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The Cardinal by Alison Weir #Review #PublicationDay

Travel back to Tudor times. Alison Weir's historical novel. The Cardinal, centres on Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. It is published today by Headline Review on 22nd May.   AN EXTRAORDINARY RISE TO POWER. A TRAGIC FALL FROM GRACE. It begins with young Tom Wolsey, the bright and brilliant son of a Suffolk tradesman, sent to study at Oxford at just eleven years old. It ends with a disgraced cardinal, cast from the King's side and estranged from the woman he loves. The years in between tell the story of a scholar and a lover, a father and a priest. From the court of Henry VIII, Tom builds a powerful empire of church and state. At home in London, away from prying eyes, he finds joy in a secret second life. But when King Henry, his cherished friend, demands the ultimate sacrifice, what will Wolsey choose? Alison Weir's riveting new Tudor novel reveals the two lives of Cardinal Wolsey, a tale of power, passion and ambition. My Thoughts This is a deep dive into Thomas Wolsey...

Summer at the Little Duck Pond Cafe by Rosie Green ** Blog Tour Review**

Welcome to the second novella in Rosie Green's Little Duck Pond series, Summer at the Little Duck Pond Cafe. You can read my review of the first book, Spring at the Little Duck Pond Cafe here.


Jaz Winters stuck a pin in a map and fled to the village of Sunnybrook, looking for a brand new life – and after a rocky start, it’s beginning to look as if she made the right decision. Her blossoming friendship with Ellie and Fen has seen her through some dark times, and she’s managed to land two jobs – waitress at The Little Duck Pond Café and working as a weekend tour guide at Brambleberry Manor, the country house that’s been in Fen’s family for generations.


    Sure, life isn’t totally perfect. There’s the irritating know-it-all guy who keeps popping up on her manor tours, for a start. He seems determined to get under Jaz’s skin whether she likes it or not. But she supposes it’s a small price to pay for the relative peace she’s found, living in Sunnybrook.



    But just as Jaz is beginning to think rosier times are on the horizon, a shock encounter looks set to shatter her fragile happiness.

    Will she be forced to flee from Sunnybrook and everyone she’s grown so fond of? Or will she find the strength to stand her ground and finally face up to the nightmares of the past?

This novella is part of a series:

Spring at the Little Duck Pond Cafe
Summer at the Litle Duck Pond Cafe
Winter at the Little Duck Pond Cafe



My Thoughts
I enjoyed revisiting the village of Smallbrook and meeting again some familiar faces from the first novella in this series. Jaz's story has extended the focus and introduced us to people within her orbit and I like to see how all these characters' lives interact. Smallbrook seems to be a place for new beginnings and starting again and therefore, a hopeful place to live. Jaz appeared in the first novella, so it was good to find out more about why she came to be in the village. There is a darker edge to her backstory which makes the friends she makes in Smallbrook seem all the more heart-warming and protective.

    With fluid writing and a well paced storyline, I found this to be an enjoyable read which I finished in one sitting. There is still mileage to be found for a third story and I am looking forward to finding out what Winter will have in store and hoping that we will find out more about Fen's story. Rosie Green has created a thoroughly likeable place in which to spend a few hours.

In short: a warm and welcoming tale.

About the Author



Rosie Green has been scribbling stories ever since she was little. Back then they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’. Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all, unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.



    Rosie’s brand new series of novellas is centred on life in a village café. Summer at The Little Duck Pond Café, published on 18th June 2018, follows the first in the series, Spring at The Little Duck Pond Café.

You can follow Rosie here: Twitter 

Book link: Amazon UK 



Don't forget the rest of the tour!





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