📖 Favourite Read of the Month ~ Royal Witch by Philippa Gregory

Harper Collins 
20 October 2026

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

 

Ambition, Sorcery. Treason. How far will one woman dare to go?

Eleanor Cobham arrived at court with nothing - her greatest hope was simply to marry well.

But her ambition carried her further than any woman before her had dared. She wanted to rule her own destiny. To rule England itself.

They say she summoned the devil himself to secure her fate.

They say she plotted to murder a king.

Now, it's time to finally hear her story.

This is the tale of the woman they called witch. Who would have called herself queen.

📖 My Review..

In 1428, Eleanor Cobham married into the English royal family when she became the wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. A marriage of convenience in many ways as Eleanor had set her sights on something far more powerful than an advantageous marriage, she wanted to be Queen Consort of England and would go to any lengths to secure the throne for her equally ambitious husband. Whilst I knew snippets about Eleanor Cobham and her role within the court of the boy King Henry VI I didn’t know many of the details surrounding her spectacular fall from grace or of the seriousness of the criminal charges levelled against her. 

Alive with intrigue, the royal court comes to life and as the royal siblings vied with each other for political power so Eleanor strove to secure her own place at the very centre of court life. Ruthlessly ambitious, Eleanor would stop at nothing to get what she wanted, that she did some unsettling things is recorded in historical records but whether she did perform witchcraft and necromancy to bring down a King remains to be seen. However, what can be deduced is that she was a woman of great strength and ruthless ambition, female qualities which did not sit comfortably with medieval men. Her imperfections are highlighted in detail and whilst it’s not possible to warm to her, she was a tetchy and difficult woman to like, I did finish the story with a modicum of respect for her. 

Well written and impeccably researched, the author has succeeded in bringing this fascinating woman to life and whilst

history has tried to erase Eleanor thanks to this author’s fine skill for storytelling Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester comes gloriously alive, in a fascinating story of thwarted ambition, dangerous treachery and desperate desire.

I really enjoyed reading it and have no hesitation in making Royal Witch my Favourite Read of the Month for October.

About the Author

DR PHILIPPA GREGORY is an internationally renowned historian and novelist. She holds a PhD in eighteenth-century literature at the University of Edinburgh and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff, an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck University of London and she was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her services to literature and to charity. Her novels have been adapted for stage and screen and in 2023 she published her groundbreaking history book, Normal Women– 900 Years of Making History, which was also released as a podcast, a teen edition and a series for young children.

🎧 One from the shelf ~ Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

In an attempt to get my ‘to be read pile’ to a more manageable level over the following autumn months, I’m going to share my reviews of books which have lingered for far too long on my digital book shelves.

I’ve had Year of Wonders:A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks on my Audible. The book was first published in 2001.

Spring 1666: when the Great Plague reaches the quiet Derbyshire village of Eyam, the villagers make an extraordinary decision. They elect to isolate themselves in a fateful quarantine. So begins the Year of Wonders, seen through eighteen-year-old Anna Frith’s eyes as she confronts the loss of her family, the disintegration of her community, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit love. Based on a true story, this novel explores love and learning, fear and fanaticism, and the struggles of seventeenth-century science and religion to interpret the world at the cusp of the modern era.

🎧 My Review..

The small Derbyshire village of Eyam still carries the scars of what happened to it in 1666 and although now quiet and visited by tourists who come to see the Plague Village there are still echoes of past tragedies. Written in 2001 after the author visited the village, this is a fictional account of what took place and of the village folk who simply closed themselves away from the world so that the wicked contagion from London would not spread to neighbouring villages.

Anna Frith is the narrator of this story, and as the plague seeds spread and multiply from fleas on bolts of cloth from London, so her life runs in quiet reflectiveness. At the start of 1666 and on first meeting Anna we find that she is a young widow with two small boys, managing alone but with work at the local rectory and the local manor house, she ekes out a living, however, events soon spiral out of her control as the plague attacks everything she once held dear. With the village in lockdown and with only the very basic medical care from wise women who are deemed to be witches, and from herbal remedies which have no power over a pestilence which indiscriminately takes old and young, rich and poor. Superstition, fear and suspicion is rife in the village, tempers run high and threaten to take away any semblance of Christian charity but Anna, together with Elinor Monpellion, the rectors wife, do all they can to keep one step ahead of a deadly disease that shows no mercy.

Atmospheric and rich in detail Year of Wonders conveys the horror of living cheek by jowl with a disease that seemed entirely unstoppable. The audio narration of over 10 hours didn’t seem overlong and interestingly it’s narrated by the author herself. At first I wasn’t keen on this but after a while the author took on the persona of Anna Frith with an almost childish naivety which developed in strength and purpose as the story progressed. My only quibble is the ending which I felt slightly out of sync and not what I expected however, I’m really pleased to have listened to Year of Wonders at last, it’s a fascinating story and nicely narrated by the author.

📖 Book Review ~ That Day at Rose Cottage by John Nicholl

Boldwood
21 October 2026

Thanks to the publisher for the copy of this book 

Two women running from their pasts. Two predators determined to find them. One isolated cottage with a deadly secret…

Ella Hart believed the nightmare was over when her manipulative, abusive ex-boyfriend, Nigel Franks, was sent to prison. But now Nigel is free – and his obsession with revenge is stronger than ever.

When Ella’s friend Poppy arrives at Rose Cottage seeking sanctuary from her own recently released tormentor, the two women realise a terrifying truth: prison bars and restraining orders can only keep dangerous men away for so long.

Hidden deep in the Welsh countryside, Rose Cottage was meant to be a refuge. Instead, it becomes a trap. As their former abusers close in, determined to reclaim the control they’ve lost, Ella and Poppy find themselves cut off, hunted and running out of options.

With the threat of violence growing by the day, the women face an impossible choice: live in fear forever – or fight back.

As hunter and hunted exchange places, the lines between justice and vengeance begin to blur. Because some monsters never stop coming for you. And sometimes the only way to survive is to find a way to stop them, forever…

📖 My Review..

Reaching breaking point, Ella Hart finally reports her abusive boyfriend to the police. With evidence stacked against him Nigel Franks is convicted and sentenced but even with her abuser behind bars, Ella never feels safe. When she comes to the aid of her friend, Poppy, who is also another traumatised victim of domestic abuse, Ella is determined that the time has come for them stop allowing these vicious men to take control of their lives.

Cleverly written, with a terrifying edginess, the story unfolds not just from the perspective of both Ella and Poppy but also from Nigel, the prison governor who has the measure of the man, the prison psychologist who assessed Nigel for release from prison and who sees good where evil lurks and finally Detective Inspector Laura Kesey who understands better than most that the justice system consistently fails these traumatised women. All of these fascinating characters add a sense of realism to the story and drive the action spinning headfirst into what is, after all, an inevitable reckoning.

I read That Day at Rose Cottage in one sitting simply because I couldn’t bear the thought of Ella and Poppy’s pain and wanted the whole sorry story to pan out in the way I hoped it would. With his usual flair for cracking good storytelling the author paints a vivid picture of despair, fear and a twisted sense of righteousness which made me reach the end of the book with a wry smile. Justice served.

About the Author

John Nicholl is a Welsh author renowned for his gripping psychological thrillers and crime novels. Born and raised in West Wales, Nicholl draws upon his experiences as a former police officer, child protection social worker, and lecturer to craft compelling narratives that delve into the darkest corners of human nature. His work often explores themes of justice, psychological manipulation, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Twitter/X  @nicholl06

Twitter /X @BoldwoodBooks

📖 Blog Tour ~ A Thousand Silent Cries by Karen Millie -James

Vinci Books
22 October

Cydney Granger #3

Thanks to Midas for my copy of this book
and the invitation to the blog tour

Thirty-six years ago, a child survived an IRA bombing. Someone has finally realised..

The third novel in Karen Millie James' Cydney Granger crime thriller series, A Thousand Silent Cries sees corporate forensics investigator and spiritual medium Cydney Granger drawn into her most personal and dangerous case yet.

Known for uncovering truths others cannot see, Cydney has built her career investigating secrets, deception and hidden motives. But this time, the mystery centres on someone close to her.

When her friend’s husband, renowned barrister James Carrington QC, becomes the target of a series of increasingly sinister threats, Cydney discovers he is not the man he claims to be. Thirty-six years earlier, James was the sole survivor of an IRA bombing that killed his parents and destroyed his childhood. Given a new identity and hidden away from those responsible, his past was buried along with the truth about what happened that day.

Until now.

As Cydney digs deeper, she uncovers a trail stretching from Belfast to London, exposing decades-old secrets, hidden identities, corruption and betrayal rooted in the legacy of The Troubles. The man responsible for the bombing has resurfaced and, after decades in the shadows, is determined to eliminate the last witness to his crimes.

With her closest friends under threat and a ruthless killer closing in, Cydney finds herself in a race against time to uncover the truth before history repeats itself.

Because some crimes are never forgotten. They simply wait for the right moment to strike again.

The series consists of The Shadows Behind her Smile and Where in the Dark.

📖 My Review..

I must admit that I am new to this crime thriller series which follows Cydney Granger who is not only a compelling corporate forensic investigator but also a spirit medium. This concept piqued my interest and I soon warmed to the idea of Cydney’s spirit guide, Ray, popping up at opportune moments with interesting snippets of information.

This is a well written and imaginative roller coaster of a thriller, which involves a case of hidden identity, decades old secrets which have their origin in violence and crime in the time of the troubles in Ireland and of a renowned London barrister who has a secret he doesn’t want to disclose, even to his wife. James Carrington QC is a tetchy character and not someone with whom you immediately warm to however, as the story unfolds we discover that there is far more to this complex man than we at first suspect. I enjoyed the many twists and turns in the story, trying to discover where story was heading made it all the more fascinating especially the details of what had gone in the past. There are several interesting characters to get to know, not many of them are likeable but all credit to the author for depicting them as flawed individuals with many secrets and hidden lives, and lies, to explore. 

A Thousand Silent Cries is the third book in this crime thriller series and whilst it would have been better if I had read the previous books, this didn’t alter my enjoyment as I was soon able to follow the story with just a few niggles about some past events which I didn’t know much about however, that really didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this latest gripping story.

About the Author

Karen Millie-James never intended to write a book. But what started as a hobby has since become a passion, ensuring she isn't spending every evening in her office. With a background and education in business and languages, and as a recognised expert in corporate affairs and cross-border transactions, Millie-James uses her vivid imagination and experience to write her Cydney Granger series. Karen lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband and their three dogs.

 About Vinci Books

Vinci Books is a world-class publisher created to offer authors the best of independent and traditional publishing, caring for their authors’ careers and earnings whilst leaving them free to concentrate on their writing. Their hugely experienced team of publishing specialists provide continuous marketing for their books and make sure they are sold in print, audio, and eBook formats all around the world.

Website

X @KMillerJames

Instagram @ milliejameskaren

X @midascampaigns

 

📖 Bookshop.org and Bookbanks ‘Books that Give’ drive supported by Vic Hope 📚

 

Bookshop.org and Bookbanks launch third Books That Give drive, supported by Vic Hope

 Booksbank supporter Vic Hope
Photo credit Women’s Prize Trust

In the National Year of Reading, Bookshop.org will be donating 10% of all book sales from 22-25 October to the charity Bookbanks, in its third Books That Give campaign, supported by ambassador Vick Hope.

This October, anyone who buys a book from Bookshop.org – the online retailer that supports independent bookshops – will help Bookbanks in their mission to provide free books at food banks across London, East Anglia and the North West, with plans to expand further to reach the North East, opening in Newcastle from Thursday 4 November, at the Newcastle Foodbank's Church of the Venerable Bede distribution centre.

Since launching in 2024, Bookbanks has distributed over 25,000 books to people accessing food banks, as well as training 140 volunteers with a background in books to run the stalls, holding 21 author events inside food banks (with more scheduled quarterly). Each of the 11 locations to which it has now expanded also provides 200 hours of conversation time between food bank guests and trained volunteers annually.

A happy Booksbank guest
Photo credit Booksbank 

In December 2025, the charity partnered with The Sunday Times for their ‘Get Britain Reading’ campaign, which significantly raised the profile and funds for the charity. In March of this year, Founding Director Emily Rhodes was also a finalist for the new Queen’s Reading Room National Reading Hero Medal, which was celebrated with a Royal Reception at Clarence House.

Every £1,500 raised allows Bookbanks to set up in a new food bank, including recruiting and training a team of 10 local volunteers, as well as sourcing and delivering over 500 books. With the charity growing fast, Bookbanks aims to reach 30 food banks nationwide by 2030.

Vick Hope, Author, TV presenter and Bookbanks supporter, said: “Books can inspire confidence, spark curiosity and help people dream big, whatever their own story. As someone who's incredibly proud to be from the North East, it's brilliant to see Bookbanks coming to the region, giving people using food banks access to free books. Everyone deserves the chance to fall in love with reading, and I know from my own experience just how life-changing that can be.”

Emily Rhodes, Founding Director at Bookbanks, said: “To have this support from Bookshop.org for the third year running is a huge honour. The Books that Give drive has already made such a difference to the number of struggling families we are able to reach. In the next three years, we want to have established our free book stalls in 30 food banks across the UK and this new drive will make a real difference to our ability to expand, reaching more of the many communities who would benefit from the transformative power of books.”

Nicole Vanderbilt, Managing Director of Bookshop.org UK, said: “Bookshop.org is proud to partner with Bookbanks once again this year, for our third Books That Give charity drive. This feels especially important in the National Year of Reading, the UK-wide campaign designed to inspire more people to read. When customers buy books from us, they can be sure their money contributes to good causes, and helps support independent bookshops all year round. As part of Books That Give, we’re proud to donate a further 10% from all our sales between 22-25 October to Bookbanks. We hope that through our fundraising efforts they will have the means to grow even further, expanding their activities in Newcastle, widening access to books to those who can’t afford them.”

Find out more about ‘Books That Give’ here, and follow the latest developments on social media.

About Bookshop.org

Bookshop.org is an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.

Bookshop.org first launched in the USA in January 2020 and has already raised over $46m for independent bookshops in the States. Bookshop.org launched in the UK in November 2020, and currently has over 650 independent bookshops and over 11,000 affiliates using the platform. The UK site has generated over £5m for independent bookshops since its launch, being named Retailer of the Year in the British Book Awards in 2022.

Independent bookshops receive full profit on the sales and subscriptions they generate from their shopfront on the platform. On all other sales, 10% of the cover price is added to a pool distributed to independent bookstores. Print books are offered to consumers at a small discount, with free shipping on orders over £25, and in stock books are delivered within 2-3 days. Ebooks can be read and audiobooks listened to on Bookshop.org’s own app.

Bookshop.org is a Certified B Corporation and has received the prestigious status as a B Corp Best for the World 2022.

For more about Bookshop.org, please see www.bookshop.org or visit their social media channels on Instagram @bookshop_org_UK, X @bookshop_org_UK, Facebook @BookshopOrgUK, Threads @bookshop_org_UK, and Bluesky @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social.



About Bookbanks

Bookbanks partners with food banks, creating weekly pop-up stalls of free books inside them. Trained volunteers, all with a background in books and a passion for widening access to them, help people find titles that suit their interests and use the books to spark conversation.

Bookbanks also hosts literary events at food banks, including author readings, children’s activities, writing workshops and librarian visits.

Since launching in June 2024, the charity has grown to partner with 13 food banks across the country. It now boasts more than 140 trained local volunteers – including authors, librarians, publishers, journalists, teachers, booksellers and other experts. At each Bookbanks location these volunteers give out around 50 books a week, and provide 4 hours of conversation time (200 hours/year).

📖 Book Review ~ The Widow and the Rake by Sarah Mallory

17 September 2026

My thanks to the author for my copy of this book

After an unhappy marriage Fay Bellington is now content to live a quiet life in Harrogate, until she discovers her beloved niece is in dire trouble. Fay goes to London and seeks help from a childhood friend who is now Viscount Winterburne. But Anthony Doune is no longer the lanky boy she remembers – he is now tall, dark and incredibly attractive…

📖 Book Review

When she learns that her teenage niece is in trouble Fay Bellington leaves her quiet life in Harrogate and travels to London to enlist the help of a childhood friend with whom she has had little contact with since her own marriage and subsequent widowhood. Anthony Doune is everything Fay remembers from her time spent with him at her childhood home however, she is little prepared for the effect that meeting him again will have on her now that they are both mature adults. Moody, dark and mysterious Anthony Doune is everything that Fay’s deceased husband wasn’t and whilst the attraction between them is obvious and not unwelcome, the only problem is that neither of them wants to commit to a relationship especially when they are seeking dangerous people who are determined to do Fay’s niece irreparable harm.

The Widow and the Rake is a lovely friends-to-to lovers romance which has all the hallmarks of this author’s usual fine attention to historical detail whilst at the same time keeping the human interest very much at the forefront of the story. The Regency period once again comes alive, from the excitement of gaming salons, to romantic evening soirées, we stroll arm in arm with the great, and the no-so-good, of London society whilst at the same time observing from the sidelines a sensual love story developing between two lovely characters who are infinitely right for each other. The twists and turns along the way are exciting and the will they, won’t they element of Fay and Tony’s relationship kept me turning the pages, so that I read the story in one glorious sitting.

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 Valley of Ravens by Barbara Erskine

Harper Collins
30 July 2026

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

In the depths of the valley, two women, centuries apart, are bound by fate…

Present

Eve, desperate for a fresh start, arrives in the Valley of Ravens to restore a long-abandoned cottage.

Everyone knows the place is cursed. Why else would it be called The Witch’s House?

As Eve begins her renovations it becomes clear the place has a secret waiting to be uncovered, if only she can make the connection with the past.

Wales, 1260

Alys, a healer living in the depths of the valley, discovers Llewelyn – last true Prince of Wales – lying wounded on the battlefield. She tends him and her fate is forever bound to his.

Her vow to keep his final secret will echo through the centuries…

📖 My Review..

The Valley of Ravens gives us a glimpse into the political world of thirteenth century Wales, which features Alys, a local healer, who befriends Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, who lived during the reign of the English King, Edward I. Running alongside the thirteenth century story is that of Eve, also a healer, who, in the present day, is irresistibly drawn towards the rural isolation of the locally named Tŷ’r Wrach (witches house). Eve is intrigued by the sensation of being watched by a woman from the past and, haunted by Alys’s story, Eve is soon bedevilled by suspicious events, fuelled by a dangerous obsession, which threatens to destroy everything.

Cleverly written, with a fine eye for historical detail, The Valley of the Ravens is filled with a brooding sense of unease, particularly in the older sections of the story which the author describes well. With Alys as our supernatural guide we are allowed a glimpse into the final days of Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, and of the precious gifts he entrusts into Alys’s safekeeping. Eve’s uncertainty and difficulties she faces on her own are explored in detail and there’s a creeping  sense of menace to the story especially with its fascinating connections to the past and the devastating consequences of one man’s obsession that continues to seek revenge. 

I particularly enjoyed the references to the author’s previous work, Lady of Hay, and having a couple of characters from that story turn up in this one adds an extra dimension to what is a haunting story of revenge, greed and terrifying madness. Beautifully authentic, and with a definite sense of foreboding, The Valley of Ravens is another fascinating dual time historical mystery from this bestselling writer.

About the Author

Barbara Erskine is the author of thirteen bestselling novels and three collections of short stories that demonstrate her interest in both history and the supernatural. Lady of Hay, her first novel, has now sold over three million copies worldwide.

 X @ Barbaraerskine

Website

X@ HarperCollinsUK