📖 Feature Friday ~ The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton

Welcome to Feature Friday

It's a warm space to a highlight a book coming soon which is on my radar

and one I am looking forward to reading

Picador
7 July 2022

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

The sequel to Jessie Burton’s million-copy bestseller The Miniaturist.

In the golden city of Amsterdam, in 1705, Thea Brandt is turning eighteen, and she is ready to welcome adulthood with open arms. At the city’s theatre, Walter, the love of her life, awaits her, but at home in the house on the Herengracht, all is not well – her father Otto and Aunt Nella argue endlessly, and the Brandt family are selling their furniture in order to eat. On Thea’s birthday, also the day that her mother Marin died, the secrets from the past begin to overwhelm the present.

Nella is desperate to save the family and maintain appearances, to find Thea a husband who will guarantee her future, and when they receive an invitation to Amsterdam’s most exclusive ball, she is overjoyed – perhaps this will set their fortunes straight.

And indeed, the ball does set things spinning: new figures enter their life, promising new futures. But their fates are still unclear, and when Nella feels a strange prickling sensation on the back of her neck, she remembers the miniaturist who entered her life and toyed with her fortunes eighteen years ago. Perhaps, now, she has returned for her..

****

I absolutely loved The Miniaturist when it was published in 2014 and devoured the story in a matter of a couple of days. I was equally entranced to see it brought to life in the 2017 TV adaption starring Anya Taylor-Joy as Petronella (Nella) Brandt. I am so looking forward to reading this sequel to see how Nella has fared in the years since The Miniaturist ended.

So as they say...watch this space 😊

@jaffareadstoo #FeatureFriday #amreading

The House of Fortune is published on the 7 July by Picador and is available to pre-order from wherever you buy your books.

Twitter #TheHouseofFortune

Instagram @jessieburton

Twitter @picadorbooks

📖 Feature Friday ~ Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton

Welcome to Feature Friday

It's a warm space to a highlight a book coming soon which is on my radar

and one I am looking forward to reading

Random House Transworld
Bantam Press
9 June 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Everyone watches their neighbours.

Elise King moves into the sleepy seaside town of Ebbing. Illness has thrown her career as a successful detective into doubt, but no matter how hard she tries to relax and recuperate, she knows that something isn't right.

Everyone lies about their friends.

Tensions are running high beneath the surface of this idyllic community: the weekenders in their fancy clothes, renovating old bungalows into luxury homes, and the locals resentful of the changes. A town divided, with the threat of violence only a heartbeat away.

Everyone knows a secret.

This peaceful world is shattered when two teenagers end up in hospital and a local man vanishes without trace. Elise starts digging for answers, but the community closes ranks, and the truth begins to slip through her fingers. Because in a small town like this, the locals are good at keeping secrets...

Everyone's a suspect when a local goes missing.

****

I remember when this author's debut novel, The Widow hit the book shops in 2016 and I was immediately blown away with the strength of writing and the author's ability to keep the reader so engrossed in the plot that you don't notice time passing. Local Goes Missing sounds like another immersive read and one I am going to enjoy reading.

So as they say...watch this space 😊

@jaffareadstoo #FeatureFriday #amreading

Local Gone Missing is published on the 9 June and is available to pre-order from wherever you buy books.

Twitter @figbarton #LocalGonemissing

@TransworldBooks

Feature Friday ~ A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin

 

Welcome to Feature Friday

It's a warm space to a highlight a book coming soon which is on my radar

and one I am looking forward to reading

Harper Collins
 12 May 2022

My thanks to the publishers for my invitation to read this book

The debut of the season

The season is about to begin – and there’s not a minute to lose...

Kitty Talbot needs a fortune. Or rather, she needs a husband who has a fortune. This is 1818 after all, and only men have the privilege of seeking their own riches.

With only twelve weeks until the bailiffs call, launching herself into London society is the only avenue open to her, and Kitty must use every ounce of cunning and ingenuity she possesses to climb the ranks.

The only one to see through her plans is the worldly Lord Radcliffe and he is determined to thwart her at any cost, especially when it comes to his own brother falling for her charms.

Can Kitty secure a fortune and save her sisters from poverty? There is not a day to lose and no one – not even a lord – will stand in her way…

~~~

Regency novels have long been my guilty pleasure ever since I read my first Georgette Heyer novel way back in my teens. I also like watching Bridgerton on Netflix so to have a Regency novel by a debut novelist to look forward too is a real delight - one to savour over Easter with a sneaky Easter egg!

So as they say...watch this space..

@jaffareadstoo #FeatureFriday #amreading

A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting is published on the 12 May and is available to pre-order from wherever you buy books.

Twitter @SophieHIrwin #LadysGuide 

@HarperCollins

📖 Feature Friday ~ Breakneck Point by T. Orr Munro

 

Welcome to Feature Friday

It's a warm space to a highlight a book coming soon which is on my radar

and one I am looking forward to reading

HQ
14 April 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

A gripping new crime series for fans of Val McDermid, Jane Casey, Cara Hunter and Mare of Easttown

CSI Ally Dymond follows the evidence – wherever it leads.

Her commitment to justice has cost Ally her place on the major investigations team. After exposing corruption in the ranks, she’s stuck working petty crimes on the sleepy North Devon coast.

Only when the body of nineteen-year-old Janie Warren turns up in the seaside town of Bidecombe can Ally put her skills to good use. Yet the evidence she discovers contradicts the lead detective’s theory. And no one wants to listen to the CSI who landed their colleagues in prison.

Time is running out to catch a serial killer no one is looking for – no one except Ally. What she doesn’t know is that he’s watching, from her side of the crime scene tape, waiting for the moment to strike. When he does, Ally will be forced to question the true nature of justice like never before.

The idea of starting a different crime series from the beginning is very appealing especially when it is a new author who is also just starting on this literary crime journey. I read a lot of gritty crime stories set mainly in UK cities so to retreat to the sleepy Devon coast will be a nice change of scene.

So as they say...watch this space..

@jaffareadstoo #FeatureFriday #amreading

Breakneck Point is available to pre-order from wherever you buy books.

Twitter @TinaOrrMunro #BreakneckPoint #FollowtheEvidence

@HQStories

📖 Feature Friday with Jaffareadstoo ~ The Awakenings by Sarah Maine

 Welcome to Feature Friday

It's a warm space to a highlight a book coming soon which is on my radar

and one I am looking forward to reading

Hodder & Stoughton
17 March

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Yorkshire, 1890. Having lost her father and brothers in tragic circumstances, Olwen Malkon is forced to leave her childhood home to live with her uncle's family. In his chill vicarage, however, she fears that she is also losing her mind, as strange dreams take her into the life of Ælfwyn, a woman from a distant past whose fate is overshadowed by menace and betrayal.

In the grip of these afflictions, Olwen finds sympathy with the local doctor, John Osbourne, who is intrigued by her case. Suspecting darker undercurrents are at work, John comes into conflict with Olwen's family, who dismiss her as a hysteric and, when he seeks to protect her, with the law.

As the dreams intensify, danger awaits them both. But when they begin to mirror reality, she and John start to suspect that it is these visions of the past which hold the answers.

📖

I have to admit that this one initially drew me in by its cover, is that shallow of me ? I think that the house on the cover reminded me of the Haworth Parsonage which was once the home of the Bronte sisters. The brooding Yorkshire setting and the prospect of a dual time mystery with visions from the past is what really appeals to me. I was especially delighted when the publishers offered me a proof copy, I haven't seen any reviews of this one which is always refreshing.. 

So as they say...watch this space..

@jaffareadstoo #FeatureFriday #amreading

The Awakenings is available to pre-order from wherever you buy books.

About the Author

Sarah Maine was born in England but grew up partly in Canada before returning to England for university. She studied archaeology and for many years worked in the profession but is now a freelance writer and researcher.

Twitter @SarahMaineBooks #TheAwakenings

@HodderBooks

📖 Feature Friday on Jaffareadstoo ~ The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell

 

Welcome to Feature Friday

it's a warm space to a highlight a book coming soon which is on my book radar

and one I am looking forward to reading

Published on the 17th February 2022

Pan Macmillan

A haunting and moving debut, The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell is perfect for fans of The Familiars and The Binding.

1838. After a violent storm, a woman is found alone, naked and near death, on the Northumberland moors. She has no memory of who she is or how she got there. But she can remember how to help a woman in labour and how to expertly dress a wound, and can speak fluent French. With the odds against her, a penniless single woman, she starts to build her life from scratch, using her skills to help other women around her. She finds a happy place in the world. Until tragedy strikes, and she must run for her life...

In London, Dr Borthwick lives a solitary life working as an accoucheur dealing with mothers and babies in the elegant homes of high society together with his midwife, Mrs Bates, and volunteering in the slums of the Devil’s Acre alongside a young widow, Eleanor Johnson. His professional reputation is spotless and he keeps his private life just as clean, isolating himself from any new acquaintances. But he is harbouring a dark secret from his past – one that threatens to spill over everything.

📖

The early reviews I've seen of the book are encouraging, so I'm looking forward to reading The Midwife as I enjoy dual time stories. I trained as a midwife, so I'm always interested to see how the profession is portrayed in a historical setting.

So as they say....watch this space..

@jaffareadstoo #FeatureFriday #amreading

About the Author

Tricia Cresswell is a retired public health doctor. She temporarily returned to work in spring 2020 in support of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and volunteered as a vaccinator. She achieved a Distinction in her Creative Writing MA at Newcastle University in 2017. Creative response to the climate emergency has now taken priority in her writing.

The Midwife is available to pre-order from wherever you buy books

📖 Feature Friday on Jaffareadstoo ~ The Letter Home by Rachael English

Welcome to Feature Friday

it's a warm space to a highlight a book coming soon which is on my book radar

and one I am looking forward to reading

Published on the 3rd February

Headline 

She had left behind everything she loved to forge a future for the one she treasured most...

Inspired by heartbreaking true events, a rich, powerful novel of a mother's love, a baby girl, a dangerous journey from Ireland to America and a forgotten story that binds two families separated by an ocean. From the Number One bestselling and beloved author of THE AMERICAN GIRL and THE PAPER BRACELET.

A faded letter. A mother lost. A daughter found...

When journalist Jessie Daly loses everything she holds dear, she travels home to Ireland's west coast, and helps an old friend researching life during the famine. Jessie becomes drawn into the heartbreaking story of a brave young mother, Bridget Moloney, and her daughter, Norah.

On the other side of the ocean, in Boston, Kaitlin Wilson is researching her family tree. She unearths a fascinating story, but her research forces her to confront uncomfortable truths about the past, as she uncovers an unexpected connection to Ireland in famine times.

Generations before, in the small town of Boherbreen, a young mother faced a heart-wrenching choice: to watch her baby girl perish with hunger, or to start out for a new life in America, alone, in order to protect the one she loves most...

📖

I've long been a fan of Rachael English's writing and have been involved in several of her blog tours. I was asked, at the start of December, to be involved in revealing the lovely cover of The Letter Home on social media. I'm really looking forward to sharing my thoughts about this lovely story on the 3rd February, its e-Book publication day. 

So as they say....watch this space.. 

@jaffareadstoo # FeatureFriday #amreading

The e-Book available to pre-order now, paperback is due to be published in July

About the Author

Rachael English is a bestselling novelist and presenter on Ireland’s most popular radio show, Morning Ireland. During more than twenty years as a journalist, she has worked on most of RTE Radio’s leading current affairs programmes, covering a huge range of national and international stories. The American Girl, The Night of the Party and The Paper Bracelet were all top 5 Irish bestsellers.

@EnglishRachael #TheLetterHome

@headlinepg

@HeadlineFiction