📖 Book Review ~ Fireflies in Winter by Eleanor Shearer

 

Headline 
10 February 2026

Thanks to the publisher for the copy of this book 

Nova Scotia 1796. Cora, an orphan newly arrived from Jamaica has never felt cold like this. In the depths of winter, everyone in her community huddles together in their homes to keep warm. So when she sees a shadow slipping through the trees, Cora thinks her eyes are deceiving her. Until she creeps out into the moonlight and finds the tracks in the snow.

Agnes is in hiding. On the run from her former life, she has learned what it takes to survive alone in the wilderness. But she can afford no mistakes. When she first spies the young woman in the woods, she is afraid. Yet Cora is fearless, and their paths are destined to cross.

Deep amongst the cedars, Cora and Agnes find a fragile place of safety. But when Agnes’s past closes in, they are confronted with the dangerous price of freedom—and of love…

📖 My Review..

Travelling from Jamaica in 1796 Cora is newly arrived in the Maroon community in Nova Scotia where she takes time to settle into this new way of life. It’s a place where the change of customs, the biting cold and the ever present fear of danger never really goes away. When Cora discovers another young black woman called Agnes living in the heart of the surrounding woodland a tentative friendship develops between them and which, over the course of the story, becomes something much more meaningful.

Running alongside the burgeoning relationship between Cora and Agnes is that of a trial which is taking place and as the story progresses, we get to know more about, and the reason why, one of the women is facing such a terrible ordeal. It becomes obvious that both young women are trying to escape from a traumatic past but it is not until all the jigsaw pieces of the puzzle come together that we realise just what is at stake for both Cora and Agnes.

So beautifully and imaginatively written, I felt the story coming alive, not just learning about a period of history of which I knew nothing but also experiencing new way of life alongside Cora and Agnes as they both strive to survive in a world which doesn’t understand either of them nor does it offer any sort of respite from old prejudices. Whilst Fireflies in Winter is an emotional and poignant love story, it also offers an insight into this difficult moment in black history.

🥣 Best Read with..Bone broth over a smoky fire..

About the Author

Eleanor Shearor is a mixed-race writer and the granddaughter of Windrush generation immigrants. She splits her time between London and Ramsgate. Her debut novel River Sing Me Home sold in 20 territories. It was named as one of Time magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2023, was a finalist for the 2024 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Fiction Award, shortlisted for the Grand Prix des Lectrices ELLE 2025 in France and also shortlisted for the Prix Fragonard 2025 in France. It was a Good Morning America Book Club pick, and has been optioned for film by AL Films and BBC Films.

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🎧BlogTour ~ Salt & Honey by Candi Miller

 

September 2025
#1 Koba Trilogy 

Estimated run time 7 hours

Read by John Maytham

Thanks to the author and Rachel’s Random Resources 

Hide!’ shouts her father. Then he breaks cover to draw the hunting party away across the blackened plain. The child sees them shoot him. And murder her mother. 

It’s the 1950s but Koba is a hunter-gatherer from an ancient living culture. She’s a survivor. Alone in a cave, she fends for herself, talks to her ancestors, breaks taboos. She gains healing power and tries to ignore the warnings she feels. She trades with the teenage son of the family who orphaned her – bushcraft for jive dancing, salt for honey. 

But now she’s in the greatest danger she’s ever faced: she’s falling for a white boy in Apartheid South Africa, where love across racial divides is brutally punished. She hears the axe shatter the bedroom’s wooden shutters but Koba won’t run. Book 1 of this fast-paced saga introduces a striking character into romance-writing, offering readers a fascinating glimpse into a forgotten way of life and into recent black history.

* Occasional, deliberate use of racist language by the villain.

🎧 My Review..

This is an interesting coming of age story during a difficult time in South Africa’s history. It tells of the forbidden relationship between Koba, an indigenous girl who lives alone and Mannie, an Afrikaner teenage boy, whose family were responsible for the loss of Koba’s family. This is a fascinating book to listen to as the beautiful narration by John Matthew really enhances the story in a special way however, it is in the troubled landscape, and the friendship between Kobe and Mannie where the true power of the story lies. 

The story flows well, the pacing of the narrative kept my attention and with a clear and expressive narrator the story came to life. I could feel the tension in the atmosphere and was fascinated by Kobe’s deep attachment to the land and the ancient culture of her people. This was a very different time and the writing reflects that and doesn’t shy away from explaining the brutality of apartheid and the harsh consequences of living during this difficult time in South African history.

Coming in at around 7 hours the audio book is managed in easily listening chunks and with a good narrator this was an interesting and informative book which brought Koba and Mannie’s story to life in a meaningful way.

About the Author

Candi Miller was born in southern Africa and has spent decades researching the first people of the region, a group who feature in the novel. She loves to tell the many unique and exciting experiences she’s had in the bush and around campfires. She taught creative writing in the UK where she now lives. She is republishing her novels to support a school feeding scheme for marginalised children which she co-founded in 2017.

Website:  https://www.candimiller.co.uk/my-novels.html

 

Substack: https://candimiller.substack.com/publish/post/141372314?back=%2Fpublish%2Fposts%2Fdetail%2F141372314

https://substack.com/home/post/p-137297879

Link to the first chapter of the sequel, free to read.

https://candimiller.substack.com/p/dear-paid-subscriber

Facebook author page

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092417402759

 

Insta: @candimillerauthor

https://www.instagram.com/candimillerauthor/