📖 Blog Tour ~ Extracting Humanity and Other Stories by Stephen Oram

 

Orchid's Lantern Press
2023

My thanks to Isabelle Kenyon for the invitation to the blog tour

In this remarkably perceptive collection, Stephen Oram blends cutting-edge science and tech with everyday emotions and values to create 20 thought experiments with heart.

Extracting Humanity is a skilful exploration of smart currencies, memorials, medical care, treatment of refugees, social networks, data monitoring, and justice systems. Always without prescription or reprimand, these stories are simply the beginning of the conversation.

From an eerie haptic suit that Tommy must call Father, to a protective, nutritious bubble that allows Feng Mian to survive on a colonised Moon; from tattoos that will earn their wearers a mini-break in a sensory chamber, to Harrie anxiously awaiting AI feedback on her unborn child… These startling, diverse narratives map all-too-real possibilities for our future and the things that might ultimately divide or unite us.

I'm delighted to be able to share this short story today from Extracting Humanity 

FAILING FATHERS

“I don’t want to beg, but we are best mates ‘n all that.”

“You have to be kidding. They’ll trace it so easily, and then where will we be?”

I shrugged and carried on tinkering with the code of the car that had been brought in to have its latest patches installed. I wasn’t paying proper attention to what I was doing, but then if they couldn’t pay me a decent wage, why should I?

I tried again, speaking loudly but not directly to him. “I have to buy food and heat the house and it’s the wife’s birthday. All I want is for you to do some shopping for me. I’ll pay you back straight away. I don’t see how they’ll know it’s for me and not you.”

“You’ve heard the rumours. Anything that smacks of reparation avoidance is swiftly dealt with. Shame laundering, isn’t that what they call it?”

I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the screen in front of me, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

“It’s only one weekly food shop.”

“Apart from the illegal bit, your lineage owes my lineage and until that’s done…”

He had a point, but he was wrong. It wasn’t my forefathers who stole stuff from other countries and locked it away in the British Museum.

I stared at him. “That genetic profiling is crap. Completely ignores the fact those elite fuckers were stealing from my sort at the same time as robbing the heritage of yours.”

He mumbled something I couldn’t make out.

“It’s too generic. It should be a class thing, not a country thing. No way does it trace those who were really responsible.”

Another mumble.

I looked away. “Still, we are where we are as my mother used to say. For better or worse we have programmable money, and it has rules.”

He came and stood next to me. “You’re my friend. I get that. And that’s why I know we’ll rise above this whole reparation thing. It only lasts until it’s all paid back.”

I nodded, unable to reply. He just didn’t get it.

“Not the sins of my fathers,” I muttered under my breath. I was innocent. My whole family line was innocent, and yet my Heritage Pound was worth less than his because the cost of re-balancing the abuses of other people’s ancestors fell to me and mine.

I continued talking while working. “I wasn’t asked about the British Museum being privatised. I wasn’t consulted about the contents becoming the asset behind the most widely used private currency. It wasn’t my decision to give it favourable interest rates and lower tax rates than the other currencies. It’s those bastards in charge of the Bank of England’s digital currency.”

I rubbed my temples and sighed. “I agree with the government offsetting the reparation obligations of its colonial past, but there’s a world of difference between agreeing with the what and agreeing with the how.”

He tutted and went back to his bench.

We ignored each other for the rest of the day, but as he left he called across. “I’ll see if the kids have any ideas.”

My teenage daughter met me outside, determined that I should buy her mother a birthday present.

“Just a small one,” she said.

I told her we couldn’t afford it and that her mother understood, but she insisted.

“Why don’t we use a different currency? One that works for us, not against us. Then we could afford it,” she said.

I explained as best I could how difficult it was to be accepted by any other currency. Their rules of interaction with the CBDC were predicated on how risky their customer base was, and we were in one of the highest risk brackets.

She pushed hard. “Why not do what Sasha’s dad does? He owns shares in art that’s worth more every day. Non. Fungible. Tokens. Get it?”

“Fine for him”, I explained, “but we don’t have any capital to begin with.” She huffed and puffed, throwing one superficially thought-through solution after another at me. It was as if she considered me to be stupid. As if she thought I’d not explored all these options.

She made that disgusting sound with her tongue.

“It’s crap.”

“I know,” I said. “You’re right. It’s the very people whose ancestors were responsible for the appalling past of our country who use the other currencies. They escape any consequences of the national reparation.”

She was fuming, and with the familiar cry of every teenager, she pointed out that it wasn’t fair. All I could do was agree with her. Replying with the age-old parental response that life just isn’t fair.

I told my mate about it the next day, and despite the seriousness of the situation, I found myself laughing along with him about the idealism of youth. We reminisced about our own teenage years and how we’d been certain that we knew how the world worked and how it could be a lot better. It was good to be back on jovial terms, and he was trying to tell me something his daughter had said, but talking about our kids behind their backs made me feel uncomfortable.

I ignored him until he stood by me, looking pleased with himself. “Here, give me your phone,” he said, grabbing it from my bench.

I frowned, but with curiosity. He swiped the screen and then held his own close to it.

“There,” he said. “You’ll never guess what. My daughter’s been using her Heritage Pound advantage to invest in that new youth currency. Know the one? She’s made a mint out of limited-edition skins in those games she’s fixated with. And… wait for it… she wants to gift your family some shares.” With a thumbs up he added, “It’s allowed.”

I was speechless. What a brilliant mate, and what a great father.

About the Author

X/Twitter @OramStephen

@kenyon_isabelle

📖 Blog Tour ~ Welcome to the Cornish Country Hospital by Jo Bartlett

 

Boldwood Books
22 November 2023

My thanks to the publishers and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book
 and the invitation to the tour

A new start… 

When Danni Carter moves to Cornwall from London, she hopes it will be the fresh start she so desperately needs. She’s nervous, but hopefully the change of scene will help her to finally forget her feelings for Lucas Newman, a man she can never be with, because he’s already engaged to Danni’s best friend, Esther. 

An Impossible Dilemma… 

But when Lucas and Esther decide to follow Danni to Cornwall, and both announce they will be working with her at the new St Piran’s hospital, Danni is thrown into turmoil again. She can’t lose Esther, but being near Lucas is getting harder to deal with. Will she have to give up her new life before it’s even started? A chance to start again? Throwing herself into work, Danni finds herself drawn to new patient, Connie Berrycloth, a woman Danni knows has dark secrets of her own. Secrets that are about to be revealed…

 As the two women form a friendship, Danni begins to realise that letting go of her dreams might be the only way of holding on to the people she loves.

📖 My Review…

It’s such a delight to open a new book by a favourite author and Welcome to the Cornish Country Hospital certainly gets this new series off to a splendid start as not only are we back in Cornwall, an area the author describes so well, but we also have a new cast of characters to get to know, with maybe a few familiar faces thrown in for good measure.

Danni Carter has taken up a position as an A&E doctor at St Piran’s hospital in Cornwall where her professionalism and empathy make her one of the most popular doctors in the accident and emergency unit. Danni loves her new life and having moved from London she now is starting to call Cornwall home. That is, until the arrival of her friends, Esther and Lucas who will also be working at the hospital, all should be well but Danni is keeping a huge secret from Esther and with one secret leading to another, Danni gets inadvertently drawn into the plight of one of her patients who also has a long held secret which will have far reaching repercussions.

This is such a lovely story and although it touches on some rather serious topics there is never a moment when the story doesn’t pull you in and pretty soon I was so invested in the lives  of all the characters I found I couldn’t put the book down. Most of the characters are lovely and bring such a sense of joy to the story however, there is one in particular who I couldn’t help but dislike and really hoped that they would get their just deserts. 

Filled with the warmth of friendship, the burden of hidden secrets and the joy of discovering love in unexpected places, this  imagined Cornish town comes wonderfully alive, whether it be waiting in a cubicle at St Piran’s A&E unit , out on the wards with Doctor Danni, or even walking along the coastal path watching for baby seal pups, there is so much to enjoy and I really can’t wait to pay another visit to the Cornish Country Hospital just as soon as this talented author takes us there.

About the author

Jo Bartlett is the bestselling author of over nineteen women’s fiction titles. She fits her writing inbetween her two day jobs as an educational consultant and university lecturer and lives with herfamily and three dogs on the Kent coast.

Twitter @J_B_Writer #WelcomeToTheCornishCountryHospital

Newsletter BookBub

@BoldwoodBooks #BoldwoodBloggers

@rararesources

📖 Blog Tour ~ Solstice by Helen Steadman

 

Bell Jar Books
19 September 2023

My thanks to the author, publisher and Random Things Tours
for my copy of this book and the invitation to the blog tour

England, 1673. Still a world of witches, witchfinders and witch trials?

Rose Driver’s mother, brother and grandmother were all put to death by the fanatical witchfinder, John Sharpe.

Almost quarter of a century after the Newcastle witch trials, Sharpe is no longer a threat and Rose should be safe in her quiet village. But is history about to repeat itself?

📖 My Review..

I’ve now followed this trilogy since the first book so was especially excited to be asked to take part in this blog tour to celebrate the final book in the Widdershins series and return to the seventeenth century world which this talented author recreates so beautifully. England in 1673 was still a country which teemed with suspicion and the danger to those women who were suspected of witchcraft hadn’t gone away.

In rural communities where lives were very much caught up in the mysteries of nature some of their more commonplace practices could be seen, by outsiders, as more macabre than they actually were.  Moving to Mutton Clog, in the north of England, with her twin brother Earnest, and clergyman father, Patience Leaton is very much an outsider who neither knows nor cares enough to understand the community in which she is forced to live. This is unfortunate for Rose Driver, a young and rather beautiful shepherdess, who catches the eye of Earnest Leaton, and in doing so antagonises the staunchly puritan, Patience with dire consequences.

In two very distinctive voices both Rose and Patience have a story to tell which, very quickly unravels, becoming darker and more dangerous especially when Patience discovers something about Rose and Earnest which unleashes the very worst behaviour imaginable. Rose’s character I loved from the beginning, and her fate becomes all the more poignant as the story progresses. Patience definitely tried my patience, she really is a piece of work and all credit to the author for allowing the darkness in Patience’s soul to evolve with such evil precision. 

The dark and dangerous mid-seventeenth century rural world is beautifully recreated by an author who really does bring history alive. With every well placed word, and descriptive phrase, it is possible to step back in time to the rural backwater of Mutton Clog, where superstitious practices have been in place for centuries however, when viewed by the wrong person, at the wrong time, these practices can be entirely misinterpreted as having the dark forces of evil at their core.

With its abiding air of sadness and a definite sense of the injustice towards those innocent of any wrongdoing Solstice is an excellent conclusion to this fascinating trilogy. This will definitely be on my book of the year list for 2023.

About the Author

Helen Steadman's first novel, Widdershins and its sequel, Sunwise were inspired by the 1650 Newcastle witch trials. Her third novel, The Running Wolf is about a group of master swordmakerswho defected from Germany to England in 1687. Helen's fourth novel, God of Fire, is a Greek myth retelling as seen through the eyes of Hephaestus, perhaps the least well known of all the Olympians. Helen is particularly interested in revealing hidden histories and she is a thorough researcher who goes to great lengths in pursuit of historical accuracy. To get under the skin of the cunning women in Widdershins and Sunwise, Helen trained in herbalism and learned how to identify, grow and harvest plants and then made herbal medicines from bark, seeds, flowers and berries.The Running Wolf is the story of a group of master swordmakers who left Solingen, Germany and moved to Shotley Bridge, England in 1687. As well as carrying out in-depth archive research and visiting forges in Solingen to bring her story to life, Helen also undertook blacksmith training, which culminated in making her own sword.

X@hsteadman1650 #Solstice #WiddershinsTrilogy

@ RandomTTours

📖 Blog Tour ~ The Puppet Maker by Jenny O'Brien

 

Storm
17 October 2023

Detective Alana Mack #1

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book
 and to Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to the blog tour

The scrap of paper looked as if it had been torn from a diary. The words written in faint pencil. The letters rounded, almost childlike: Please look after her. Her life and mine depend on you not trying to find me.

When Detective Alana Mack arrives at Clonabee police station, in a small Irish seaside town on the outskirts of Dublin, she doesn't expect to find a distressed two-year-old girl sobbing on the floor. Abandoned in a local supermarket, the child tells them her name is Casey. All Alana and her team have to go on is a crumpled note begging for someone to look after her little girl. This mother doesn't want to be found.

Still recovering from a terrible accident that has left Alana navigating a new life as a wheelchair user, Alana finds herself suddenly responsible for Casey while trying to track down the missing mother and solve another missing person's case… a retired newsagent who has seemingly vanished from his home.

Forced to ask her ex-husband and child psychiatrist Colm for help, through Forensic Art Therapy, Alana discovers that whatever darkness lies behind the black windows in Casey's crayon drawing, the little girl was terrified of the house she lived in.

Then a bag of human remains is found in a bin, and a chilling link is made – the DNA matches Casey's.

Alana and her team must find the body and make the connection with the missing newsagent fast if she is to prevent another life from being taken. But with someone in her department leaking confidential details of the investigation to the media, can Alana set aside her emotional involvement in this case and find Casey’s mother and the killer before it's too late?

Heart-pounding and totally addictive, The Puppet Maker is the first in the Detective Alana Mack series that will have fans of Ann Cleeves, Angela Marsons and LJ Ross racing through the pages late into the night.

📖 My Review..

This first book in the series hits the ground running and introduces a new investigator on the scene, namely Alana Mack, who is a detective in the small Irish seaside town of Clonabee. Alana is still coming to terms with the after effects of an accident which has confined her to a wheelchair. Alana does not see this as a disability and is determined to be unfazed by anything that comes her way but when a missing person case suddenly becomes much more complicated, Alana and her team of detectives are set a difficult challenge to find out just what evil is afoot in this sleepy seaside town.

I thought this was a good thought out mystery which had everything I wanted to find in a psychological thriller. At the centre there’s a genuinely heart breaking story line concerning an abandoned two year girl and as the alternative chapters are narrated by Alana and the girl’s mother we get an interesting perspective on what is happening. Add a series of mysterious disappearances into the mix and pretty soon the story is awash with spills and thrills, twists and turns, all of which kept me guessing and I enjoyed trying to put together all the pieces of this complex puzzle.

As this is the first book in a new series involving Detective Alana Mack, we didn’t get to know absolutely everything about her in this first novel and I enjoy the anticipation of discovering more about the whole investigative team as the series progresses.  The Puppet Maker, whilst quite dark in places, is an enjoyable crime thriller which kept my attention from first page to last.

About the Author

Born in Dublin, Jenny O'Brien moved to Wales and then Guernsey, where she tries to find time to write in between working as a nurse and ferrying around 3 teenagers.

In her spare time she can be found frowning at her wonky cakes and even wonkier breads. You'll be pleased to note she won't be entering Bake-Off. She's also an all-year-round sea swimmer.

Twitter @ScribblerJB #ThePuppetMaker

Blog Instagram

@StormBooks_co

@rararesources

📖 Blog Tour ~ The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2024 by Lia Leendertz

 

Gaia / Octopus
31 August 2023

My thanks to the publisher and to Random Things Tours for my copy of the book
and the invitation to the blog tour

The highly anticipated original and bestselling almanac is here, now in its seventh instalment. Reconnect with the seasons in Britain and Ireland with this month-by-month guide to the world around us - including tide tables, sunrises and moon phases; garden feasts, wildlife and folklore; seasonal recipes, snacks and more.

The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2024 gives you the tools and inspiration you need to celebrate, mark and appreciate each month of the year in your own particular way.

Divided into the 12 months, a set of tables each month gives it the feel and weight of a traditional almanac, providing practical information that gives access to the outdoors and the seasons, perfect for expeditions, meteor-spotting nights and beach holidays.

This year’s edition focuses on the natural wonders of the garden, celebrating the beautiful flora and fauna at your doorstep. There are also features on each month’s unique nature, plus a flower and a snack of the month.

You will find yourself referring to The Almanac all year long, revisiting it again and again, and looking forward to the next edition as the year draws to a close.

📖 My Review

There's something about an almanac which fascinates me so I was excited to be invited onto this blog tour to share my thoughts about this 2024 edition. The focus of the almanac this year is on the garden, so from spring to summer, and autumn through to winter, there is an abundance of facts, not just about gardens, but also about nature, folklore and a myriad of facts about everything you never knew you needed to know.

Beautifully compact, and with a gloriously illustrated cover, the almanac is small enough to fit perfectly in your hands and is so tactile that I found myself captivated by the fine attention to even the smallest of details. There's everything you would expect to find in an almanac from the usual dates for your diary, to monthly phases of the moon and how to work out the tide times, however, there are also fascinating snippets of folklore, help with mediation and I especially enjoyed reading the folk songs which end each month on a musical note. All of which sits comfortably against the fascinating facts about gardens, what to plant where, when and at what time, what wildlife to expect to be paying a visit to the garden, there's even a nutritious 'snack of the month' which can be easily made if you like cooking with simple recipes.

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading this seasonal guide to 2024, it's beautifully produced, filled with fascinating facts and with lovely little mono line drawings. It will definitely keep me fascinated throughout the year. The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2024 would make a wonderful Christmas present.

About the Author

Lia Leendertz is an award-winning garden and food writer based in Bristol. She writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph, The Garden, Simple Things, the Guardian and Gardens Illustrated. Her reinvention of the traditional rural almanac has become an annual must-have for readers eager to connect with the seasons, appreciate the outdoors and discover ways to mark and celebrate each month.

Find out more about Lia at:

Lialeendertz.com

Twitter@lialeendertz #TheAlmanc2024

@OctopusBooks

@RandomTTours

📖 Blog Tour ~ The Promise Tree by Elisabeth J Hobbes

One More Chapter
6 October 2023

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book
and to Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to the blog tour

When does a story begin?

For Edwin Hope, it begins with a childhood dare and a forbidden tree. It begins with him falling … in more ways than one.

Called home from his studies by the grandfather who has always hated him, eighteen-year-old Edwin is once again trapped in a house that is colder than the winds whipping across the fields. Seeking sanctuary, he escapes into the untamed beauty of the Peaks and meets a woman who sparks an old memory. A memory of the sycamore that broke him, and the little girl who saved him.

Drusilla has had many acolytes over the centuries but none like Edwin. With the Great War looming and Edwin’s future uncertain, she knows the right thing to do is to set him free from her spell, but can she do so if it means breaking her own heart?

📖 My Review..

Historical fiction, with more than a hint of fantasy, forms the basis for this evocative story which introduces us to Edwin Hope whose early childhood, spent with his taciturn grandfather, was both unhappy and isolating. When Edwin was just seven years old, his grandfather, in a pique of rage, sends Edwin to live with distant relatives in Yorkshire, only to be allowed home when his education is completed. 

We pick up the story when Edwin, aged eighteen, has returned back to the place he once called home, the old resentments still fester and his grandfather is just as uncompromising in his attitude towards Edwin. The only comfort in this place of secrets is Edwin’s fascination for an old sycamore tree and the spiritual connection he feels towards this powerful symbol of nature and the female spirit who lives within its leaves and branches. 

Whilst The Promise Tree has a magical atmosphere there is also a realistic sense of history and I enjoyed how the author worked both into the story, making both elements totally believable. The story is nicely imaginative, with intricate detail so I felt like I was following in Edwin’s footsteps as he struggles to discover who he is and also to connect with his grandfather who only seems to see the worst in him. Covering the momentous years at the turn of the twentieth century, the rather dour nature of Edwin’s life is reiterated when the story takes us from the family owned textile mill in the north of England, to the horror of the battlefields of Europe during the First World War, but running throughout it all is Edwin’s gentle nature, his fascination for the woman he senses in the tree and his determination to put right the sins of the pst and also to finally understand his grandfather’s dislike of him.

Combining magical realism with history is a tricky concept to pull off so all credit to the author for making The Promise Tree such a fascinating story.

About the Author

Elisabeth’s writing career began in 2013 when she entered Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write contest and it turned out she could. She writes romantic Historical fiction as Elisabeth Hobbes and Historical folklore/fantasy inspired romance as Elisabeth J. Hobbes.

She teaches Primary school but would rather write full time because unlike five year olds her characters generally do what she tells them. She spends most of her spare time reading and is a pro at cooking one-handed while holding a book.

She lives in Cheshire because the car broke down there in 1999 and she never left. Elisabeth has two almost grown kids, two cats, two dogs and a husband. The whole family are on the autistic spectrum and that probably includes the pets! She dreams of having a tidy house one day.

Twitter @ElisabethHobbes

Facebook Instagram

@0neMoreChapter

@rararesources

 

📖 Blog Tour ~ The Girls of Mersey Square by Pam Howes

Bookouture
5 October 2023
Mersey Square #1

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

Mersey Square, Stockport, 1959. Jane Wilson’s parents met during the war in the north of England, but Jane is more interested in listening to the new rock music than hearing stories about the Blitz. When she meets handsome drummer Eddie Mellor, with his sparkling blue eyes and cool black leather jacket, she knows her life is about to start.

But Jane’s parents think Eddie’s rebellious ways will lead their beloved daughter into trouble. They forbid her from seeing Eddie, telling Jane to get a proper job as a nurse. But Jane cannot stand the idea of life without the boy she loves and secretly continues to see Eddie. The day she finds out that Eddie has betrayed her, she is utterly distraught. Were her parents right all along?

Jane is desperate to rebuild her life. Her friends rally round to support her and she gets a job at the local music shop she loves, when to her shock, Eddie invites her to his family home and begs her to reconsider. Just as Jane is feeling tempted, someone pounds on the door of the house bringing shocking news that will change both of their lives forever…

Can Jane find happiness with Eddie? And if she does, will her family ever forgive her?

This book was previously published as That’ll Be The Day.

📖 My Review..

The music filled years of the latter years of the 1950s comes to life in this story of a group of young people who are growing up in Stockport. They all desperately want to finish their exams, leave school and enjoy everything that life has to offer them. However, an interest in rock ‘n’ roll music isn’t really enough to forge a future but that doesn’t stop Jane Wilson and her friends, Sammy and Pat, from starting relationships with Eddie, Roy and Tim, three likely lads who hope to make their fortune in the burgeoning music industry.

The author has caught the musical heartbeat of the 1950s very well,  I enjoyed the musical references to the hits of the day especially to Buddy Holly, who Eddie, Roy and Tim do their best to emulate. The heady days of rock ‘n’ roll are particularly well described and I enjoyed looking up some of the hits which are mentioned in the story and could picture these young people as they met up in coffee bars and record stores. I enjoyed being reminded of listening to records in the music booths which could be found then in most record stores. The reference to Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls also made me smile as these quirky sweets have been made in my home town since Victorian times. Well written, with a fine eye for historical detail The Girls of Mersey Square captures the mood perfectly. The author does a great job of describing those difficult teenage years when the pull of sexual attraction and lure of young love is irresistible and shows both the strength, and vulnerability, of all of the characters, particularly Jane and Eddie who I loved from the beginning of the story.

If you enjoy historical novels which are set during the 1950s, and early 1960s, then you won’t be disappointed with this one. It gets the series off to a fine start and I can’t wait to see what happens next to the characters in The Mothers of Mersey Square which is the next book in this lovely series.

*The second book in the Mersey Square series is also available to read now *

The Mothers of Mersey Square

Bookouture

5 October 2023

Mersey Square, Stockport, 1961. Can she love another woman’s child?

Jane Wilson has just got engaged to her childhood sweetheart Eddie. Although they had a rocky start and Jane is haunted by Eddie’s previous relationship, she couldn’t be happier that they’re back together. But before they can get out the bunting and make it down the aisle, Eddie’s first wife is in a terrible car accident. Eddie’s sweet five-year-old son Jonny is left alone, crying for his mother and inconsolable.

Jane resolves that she must do all she can for the innocent little boy. But at only nineteen, is she ready to be a mother, especially to a child who isn’t her own?

As Jane looks after little Jonny whilst Eddie is away for work, she begins to fall for his cheeky smile and sweet nature, but when she develops an old roll of film and sees the photographs of Jonny and his mother, she realises something is terribly wrong. Jane is sure that Jonny’s mother was hiding a terrible secret. Jane now faces a devastating choice: hide the truth from Eddie or reveal what she knows and risk losing the two people she loves most in the world forever…

This book was previously published as Three Steps to Heaven.

📖My Review..

After finishing The Girls of Mersey Square, the first book in this series, I couldn’t wait to make a start on The Mothers of Mersey Square as I really wanted to find out how Jane, Eddie and the rest of the characters, were getting on with their lives. We pick up the story just a few years later when they are all a little older, and maybe just a little bit wiser, however, as we soon discover, there is much in store for them.

I’ve enjoyed the continuation and found that I could very easily pick up the story where it left off and enjoyed observing how the characters grow in maturity especially when life deals some of them a devastating blow. The dynamics of relationships, both good and bad, is expertly defined as we follow Eddie’s tempestuous relationship with his wife Angie, and Jane’s uneasy relationship with her boyfriend. Fate has a nasty way of intervening and as the story progresses both Eddie and Jane will face many difficult challenges. Time and place comes to life, the small town nosiness, where everyone know’s everyone else’s business and the way the characters all interweave into and out of each other’s lives is done with a fine eye for detail. The music of the early sixties forms a delightful soundtrack to the story and the excitement of those heady days, and vibrancy of the music scene, makes the story all the more enjoyable. Whilst it is possible to read this as a standalone story it does make sense to read from the start of the series in order to enjoy the development of the characters. 

Overall, The Mothers of Mersey Square is a lovely continuation, I’ve certainly enjoyed being back in Stockport, and hope to meet up again with Eddie, Jane, and the rest of the characters in the next book in the series.

About the Author

Pam Howes is a retired interior designer, mum to three daughters, grandma to seven assorted grandchildren and roadie to her musician partner. The inspiration for Pam’s first novel came from her teenage years, working in a record store, and hanging around with musicians who frequented the business. The first novel evolved into a series about a fictional band, The Raiders. She is a fan of sixties music and it’s this love that compelled her to begin writing.

Twitter @PamHowes1 #TheGirlsOfMerseySquare

@bookouture 

📖 Blog Tour ~ The Daughter of the Fens by Elena Collins

Boldwood Books
2 October 2023

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book
and to Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to the blog tour

AD 61

Brittania is in the hands of the Romans but when the conquering army betray the dead King Prasutagus by defiling his daughters, his Queen, Boudicca, is determined to regain her land.

Iceni slave Brea remembers little of the time before the Romans, and has grown used to their louche and indulgent customs. She diligently goes about her duties looking after the artless Aurelia, wife-to-be of the handsome war hero Marcellus, but her longing for freedom and her desire to find her lost father, are never far from her mind.

Present Day

When Hanna returns to Norfolk from years working abroad, the strange dreams of her adolescence return: indistinct figures in tunics, mighty soldiers in armour, gladiators, temples, an Iceni warrior woman leading her people. Gradually Hanna’s dreams begin to slip into the present as visions in the famous mists rolling across the fens, and as shocks of recognition when a new face moves to her childhood home.

As Hanna realises that she has a connection with a tragedy that occurred many years before, so Brea has to understand that her fate is bound up with her Roman master. And as the drumbeat of rebellion gets ever closer Brea must make the fatal choice between love and loyalty while Hanna has to find a way to make peace with the past.

 📖 My Review..

I love escaping back into the past with a clever timeslip novel which gives the best of both worlds. The Daughter of the Fens takes us right back to Roman Britannia in AD 60 and the challenges between the Romans and the Iceni and then moves us forward into present day Norfolk.

Hannah’s life is at a crossroads, returning to her childhood home in Norfolk, Hanna is once again, troubled by disturbing dreams which she has had since a teenager. The dreams bring back memories of a time long ago and there is a definite link to a mysterious figure who appears to be seeking Hanna’s help. Cleverly combining the past with the present an intricate timeslip mystery starts to evolve. Beautifully imagined, the past is just as vivid as the present and I enjoyed following the story of Brea, the Iceni slave, alongside that of Hanna and her family and friends who, in the modern day, have the opportunity  to put right the wrongs of the past. 

The Daughter of the Fens had everything I wanted in a timeslip novel. Historical accuracy, which is so important, was wonderfully recreated and I really felt as though I was experiencing life in AD60 in the Roman town of Camulodunum and sharing time with Brea as she manages her life as an Iceni slave in a Roman world. Moving forward to the present, I was just as intrigued, and enjoyed, getting to know Hanna and her lovely family, alongside being fascinated by Hanna’s strong connection to the past. The eerie appearances were so well imagined that, on more than one occasion, I felt the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. I raced through the story in a couple of sittings and have thoroughly enjoyed my foray into the past whilst hoping for resolution in the present.

I’ve now enjoyed several of this author’s timeslip novels and each one leaves me with a real sense of a good story, well told, with perhaps, The Daughter of the Fens, being my favourite timeslip novel, so far.

About the Author

Elena Collins is the pen name of Judy Leigh. Judy Leigh is the bestselling author of Five French Hens, A Grand Old Time and The Age of Misadventure and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.

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📖 Blog Tour ~ Missing by Ruby Speechley

Boldwood
27 October 2023

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book
and to Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation tot he blog tour

Single mum Ellie is shown a missing person post on Facebook.

It’s of her three-year-old son, Tyler…

But he’s right there, holding her hand.

Surely this is some kind of prank – she knows her friend Louise can go too far with her jokes sometimes. And Ellie is used to the other mums gossiping at the school gates…

But now the other parents are questioning whether Tyler is really her child.

Ellie does everything she can to prove the post is fake, but the longer it goes on she knows it is malicious. Who would do this to her? And why?

It could be her ex, Darren, but deep down she knows it must be linked to what happened all those years ago – the night she’s been doing her best to forget…

All she knows is that she has to keep her son safe – no matter what.

📖 My Review..

Missing is a really chilling story which strikes right at the heart of every mother's worse nightmare especially when you have no control over what is being posted on social media. Ellie is a struggling single mother, trying to do the best she can for herself, and her three year old son, Tyler, but when the other mums at pre-school start to give her accusing looks Ellie knows that something is seriously wrong.

Missing is definitely a story which can be read in one sitting as the plot develops quickly. I was soon pulled into Ellie's rather complicated story which hits the ground running especially when she discovers that her son Tyler has been posted as missing on social media. And yet how can that be the truth when Tyler is holding her hand?  There are lots of twists and turns in the plot and several characters who soon prove not to be as good a friend as Ellie thought they were, there's also an ex-boyfriend who I was never entirely sure about. I enjoyed observing how it all came together, I couldn't really second guess where the story was heading and I liked that the author didn't reveal too much too soon.The truth, when revealed, is quite shocking, and as all the pieces of the puzzle click into place it proves just what a toxic environment social media can become if left to run unchecked.

As I have said, I raced through Missing in the space of one sitting as I didn't want to miss anything and all credit to the author for keeping my attention fixed on Ellie and Tyler's complicated  story.

About the Author

Ruby Speechley is a bestselling psychological thriller writer, whose titles include Someone Else’s Baby. Previously published by Hera, she has been a journalist and worked in PR and lives in Cheshire.

Twitter @rubyspeechley

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📖 Blog Tour ~ The Locket by Natalie Meg Evans

 

Bookouture
25 September 2023

My thanks to the publisher for the copy of the book and the invitation to the blog tour

England, 1942. 'It has to stay secret,' he whispers, placing the locket around her neck. 'If they find it, they’ll send me away.' As she holds the locket, glinting in the moonlight, she can’t hold back the tears. 'I just wish we didn’t have to hide…'

When farmer’s daughter Irene meets Theodore at a village dance, sparks fly instantly. The war has brought him all the way from Louisiana to build a US airbase just across her father’s fields, but as they sway together, there is nothing else in the world. Only his gentle touch and his deep brown eyes.

But being together comes at a price. As Theodore is Black, the might of the US Air Force is against them, and all the members of the little village community disapprove of their relationship. And they will all go to terrible lengths to tear the two young lovers apart...

Decades later, heartbroken Ruby is back at her family’s crumbling farmhouse for the first time in years, after the loss of her beloved grandmother Irene. The roof has fallen in, family photographs are damaged – and her grandmother’s jewellery is nowhere to be found.

When Ruby uncovers her grandmother’s waterlogged diaries, she discovers that Irene treasured one piece of lost jewellery above all. A locket from a man called Theodore. And the missing locket holds the key to unravelling a heartbreaking secret that changed her grandmother’s life…

Is someone in the village hiding the locket to keep the truth about Irene and Theodore buried? And can Ruby find a way to honour her grandmother’s memory – or in digging up the pain of the war, will she tear her family apart?

📖 My Review..

From the very start of The Locket I was drawn into this dual time narrative and followed with real interest this rather evocative WW2 story about Irene Boulter, a young woman who just happened to fall in love with a man who her village community didn't approve of. Fast forward eighty years later and Irene's granddaughter, Ruby, is determined to solve a mystery which has been kept secret for far too long.

Spanning the war years, and its subsequent repercussions, we experience the joy, and heartbreak, of a relationship which caused real problems in a rural village which didn't like to stray too far from the straight and narrow. Recreating a time of bigotry and prejudice leaves a real mark on the story and the author explores this difficult time really well so that I had a real sense of the emotional connection between Irene and Theodore, and yet also suffered, alongside them, the pain of betrayal and ultimate heartbreak.

 

I enjoyed the modern day story very much, it sits comfortably alongside the wartime elements and I became totally immersed in Ruby's search for the truth as she discovered just what occurred in 1942 which caused Irene so much unhappiness. The way in which the fragmented pieces of lives torn apart during the war were revealed in emotional detail with neither the historic, nor the modern, overshadowing the other.

Moving seamlessly backwards and forwards in time The Locket is a beautifully written story about long hidden secrets and lives which had been changed by circumstances. 

About the Author

Natalie Meg Evans has been an art student, actor, PR copywriter, book-keeper and bar tender but always wanted to write. A USA Today best-seller and RITA nominee, she is author of four published novels which follow the fortunes of strong-minded women during the 1930s and 40s. Fashion, manners and art are the glass through which her characters’ lives are viewed. Each novel is laced with passion, romance and desire. Mystery is never far away.

An avid absorber of history – for her sixth birthday she got a toy Arthurian castle with plastic knights – Natalie views historical fiction as theatre for the imagination. Her novels delve behind the scenes of a prestige industry: high fashion, millinery, theatre, wine making. Rich arenas for love and conflict. Most at home in the English countryside, Natalie lives in rural Suffolk. She has one son.

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