📖 Blog Tour ~ Tomorrow Starts Today by Jessica Redland

Boldwood Books
8 January 2026

Escape to the Lakes #5
Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources
for the book and invitation to the blog tour

It's never too late to find yourself...

When she unexpectedly loses her husband, Yvonne Kellerman's world turns quiet and grey. Five years on, her days are filled with the gentle chatter of her loyal parrot, Trevor, and the comfort of her crafting table—but she can’t shake the feeling that life is slipping her by and Yvonne feels lost and lonelier than ever.

When she joins the local crafting club at Willowdale Village Hall, Yvonne expects nothing more than a few afternoons of sewing. Instead, amongst the other local crafters, she discovers friendship, laughter and a renewed appreciation for her gorgeous Lake District home. It’s a reminder that she isn’t alone and, with each new stitch, her confidence returns, and so does her belief that it's never too late for fresh starts and new beginnings.

When a familiar face from her past reappears, Yvonne finds herself standing at a crossroads: will she protect her heart, or embrace the chance to love—and truly live—again?

A heartwarming story of friendship, courage, and second chances by the million copy bestseller Jessica Redland.

📖 My Review …

Overcome by loneliness Yvonne Kellerman takes a chance on joining a local crafting club at Willowdale Village Hall and in doing so allows herself to become part of a group of lovely people who will change the course of her life. I think what this author does best is show the emotional support which comes from friendship groups, especially in rural communities, and brings together characters who each have their own troubles but who are willing to help and support others in need.

There is a genuine warmth to the story which right from the outset me feel included in the crafting group with Yvonne as she tentatively starts to rebuild her life. Thanks to the author’s skill in bringing her lovely characters to life I could well imagine sitting in the village hall with my crochet and sharing cake, and chatter, over cups of tea. However, whilst the story has its wonderful lighthearted moments there are also some difficult issues which the author describes with her usual compassionate skill and fine attention to even the smallest of detail. I have really enjoyed being back in Willowdale again as it is a place I now feel to be amongst friends and  making even more new friends amongst the crafting community has been a real joy. Tomorrow Starts Today is a warm and wonderful story of delightful friendships, the tentativeness of second chances and of going forward with renewed hope for the future. 

Whilst Tomorrow Starts Today is the fifth book in the Escape to the Lakes series, it can be read as a standalone story as the author cleverly adds a list of recurring characters at the start of the story however, as with any series, it’s best to start at the beginning to appreciate the character development.

☕️ Best read with : A large slice of chocolate cake and a strong cup of tea

About the Author

Jessica Redland is the million-copy bestselling author of novels, including the Hedgehog Hollow and Escape to the Lakes series. Inspired by her hometown of Scarborough and the Lake District, she writes uplifting women’s fiction of love, friendship and community.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaRedlandAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaRedland

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📖 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

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📖 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

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📖 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

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@0neMoreChapter

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📖 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

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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 ~ Christmas at the Cat Café by Jessica Redland

 

Boldwood Books
15 September 2023

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

It had always been Tabby's dream to work with cats and an inheritance from her beloved nanna has finally made that a reality. Idyllic Castle Street in Whitsborough Bay couldn’t be a better place for pastry chef Tabby to open a cat café with her boyfriend, Leon. But when Leon leaves her in the lurch, the pressure mounts for Tabby. With Christmas fast approaching, she has to open the café on her own – a daunting prospect, especially when she's been hiding her health issues from the ones she loves. Faced with local resistance to the café – and somebody seemingly determined that she won’t succeed – Tabby will need her friends, family and cats more than ever to recover her broken Christmas spirit and pull together for a Christmas miracle. Will the cat café bring the festive joy to Castle Street as Tabby had hoped or will it be a cat-astrophe? And can the magic of Christmas on Castle Street mend Tabby's broken heart as well as her business?

📖 My Review..

I couldn't resist taking part in this blog tour for Christmas at the Cat Café as not only does it involve some of my favourite creatures but it also sees a welcome return to Castle street in the beautiful area of Whitsborough Bay which this author brings to life with such enthusiasm. Introducing us to Tabitha, Tabby for short, just as she is about to open her much longed for Cat Café but with opening day fast approaching,Tabby is dealt a devastating blow and it is going to take all of her strength to carry on. However, Tabby hasn't bargained for the help of friends, and family, who rally round to make sure the cat café is a success. The story brings into focus the sharp reality of how sometimes life deals a devastating blow and Tabby, battling her need to succeed in business and with her health problems, must learn how to ask for help,

I've really enjoyed being back on Castle Street especially as some of the familiar characters make an appearance which helps give a real sense of community and a feeling of familiarity to this new adventure. The cats who inhabit the cat cafe are equally delightful and I fell in love with each of them but especially Marmalade who reminded me of a couple of ginger cats who are close to my own heart.

I read Christmas at the Cat Café in one sitting as I couldn't put it down and wanted to know how everything would play out for Tabby and her cats. Despite the book title it's not an overly festive story so could comfortably be read at any time of year and whilst it does mention the characters from previous books in this series, Christmas at the Cat Café can be read as an enjoyable standalone story about friendship, love and cats.

About the Author

Jessica Redland writes emotional but uplifting stories of love, friendship, family and community. Her Whitsborough Bay books transport readers to the stunning North Yorkshire Coast where she lives with her husband, daughter and sprocker spaniel. Her Hedgehog Hollow series, set in a hedgehog rescue centre, takes readers into the beautiful rolling countryside of the Yorkshire Wolds.

Twitter @JessicaRedland

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📖 Blog Tour ~ The Midwives’ War by Chrissie Walsh

 

Boldwood Books
18 August 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

'See that patch of blue sky, ' he said. 'Whenever you see one, that's where I'll be - thinking of you.'

Against the chaotic backdrop of World War II, Grace Murphy is working as a midwife in Doncaster Royal Infirmary with her two friends, Clodagh and Patsy. In between delivering babies and tending wounded airmen, the girls endure bombing raids, rationing and the hardships and heartbreak that war brings. But in the faces of the new babies she welcomes to the world, Grace always looks for hope, as she dreams of a time when the war will end. 

When the midwives get the chance to go to a dance at the nearby RAF Finningly, they jump at the offer. The hangar is crowded with happy dancing couples but when the glamorous Spitfire pilots saunter in, looking dashing in their leather flying jackets and brightly coloured silk scarves, Grace can't resist taking a peek. And the moment Grace meets pilot, Richard Carmichael, she knows he will capture her heart. With every daring flying raid, Grace and Richard risk losing each other forever. All Grace can do is look out for Richard in the patches of blue sky, and hope that fate will bring them their very own wartime happy-ever-after.

📖My Review

Grace, Clodagh and Patsy share a house in Doncaster where they work as midwives at the local hospital. In their precious time off they enjoy socialising and it is at a dance at RAF Finningly where Grace meets the handsome, and charismatic, spitfire pilot, Richard Carmichael. The life of a fighter pilot is fraught with danger and soon, like all sweethearts during WW2, Grace is caught between worrying about Richard's safety and keeping her spirits up during their absences.

Grace is such a lovely young woman that you can't help but want her life to run smoothly but of course fate has a nasty way of interfering and both Grace and Richard find that they have some difficult decisions to make along the way. Equally both Clodagh and Patsy also have to make the best of what wartime life brings and I enjoyed following them over the course of the story, particularly Clodagh who has her own challenges to face.

Beautifully written from start to finish, and rich in historical detail, The Midwives’ War is a warm and compassionate story about making the best of what life throws at you and of the value of friends who step in when the going gets tough. The author writes with a compassionate look at the intricacies of war-time romances whilst at the same time describing just what life was like during the middle years of the war, when love and life couldn't be taken for granted. This lovely story certainly tugs away at the heartstrings and I was so emotionally invested in the story that I didn't notice time passing.

About the Author

Chrissie Walsh was born and raised in West Yorkshire and is a retired school teacher with a passion for history. She has written several successful sagas documenting feisty women in challenging times for Aria.

Twitter @WalshChrissie #TheMidwivesWar

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