📖 Blog Tour ~ Ripples Through Time by Christina Courtenay

Headline Review 
20 November 2025

Thanks to the publisher and Rachel’s Random Resources
for the book and invitation to the tour

A love that will change them forever

A treasure that will bring them home

West Mercia, AD 873 – Merewen's settlement is on guard against the outside threat of the ‘Heathen’ Norsemen. But for Merewen, the real threats come from within, as her future is cruelly snatched away from her.

Eirik, a Norseman, finds himself abandoned and injured after his uncle’s plunder of Mercian land goes wrong. He thinks his fate is sealed – until Merewen saves his life.

Hereford, Present Day – Left reeling after a huge betrayal, Alix moves to her grandfather's farm in Hereford to heal her broken heart. There, after being given a family heirloom, she soon finds herself haunted by memories of a life she never lived, a relationship she never had, and a time in which she never existed.

Local farmer Noah is being hounded by the police to find the Viking hoard that his sister and her criminal boyfriend stole from his farm. Noah must prove his own innocence while struggling to decipher the curious connection he has to newcomer Alix – a bond that seems to transcend their own reality.

As they search for the lost treasure, Alix and Noah start to feel the whispers of a love they never expected, one powerful enough to echo through history.

📖 My Review..

Echoes of the past feature strongly in this dual time story between Merewen and Eirik in West Mercia in AD 873 and of their modern day counterparts, Alix and Noah, in rural Hereford. Whilst each story is quite separate there is a definite thread of connection running throughout the narrative especially when Alix and Noah experience some  unexpected sights and sensations from this long ago era.

I’ve enjoyed spending time in both time frames especially discovering more about Merewen’s life, the dangers she faced from within her community and her undeniable attraction to Eirik, a fierce Norseman, who is more used to combat than living in peace. Whilst in present day Hereford both Alix and Noah are facing challenges, especially for Alix as she leaves her old life behind to make a new start and also for Noah as he discovers more about the land he calls home and the Viking hoard which was once buried on his farmland.

The transition between the two time frames is seamless and with neither one seeking to outshine the other I was equally enthralled in spending time in AD 873 as I was in the present day. There’s a real sense of authenticity and the author does a great job in bringing history alive, I could well imagine being with Merewen as she goes about her duties in the settlement and yet was also just as comfortable with Noah on his Herefordshire farm. 

Ripples Through Time is a beautifully written dual timeline story, with lovely characterisation and two heartfelt romances both of which give us a glimpse into the power of a love affair which transcends time.

About the Author

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip/dual time and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a Vice President and former chairman and of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. RIPPLES THROUGH TIME (dual time historical romance published by Headline Review 21st November 2025) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety)

Website: http://www.christinacourtenay.com

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🎅🏻 Festive Read ~ Christmas Tree : Ten Poems of Wishes and Lights from Candlestick Press

Candlestick Press
September 2025

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this pamphlet 

Many of us still love the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree to bring the light indoors during the darkest days of winter.

This festive mini-anthology captures their special magic, so symbolic of family and spending time with loved ones. There are poems about choosing the right tree and carrying it home, being a tree in a forest in all the wonder of winter, even finding a small owl hiding in a tree’s branches over the holidays. There’s also a poem about a magnificent tree made entirely of books that tickles the ceiling.

Central to everything is the tree itself:

“…Inside, the tree
claims its space, cloaked in glitter,
wearing winter’s hush like a crown.”

from ‘Gown of Needles’ by Gail Lawler

These beautifully varied poems explore the importance of Christmas trees, alight with all our memories, sparkles and wishes.

Poems by Jeanette Burton, ee cummings, Olga Dermott-Bond, Robert Frost, Gail Lawlor, SinéadMorrissey, CP Neild, Rhonda Stephen’s, Molly Thapviwat and Polly Walshe.

Cover illustration by Sara Boccaccini Meadows.

🎅🏻 My Review..

I’ve had the same artificial Christmas tree for well over thirty years because having had adventurous cats it seemed safer not to give them the option of scrabbling through pine needles and overturning a real tree. So every year our faithful old tree comes out of its box in the loft and gets adorned with our favourite decorations. Delicate glass ornaments I bought from a local glass designer, magical figures chosen by my children when they were small, the remaining two baubles I purchased as a young bride for my first Christmas in my new home and now festive memories my grandchildren bring to the tree. All have special meaning and that is exactly what this lovely anthology shares with us, all those evocative memories which help to bring the light of Christmas into our hearts.

I especially loved this one as I attempted a book tree one year (see below)

“ We build our Christmas tree each year

pulling down books

from every shelf,

piling them up and up

on the living room floor “

From Our Book Tree (i) by CP Neild

My Book Tree
©Jaffareadstoo
2014

I look in awe at sumptuously decorated trees with everything perfectly matching with a specific colour scheme but if I’m really honest I prefer a hotch-potch Christmas tree which is decorated with lovely memories of the past, reflections of what has been, hope for the future.

This idea is beautifully shared in this lovely poem:

“ Every year we carry it up

from the basement-

a ritual of dust and remembering.

And every year

it stands again,

quietly holding

what we no longer can.”

From Inheritance by Molly Thapviwat

Beautifully presented with a colourful cover, Christmas Tree : Ten Poems of Wishes and Lights is a wonderfully evocative anthology of poems which touch the heart in a special way and with just a month to go before Christmas if you are looking for something special instead of a card then this anthology is a perfect gift for anyone who loves Christmas and especially Christmas trees 🌲 

About the Publisher 

Candlestick Press is a small, independent press publishing sumptuously produced poetry pamphlets that serve as a wonderful alternative to a greetings card, with matching envelopes and bookmarks left blank for your message. Their subjects include Mountains, Clouds, Walking, Birds, Wine and Happiness. Candlestick Press pamphlets are stocked by chain and independent bookshops, galleries and garden centres nationwide and available to order online.

Twitter/X @poetrycandle 

Blue Sky @candlestickpress.bsky.social

Website

📖 Blog Tour ~ Death of A Stranger by John Pilkington

Boldwood Books
14 November 2025

Bishopsgate Ward Mystery #1

Thanks to Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources 
for the book and invitation to the blog tour

1594, Bishopsgate Ward, London. Within the walls and without, unease and uncertainty lurk beneath the noise and bustle of a smoky, teeming city.

Matthew Cutler, newly widowed and caring for two spirited daughters, takes his position as constable for the parish of Spitalfields very seriously. So when Paulo Brisco, a quiet Venetian perfumer is found brutally murdered in his own shop, Cutler throws himself into his first major crime, and one which threatens to set all Bishopsgate alight. 

Being a humble parish constable, Matthew Cutler’s powers are slight – and yet he possesses a skill which most others do not. As a former actor he can employ disguise, to considerable effect and to his unique advantage...

Plunged into a treacherous world of notorious rakes, angry tradesmen and a community seething with anti-foreigner sentiment and suspicion, Cutler must decipher shattered clues and confront a killer whose motive remains a baffling mystery - until the very last.

📖 My Review..

Elizabethan London with its dark and dangerous corners features in the mysterious and brutal death of Alessandro Brisco, a Venetian perfumer, who has his premises in Spitalfields. Matthew Cutler is a newly widowed, former actor with Pembroke’s Men, who has agreed to take on the office of constable, in lieu of his father-in-law, for the Bishopsgate Ward. Cutler takes his responsibilities seriously and he is respected, and occasionally feared, by some of the inhabitants who call this part of London home. Discovering who wanted the quiet perfumer dead will take all of Cutler’s considerable skills as he delves further and further into the mysterious life of Alessandro Brisco.

This is a really atmospheric and well written Elizabethan murder mystery which highlights the dangers of living in a time when neighbours were suspicious of neighbours and to be a stranger was to incite anger amongst those who felt threatened by their very presence in the neighbourhood. There’s an authenticity to both place and the people and I thought that the author did a great job of introducing us to the ordinary folk who inhabited Elizabethan London, the sights, sounds and smells of an overcrowded city are brought to life.

The author has created a likeable and engaging character in Matthew Cutler, I enjoyed getting to know him, learning about his family and the relationships he has with others all help to create a well rounded character who I am sure we will get to know well as the series progresses. The murder mystery at the heart of the story is done well, keeping the momentum of the investigation going without it ever becoming overly complicated. 

Death of a Stranger gets this new Elizabethan murder mystery series off to a really strong start.

About the Author

A writer for over forty years, John Pilkington was born in Lancashire and worked at many jobs including laboratory assistant, farm worker, weaver, shipping clerk, picture frame-maker and cabaret musician before taking a degree in Drama and English and finding his true vocation. He has since written plays for radio and theatre, television scripts for a BBC soap, a short-lived children’s series and numerous works of historical fiction, concentrating now on the Tudor and Stuart eras. He also ventured into speculative fiction with his biography of Shakespeare’s famous jester, Yorick.

He now lives in a village on a tidal estuary in Devon with his long-term partner Elisabeth; they have a son who is a psychologist and musician. When not at the desk he walks, swims, listens to music and tinkers with d.i.y. projects, and is enjoying being a grandfather.

Book Bub profile @jpscript

Website 

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📖 Blog Tour ~ Pilgrim’s War by Michael Jecks

Boldwood 
10 November 2025
Pilgrim’s War #1

My thanks to the publisher and Rachel’s Random Resources
for the book and the invitation to the blog tour.

The tale of a journey that will shape the world for centuries to come...

France, 1096. Crowds gather in Sens, Northern France,to hear the Hermit speak. He talks of a great pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a quest filled with promise for those Christian soldiers who march with him.

Sybill knows the perils of the road ahead, but follow it she must. Her husband is a reckless gambler, easily swayed by the Hermit's words. For Odo, the pilgrimage provides the chance to demonstrate his unshakeable piety, while his brother Fulk craves adventure and excitement.

Jeanne and Guillemette have been mistreated by the men in their lives and are desperate for this chance of redemption and a brighter future - but for the two women alone on the journey, life on the road will befull of perils...

As the lines between love and hate, virtue and sin, good and evil become blurred, each must survive as best they can. Who will live to reach the holy city, and will the sacrifices they make to get there be worth the price they all must pay?

📖. My Review ..

The aim of the First Crusade in 1096 was to free Jerusalem from the rule of the Saracen and the call of Peter the Hermit in the French town of Sens in March 1096 mustered enough interest to get the exodus of townsfolk underway. With fine attention to historical detail we travel every step of this momentous journey with the crusaders who come from all walks of life. Rich, poor, men, women and children all set out on a journey which seems, at first, highly impossible when considering the scale of the task ahead which was fraught with considerable danger from the very start.

I’ve enjoyed this first book as from the very beginning I felt like I was transported back to a medieval world which certainly had its share of troubles and which relied heavily on the power of orators such as Peter the Hermit to rally people to causes which were the start of a change of power in the medieval world.  The story gets off to a good start, bringing to life characters and their individual reasons for joining the crusade. The story doesn’t shy away from violence but it’s all within the realistic context of the story, after all, this was a very different time when violence and conflict were commonplace.

Pilgrim’s War makes history come alive in a thrilling medieval adventure which grips the imagination from the very start.

About the Author

Michael Jecks is the author of over fifty novels inspired by history and legend. He is the founder of Medieval Murderers, and has served on the committee of the historical Writers’Association, the CWA  and the Detection Club. He was International Guest of Honour at the Bloody Words festival in Toronto, and Grand Master of the first parade in the New Orleans Mardi Gras.

Facebook: @Michael.Jecks.author

Twitter: @MichaelJecks

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📖 Blog Tour ~ Broken Bones by John Carson

Boldwood Books
11 November 2025

DCI Liam Brodie #1

Thanks to Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources
for the book and invitation to the blog tour

 

Some bodies just won't stay buried...

After putting a stop to one of Edinburgh’s most notorious serial killers 3 years ago, DCI Liam Brodie is known as a man who can handle - and solve - the hardest of cases. But when he’s assigned to Fife’s Major Investigation Team, he soon realises that he’s walking into a minefield. The previous DCI is missing, presumed dead, and the case he’s been called in to lead becomes dangerously close to home.

When a child’s bones are unearthed beneath the floorboards of an old house in Fife - the same house where his girlfriend, psychologist Ruth Calder, grew up as a foster daughter - Brodie uncovers a tangled web of lies and jealousy. Ruth’s foster mother, now gripped by dementia, holds fragments of the truth but in a community haunted by its history, Brodie must navigate betrayal and buried guilt to bring a decades-old secret to light.

📖 My Review... 

This gritty Scottish police procedural gets off to a cracking good start. Central to the investigation is DCI Liam Brodie who has been placed in charge of Fife’s Major Investigation Team as the previous DCI has gone missing, presumed dead. However, it’s not just the missing DCI which causes concern as Brodie and his team are soon engulfed in a complex murder investigation which may have links to a case Brodie worked on three years ago in Edinburgh when a particularly nasty serial killer was brought to justice.

Capturing my attention from the start, I enjoyed getting to know DCI Brodie and learning more about his relationship with his partner, psychologist Ruth Calder. The way in which the plot becomes entwined on a very personal level to Brodie and Ruth makes the story all the more compelling. As with any new series there is a certain amount of scene setting and a sense of getting to know the relationships between the major characters. There’s a realistic sense of police camaraderie and whilst the language is, at times, colourful , their commitment to seeing justice done is always paramount. DCI Brodie is an interesting character, who is fully committed to his job and is determined to root out evil, I’m sure we’ll see his character progress over time.

Well written, with strong attention to detail, Broken Bones is a really good start to this new Scottish crime series and I look forward to seeing where DCI Liam Brodie will go to in False Witness, which is due to be published in April 2026.

About the Author

John Carson is the multi-million, bestselling author of numerous Scottish-set crime series.

Facebook: @john.carsonauthor

Instagram: @johncarsonauthor

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📖 Ten Poems about Dogs from Candlestick Press

Candlestick Press
First published 2011
Reissued October 2025

My thanks to Candlestick Press for my copy of this pamphlet

The dogs that sniff and scamper their way through the pages of this mini-anthology are of all shapes and sizes. There are hairy dogs, wonky dogs, corgis and pugs. There’s a puppy that loves to swim in the sea and a dog that barks all day until its owners come home again.

We can’t help loving dogs, even when their mischief exasperates us. In one poem, we hear a dog describing its unsociable antics in a voice that’s humorously confident of its owner’s unconditional love:

“I know you love me. Oh yes you do!
Just look at my big brown eyes gazing at you.”

from ‘Corgi’ by Carole Bromley

The poems celebrate the mild mayhem that owning a dog brings, as well as the many moments of fun, companionship and joy. They demonstrate that dogs are indeed “a miniature illumination” in our human lives.

Poems by Herbert Asquith, Carole Bromley, Jeanette Burton, Jane Burn, Billy Collins, Jeanette Dubrow, Vince Foxall, Caleb Parkin, Siegfried Sassoon and Stevie Smith.

Cover illustration by Sam Cannon

Donation to Dogs Trust

📖 My Review

Those who know me know that I have an abiding love for cats rather than dogs and I have to admit to being rather scared of our canine friends especially when they come scampering towards me. However, I know just how comforting a pet companion can be and fully appreciate that dog lovers will be enamoured of this fine collection of poems which celebrate all things canine.

The cover is so appealing that you can’t help but be charmed by the content and smile at some of the mischievous antics of the dogs who show such character and joie de vivre whilst at the same time being aware of the strength of the relationship between dogs and their owners.

I particularly enjoyed the togetherness of :

“Who’s this - alone with stone and sky?

It’s only my old dog and I -

It’s only him, it’s only me;

Alone with stone and grass and tree”

From Man and Dog by Siegfried Sassoon

And the intuitiveness of dogs in this lovely poem:

“They know, most days, that the world is too confusing a place.

They know that you are prone to hiding away. They know

that without them, you probably wouldn’t go out”

From Why all dogs are Kind by Jane Burn

The ten poems which make up this lovely collection will appeal to all those who love animals and will be of particular interest to anyone who has a canine companion. I found much to enjoy and whilst browsing the poems I realised just how much our furry friends mean to us and to our mental well being. Ten Poems about Dogs is the perfect gift instead of a card for anyone who has a special dog companion in their lives.

About the Publisher 

Candlestick Press is a small, independent press publishing sumptuously produced poetry pamphlets that serve as a wonderful alternative to a greetings card, with matching envelopes and bookmarks left blank for your message. Their subjects include Mountains, Clouds, Walking, Birds, Wine and Happiness. Candlestick Press pamphlets are stocked by chain and independent bookshops, galleries and garden centres nationwide and available to order online.

Twitter/X @poetrycandle 

Blue Sky @candlestickpress.bsky.social

Website

📖 Blogathon ~ Before Her Eyes by Jack Jordan

Simon & Schuster
4 December 2025

Thanks to the publisher and Compulsive Readers for my copy
of the book and the invitation to the Blogathon

She can't see the killer

But the killer can see her...

Naomi Hannah has been blind since birth. Struggling with living in a small, claustrophobic town, Naomi contemplates ending her life. But then she stumbles across the body of a young woman who has been brutally murdered. She senses someone else there at the scene - watching her. Naomi may not be able to see the killer's face, but she is still the only person who can identify him.

As the police begin hunting the person responsible and more victims are discovered, Naomi is forced to answer the question on which her fate hangs: why did the killer let her live?

In a town this small, the murderer must be close, perhaps even before her very eyes...

My Review..

When Naomi Hannah discovers the body of a young woman in an alley she is left terrified by the experience especially as Naomi is blind and can sense that there is someone else in the alley with her. Left distressed and vulnerable Naomi is questioned by the police but is considered, by some, as being unreliable due to her disability.

Before Her Eyes is a fast paced and quite terrifying thriller which really puts the main character through the proverbial mill. Leaving no situation unexplored, the story moves ahead with enormous gusto so that the reader is never really sure where the truth lies. The claustrophobic atmosphere of a small town police force who are reeling under the pressure of investigating this most recent murder along with the shadow of an unresolved murder case, some twenty years before, which casts a long shadow over everything.

This is now the third book I have read by this author, I enjoy the way he controls the narrative and even though sometimes I had to suspend belief there was never a moment when the story didn’t keep my attention focused on finding out exactly who was carrying out some particularly heinous crimes. Before Her Eyes is a gritty and suspenseful thriller which kept me right on the edge of my seat and whilst the ending didn’t come as any great surprise , it was no less shocking.

About the Author

Jack Jordan is the global bestselling author of Anything for Her, My Girl, A Woman Scorned, Before Her Eyes, Night by Night, Do No Harm and Conviction, and an Amazon No. 1 bestseller in the UK, Canada and Australia.

Do No Harm was described as ‘chilling’ by Sarah Pearse, ‘brilliant’ by Lesley Kara and ‘pulse-racing’ by Louise Candlish. It was an instant Times bestseller on first publication and a Waterstones Thriller of the Month pick.

To find out more, follow Jack on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok:

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📖 Book Review ~ The Forest Hideaway by Sharon Gosling

Simon &Schuster
August 2025

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

 

Set on the wild edge of Cumbria, close to the Scottish border, The Forest Hideway promises a gorgeously remote and romantic autumn escape, full of hope, friendship and new beginnings.

Saskia is building a home for herself out of the ruins of an old castle. Surrounded by forest, hidden away from everyone and everything, the place is special - it’s the only connection she has left to her father and it’s a hard-won chance to escape from her difficult past and create a new future. She’s spent her whole life trying to find a way to make this project work and finding someone to help her realise her dream has been almost impossible.

When local builder Owen finally signs up to manage the construction, things get off to a very bad start. But forced to find a way to work together, both realise that first impressions aren’t always the right ones, and when Owen discovers the forest is hiding a secret that could bring work to a halt, he realises he’s much more invested in the project – and Saskia – than he thought.

📖My Review..

The beauty of its Cumbrian woodland location sets the scene for a delightful story which introduces us to Saskia who is doing all she can to preserve the integrity of an ancient castle which is surrounded by forest and which is in a sorry state of disrepair. Employing a local builder to oversee the construction and preservation is a daunting task however, Owen is just as committed to the beauty of  Gair and regardless of opposition from local people both he and Saskia continue with the dream of bringing the castle back to life.

This is a lovely story which focuses on the beauty of the landscape, the pitfalls of preserving something so old whilst at the same adhering to all the rules and regulations which are involved with an ancient building. With its air of melancholy, and with a majestic oak tree at the heart of the project, Gair Castle comes alive and as the surrounding forest starts to give up its secrets so we discover that there is far more going on in this forest hideaway than we could have imagined.

I especially enjoyed the relationship, which developed slowly, between Saskia and Owen, each have their own personal problems to work through and there are several difficulties along the way all of which added an interesting dimension to the story. The Forest Hideaway is a well written story about taking a chance when the odds are stacked against you and of finding friendship, love and a fresh start along the way.

About the Author

Sharon started her career as an entertainment journalist, writing non-fiction books about film and television. She is also the author of multiple children's books. Sharon and her husband live in a small village in northern Cumbria. 

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🧙🏻 Halloween Book Review ~ The House on the Cliff by Victoria Scott

Boldwood Books
4 October 2025

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to review this book

1966: Standing on the rugged Cornish coast, Hallows Abbey can be a lonely place for the boys boarding there. For Theresa, however, it offers an escape from her father’s long shadow, and as the school nurse, she tries to be a comfort to those students struggling to adjust to their remote life. But, before the year is over, Theresa will make a terrible decision – and the consequences for the children in her care will change everything…

2025: With her own children having just left home, Amanda’s emotions are in turmoil when she arrives at the isolated school where her husband is to be Deputy Head. When she learns of the school’s tragic history, in which a group of boys went out on a boat trip and disappeared, she becomes obsessed with finding out what happened, even when her research risks upsetting the fragile equilibrium of the school. But when she starts to hear voices in the gardens and crying in the halls at night, she begins to wonder if she’s losing her mind.

Only one thing seems certain: this corner of Cornwall could well be Amanda’s undoing.

🧙🏻My Review..

This dual time story is a spooky read for Halloween. A remote boarding school perched on the end of a Cornish cliff, a secret which has been hidden for years, a distinctly creepy atmosphere and you have all the right ingredients for a haunting story which captures the imagination from the start.

In the present day Amanda and her husband are settling into living at Hallows Abbey, an isolated Catholic boarding school, which is situated in a remote part of Cornwall. Whilst Mike gets used to being deputy headmaster, Amanda is pretty much left to her own devices and so she becomes intrigued by the mysterious disappearance, many years ago, of a group of school boys, who went out in a boat and never returned. Moving quietly back to 1966 we begin to put together the threads of the mystery and develop a rapport with Theresa, a school nurse, who has her own secrets. 

The dual time aspect is well done and I found myself looking forward to both parts of the narrative. The author writes well and keeps up the momentum of the story creating a decidedly chilly atmosphere whilst at the same time looking more closely into the lives of Amanda and Theresa and the problems they were facing in their personal lives. The wild beauty of the Cornish coast is well described and adds another dynamic to the story.

I thought The House in the Cliff was an interesting story, with enough creepiness for an entertaining Halloween read.

About the Author 

Victoria Scott has been a journalist for many media outlets including the BBC and The Telegraph. She is the author of three novels published by Head of Zeus. 

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Book Review ~ Ten Poems from Cumbria from Candlestick Press

Candlestick Press
September 2025

Thanks to the publishers for my copy of this poetry pamphlet 

Cumbria is a place of fellside and farmland, of lakes, saltmarsh and rugged coastlines. To the north lies the vast Solway Plain which looks across to Scotland.

The poems in this selection conduct us on a journey of lively contrasts. We encounter weather, sheep, history, rivers, towns, traffic and dialect, and experience the vividness of living in a place of “wide-lidded skies”. On a summer walk we enter a transfigured landscape:

“The highest reaches of the beech –

six trees close-packed – were flame and they were water.

The green sun, the red cattle, the blue-faced sheep:

everything primary-bright, solid…”

from ‘Cinderdale’ by Helen Farish

This is a selection that crackles with all the colour and energy of England’s most north-westerly county.

Jacob Polley is a poet and novelist who was born in Cumbria.

Poems by Josephine Dickinson, Helen Farish, WN Herbert, Kim Moore, MR Peacock, Jacob Polley, PhoebecPower, William Scammell, David Scott and Claudine Toutoungi.

 📖 My Review 

Just a couple of hours drive along the M6 motorway and I can be in Cumbria. This north-westerly county has a rugged beauty which, once experienced, never leaves you and the lure of the fells and mountains seeps into the marrow of your bones.  Dotted with sheep, patchwork fields seem to roll along forever, against a backdrop of dark skies and scudding clouds :

“All summer the sheep were strewn like crumbs

across the fell, until the bracken turned brittle

and it was time they were gathered 

into the green patchwork of closer fields..”

From Flanking Sheep in Mosedale by David Scott 

Cumbrian dialect harks back to an older time when there was poetry in vernacular, banding together communities with patterns of speech we should barely understand and yet instinctively we of the north feel the meaning deep within our soul. I was especially thrilled to see the medieval village of Kirkoswald, a place my brother once called home, mentioned :

Who provides for the Hrafn his food?

Appleby Street and Kirkoswald.

Skinny Brant and Paradise Clough.

From Spells of the Raven by Josephine Dickinson

Reminding us that Cumbria shares itself with coastline is this beautiful poem:

A gull takes me to the edge of the town.

It is only grey  here; great slates of it

and the roll and smash of sea into stone.

From Whitehaven by Claudine Toutoungi

Beautifully presented, Ten Poems from Cumbria is a wonderful addition to the collection of regional titles, bringing the county gloriously alive. Capturing the beauty, and the unspoiled majesty, and all gathered together with a beautiful cover, it’s a perfect gift instead of a card for anyone who has visited Cumbria or who calls this beautiful place home.

About the Publisher 

Candlestick Press is a small, independent press publishing sumptuously produced poetry pamphlets that serve as a wonderful alternative to a greetings card, with matching envelopes and bookmarks left blank for your message. Their subjects include Mountains, Clouds, Walking, Birds, Wine and Happiness. Candlestick Press pamphlets are stocked by chain and independent bookshops, galleries and garden centres nationwide and available to order online.

Twitter/X @poetrycandle 

Blue Sky @candlestickpress.bsky.social

Website

📖Book Review ~ A Tale of Two Dukes by Emma Orchard

Boldwood Books 
20 September 2025

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

 

No one is more surprised than Viola, Duchess of Winterflood, when she receives an offer of marriage from a man she’s not seen in over a decade. An independent widow, close to thirty, with two rambunctious boys, Viola has no obvious reason to accept the new Lord Ventris’s proposal. And yet… within two weeks, Viola finds herself walking down the aisle towards a man she despises and has sworn she'll never kiss. But kisses are all that’s off nothing else.

Accustomed to living a secretive life on the outskirts of society, Richard Armstrong never expected to inherit a title, nor the significant property that comes with it. But now that he has, he’s determined to keep it within his bloodline, and for that he needs an heir. And so, he seeks out the striking widow of his cousin, the late Duke of Winterflood, and offers his hand.

While their passionate but turbulent union raises eyebrows among their family, and the ton at large, both Viola and Richard carry their own secret reasons for agreeing to marry.

But as they start their new life together, they will soon discover that the shocking secrets they’ve both been keeping cannot stay hidden forever. And the revelations, when they come, could turn both their worlds upside down.

📖 My Review

When Viola, the widowed Duchess of Winterflood, receives an unexpected proposal of marriage from a man she has not seen for over ten years, she is rather shocked to hear from Richard Armstrong and even more surprised to find herself accepting his marriage offer even though it comes with certain conditions.

What then follows is a lovely story which takes us back to the time when Richard and Viola first met and the significant effect that this relationship would have on both of their futures going forward. As always the Regency period is brought to life and whilst Viola is a formidable bride she is also constrained by what society expects of her. Richard, with some deep secrets of his own is an interesting character, wonderfully handsome but with an aching vulnerability. 

As always, this talented writer gives us a passionate romance, which sits comfortably alongside the historical period in which it is set, with two central characters who share their innermost secrets in a story which has a dash of spice, a pinch of romance and a wonderful second chance at happiness.

About the Author

Emma Orchard grew up in Salford and was given tickets to the grown-up library at the age of 11 because she’d read all the children’s books and the librarians were sick of the sight of her. She became obsessed with Georgette Heyer and hasn’t stopped reading her novels since. She studied English Literature at university and went on to work at Mills & Boon and behind the scenes in television and in publishing.

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📖 Blog Tour ~ The Letter from the Island by Rose Alexander

Bookouture
24 October 2025

Thanks to the publisher for the copy of the book
and the invitation to the blog tour

 

Every week Calliope writes a letter to her twin sister who died sixty years ago. One day, she receives a letter back… 

Present day, London. Now an elderly lady and living alone in her basement flat, Calliope desperately misses the sun-soaked olive groves of her Greek Island home. It has been over sixty years since she ran away. When the letter postmarked from Crete lands on her doorstep, she is shocked to the core by what it says. Her twin sister is alive: We need to talk about what happened.

Now Calliope must make a confession to her beloved granddaughter Ella. Calliope needs to lay her lifetime of secrets to rest, and she needs Ella’s help…

1944, Crete. Calliope clutches the baby to her chest as they run down the cliff path to the blue water of the harbour. She is all the little one has left now, and they must escape. The boat the Allies sent won’t wait forever. If only she’d reached the village sooner, her twin sister would still be alive. She will never forgive herself, but she must stay strong for the baby.

Calliope must make one final journey home. And what her and her granddaughter discover in Crete will change the course of their lives forever.

📖 My Review ..

Calliope has kept a devastating family secret for over sixty years and when a letter arrives unexpectedly it brings all her old wartime memories to the surface and it would seem that the time is now right to lay down the ghosts of the past. Returning to her childhood home on the beautiful island of Crete is filled with emotion but as we are led gently into the past so the binds of family are rekindled and it’s a chance for Calliope and her twin sister, Calista , to reconcile.

Well written, with a lovely sense of both the past and present, the history of Crete during its occupation in 1944 is brought to life. The hopes and fears of Calliope and Calista and the frantic struggle for survival is brought to life so beautifully that you can’t help but form an emotional attachment to both of them. The dual timeline is done well, I could equally imagine Calliope’s rather lonely life in her present day London apartment alongside the sunshine and beauty of her once Cretan homeland.

With secrets, lies and reconciliation as its main themes The Letter from the Island is a lovely dual time story with interesting characters and a beautiful setting.

About the Author 

Rose Alexander has had more careers than she cares to mention and is currently a secondary school English teacher. She writes in the holidays, weekends and evenings, whenever she has a chance, although with three children, a husband, a lodger and a cat, this isn’t always as often as she’d like. She’s a keen sewist and is on a mission to make all her own clothes.

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