December Girl By Nicola Cassidy #BlogTour

I am delighted to be taking part in the Blog Tour for Nicola Cassidy's debut novel December Girl. This is a gritty historical tale of family, heartbreak and secrets set in Ireland and London. The author was inspired by The Boyne Valley area where she grew up and where she still lives. This is an area rich in history and elements of the novel are inspired by real locations and events. The heroine of the novel is Molly Thomas a smart and independent young woman who's life is changed forever when her family is evicted from their home. The loss of her home, her father and her way of life hits Molly hard and following a shocking betrayal she travels to London to start again, but thrust into London's dark underbelly she faces heartbreak once again as her baby boy is snatched from his pram.
The hero of the tale is Henry Brabazon; the landlord's son. Henry and Molly move in different circles, but Henry does not want to to emulate his entitled, spendthrift father; he too faces crisis and must make hard choices, but in Molly he sees a bright and feisty character, someone who could perhaps be a friend. A graceful blend of timelines, mysteries and fine storytelling, December Girl seamlessly straddles the territory between saga and historical mystery, making this a perfect choice for fans of historical fiction and mysteries alike.
I was lucky enough to be a beta reader for this novel while Nicola was writing it and to see and read it in it's finished form is a real thrill. I loved the story from the beginning and in particular the two main characters; each on their separate and difficult journeys as their paths cross again and again. Nicola is an assured and talented writer and I'm delighted to have watched her journey to publication.

You can download the book from Amazon for only 99p right now. December Girl

December Girl is published by Bombshell Books and the Blog Tour continues details below.

Nicola Cassidy blogs at http://ladynicci.com/

The Last Lost Girl by Maria Hoey

This is a debut novel published by Poolbeg under their new Poolbeg Crimson imprint which offers 'Fiction with an edge'.  This is the story of Jacqueline Brennan. Set in two time periods; the long hot summer of 1976 when Jacqueline's sister Lily disappeared and years later when Jacqueline returns to her home at Blackberry Lane to look after her aging father. We learn that Jacqueline is the youngest child, the misfit, the loner. Lily was the beauty queen, while middle sister Gayle was the homemaker, the peacemaker. Jacqueline's family have never been able to shake off the sadness, the mystery surrounding the unexplained disappearance of Lily and one by one they had scattered, all except for her Dad who had remained in the family home, stagnant. When Jacqueline returns it as though time has stood still. In 1976 Jacqueline had tagged along after her older, glamorous sister, never quite accepted, a nuisance. Lily had been seeing a boy who worked at the carnival and he had been questioned by police but no-one was ever arrested and Lily's body was never found so Jacqueline has always harboured the hope that her sister simply ran away that she is out there somewhere, waiting to be found. An old postcard of an English seaside town gives Jacqueline a clue about where to start her search but Jacqueline learns as much about herself and her place in the world as she does about her missing sister. This is a beautifully written book about family, secrets and growing up. It's a thriller but it's also very much a family story. Excellent writing. I found it unputdownable.

Thanks very much to Poolbeg for a copy. The Last Lost Girl is out now in paperback. 

Corpselight by Angela Slatter Blog Tour

I am delighted to be involved in the blog tour for Corpselight by Angela Slatter which is the second volume in the Verity Fassbinder series. If you haven't already read the first book Vigil then get it and read it now, for your own good. This is a gritty urban fantasy set in Brisbane featuring Verity a half Normal, half Weyrd so she has a foot in each world but since she works for the Weyrd council she spends a lot of time dealing with Weyrd and weird stuff. Working for the Weyrd council is a bit like working for the city council only more dangerous and with greater probability of encountering tails and fangs. Verity is tough, brave, super strong, pigheaded, cynical, smart thinking and soft hearted. Imagine Phyrne Fisher transplanted to modern day Brisbane and clothed in doc martens, jeans and leather jacket except on top of all that, in this instalment Verity is also heavily pregnant. As Verity investigates mysterious drownings across the city and does some snooping for an insurance company she is targeted by some muderous kitsune and goes into early labour, luckily she is rescued by a mystery woman, who it turns out has a past very much entangled with Verity's. The storytelling is top notch; it's fast paced, wickedly funny and delightfully dark and the plot is never rushed, even though there is a huge amount of story and information conveyed. Each character is properly fleshed out and well rounded and there are twists that you just won't see coming. This is a perfect read for fans of Rivers of London or the Dresden Files or for any reader that likes their comedy razor sharp and their heroines daring, caring and devil may care.
The book is being launched in the UK/Ireland  and Australia simultaneously so the blog tour is international which is really exciting and includes many bloggers who took part in the blog tour for Vigil last year, because Angela Slatter is the kind of author that inspires fandom. Details of the rest of the blog tour are below, just click to enlarge and you can read my review of Vigil HERE

Peculiar Ground By Lucy Hughes-Hallett

Peculiar Ground is the first novel from award winning biographer Lucy Hughes-Hallett and it is a huge and ambitious tale set in one place with narrators and timelines spanning three hundred years. The novel opens with the voice of landscaper Mr Norris as he navigates his way through the vagaries of Restoration society as those who supported the King replace those who favoured Cromwell. Wychwood is witnessing its own restoration as the Earl of Woldingham and his family reclaim their lands from their cousins the Rivers. Mr Norris describes oppositions of class, religion, politics and values as well as the Fortescue’s tragic loss of their son. The loss of a child is echoed in the second section set in 1960s when we visit the Rossiters and the Lanes and there are further conflicts for those living at Wychwood as the villagers demand the right to roam and use the ancient pathways. While on the wider stage the cold war and the Berlin Wall are the news of the day. The novel is an intriguing study in landscape, manners, class and the changes in the English countryside it twists and turns through genres from family drama to ghost story to historical fiction never quite sure where it fits. While the story telling is well paced and the characters interesting the use of multiple narrators can drag the story down and convolute the tale. There are at times too many actors on the stage. A book full of interesting people and details but sadly it didn’t quite capture me.

Published by 4th Estate on May 18th. Thanks to the publisher and lovereading.co.uk for a review copy. 

The Little Theatre by the Sea by Rosanna Ley

Reading a new book by Rosanna Ley is like revisting old friends, because within minutes you feel warm, comfortable and completely relaxed. I'm not normally a fan of contemporary fiction but I make an exception for Rosanna Ley and to be fair she often includes references to the past in her books. In her latest novel The Little Theatre in question is a faded and dilapidated building full of charm and secrets. Faye having completed a degree in interior design but lost a boyfriend is wondering what to do with herself when she is contacted by old friend Charlotte. Charlotte and Faye had travelled through Italy and Sardinia in their twenties and Charlotte had settled in Sardinia and married Fabio a local hotelier. Charlotte invites Faye to come and house sit and to give some advise to her friends Marisa and Alessandro who have inherited the theatre and wish to restore it. 

Faye is rather taken with the idea, though she is quick to point out her lack of experience. Arriving in Sardinia, Faye is soon enchanted by the Little Theatre, the town and the local people not to mention the arrogant but very handsome Alessandro Rinaldi. However it soon becomes apparent that the theatre is in fact a source of discontent amongst the local people. Many are worried about an outsider being involved in the restoration, others are worried that the character will be lost. There is bad blood between the Rinaldis and the Volti family and in fact some even dispute the Rinaldi's ownership of the theatre. Faye is soon wondering what she has let herself in for. The narrative is also interspersed with the stories of Molly and Ade; Faye's parents who are navigating retirement and each other in beautiful West Dorset. 

A wonderful read full of the sights, sounds and experiences of the sultry island of Sardinia. Rosanna Ley is a delight. Perfect for fans of Dinah Jeffries and Victoria Hislop. 

Thanks so much to Imogen at Midas PR for a copy. 

Published by Quercus in hardback 9th March 2017.

Relativity by Antonia Hayes

Antonia Hayes is an Australian novelist now living in San Francisco and Relativity is her debut novel. It's a book that explores, love, forgiveness, family and physics. It's a departure from my usual type of book as it's contemporary although there is an attempt at time travel. The book is about Ethan; an incredibly bright twelve year old boy with a passion for physics, his mum Claire a former ballerina and devoted single mum and his dad Mark who has reentered their lives for the first time since Ethan was a baby.
We learn early on that Ethan is a special child and that his brain works differently to other children, it seems he can see physics all around him, while Ethan is overjoyed at his savant abilities Claire knows that Ethan's brain is different because it's damaged and gradually it is revealed that Mark is no longer part of their lives because when Ethan was a baby he hurt him and Ethan's seizures and unusual brain activity are a result of shaken baby syndrome. Relativity is a powerful, compelling and emotional novel. All the more so because it is based on the author's own experiences. Antonia Hayes was just nineteen when she became a mum and when her baby was six weeks old he was a victim of shaken baby syndrome at the hands of his own father. There followed years of developmental delay and tests and Antonia's own struggles with PTSD before a move to Paris to live near her own mother saw Antonia address her literary ambitions. She took a workshop with Jeannette Winterson who advised her students to "write from the wound" and the result of that was a story and a meeting with a literary agent and once the book was ready there was a bidding war among all the major publishers. This book is deserving of any hype you may have heard it is beautifully written and incredibly compassionate. Perfect for fans of Matt Haig and Maggie O'Farrell.
Relativity is published by Corsair in paperback in the UK and Ireland on January 19th.
Thanks to Clara Diaz for a copy. 

The Secret Wife by Gill Paul

Gill Paul’s latest novel is an intriguing blend of two stories in two different eras. A young woman hides away at a cabin inherited from her great-grandfather in upstate New York; Kitty is reeling after discovering her husband’s infidelity and still mourning her parents’ sudden death. The cabin offers her a place to think, and she determines to learn more about the man she inherited it from.

Dmitri Malama is a Russian soldier recovering from an injury in 1914 at Tsarskoe Selo, where he is looked after by Grand Duchess Tatiana who, along with her mother and her sister Olga, is training as a nurse to help the war effort. Dmitri and Tatiana grow close and begin to exchange letters, and gradually we come to understand the connection between Kitty’s family and the Russian royal family.

The Secret Wife is an enthralling and page-turning story linking two intriguing women and the very different lives they lead. This book follows the characters’ journeys across the century from the horror of the First World War and the terrors of the Russian Revolution, to the émigré community of Berlin between the wars, and the hustle and bustle of the mid-century New York publishing scene. It is wonderfully researched and beautifully written. This novel will appeal to fans of Rachel Hore and Lucinda Riley and offers readers a perfect blend of romance and history.

Editor's Choice HNR 78

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-secret-wife/

An Almond for a Parrot by Wray Delaney

An Almond For a Parrot is the spectacular adult debut from award winning children's author Sally Gardner and be warned it is very much a book for adults. The novel is the tale of the life, loves and romantic and sexual awakening of Tully Truegood.
Following in the footsteps of eighteenth century heroines like Moll Flanders and Fanny Hill, Tully's story begins in 1756 in Newgate Prison where Tully awaits trial for murder. Through a series of recipes and recollections Tully recounts her journey from a neglected childhood with her drunken father to a life of luxury as the mistress of a Lord.
Treated as little more than a servant by her father, who gambled and drank away what little money they had after her mother's death, the only kindness Tully receives is from a indifferent gin-soaked cook. Her father trades Tully like a commodity; at 12 she is a bride in a "Fleet Marriage" at 16 she is the payment for a gambling debt. Tully enjoys fleeting happiness when her father brings home a new wife; as she has the kindness of a mother and a chance at learning, as well as new gowns and shoes but it is all too soon snatched away. When Tully finally makes her escape from her father's house it is the first time she has ever set foot outside and she is dazzled and thus begins her progress through the highs and lows of the decadent London of the eighteenth century.
With a powerful physic ability and a beautiful face Tully is soon the most celebrated courtesan of her age, before a shadowy figure from her past emerges to challenge her safety and position.
This is an incredible page turner full of immaculate period detail and peopled with great characters. A writer to watch.  If you are a fan of Debra Daley, Laurie Graham or Sarah Waters then you will love this book.
Publishing next Thursday; 3rd November and coming from new imprint HQ; part of Harper Collins this is a book that should not be missed. An Almond for a Parrot has already been listed in Buzz Feeds 24 most anticipated books of the Autumn and you can expect to hear a lot more buzz about it as publication approaches.
Thanks so much to Sophie Calder at Harper Collins for a copy of the book.

The Revelations of Carey Ravine by Debra Daley

Following last year's stunning Turning the Stones, The Revelations of Carey Ravine returns to Georgian England this time to the bustling city of London where Carey and her beloved husband Nash aim to make their mark and some money among the high society. Everything in the couple's home is rented, so that they can appear wealthy while their debts are mounting. Nash is convinced that every new scheme will be the one to lift them out of their middle class origins and into the noveau riche nobility. Carey meanwhile is translating French erotica and dreams of greater literary endeavour. When Carey is visited by an old friend of Nash's from his time in India she is intrigued, her father disappeared many years before in India and while Nash dismisses any connection to her father out of hand Carey begins an investigation of her own which reveals corruption and scandal at the highest level which will have devastating consequences for her own life.
This is a wonderful novel with an utterly brilliant and believable cast of characters and deft and skillful plotting. I was hooked on Carey's story and on Carey herself so utterly of her time and yet in many ways so thoroughly modern. Debra Daley is a real hidden gem in historical fiction who deserves greater attention. If you are a fan of Laurie Graham, Katherine Clements or enjoyed Janet Ellis's The Butcher's Hook then this book is for you.

Thank you to Olivia Mead for a review copy. The Revelations of Carey Ravine is published by Heron Books and available in hardback now. 

The Bones of You by Debbie Howells

The Bones of You is a powerful and page turning debut reminiscent of the Lovely Bones. Rosie Anderson is a quiet and studious young girl so when she goes missing the community pull together but when her body is found and it is revealed that she was in fact murdered, the small village the Anderson’s live in is shocked and afraid. Her father is a well known TV reporter her mother a glamorous yummy mummy and the family’s home life seems picture perfect. Local gardener Kate is a good friend of the family and with a daughter Rosie’s age her heart aches for the Andersons but as she becomes entangled in their grief and the murder investigation the perfect façade begins to crack. Narrated through Kate, Rosie and her younger sister Delphine this is a portrait of shattered lives of everyday cruelty and of the horror that hides behind closed doors. Set in the heart of middle England this is a tale that gradually peels away the layers cleverly exposing the imperfections underneath. Undoubtedly Howells is a major new talent and this cracking literary thriller will appeal to fans of Paula Daly and Clare Mackintosh.

This review originally appeared on the Bookseller review website, We Love This Book, you can see the original HERE

Last Dance in Havana by Rosanna Ley Blog Tour Guest Post

I am delighted to be involved in the blog tour for Rosanna's newest novel Last Dance in Havana. Rosanna is an author I very much enjoy reading, she captures historical periods and exotic locations perfectly but most of all she creates wonderful, believable characters.

I asked Rosanna to tell me about some of her favourite literary destinations.



Rosanna Ley's Five Favourite Locations in Books

Italy – stunning and sensual – is my favourite country. (I’m writing about Sardinia at the moment and

loving it). Anthony Capella set his delightful novel The Food of Love in Trastevere, Rome. I fell in love

with the down town area of Trastevere the first time I visited the city. It’s bohemian, arty and

irresistable. It also sells the best pizzas in Rome.

Mary Anning had a talent for finding fossils in Lyme Regis in the early nineteenth century. Tracy

Chevalier brings Mary’s story alive in Remarkable Creatures and the Jurassic Coast is another

character in Chevalier’s novel - ancient, mysterious, and yielding historical treasures. I’ve written

about West Dorset many times and find the coastline inspirational. I live here! Lucky me...

I discovered another historical setting, 18 th century Bristol, when researching for Last Dance of

Havana. Philippa Gregory’s A Respectable Trade explores the devastating consequences of the slave

trade that existed there, through the eyes of well born Frances and her Yoruban slave Mehuru. I

chose Bristol as a setting for Last Dance because of its connection with the slave trade; my

contemporary characters live in houses very similar to those of the rich merchants in Gregory’s

novel. These days, Bristol, with its waterways and history is a vibrant and eclectic city.

What writer could resist the ‘cemetery of lost books’ and the sweeping story of Shadow of the Wind

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon set in Barcelona? I loved it. Barcelona is a city that you can’t forget and I

enjoyed researching the place for Bay of Secrets.

Finally, I’ve got to slip in Last Dance in Havana. Cuba is a fascinating location. The people are warm

and friendly and the weather and the music are hot. The history is turbulent, the crumbling colonial

buildings in Havana are picturesque and the beaches are to die for. What’s not to love..?

Last Dance in Havana is published by Quercus and available now.


Thank you so much to Rosanna and to Quercus and MidasPR for a copy of the book and a chance to be involved in the blog tour. I hope this inspires your reading and travel choices.
You can read my review of Rosanna's previous book The Villa HERE

Daughter of the House by Rosie Thomas

Daughter of the House is the eagerly awaited follow up to Rosie Thomas’s incredibly successful The Illusionists and although it is a sequel the book can quite easily be read as a stand alone novel. The novel tells the story of Nancy Wix; daughter of the great theatre impresario Devil Wix and his melancholic wife Eliza. Nancy discovers at a young age that she has psychic abilities but is at pains to keep “the uncanny” hidden from her family, though she struggles to do so when she is approached by another psychic after a boating tragedy. This man will haunt Nancy for many years. As the middle child Nancy is often the buffer in a house of large personalities: when her brothers go away to war, she must stay to hold her parents together. She joins the suffragettes and briefly finds work at a printing house and longs to find her own place in the world. Through her psychic abilities she finally finds it and begins to let go of just being a daughter and starts learning to be herself. This is a wonderful coming of age tale set in a time of huge upheaval and social change. It is a story of the lives of women and the choices they face and it is a wonderful evocation of the past. Thomas has made meticulous use of her research brilliantly bringing to life the end of the music hall era and the rise of spiritualism in the 1920s.  I highly recommended this smart, gothic and romantic page turner.

This review originally appeared in HNR 73 see it online HERE

Vowed by Liz de Jager

Vowed is the second novel from Liz de Jager, continuing the story of monster fighting teen Kit Blackhart. I loved the first instalment and I think this one is even better. Each novel is a separate adventure and so can be read out of sequence. In this one Kit is reluctantly teamed up with Dante, a human “spook” or government agent to discover why kids have been going missing from a South London estate.

The writing is whip crack smart and the story rattles along; believe me you will be hurtling through the chapters desperate to know what happens next. We meet many of the characters familiar from Banished such as Kit’s family and her werewolf best friend Aiden but we also learn more about the Seelie and Unseelie Fae and the variety of demons, angels and other creatures that exist in Kit’s world. Kit is fantastic central character; smart, cheeky, tough and endearing she makes an ideal role model for teen girls.

This is the kind of YA kids have been screaming for and the kind of crossover that fantasy fans will love. This book is darker, grittier and more urban than Banishedand that gives the plot greater momentum and lends it undoubted crossover appeal. Vowed is perfect for fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Cassandra Clare and Patricia Briggs.

This review was first published here http://www.welovethisbook.com/reviews/vowed

You By Joanna Briscoe

Having first read Joanna Briscoe when I reviewed her most recent novel Touched I knew I had found a writer whose writing utterly enthralled me and I had to discover her back catalogue so I picked up this novel from 2011. The story is told by mother and daughter Dora and Cecilia in two periods; the 1970s when Cecilia was growing up the second child in Dora and her husband Patrick's chaotic bohemian household with damp walls, hippy lodgers, music, books and running wild on the moors, and now as Cecilia returns to the moors with her own family after years in London to look after her mother who is ill. This book drew me in from the first line "IT'S HAUNTED, she thought" this is Cecilia returning to her childhood home and finding that her past is here waiting for her. She has been estranged from her mother and she needs answers. Dora meanwhile is feeling vulnerable delighted that her daughter has returned and that she will have time with her grandchildren she is also keeping secrets and the guilt like her cancer is eating her up. Both women have had a devastating love affair that they have kept secret and they are more alike than they would care to admit. I said in my previous review that Joanna Briscoe "takes a scalpel to humanity and shows us the human heart in all its darkness and glory. " (July 3rd Review of Touched )

I second that now and this book is even better than Touched. If you haven't read her before get your hands on her work right now she is a writer of amazing talent. 

The Disappearance of Emily Marr

Louise Candlish’s latest book is an intriguing take on morality and celebrity culture. Emily Marr is a dissatisfied thirty year old who longs for more from life, her mother died when she was young, her father suffers from dementia, her job is poorly paid and she is bored with her long-time boyfriend. When she meets Arthur she feels her life has truly began but she couldn’t have known the tragic sequence of events that had been set in motion, events that will make her infamous and hated. Tabby has been abandoned by her boyfriend while they were travelling; she has made her way to France and the beautiful Ile de Re. She is penniless and desperate, contemplating sleeping rough when she overhears Emmie repeat the access code to her front door, thinking that she won’t be back for a day or two Tabby lets herself. Caught by Emmie asleep in the house Tabby expects to be reported to the police instead Emmie invites her to stay and slowly as the women bond she reveals her story. The twist when it comes in unexpected and incredibly clever. Do not mistake this book for a fluffy romance it is gripping, intense and will get book groups talking everywhere.  A perfect beach read with a dark thread. Ideal for fans of Emily Barr and Hannah Richell.

Thanks to Stacey Bartlett of The Bookseller for the chance to read this book before publication.

Mad about You by Sinéad Moriarty Guest Review by Margaret Madden

After 10 years of Marriage, two children and career changes, Emma and James find themselves relocated to London for James' new job as coach to London Irish Rugby Club.

While Emma struggles with loneliness and looking after her young kids, James is getting home later and later from work. 

When James starts getting sextexts from an unknown number, Emma fears the worst. Then the parcels start arriving to their home and panic sets in...... Mad About You is Sinead Moriarty's ninth novel. She introduced Emma and James in the 1990s so readers of the previous novels will remember Emma's wacky sister, Babs , as well as their best friends, Lucy and Donal.
However, if you haven't read the previous novels it doesn't affect the enjoyment of this one.

The author has introduced some great new characters and I especially loved Poppy, who is a forty something Divorcée on the hunt for a man with money. Should Sinead write another novel in this series, I would love if she developed the new characters more!

I could feel Emma's frustration when she read the text messages and received inappropriate gifts in the post. The description of her heart pounding away like mad seemed so real.

Good read for the summer, especially if you are of a certain age and a bit of a worrier!!

Margaret

Mad about You is out on August 1st and published by Penguin Ireland.

Learn more about Sinéad here http://www.sineadmoriarty.com/

The Letter by Maria Duffy Guest Review by Margaret Madden

Ellie is getting married and off to New York with her two best friends for the Hen Party. Finding a letter addressed to her dead sister, while clearing out her old room, sets in motion a very different trip to The Big Apple than expected.

This is Maria Duffy's third book and its a little gem!
Lighthearted, warm and perfect for a day at the beach or at a window seat while listening to the rain.

The storyline held my interest all the way through and the trip to New York really made me want to visit again ( even just for the Waldorf Salad ).
The author's love of Glasnevin and its surrounding areas really show her love of Dublin and reminded me of day trips I had as a child.


Ellie's friends are two different types of characters but both are equally endearing. Her family sound a little too perfect for my liking, as does her fiancée but other than that, I couldn't fault Maria's style at all.
Will look toward to her next book......

Margaret 

The Letter is out now from Hachette Books Ireland 

Find out more about Maria and her books here http://www.mariaduffy.ie/