Published: April 29th, 2021 Publisher: Michael Joseph Genre: Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
SYNOPSIS:
The sky is clear, star-stamped and silvered by the waxing gibbous moon.
No planes have flown over the islands tonight; no bombs have fallen for over a year.
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Orkney, 1940. Five hundred Italian prisoners-of-war arrive to fortify these remote and windswept islands. Resentful islanders are fearful of the enemy in their midst, but not orphaned twin sisters Dorothy and Constance. Already outcasts, they volunteer to nurse all prisoners who are injured or fall sick.
Soon Dorothy befriends Cesare, an artists swept up by the machine of war and almost broken by the horrors he has witnessed. She is entranced by his plan to build an Italian chapel from war scrap and sea debris, and something beautiful begins to blossom.But Con, scarred from a betrayal in her past, is afraid for her sister; she knows that people are not always what they seem.
Soon, trust frays between the islanders and outsiders, and between the sisters – their hearts torn by rival claims of duty and desire. A storm is coming…
In the tradition of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, The Metal Heart is a hauntingly rich Second World War love story about courage, brutality, freedom and beauty and the essence of what makes us human during the darkest of times.
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MY REVIEW:
Oh, my heart. This book is something truly beautiful. From the moment I read the chilling, tense and gripping prologue, I knew this was going to be something special, that this was going to be one of the best books I’ve read this year. But I was unprepared for just how magnificent it would be. I was mesmerised, lost in the pages, breathing the author’s words in like I needed them for my own survival. This book has reached into my soul and taken up residence there.
This is a story of love, sacrifice, fear and survival set against the backdrop of war. It explores how joy and hope can be found in the most unexpected and darkest of places, and how those who should be our enemies might turn out to be a friend. It is a story of star-crossed lovers, perfectly capturing the heady feeling of falling in love, the power of passion, and the hopefulness new romance brings. She has taken the true story of the building of the Orkney Cathedral and crafted a spellbinding story and compelling, richly drawn cast of characters that feel completely real. It is exquisitely written, with a cinematic quality that made me feel like I was watching everything happen in vivid technicolour. It was like I was right there, living every moment alongisde the characters.
Another theme that ran through this book was prisons. Selkie Holm is a prison twice over; an enforced one for the POWs and a chosen one for the sisters. There are also emotional and mental prisons, such as the ones Con’s trauma has put her in, and the prison that Dot has made for herself in order to help protect her sister. We also see how Dot, Con and Cesare all have a desire to escape their prisons; to live, be free, and find happiness. But they are all bound by their shackles, be they metal or mental, and don’t know how to break themselves free.
I loved the trio of narrators and the different perspectives they brought to the story. I was totally invested in Dorothy and Cesare’s love story and was rooting for them to have their happy-ever-after, even against seemingly insurmountable odds. I liked how different they were yet how they fit together so perfectly, overcoming language barriers and hailing from countries that are sworn enemies. While their feelings for each other are immediate, I liked that the author wrote their story slowly as it made it believable.
I admit, at first I did wonder why Constance had been given as much of a voice as Dorothy and Cesare, seeing as this was their story. But it soon became clear that she had a vital perspective and role to play in what transpired. I liked how her perspective, experience and relationship with her sister tempered the joy and excitement of the lovebirds, adding a layer of tension and unease that seems partly an overreaction, but is also understandable given the trauma she’s experienced. I also liked how it showed us a real selflessness to Dot’s character as she weighed up her loyalty to her sister against her own desires.
But it isn’t just the narrators who make this story what it is. The background cast are as important to propelling the story forward, and the backdrop is a character in itself; the vivid imagery of this bleak, unwelcoming place, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere where there is no escape, only helplessness and despair.
Hauntingly atmospheric, addictive and breathtaking, this novel reminds of the best and worst of humankind, shattering your heart and then giving you hope again. I can’t recommend this enough and even after days of agonising over this review, I worry I haven’t done justice to this phenomenal novel.
YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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Some of the photos from the author’s research trip to Orkney as shared on her Twitter account.
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Caroline Lea grew up in Jersey and gained a First in English Literature and Creative Writing from Warwick University, where she now teaches writing. Her fiction and poetry have been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, and The Glass Woman was shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown.
Thank you to Michael Joseph for the invitation to take part in this tour and the gifted ARC. Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part.
Thanks for reading Bibliophiles. Until next time, Emma xxx
I am really excited to be announcing that I am heading up (with the help of some of my wonderful fellow bloggers) the SquadPod book club! We are taking our love of books official with a brand new book club for 2021 that will be the home of chatting about and championing our new favourite […]
May is another exciting month full of fantastic books. Some of my most anticipated books this year – Circus of Wonders, Madam, The Wolf Den, Threadneedle, The Pact and Malibu Rising – are released this month, along with many others I’m looking forward to reading. Thankfully it isn’t as busy as April, so there are seventeen on this list.
Are any of these on your tbr? Let me know in the comments.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
Published: May 4th, 2021 Publisher: Viper Genre: Suspense, Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS: IT WAS THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME: PROTECT HER
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his new wife, Hannah: protect her. Hannah knows exactly who Owen needs her to protect – his sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. And who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.
As her increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, his boss is arrested for fraud and the police start questioning her, Hannah realises that her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey might hold the key to discovering Owen’s true identity, and why he disappeared. Together they set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realise that their lives will never be the same again…
A beautiful and thrilling mystery, perfect for readers of Lianne Moriarty and Celeste Ng.
SYNOPSIS: When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this fierce, subversive debut novel that reimagines Norse myth.
Angrboda’s story begins where most witch tales end: with being burnt. A punishment from Odin for sharing her visions of the future with the wrong people, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the furthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be the trickster god Loki, and her initial distrust of him—and any of his kind—grows reluctantly into a deep and abiding love.
Their union produces the most important things in her long life: a trio of peculiar children, each with a secret destiny, whom she is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin’s all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger.
Angrboda must choose whether she’ll accept the fate that she’s foreseen for her beloved family—or rise to remake it.
Published: May 6th, 2021 Publisher: Corvus Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Domestic Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story
SYNOPSIS: Foresight is not always a gift…
The summer Natasha Rothwell turns fifteen, strange dancing lights appear in the sky above her small town, lights that she interprets as portents of doom.
Natasha leads a sheltered life with her beautiful, bohemian mother in a crumbling house by the sea. As news of the lights spreads, more and more visitors arrive in the town, creating a feverish atmosphere of anticipation and dread. And the arrival of a new lodger, the handsome Mr Bowen, threatens to upset the delicate equilibrium between mother and daughter.
Then Natasha’s fears seem to be realized when a local teenager goes missing, and she is called on to help. But her actions over that long, hot summer will have unforeseen and ultimately tragic consequences that will cast a shadow for many years to come…
Published: May 11th, 2021 Publisher: William Morrow & Company Genre: Domestic Fiction
SYNOPSIS: What if you gave birth to someone else’s child? An emotional family drama about two couples, one baby, and an unimaginable choice. Inspired by a real-life case of an IVF laboratory mix-up.
Grace and Dan Arden are in their forties and have been on the IVF treadmill since the day they got married. Six attempts have yielded no results, and with each failure a little piece of their hope dies.
Priya Laghari and her husband Nick Archer are being treated at the same fertility clinic, and while they don’t face the same time pressure as the Ardens, the younger couple have their own problems.
On the same day that Priya is booked for her next IVF cycle, Grace goes in for her final, last-chance embryo transfer. Two weeks later, both women get their results.
A year on, angry and heartbroken, one of the women learns her embryo was implanted in the other’s uterus and must make a devastating choice: live a childless life knowing her son is being raised by strangers or seek custody of a baby who has been nurtured and loved by another couple.
Published: May 13th, 2021 Publisher: Picador Genre: Historical Fiction
SYNOPSIS: 1866. In a coastal village in southern England, Nell picks violets for a living. Set apart by her community because of the birthmarks that speckle her skin, Nell’s world is her beloved brother and devotion to the sea.
But when Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives in the village, Nell is kidnapped. Her father has sold her, promising Jasper Jupiter his very own leopard girl. It is the greatest betrayal of Nell’s life, but as her fame grows, and she finds friendship with the other performers and Jasper’s gentle brother Toby, she begins to wonder if joining the show is the best thing that has ever happened to her.
In London, newspapers describe Nell as the eighth wonder of the world. Figurines are cast in her image, and crowds rush to watch her soar through the air. But who gets to tell Nell’s story? What happens when her fame threatens to eclipse that of the showman who bought her? And as she falls in love with Toby, can he detach himself from his past and the terrible secret that binds him to his brother?
Moving from the pleasure gardens of Victorian London to the battle-scarred plains of the Crimea, Circus of Wonders is an astonishing story about power and ownership, fame and the threat of invisibility.
Published: May 13th, 2021 Publisher: Quercus Genre: Gothic Fiction, Suspense
SYNOPSIS: For 150 years, Caldonbrae Hall has loomed high above the Scottish cliffs as a beacon of excellence in the ancestral castle of Lord William Hope. A boarding school for girls, it promises that its pupils will emerge ‘resilient and ready to serve society’.
Into its illustrious midst steps Rose Christie, a 26-year-old Classics teacher and new head of department. Rose is overwhelmed by the institution: its arcane traditions, unrivalled prestige, and terrifyingly cool, vindictive students. Her classroom becomes her haven, where the stories of fearless women from ancient Greek and Roman history ignite the curiosity of the girls she teaches and, unknowingly, the suspicions of the powers that be.
But as Rose uncovers the darkness that beats at the very heart of Caldonbrae, the lines between myth and reality grow ever more blurred. It will be up to Rose – and the fierce young women she has come to love – to find a way to escape the fate the school has in store for them, before it is too late.
Perfect for fans of Margaret Atwood and Madeline Miller, Madam is a darkly feminist tale with an electrifying cast of heroines you won’t soon forget.
Published: May 13th, 2021 Publisher: Head of Zeus Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Novel, Historical Romance
SYNOPSIS: Sold by her mother. Enslaved in Pompeii’s brothel. Determined to survive. Her name is Amara. Welcome to the Wolf Den…
Amara was once a beloved daughter, until her father’s death plunged her family into penury. Now she is a slave in Pompeii’s infamous brothel, owned by a man she despises. Sharp, clever and resourceful, Amara is forced to hide her talents. For now her only value lies in the desire she can stir in others.
But Amara’s spirit is far from broken. By day, she walks the streets with the Wolf Den’s other women, finding comfort in the laughter and dreams they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learnt that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her?
Set in Pompeii’s lupanar, The Wolf Den is the first in a trilogy of novels reimagining the lives of women who have long been overlooked. Perfect for fans of Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls and Madeline Miller’s Circe.
SYNOPSIS: They wanted the perfect family picture. She wanted their perfect life.
Delta Dawn may have come from humble beginnings, but she has been photographing children’s parties for Manhattan’s elite for several years. She moves unnoticed through the luxurious homes of her clients, carefully observing their beautiful clothes, their furniture and art. The parties themselves are often far from perfect, full of spoiled, crying children, but Delta can always alter the images afterwards to make sure the parents only see the party they wanted. The realities of life can be forgotten with a little airbrushing or filter.
But when she is hired to photograph Natalie Straub’s 11th birthday party, Delta finds herself irresistibly attracted. This time, she imagines she is in the pictures with them – she would fit there so perfectly, wouldn’t she, in their gorgeous home, their elegant life? Delta begins by babysitting for Natalie, slowly befriending Amelia, finding opportunities to listen to Fritz; soon she’s bathing in the master bathtub, reading private documents, drinking their expensive wine, and eyeing the beautifully finished garden apartment – if only the current occupant could be made to leave …
And then Delta discovers the one thing Amelia Straub wants most is also the perfect way to ensure she will always stay part of the family.
Combining pin-sharp storytelling with a tantalising build of menace, and a dangerously magnetic lead character, The Photographer heralds the arrival of a brilliant new crime writer for fans of Caroline Kepnes and Gillian Flynn.
Published: May 13th, 2021 Publisher: Harper Teen Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Young Adult, Cozy Mystery
SYNOPSIS: Perfect for fans of the Lady Janies and Stalking Jack the Ripper, the first book in the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries series is a clever retelling of Pride and Prejudice that reimagines the iconic settings, characters, and romances in a thrilling and high-stakes whodunit.
When a scandalous murder shocks London high society, seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seizes the opportunity to prove herself, despite the interference of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious firm Pemberley Associates.
Convinced the authorities have imprisoned the wrong person, Lizzie vows to solve the murder on her own. But as the case—and her feelings for Darcy—become more complicated, Lizzie discovers that her dream job could make her happy, but it might also get her killed.
SYNOPSIS: The Hunting Wives share more than target practice, martinis, and bad behavior in this novel of obsession, seduction, and murder.
Sophie O’Neill left behind an envy-inspiring career and the stressful, competitive life of big-city Chicago to settle down with her husband and young son in a small Texas town. It seems like the perfect life with a beautiful home in an idyllic rural community. But Sophie soon realizes that life is now too quiet, and she’s feeling bored and restless.
Then she meets Margot Banks, an alluring socialite who is part of an elite clique secretly known as the Hunting Wives. Sophie finds herself completely drawn to Margot and swept into her mysterious world of late-night target practice and dangerous partying. As Sophie’s curiosity gives way to full-blown obsession, she slips farther away from the safety of her family and deeper into this nest of vipers.
When the body of a teenage girl is discovered in the woods where the Hunting Wives meet, Sophie finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and her life spiraling out of control.
SYNOPSIS: In its heyday, The Golden Hotel was the crown jewel of the hotter-than-hot Catskills vacation scene. For more than sixty years, the Goldman and Weingold families – best friends and business partners – have presided over this glamorous resort which served as a second home for well-heeled guests and celebrities. But the Catskills are not what they used to be – and neither is the relationship between the Goldmans and the Weingolds. As the facilities and management begin to fall apart, a tempting offer to sell forces the two families together again to make a heart-wrenching decision. Can they save their beloved Golden or is it too late? Long-buried secrets emerge, new dramas and financial scandal erupt, and everyone from the traditional grandparents to the millennial grandchildren wants a say in the hotel’s future. Business and pleasure clash in this fast-paced, hilarious, nostalgia-filled story, where the hotel owners rediscover the magic of a bygone era of nonstop fun even as they grapple with what may be their last resort.
Published: May 27th, 2021 Publisher: Harper Voyager UK Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Horror Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story,
SYNOPSIS: Within the boroughs of London, nestled among its streets, hides another city, filled with magic.
‘Magic and love. Love and magic. They destroy everything in the end …’
Anna’s Aunt has always warned her of the dangers of magic. Its twists. Its knots. Its deadly consequences.
Now Anna counts down the days to the ceremony that will bind her magic forever.
Until she meets Effie and Attis.
They open her eyes to a London she never knew existed. A shop that sells memories. A secret library where the librarian feeds off words. A club where revellers lose themselves in a haze of spells.
But as she is swept deeper into this world, Anna begins to wonder if her Aunt was right all along.
Published: May 27th, 2021 Publisher: Hutchinson Genre: Literary Fiction, Saga
SYNOPSIS: A lifetime holding it together. One party will bring it crashing down.
Malibu: August, 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over-especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.
By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames.
But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.
Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.
SYNOPSIS: A golden summer, and six talented friends are looking forward to the brightest of futures – until a daredevil game goes horribly wrong, and a woman and two children are killed.
18-year-old Megan takes the blame, leaving the others free to get on with their lives. In return, they each agree to a ‘favour’, payable on her release from prison.
Twenty years later Megan is free. Let the games begin . . .
Beth and Tom Hardcastle are the envy of their neighbourhood – they have the perfect marriage, the perfect house, the perfect family.
When the police knock on their door one evening, Beth panics. Tom should be back from work by now – what if he’s crashed his car? She fears the worst.
But the worst is beyond imagining.
As the interrogation begins, Beth will find herself questioning everything she believed about her husband.
They’re saying he’s a monster. And they’re saying she knew.
Published: May 27th, 2021 Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Magical Realism, Alternative History
SYNOPSIS: Come home, if you remember.
The postcard has been held at the sorting office for ninety-one years, waiting to be delivered to Joe Tournier. On the front is a lighthouse – Eilean Mor, in the Outer Hebrides.
Joe has never left England, never even left London. He is a British slave, one of thousands throughout the French Empire. He has a job, a wife, a baby daughter.
But he also has flashes of a life he cannot remember and of a world that never existed – a world where English is spoken in England, and not French.
And now he has a postcard of a lighthouse built just six months ago, that was first written nearly one hundred years ago, by a stranger who seems to know him very well.
Joe’s journey to unravel the truth will take him from French-occupied London to a remote Scottish island, and back through time itself as he battles for his life – and for a very different future.
Published: April 1st, 2021 Publisher: One More Chapter Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Domestic Fiction, Crime Fiction
SYNOPSIS:
Four people walked into the dining room that night. One would never leave.
Matthew: the perfect husband.
Titus: the perfect son.
Charlie: the perfect illusion.
Rachel: the perfect stranger.
Charlie didn’t want her at the book club. Matthew wouldn’t listen.
And that’s how Charlie finds himself slumped beside his husband’s body, their son sitting silently at the dinner table, while Rachel calls 999, the bloody knife still gripped in her hand.
Classic crime meets Donna Tartt in this nerve-shredding domestic noir thriller that weaves a sprawling web of secrets around an opulent West London world and the dinner that ends in death.
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MY REVIEW:
All the stars for this sensational thriller that explores secrets, lies, vengeance, and the masks we wear.
It opens with a bang on the day of the murder; Matthew lies dead at the table and Rachel has the knife in her hand, confesses, and is taken into police custody, leaving Charlie and his son Titus shocked and bewildered. But there is are unanswered questions, riddles that need to be unravelled; why did Rachel confess to a murder she didn’t commit? And who really killed Matthew?
Charlie, Matthew and Titus are the picture-perfect family; affluent, good-looking and sickeningly happy, they have it all. Until Rachel comes into their lives. Charlie thinks there isn’t something quite right about her from the moment they meet, but Matthew won’t listen and invites her into their lives. A decision that will have devastating consequences and change all of their lives forever. Told in flashbacks leading up to the day of the murder and in the present day as they deal with the aftermath of Matthew’s death, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as the author immersed me in this tense and twisty tale.
This was my first time reading this author and I will definitely be reading more. Skillfully written, fast-paced and brimming with suspense, he kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I had so many questions and very few ideas of what the answers could be. Jaw-dropping twists and revelations had my heart racing as the things built to a shocking climax that left me reeling.
Atmospheric, addictive and intoxicating, if you like thrillers then you need to read this book!
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
B P Walter was born and raised in Essex. After spending his childhood and teenage years reading compulsively, he worked in bookshops then went to the University of Southampton to study Film and English followed by an MA in Film & Cultural Management. He is an alumni of the Faber Academy and currently works in social media coordination for Waterstones in London.
Last year myself and a group of fellow bloggers started a group chat with the aim to talk and share books, support each other through the difficult pandemic and encourage each other in our blogging. We jokingly nicknamed ourselves The Squadpod and it stuck.
Today, we launch our group Instagram and Twitter accounts and mark the start of some exciting plans we’ve been working on as a team for quite some time. To coincide with that we’ve decided to share our favourite reads of 2021 so far while also introducing you to our team of 23 bloggers.
Emma at Emma’s Biblio Treasures
The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex.
“The Lamplighters is a truly accomplished debut. It is one of those books that deserves to be huge and I have no doubt everyone will be talking about it this year. It is also perfect for the big screen and I am hoping I get to see it there one day…Atmospheric, haunting, claustrophobic and mesmerising, I found it impossible to put this one down and would have read it in one sitting if not for the pesky need to sleep. If you love and exquisitely layered mystery then don’t miss this book.”
“The level of thrilling suspense and literary fiction is wonderfully balanced, creating something special that will have your heart racing, but underneath the surface lays an intoxicating current of domestic psychological drama. Every chapter is sure to blow you away.”
“I adored the characters in this story. Frances and Anne totally stole my heart and I was unable to put this down once I had begun… You need to read this book! I read it a while ago, have been struggling to complete my review ever since as I wanted to do it justice and still, I can not get the story out of mind. Lucy Jago is now one of my most favourite authors.”
“What Beauty There Is is something special. This book had me hooked from the opening pages. From the first lines… What is so incredibly special about this book is that while it wears its influences openly and proudly, it also manages to be startlingly unique.”
The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger by Suzanne Fortin
“Reading this was an incredibly emotional experience and lots of tears were shed along the way – both of joy and sadness. Love shines out of these pages, whether it be romantic or otherwise, and the way Fortin explores the capacity to love through both of the timelines in this book is enchanting.”
“Bethany Clift is my new hero; she is posessed of a razor sharp, darkly comedic wit and is a fervent supporter of grossness and irreverence with vast amounts of panache – thank goodness, because all of those elements make this story addictive and compelling, and yes I am being woefully vague about the specific details because they are yours to discover and just you wait until the end!”
“So much of this book really gripped me, from my reader tastes, my job and as a mother, it felt so personal and relatable. It has also made me think about my own roles and reading. Cathy has had a wonderfully varied bookish life of which I am very envious!.. I read this with my friend Serena as a buddy read and we have both decided this one is definitely for the forever shelf and I know it will be one that I will gift to others but also return to myself. Absolutely stunning!”
“I would definitely recommend this as a book to read, it’s not a genre I normally pick but it is good to step out of the comfort zone at times. I give this 5 stars out of 5 stars. A great debut novel, written with great care to detail and attention.”
“This book does definitely not disappoint. The story inside is just as gorgeous as the cover, if not even more so… This is an absolutely incredible debut and one that you do not want to miss.”
“I loved the descriptions of the sea, and how it was a character in its own right. Sometimes calm, deceptively so, until a sudden swell could catch you by surprise. There are storms where waves batter the tower almost all the way up to the light itself. The sea is capricious, relentless and must be respected. I was left though, with an eerie feeling and a sense that the lighthouse might still be holding some secrets. That perhaps if you sailed nearby on a clear day you might see a father and his small boy looking out to sea, together forever in this one place outside of time.”
“This exceeded every wish and every hope for Nesta and Cassian’s story. Maas delivered a wonderful plot that was worth every single page of the whopping 750 pages.”
“Alice and Alfie have never met, they find themselves in different traumatic accidents but end up next to each other in a rehabilitation ward in a London hospital. She can’t bare to open her curtains so they connect through conversation… The way this book has been written is so poignant and touches on the tough subjects such as trauma and depression with such sensitivity and grace.”
“I am always a sucker for a good classic whodunnit especially if it involves a hell of a lot of suspects and nowhere for the killer to escape to… I would also like to say that it’s not just an amazing and brilliant mystery novel, it’s also a wonderful historical fiction, delving into lives for which a lot of historians have ignored or shunned due to these women or people being unimportant to history.”
“Completely fascinating that this is based on real-life events, I enjoyed the exploration of what could have happened to the keepers; a mystery which is relayed in a kind of diary when the wives and family are interviewed by an author writing about the tragedy… This is a truly wonderful book! So much so that I have been putting off writing this review because it’s nigh on impossible to find words to do this book justice.”
The One Hundred Years of Lennie and Margot by Marianne Cronin
“I adored this book even though it devastated me emotionally… It is full of surprising humour and wonderful characters. What makes them even more wonderful is how realistic they are.”
The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger by Suzanne Fortin
“This is absolutely historical romance at its best. It perfectly captures the terrors of the war and doesn’t brush over these, whilst also celebrating the small joys that love can bring. Arthur and Maryse are so lovely together, but their relationship is tinged with sorrow as you know that they don’t see out their days together.”
“I am besotted with this book and gutted I haven’t seen more people raving about it… This remarkable debut just goes to show that the quietest love stories are often the most powerful.”
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
“The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is a beautiful, emotional and heart-warming novel. The narrative and characters combine seamlessly to create an original, special story. Prepare to have your tissues at the ready!.. There are some hugely emotional moments in the novel and it’s a true rollercoaster ride. It’s easy to forget their reasons for the paintings and why two very unlikely friends were drawn to one another. Two people who probably wouldn’t have met ordinarily but were drawn together by their common, potentially imminent death. A truly beautiful novel, and one I don’t think I will ever forget!”
“What a book this is! Totally creepy yet so addictive. C. J. Tudor has hit the mark again… The way C. J. Tudor writes is just fantastic as it draws you in and keeps you hooked!”
“Bauer has created a light hearted thriller,, which is now my favourite kind of book, the blend of humour with the thrill of a mystery is a match made in heaven… PC Bridge’s personality complimented Felix’s by being similar in some aspects but with a slight edge, covering his past that unraveled slowly through the book. Bauer creates such a connection between her characters and the reader, letting you explore their deepest, darkest and most emotional memories.”
Welcome to First Lines Friday where I share the first lines from one of the books on my shelves to try and tempt you to add it to yours.
“February 1886. Before the lost word, there was another. It arrived at the Scriptorium in a second-hand envelope, the old address crossed out and Dr Murray, Sunnyside, Oxford, written in its place. It was Da’s job to open the post and mine to sit on his lap, like a queen on her throne, and help him ease each word out of its faded cradle.”
Those intriguing first lines are from a book that I’ve been highly anticipating ever since first hearing about it last year. That book is…
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams, which was released on April 8th.
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SYNOPSIS:
In 1901, the word ‘bondmaid’ was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.
Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary.
Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day, she sees a slip containing the word ‘bondmaid’ flutter to the floor unclaimed.
Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women’s experiences often go unrecorded. She begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.
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Doesn’t that sound fantastic? I’ve read lots of great reviews for this book already and it is definitely high on my tbr.
You can buy the book here* *This is an affiliate link
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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles. See you next week for more first lines xxx
Thank you to Quercus books for the gifted ARC of this book.
SYNOPSIS:
THE BRAND NEW NOVEL FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, BETH O’LEARY.
Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend’s wedding in rural Scotland. The playlist is all planned and the snacks are packed.
But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie’s ex, Dylan, who she’s avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier.
Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they’ve totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with four-hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can’t avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship…
Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly, is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?
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MY REVIEW:
The Road Trip is a story about the joy and terror of falling in love, and the piercing pain and grief of heartbreak. This claustrophobic, locked-room novel centres around Addie and Dylan, a former couple who are forced to share a car ride to their mutual friend’s wedding after a car accident. In close quarters for the first time since their split, they remember the halcyon days of their relationship and then examine the charred ashes that remain, forcing them to confront what went wrong between them.
Beth O’Leary has done it again. She is one of my auto-buy authors and is always one of my first recommendations when someone wants an uplifting read. Her books are always a comfort, like putting on your favourite warm and cosy cardigan on a cold day. They warm your heart and make you smile. You know you’re getting quality writing and an entertaining story filled with real and compelling characters. The Road Trip certainly ticked these boxes, but it also had a slightly more sedated tone. It is still funny, but it focuses more on the emotion of the story than the author’s previous books.
The storytelling is compelling and as the story progresses we see that Beth has cleverly woven together two love stories about the same couple. I love how she always finds a way to put an original spin on the traditional romance tropes to create something special. I really enjoyed the contrast of seeing the beginnings of their love story and how the author explored the nuances of love and heartache through the two timelines. We see them in the heady days of falling in love: the passion that sizzles between them and how they can’t bear to be apart. And then it’s demise: the anger and bitterness of betrayal, andhow the person you once shared everything with is now a stranger.
As always, Beth has filled the story with an entertaining and familiar cast of characters. Along for the ride with Addie and Dylan – and driving up the tension – are Addie’s siter Deb, Dylan’s best friend Marcus and Rodney, who they don’t know but the girls took pity on and agreed to take to the wedding. I had a soft spot for feisty Deb and loved any scene she was in. I could easily read a book with her as the protagonist as she is just so entertaining to read.
Fun, fresh and surprising, The Road Trip is a heartwarming and uplifting novel that is the perfect summer read.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Beth O’Leary is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than 30 languages. She wrote her debut novel, The Flatshare, on her train journey to and from her job at a children’s publisher. She now lives in the Hampshire countryside and writes full time.
London, 1665. Hidden within the growing pile of corpses in his churchyard, Rector Symon Patrick discovers a victim of the pestilence unlike any he has seen before: a young woman with a shorn head, covered in burns, and with pieces of twine delicately tied around each wrist and ankle.
Desperate to discover the culprit, Symon joins a society of eccentric medical men who have gathered to find a cure for the plague. Someone is performing terrible experiments upon the dying, hiding their bodies amongst the hundreds that fill the death carts.
Only Penelope – a new and mysterious addition to Symon’s household – may have the skill to find the killer. Far more than what she appears, she is already on the hunt. But the dark presence that enters the houses of the sick will not stop, and has no mercy…
This hugely atmospheric and entertaining historical thriller will transport readers to the palaces and alleyways of seventeenth-century London. Perfect for fans of Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Andrew Taylor and C.J. Sansom.
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MY REVIEW:
Hear ye! Hear ye! The society for the prevention and cure of the plague is now in session. And they’re hunting for a killer. Could he be closer than they think?
London, 1655. The Bubonic Plague is spreading and the number of corpses piled in the churchyard grows each day. But the virus isn’t the only killer stalking the city. There is another threat hidden in their midst. One that lingers in the shadows hunting its prey just waiting for the perfect time to strike. Someone is murdering the dying; kidnapping those suffering from the plague and subjecting them to horrific experiments.
Rector Symon Patrick is the one to first notice the strange marks on some of the dead in his parish. Together with Penelope, a mysterious young woman who recently joined his household, and a group of medical professionals calling themselves the plague society, he sets out to find the merciless killer.
A gripping whodunit with a sinister and supernatural twist, this is an outstanding debut. Valentine transports you back to a time of death and peril, taking you on a journey through the filthy, pestilence-ridden streets of London. Her vast knowledge and research on this subject and time period is clearly shown in the societal, cultural and medical details she has woven into the story. The imagery is so vivid that you can almost smell the rot and decay in the air as the virus ravishes the population.
It starts at a steady pace, slowly building up the mystery and tension. There is a creeping malice woven through the pages as the barbaric killer commits gruesome acts of torture on already suffering victims. We know he is a cunning predator, so disturbed that he believes himself to be doing good, but everything else is a guessing game where we are almost as clueless as Symon and Penelope. Everyone is a suspect, and I had no one suspect in my mind even as we approached the big reveal.Â
Most of the novel’s fascinating and memorable characters are based on real historical figures, adding to its air of authenticity. The protagonist, Symon, is a hapless sleuth who bumbles his way through the investigation. He isn’t even focused on his job as rector, instead more concerned with his complicated romance with a married woman. It is Penelope, the mysterious woman who has made herself a place in his household. Feisty, resilient and courageous, she was my favourite character. I loved how she was the total opposite of Symon and the driving force in the investigation, propelling things forward when he and the other members of the plague society would have just allowed things to happen.
Atmospheric, haunting, compelling and darkly humorous, I lost myself in this book, relishing every word as I indulged my deep fascination with this time period and my love of historical and gothic mysteries. A delight for anyone who enjoys the genre, don’t miss this eerie tale.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
V.L. Valentine is a senior science editor at National Public Radio in Washington, D.C., where she covers infectious disease outbreaks such as the coronavirus pandemic, Ebola and the Zika. She has a master’s in the history of medicine from University College London. Her non-fiction work has been published by NPR, The New York Times, The Smithsonian Channel and Science Magazine.
Thank you to Viper Books for the invitation to take part and the gifted copy of the book. Please check out the reviews from other bloggers on the tour.
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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles. Until next time, Emma xxx
Welcome to First Lines Friday where I share the first lines from one of the books on my shelves to try and tempt you to add it to yours.
“I will tell you a story. Seven years ago, when I was a child of ten, I became lost in the woods. My sisters and I had been travelling the road that skims the coast like a stone from Ditagel. I loved our summer home – a spume-silvered rock of houses and workshops, it’s docks piled high with amphorae. But there is a place, many leagues to the east, where the road slows, turning inland. It loses itself amongst the trees, straying into giant country. Branches interlace here, it is easy to slip away into the green space between the giant’s fingers. Easy for a careless child to disappear.”
I don’t know about you, but those lines just make me want to keep reading. So what book are they from? The answer is…
Sistersong by Lucy Holland. This stunning debut was released April 1st and is one I’m hoping to read this month.
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SYNOPSIS:
Betrayal. Magic. Murder. A tale of three siblings and three deadly sins. In a magical ancient Britain, bards sing a story of treachery, love and death. This is that story. For fans of Madeline Miller’s Circe, Lucy Holland’s Sistersong retells the folk ballad ‘The Two Sisters.’
King Cador’s children inherit a land abandoned by the Romans, torn by warring tribes. Riva can cure others, but can’t heal her own scars. Keyne battles to be seen as the king’s son, although born a daughter. And Sinne dreams of love, longing for adventure.
All three fear a life of confinement within the walls of the hold, their people’s last bastion of strength against the invading Saxons. However, change comes on the day ash falls from the sky – bringing Myrdhin, meddler and magician. The siblings discover the power that lies within them and the land. But fate also brings Tristan, a warrior whose secrets will tear them apart.
Riva, Keyne and Sinne become entangled in a web of treachery and heartbreak, and must fight to forge their own paths. It’s a story that will shape the destiny of Britain.
Sistersong is a powerfully moving story, perfect for readers who loved Naomi Novik’s Uprooted and Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale.
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How incredible does that sound? I’m really excited to read this one after anticipating it for so long. Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Black Crow PR for my gifted copy.
You can buy the book here* *This is an affiliate link
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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles. See you next Friday for more first lines xxx
Published: April 1st, 2021 Publisher: Harper Collins UK Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
SYNOPSIS:
A perfect marriage…
Golden couple Annie and David Crayce have it all. A loving marriage, three beautiful children and a thriving family business. Life couldn’t be better. Until the unthinkable happens…
A perfect crime?
A piece of damning DNA evidence has arisen, placing David as the prime suspect of a murder committed twenty-years ago. Annie is sure her David is innocent. But if he isn’t guilty, then either his father or brother must be.
As the police investigate the cold case, so does Annie. Trawling through her old diaries, she begins desperately looking for answers. But it all comes down to a few lost hours she can’t solve.
And Annie begins to doubt the one person she thought she knew best… Her husband.
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MY REVIEW:
“The perfect family… until you scratch the surface and out come all the bugs.”
The Lost Hours is the story of a picture-perfect family who seem to have it all until a damning piece of DNA evidence shows there is a killer lurking among them. Is it David; the police’s prime suspect in the twenty-year-old case who swears his innocence? Or his father or brother; who also claim to know nothing about the death of the local teenager. The police and the family are all searching for answers in this compelling and emotional page-turner.
This story is every family’s worst nightmare: DNA evidence proves that someone in your family is linked to a murder but everyone swears they are innocent, and you don’t want to believe that someone you love, that you thought you knew, could have murdered a 17-year-old girl and then kept it hidden for twenty years. Told by dual narrators in dual timelines, it moves seamlessly between them to tell the story as it unfolds in the present day while also detailing events leading up to and immediately after Karen’s murder.
The author starts the story with the unearthing of Karen’s body not long after her disappearance and then jumps forward twenty years, immersing us in the world of the Cayce family. We get to know the family, and while they may be a little too perfect, a little too twee, and the children a little spoiled, I did like them. It is cleverly written, as allowing us to build this rapport with them before the shock of the DNA evidence leaves you with the same sense of disbelief Annie has that anyone in this family could be hiding such a dark secret. Combined with her evocative writing this makes it one of those books you really feel while reading; feeling all of the pain, confusion and torment that Annie and the others are going through.
For me, it was this emotional side of the story that I found most compelling. Seeing the mystery from that angle and watching as the family’s perfect world crumbled around them was what got my blood pumping and had me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t really vibe with Natalie, the detective investigating the murder. I found her annoying and it felt like she was allowing her own past to influence her investigation. I could have happily read the book without her point of view and think this would have been a five star read for me if the second narrator had instead been the mysterious murderer rather than Natalie.
The Lost Hours is a taut, twisty, atmospheric and heart-rending family drama with a mysterious twist that keeps you guessing. I would recommend this book, and this author, and look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime, including One Minute Later,My Lies, Your Lies and Forgive Me. Susan’s novels have sold nearly three million copies in the UK alone. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s.
Susan has previously worked as a secretary in news and current affairs before training as a production assistant working on light entertainment and drama. She’s lived in Hollywood and the South of France, but now resides in Gloucestershire with husband James, two stepsons and dogs.
Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part in the blog tour and to Harper Collins UK for the gifted copy of the book. Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part.
Thanks for reading Bibliophiles. Until next time, Emma xxx
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