godmother's Secret by Elizabeth St.John Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: 4th October, 2022
Publisher: Falcon Historical
Page Length: 350 pages
Genre: Biographical Historical Fiction / Historical Mystery



Synopsis

What if you knew what happened to the Princes in the Tower. Would you tell? Or would you forever keep the secret?

November, 1470: Westminster Abbey. Lady Elysabeth Scrope faces a perilous royal duty when ordered into sanctuary with Elizabeth Woodville–witness the birth of Edward IV’s Yorkist son. Margaret Beaufort, Elysabeth’s sister, is desperately seeking a pardon for

Small Eden by Jane Davis Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: 30 April 2022, eBooks / 30 May 2022, paperbacks
Publisher: Rossdale Print Productions
Page Length: 394
Genre: Historical Fiction (1864 – 1910)

Synopsis

A boy with his head in the clouds. A man with a head full of dreams.

1884. The symptoms of scarlet fever are easily mistaken for teething, as Robert Cooke and his pregnant wife Freya discover at the cost of their two infant sons. Freya immediately isolates for the safety of their unborn child. Cut off from each other, there is no opportunity for husband and wife to teach each other the language of their loss. By the time they meet again, the subject is taboo. But unspoken grief is a

The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews Book Review + Blog Tour Giveaway (US Only)

Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Length: (432) pages
Format: Trade paperback, eBook, & audiobook
Series: Belles of London #2
Genre: Historical Romance, Historical Fiction

Synopsis

A London heiress rides out to the wilds of the English countryside to honor a marriage of convenience with a mysterious and reclusive stranger.

Tall, dark, and dour, the notorious Captain Jasper Blunt was once hailed a military hero, but tales abound of his bastard children and his haunted estate in Yorkshire. What he requires now is a rich wife to ornament his

In the Shadow of a Queen by Heather B. Moore Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: October 4, 2022
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Length: (384) pages
Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook 
Genre: Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction

Synopsis

Based on the True Story of the Free-Spirited Daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise’s life is upended after her father’s untimely death. Captive to the queen’s overwhelming mourning, Louise is forbidden to leave her mother’s tight circle of control and is eventually relegated to the position of personal secretary to her mother―the same position each of her sisters held until they were married. Already an accomplished painter, Louise risks the queen’s wrath by exploring the art of sculpting, an activity