Doctor Thorne (The Chronicles Of Barsetshire Book Three) by Anthony Trollope

 

Doctor Thorne (The Chronicles of Barsetshire Book Three) by Anthony Trollope.

This edition published 13th November 2014 by Oxford University Press.

Audio book narrated by Timothy West.

From the cover of the book:

The squire of Greshamsbury has fallen on hard times, and it is incumbent on his son Frank to make a good marriage. But Frank loves the doctor's niece, Mary Thorne, a girl with no money and mysterious parentage. He faces a terrible dilemma: should he save the estate, or marry the girl he loves? Mary, too, has to battle her feelings, knowing that marrying Frank would ruin his family and fly in the face of his mother's opposition. Her pride is matched by that of her uncle, Dr Thorne, who has to decide whether to reveal a secret that would resolve Frank's difficulty, or to uphold the innate merits of his own family heritage.

The character of Dr Thorne reflects Trollope's own contradictory feelings about the value of tradition and the need for change. His subtle portrayal, and the comic skill and gentle satire with which the story is developed, are among the many pleasures of this delightful novel.

**********

The squire of Greshamsbury has seen his fortune dwindle under the constant pressure of keeping his family in the style which his wife Lady Arabella's aristocratic De Courcy family considers necessary. Having sold what he can and borrowed as much as he dare, it now falls to his only son and heir Frank to marry for money and save the Gresham name.

However, young Frank is in love with the squire's friend Doctor Thorne's niece Mary, a girl he has grown up with in the company of his many sisters, and he insists that she is the only woman for him despite the mystery surrounding her birth and the fact that she does not have a penny to her name. 

And so begins a souring between the Gresham and Thorne households, as Lady Arabella does all she can to keep her darling son away from the young woman who she thinks is determined to bring them all to penury. As Frank is sent away to places where his parents hope he will rub shoulders with heiresses that may tempt him away from his ideas of marrying Mary, she is confined to suffer social isolation at home in Greshamsbury, cut off from the friends and pursuits she has been used to enjoying.

Meanwhile, steadfast Dr Thorne, who loves his niece dearly, has a secret that would solve all their problems and allow the young lovers to have the happy marriage they both desire... but he finds himself in a dilemma about the wisdom of confessing to what he knows...

It has been a long time since I picked up an Anthony Trollope book, to my great regret, as I absolutely adored returning to Barsetshire in Doctor Thorne, the third book in the delightful Chronicles of Barsetshire.

My favourite of the Barsetshire novels I have read and reread has always been the second book in the series, Barchester Towers, which continues the story of the ecclesiastical side of Barchester life that begins in The Warden. Doctor Thorne shows a more rural side of life in the county of Barsetshire away from the matters of Cathedral Close, instead focusing on the troubles of a down-at-heel squire and his family as they look for a way to improve their fortunes.

This story revolves around issues of class, blood and money, and the contradictions that arise when the pursuit of fortune in marriage leads to former principles being put to one side. Frank Gresham's family need money and they are determined to overlook the question of birth if the coffers of the potential marriage partners of their children are full enough - however, beware a marriage partner who offers neither, as in the case of lovely Mary. This leads to some heart-rending and humorous situations throughout the story, with Trollope breaking the fourth wall on numerous occasions to make us aware of his own views on the matter, which I enjoyed very much.

There is a delicious element of suspense that arises from you being party to the secret that Doctor Thorne is keeping about Mary's prospects, and his struggles of conscience throughout the story. There is also much humour to be derived from the interactions between many of the characters, especially between both the Thornes and the deeply hypocritical Lady Arabella.

Despite there being a lot of very entertaining scenes in these pages, there are moments when the pace of the story becomes painfully slow, and Trollope does not really give his characters enough to do in the lulls when Frank is off gadding about while Mary languishes back in Greshamsbury. There comes a point where the destination of the story is patently obvious, but it takes Trollope such a long time to get there. I also have to say that when it comes to the young lovers Frank and Mary, I was not entirely convinced about their suitability, as Frank is too flighty and Mary so annoyingly passive at times when you want her to have courage. However, there are still scenes which resonate with all the things I love about Trollope in the way he reminds me so much of a cross between Austen and Dickens with a side-order of Thackeray - I just wanted more of them!

 I did love the characters in this tale. There are heroes, heroines and villains and Trollope does not stint on giving us a look at the debauched side of life through some of them, which is rather revealing in terms of his own views of the demon drink. There are some delicious cameos from familiar faces from the earlier books in the series too - it was a joy to see the Proudies putting in an appearance (oh Bishop Proudie how I chuckled at your mockery of a man deemed henpecked in an amusing moment of complete self-awareness), and mentions of the Thornes of Ullathorne (distant cousins to the Thornes in our story), the Grantlys and the newly installed Dean's wife Mrs Arabin (formerly Mrs Bold). I found myself missing them all.

I am glad I have decided to take up Trollope once more as there was a lot to enjoy in these pages, but Barchester Towers remains my firm favourite. Doctor Thorne does not approach its dizzy heights, but I have revelled in consuming Trollope's writing once again and am looking forward to more in the next book in the series Framley Parsonage, which I will be reading in April. I have high hopes in terms of meeting some more of my friends from the environs of Barchester cathedral!

Doctor Thorne is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

Anthony Trollope (1815-82) became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire, but he also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and conflicts of his day.

The Secrets Of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Kumsden.

Published 30th March 2023 by Michael Joseph.

From the cover of the book:

1852.

Margaret Lennox is offered a position as governess at Hartwood Hall. She quickly accepts, hoping this isolated country house will allow her to leave her past behind.

But Margaret soon starts to feel there's something odd about her new home, despite her growing fondness for her bright, affectionate pupil, Louis.

Strange figures move through the dark.

Tensions rise between the servants.

The east wing sits eerily abandoned . . .

Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs Eversham, Louis's widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted by the nearby village.

Margaret is certain that everyone has something to hide.

But as her own past threatens to catch up with her, she must learn to trust her instincts before it's too late . . .

***********

1852. Newly widowed Margaret Lennox is offered the position of governess at remote Hartwood Hall, which she accepts gladly in the hope that it will banish the memories of her unhappy marriage.

Margaret takes to her ten-year-old-charge Louis at once, sensing that by teaching this lonely little boy she can heal her own pain, but it is not long before she is aware that things at Hartwood Hall are not quite right. The locals are deeply suspicious of Louis' widowed mother Mrs Eversham, who seems weighed down by worries she cannot share, and rumours are rife about goings on at the Hall where there is an unusually small number of staff. 

Talk of ghosts and unexplained disappearances have Margaret jumping at shadows, and she is unnerved by the bumps in the night coming from the closed off east wing of the house where she has been told she must not venture. However, despite her misgiving she feels that this is a place where she could be happy, especially when she finds herself developing feelings for the young gardener Paul who stirs within her emotions she never thought she would feel.

But Margaret's past cannot remain hidden for long from the prying eyes of someone at the Hall who delights in trading in secrets... someone whose ambition spells disaster for all at Hartwood Hall.

With lashings of Gothic loveliness, Katie Lumsden takes her passion for the classics and spins a tale of secrets, misplaced guilt, forbidden love, and betrayal that holds you fast from beginning to end. Hartwood Hall has all the dark and creepy vibes you could ever want in a setting, and Lumsden knows how to make the most of its environs to enhance the atmosphere of something supernatural lurking within its walls and gardens, with shadows that dance at the edge of your consciousness in twilight and guttering candle light. 

Lumsden channels her obvious love of the Brontës, especially Jane Eyre in her choice of characters and backdrop, adding in a sprinkle of Sarah Waters, and an unexpected touch of Lady Chatterley's Lover. The relationships between the female characters are complicated, with women brought low by patriarchal Victorian society, and Lumsden's themes are rife with male control and women who long to be free to decide their own fate. But intriguingly she does not confine her antagonists to the male persuasion, and not all her male characters are of the dastardly sort, which really adds complexity to the whole.

The threads of the individual stories of these women are shaded in mystery and Lumsden drops her reveals slowly over the course of the book with suspenseful aplomb, so we only come to know the shocking truth at the conclusion - and it is a truth I did not see coming, which was hugely enjoyable. There is great poignancy in the way the women we come to know find strength and healing in each other, overcoming the terrible misfortunes that have shaped them in an ending that makes your heart soar. 

This is an impressive debut, that serves as a love letter to the Victorian novel, with oodles of atmosphere and many layered characters. I consumed this book in a single sitting, unable to tear myself away until the bitter-sweet end that works perfectly with Lumsden's Jane Eyre-esque feminist themes. I adored it, and cannot wait for whatever comes next from Katie Lumsden.

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Michael Joseph for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Katie Lumsden read Jane Eyre at the age of thirteen and never looked back. She spent her teenage years devouring nineteenth century literature, reading every Dickens, Brontë, Gaskell, Austen and Hardy novel she could find. 

She has a degree in English literature and history from the University of Durham and an MA in creative writing from Bath Spa University. Her short stories have been shortlisted for the London Short Story Prize and the Bridport Prize, and have been published in various literary magazines. Katie's Youtube channel, Books and Things, has more than 23,000 subscribers. 

She lives in London and works in publishing.

A Secret Garden Affair by Erica James

 

A Secret Garden Affair by Erica James.

Published 30th March 2033 by HQ.

From the cover of the book:

July 1981. As the country prepares to celebrate Prince Charles’ wedding to Lady Diana, Libby wants to be as far away from royal wedding fever as possible.

Having caught her own fiancé in bed with her best friend just weeks before they were due to marry, she’s fled London for the comfort of the Suffolk countryside.

At Larkspur House, with its magical garden created by renowned garden designer and one-time socialite Elfrida Ambrose, and its comfortingly familiar kitchen presided over by Libby’s great-aunt Bess, she hopes to find a way to put her life back together.

But for lifelong friends Bess and Elfrida, Libby’s arrival has stirred up the ghosts of the past. And before they can help her rebuild her shattered future, they must confront their own unspoken secrets, lost loves, and tragedies…

***********

July, 1981. The world is working itself into a frenzy in the run-up to the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, but the last thing Libby wants to think about is weddings. Having just discovered, three weeks before their wedding, that her fiancé Marcus has been sleeping with her best friend Selina, Libby heads for the comforting presence of Larkspur House, the home of famous garden designer Elfrida Ambrose and Libby's great-aunt Bess - the only place where she has ever felt truly at home.

Libby's arrival tips Elfrida and Bess' calm routine on its head, and as she tries to make sense of where she goes from here Libby's unhappiness stirs up the memories of their own painful losses. Perhaps it is time to address the secrets they have been keeping, so they can all find a way to lay the ghosts of the past to rest.

The Secret Garden Affair immerses you in the world of beautiful gardens, and difficult family relationships through the eyes of three women - young Libby who has had her heart broken, and the two characters who have been a steady influence on her throughout her life, Elfrida and Bess. Libby heads to Larkspur House looking for stability as a time when she cannot trust her own feelings, but little does she know that former socialite Elfrida and her close friend (and her former lady's maid) Bess have been keeping secrets from her too.

The story plays out from the point of view of the three women, while also delving into the past lives of Elfrida and Bess from the time of their meeting in the 1920s. James does a sterling job of dropping little hints about the secrets that they have been keeping over the years, but does not reveal the full truth until almost the end of the story. She moves back and forth between the present, where the impact of these secrets has torn family relationships asunder, and evocative episodes from the 1920s onwards that tell of the shared experiences that have bound Elfrida and Bess together. 

There are some great characters to get your teeth into in this tale, but my favourites are Elfrida and Bess. A wonderful closeness grows up between them over the years after everything they have been through together, even though they begin the story in very different places socially. Elfrida has always been the unconventional rule breaker, misunderstood by almost everyone except Bess, and their fierce protectiveness of each other is enchanting. Their interactions give rise to many humorous and poignant episodes.

James floods this story with regret and aching loss, exploring how grief and misplaced guilt can divide families, and you feel every heart-wrenching moment with real force - especially the impact of these emotions on mental health. There is a lot of pain being carried around by these characters, and my heartstrings were well and truly tugged, but there is also romance, glamour, warmth, and friendship - and over the course of the story the threads come together in forgiveness and hope. 

I love how you can feel James' own passion for gardening through this story. There is a wealth of interesting information about garden design, and designers, which I really enjoyed. It also took me right back to the Royal wedding fever of 1981, which I remember well. Setting the story at this time adds a curious level of pathos to everything that is quite intriguing given the hindsight that we now have about the golden marriage that proved to be anything but.

It is always a joy to consume an Erica James novel, and this proved to be the perfect escapist read that hits that emotional sweet spot, tied up with a rich historical drama. I think it might be my favourite of her books yet.

A Secret Garden Affair is available to but now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to HQ for sending me a hardcover copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Erica's first novel - A Breath of Fresh Air - was published in 1996 and was selected by WH Smith as a finalist for their Fresh Talent promotion. Since then she has written many more novels, most of which have been bestsellers, including Gardens of Delight which won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award and features Lake Como, one of her favourite places to visit. Her novel Summer at the Lake also features Lake Como and was a No.1 bestseller in Norway.

Her twenty-fourth novel - Mothers and Daughters - was published in March 2022 and is her first book to be published by HQ Stories. It's set on the south coast of England where recently widowed Naomi lives at Anchor House in the harbour village of Tilsham. Her eldest daughter, Martha, has decided that it's time for her mother to sell Anchor House and downsize to be nearer her. But Naomi has plans of her own, which she fears will come as a shock to her daughters.

She is a big fan of F1 and loves to mess about in her garden. She also have a serious knitting addiction. In Norway where she published by Bastion Forlag, you can even buy a knitting pattern based on a Fair Isle cardigan she designed.

So Close (Blacklist Book One) by Sylvia Day

 

So Close (Blacklist Book One) by Sylvia Day.

Published 30th March 2023 by Michael Joseph.

From the cover of the book:

Widower Kane Black has been hollowed by grief.

Until he sees a woman with his wife Lily's inimitable beauty on Manhattan's streets. He whisks her up to his towering penthouse, nestling her in dark opulence.

Aliyah, Kane's mother, sees a threat. "Lily" has dangerous control over Kane and there can be only one queen on this throne.

Amy, Kane's sister-in-law, has been bloodied by betrayal. She's paid too high a price and now intends to claim what she's owed.

Three women, linked by buried secrets, circle the man who unquestioningly accepts the return of his beloved long-dead wife.

But Kane is happier than he's ever been, and he'll do anything to stay that way . . .

***********

Kane Black appears to have everything he desires - good looks, charisma, money, and women falling at his feet. However, Kane has been a shell of a man since the loss of his wife Lily in a sailing accident nine years ago. In the years since her death Kane has looked for traces of Lily in countless women that bear a resemblance to her, but none of them has been able to assuage his grief.

Then one afternoon on the streets of New York, Kane sees a woman who looks remarkably like Lily hit by a car in a hit and run. He gathers her up and takes her into his penthouse apartment to recover. She looks almost identical to the woman he remembers, right down to her distinctive tattoos, but she has no memory of the last few years, including their marriage.

Kane's dysfunctional family is rocked by the bizarre reappearance of the woman they have never met. His domineering mother Aliyah, his jealous half-brothers, his naive younger sister, and his troubled sister-in-law Amy, all feel uncomfortable with Kane's conviction that this is his wife returned from the dead. Aliyah's carefully laid plans are now in jeopardy, and Amy's long held desire to take Lily's place at Kane's side is suddenly dashed - both of them want nothing more than to see this mysterious woman gone, and will stop at nothing to achieve their separate aims.

But Kane finally seems happy, accepting 'Lily's' return as a dream come true, and he will do anything to protect her from harm...

So Close is a compelling story of obsession, desire, betrayal and revenge, set in the glamorous upper echelons of New York high-society. The story is told through the eyes of Kane's mother Aliyah, his sister-in-law Amy, the woman called Lily, and Kane's butler/man-of-many talents Witte who looks on everything as the 'outsider' in the family.

From the very beginning, it is clear that this is a story of people that appear to have an enviable life-style, but they do not play well together, and they are desperate to protect their secrets from prying eyes. None of the characters is particularly likeable apart from the uber-organised Witte, who really cares for Kane and has guided him through the pain of the last few years. Aliyah and Amy have their own very devious agendas, that you are soon party to through their narratives, and will stop at nothing to get what they think they are owed - especially if it involves a bit of family backstabbing in the process. This makes them great characters to get your teeth into, and Day goes to great pains to paint them in shades of grey over the course of the book, as you come to understand the experiences that have shaped them.

Intriguingly, Kane and Lily both remain shrouded in mystery for much of the novel, even though Lily's voice is threaded through the story. She is such an unreliable narrator that you are never sure if any part of her tale is true, and Kane is only ever seen through the eyes of others. How much they really know about each other, or whether they even accept each other's stories remains untold, but there is a powerful attraction between them that drives the plot relentlessly onwards.

There are many twists, turns, and secrets here, and Day drops her reveals carefully to keep you guessing all the way to the surprising caper at the conclusion. Her writing is very engaging, and there is plenty of action to keep you turning the pages. For the most part this book flows well and the level of spice is about right - although the beach house section would benefit from a bit of pruning, as the pace slows here in favour of too many steamy scenes that add little to the overall Kane-Lily dynamic. 

This book is packed to the gills with full-on Jackie Collins-esque entertainment. Day keeps you hooked with twisting plot lines stuffed with lashings of glitzy glamour, and delicious move-and-counter-move machinations that play out like old-school big-buck soaps of the Dynasty brand with a clever modern twist. It was such fun puzzling out exactly what was going on, and although some things are revealed over the course of the book, there are still many questions to be answered in the second part of the duology, Too Far, which is coming in October. I cannot wait!

So Close is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Ed PR for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Sylvia Day is the #1 New York Times, No. 1 Sunday Times & internationally bestselling author of over twenty award-winning novels, including ten New York Times bestsellers and thirteen USA Today bestsellers. She is a number one bestselling author in twenty-nine countries, with translations in forty-one languages and over twenty million copies of her books in print.

 

The Translator by Harriet Crawley

 

The Translator by Harriet Crawley.

Published 23rd March by Bitter Lemon Press.

From the cover of the book:

A highly topical thriller about a Russian plot to cut the undersea communication cables linking the US to the UK. Also, a passionate love story between two people determined to stop this cataclysmic act.

Clive Franklin, a Russian language expert in the Foreign Office, is summoned unexpectedly to Moscow to act as translator for the British Prime Minister. 

His life is turned on its head when, after more than a decade, he discovers that his former lover, Marina Volina, is now the interpreter to the Russian President. 

At the embassy, Clive learns of a Russian plot to cut the undersea cables linking the US to the UK which would paralyse communications and collapse the Western economy. Marina stuns Clive with the news that she’s ready to help stop the attack, betraying her country for a new identity and a new life. Clive becomes the go-between, relaying Marina’s intelligence to MI6 back in London. 

What are the odds that two lovers, running the Moscow marathon with the FSB on their backs, can save Western Europe from economic meltdown?

***********

Clive Franklin loves all things Russian. He thinks and speaks the language like a native, but there is no doubt that the demands of his career as a translator for the Foreign Office are taking their toll. He is enjoying a well-earned sabbatical when a call from the Prime Minster's office brings him back to reality with a bump. His services are needed urgently for a trip to Moscow to act as translator for the new firebrand PM, Martha Maitland, as she undertakes tricky talks with the Russian president Nikolai Serov. Clive can hardly refuse.

Clive is delighted to be back in Moscow, and finds himself looking forward to the challenge of testing his language skills once more, despite the difficulties of a country where the beady eye of the FSB is constantly turned in your direction. But when the talks begin he is sent reeling by the presence of a woman he has not seen for ten years, who is now acting as interpreter for the President Servov - his former lover, Marina Volina.

Marina is part of Serov's inner circle, but she is embittered by the strain of living on a knife-edge and the impact it has had on her personal life. Clive's appearance stirs feelings she thought were long buried, and through him she sees a possibility that she might escape the position she is in. When Marina discovers a devious plot to target the undersea cables that link the USA and the UK, she confides to Clive that is is willing to betray her country by discovering all she can about the plans, in return for a new identity.

As the situation becomes ever more complex, Clive finds himself embroiled in a dangerous intelligence operation with the woman he loves. Can they gather the information they need to stop the plot before it is too late?

The Translator is just my kind of Russian spy thriller. Harriet Crawley enfolds you a very timely espionage story that highlights everything about the current complexities of the political situation between Russia and the West, while evoking all those Cold War vibes that I adore.

Crawley's Russia is one that finds itself torn between its long-standing Soviet ambitions and the temptations of the modern age, where corruption vies constantly with ideology. At the centre of the story, we have two characters in Clive and Marina who are not spies, and yet the nature of their jobs brings them into contact with the constant push and pull of the intelligence whirlwind that operates around them as they go about their work, and Crawley uses this to perfection to craft a story full of glorious underlying tension.

There are delicious characters on all sides, and the threads of their individual stories weave beautifully throughout to make an authentic spy thriller with lashings of emotional depth. Clive and Marina's relationships shed light on so many aspects of the mass of contradictions that make up modern Russia, from the cynical machinations of the corridors of the Kremlin, through the rise of the oligarchs, and right down to the political unrest on the streets. President Serov makes an intriguing Putin-esque figurehead, and the personalities in his inner-circle provide fodder for some excellent story-lines, especially the chilling General Varlamov with his personal and professional agendas.

Crawley deftly plays off the influences of the old world and the modern age against each other in this story. She lavishes you with references to art, literature and music, and also brings you bang up to date with themes of state-of-the-art technology, which makes this story delightfully many-layered. There are darker emotions and intrigues galore to keep you on the edge of your seat, but also rich threads of love, passion, romance, loyalty and friendship that tie you completely to the fate of the protagonists and their endeavours.

This book has everything I want in a political thriller, with a twist that comes from looking at this through the eyes of two translators. This throws up some really thought-provoking issues around language and interpretation that I have not considered before - not only around the speed that translators of speech have to work at, but how their choice of words can influence the meaning of very tricky situations. One to ponder!

The Translator has all the hallmarks of the first part in a new series, and there is a lovely hook into a possible sequel that I really want to read. This is a classy novel, and I like Crawley's style very much. I look forward to reading more of her work. 

The Translator is available to buy now in hardcover and ebook formats.

Thank you to Bitter Lemon Press for sending me a hardcover copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Harriet Crawley has been a journalist, writer, and art dealer, worked in television and radio, and stood for the Westminster and European Parliaments. For almost twenty years Harriet had one foot in Moscow where she launched a technical publishing business for a Russian oil and gas company. She speaks five languages and this is her fifth book.

The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone

 

The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone.

Published 2nd March 2023 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Connecting will change everything…

Lennox is a troubled teenager with no family. Ava is eight months pregnant and fleeing her abusive husband. Heather is a grieving mother and cancer sufferer. They don’t know each other, but when a meteor streaks over Edinburgh, all three suffer instant, catastrophic strokes...

...only to wake up the following day in hospital, miraculously recovered.

When news reaches them of an octopus-like creature washed up on the shore near where the meteor came to earth, Lennox senses that some extra-terrestrial force is at play. With the help of Ava, Heather and a journalist, Ewan, he rescues the creature they call 'Sandy' and goes on the run.

But they aren’t the only ones with an interest in the alien … close behind are Ava’s husband, the police and a government unit who wants to capture the creature, at all costs. And Sandy’s arrival may have implications beyond anything anyone could imagine…

***********

One night over Edinburgh a strange light appears, and causes a handful of people who witness it to suffer from a rare stroke. It is an event that unites three of the survivors in an extraordinary common cause, although they are complete strangers - Lennox, a troubled sixteen-year-old resident of a children's home; Ava, a heavily pregnant young woman trying to escape an abusive partner; and Heather, a dying woman weighed down by grief.

The next day, Lennox, Ava, and Heather awake in hospital somehow completely recovered from the cerebral haemorrhage that struck them down, and they feel an uncanny connection with each other. When they hear the news that a strange octopus-like creature has been found washed-up on the shore, they are drawn to the location. Lennox somehow knows that this is an extra-terrestrial entity that needs their help, and with the aid of a journalist called Ewan, who has been sent to follow the story, the trio rescue the creature they call 'Sandy' and set off on the run.

But they are not the only ones interested in this alien being. Dodging the police, a shady government department, and the insidious pursuit of Ava's violent husband, it is vital that they not only help Sandy to survive, but try to understand the purpose that has brought this incredible creature to Earth...

The Space Between Us is a surprising departure from Doug Johnstone's usual gritty domestic drama novels into the realms of speculative science fiction, and it is a move that produces a piece of work that is beautifully life-affirming. The story focuses on a group of strangers who are brought together by the arrival of an alien that needs their help, and by becoming entangled in a cause that has far-reaching consequences for humankind they find the strength to address their own problems too.

The novel combines road-trip adventure and hard-edged thriller, at the same time following the winning formula of a group of under-dogs on a quest for good, while being pursued by the insidious forces of the establishment. But this is not just a buddy story filled with spills and thrills, as it is also rich in all the intimate relationships and interpersonal dynamics that Johnstone does so well in all his books, so as our little band undertake their quest we get to learn all the details of their troubles and heartache too. There are wonderfully moving scenes as the human and alien characters bond with each other, and open their minds to new concepts and perspectives on life - especially about their places in the universe. All elements of the story come together to make something that captures your imagination with its pace and cinematic scope, and that also calls to your heart and soul with its touching emotional depth. 

I was really struck with the way Johnstone weaves so many themes around the notion of connection in this story, playing cleverly with many shades of meaning around space. There is a lot here about the darker emotions linked to loss and isolation, and the divisive aspects of control, but the story is also flooded with warming themes of sacrifice for a cause, coming together in adversity, and hope.

This is a read in a single, breath-taking session kind of book, and it takes you to a place that promises a terrifically exciting sequel too. As a big fan of compelling science fiction, I like this new direction from Doug Johnstone very much, and I cannot wait to see what comes next! 

The Space Between Us is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Doug Johnstone is the author of twelve novels, most recently The Great Silence, the third in the Skelfs series, which has been optioned for TV. In 2021,The Big Chill, the second in the series, was longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. In 2020, A Dark Matter, the first in the series, was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and the Capital Crime Amazon Publishing Independent Voice Book of the Year award. Black Hearts (Book four), was published in 2022. 

Several of his books have been best sellers and award winners, and his work has been praised by the likes of Val McDermid, Irvine Welsh and Ian Rankin. He's taught creative writing and been writer in residence at various institutions, and has been an arts journalist for twenty years. 

Doug is a songwriter and musician with five albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers, a band of crime writers. He's also player-manager of the Scotland Writers Football Club. He lives in Edinburgh.

Summer At Green Valley Vineyard by Lucy Coleman

 

Summer at Green Valley Vineyard by Lucy Coleman.

Published in ebook 20th March 2023, and paperback 25th May 2023, by Embla Books.

From the cover of the book:

A beautiful vineyard. A new beginning. A summer that will change their lives forever...

Linzi arrived at Green Valley Vineyard nine years ago, in need of a fresh start. In the lush emerald countryside and ripening grapes, she finally has a place to call home.

But Linzi's world is rocked when the owner announces he is retiring, and his grandson is taking over.

When Elliot Montgomery first sets foot at Green Valley, Linzi's worst fears are realised. He's stepped straight out of the boardroom in shiny shoes and a tailored suit. How will a numbers man like him ever understand the magic of what they do here?

Elliot has his own demons, carrying the grief of his father's death. Despite their differences, he has come to the vineyard for a new beginning, much like Linzi once did.

As the summer unfolds, Elliot and Linzi find themselves in an uneasy alliance while old secrets threaten to be revealed.

Could more be about to bloom here among the twisting vines than they ever thought possible?

An absolutely charming summer read that is perfect to escape with. Fans of Karen Swan, Phillipa Ashley and Sarah Morgan will be absolutely enchanted by this tale full of love, friendship and the beauty of winemaking.

***********

Linzi came to Green Valley Vineyard nine years ago, at a time when she needed a new start. As she has nurtured the vines here, and set Green Valley on the map for the wines it produces, her own heartbreak has lessened too. This is now her home.

Green Valley has been through some turbulent times in the recent past, and the strain of it all has begun to tell on its owner, Thomas Montgomery. He has decided to step down and hand over the reins to his grandson Elliot, a man Linzi has never met. She feels unsettled by the sudden change, and she is not the only one.

When Elliot arrives, Linzi is unimpressed by his sharp suits and shiny shoes, and wonders how he can he ever begin to understand what it is about this place that makes it so special. But she gradually realises that he is all that stands between financial disaster for the vineyard and hotel complex, and finds herself unexpectedly on his side. As she gets to know what lies under the outer shell of hard businessman, she also learns that he is here for a new start. Perhaps they are not so different after all...

Summer at Green Valley Vineyard is an enchanting story of love, loss, friendship, family, and wine set in the Welsh Valleys. Told through the eyes of 'keeper of the vines' Linzi and 'new broom' Elliot, the story revolves around a vineyard and hotel complex having financial issues. Elliot, who has been completely hands-off in the past, is given the unenviable task of saving the business without revealing the scale of the problems, and this provides the perfect set up for a bevy of mishaps and misunderstandings to occur in the personal and professional lives of all concerned. Everything revolves around the developing relationship between Linzi and Elliot, which has the potential to blossom into true love amongst the grape vines - if only they can both find a way to set their ghosts to rest.

There is a quality to Coleman's writing that evokes the warm and welcoming feel of a much loved continuing drama in these pages. You get the impression that you are just dropping into the lives of people who have been going about their business for years before you arrive on the scene, and even though Coleman repeatedly refers to things that have happened in their personal lives before the story begins she does this in such a way that you almost feel like you know all about them already. This really should not work, but magically it does. There are one or two minor story lines in terms of Linzi's character that could be pruned, a bit like with her beloved vines, to make her side of the tale flow better, but everything eventually comes together with the well-judged eye of an author who knows exactly how to hit that golden sweet spot. 

This is the kind of slow burner romance that creeps up on you. Gentle and comforting, it wraps you up in a warm hug and is full of all the heart-warming feels you could want - with fascinating detail about the world of wine too.

Summer at Green Valley Vineyard by Lucy Coleman is available to buy in ebook and audio formats now, and in paperback from 25th May 2023.

Thank you to Embla Books for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Compulsive Readers Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Lucy Coleman always knew that one day she would write, but first life took her on a wonderful journey of self-discovery for which she is very grateful.

Family life and two very diverse careers later she now spends most days glued to a keyboard, which she refers to as her personal quality time.

If she isn't online she's either playing with the kids, whose imaginations seem to know no bounds, or painting something. As a serial house mover together with her lovely husband, there is always a new challenge to keep her occupied!

Million Eyes III: Ouroboros by C.R. Berry

 

Million Eyes III: Ouroboros by C.R. Berry.

Published 20th March 2023 by Elsewhen Press.

From the cover of the book:

Time is the Ultimate Deceiver.

On a cold morning in 2219, Cara Montgomery and her husband, Jackson, have a frightening encounter on the beach. An encounter that leads to a war with a depraved and relentless alien race, the Shapeless, changing their lives forever.

Three hundred years earlier, Harriet Turner travels to the future to learn the shocking secret behind Victorian London’s most notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper. A mysterious barber, Fred, goes with her, but Fred has a shocking secret of his own.

Hunted by the ruthless Miss Morgan and plagued by visions of a snake eating its own tail, Harriet discovers that the all-powerful Million Eyes isn’t the only one with an agenda. Time itself has one too.

***********

One morning in 2219, Cara Montgomery and her husband Jackson have a terrifying encounter on a misty beach - one heralding the arrival of war with the alien Shapeless. A war which humankind will not survive.

Three hundred years earlier, Harriet Turner travels to the future in pursuit of Jack the Ripper, with a mysterious barber called Fred who is hiding a momentous secret. She is plagued with dreams of a snake eating its own tail, and begins to wonder if it has a significance when she discovers that the so-called Ripper is in fact an agent for the powerful Million Eyes corporation, which has been meddling with time for its own ends.

Harriet and Fred are the only ones standing between the ruthless Miss Morgan, at the head of Million Eyes, and her plans to precipitate disaster. However, the bigger picture is far more complex than any of them can imagine. In fact, Time has an agenda all of its own...

Welcome to the culmination of C.R. Berry's epic Million Eyes trilogy, with the final instalment of the series, Ouroboros. It is difficult to know where to begin here, as very much like the ancient symbol depicting a serpent eating its own tale that gives this book its title, there is a circularity that runs not only through this novel, but the entire trilogy itself.

So what can I tell you? First of all, make sure you have read both books that come before this one, Million Eyes and The Unraveller, before tackling it, because all that has played out before has an important role in Ouroboros. In books one and two Berry successively flips your perception about what is going on at the heart of the bigger Million Eyes story by turning things on their head, but he takes the idea of twists, turns and surprises to a whole new level in this book!

Ouroboros is an unabashed ambitious novel. It incorporates many of the clever time travel concepts that Berry has used before, mixed with a slice of alien apocalypse/space adventure that tips this story over the genre border into terrifying horror. He swings seemlessly between episodes of fast-paced action that have you on the edge of your seat; and emotion laden vignettes that tug mercilessly on the heart-strings; all the while driving you on to an ultimate goal that is as surreal as it is thought provoking. 

The time lines chop and change as the story unfolds, bringing new insight about the significance of some of the characters we have met before too. There is such a lot happening in parallel that results in time changing and changing again, that it is a challenge keeping track if it all. However, there is a quality in Berry's writing that pulls you on regardless, and although I cannot claim to know what was happening all the time in this story, I found it an enjoyable experience - and there are many entertaining little nods to some sci-fi classics in the telling. 

Having reached the end of the Million Eyes trilogy, I really do feel like I have been on a journey of epic proportions with Mr C.R. Berry. There is not as much of his darkly cheeky sense of humour in Ouroboros as I am used to, but interestingly the piece is flooded with pathos instead, which I think shows how much he has grown in his writing over the series. There is a maturity and poignancy in this final book that is very striking, and I look forward to seeing where Berry goes next in his literary adventures.

Million Eyes III: Ouroboros us available to buy now in paperback and ebook.

Thank you to Elsewhen Press for sending me an ecooy of this book in return for an honest review, and to C.R. Berry for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

C.R. Berry is an ex-lawyer turned full-time writer, whose fiction spans the sci-fi, mystery, conspiracy, historical, fantasy and horror genres - because why have one genre when you can have them all? His favourite characters are usually villains, hence why he likes conspiracy stories, where there are baddies at every turn. 

Berry was published in Best of British Science Fiction 2020 from Newcon Press with a short story set in the world of the Million Eyes trilogy. He's also been published in magazines and anthologies such as Storgy and Dark Tales, and in 2018 was shortlisted in the Grindstone Literary International Novel Competition. 

Having completed the Million Eyes trilogy, Berry is working on two further novels. One is a horror called The Puddle Bumps, about a lawyer who links a mysterious kids' TV show to an old murder case. The other is a collaboration with his fiancée Katy called Breaching The Wall, a sci-fi adventure about a spaceship tasked with solving the Universe's greatest mystery: why the wall that surrounds it is collapsing. 

He lives with Katy in Clanfield, Hampshire, in a house called the Gathered Worlds, named after the intergalactic organisation in Breaching The Wall and, appropriately, because they've themed all the rooms. Their bedroom is a spaceship, their kitchen a 50s diner and their living room a forest. Their office is a nerd's dream, wall to wall with TV and movie memorabilia to fuel the magic that happens there!

Bellevue by Alison Booth

 

Bellevue by Alison Booth.

Published 16th March 2023 by Red Door.

From the cover of the book:

New South Wales, 1972. 

Following the death of her beloved Aunt Hilda, widow Clare Barclay inherits Bellevue, an historic property in the Blue Mountains township of Numbulla, Australia. 

Giving up her teaching job to move to the mountains, Clare plans to restore the house to its original glory. She also hopes to track down a box of missing documents that may shed light on why husband Jack secretly second-mortgaged their former home.

Clare makes friends with the locals, including a young boy, Joe, and soon hears of plans to redevelop Numbulla and to exploit the land bordering the protected wilderness area. As she joins the protest against the rezoning, it’s clear someone doesn’t want her there and they’ll do anything to stop her…

Written from Clare’s and Joe’s perspectives, Bellevue highlights cross-generational bonds that grow between them as they struggle, individually and together, towards an acceptance of the losses each has sustained.

***********

New South Wales, 1972. Clare Barclay is surprised when her beloved Aunt Hilda bequeaths her run down property to her in her will, rather than leaving it to her husband's brother. Clare can never forget the kindness Hilda showed to her in the dark days following her husband's death, and Bellevue holds fond memories for her. She decides to give up her job as a Sydney teacher and travel to the quiet Blue Mountains township of Nambulla to renovate the property to its former glory. She hopes to also track down any paperwork that may shed light on the reason why her husband died.

Bellevue is in a dilapidated state and Clare has a big job on her hands, but she feels in her bones that this is where she belongs. She begins to lay down roots in the township, making friends among the small community, and taking a young, motherless boy called Joe under her wing. Unfortunately, her peace is shattered when she learns of plans to redevelop Nambulla and build on the beautiful, unspoiled wilderness near her home. Clare begins to receive threatening messages encouraging her to sell to the developers, and when she staunchly refuses to budge, sinister things begin to happen to her and her property. But, Clare is made of sterner stuff than it may appear...

Bellevue is a many layered, multi-generational story that highlights the history of the fight to protect the environment and conserve areas important to Australia's Aboriginal peoples against greedy developers in the 1970s.

Told from the points of view of Clare and young Joe, it is set in a small wilderness community that is under threat. Booth deftly weaves several strands to this story, combining family drama, mystery, thriller, romance, and coming of age tale. The characters are beautifully drawn, spanning a cross-section of this close-knit community, and Booth uses them to explore a myriad of themes around betrayal and corruption that echo through all parts of the story. 

Clare comes to Nambulla searching for answers about the mystery of her husband's death, and to find a way to move on from the pain she still feels over his untimely loss. Joe is reeling from the early death of his mother, unable to connect with his widowed father, and is used to hiding his hopes and dreams for fear of riducule. There is such poignancy in the reflections of both Clare and Joe, and their budding friendship is enchanting. I loved how Clare especially grows in confidence over the course of the story, developing insight that has eluded her for much of her life, which finally allows her to lay her ghosts to rest. The gradual development in both of their characters cleverly drives different parts of the story, and the things you see through their eyes misdirect as well as inform. It is not always easy to tell who is friend or who is foe, resulting in well contrived tension and a big injection of menace that keeps you very much on the edge of your seat. 

This is a story of unity, and it shines with Booth's love of the heritage and beauty she feels for her homeland. It took me right through the emotional range, with plenty to evoke outrage and anger, as well as sentiment and joy - and all the threads tie up neatly in an uplifting ending that has you punching the air with glee! I consumed this novel in one sitting, and was sorry to say goodbye to the little community of Nambulla.

Bellevue is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Red Door for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review, and to Helen Richardson PR for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Alison Booth is an award-winning writer who grew up in Sydney, and lived for some years in the UK. 

She holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and is Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University. Bellevue is her seventh novel.

Beautiful Shining People by Michael Grothaus

 

Beautiful Shining People by Micharl Grothaus.

Published 16th March by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

It’s our world, but decades into the future…

An ordinary world, where cars drive themselves, drones glide across the sky, and robots work in burger shops. There are two superpowers and a digital Cold War, but all conflicts are safely oceans away. People get up, work, and have dinner. Everything is as it should be…

Except for seventeen-year-old John, a tech prodigy from a damaged family, who hides a deeply personal secret. But everything starts to change for him when he enters a tiny café on a cold Tokyo night. A café run by a disgraced sumo wrestler, where a peculiar dog with a spherical head lives, alongside its owner, enigmatic waitress Neotnia…

But Neotnia hides a secret of her own – a secret that will turn John’s unhappy life upside down. A secret that will take them from the neon streets of Tokyo to Hiroshima’s tragic past to the snowy mountains of Nagano.

A secret that reveals that this world is anything ordinary – and it’s about to change forever…

***********

Welcome to a future where cars drive themselves, and robots work tirelessly to tend to (almost all) our needs. In other resepcts, human lives seem to have changed little: the corporate world rumbles on in its greedy fashion, and the shadow of conflict between superpowers looms over all - quite literally in fact, as evidence of the technological Cold War between America and China looks down on the world from the sky above.

In Tokyo, young American computing engineer John is engaged in talks with the largest of the Japanese tech giants to sell his quantum designs. He hopes this will make him enough money to care for his troubled mother, and pay for the surgery he craves to make him 'normal'. In the meantime, he has a lot of time on his hands between corporate wrangling to wander the streets of Tokyo, taking in the sights and sounds that are so different from the small town existence he is used to back home.

One evening, John finds himself drawn to a tiny cafe, where he is mesmerised by a young Japanese waitress called Neotnia, a quirky little dog called Inu with a bizarre spherical head, and a sullen former sumo wrestler who goes by the name of Goeido. A repeating phrase echoes at the edge of John's consciousness,  and he returns again and again to this little cafe. He yearns for Neotnia to turn her beautiful eyes and enigmatic smile his way. 

John has always felt a loner, unwilling to let his guard down, but Neotnia awakens deep feelings within him, and he gradually opens up his heart to her. As their tentative friendship grows, Neotnia decides she can trust him with her secrets in return. She confides to John that she desperately needs his help. What Neotnia has to tell him turns John's world upside down, and opens his eyes to possibilities he thought impossible. To save Neotnia they need find answers, which leads them on a quest across Japan from Tokyo to Hiroshima, and onwards to the mountains of Nagano. But will what they find there be a truth they want to hear?

As in all beautifully crafted speculative novels, it is really hard to sum up what makes this book so magical - especially without giving away its secrets, but here we go...

This story starts with a slowburn that lulls you into a false sense of security, or is it insecurity, when a damaged, socially awkward young man finds himself alone in Tokyo with a lot of time on his hands. John is certain of the direction his life is taking, but a chance meeting with a young waitress and her unusual companions sets him on a path that makes him question everything he thought he knew. 

At its heart, this is an unconventional love story. The relationship that grows between John and Neotnia is truly moving, and it goes through a series of trials and tribulations in true epic romance style - with a twist or two! The team they form with Inu and Goeido is a delight. There is subtle humour and touching sentimentality, but also a significant whack of pain and poignancy as you delve into their stories, and through them Grothaus explores what it means to be human.

It is a discomfiting world that Grothaus imagines here - one it is all too easy to see coming to pass. There is a lot in these pages about rapid growth in technology, how it can be subverted for nefarious means, and the capacity of humankind to inflict harm on one another. At the same time, it explores the more esoteric concepts of connection, purpose, and the things that make us the same. This is thought provoking stuff. 

Now we come to the intricacies of the writing. There are so many poetically written scenes that linger on looks, smiles, touch, and almost imperceptible shifts in atmosphere. Grothaus has a bewitching ability to stop time in a moment, and then run seemlessly into action with unstoppable momentum. He enhances the impact of his scenes through deliciously detailed descriptions of weather and environment too.

This is a surprising and affecting novel, with a powerful emotional core. It combines cleverly contrived science fiction elements with a whisper of the spiritual, and is flooded with compelling drama that holds you fast. What masterful story telling.

Beautiful Shining People is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Novelist and journalist Michael Grothaus was born in Saint Louis, Missouri. He spent his twenties in Chicago where he earned his degree in filmmaking from Columbia and got his start in journalism writing for Screen. After working for institutions including The Art Institute of Chicago, Twentieth Century Fox, and Apple he earned his postgraduate degree with distinction in creative writing from the University of London. 

His writing has appeared in the Guardian, Litro Magazine, Fast Company, VICE, the Irish Times, Screen, Quartz, and others. His debut novel is EPIPHANY JONES, a story about sex trafficking among the Hollywood elite. It was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger Award in 2017 and in 2018 was named one of the 25 "Most Irresistible Hollywood Novels" by Entertainment Weekly.

Cover Reveal: One by Eve Smith

It is my absolute pleasure to bring you the cover reveal for

One by Eve Smith

Coming from Orenda Books
20th July 2023

A powerful, prescient speculative thriller: a woman’s job of enforcing climate-emergency Britain’s one-child policy is compromised when she discovers a personal link to an illegal sibling on the ministry hit-list, leading to a shocking discovery that changes everything…

One law. One child. Seven million crimes…

A catastrophic climate emergency has spawned a one-child policy in the UK, ruthlessly enforced by a totalitarian regime. Compulsory abortion of ‘excess’ pregnancies and mandatory contraceptive implants are now the norm, and families must adhere to strict consumption quotas as the world descends into chaos.

Kai is a 25-year-old ‘baby reaper’, working for the Ministry of Population and Family Planning. If any of her assigned families attempt to exceed their child quota, she ensures they pay the price.

Until, one morning, she discovers that an illegal sibling on her Ministry hit-list is hers. And to protect her parents from severe penalties, she must secretly investigate before anyone else finds out.

Kai’s hunt for her forbidden sister unearths much more than a dark family secret. As she stumbles across a series of heinous crimes perpetrated by the people she trusted most, she makes a catastrophic discovery that could bring down the government … and tear her family apart.

  Available to preorder now!

ORENDA BOOKS      AMAZON      WATERSTONES 

I am thoroughly looking forward to One having enjoyed both of Eve's incredible previous books, and there is plenty of time for you to catch up before the new one is released! 

You can find my reviews of them here: The Waiting Rooms Off-Target

About the author:

Eve Smith writes speculative fiction, mainly about the things that scare her. She attributes her love of all things dark and dystopian to a childhood watching Tales of the Unexpected and black-and-white Edgar Allen Poe double bills. In this world of questionable facts, stats and news, she believes storytelling is more important than ever to engage people in real life issues.

Longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize and described by Waterstones as "an exciting new voice in crime fiction", Eve’s debut novel The Waiting Rooms, set in the aftermath of an antibiotic resistance crisis, was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize First Novel Award and was selected as a Book of the Month by Eric Brown in The Guardian who compared her writing to Michael Crichton’s.

Eve’s previous job as COO of an environmental charity took her to research projects across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places. When she’s not writing she’s racing across fields after her dog, trying to organise herself and her family, or off exploring somewhere new.

CWA Crime & Mystery Publisher of the Year 2020

Together, Again by Milly Johnson

 

Together, Again by Milly Johnson.

Published in paperback 2nd March 2023 by Simon and Schuster.

From the cover of the book:

Sisters Jolene, Marsha and Annis have convened at their beautiful family home, Fox House, following the death of their mother, the tricky Eleanor Vamplew. Born seven years apart, the women are more strangers than sisters.

Jolene, the eldest, is a successful romantic novelist who writes about beautiful relationships even though her own marriage to the handsome and charming Warren is complicated.

Marsha, the neglected middle child, has put all of her energy into her work, hoping money will plug the gap in her life left by the man who broke her young heart.

Annis is the renegade, who left home aged sixteen and never returned, not even for the death of their beloved father Julian. Until now.

So when the sisters discover that their mother has left everything to Annis in her will, it undermines everything they thought they knew. Can saying their final goodbyes to Eleanor bring them together again? 

***********

The death of matriarch Eleanor Vamplew has managed to bring about a miracle - her three daughters, Jolene, Marsha and Annis have returned to their childhood home Fox House, and are together for the first time in many years.

Born seven years apart, these are women who barely know each other. Jolene, the eldest is a successful author of a series of romantic novels, but her own marriage to the charming Warren is less than picture perfect. Marsha, the middle sister is a forthright business woman on the surface, but a mass of contradictions underneath, and she struggles to form relationships after having her heart broken in her youth. And Annis, the youngest is an enigma, estranged from her family since the day she ran away aged just sixteen.

Fox House holds more bad memories than good ones, and they all come rushing to the surface as the sisters begin to sort through their mother's possessions, in the strange limbo days between her death and funeral. The surprising fact that Eleanor has left her worldly possessions to Annis, the daughter who rejected her family, has the potential to drive them further apart. However, coming together to say goodbye to the mother, whose affection they always craved, could also be the chance for something good to grow from the ashes of their difficult childhoods...

Together, Again is the twentieth novel from Milly Johnson, and it is an absolute stunner! The story follows three sisters with a lot of emotional baggage, as they come together following the death of their mother. There is a lot of distance between these women in terms of both age, and sisterly closeness, and the difficult relationship they had with both of their parents (especially their mother Eleanor) has meant that any comfort they could have given each other during their time at home, and in the years that have followed, has been impossible.

Each of the sisters has a voice in this novel, as they try to come to terms with their own problems and the painful memories that resurface now they have come together again in the place where their unforgiving mother held sway. Johnson, with her accomplished flair, takes you right inside their hearts and souls, tugging mercilessly on your heartstrings through all the poignant episodes that result. Their narratives are broken up by two other voices that weave through the novel about a secret that lies festering at the heart of the Vamplew family - next door neighbour Sally, and intriguingly Eleanor herself. What they have to reveal knocks you sideways, when the little hints that Johnson drops coalesce with shocking clarity at the end of the book.

For the most part, this is a tale that warms the cockles of your heart as the three sisters unexpectedly find strength from each other, in a situation that could easily go either way. Annis proves to be the one with the wisest head on her shoulders, despite all she has been through, and I love how she is the catalyst for real change in all their lives. Johnson touches on some weighty subjects in the telling though, with themes that delve into different facets of betrayal, and there is a big dose of dysfunction and a side order of insidious abuse along the way. These moments hit you with force, but they are balanced beautifully with threads of hope, reconciliation, laying the ghosts of the past, warmth, humour, and delightful romantic suspense that make your heart sing. 

I adored this book, and absorbed it from cover to cover. I cannot wait for book twenty-one!

Together, Again is available to buy now in multiple formats.

Thank you to Ed PR for sending me a paperback copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author: 

Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. A Sunday Times bestseller, she is one of the Top 10 Female Fiction authors in the UK, and with millions of copies of her books sold across the world, Milly's star continues to rise. Milly was chosen as one of the authors for The Reading Agency's Quick Reads 2020 campaign. Together, Again is her twentieth novel. 

 Milly writes from the heart about what and where she knows and highlights the importance of community spirit. Her books champion women, their strength and resilience, and celebrate love, friendship and the possibility of second chances. She is an exceptional writer who puts her heart and soul into every book she writes and every character she creates.

One Moment by Becky Hunter

 

One Moment by Becky Hunter.

Published 2nd March 2023 by Corvus.

From the cover of the book:

One moment in time can change everything...

The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn't feel fair that she'll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams. And now, she's still ... here - wherever here is - watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most.

Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend's death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie's life in directions she'd never let herself imagine possible. Ways, perhaps, even those closest to her had long since given up on.

If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of that one moment in time, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again?

***********

Scarlett and Evie have been inseparable since childhood, certain that whatever life throws at them they will always be able to rely on each other. But Fate has other ideas. On a day that promises the realisation of everything Scarlett has been working toward, she is involved in a fatal accident. Scarlett's death leaves Evie overwhelmed by grief, and struggling to get beyond blaming Nate, the man she considers responsible for what happened... and yet, these things are never black and white.

After the accident, Scarlett is unable to leave the world behind, even though her life is over. She hovers unseen on the edge of Evie's struggles, and watches over her with conflicted feelings while Evie and Nate, who would never have met if she had not died, develop a friendship that could become so much more. Scarlett finds herself revisiting moments from the past, gathering insight on the decisions she has made, and begins to understand that her relationship with Evie was not all it should have been. Would she go back and make different choices if she could, now she can see everything more clearly?

One Moment is an absolutely gorgeous debut novel from Becky Hunter that takes you on a deeply emotional journey through love, loss and the moments that define us. The story focuses on an intimate cast of characters dealing with loss in different ways, and it has a very clever twist reminiscent of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, because one of them is watching on from the outside, witnessing the profound impact of her death on those who remain behind.

Although Scarlett is dead throughout almost all of this story, she becomes the guide that leads you onwards from tragic beginning to heart-wrenching end. There is a lot of (quite literal) 'soul' searching, as Scarlett learns more about herself and her relationships with others, through being drawn to moments from past. Meanwhile Evie has revelations of her own about her friendship with Scarlett as Nate persists on inserting himself into her life and dragging her out of her comfort zone when she wants to hide from the world - and as she makes a new friend in Astrid, the young girl that reminds her so much of how she used to be.

There is no way to do this book justice in a short review. It deftly explores the pivotal moments that dictate the direction our lives take, and the preoccupations that can get in the way of seeing the bigger picture. There is real maturity in Hunter's writing that is very impressive for a debut author, as she spins bittersweet magic that wraps you up completely in this story, touching on a wealth of themes about expectation, self-awareness, chronic illness, mental health, friendship, family, and different aspects of love.

I cried my way through this one, building up to a full on sob fest at the end when all the threads come together in a final breath-taking moment that hits you right in the feels. One Moment is a contender for my book of the year, and I predict that Becky Hunter is a rising star to watch. If this book is not on your reading pile yet, then it should be.

One Moment is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Corvus for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

About the author:

Becky Hunter lived and worked in London for several years before moving to Mozambique to volunteer with horses and try her hand at writing. A few years, a few destinations, and a few jobs later she had the idea that would become One Moment. 

Alongside writing, she now works as a freelance editor and publicist, splitting her time between Bristol and London, and constantly trying to plan the next adventure.