📖 Favourite Read of the Month ~ The Hill in the Dark Grove by Liam Higginson

 

Pan MacMillan
6 January 2026

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Carwyn and Rhian – the last in a long line of sheep farmers – are living out a brutal year on their hillside farm, deep in the mountains of North Wales.

When Carwyn discovers a buried prehistoric ruin in one of the fields on their land, his curiosity quickly descends into obsession. His wife, Rhian, meanwhile, is confronted with the growing realization that the man with whom she shares her life and home is becoming a frightening stranger.

As the harsh winter closes in, Rhian finds herself alone with her increasingly unrecognizable husband, and the mountains, and the looming megalithic stones.

📖My Review..

Carwyn and Rhian Gwynnant eke out a meagre existence on their hill farm in the mountains of North Wales. The dark and brooding hillside around them lends an air of melancholy to the place and gives a sense of their isolation and dependence on each other for physical and emotional support. When Carwyn discovers a carved stone head, in what appears to be a prehistoric mound, he seems to become obsessed with the past and subtle changes in his personality start to make Rhian concerned for his state of mind. 

Rich in both local history and ancient Welsh folklore this is a quietly observant story, filled with the prickle of unease and a realistic sense of doom not just from the landscape which has shaped and moulded Carwyn and Rhian into the people they are but also gives off a real sense of the passage of time, both ancient and modern, and how our presence in the structure of the landscape is merely transitory. Imaginatively written and with more than a hint of menace the story unfolds almost mesmerically so that, as a reader, I became part of the very fabric of the place, the gloom of the hillside, the sense of ancient ancestors being disturbed, and a sense of horror which was so beautifully described it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

The Hill in the Dark Grove is a commendable debut novel, imaginative, brooding and deeply memorable, the story will stay with me for a long time and for that reason I am making this my Favourite Read of the Month for January.

☕️ Best read with : Strong tea from an old teapot and a slice of bread, thickly spread with homemade damson jam.

About the Author

Liam Higginson was born and raised in rural North Wales and lives in Llandudno with his wife. The Hill in the Dark Grove is his debut novel.

X#LiamHigginson #TheHillInTheDarkGrove

X@PanMacmillan

 

📖 Book Review ~ Ten Poems about Fathers from Candlestick Press

Candlestick Press
November 2025

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this poetry pamphlet 

Dads, fathers, papas, daddies: the poems in this updated edition of our best-selling mini-anthology explore fatherhood from a host of angles. We encounter a father who likes running up hills, a father who plays the accordion and – poignantly – a father who needs to be taught how to hug.

The poems celebrate the fact that fathers can be both protectors and purveyors of imaginative childhood adventures:

“My father was a bear.

He carried me through forest, sky

and over frozen sea. At night

I lay along his back

wrapped in fur and heat

and while I slept, he ran…”

from ‘You May Have Heard of Me’ by Shazea Quraishi

There are also poems of tender remembrance. Everyday happenings become special with hindsight, acting as a reminder that a father’s love is something we can carry with us forever.

Poems by Melba Joyce Boyce, Lewis Buxton, WD Ehrhart, Wilfred Gibson, Edgar Albert Guest, Tyehimba Jess, Joanne Limburg, Roy McFarlane, Shazea Quraishi, Siriol Troup

Cover illustration by Sara Boccaccini Meadows

📖 Mt Review..

This poignant mini-anthology of ten poems explore fatherhood in all its many guises, discovering the subtle nuances of nurturing a protective role whilst at the same time allowing a glimpse into the man.  I’ve enjoyed discovering new verses, each of them bring something unique, and express very personal memories which resonated with me in an emotional way. 

After my father passed away I recall going into my family home and imagining him still there in every nook and cranny.

‘Dad, 

I come home 

and find you sitting

in every room in the house,

it’s smell your smell

as if it were a jacket

you’d only just thrown off,

Still warm.

From The Return by Joanne Limburg

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this mini anthology, some of the verses made me smile, whilst others brought a tender feeling of loss which reminded me powerfully of my own father who gave so much of himself in order to give his family everything. This would make the perfect gift instead of a card for fathers everywhere, especially on Fathers Day in June, or to anyone who has lost a father recently, or even a new father to remind them all quite simply how precious they are in our 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

📖 Book Review ~ What Happened that Summer by Laura Pearson

Boldwood Books
3 January 2026

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

 

You think you know what happened that day… But what if you’re wrong?

Everyone remembers where they were when they heard that AJ Silver had died. In summer 1996, there was no avoiding the story that America's biggest teen pop sensation had plunged to his death on a rollercoaster at a family-run amusement park in rural England.

Now, 27 years have passed, and – even if you’re too young to remember the event – you’ve probably heard AJ Silver's songs topping the charts again. So what better time to take a forensic look at what happened that summer?

I’ve spent hundreds of hours interviewing everyone who was there that fateful day: workers, friends, family… the people who gained from his death, and the people who lost everything.

But you’re going to want to pay attention. Because I’ve found out a secret. One you’re all going to want to know… Perhaps it wasn’t such an accident after all?

📖 My Review..

Whilst I’ve read a few books with a similar structure of using podcast type entries to control the narrative it’s not usually something which piques my interest however, I’d heard good things about this one on social media so thought I’d give it a try. It takes a bit of getting used to but once I had the characters firmly fixed in my mind I started to enjoy the way the story pulled together and so became keen to discover just what happened that summer when American teen pop sensation AJ Silver suffered a fatal accident on a rollercoaster at the family run theme park known as Wildworld.

After new information comes to light and set twenty seven years after AJ’s death, and spread over eight imagined podcasts, the story introduces us to all the main characters who were involved and we get to hear, through their own words, their sometimes different, and sometimes similar, interpretations of what happened in the lead up to AJ’s visit and of his tragically brief time at the theme park. Wildworld, very much a character in its own right, reminded me of a local theme park, which began to fall on hard times in the nineteen-nineties, so I had a picture in mind, especially of the rides and AJ’s fascination for loop rollercoasters. Cleverly written, there are several unexpected twists in the tale, all of which kept me guessing, and which help to give a very different slant on events as they unfolded during that brief but intense summer of 1996.

What Happened that Summer turned out to be a really enjoyable read over the space of a couple of afternoons. I became fully immersed in the written podcast idea and enjoyed how they were set up with enough information without getting too bogged down in unnecessary detail. 

🍦Best read with: A whipped ice cream and can of cola 🥤

About the Author

Laura Pearson is the author of issues-based women’s fiction. She founded The Bookload on Facebook and has had several pieces published in the Guardian and the Telegraph. Her first title with Boldwood, The Last List of Mabel Beaumont, was be published in August 2023.

X@LauraPAuthor #WhatHappenedThatSummer

X@BoldwoodBooks

📖Book Review ~ Ten Poems about Mothers from Candlestick Press

Candlestick Press
November 2025

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this pamphlet 

In this revised edition of our popular mini-anthology, there are poems celebrating all kinds of mothers. There’s the mother who can’t help cooking for “ several hundred million diners” and the mother who tries to keep her children’s diet free of harmful additives. There’s also the mother with a special voice for reading bedtime stories and even a yodeling Mother Earth who tells tales and gossips.

In one poem, a mirror in the family home seems to contain the past, present and future:

“… the mother
who looks like me, who
smiles at herself in her
mother’s mirror, the friendly
mirror in her mother’s house.”

from ‘Mirror’ by Maura Dooley

What all the poems share is a sense of lasting love that flows through the years between mother and son or daughter, surviving the twists, turns and surprises of our lives.

Poems by Laurie Bolger, Maura Dooley, Jonathan Edward’s, Joanna Ingham, Jackie Kay, DH Lawrence, Carmina Masoliver, Roy McFarlane , Caleb Parkin and John Siddique 

Cover illustration by Sara Boccaccini Meadows

📖 My Review ..

From its colourful cover, to the lovely tributes to mothers everywhere, this mini-anthology is a compelling reminder of the precious moments we spend with our mothers and the impact their distinctive personalities have on our lives.

My mother made sloe gin and damson wine, she knitted jumpers and unraveled old ones to knit again, and during the war years she made dresses out of old curtains . This poem reminded me of her:

‘If the earth is my mother, she’s a composer of gin and free-poured song,

A knitter of waste-wool, a forager of material, a seamstress of the surplus.’

From If the earth is my mother by Caleb Parkin

My mother had special voices, her phone voice, her talking to the priest voice, her school governor voice, even reading bedtime stories voice, the idea of which was was all beautifully captured in this lovely poem:

From The Voice in which my Mother Read to me by Jonathan Edwards

‘Isn’t her good morning, good afternoon, good night voice,

Her karaoke as she dusts, make furniture polite voice,

Her saved for neighbours babies and cooing our dog’s name voice..’

Ten Poems about Mothers is a beautifully presented anthology, each of the poems are uniquely different and yet all celebrate the lasting love and abiding connection we have for our mothers. This lovely poetry pamphlet would make the perfect gift instead of a card, especially with Mothering Sunday not too far away in March.

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 ~ Troublemaker by Lesley Kara

Random House UK
Random House
15 January 2026

Thanks to the publisher for my copy this book

Storm used to be just like her name. Wild and strong. A force to be reckoned with.

But ever since her younger brother was killed in a violent mugging, she has led a very different life: quiet and cautious, seeing danger everywhere. Storm’s tendency to panic has resulted in several false alarms, so when she witnesses a murder with uncanny similarities to the way her brother was killed, and yet no body is found and no one is reported missing, the police don’t take her seriously.

But Storm knows what she saw. And the murder is only the start – the killer will stop at nothing to keep Storm quiet. But how can she solve the murder and stay out of danger when no one believes her?

📖 My Review…

After the traumatic death of her younger brother, Storm tries to pick up the pieces of her life and whilst she tries to carry on, she can’t shake off the suspicion that someone is targeting her. After a series of false alarms, and unable to convince the police, Storm is labelled a troublemaker and isn’t taken seriously. However, when events start to spiral out of control Storm realises that she has to conduct her own investigation whilst at the same time placing herself in great danger.

This is a cleverly written psychological suspense story which has all the necessary twists and turns to keep you guessing and whilst it took me a while to warm to Storm’s character I couldn’t help but want everything to work out well for her. The pace of the story is good, with lots going on, a few cleverly placed red herrings and some scary situations that had me gripped, especially toward the end of the story when the tension really starts to rack up.

Troublemaker looks at the issues around unresolved grief and the effects of PTSD and does so in an entirely appropriate manner whilst the same timely keeping the edginess of the story paramount.

Best Read With: A double shot of espresso and a comforting chocolate hobnob.

About the Author

Lesley Kara is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rumour, Who Did You Tell?, The Dare, The Apartment Upstairs and The Other Tenant. The Rumour was the highest selling crime fiction debut of 2019 in the UK, a Kindle No.1 bestseller, and is now a major TV series on Channel 5. Lesley is an alumna of the Faber Academy 'Writing a Novel' course. She lives in Kent.

X@LesleyKara #Troublemaker

Instagram @lesleykarawriter

X@PenguinUKBooks

X@TransworldBooks

📖 BlogTour ~ The Arctic Cruise by Caroline James

Avon
15 January 2026
My thanks to the publisher for the copy of the book
And to Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation to the blog tour

Will the Arctic wonderland work its magic this winter?

Joy never imagined stepping aboard a cruise ship without her husband, Tom. Now widowed, Joy wonders what her voyage on the Emerald Dream will hold – and as it glides through breathtaking Norwegian fjords, she longs to believe in happiness again. However, she carries a secret that could unravel her fragile hopes if it ever came to light…

Elsewhere on deck, as the sun dips below the horizon and the polar night sets in, Henry, a lifelong bachelor, is living his dream of seeing the Northern Lights. Having long since given up on love, he now dedicates himself to his passion for photography. But when he meets Joy, is it more than the aurora borealis that catches his eye?

As they embark on a snow-dusted adventure which takes them from bustling ports to reindeer-drawn sleigh rides, will Joy and Henry find the courage to embrace love again? Or will hidden truths sink the possibility of a new beginning?

📖 My Review..

Recently widowed and still coming to terms with her husband’s untimely death Joy embarks on a solo cruise to Norway. It’s a bittersweet journey as she should have travelled with her husband but summoning all her courage Joy gradually settles into the cruise way of life and starts to make friends amongst the other passengers. Likewise, Henry is also embarking on a solo trip and worries that he is a bit of a loner and might not have enough in common with the other passengers however, fate intervenes and his burgeoning friendship with Joy becomes a rather special and unexpected delight.

This is a beautifully written story which looks at the sadness of being alone and yet offers hope that second chances can be possible if you allow yourself to live a little. I’ve throughly enjoyed getting to know the passengers on board the Emerald Dream, some, it must be said, are more likeable than others but they all bring their own special charm to the story. There is a lovely warmth to the story and some genuinely funny bits which had me laughing out loud and a ship full of fascinating characters who all make cruising aboard the Emerald Dream such fun. 

The Arctic Cruise is another wonderful story by this talented writer who knows how to bring her characters alive and who writes her warm-hearted stories with such passion. Sailing into Norway was such a treat and so well described that I really felt as though I was on board ship, experiencing the all exciting sights of a winter cruise, on a fabulous ship, and with the delicious chill of a romantic Arctic adventure.

🍾  Best read with : A sparkly glass of bubbly under the spectacular beauty of the Northern Lights

About the Author

Caroline James is the celebrated author of later-life fiction, including THE CRUISE, the #1 best-seller that has captivated cruise ship passengers worldwide, and her eagerly anticipated follow-up novel, THE CRUISE CLUB, is out now.

Her best selling novel ATTICUS ARNOTT’S GREAT ADVENTURE is described as “A heartwarming and uplifting read where the characters shine from the page.”

Caroline’s vibrant storytelling stems from her colourful career. Before becoming a full-time writer, she carved out a fascinating path in the hospitality industry, owning a charming country house hotel and a lively pub. As a media agent, she worked closely with celebrity chefs, giving her an insider’s perspective on the glitz, glamour, and grit of the culinary world. When she finally turned her focus to writing, she discovered her true calling, penning best-selling novels that have garnered her legions of fans.

When she’s not writing in her cosy writing retreat, Caroline enjoys tranquil walks with Fred, her Westie, and refreshing swims in a local lake. As a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the SoA, ARRA, and the Society of Women’s Writers & Journalists, Caroline is a champion of lifelong creativity.

Social Media links

www.carolinejames.co.uk

X @carolinejames12

Blue Sky @carolinejames1.bluesky.social

Facebook carolinejamesauthor

X@AvonBooksUK

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📖 Book Review ~ Whipster by Susan Grossey

31 October 2025
Cambridge Hardiman Mysteries #3

Thank you to the author for the copy of this book

 

With the University preparing for Michaelmas term in 1827, Cambridge is alive with promises of fortunes to be made. University constable Gregory Hardiman has neither the appetite nor the funds to invest, but many others are tempted by the gleam of Bolivian silver. On patrol one evening Gregory is called to a violent incident at an inn, and before long his enquiries lead him to several of the town’s best-known figures – including the Master of St Clement’s College.

Struggling to make sense of what he has learned, Gregory himself is targeted as someone threatens to blackmail him. And with a chance of happiness once again within his grasp, can he risk losing it all if his past is revealed?

📖My Review..

Cambridge 1827 and as the town readies itself for a new term Gregory Hardiman continues to combine his duties as ostler at the Hoop inn together with the role of university Constable. On one of his nightly patrols Hardiman is called to an inn in town where he witnesses the results a violent crime and is dismayed to discover he recognises one of the victims. However, it would seem that whilst seeking out the evil within his midst he upsets someone who has the power to shatter Hardiman’s well guarded secrets. With his usual keen eye for sleuthing Hardiman sets about discovering who was responsible for this heinous crime and in doing so he  uncovers a a sorry tale of blackmail, corruption and deceit.

It’s been a real pleasure to be back in company with Hardiman, he’s such a steadfast man, filled with a genuine need to help others and has a keen eye for seeking out the truth. He cleverly spots charlatans and miscreants and does his utmost to bring them to justice but is always aware of the fickleness of human nature. There is such a strong sense of historical authenticity that whilst reading I feel as if I am whisked away to walk the dark streets with Hardiman as he maintains his role as university Constable finding trouble in the shadows and hidden passageways of Georgian Cambridge.

The eponymous Whipster on whom the story revolves is written with a fine eye for historical detail and an uncanny knack of bringing the smallest detail to life. I must admit to sneaking to the back of the book to the excellent glossary in order to look up the meaning of the word and it fits the story perfectly.

☕️ Best Read with: A strong coffee and a couple of generous slices of damson loaf

About the Author

Susan Grossey is the author of the successful Constable Sam Plank series of historical novels set in the early part of the nineteenth century. Sizar is the second novel in the Cambridge Hardiman Mysteries, set in Cambridge in the 1820s and narrated by a university constable called Gregory Hardiman.

Website

X@SusanGrossey