Mrs England

by

Stacey Halls

West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly-graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple form a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there's something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs England.

Ostracised by the other servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, soon a series of strange events will force Ruby to question everything she thought she knew . . .

Review

When Ruby May qualifies from the prestigious Norland Nanny College in London in 1904, no one is more surprised than her and she is soon placed with a family in London, but as they are emigrating to America, she feels she cannot go because of her own family in Birmingham, so when she finds out about a post in Yorkshire to look after 4 children whose parents own a cotton mill and are in need of a nanny, she asks to be placed with them. 

Charles England runs a cotton mill which belongs to his wife Lilian's family and at first Ruby thinks that Lilian behaves very strangely. She is distant to the children and spends most of the day in her bedroom, but as the weeks go on, it is Charles whose behaviour is taking Ruby by surprise. 

Ruby takes to the children immediately and soon builds a bond with them, but when they send their eldest daughter away to school, it sees the start of a turbulent time at Hardcastle House and Ruby feels out of her depth.

I loved this book (as I did all of this author's previous books) and the way the author describes the characters and places is fabulous. All her books are very well researched and this clearly shows in her writing. 

The Romanov Brides

 The Romanov Brides

by

Clare McHugh

BLOG TOUR

From the author of A Most English Princess comes a rich novel about young Princess Alix of Hesse— the future Alexandra, last Empress of Imperial Russia—and her sister, Princess Ella. Their decision to marry into the Romanov royal family changed history. They were granddaughters of Queen Victoria and two of the most beautiful princesses in Europe. Princesses Alix and Ella were destined to wed well and wisely. But while their grandmother wants to join them to the English and German royal families, the sisters fall in love with Russia—and the Romanovs. Defying the Queen’s dire warnings, Ella weds the tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Serge. Cultivated, aloof, and proud, Serge places his young wife on a pedestal for all to admire. Behind palace gates, Ella struggles to secure private happiness. Alix, whisked away to Russia for Ella’s wedding, meets and captivates Nicky—heir apparent to the Russian throne. While loving him deeply, Alix hears a call of conscience, urging her to walk away. Their fateful decisions to marry will lead to tragic consequences for not only themselves and their families, but for millions in Russia and around the globe. The Romanov Brides is a moving and fascinating portrait of two bold and spirited royal sisters, and brings to vivid life imperial Russia—a dazzling, decadent world on the brink of disappearing forever.

REVIEW

In this book we follow the four granddaughters of Queen Victoria. The Queen is desperate for the girls to marry into the English or German royal family, but Ella and Alix have fallen for members of the Russian royal family (Romanovs).

Ella has fallen in love with the Tsar’s brother Serge who woos her and gives her jewels to entice her to St Petersburg. She agrees to marry him, but she soon realises after the wedding that Serge does not want to be intimate with Ella and this crushes her as she loves Serge and will do anything to make her husband happy and she desperately wants children, but this is unlikely to happen if they cannot consummate their marriage.

Alix falls in love with Nicky who is the Tsar’s eldest son, but she has second thoughts and initially turns down his proposal, but eventually agrees to marry him and arrives in St Petersburg for the wedding. They have a much happier marriage until the end of their lives, which was tragic and brutal.

I have read a few books based on the Romanovs and have always been fascinated by them. They all found a tragic end which changed the course of history and this book has been thoroughly researched and is a great read for those who enjoy historical fiction, but based on real people. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Clare McHugh is the author of A Most English Princess, a historical novel about the family of Queen Victoria, and The Romanov Brides. A former newspaper reporter and magazine editor, McHugh graduated from Harvard College with a degree in European history. She currently lives in London and in Amagansett, NY

 Queen of Diamonds

by

Beezy Marsh

London, 1922. Orphan girl Alice dreams there's more to life than toiling long hours in Pink's jam factory. Inspired by stories about the legendary Queen of Thieves, Mary Carr, who terrorised the streets of Victorian London, Alice decides to set up her own gang: The Forty Thieves.

Sly seamstress Kate Felix from Whitechapel has the same plan and will stop at nothing to keep Alice and her pals off her turf in the West End shops. But Alice is determined to win at all costs, hitting the headlines as the Bob-Haired Bandit.

It isn't long before they make some powerful enemies, and Alice must sacrifice more than she ever thought if she is to become Queen of Diamonds.

But the toughest and most beautiful diamonds are formed under pressure.

Review

This is the third in the series about the infamous Alice Diamond and we also learn about Mary Carr and how her life intertwines with Alice. 

Kate Felix is from Whitechapel and also wants to be top dog, so can she and Alice ever become friends?

This is yet another fabulous story about the life of "hoisters" from South East London and how they pray on top notch department stores to steal fur coats, silk clothing etc to order and sell on at a fraction of the cost. This can be a dangerous way of life, especially if you were caught, but Alice and her followers try every trick in the book to escape that!

Another fabulous story from the lovely Beezy Marsh. I really can't get enough of these books and will wait eagerly for the next one!

The Wartime Book Club

by

Kate Thompson

BLOG TOUR

Jersey, 1943. Once a warm and neighbourly community, now German soldiers patrol the cobbled streets, imposing a harsh rule on the people of the island. Grace La Mottée, the island's only librarian, is ordered to destroy books which threaten the new regime. Instead, she hides the stories away in secret. Along with her headstrong best friend, postwoman Bea Rose, she wants to fight back. So she forms the wartime book club: a lifeline, offering fearful islanders the joy and escapism of reading. But as the occupation drags on, the women's quiet acts of bravery become more perilous - and more important - than ever before. And, when tensions turn to violence, they are forced to face the true, terrible cost of resistance... 

Review

Bea and Grace are the best of friends and live on the island of Jersey during the occupation of the Germans in 1943. 

Grace is a librarian and even though the Germans tried their hardest to ban many books, Grace manages to find copies and distribute them among the people of her community, putting herself and everyone around her in danger.

Bea is smitten with Grace's brother Jimmy and is absolutely distraught when he is killed, but when a few weeks after his death, she misses her "monthly", she panics and tries to hide the pregnancy for as long as she can. 

When Bea gets a job as a Postie, she puts herself in danger by delivering messages to people warning them that the Germans were going to raid their property as some people were hiding Americans. Once such soldier was "Red" who takes a real shine to Grace and she to him, but love never does run smooth in war time and they try to hide their feelings during the invasion. 

This was such a lovely and sometimes emotional read. I loved that every chapter started with the name and description of a book that the Germans banned for whatever reason. The research that the author did for this book was second to none and it makes you think how close the Germans came to the British Isles during WWII.

Thank you Kate for writing such a thought provoking and interesting story about the lives of the people of Jersey and how a library and the books inside kept a community together during the war. I can't wait for your next one! My dear Mum would have loved this book. 

You can also listen to the author's podcast "From the Library with Love" about the people of London during the war. It is such a great podcast.

About the Author

Kate Thompson is an award-winning journalist, ghostwriter and novelist who has spent the past two decades in the UK mass market and book publishing industry. Over the past eight years Kate has written twelve fiction and non-fiction titles, three of which have made the Sunday Times top ten bestseller list. Find Kate online: X: @katethompson380 Website: www.katethompsonmedia.co.uk Kate’s new podcast, ‘From the Library with Love’, is available to listen to now.

 ** COVER REVEAL **

Love, Julie

by

Jamie Anderson

Today, I'm delighted to share the cover reveal for Love, Julie by Jamie Anderson. What a fabulous cover! and as we share the same name, I felt it my duty to reveal this cover! Publication date is 30th April, so not long to wait. 

A Poignant and Humorous Journey of Self-discovery, Resilience, and Redemption

Once, Julie dreamed of a life filled with love and laughter. Now, in her mid-forties, she faces a starkly different reality. She's single, lonely, and reeling from breaking her hard-earned sobriety in front of her family and friends.

Opting for self-recovery over romance, Julie dives into planning her best friend Kate’s wedding. However, sharing this task with the irritatingly cheerful best man, single dad Luke, proves to be an unexpected challenge.

As Luke’s persistent kindness chips away at her icy exterior, a friendship forms, stirring a longing she’d sworn to suppress. But with self-forgiveness as her biggest hurdle, and her past ready to sabotage her future, can Julie confront the shame and trauma that have darkened so much of her life and find the courage to love again? Or will her demons shatter both her and Luke’s hearts in the process?

About the Author

Jamie Anderson is based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. A proud Canadian and Saskatchewanian, she wanted to set her first two novels in the place she was born and raised.

She’s been writing for as long as she can remember, and has been reading for longer than that. She lives happily with her mountain of books, her TV and her two plants.

You can read Jamie’s first novel Someone to Kiss here: https://mybook.to/someonetokiss

 The Bright Spot

by

Jill Shalvis

Review

by

Julie Williams

Review

I do like a Jill Shalvis novel, as I know I am in for a romantic, easy read.

Based in Apple Ridge Farm, Luna Wright is surprised when she is informed that the late owner Silas has left her fifty percent of the farm. The Farm and its employees are like her family to her as Luna was adopted at birth with no knowledge of her birth family. This makes her particularly protective of the Farm and its adorable rescued animals.

When the co-owner, Jameson, arrives to announce the news Luna is confused and worried, as she does not know what his intentions will be, especially as he reveals that the Farm is in fact struggling financially with a high chance of it having to close. Jameson feels a spark between them but Luna is a hard nut to crack as her issues with trust go way back. They decide to pull together to try to find a solution to save Apple Ridge and make it a viable business.

I loved all the characters in this book and the relationships between them all. This book is number six in the Sunrise Cove series but can be read as a standalone, the next one being available in the Summer 2024, so we won’t have to wait long to see what Jill has in store for the delightful characters.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publishers Headline for the advanced digital copy and to Julie to post my review on Boons Bookcase blog as part of the blog tour.

 ** Cover Reveal **

The Bookshop Ladies

by

Faith Hogan

Joy Blackwood has no idea why her French art dealer husband has left a valuable painting to a woman called Robyn Tessier in Ballycove, a small town on the west coast of Ireland, but she is determined to find out. She arrives in Ballycove to find that Robyn runs a rather chaotic and unprofitable bookshop. She is shy, suffering from unrequited love for dashing Cathal, and badly in need of advice on how to make the bookshop successful.

As Joy gets drawn into the dramas of everyday life in the town, she finds it more and more difficult to confess why she really came, let alone find the truth about the painting she brought with her. When she does finally summon up the courage, it sets the cat amongst the pigeons in the close-knit, friendly community she has come to love.J