📖Book Review ~ Rescued by the Rakish Lord by Sarah Mallory

Harlequin Historical
May 2026

My thanks to the author for a copy of this book

A forced proximity, high society romance set in the late Georgian era

A man of such dubious reputation…that he was called Devil Blackbourne!

When Lord Deveril Blackbourne meets Selina Wynter, he is intrigued. For she has all the accomplishments of a lady, but the fiery temper and spirit of a tavern maid! Then she is abducted by a dastardly suitor, and Deveril—for all his roguish reputation—can't stand idly by…

Lord Deveril is Selina’s least likely rescuer, but when they’re stranded together in a snowstorm and her reputation is at risk, he surprises her with a gallant proposal! Deveril’s no honorable suitor, yet his actions say otherwise… Just who is the real Devil Blackbourne? Selina’s determined to find out!

📖My Review..

Selina Wynter’s ordered life is held to account when she encounters the enigmatic Lord Deveril Blackbourne who is staying near to her country home. Determined to keep her independence, Selina has rejected the idea of marriage but when a dastardly suitor attempts to abduct her it brings her into close contact, once again, with Blackbourne, with interesting repercussions.

I raced through the book in one sitting, comfortable with the plot as it took me from the relative safety of Selina’s sheltered home, to snow stranded days, and nights, in a country inn with roaring fires and hearty country meals. The simmering passion between Selina and Deveril is captured well and in the end I wanted a happy ending for them however, as we soon discover, true love never runs exactly to plan.

Once again, I have been transported back to the late Georgian era when women’s place in society was measured by their marriageable status. Selina is a feisty heroine, with a fiercely independent streak, and the handsome and charismatic Lord Deveril certainly meets his match in this passionate Regency romance which has all the hallmarks of this talented author’s fine writing.

About the Author

Sarah Mallory was born in the West Country and grew up with a love of books and history. She has had over 40 historical novels published and won the Rona Rose Award from the Romantic Novelists Association in 2012 and 2013.

Website

Twitter @SarahMRomance

BlueSky @sarahmallory.bsky.social

📖 Book Review ~ The Repentants by Kate Foster

Pan MacMillan 
Mantle
28 May 2026

My thanks to the publisher for the invitation to read this book 

St Monans, Fife, Scotland 1790. 

Two women are forced to publicly repent in church, one for adultery the other for breaching the sabbath. Wealthy housewife, Florrie, and salt serf, Eliza, form a quick and unusual bond over their mutual humiliation. So when Florrie's husband decides she must accompany him on a trade venture to Iceland, she insists Eliza comes as her maid.

Far from home, isolated and fearful, the two women grow ever closer. Then Florrie's husband reveals his sinister plan: he will leave her in Iceland, banished for the shame she has cast upon him. Florrie must escape, but when she turns to Eliza for help she realizes nothing is quite as it seems.

📖 My Review..

Twenty year old Florrie Aitken  yearns for passion in her marriage but sadly her husband is not the man to provide it as Jonny is too self absorbed and far too preoccupied with his own sense of importance. After a disastrous encounter, with a man who is not her husband, Florrie is made to repent in public alongside another young woman who is being punished for a different transgression. Unlikely though it seems, Florrie and Eliza share a common bond and it is this connection which will ultimately be the saving of them.

Well written, with impeccable research, and a real sense of time and place, The Repentants is a compelling story about how women were regarded, not just by men but also by other women and of their survival when the odds were stacked against them. From the cloistered atmosphere of an insular Scottish coastal town, to the bleakness of an Icelandic seascape, the raw, and often brutal, treatment of women is highlighted. The late eighteenth century world and women’s place in it, regardless of circumstances, comes alive. Throughout the story there is a real sense of injustice, and as each of the female characters start to assert themselves so the balance of power starts to subtly shift away from the men who would do them harm.

About the Author

Kate Foster has been a national newspaper journalist for over twenty years. Growing up in Edinburgh, she became fascinated by its history and often uses it as inspiration for her stories. The Maiden won the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect 2020 prize for new writers. She lives in Edinburgh with her two children.

X @MantleBooks #TheRepentants #KateFoster

📖 Book Review ~ The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves

Pan Macmillan
7 October 2025

My thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to review this book 

For the first time since the beloved Shetland series, Detective Jimmy Perez is back. He's traded the stark beauty of Shetland for the wild isolation of Orkney, but the darkness of human nature follows him everywhere.

When a ferocious storm rages across the islands, it leaves behind more than just damage: it uncovers the body of Archie Stout, a popular, larger-than-life member of the community.

The murder weapon? A Neolithic stone, bearing cryptic, ancient inscriptions.

Now living in Orkney with his partner, Willow, and their young son, Perez is drawn into a case that is chillingly personal – Archie was a friend from his own childhood. And the island is full of familiar faces, all of whom are potential suspects in the killing.

Perez must immerse himself in the lives of the islanders, separating truth from local legend before a desperate killer can strike again . . . and threaten the new life he's desperately trying to build.

📖My Review..

Having been a huge fan of the TV Shetland series when Detective Jimmy Perez was in charge I was excited to have the chance to read something new about him, catching up with him on Orkney, where he now makes his home, with his partner (and boss) Willow Reeves and their growing family.

The story hits the ground running with the discovery of body, which is made even more confusing as Archie Stout is a popular islander, with no known enemies. Brought into the case Perez finds that his loyalty is tested as Archie was a close childhood friend and the emotional stakes run high. However, in order to uncover the truth about the murder Perez must ask some difficult questions of the islanders which is difficult for all those who knew and liked Archie.

I enjoyed the story, it was good to be back in Perez’s company and the dynamics work well between him and Willow. There are enough twists and turns to keep the momentum going and I enjoyed trying to work out who did what, and when. There is a real a sense of atmosphere and the whole Orkney experience is done well, bringing place and people alive. I could sense the notion of a storm brewing and the complexity of the investigation all adds effect to what is another good crime /thriller from this established author.

About the Author

Ann Cleeves is the author of forty critically acclaimed novels, and in 2017 was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez and Matthew Venn, who can be found on television in ITV’s Vera, BBC One’s Shetland and ITV’s The Long Call respectively. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide.

📖 Book Review ~ The Boleyn Secret by Alison Weir

Headline Review
May 21 2016

My thanks to the publisher for the invitation to review this book

A Boleyn woman is no stranger to secrets...

At twelve years old, Kate Carey attends her aunt, Queen Anne Boleyn, to the scaffold. Horrified by what she witnesses, Kate is convinced that King Henry VIII has sent an innocent woman to a terrible death.

As the Boleyns fall from favour, Kate serves her now motherless cousin, the young Lady Elizabeth. Bound by Boleyn blood, the two girls are like sisters, until Kate marries for love - and leaves a jealous Elizabeth behind.

At court, Kate cannot ignore the sly looks thrown her way, nor the whispers behind her back. Only when her mother, Mary, lies dying, does she learn the life-shattering truth that the Boleyns have been hiding for years.

It is a secret that will haunt Kate throughout her life, as her family flee into exile, only returning home when Elizabeth becomes queen. But the bond between the Boleyn cousins will never be the same again..

📖 My Review..

I have been privileged to read several new Tudor inspired novels this month and I am pleased to say that whilst the Tudor period in English history has been covered extensively in fiction, there is always something new to enjoy. 

This latest novel by Alison Weir gives us the story of Katherine Carey who, after Anne Boleyn’s tragic death, was placed into the household of the Princess Elizabeth. Katherine Carey grows up in the shadow of the Tudor crown, her mother, Mary Boleyn, lives her later life in relative obscurity however, Katherine starts to move in court circles when she is placed as Lady-in-Waiting to Henry’s new wife, Anne of Cleves. It is Katherine’s proximity to the Tudor monarchs and her role within it, both as a young woman and later as a wife and mother, which forms the premise of the story over a long timeframe.

As always, with this historian’s fiction work there is fine attention to historical detail, the place and people are well described alongside what it might have been like living through such a turbulent time in history. My only criticism is that the book felt over long, granted there is a lot of information packed within the story, especially about Katherine’s eventful personal life as the mother of sixteen children and wife to Sir Francis Knollys who was a respected Tudor courtier. The Boleyn secret at the heart of the novel is one which has long been speculated over and whilst I knew what the secret would reveal it didn’t stop me enjoying the novel as an interesting look at yet another side of the Tudor court particularly as we go through the years of Tudor rule and Katherine’s relationship with Queen Elizabeth I.

About the Author

Alison Weir is a bestselling historical novelist of Tudor fiction, and the leading female historian in the United Kingdom. She has published more than thirty books, including many leading works of non-fiction, and has sold over three million copies worldwide. Her novels include the Tudor Rose trilogy, which spans three generations of history’s most iconic family – the Tudors, and the highly acclaimed Six Tudor Queens series about the wives of Henry VIII, all of which were Sunday Times bestsellers. Alison is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an honorary life patron of Historic Royal Palaces.

X @AlisonWeirBooks

X @headlinepg