Publication Day Push ~ A Bachelor's Pledge by Penny Hampson

Pleased to host today's blog tour stop

7 October 2020

My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources
for my ecopy of this book and the invitation to be part of the blog tour

The woman who haunts his dreams

Secret agent Phil Cullen is upset when he discovers that the young woman he rescued from Mrs Newbody’s establishment has absconded from his housekeeper’s care without a word. Thinking he has been deceived, he resolves to forget about her… something easier said than done.

The man she wants to forget.

Sophia Turner is horrified when she is duped into entering a notorious house of ill-repute. Then a handsome stranger comes to her aid. Desperate that no one learns of this scandalous episode, Sophia flees to the one friend she knows she can trust. With luck, she will never see her mysterious rescuer again.

But fate has other plans…

Months later, Phil is on the trail of an elusive French agent and Sophia is a respectable lady’s companion when fate again intervenes, taking their lives on a collision course.

Traitors, spies, and shameful family secrets - will these bring Sophia and Phil together… or drive them apart?

What did I think about it...

When secret agent Phil Cullen rescues a beautiful young woman from the clutches of a local brothel is is ill prepared for the effect that Sophia Turner will have on his peace of mind. Far from being a damsel in distress, Sophia turns out to be a young lady who certainly knows her own mind and yet her forthright spirit will lead her, and Phil, into a whole heap of trouble.

There's a real adventurous spirit to this Regency novel which is filled with several people who all seem to want to lure Sophia away from those who genuinely care about her. As Sophia's early life was devoid of any love or attention she now finds it difficult to trust people, and it is this distrust, and her charming naivety, which will lead her into grave danger. The author explores these feelings beautifully, especially the will they, won't they aspect of the relationship between Sophia and the handsome secret agent which is filled with thrills and spills and more than a hint of danger.

The Recency period is captured beautifully especially the distrust of all things French, as the British are still heavily involved in the Napoleonic wars, and this comes across in the realistic descriptions of the naval comings and goings, at the port, in Falmouth where much of the story is set.

A Bachelor's Pledge is a charming historical novel which is filled with the perfect balance of dangerous intrigue and delicious romance. Just to add that whilst this is also the third book in the Gentlemen series it sits comfortably as a standalone read. 

About the Author

Some time ago Penny Hampson decided to follow her passion for history by studying with the Open University. She graduated withhonours and went on to complete a postgraduate degree.

Penny then landed her dream role, working in an environment where she was surrounded by rare books and historical manuscripts. Flash forward nineteen years, and the opportunity came along to indulge her other main passion writing. Penny joined the New Writers’ Scheme of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and three years later published her debut novel,A Gentleman’s Promise,a historical mystery/romance and the first in The Gentlemen Series.An Officer’s Vow soon followed and the latest in the series is A Bachelor’s Pledge. 

But never happy in a rut, Penny also writes contemporary suspense with paranormal and romantic elements. Her first book in this genre is The Unquiet Spirit,published by Darkstroke.

Penny lives with her family in Oxfordshire, and when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, walking,swimming, and the odd gin and tonic (not all at the same time)

Author Blog

Facebook

Twitter @penny_hampson

@rachelsrandomresources

Amazon UK

Book Review ~ Homeward Bound by Richard Smith

 

Troubador Publishing
2020

My thanks to Ben at Cameron Publicity and Marketing for my copy of this book

George is a recently widowed seventy-nine-year-old. He nearly made it as a rock star in the 1960s and he’s not happy. Tara is his teenage granddaughter and she’s taken refuge from her bickering parents by living with George. Toby is George’s son-in-law and he wants George in a care home. 

George has two secrets. 1) He’s never revealed why his music career stalled. And 2) No-one knows just how much the disappointment of opportunities missed still gnaw at him. He craves one last chance, even at his age. When it presents itself, through the appearance of a long-lost distant relative - whose chequered past should set alarm bells ringing - he can’t resist. 

For Tara, living with her grandfather is a way to find her own path and develop her own musical ambitions. She isn’t prepared for the clash between different generations and living in a strange house full of her grandfather’s memories – and vinyl records.

They get off to a shaky start. George takes an instant dislike to the sounds from her bedroom that seem more suited to Guantanamo Bay than anything he would call musical. But as time plays out, they find there are more similarities – neither know how to operate a dishwasher – than differences, and parallels across the generations slowly bring them to recognise their shared strengths. But when Toby inadvertently sets in motion a chain of events, it leaves Tara with the same dilemma her grandfather faced five decades before with the same life-changing choice to make.

What did I think about it..

Old meets young in this delightful story which looks, with a rather wistful eye, on all those idiosyncrasies which comes with great age. Seventy-nine year old, George is recently widowed and misses his wife so much that he can't imagine how he will manage without her, and to be honest, neither does his daughter and son-in-law who seem determined to encourage George to go into the, horrendously named, Last Days care home. However, Last Days is devoid of any sort of joie de vivre so George prefers to stay in his own home where he stores his vast record collection. As a compromise, George's teenage granddaughter, Tara, moves in with him and it soon becomes a case of who is looking after who in this lovely family saga.

Homeward Bound allows a gentle glimpse into the mindset of all George's family, from his complicated relationship with his daughter and son in law, to the love and empathy which shines through from eighteen year old Tara, there is never a moment when the story doesn't pull you into every aspect of George's rather special life.  George is a great protagonist, his slightly off beat character comes through and I found that I was laughing out loud at some of his antics whilst at the same time sympathising with him on the frailty of his impending infirmity and the loss of everything he once held dear. 

Heart warming, life affirming and gently poignant Homeward Bound captured my attention. I found myself singing along to Simon and Garfunkel's song of the same name as I read George's story.

About the Author

Homeward Bound is RICHARD SMITH’s first book, at age 71. While the story is entirely fictional, George’s record collection really is Richard’s. He lives in London.

Before embarking on his new writing career, he was a producer of TV commercials, sponsored documentaries and educational and promotional films. It took him around the world and into places not normally accessible to visitors - up to the top of the Elizabeth Tower to see Big Ben strike twelve, on a speed boat around the Needles and North Sea oil platforms, and to the Niger Delta in Africa . . . to name but a few. Worryingly two of them were featured in a British Library annual exhibition, 'Propoganda'!

Troubador

@CameronPMtweets

🎄 Blog Tour ~ A Christmas Wish for the Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell

 

🎄Thrilled to host one of today's blog tour stops🎄

Arrow Paperback Original
1 October 2020

#9 Shipyard Girls

Thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book
and the invitation to be part of the blog tour

Sunderland, 1943: As Christmas approaches in the shipyards, everyone is hoping for a little magic…

Helen would love to find the courage to tell the dashing Dr Parker of her true feelings for him. But how can she when he clearly has eyes for someone else?

More than a year has passed since Bel’s wedding to sweetheart Joe. She knows she has much to feel thankful for and yet there is still one burning desire which she cannot ignore.

And as Polly grows with child, she hopes against hope for a safe delivery – and that her husband Tommy can soon return from the front line to meet their new arrival.

There will be storms to weather, but guided by their strength and friendship there is still hope for each of the shipyard girls that their Christmas wishes will come true.

What did I think about it..

It's always such a pleasure to return to this series as catching up with the Shipyard Girls is like meeting again with old friends. It's now 1943 and the North East shipyards are facing a tough time as a barrage of bombardment aimed at the docks means that the girls are constantly occupied in repairing the damage which has been inflicted by enemy aircraft. 

However, away from the shipyard, there are changes aplenty coming for all of the characters and none more so that for Bel and Pearl who must finally face up to the secret of their past which threatens to overshadow their present. As always the author captures the wartime spirit of stoicism and camaraderie, there are the usual fallouts and arguments but generally everyone looks out for everyone else and the stoicism and camaraderie comes across, especially in their care and concern for Polly who is facing the birth of her child without her beloved Tommy by her side. I think of all the characters, Helen Crawford is probably my favourite, and it's been lovely to have her feature quite a lot in this story as her relationship with the eligible Dr Parker keeps everyone guessing.

There is no doubt that in each of her stories the author brings the Shipyard Girls to life in such a vibrant and realistic way that you can't help but want everything to work out well for each of them. However, life is never straightforward and the author gives us an abundance of emotions, happy and sad, poignant and emotional, and yet what ultimately shines through is their friendship, love and care for each other.

This is now the ninth book in the series and whilst I think that it can be read as a standalone, there are lots of characters who you really need to get to know, so my advice on this series, if you enjoy WW2 sagas, is to start at the very beginning and get to know these intrepid shipyard girls as they survive the war years.  A Christmas Wish for the Shipyard Girls is a lovely seasonal read which can be read at any time of year but it's especially poignant as a Christmas read as several of the girls have wishes they want to come true whether do they do or not is for you to discover for yourself.

About the Author

Nancy Revell is the pen name of writer and journalist Amanda Revell Walton, who has worked for the national press for the past 25 years, providing them with hard-hitting news stories and in-depth features. She has also worked for just about every woman’s magazine, writing amazing and inspirational true life stories.

Nancy Revell is spearheading a campaign to honour the real women of the Sunderland shipyards in her home town with a new public statue that will be displayed within the historic Sunderland Shipyards. Nancy has worked closely with the Sunderland City Council and the Sunderland Soroptimists, a worldwide volunteer service organization for women, and after putting out a call on her own social media channels, Nancy was approached by local artist Rosanne Robertson who has been commissioned to create the statue that will be unveiled later this year.

Sunderland boasted the largest shipyard in Europe during WWII, and produced a quarter of Britain's merchant shipping at the time. When the men went away to war, the courageous Shipyard Girls took up the back breaking work building ships for the British Navy. Due to its size, the Sunderland Shipyards were a key target of Hitler’s Blitzkreig, making the work not only backbreaking but incredibly dangerous. Historians have estimated that without the courageous women working in Sunderlands’ shipyards during the war, WWII could very likely have been lost due to lack of ability to transport troops, provisions and ammunition.

Twitter @arevellwalton #ShipyardGirls

Website

@arrowpublishing

🍴 Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ Maggie Richell-Davies

On this quiet Sunday morning why don't you put the kettle on, make your favourite breakfast and settle down for Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo

🍴I'm delighted to welcome, author, Maggie Richell-Davies to our Sunday Brunch today🍴

🍴Good morning, Maggie. What favourite food are you bringing to Sunday lunch? 

For nearly two years I lived in a remote pueblo on the Peruvian coast and would waylay local women (their thick black hair braided around their heads like licorice ropes) transporting their husbands’ catches from shore to market using straws threaded through the gills. I taught myself to filet a whole lenguado, similar to Dover sole, in order to make ceviche, a South American dish of white fish ‘cooked’ in a marinade of lime juice, then strained and mixed with chopped red onions tomatoes, green chillies and avocado. Delicious! Jaffa might like to share it with us, as long as we pick the chillies out for him. 

🍴Would you like a pot of English breakfast tea, a strong Americano, or a glass of Bucks Fizz? 

The proper accompaniment to ceviche would be a pisco sour cocktail, made with Peruvian grape brandy, sugar syrup, lime juice and whipped egg white, though that might have us all under the table. Better stick to every writer’s favourite fuel: caffeine. 

🍴Where shall we eat brunch – around the kitchen table, in the formal dining room, or outside on the patio? 

Since the kitchen table is a place for confidences - whether to let off steam about an unappreciative boss, reveal the agony of a broken love affair, or discuss research that you hope will make your next book in a page-turner – that has to be any writer’s favoured spot. 

🍴Shall we have music playing the background? And if so will you share with us a favourite song or piece of music that makes you happy? 

The tenor, Aled Jones, has recorded a medieval classic: Did You Not Hear My Lady, Go Down the Garden Singing, which tells of unrequited love in the days when marriages for the nobility were for dynastic reasons and the idea of Courtly Love was born. The poignant words melt my heart and if there is a tender scene to be written, never fail to put me in the mood. 

🍴Which of your literary heroes (dead or alive) are joining us for Sunday Brunch today? 

I would be too over-awed to conjure up Jane Austen, George Elliott or Charlotte Bronte (or even the very much alive Hilary Mantel), but would love the opportunity to meet contemporary historical novelist Sara Collins, whose magnificent The Confessions of Frannie Langton I have recently devoured: a cliff-hanging story that begins on a plantation in Jamaica and ends in a trial for murder at London’s Old Bailey. 

🍴Which favourite book will you bring to Sunday Brunch? 

I was bereft at finishing Andrew Miller’s Now We Shall Be Entirely Free. I never wanted it to end, despite being unable to put it down until I discovered the truth. His protagonist is a cavalryman, returning from the Peninsula war and suffering what we would recognise as post-traumatic stress. The young man has witnessed something that should never have happened. Something the authorities intend to pretend did not happen. As a man with a conscience, he is a worthy hero and one who encounters a heroine with faint echoes of Lizzie Bennett. Andrew Miller handles prose like poetry and his book is one I heartily recommend. 

Hodder&Stoughton
2019

🍴When you are writing, do you still find time to read for pleasure? And is there a book you would like to read but haven’t had time for – yet? 

I would rather starve than give up books, though if I have a deadline I ration myself to half an hour in bed before lights out. Fortunately, my husband is as enthusiastic a reader as I am. Any day now I will be heading to Waterstones to treat myself to Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. Jaffa will not be surprised to learn that when Maggie was struggling to write a difficult scene in the book about the death of Shakespeare’s son, she apparently hid herself away in her children’s Wendy House, accompanied only by her indispensable cat, in order to get it absolutely right. 

Tinder Press
2020

🍴What’s the oldest book on your bookshelf? 

A dog-eared copy of Black Beauty was included in the book box that accompanied me to Africa and South America as the young bride of an civil engineer working for the United Nations – and still brought a tear to my eye last year, when I read it for the umpteenth time. To teach young people compassion for animals is perhaps the finest writerly accomplishment. 

🍴Where do you find inspiration for your novels? 

This usually happens when I am confronted by a historic injustice and can’t get it out of my head. 

🍴Have you a favourite place to settle down to write, and do you find it easier to write in winter or summer? 

To remove myself from the distraction of domestic chores, I find the wonderful coffee shops of Tunbridge Wells the perfect place to create fictional worlds. Much of The Servant was written (or re-written) in Taste Well in Royal Victoria Place, The Cake Shed in the historic Pantiles, or the Porcupine Pantry at our local stately home, Penshurst Place. I can write equally freely in winter or summer, though not so well in heatwaves. 

🍴Give us four essential items that a writer absolutely needs: 

· A supply of small notebooks to keep in pocket or handbag, the bedside drawer, the glove compartment of the car, or beside the sofa. Because, if you fail to jot that phrase or idea down, it will vanish. 

· Persistence. 

· A sense of humour, for when the persistence inevitably flags. 

· A cat. Reading one’s work out loud is the most helpful thing any writer can do, yet doing so to one’s nearest and dearest makes them nervous: might honesty banish them to the spare room? Reading aloud to oneself feels foolish. But reading to a cat is perfect. While a dog would merely look reproachful about not getting a walk, a feline companion will fold its elbows comfortably under its chest and regard you with an inscrutable expression until you have finished. Which will make you question anything that is a little too purple, and confident about passages that feel just right. My own cat, Gizzie, is perfect at this and loves nothing better than being near a book. 

Gizzie

🍴What can you tell us about your latest novel or your current work in progress? 

My debut novel, The Servant, published this spring, was inspired by a visit to London’s Foundling Museum, which displays heart-breaking scraps of lace and ribbon that desperate women left as tokens in the hope that they might, one day, be able to reclaim their precious child. In particular, there was a tiny square of silk with my own initials embroidered on it in red silk that tugged at my heart. What tears must have been shed during its creation? 

My current work-in-progress doesn’t yet have a title, but has been inspired by a shocking fact that I discovered last year about the death penalty for women in eighteenth-century England. 

Maggie, where can we follow you on social media? 

Twitter: @maggiedavieswr1 

Facebook page

Website

Writing Group

Born on the north-east coast of England, Maggie lived in Peru, Africa and the United States while married to her first husband, a civil engineer who worked for the United Nations.

She has a first class honours degree from the Open University and won the Historical Writers’ Association 2020 Unpublished Novel award this spring with her debut thriller, The Servant, plus a publishing contract from Sharpe Books.

 

Thanks so much, Maggie, for joining us for Sunday Brunch 

It's been great fun

Follow us on Twitter @Jaffareadstoo

Featured Book of the Month ~ You and Me by Nicola Rayner

Avon 
1 October 2020

My thanks to the publishers for my ecopy of this book

 

Watching sunrises together should have been romantic.But you were always inside with your wife, and I sat in your garden, in the shadows. I thought you’d never know how I felt about you.

Until one night, I witnessed a terrible crime.

I wanted it to bring us closer together. But now the secrets are tumbling out.

And they could tear everything apart…

What did I think about it..

You and Me is a creepy little story which takes the meaning of stalking to a whole new level. Fran has been obsessed with Charles Fry since they were at school. Now in her mid-thirties, Fran is reluctant to live her lonely life without some sort of contact with Charles as she really believes that they were meant to be together. However, Charles is married, with a beautiful wife, and twin daughters, and by comparison, Fran is frumpy, old before her time, and doesn't compare favourably. 

What then follows is a well put together study in toxic relationships as not only does the book focus on Fran's obsession with Charles but it also features a mystery concerning the whereabouts of  Ellie, Fran's younger sister, and her niece, Rose, who she can only contact sporadically, via Facebook.

The story is quite dark in places and opens up several terrible secrets from Fran's past all of which come to light when she witnesses something catastrophic on the London Underground. This dreadful situation acts as a catalyst for how the rest of the story eventually plays out. The characterisation throughout is excellent and even though you know Fran's obsession borders on the dangerous, she is never vindictive or cruel, in fact she's rather a sad and lost figure, I really came to like her and could understand why she acted in the way that she did. However,throughout the story there's definitely a creeping sort of menace which the author uses to great advantage and which fills you with a sense of dread as the story progresses. 

It's not often I don't figure out what's going on well before the final denouement but in You and Me I really didn't see what was coming and that is what makes this story such a compulsive and addictive sort of read and it's why I'm delighted to have it as my Featured Book of the Month 😊

About the Author

Nicola Rayner was born in Abergavenny, south Wales, and works as a freelance journalist, specialising in dance and travel. The Girl Before You, her debut novel, was runner-up in the Cheltenham First Novel Competition in 2018. She lives in London with her husband and Jack Russell.

Twitter @Nico1aRayner #YouandMe

@AvonBooksUK

Blog Tour ~ Those Who Know by Alis Hawkins

 

Thrilled to be part of this Blog Tour

 

Dome Press

Teifi Valley Coroner #3

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book
and the invitation to be part of the blog tour

Harry Probert-Lloyd has inherited the estate of Glanteifi and appointed his assistant John as under-steward. But his true vocation, to be coroner, is under threat. Against his natural instincts, Harry must campaign if he is to be voted as coroner permanently by the local people and politicking is not his strength.

On the hustings, Harry and John are called to examine the body of Nicholas Rowland, a radical and pioneering schoolteacher whose death may not be the accident it first appeared. What was Rowland’s real relationship with his eccentric patron, Miss Gwatkyn? And why does Harry’s rival for the post of coroner deny knowing him? Harry’s determination to uncover the truth threatens to undermine both his campaign and his future.

What did I think about it..

In this third book in the Teifi Valley Coroner series, Harry Probert-Lloyd remains acting coroner for the Teifi valley, however, plans are afoot to make this position permanent. Harry along, with his assistant, John Davies, have little time for campaigning, or the machinations of local politics, especially when there is the suspicious death of a local school teacher to investigate.

From the very start of this complex investigation it would seem that all is not well in this corner of rural Wales and both Harry and John must face local prejudice, and opposition, before they can get the answers they seek into the mystery surrounding John Rowland's untimely death. As always, the author creates a strong sense of atmosphere and in Those Who Know there is a dark shadow of foreboding as right from the start there is an inkling that there is something suspicious about the teacher's death which doesn't add up, and as the investigation gets under way there are more questions unearthed than there are answers. 

I enjoy this feisty investigative partnership very much as both Harry Probert-Lloyd and John Davies bring their own unique strengths to the narrative. It's always interesting to see just how well they work together, as Davies is not only Harry Probert's eyes but is also, at times, his conscience, I really enjoy their individual chapters which help to bring their distinct personalities to life. It was especially interesting to have a set of strong female characters take centre stage, especially the two friends, Nan Walters and Ruth Enyon, and the enigmatic, Phoebe Gwatkyn of Alltybela, as they each have their own specific roles to play in the story.

I've now followed this series from the beginning and whilst each book can be read as a standalone I do think that it makes more sense to read the books in order, as not only do you get to to know and appreciate just how much work the author puts into fine detailing her characters, but there's also a strong, and fascinating, sense of Welsh history, which the author puts into perspective in a clear and well ordered way. 

I think that Those Who Know is a fine addition to this continuing series, and I am sure that this talented author will make sure that are more adventures to come for this intrepid investigative duo. 

About the Author

Alis Hawkins grew up on a dairy farm in Cardiganshire. After attending the local village primary school and Cardigan County Secondary school, she left West Wales to read English at Oxford. Subsequently, she has has done various things with her life, including becoming a speech and language therapist, bringing up two sons, selling burgers, working with homeless people, and helping families to understand their autistic children. And writing. Always. Nonfiction (autism related), plays (commissioned by heritage projects) and, of course, novels. Alis’s first novel, Testament, was published in 2008 by Macmillan and was translated into several languages. (It has recently been acquired for reissue, along with her medieval trilogy of psychological thrillers by Sapere Books).

Her current historical crime series featuring blind investigator Harry Probert-Lloyd and his chippy assistant, John Davies, is set in Cardiganshire in the period immediately after the Rebecca Riots. As a side effect of setting her series there, instead of making research trips to sunny climes like more foresighted writers, she just drives up the M4 to see her family. Now living with her partner on the wrong side of the Welsh/English border (though she sneaks back over to work for the National Autistic Society in Monmouthshire) Alis speaks Welsh, collects rucksacks and can’t resist an interesting fact.

Twitter @Alis_Hawkins #ThoseWhoKnow

@DomePress

Website

Publication Day Review ~ One Foot in Front of the Other by Sue Woolley

 

Headline Accent
1 October 2020

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Since being widowed, Claire's life has been simple. She drives to work and comes home. She prepares meals for the week ahead. She feeds the cat. She drinks two bottles of wine . . .

But one morning, Claire wakes up with no memory of the night before. What did she do? Even worse, what did she say to Philip - her oldest friend?

Deciding to give up alcohol is easy. However, Claire soon finds that the path to sobriety is an uphill struggle, and when she and Philip embark on the adventure of a lifetime, she soon comes to realise that the end of one road is only the beginning of another . . .

Can Claire learn to trust in love again - and will she ever trust herself?

What did I think about it...

Just in time for Sober October this lovely story looks at the difficulty of giving up alcohol when you know you drink too much and yet don't want to acknowledge that you might have a little bit of a problem.

Claire has faced some real difficulties, learning to adjust to life as a widow, the sadness of being suddenly alone, and finding that a glass of her favourite red wine helps her to get through the lonesomeness but when one glass of red in the evening insidiously becomes a bottle, and then two bottles, Claire's wake up call is both timely and embarrassing.

What then follows is the story of how Claire attempts to give up alcohol and in the process finds out rather more about herself in the process as she discovers that by opening up her life to new challenges she finds that everything, eventually, becomes much clearer.

On Foot in Front of the Other is a lovely story which feels very modern. I especially enjoyed how the author included the help Claire received from joining a Facebook group and how such online support networks can really help. Giving up anything, not just alcohol, isn't easy, and this story shows just what difficulties and challenges Claire faced in the process. There was a Christian feel to the novel as Claire turns towards her church for support and companionship, and this is blended very nicely into the narrative. 

Parts of the story made me smile and I really warmed to Claire's character and wanted everything to work out for her, I was also thrilled to find that Baggins, Claire's cat, has an internal clock rather like Jaffa's, as he too always knows, to the minute, when it's time for a meal 😊

About the Author

Sue Woolley is District Minister for the Unitarian Association, and has written two non-fiction titles: Gems for the Journey and Unitarians: Together in Diversity. One Foot in Front of the Other is her first novel, and she is currently working on the first part of a three-volume fantasy series. In her spare time, she enjoys walking in nature, cross-stitch and crochet. She lives in Northamptonshire.

Twitter @SueWoolley #OneFootinFrontoftheOther

@AccentPress

Amazon UK