📖 Blog Tour ~ The Cornish Witch by Elena Collins

Boldwood Books 
20 April 2025

Thanks to the publishers for the copy if the book 
And to Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation to the tour

 

When Megan’s father gets a letter containing a secret from the past, he asks her to go to the Cornish village of St Mawgen Cove to get to the bottom of the mystery. Megan is happy to take a holiday after a challenging year but as soon as she checks into The Ship Inn something feels amiss. There are noises in the room above, the locals tell tales of smugglers and shipwrecks and she can’t escape the story of the witch who waits and watches, weeping on the top of the cliff.

1625: Susanna and her daughter Katel live a contented life, but without the protection of a husband and father, Susanna fears for Katel’s future as she blossoms into womanhood. The fishing community of St Mawgen Cove is close knit but when misfortune arrives in the cove, it’s not long before villagers are looking for someone to blame. And when talk turns to witches, Susanna knows she and Katel are no longer safe.

Can Megan bring peace to St Mawgen and to two women who have been broken-hearted for centuries?

📖 My Review…

When Megan takes a holiday in St Mawgen Cove in Cornwall she discovers that her hotel, The Ship Inn, has rather more activity that she bargained for, especially when the ghostly sounds of troubled souls start to make their presence felt. Back in the seventeenth century, Susannah and her teenage daughter, Katel, live in their tiny cottage and eke out a meagre living in the tiny fishing village of St Mawgen. Susannah tends the sick with her herbs and potions, whilst Katel, works at the sea front helping with the fishing. However, superstition and gossip is rife and before too long whispers of witchcraft start to circulate and no-one is above suspicion.

This is a cleverly crafted time slip novel which not only focuses on Megan’s modern day dilemma but also brings the legend of the waiting witch to life. Supernatural elements of the past sit very comfortably alongside modern day St Mawgen, with both time frames equally fascinating, and with strands overlapping, there is always something interesting to discover. I raced through the story in one sitting in order to discover more about Susanna’s and Katel’s troubled time in St Mawgen, whilst at the same time wanting everything to work out well for Megan, and her family, as they discover secrets from the past.

Beautifully written, as always, from this talented author, The Cornish Witch is perfect escapism from start to finish. 

About the Author

Judy Leigh writes dual timeline stories under the name of Elena Collins: the name is a tribute to her grandmother who was a teller of stories and fortunes, and she had healing hands.

These novels combine three of her passions: delving into rich historical tales, exploring stunning locations, and evoking the supernatural. They weave together stories of people's lives both past and present, with some spine-tingling moments along the way. She loves writing these novels and hopes readers enjoy them as much as she does. The characters and settings are particularly close to her heart.

Writing under the name of Judy Leigh, she is also the author of uplifting novels that explore the lives of older women and the possibilities of second chances, change, and happiness. Under this name, she writes the Morwenna Mutton/Seal Bay cozy crime series, set in Cornwall, featuring a sixty-something sleuth who enjoys solving crimes and getting into mischief.

Outside of writing, Leigh enjoys traveling, reading, music, and theatre. She holds an MA in Professional Writing. When she's not at her desk or spending time with her two black cats, she's often researching her next novel in some of the country's most beautiful locations and beyond.

Twitter @JudyLeighWriter #TheCornishWitch

@BoldwoodBooks #BoldwoodBloggers 

@rararesources

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📖 Book Tour ~ The Butterfly Garden by Rachel Burton

Boldwood Books
28 June 2024

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

A gripping and beautiful tale of love, loss and secrets. Perfect for fans of Rachel Hore, Lorna Cook and Kathryn Hughes.

1963: When Clara Samuels buys Butterfly Cottage, she knows the scandal she’ll cause. A single woman buying property is not the ‘done thing’, especially not in a village like Carybrook. But Clara has been in love with Butterfly Cottage, and its garden, since she used to play there before the War. And when she reconnects with her childhood friend James, her decision feels serendipitous. But the true scandal is yet to come, because within six months, Clara will leave England under mysterious circumstances, and Butterfly Cottage will stand empty for more than 50 years.

2018: No one is more surprised than Meredith when she’s bequeathed a cottage by a great aunt she’d never heard of. She hopes, briefly, that the inheritance could be the answer to her financial problems. But when she arrives in Suffolk, she is shocked to discover a man is already living there. A young gardener, who claims he was also bequeathed half of Butterfly Cottage.

As the pair try to unravel their complicated situation, they unearth a decades old mystery involving Clara, the garden, and a stack of letters left unread for over 50 years…

📖 My Review...

Meredith didn’t expect to inherit a cottage especially from a great aunt she never knew existed. When she arrives at Butterfly Cottage she is surprised to find that there is a handsome man living there who has also been left a share of the cottage. By cleverly intertwining the past and the present we learn more about Meredith’s great aunt Clara who bought the cottage in the mid-1960s when life in the idyllic Suffolk village was very different from its modern day counterpart. And as Clara’s story is revealed so we get a glimpse into why, fifty years later, the house has been left to Meredith.

The story flips between time frames really prettily and with neither outshining the other I found that I was eagerly looking forward to spending contemporary time with Meredith and Zach before being whisked away to the 1960s and to the complexity of Clara’s life. There’s a nice sense of atmosphere, with the historical aspect being particularly well done, as it shows that not everything about the ‘swinging’ sixties was enlightened, especially in a small country village. The story is written with a lovely light touch and gorgeous attention to detail, from the description of the dresses designed by Mary Quant, to the stunning beauty of the garden at Butterfly Cottage. 

As The Butterfly Garden gradually reveals its secrets, so a story of family drama, long buried secrets and the hope of second chances is finally revealed.

About the Author

Rachel Burton is the bestselling author of historical timeslip novels and has previously written romantic comedies.

Rachel was born in Cambridge and grew up in a house full of books and records. She has read obsessively since she first realised those black squiggles on the pages that lined her parents’ bookshelves were actually words and it has gone down in family history that any time something interesting happened, she missed it because she had her nose in a book.

After reading for a degree in Classics and another in English Literature she accidentally fell into a career in law but her love of books prevailed as she realised that she wanted to slip into imaginary worlds of her own making. She eventually managed to write her first novel on her lunch breaks.

She is obsessed with old houses and the secrets they keep, with abandoned gardens and locked gates, with family histories and surprising revelations, and with the outcomes of those surprises many generations later.

She lives in Yorkshire with her husband, a variety of cats and far too many books. By writing novels she now has an excuse for her head being forever in the clouds.

X @RachelBWriter

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X @BoldwoodBooks #BoldwoodBloggers

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📖 Book Review ~ Times’s Prisoner by Linda Gillard

 

10 February 2024
Independently Published

The dead are invisible. They are not absent.

With her personal and professional life in ruins, Jane Summers, author of historical whodunnits, receives an extraordinary bequest from an old enemy. But there’s a condition attached. If she is to become more than just a sitting tenant at Wyngrave Hall, a crumbling Elizabethan manor house, Jane must solve a centuries-old mystery.

She invites a motley crew of women to share her new life at the Hall: Rosamund, a tough but troubled nurse; Sylvia, retired actress and national treasure; loyal Bridget, gardener and handywoman, who knows the chequered history of Wyngrave Hall and understood the selfish eccentricities of its previous owner.

But unknown to the women of Wyngrave Hall, there is another, unseen occupant, one with a desperate agenda: to enlist Jane’s help solving the coldest of cold cases.

📖My Review..

Jane Summers is astonished by an unexpected legacy which gives her the tenancy of Wyngrave Hall, an Elizabethan Manor House which has its fair share of secrets. Sharing her good fortune with three other women, Jane soon finds that the house has its own distinct personality and with a centuries old mystery to solve she soon finds that there is certainly enough to keep her occupied.

As always this talented author brings time and place alive in the imagination, the story is wonderfully descriptive and as the mystery is revealed piece by piece so we get a glimpse into the dark heart of Wyngrave Hall and the deadly secret which as been kept for centuries. The cast of characters blend into the story so seamlessly that there are never any clunky moments or the distraction of one character hogging the limelight although there is one mysterious character who I developed a real fondness for and enjoyed their time on the page. Moments of humour interspersed with a genuine feeling of doom the story reads like a Shakespearean tragedy which is enhanced by quotations from Hamlet which head each chapter and which herald events as they unfold.  

Time’s Prisoner is a lovely blended story which takes the sadness and secrets of the past and brings them entirely up to date in a compelling story which resonates from the chilling prologue and which doesn’t let go of your imagination until the last page is turned and even then days after I finished I found myself wondering how the occupants of Wyngrave Hall were faring. I’m thrilled to learn that the author is writing a sequel. Fabulous!

About the Author

Linda Gillard lives in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. She’s the author of ten novels, including STAR GAZING, shortlisted for Romantic Novel of the Year in 2009 and the Robin Jenkins Literary Award for writing that promotes the Scottish landscape.

HOUSE OF SILENCE and THE MEMORY TREE became Kindle bestsellers. Linda's tenth novel, TIME'S PRISONER was published in February 2024 and she's now working on a sequel.

Website

📖 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.

Twitter @JudyLeighWriter #TheDaughteroftheFens

@BoldwoodBooks #BoldwoodBloggers @bookandtonic @theboldbookclub

@rararesources

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📖 Blog Tour ~ Promises of the Runes by Christina Courtenay

 

Headline Review
13 April 2023

Runes #5

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

He travelled through time to capture her heart.

The amulet was still in the palm of his hand. Was it some sort of conduit to the past? The image of the anguished woman in his vision was seared into his mind. Perhaps it could help him find her?

Ivar Thoresson is desperate for adventure. As an archaeologist specialising in Viking times, he wants nothing more than to travel back to the ninth century as his loved ones have done, to learn everything he can about the era which fascinates him. And whilst his adopted family have always made him feel loved, the chance to meet a true ancestor, the warrior Thorald, is a temptation he cannot resist.

But while Ivar is preparing to go, he uncovers an amulet which shows him a vision of an arresting woman with red-gold hair. Clearly in distress, she is pleading for help. Convinced of the power of the charm and its message, Ivar’s journey takes on a new purpose. He steps back in time determined to follow his destiny – and find the woman who has called to his heart.

📖 My Review..

It's always a real pleasure to go back in time with this talented writer and this Viking series has been a particular favourite of mine especially as each story brings a new and exciting character whilst taking us back to what has become a quite familiar world. This fifth book in the series is deliciously different as it gives us the story from a male point of view.

Ivar Thoresson is an archaeologist who specialises in the ninth century world of the Vikings and he would dearly love to travel back in time in order to discover, at first hand, what it was like to live amongst his ancestors. When Ivar discovers a rather unusual silver amulet he is irresistibly drawn towards the plight of a young woman who appears to pleading for help. Armed with with only a vague notion of what time travel is really like, Ivar sets out to discover more about this ancient world with fascinating and rather unexpected consequences. 

Ivar is irresistibly drawn to Viking life and although he has some reservations about life in the ninth century, he soon begins to feel at home there, especially as he gets to know the people, their customs and their way of life. The story soon draws you in and the author's flair for detail and her impeccable research makes this time slip novel feel beautifully authentic, each chapter flows seamlessly bringing the Viking world to life in glorious detail.Nicely descriptive and with a wonderful romantic element, Promises of the Runes is another wonderful Viking adventure from this talented writer of historical fiction.

Whilst Promises of the Runes is the fifth book in this Runes series of historical time slip novels, each can be read as a standalone however, as with any series it does make sense to start at the beginning, and if you are new to this author's skilful writing you won't be disappointed.

About the Author

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip 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 former chairman 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. Promises of the Runes (time travel romance published by Headline Review 13th April 2023) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Twitter @PiaCCourtenay

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@rararesources

Amazon UK

📖 Blog Tour ~ The Witch's Tree by Elena Collins

On Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to ...1682

Boldwood Books
17 May 2022

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

A tale as old as time. A spirit that has never rested.

Present day

As a love affair comes to an end, and with it her dreams for her future, artist Selena needs a retreat. The picture-postcard Sloe Cottage in the Somerset village of Ashcombe promises to be the perfect place to forget her problems, and Selena settles into her new home as spring arrives. But it isn’t long before Selena hears the past whispering to her. Sloe Cottage is keeping secrets which refuse to stay hidden.

​1682

Grace Cotter longs for nothing more than a husband and family of her own. Content enough with her work on the farm, looking after her father, and learning the secrets of her grandmother Bett’s healing hands, nevertheless Grace still hopes for love. But these are dangerous times for dreamers, and rumours and gossip can be deadly. One mis-move and Grace’s fate looks set…

Separated by three hundred years, two women are drawn together by a home bathed in blood and magic. Grace Cotter’s spirit needs to rest, and only Selena can help her now.

📖 My Review..

Selina finds that taking refuge at Sloe Cottage in the heart of Somerset is just the place she needs to get over a disastrous love affair. The glorious countryside around the cottage proves to be the perfect inspiration for Selina's paintings which capture the eerie nature of both the cottage and the surrounding landscape. That there is a ghostly presence in the cottage is obvious from the start and as the story blends and weaves between past and present we get the story of Grace Cotter, a troubled young woman who, living in the seventeenth century, has unfinished business with Sloe Cottage and the village of Ashcombe.

The time-slip elements of the story work really well with neither one outshining the other. I felt equally at home with Selina at Sloe Cottage in the present day as I did at Slaugh Cottage with Grace in 1682 during a time when the country was gripped by witch fever and to be a woman alone was to invite scurrilous gossip and sly innuendo. The story is really rather special and so beautifully reminiscent of both time elements that I quite forgot the passage of time. I loved learning more about Selina's life at the cottage and could visualise her beautifully imaginative paintings as she brings time and place into wonderful context.

Beautifully written, with lovely historical detail, The Witch's Tree is a wonderful time-slip novel which shows that the passage of time doesn't always heal a troubled soul but by blending the shared experiences of two rather sad young women the author has created a wonderful bridge between the despair of past and hope for the present. 

 

🍷Best Read with...a glass of Joely's mint lemonade and a slice of Mrs Harper's angel cake

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.

Twitter @JudyLeighWrite #TheWitchsTree

@BoldwoodBooks #BoldwoodBloggers @bookandtonic

@rararesources

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📖 Blog Tour and Giveaway ~ Whispers of the Runes by Christina Courtenay

 

Thrilled to host a stop on this blog tour today

Headline Review
24 June 2021

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

Time is no barrier for a love that is destined to be.

She couldn’t be sure that she had travelled through time ... but deep down she just knew.And her only way back had just disappeared.When jewellery designer Sara Mattsson is propelled back to the ninth century, after cutting herself on a Viking knife she uncovers at an archaeological dig, she is quick to accept what has happened to her. 

For this is not the first Sara has heard of time travel.Although acutely aware of the danger she faces when she loses the knife – and with it her way to return to her own time – this is also the opportunity of a lifetime. What better way to add authenticity to the Viking and Anglo-Saxon motifs used in her designs?

As luck has it, the first person Sara encounters is Rurik Eskilsson, a fellow silversmith, who is also no stranger to the concept of time travel. Agreeing that Sara can accompany him to Jorvik, they embark on a journey even more perilous than one through time. But Fate has brought these two kindred spirits together across the ages for a reason.

📖 My thoughts..

Sara Mattsson is attending an archeological dig in the north of England when she inadvertently cuts her finger on a Viking knife. Instantly transported back to the 9th Century Sara encounters Rurik Eskilsson, an enigmatic Viking, who is safeguarding his own secrets. 

Already aware of the time travel phenomenon Sara takes being whisked back in time with remarkable good grace and her burgeoning friendship with Rurik ensures a lively adventure especially when they get drawn into the long standing feuds which exist in this time. I enjoyed being with Sara and Erik as they make a perilous journey towards Jorvik, encountering an array of fascinating characters, some good and some bad, but none are more special than Beowulf, who captured my heart from the start.

Time slip stories are notoriously difficult to get right but when they are done with a realistic look at the past then the whole thing comes alive and in Whispers of the Runes the past feels very real indeed as the author clearly does an impressive amount of research in order to create an authentic atmosphere. Filled with excitement, danger, adventure and passion, Whispers of the Runes is an absolute joy to read and is every bit as good as I knew it would be from this talented author.

This is such a lovely series of time slip stories and whilst each book can be read comfortably as a stand alone, there are occasional references to previous stories, so it sort of makes sense to start at the beginning and escape to the time of the Vikings.

About the Author

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip 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 former chairman 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).Whispers of the Runes (time travel published by Headline 24th June 2021) is her latest novel.Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety)

Amazon UK

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Twitter @PiaCCourtenay #WhispersoftheRunes

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📖 Featured Book of the Month ~ The Dream Weavers by Barbara Erskine

 

Harper Collins
15 April 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

A nest of vipers, they called us. But that is not how it was.

Mercia, 775 AD. In the grand Saxon halls of Mercia, King Offa rules with ruthless ambition. Aggressive and relentlessly acquisitive, his three daughters are destined to marry advantageously in service of their country. Eadburh, the youngest, is neither the cleverest nor the most beautiful of the three. But, with her father’s ruthless spirit and the secret gifts passed down from her mother, she is determined to carve her own path in the world.

2021. Simon Armstrong has escaped to a secluded cottage on the English-Welsh borders, desperate to finish his book about Anglo-Saxon King Offa. But he soon finds himself disturbed by unsettling noises and visions. Calling in local expert Bea to identify the issue, Simon hopes to get back some peace – but soon Bea is as embroiled as he is, feeling increasingly connected to a ghostly presence that is growing ever-stronger in its desire for revenge. And when Simon’s daughter disappears, centuries of secrets and resentment begin to tumble out…

An epic tale of deceit, revenge and exile from the queen of timeslip historical fiction.Time is running out as the past and present collide.

📖 My thoughts..

There is nothing I like better than to sit for several hours immersed in one of this author's engrossing supernatural tales. Combining a strong sense of history with a plausible time slip element is just what makes these stories so special.

Author, Simon Armitage, has moved into a remote cottage close to what remains of Offa's Dyke on the English/Welsh border in order to finish writing his book about the Anglo Saxon King Offa. This isolated area is a place of secrets and shadows and with no obvious explanation for the distressed voices he starts to hear Simon calls on the help of Bea Dalloway, whose skill in dealing with paranormal activity is a closely guarded secret. 

Unleashing the ancient power that swirls around this remote cottage has a profound effect on Bea and soon she is consumed by the turbulent story of Eadburh, the spirited younger daughter of King Offa, whose shadowy presence dominates, and whose history, it would seem, needs to be heard before she can find the peace she so desperately craves.

The Dream Weavers is beautifully written and so skilfully put together that even as you move seamlessly between past and present, the history, and the characters, which the author so skillfully brings to life, start to come alive in the imagination. And as neither the past nor the present is allowed to outshine the other, and with each time frame so scarily realistic, the ancient world of 775 AD is just as vivid as the paranormal events which start to unfold in 2021. As the shadows bloom and shimmer so the curtain to the past is lifted and time reveals its deadly secrets.

I've long been a fan of this author's exceptionally skilful writing, in fact, I still can't believe that the first book I read, back in 1986, The Lady of Hay, has just celebrated its 35th anniversary. Without doubt Barbra Erskine is the Queen of the time-slip genre and I think that The Dream Weavers is up there amongst her best which is why I have no hesitation in making it my Featured Book for the Month in May.

About the Author

A historian by training, Barbara Erskine is the author of many bestselling novels that demonstrate her interest in both history and the supernatural, plus three collections of short stories. Her books have appeared in at least twenty-six languages. Her first novel, Lady of Hay, has sold over two million copies worldwide. She lives with her family in an ancient manor house near Colchester and in a cottage near Hay-on-Wye,

Twitter @barbaraerskine #TheDreamWeavers

@HarperCollinsUK

🎄 Blog Tour ~ The Runes of Destiny by Christina Courtenay (Giveaway)

  

🎄 Delighted to be one of the blogs opening this blog tour today 🎄

Headline Review
10 December 2020

My thanks to the publisher for my ecopy of this book

and to Rachel's Random Resources for my invitation to the blog tour

Separated by time. Brought together by fate.

Linnea felt a shiver travel the length of her spine.

It hadn’t been a joke – the runes really had shown her destiny.

Indulging her fascination for the Viking language and losing herself in an archaeological dig is just what Linnea Berger needs after her recent trauma. Uncovering an exquisite brooch, she blacks out reading the runic inscription, only to come to, surrounded by men in Viking costume, who seem to take re-enactment very seriously.

Lost and confused, Linnea finds herself in the power of Hrafn, a Viking warrior who claims her as his thrall and takes her on a treacherous journey across the seas to sell her for profit. Setting sail, she confronts the unthinkable: she has travelled back to the ninth century.

Linnea is determined to find a way back to her own time, but there’s a connection forming with Hrafn. Can she resist the call of the runes and accept her destiny lies her.

My thoughts..

In order to piece her life back together after a devastating tragedy, Linnea Berger has escaped to take part in an archaeological dig in Sweden. There she discovers a beautiful Viking brooch but when she reads the runic inscription on the brooch she is quite suddenly transported back to a dangerous time, where, as the captive possession of a handsome Viking warrior, she has no say whatsoever in what happens to her future. Luckily Linnea is an expert in the Old Norse language so even though she doesn't want to have travelled back in time, she can at least understand what is going on in this strange new world in which she finds herself.

This is a remarkably detailed time-slip novel which brings the ancient Viking world so imaginatively to life that I felt as if I travelled every step of Linnea's eventful journey with her. The author has obviously done her research really well and her authoritative voice is evident in the amount of vivid detail which she brings to the story. Time, people and places really come alive so that it is perfectly possible to experience the danger of a long voyage on a Viking boat and  experience all the sights, sounds and aromas of the Viking world.

Part historical adventure, part romance, this time slip novel has all the trademarks of this author's fine writing. I am always really impressed by the amount of detail that the author shares in her novels and there is no doubt that she has an exceptional skill of bringing whatever historical period she is writing about to life in a vividly imagined way. There's a nice little twist in the story which turns the time-slip idea around and which adds another dimension to this fascinating story.

Although there are references to some of the characters from Echoes of the Runes, which was the previous book, it is entirely possible to read The Runes of Destiny as a stand alone story. I look forward to seeing what this talented author does next in this exciting Viking series of time-slip novels.

About the Author

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip 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 former chairman 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). The Runes of Destiny (time travel published by Headline 10th December 2020) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Twitter @PiaCCourtenay

Website

Facebook

Amazon UK

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Hist Fic Saturday ~ Echoes of the Runes by Christina Courteney

On Hist fic Saturday

Let's go back to ...the age of the Vikings

Headline Review
5 March 2020

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Their love was forbidden. But echoed in eternity.

When Mia inherits her beloved grandmother's summer cottage, Birch Thorpe, in Sweden, she faces a dilemma. Her fiance Charles urges her to sell and buy a swanky London home, but Mia cannot let it go easily. The request to carry out an archaeological dig for more Viking artefacts like the gold ring Mia's grandmother also left her, offers her a reprieve from a decision - and from Charles.

Whilst Mia becomes absorbed in the dig's discoveries, she finds herself drawn to archaeologist Haakon Berger. Like her, he can sense the past inhabitants whose lives are becoming more vivid every day. Trying to resist the growing attraction between them, Mia and Haakon begin to piece together the story of a Welsh noblewoman, Ceri, and the mysterious Viking, known as the 'White Hawk', who stole her away from her people in 869 AD.

As the present begins to echo the past, and enemies threaten Birch Thorpe's inhabitants, they will all have to fight to protect what has become most precious to each of them.

What did I think about it..

This dual time historical romance flits effortlessly between Mia in the here and now, and Ceridwen in 869 AD, both woman have their share of troubles, and they each must overcome difficulties before they can find true happiness.

We meet Mia in the present day as she helps out with an archaeological dig at Birch Thorpe, her newly inherited cottage in Sweden. Mia's work as a Viking specialist for the British Museum sees her well qualified to help with identifying any discoveries, however, her testy relationship with the lead archaeologist, Haakon Berger, makes for interesting reading. Gradually, as Haakon and Mia start to learn more about the Viking inhabitants who lived at this spot in the 9th Century, so the story of Ceridwen, a welsh noblewoman, and a mysterious Viking known as White Hawk starts to be revealed.

Echoes of the Runes is such a captivating story with both time frames having much appeal. I found that as one chapter ended I was eager to either return to the past, or to the future, and found much to enjoy in getting to know the modern day inhabitants of Birch Thorpe alongside those historical figures who felt so vibrant in the page. The author writes really well and brings her characters to life in such a believable way that I felt like I was part of the story, sitting comfortably in the Viking hall with the aroma of roasting meat, and the tang of wood smoke swirling in the air, and yet, I was also equally comfortable in the here and now, uncovering intriguing Viking artifacts that spoke of  a troubled and intriguing past.

Beautifully written and well researched, Echoes of the Runes took me by the hand and led me into a time of danger, passion, and ultimately...love ♡ 

About the Author

Christina Courtenay is an award-winning author of historical romance and time slip (dual time) stories. She started writing so that she could be a stay-at-home mum to her two daughters, but didn’t get published until daughter number one left home aged twenty-one, so that didn’t quite go to plan! Since then, however, she’s made up for it by having eleven novels published and winning the RNA’s Romantic Novel of the Year Award for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014), both published by Choc Lit. Christina is half Swedish and grew up in that country. She has also lived in Japan and Switzerland, but is now based in Herefordshire, close to the Welsh border. She’s a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Website

Twitter @PiaCCourtney #EchoesoftheRunes

@HeadlineFiction @headlinepg

Amazon UK

Hist Fic Saturday ~ There is Always a Tomorrow by Anna Belfrage

Oh Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to 

Seventeenth Century, Maryland...

Matador
November 2017

My thanks to the author for my copy of this book

There is Always a Tomorrow is the ninth book in Anna Belfrage’s time slip series featuring time traveller, Alexandra Lind and her seventeenth century husband, Matthew Graham.

I have to admit that I haven't read any of the previous eight books in The Graham Series, a fact that I hope to remedy very soon, as by reading this ninth book out of sequence, I realise just how much I have missed by not picking up the series when it first started back in 2012. The first novel, A Rip in the Veil, sees Alexandra Lind, a twentieth century woman, being whisked back in time to 1658.

And so, putting that admission to one side, I can now concentrate more fully on the merits of There is Always A Tomorrow, which despite my need to keep referring back to the family tree to remind myself who was who, I found this to be a fascinating story about a family who are firmly immersed in their life at Graham's Garden in Maryland, where they are very much part of the fabric of the close knit community they call home.

The relationship between Alex and Matthew is filled with love and passion and the way they act around each other after many years of marriage is testament to the strength of their relationship, which seems to be tested frequently by the behaviour of their numerous offspring.This novel seems to follow more closely the lives of just a few of their grown up children, although all the others are very much in evidence throughout the story. I was especially interested in the story of Samuel who, as White Bear, faces a dilemma about staying at home at Graham's Garden or of travelling with the indigenous people who have since become his adopted family. Also the arrival of a granddaughter, from London, causes great upset to the Grahams and threatens the equilibrium of the homestead, with catastrophic effect.

What becomes apparent when reading about the Grahams is the love and fine attention to detail which the author instills in all of her characters. Like a mother she understands them and allows the subtle differences in their personalities to really shine, so that they all appear totally authentic and completely of their time in history.

I think that the story works well as a standalone read, but, as a new reader to the series, I did find that I didn't always understand certain references to past events. However, the author does allow for new readers to the series and gives sufficient background information. The problem of not knowing enough about what had gone before is my fault and is no reflection on the standard of writing, which, as always, is excellent.

There is Always A Tomorrow is a fascinating family saga, filled with intrigue, danger, love and passion, and I am sure that fans of this series who have followed The Graham Saga from the beginning will enjoy this continuation, and will, I am sure, be urging the author to write more 😊

About the Author

When Anna is not stuck in the 14th century, chances are she’ll be visiting in the 17th century, more specifically with Alex and Matthew Graham, the protagonists of the acclaimed The Graham Saga. This series is the story of two people who should never have met – not when she was born three centuries after him. A ninth instalment has recently been published, despite Anna having thought eight books were enough. Turns out her 17th century dreamboat and his time travelling wife didn’t agree…

Visit Anna's website and her blog

Like on Facebook

Follow on Twitter @abelfrageauthor

Amazon UK