📖 Featured Book of the Month ~ The Winter Garden by Nicola Cornick

 

HQ
10 November 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

1605: Anne Catesby fears for her family. Her son, the darkly charismatic Robert, is secretly plotting to kill the King, placing his wife and child in grave danger. Anne must make a terrible choice: betray her only child, or risk her family’s future.

Present day: When her dreams of becoming a musician are shattered, Lucy takes refuge in her family’s ancestral home in Oxfordshire. Everyone knows it was originally home to Robert Catesby, the gunpowder plotter. As Lucy spends more time in the beautiful winter garden that Robert had made, she starts to have strange visions of a woman in Tudor dress, terrified and facing a heartbreaking dilemma.

As Lucy and Anne’s stories converge, a shared secret that has echoed through the centuries separating them, will change Lucy’s life forever...

📖 My Review..

This clever time-slip novel combines both a strong sense of history with a compelling modern day mystery. Set during the latter part of the sixteenth century we are introduced to the Catesby family whose connection to the aptly named Gunpowder Cottage gives a clue as to where the story is going. In the present day Lucy, due to a debilitating illness, is coming to terms with the loss of her musical career and recuperates at her aunt's converted property in Oxfordshire. Gunpowder Barn shadows the original Tudor buildings and it is here where Lucy feels an affinity with those who once lived in the shadow of the Gunpowder plot.

The Winter Garden moves effortlessly between past and present without either time periods overshadowing the other. I was equally engrossed in the Tudor world, getting to know the Catesby’s and Robert in particular, whose mercurial and reckless nature, would lead him along the path of insurrection and danger. There’s a distinct air of melancholy in the Tudor sections but this is offset beautifully by the supernatural elements in the modern day mystery and especially Lucy’s determination to uncover the secrets of those who once called Gunpowder Cottage home.

The Winter Garden is an engrossing dual time story which captured my imagination from the start and as it’s such a perfect autumnal story I am delighted to make it my Featured Book of the Month for November.

🥂Best read with.. a glass of champagne and marshmallows toasted on the fire…

The Winter Garden is published by HQ on the 10th November and is available to pre-order from wherever you buy your books.

About the Author

International bestselling author Nicola Cornick writes dual-time historical mysteries that draw on her love for genealogy and local history. She studied History at London and Oxford and worked in academia for a number of years before becoming a full time author.

Website

Twitter @NicolaCornick

@HQStories

📖 Book Review ~The Last Daughter by Nicola Cornick

HQ
8 July 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Ever since her sister disappeared eleven years ago, Serena Warren has been running from a ghost, haunted by what she can’t remember about that night.

When Caitlin’s body is discovered, Serena returns to her grandfather’s house, nestled beside the ruins of Minster Lovell Hall in Oxfordshire, determined to uncover the truth. But in returning to the place of her childhood summers, Serena stands poised at the brink of a startling discovery – one that will tie her family to a centuries-old secret…

Taking readers from the present day to the Wars of the Roses in the 1400s, and with an enthralling mystery at its heart, The Last Daughter is a spellbinding novel about family secrets, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley, Victoria Hislop and Kate Morton.

📖 My thoughts..

When her sister's body is found Serena Warren returns to the Oxfordshire area where she and Caitlin spent many happy summers at the home of their grandfather. However, Serena has scant memory of what happened eleven years ago on the night Caitlin disappeared and hopes that by returning to the ruins of Minster Lovell Hall she will awaken the memories she has buried for so long.

By linking the story to events long past we move cleverly back to the time when Minster Lovell Hall was the home of Francis Lovell and his wife Anne Fitzhugh, both characters from history who were caught up in the momentous years of the Wars of the Roses when, in the aftermath of Bosworth, the Yorkists sympathisers were hunted and punished by the new king, Henry VII.

There's a wonderful sense of atmosphere throughout the novel which brings to life both the upset and sorrow in the present day as Serena confronts her hidden memories about the disappearance of Caitlin, whilst, with a strong sense of time and place, the last few years of the Plantagenets starts to come vividly to life. By cleverly combining myth, legend, folklore and documented history an intriguing story of what might have happened to the young princes in the tower starts to emerge. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of The Mistletoe Bride into the story which combines a touch of the supernatural with the intriguing sense of history.

The Last Daughter is a fascinating timeslip novel by a talented author who continues to shine in this genre and whose clever stories never fail to entertain.

About the Author

International bestselling author Nicola Cornick writes dual-time historical mysteries that draw on her love for genealogy and local history. She studied History at London and Oxford and worked in academia for a number of years before becoming a full time author.

Website

Twitter @NicolaCornick

@HQStories

Review ~ The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick

HQ

What's it all about...

Browsing antiques shops in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait – supposedly of Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better… The woman is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 as an unwanted orphan and presumed dead after going missing as a child.

The painting is more than just a beautiful object from Alison’s past – it holds the key to her future, unlocking the mystery surrounding Mary’s disappearance, and the enigma of Alison’s son.

But Alison’s quest soon takes a dark and foreboding turn, as a meeting place called the Phantom Tree harbours secrets in its shadows…

What did I think about it...

It's been a while since a good time slip novel caught my imagination and I am delighted that this latest novel by Nicola Cornick really grabbed my attention from the start. I love travelling back in time and in the hands of an accomplished author it should be rather like stepping aboard a time travel machine. What's so refreshing about this book is that the author has flipped the idea on its head by having a protagonist from the past end up in the future which somehow takes the idea of time slip to a whole different level. The history feels authentic as does the story which surrounds the mystery, and moving seamlessly, as it does, between past and present it is very easy to get caught up in the story of Alison Bannister and Mary Seymour.

The Phantom Tree gets right into the heart of a Tudor mystery and gives us a possible explanation for the alleged disappearance of Mary Seymour. What I love so much about clever historical fiction is that whilst it brings history alive in special way it also allows a talented author to put their own individual slant on what might have happened.  Of course I know that time travel doesn’t exist but in the hands of a gifted writer it just shows that nothing is impossible to achieve.

Time slip novels are notoriously difficult to pull off successfully, but when they are done well they are a joy to read and The Phantom Tree certainly gets it right on every level. The author has the balance exactly right with neither one time element seeking to overshadow the other. I was equally comfortable reading about Alison Bannister in the present and then slipping back through time to read Mary Seymour’s story in the past and as both women are feisty protagonists they are equally deserving of the reader’s attention.

There is much to enjoy in this story which will appeal to all lovers of historical time slip novels. Nicola Cornick is fast becoming one of my favourite authors and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Best Read with .. A tankard of small beer and  a venison pasty, rich and succulent 

More about the author can be found on her website by clicking here

International bestselling author Nicola Cornick writes romantic historical mysteries and witty and passionate Regency romance. She studied History at London and Oxford and was awarded a distinction for her dissertation on historical heroes. It was a tough study but someone had to do it. Nicola has a “double life” as a writer and guide at the stunning 17th century hunting lodge, Ashdown House.

Follow on Twitter @NicolaCornick

The Phantom Tree was my community Library read

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