Skip to main content

Featured

Wartime Arrivals at Harbour House by Fenella J Miller #Review

  I am delighted to be on the tour to celebrate a new series by Fenella J Miller . Wartime Arrivals at Haebour House is the first in a historical fiction series which begins in July 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War. It was published by Boldwood Books on November 29th. London July 1939 Elizabeth Roby lives a content and privileged life in London with husband Jonathon and children, Emily and George. But with the outbreak of war, everything changes. Jonathon informs his family that they have to move from their smart London home to the riverside town of Wivenhoe and their new home Harbour House, where Jonathon will do his duty for his country as part of the Admiralty at the shipyards. But Elizabeth is devastated. How will she start a new life in a place she hardly knows, surrounded by strangers? And how will her children cope allowed to run wild in the countryside with urchins? Elizabeth is sure it will be a disaster! But with the threat of German bombs ha
Post a Comment
Read more
Labels

The Wicked Lady by Elena Collins #Review

 

The Wicked Lady by Elena Collins is based on the true story of a female highwayman and set in 17th Century England. It was published by Boldwood Books on 31st July.


'Incredibly atmospheric, haunting and poignant.' Nicola Cornick

1648 - Hertfordshire

Thirteen-year-old Katherine Ferrers is in despair at being betrothed to arch-Royalist Thomas Fanshawe whose family are hellbent on plundering her family’s fortune to champion the exiled Charles. As her unhappy marriage stretches before her, her only comfort is her beloved childhood home The Cell. But as the years pass and Kate grows restless, a new passion, a new love and a dangerous calling threaten to upend everything she’s ever known.

Present Day - Hertfordshire

Charlie Wolfe jumps at the chance to help his uncle renovate a tumbledown cottage overlooking Nomansland Common. Number One Constable’s Cottages was once the home of the man charged with ridding the common of the highwaymen who terrorised travellers. But it’s the story of The Wicked Lady, the notorious female highway robber, that captures Charlie’s imagination, and some long winters’ nights he’s sure he can the hoofbeats of her horse echoing across time.

What drove this mystery woman to risk everything for a life of crime, and why is she still restless, wandering the common in grief? It seems only Charlie can finally uncover the secret Katherine Ferrers has kept for hundreds of years; a secret of a terrible betrayal and a tragic love that was never meant to end this way…

USA Today bestselling author Judy Leigh writing as Elena Collins, brings you this spellbinding and heartbreaking timeslip novel, uncovering the intriguing story of another brave woman that history forgot. Perfect for fans of Barbara Erskine, Nicola Cornick, Diana Gabaldon and Louise Douglas.


 My Thoughts

This rather intriguing time slip novel has two story strands. Linking them is Katherine Ferrers. Whilst her story in the novel is conjecture, it is based on actual places and of course, the real life Katherine. In the present day, Charlie and Edie try to unravel events from centuries earlier. Usually with dual timeline stories, I tend to prefer one story over the other. In this case, I was invested in both. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of historical figures of the past and to cultural references. 

    In the novel, Katherine emerges as an independent and fair minded character who has been forced to live within the expectations of the time. She is the victim of the view that women’s property became their husband’s. Her solution to this makes for an entertaining story, full of action and adventure. Charlie and Edie’s contemporary love story is a nice contrast and adds to the poignant atmosphere invoked by Katherine. At the start, he seems a lost soul but you sense that he is fated to arrive at Constable’s Cottages and needs to feel grounded. As Charlie and Edie investigate Katherine’s life, friendship grows.

In short: two centuries collide

    

 

 


About the Author

Elena Collins is the pseudonym for Judy Leigh. Judy Leigh is the bestselling author of Five French Hens , A Grand Old Time and The Age of Misadventure and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.

 

You can follow Elena here: Twitter 

  |  Facebook   |  Instagram  |                                                    Website   |  Bookbub  |  Newsletter sign up

  Book links  
 
Thanks to Elena Collins, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources   for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 
 

Check out these great bloggers!


 

 

 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment