Tag Archives: romance fiction

#BookReview ‘Shadows in the Ashes’ by @PiaCCourtenay #romance #Pompeii

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Shadows in the Ashes is the new dual-timeline romance novel by Viking specialist Christina Courtenay. Alternating between the present day and AD79 Pompeii, it tells the story of gladiator Raedwald and Aemilia, a wealthy Roman woman trapped in a loveless marriage; and Caterina, an English-Italian woman who flees to Italy leaving behind an abusive husband, and Connor a red-hair volcanologist she meets in Sorrento. Christina CourtenayThe story opens in AD73 with Raedwald, a young man in Frisia (today’s Netherlands) who, after being betrayed and sold into slavery, finds himself training as a gladiator in Pompeii. In 2022 in North London, Cat works from home as a translator, shielding young daughter Bella from her manipulative husband Derek. Both Raedwald and Cat fall in love when it is most inconvenient; Cat because she is on the rebound and not looking for a boyfriend, Raedwald because he is planning to escape from Pompeii and return home to Frisia to seek revenge for his betrayal. To earn extra money, Cat takes a live-in position at a hotel in Sorrento where Connor is a guest; Raedwald and his fellow gladiator Duro take on extra work as bodyguards, their client is Lucius Licinia, husband of the beautiful Aemilia.
The two stories switch effortlessly between the centuries as Courtenay creates a mirroring effect as the people in each timeline face similar, but not identical, situations. The story becomes more mystical when Cat visits the ruins at Pompeii and starts to have visions. The actual date of the real Vesuvius eruption isn’t known so this adds tension to the Pompeii timeline as days pass and the warning signs increase. Minor earthquakes become bigger, smoke rises from the ground.
I had a few quibbles – there are a few easy coincidences, some difficult actions are achieved too simply or without mention, and the Pompeii research sometimes lies heavily on the page – but this is an easy read to sink into after a difficult day. The author treads a careful path through her narrative, including the tragic volcanic explosion and an abusive marriage, counter-balancing these threats by emphasizing the security of true love, of family, of friends, of partners. Even if the romance and flirting at times edges into over-the-top ‘teenage crush’ territory, the characters quickly return to the hard reality of daily life. I particularly enjoyed the scenes with Cat’s Italian family, particularly her two uncles who are just the men to have on your side in a tough situation.
Included as ‘Bonus Material’ is an intriguing short story called Alaric’s Dilemma which hints at a sequel to Shadows in the Ashes.
Welcome escapism.

Here’s my review of TEMPTED BY THE RUNES by the same author.

If you like this, try:-
‘Glorious Exploits’ by Ferdia Lennon 
‘The Wolf Den’ by Elodie Harper #1WolfDen
‘The House with the Golden Door’ Elodie Harper #2WolfDen

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview SHADOWS IN THE ASHES by @PiaCCourtenay https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7RW via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- SW Perry

#BookReview ‘You’ll Never See Me Again’ @LesleyPearse #WW1 #romance

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When a character in a film says ‘never’ it’s a sign that the impossible thing will definitely happen before the end. Such is the title of the new novel from Lesley Pearse,You’ll Never See Me Again. Lesley PearseIt is 1917 and a storm is thrashing the Devon coast at Hallsands. Betty Wellows is with her shell-shocked husband Martin at his mother’s home, safely up the cliffs. Martin no longer recognises Betty, he is a different man from the fisherman who went to war. Betty is working all hours to support her husband and his mother, putting up with insults, petty grievances, grief for the loss of her husband. As the storm becomes wild and dangerous, Agnes instructs her daughter-in-law to go to her own house beside the beach to rescue her belongings from the flood. Afraid, Betty escapes the older woman’s abuse and runs into the storm. As the waves crash into her home, Betty realises this is her chance to escape Hallsands, Agnes and Martin.
The dramatic opening grabbed my attention and my emotions. Betty is trapped in a life of poverty with a husband who no longer recognises her and a mother-in-law who takes her money and treats her like a skivvy. When she has the chance to escape, Betty takes it. I spent the whole novel chewing over Betty’s dilemma; was she right to run, should she have stayed. Pearse maintains this dilemma throughout the book as Betty goes to Bristol where she changes her name to Mrs Mabel Brook, a widow. You’ll Never See Me Again is the story of how a lone woman in the middle of the Great War is able to strive to improve her lot in life. Mabel suffers setbacks, encounters thieves and frauds, and sheds copious tears. There are moments where her life seems to have reached a settled, easier place; but, of course, more trauma lies ahead.
This is a cleverly plotted book that kept me guessing to the end. Mabel at times is her own worst enemy, and she finds it difficult to accept help. Then she accidentally discovers a talent she never knew she had. When she moves to Dorchester, Dorset, to be a live-in servant/housekeeper for illustrator Miss Clara May, Mabel’s life takes a new turn. Nearby is a prisoner of war camp and one of the inmates, Carsten, looks after Clara’s garden. Carsten and Mabel fall into a state of mutual liking when Spanish flu strikes at the camp; afraid for Carsten’s health, Mabel volunteers as a nurse.
Mabel ran away from Hallsands to be free, but her past travels with her. Finally she must confront her origins in order to move on with her life. Mabel has a strong sense of honesty and justice, which sounds odd given the way she ran away in chapter one. But she is unselfish, never turning away from difficult decisions and transforming herself in a short space of time into a beautiful, assured woman that her neighbours at Hallsands would not recognise.

Here’s my review of THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET, also by Lesley Pearse.

If you like this, try:-
‘One Step Too Far’ by Tina Seskis
‘Sometimes I Lie’ by Alice Feeney
‘The Girls’ by Lisa Jewell

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview YOU’LL NEVER SEE ME AGAIN by @LesleyPearse https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3ZO via @Sandra Danby

My Porridge & Cream read @carol_warham #books #romance

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Today I’m delighted to welcome romance novelist Carol Warham. Her ‘Porridge & Cream’ read is The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.

“The paperback cover is creased and bent and its pages are yellowing, almost looking tobacco stained. But, this well-thumbed novel [below] has been on my book shelf for about twenty years. Nothing would induce me to discard my copy of The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher, not even the offer of a brand new copy. Carol Warham

“This lovely story sustained me through the years of family stress and trauma – all thankfully over and everyone is very happy. When life was proving too much and I needed an escape this was my ‘go to’ book.

“The story revolves around Penelope Keeling, daughter of a well-known artist, and mother of three very different children. Olivia is both tough and vulnerable, Noel is careless and ruthless. The eldest daughter, Nancy, is embittered by greed and jealousy. Penelope’s most treasured possession is her father’s painting of ‘The Shell Seekers’ which depicts her as a child. This painting is now worth a small fortune and that knowledge throws her family into disarray.

“This gentle story follows the slightly bohemian Penelope and Antonia and Danus, the young people, who become central to her life. It moves between the beautiful county of Cornwall and busy London, as each chapter is given over to the different characters whose lives are woven around her. Eventually Penelope feels she must make the decision about the painting and where it should go.

“This is a novel, which I could escape into and gave me many hugs.”
BUY
Carol Warham’s Bio
Writing has been Carol’s love since childhood. She started by making small comics for her dolls, progressed to training as a journalist for a short while. Once the family had grown up Carol settled down to writing and published short stories, poems and holiday articles. In recent years she has become a judge in the short story section for the HysteriaUK competition and also for the RNA’s romance novel of the year. These days she is very involved volunteering for the Huddersfield Literature Festival and writing her second novel. Carol lives in Yorkshire, surrounded by some beautiful countryside, which is ideal for her other passion of walking, often with a dog called Sam. This lovely area is the location for her first novel, Resolutions.

Carol Warham’s links
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Carol Warham’s latest book
Carol WarhamCarly Mitchell returns to the small town of Yeardon in Yorkshire almost a year after running away on her wedding day. Now she wants to try to make amends with Steve, his family, and the townspeople who had prepared a huge party to celebrate her New Year’s Eve wedding. She intends to stay only for a few days at the Resolution Hotel. However, her plans change when Steve’s father is taken ill, and she steps in to help. This also means having to deal with Steve’s antagonism since he has never forgiven her for humiliating him. A further complication comes in the form of Ben Thornton, the local doctor, to whom Carly feels an immediate attraction. They enjoy getting to know each other and falling in love, until a famous model from Ben’s past arrives in the town, and stays at the hotel. Steve attempts to get his revenge on Carly by driving a wedge between her and Ben, and by threatening to reveal what he knows about Ben’s troubled past unless Carly leaves town. The resolution lies in Carly’s hands as she struggles between wanting to flee or staying with the man she loves.
BUY
What is a ‘Porridge & Cream’ book? It’s the book you turn to when you need a familiar read, when you are tired, ill, or out-of-sorts, where you know the story and love it. Where reading it is like slipping on your oldest, scruffiest slippers after walking for miles. Where does the name ‘Porridge & Cream’ come from? Cat Deerborn is a character in Susan Hill’s ‘Simon Serrailler’ detective series. Cat is a hard-worked GP, a widow with two children and she struggles from day-to-day. One night, after a particularly difficult day, she needs something familiar to read. From her bookshelf she selects ‘Love in A Cold Climate’ by Nancy Mitford. Do you have a favourite read which you return to again and again? If so, please send me a message.

Discover the ‘Porridge & Cream’ books of these authors:-
Julie Ryan’s choice is ‘The Magus’ by John Fowles
Simon Fairfax chooses ‘Heller with a Gun’ by Louis L’Amour
‘Night Watch’ by Terry Pratchett is chosen by Rhoda Baxter

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
Why does romance author @carol_warham re-read THE SHELL SEEKERS by Rosamunde Pilcher? #books https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3Z7 via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘The Invitation’ by Lucy Foley #romance #historical

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A romance, almost an anti-romance, The Invitation by Lucy Foley is a poignant novel with two parallel stories of dangerous obsession and fantasy. Lucy FoleyHal, who has drifted to Rome after serving in the Royal Navy in World War Two, leads a cheap life, surviving on writing assignments, living in a cheap area, Trastevere. One day he accepts from a friend an invitation to a party, an invitation the friend is unable to use. Arriving in his dusty suit, Hal feels apart from the glamour and wealth on show, the jewels, the gowns, the dinner suits. There he sees an enchanting, puzzling young woman who appears icy, untouchable, out of reach.
They meet again when Hal is invited by the hostess of the Rome party, the Contessa, to be attached as journalist to the forthcoming promotional tour for her film, The Sea Captain. They are to sail along the coast to Cannes where the film will be premiered at the film festival. Invitations, accepted and refused, feature frequently throughout the novel, forcing decisions to be made, plans changed, opportunities grasped. The close proximity of the group of disparate passengers begins to unveil secrets, cracks in carefully-controlled behaviour, shameful secrets and lies. As well as Hal and the Contessa, on board are the ageing, artistic film producer; the ageing, drunk leading man; the glamorous siren-like leading lady; the pale beaten-down photographer; the husband and wife investors; and Roberto, the Contessa’s skipper.
Within this story of a coastal journey is a story-within-a-story, the love story on which The Sea Captain is based. A sea captain returning home from a victorious naval battle rescues a drowning figure. Once on board, it is realised it is a naked woman. The captain is captivated by her, his crew fear she is a witch and will bring bad luck. On land, the captain keeps the woman as his mistress, given everything she might wish, in a lavishly-decorated house. It is a morality tale of the perils of attempting to mould another person into something you want but which they are not. This tale of the gilded cage echoes throughout the novel. So will true life mirror the film version of the story, or the true story? Of course a film is fictional, the truth being manipulated for dramatic effect, something which cannot be done with true secrets which have a way of making themselves known.
A sad, subtle tale of warning about obsessive love, fantasy and longing.

Read my reviews of these other Lucy Foley novels:-
THE GUEST LIST
THE PARIS APARTMENT

If you like this, try:-
‘The Believers’ by Zoe Heller
‘The Tea Planter’s Wife’ by Dinah Jeffries
‘A Mother’s Secret’ by Renita d’Silva

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE INVITATION by Lucy Foley https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3hU via @SandraDanby

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#BookReview ‘The Lost Letters of William Woolf’ by Helen Cullen @wordsofhelen #romance

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I admit to loving the premise of this book when I first heard about it. A Dead Letter Depot where researchers reunite lost letters with senders and recipients. The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen left me wishing for more. It promised to be a novel about letters and mystery and turned into one focussed on a struggling marriage, which was not what I expected. Helen CullenWilliam’s marriage to Clare has gone stale and to avoid confronting what must change, he becomes obsessed by his work at the Dead Letter Depot and in particular the letters from someone called Winter addressed to ‘My Great Love’. In his vulnerable state, William begins to imagine that he may be that person and sets out to find her. Interspersed with this task we see William correctly fulfil his role, taking a lost fossil to the correct museum for example.
I switched between liking the character of William with being frustrated at his unrealistic romanticism, and could understand Clare’s frustrations. Ditto, she seemed impatient and too inclined to throw stones in a glasshouse. Clearly they were not communicating, ironic in a book about writing letters, and neither completely held my sympathy.
So what kept me reading? The lost letters, the mystery of Winter’s identity and to whom she was writing. And there lies one disappointment: the solution to Winter’s was such an anti-climax I had to flick back through the book to find an earlier reference in order to appreciate the revelation. I had two other disappointments. As much as I loved the concept of the Dead Letter Depot, a small voice in my head kept saying: it isn’t real, it wouldn’t get funding, it should be one man at a desk not a department with enough staff or budget for a Fancy Dress Fundraiser, and shouldn’t the lost letters be old not recently posted. I was also unclear of the timeline of the story. William and Clare feel like a 21st century couple living in the 1980s, pre-mobiles, pre-tablets. Something jarred and it would not go away.
This novel could have been so much more if there was less about the fragile relationship between William and Clare and more about the Dead Letter Depot, William’s fellow workers and the cases they worked on. But it is nicely written and if you are looking for an easy-to-read romance for your holiday, you will probably love it.

If you like this, try:-
‘Butterfly Barn’ by Karen Power
‘Forever Fredless’ by Suzy Turner
‘Girl in Trouble’ by Rhoda Baxter

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE LOST LETTERS OF WILLIAM WOOLF by Helen Cullen @wordsofhelen https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3oH via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘The Audacious Mendacity of Lily Green’ #romance #contemporary

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The title of The Audacious Mendacity of Lily Green by Shelley Weiner suggests this tale is about telling the truth and telling lies, a clever novel of social comment which made me smile frequently at the spot-on observations. Beneath the smiles though, are layers of contradictions, degrees of untruths and some wicked humour. Shelley Weiner Lily Green is 34 and a virgin, both in terms of sexuality and deception [circumstances that seem a little unrealistic for her age, but stick with it]. Lily tells her domineering mother that she is engaged to be married, and the story takes off as Lily’s combination of innocence and intuitive reasoning kicks in. Her unsympathetic mother departs on a holiday with ‘the girls’ and once she is gone, Lily wonders who Eva really is. “… Lily had a sense of her mother in masquerade – a series of costumes in which she’d played suburban wife, then grieving widow, and now crone in glad rags. Were the outfits like onion leaves with nothing inside, or as now seemed fleetingly possible, was there someone real beneath the camouflage.”
Just as Lily doesn’t know her mother, she also doesn’t know herself. She tears cuttings from women’s magazines – how to lose weight, how to cook lobster, how to seduce a man – as if she is casting around for behaviour which will give her a clue to her own identity. So she sets off from Hatch End… to London, a journey of 18 miles, hardly a grand adventure. But that’s the point; Lily could make this journey from the house she shares with her mother, but she lacks the self-confidence and ability to assert herself. She knows neither herself, nor her mother, and therefore flounders to find a place in the world. But as she invents a life and personality for herself, she meets other people who tell the truth and tell lies: how can she distinguish between them?
A funny novel which can be read on two levels: a quick poolside read for your holiday, or a social commentary which as you read it will make you review how much you tell the truth. And do you really know your own mother?
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK AT AMAZON

If you like this, try:-
‘The Girls’ by Lisa Jewell
‘One Step Too Far’ by Tina Seskis
‘59 Memory Lane’ by Celia Anderson

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE AUDACIOUS MENDACITY OF LILY GREEN by @shelleyweiner via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Ie

#BookReview ‘The Paying Guests’ by Sarah Waters #historical

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Sarah Waters is one of my favourite authors, I await each new book with delicious anticipation. I waited a while for this one, The Paying Guests was a Christmas present and I started reading it about an hour after unwrapping it. Sarah WatersI wasn’t disappointed. Waters has written a ‘closed room’ mystery with a bit of romance and crime thrown in, all in the post-Great War context of women’s rights, abandoned soldiers and the corset of social manners. Mrs Wray and her daughter Frances have fallen on hard times, in order to pay off debts left after the death of Frances’ father, they rent out the upstairs of their house to lodgers. Except they don’t call Mr and Mrs Barber their lodgers, they are ‘paying guests’. Waters puts these four strangers together and mixes it a little, waiting to see what happens. They bump into each other on the landing, on the stairs, in the kitchen on the way to the outside lavatory, in their dressing gowns, first thing in the morning and last thing at night. They circle around each other according to the parameters of social behaviour. And all the time, Waters turns the screw slowly, tightening, until the buttoned-down feelings break free. Then all hell breaks loose.
I loved this book, the characters are drawn with such care and I could see this divided house as if looking at a photograph.

Read the first paragraph of THE PAYING GUESTS.

If you like this, try:-
‘After the Bombing’ by Clare Morrall
‘Freya’ by Anthony Quinn
‘At Mrs Lippincote’s’ by Elizabeth Taylor

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE PAYING GUESTS by Sarah Waters http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1s3 via @Sandra Danby

#BookReview ‘The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me’ by Lucy Robinson #romance

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The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me by Lucy Robinson is about Sally Howlett, wardrobe mistress at the Royal Opera House, who sings opera… in the wardrobe. Lucy RobinsonSally grows up on a council estate in Stourbridge, decidedly not a centre of opera appreciation. Playing on the radio she hears an aria from Madame Butterfly and is entranced. It is the beginning of a lifelong obsession which leads to her not singing opera at the Royal Opera House but there working as a wardrobe mistress. The story of Sally’s life story is told by weaving together the strands of her childhood with her emotionally-repressed family, her life as a wardrobe mistress, a short visit to New York to work costumes for a production at The Met, and now as Sally begins to study opera. I found the combination of chick-lit and girl-about-town bad language and the opera strand to be rather strange. What kept me reading? The storyline, I wanted to know what happens in New York to make Sally study opera at the RCM when she can’t get beyond singing in the wardrobe.
What are the big themes trying to get out? A few life lessons. That helping others is all well and good, but you must do things for yourself and not simply to please someone else. That family loyalty is important, but you also owe a duty to yourself. To never give up. And finally, Sally learns that it is not just her that struggles for self-belief, everyone does. When she understands this, she becomes an adult and an opera singer.
A page-turning read for your summer holiday suitcase.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK AT AMAZON

If you like this, try:-
‘The Audacious Mendacity of Lily Green’ by Shelley Weiner
‘The Art of Baking Blind’ by Sarah Vaughan
‘Butterfly Barn’ by Karen Power

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE UNFINISHED SYMPHONY OF YOU AND ME by Lucy Robinson via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-13g

#BookReview ‘The Cheesemaker’s House’ by @JaneCable #contemporary #romance

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The Cheesemaker’s House, the debut novel by Jane Cable, starts with a mystery and turns into a ghost story. After her divorce, Alice moves with her dog William to a village in North Yorkshire. Newly-arrived, she walks the dog beside the River Swale and sees a naked swimmer. She watches, feeling like a voyeur but unable to leave. Then suddenly he disappears. Jane CableFeeling guilty that she didn’t search, or call for help, she drives into town where she goes into a coffee shop down a side street. And is served by the mysterious swimmer. Disturbed by his presence and at the same time attracted to him, she cannot work out how he left the river without her seeing or how he got to town before her.
This first mystery is followed by others, competently handled by this first-time author who draws a fond picture of life in rural North Yorkshire. My only minor quibble would be that for three-quarters of the book, the meaning of the book’s title was lost on me.

Read my reviews of these other novels by Jane Cable:-
ANOTHER YOU
ENDLESS SKIES

Also by Jane Cable, writing as Eva Glyn:-
THE COLLABORATOR’S DAUGHTER
THE MISSING PIECES OF US

If you like this, try:-
‘The House at the Edge of the World’ by Julia Rochester
‘Butterfly Barn’ by Karen Power
‘Somewhere Inside of Happy’ by Anna McPartlin

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE CHEESEMAKER’S HOUSE by @JaneCable https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-4bw via @SandraDanby