Review: A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin

I downloaded this book after reading an interview with the author. The cover is absolutely beautiful but (ironically) had originally put me off because I thought the story was a satire. A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting is actually a sweet homage to Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen.

Regency England, 1818, and Kitty Talbot has been left destitute by the deaths of her father (once a member of the ton) and mother (an ex-courtesan). She has several sisters to support, as well as a crumbling house, and the bailiffs are due to collect in 12 weeks. What's a girl to do? Go to London and seek an eligible bachelor with a fortune of course!

A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting is a lot of fun. There are the usual romance tropes (enemies-to-lovers: my favourite!), lots of banter, a refreshingly independent heroine, eccentric relatives and a swoon-worthy hero. Historically accurate, with lush descriptions of gowns and parties, but also a nod to the fact that the Regency period was not such a fun place to live if you had no money or society connections.

This was a five-star read for me because I really enjoyed it - it's the perfect escapism! The only drawback (and this is probably because I've read a lot of Georgette Heyer), is that I'd have liked a more original twist on the characters and plot.

If you enjoyed this, you might also like The Grand Sophy or Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer. Or, if you prefer something with more 'heat', perhaps Julia Quinn (Bridgerton) or Lisa Kleypas (The Devil in Winter).

Thank you to Sophie Irwin and Harper Collins UK for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: The Whistling by Rebecca Netley

I adore Victorian ghost stories, particularly gothic ones, so The Whistling ticked all the boxes for me!

Elspeth Swansome goes to work as a nanny on the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea. Her charge, Mary, hasn't said a word since the unexpected death of her twin brother William, and the last nanny packed up and left in a hurry. No one will speak of what happened to William, just as no one can explain the sound of singing in empty corridors, strange dolls appearing in abandoned rooms, and the faint whistling that comes in the night...

If you're looking for a truly chilling autumn read, this is the story for you! Set in 1860, it is a gorgeously gothic Victorian ghost story, with proper spooky bits (not the kind that are all in someone's mind). Reminiscent of the recent Netflix series, The Haunting of Bly Manor (based on Henry James' short stories), The Whistling is a modern spin on the classic Victorian ghost story.

The book is big on atmosphere; the eeriness of the remote Scottish island, the creepy old house, sinister servants (shades of Mrs Danvers!) There are plenty of mysteries to solve. What happened to the former nanny? Why does no one speak about William? Why did Mary stop speaking? And then there are the ghosts...

One of my favourite books this year, The Whistling is perfect Halloween reading! 

Just remember to leave on the lights...

Thank you to Rebecca Netley and Michael Joseph for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: Horseman by Christina Henry

I love the way Christina Henry takes well-known classic tales and puts her own spin on them, turning them into something new and fresh. Horseman is a 'sequel' to Irving Washington's classic story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, taking place about twenty years later.

Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows of the legendary Horseman, but no one really believes in him until fourteen year old Ben stumbles upon the headless body of a child in the woods. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of my favourite stories, so I loved the way some of the original text was sprinkled through the book, acting like a touchstone. Ben's grandparents are the famous Brom and Katrina, now wealthy farmers, which causes friction in the village due to jealousy and Brom's habit of ensuring he is always at the centre of things. While Ben is desperate to grow up to be just like Brom, the main theme of the story is about being true to yourself, accepting who you really are and not being afraid to be different. Horseman is also a story about the importance of friendship and family.

Like the inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow, you might think you know the legend of the Horseman but there are still plenty of surprises here! There's more than one monster for a start! The creepy setting and evil lurking in the woods also reminded me of M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. Like Christina's previous book, The Ghost Tree, I am not sure if the story is supposed to be a  Young Adult, but it does read like one. There are some gruesome bits (headless bodies!) but it's not too scary. I wasn't so keen on the 'ten years later' segment at the end of the book, which I found rather sad, but I did enjoy the final twist. 

Horseman is a deliciously chilling read for autumn. A historical horror story dripping with sinister atmosphere, Christina's fans will love it - along with anyone who adored the original story. A perfect Halloween treat!

Horseman will be published in the UK on 28th September 2021

Thank you to Christina Henry and  Titan Books for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Related Posts:

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

Review: Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas (#7 The Ravenels)

I love Lisa Kleypas's historical romances. They are perfect escapism. This is number 7 in The Ravenels series but it can easily be read as a standalone. When characters from earlier books pop up, it is fully explained who they are.

Devil in Disguise is about Lady Merritt Sterling, a strong-willed widow who is running her late husband's shipping company. London Society has been dying to catch her in a scandal but so far she has been too clever to provide them with one. Then she meets Keir MacRae, a whisky distiller from a remote Scottish island, and all her plans disappear like smoke. 

Devil in Disguise is definitely going on my favourites pile, right up there with Love in the Afternoon (#5 The Hathaways) and Devil in Winter (#3 The Wallflowers). I loved that Merritt is such a strong, independent character, running her own business (would we have accepted anything less from Lillian's daughter?) I absolutely adored Keir, who is not an aristocrat but a working class Scot trying to get his head around the strange customs (and language) of the upper class English. It makes for some very funny moments. As well as a scorching (literally) romance there is also a mystery - someone wants Keir dead, the sooner the better.

It took me a chunk of the book to realise that Merritt's mother is Lillian from It Happened One Autumn (#2 in The Wallflowers series). Despite being a Ravenel book, other characters from The Wallflower series also appear, including Marcus and Sebastian. While it was lovely to see how these characters were getting on, I felt that too much time was given to Sebastian. There were even scenes and chapters written from his viewpoint. Now, I do love Sebastian. He's one of my favourite Lisa Kleypas characters, but he is also a very strong character and this was supposed to be Kier's story.  

Despite that, Devil in Disguise is utterly fabulous and I am sure the author's fans will love it, along with anyone who loves escapist historical romance and authors such as Julia Quinn and Tessa Dare.

Thank you to Lisa Kleypas and Piatkus for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Related posts:

Review: Hello Stranger (The Ravenels #4) by Lisa Kleypas

Review: The Devil in Spring (The Ravenels #3) by Lisa Kleypas

Review: The Slaughterman's Daughter by Yaniv Iczkovits

I was attracted to this book because of the absolutely stunning cover but the story is darker than it suggests. The Slaughterman's Daughter is a historical adventure, set in the late 19th century in the Pale of Settlement (an area of Imperial Russia including Belarus and parts of Poland) where Jews were forced to live. The publishers have described the story as being a cross between Quentin Tarantino and Fiddler on the Roof, and that pretty much sums it up! If you're looking for a book that is a little bit different, this is the read for you.

In the isolated, godforsaken town of Motal husbands go missing on a regular basis (they've usually run off in search of a better life) but never wives and mothers. So when Fanny Keismann - devoted wife, mother of five, and celebrated cheese-maker - leaves her home in the middle of the night, the town is aghast. Rumours regarding her disappearance rapidly circulate, some of which even turn out to be true.

The Slaughterman's Daughter is basically Fanny's attempt to find her missing brother-in-law and persuade (force!) him to come home. As she sets off on her road trip, everything that could go wrong does, unwittingly involving all kinds of innocent (and not so innocent) people, until the highest powers become convinced the country is on the brink of revolution. It is a rollicking story that shows how the simplest actions and purest thoughts can quickly lead to disaster.

There is a serious message running through The Slaughterman's Daughter but there is also humour. I loved the titular character of Fanny, who hacks her way through the story in a very Tarantino way! (There is the occasional scene of mild gore.) The other characters are utterly believable and completely engaging; I even found myself sympathising with the the villains. There are multiple points of view and we learn every character's backstory. As fascinating as these tales-within-a-tale were, they did slow down the pace quite a lot. But if take-you-by-the-throat characters, seat-of-your-pants action, and oodles of authentic atmosphere are your thing, you will definitely love this. Personally, I'd love to see it made into a movie...

Thank you to Yaniv Iczkovits and MacLehose Press (Quercus) for  my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

I was attracted to this book because of the utterly gorgeous cover and I loved the sound of the 'doorways to other worlds' plot. 

The story starts in the early 20th century. January Scaller is the ward of the super-wealthy Mr Locke. Although his servants and friends sometimes sneer, Mr Locke is kind and courteous to her (provided she does as she is told!) and January lives a privileged life in his huge mansion filled with precious artefacts. As the years pass, January realises her life in a gilded cage, devoid of free will, isn't so great. And that Mr Locke views her in much the same way as the rest of his collection. She takes refuge in a strange old book, about a girl who discovers a doorway to another world, but what if that doorway was real? 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a rollicking adventure story that I didn't want to put down. It's a story-within-a-story, a tale of magic realism set in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It reminded me of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, especially The Subtle Knife, with it's strong female characters and moving between worlds. Whereas His Dark Materials dealt with the use of religion to oppress, this story discusses racism and segregation.

I fell in love with this book and its brilliant characters, and I really didn't want it to end. Thoroughly recommended. My favourite read this year!

Thank you to Alix E. Harrow and Orbit (Little, Brown Book Group UK) for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

I downloaded Once Upon a River because it's a historical mystery, which I love, but also the mention of folk tales caught my eye; fantasy is  my new favourite genre and I've always adored fairy tales! But I was thrilled by just how good this story is, and how clever! I completely fell in love with the characters, so much so that it's now one of my all-time favourite books! 

The story is set in the mid-nineteenth century, at a time when events that might have once seemed magical can now be explained by science. But at the ancient Swan Inn, on the banks of the River Thames, they still love telling each other stories. Some of their tales have been told and re-told for generations, but the strangest of all is when one mid-summer night an injured man stumbles through its doors and promptly collapses. In his arms is the body of a little dead girl - who miraculously comes back to life. As her story spreads through the village, and then further afield, more than one person comes forward to claim her. But who is telling the truth, and who is telling a tale?

Once Upon a River has a host of fascinating characters and the author takes her time to explain who everyone is, their history, and how they fit into the story. So there are dozens of these enchanting little stories taking place alongside the main mystery. But the really clever thing is that this gives the effect of the story flowing between each character in the same way the river flows through each location in the story. Genius!

I particularly loved the characters of Robert Armstrong, the illegitimate son of an Earl and a black maid, who does most of the detecting, and Rita Sunday, the nurse who has seen so many childbirths it's put her right off ever falling in love and getting married.

Will you love this book as much as I did? If you like historical mysteries, then yes. If you adore traditional 'let's sit by the fireside and I'll tell you a story' kind of books, you will definitely love this one. If the mention of folk lore and fantasy puts you off, those elements are done with a very light hand. The film/TV rights have already been sold to Kudos (Broadchurch/Grantchester) and I can't wait to see what they do with with it.

Once Upon a River is a fabulous read that deserves to become an instant classic, one that will be read, and re-read, and enjoyed for years to come. One of my top 3 reads this year.

Thank you to Diane Setterfield and Doubleday (Transworld/Random House) for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

Kate Morton is one of my favourite authors and The Forgotten Garden is one of my all-time favourite books, so I was thrilled to get my hands on an early copy of The Clockmaker's Daughter. I really enjoyed the story but wavered between giving it four stars or five stars. However, it was the ending that made me finally settle on four. It's hard to explain, without giving away spoilers, but I was hoping for a kind of Spielberg/Disney fantasy ending (with all the characters' talk of time and space). But as this is a historical and NOT a fantasy, I obviously didn't get one!

The story is in the main part is about a Victorian woman called Birdie, who overcomes her Oliver Twist style background (thieving and picking pockets) and falls in love with an upcoming artist named Edward Radcliffe, before tragedy strikes at a house party in 1862. A woman is murdered, Edward leaves England never to return, and the priceless Radcliffe diamond is lost forever. In the present day Elodie, who works in an archive, finds Edward's satchel and sketchbook, with drawings of a house she thought only existed in a children's fairy story, and is determined to solve the mystery.

I had thought The Clockmaker's Daughter would switch between Birdie and Elodie's viewpoints, like an Eve Chase or Lulu Taylor novel, but instead it told the story of everyone who had lived in Edward's Elizabethan manor house (Birchwood Manor) up until the present day. The only connection between each of these characters is the house and the fact that they have all lost someone - either through a tragic death or removal by distance. It reminded me of The Suffolk Trilogy by Norah Lofts. And this was another reason the rating dropped to a four: I'd rather have read about Birdie, who was a fabulous creation, and Elodie, who kind of disappeared beneath the weight of all these other characters - some of whom I didn't feel added anything to the story. Having said that, I did love how we discovered the ways all the characters were ultimately connected - Elodie's Great-Uncle Tip, for example.

I always love stories about old houses and I loved the mystery of what happened that night in 1862; to Edward and Birdie, the necklace and the painting. I loved the stories of Pale Joe and Ada - she was my favourite character! I think it could have done with being shorter (it's almost 600 pages) and have less characters. Having said that, I was completely gripped and read it very quickly! I really enjoyed the way the stories wrapped around each other and I'm happy to give it a solid four stars. If you're not hung up on ghosts deserving their happy ending along with everyone else, you might want to give it five!

The Clockmaker's Daughter is out in the UK on the 20th of September 2018.

Thank you to Kate Morton and Mantle (Pan Macmillan) for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: Beyond Scandal and Desire (Sins for All Seasons #1) by Lorraine Heath

I downloaded this one because it was on offer at 99p and I've enjoyed some of Lorraine Heath's novels in the past. Unfortunately, I read it too soon after Sarah MacLean's Wicked and the Wallflower, which has the same revenge trope, and I couldn't help comparing the two.

Mick Trewlove is now a successful businessmen but was abandoned at birth by his aristocratic father. In revenge, he targets his father's legitimate son, intending to bankrupt him and seduce his betrothed.

The characters were likeable enough but there wasn't enough of an original twist on the trope for me.

Review: Wicked and the Wallflower (Bareknuckle Bastards #1) by Sarah MacLean

I adore Sarah MacLean's historical romances. Her writing style just seems to have a sparkle about it that other novels lack. While set firmly in the past, her strong-minded heroines, and the smart, sassy dialogue between her characters, give her stories a modern twist. And the way she puts those poor characters through the emotional wringer means one can never be quite sure if they are going to have a happy ending! Predictable she isn't!

Felicity Faircloth's family is teetering on the edge of financial ruin and it is up to her to land a rich, titled husband. She's already failed to land one duke and now she's announced her engagement to another before she's even met him. So when a strange man turns up in her bedroom and offers to help make her fake engagement become a reality, she quickly agrees. But maybe she shouldn't make deals with the devil...

I loved this book because of the characters and the way Sarah MacLean turns a familiar trope inside out and upside down. The hero, who reminded me a little of Rumpelstiltskin,  makes all the running in the beginning. But soon Felicity is turning up unannounced on his territory, questioning his motives and breaking into his warehouse - her particular skill is picking locks - and completely mucking up his carefully laid plans.

Negatives? Well, perhaps there is a little bit too much information about the hero's smuggling operation in the middle of the story, but the end is thoroughly nail-biting. I can't say anymore without giving away spoilers, but I am really looking forward to the rest of the series!

Recommended, particularly for fans of authors who write historical romance with a slightly darker edge, such as Elizabeth Hoyt.
  

Related Post:

The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean

Review: Hello Stranger (The Ravenels #4) by Lisa Kleypas

I'm a huge fan of Lisa Kleypas, especially her Hathaways series, but when I started this story I had mixed feelings about it. 

The heroine of Hello Stranger is Dr Garrett Gibson, the only female physician in Britain. I had been so looking forward to reading about her struggle in the entirely male-dominated world of Victorian medicine - but found it ironic that the main part of the plot should revolve around Ethan, a government spy, and his problems. It didn't help that I usually love both historical romance and romantic suspense, but I'm not so keen when they're mixed together.

I did like the banter between the characters, the sweet way they kept bumping into each other around London, and the part when Ethan offers to teach Garrett how to defend herself in a rather less ladylike way than she has been doing up until now.

However, the story really picked up when one of the main characters becomes seriously ill. Garrett goes against all advice, including that of her mentor, to try and save this person. The heartrending scene where Garrett has to switch off her emotions to perform surgery was very authentic and put me through the emotional wringer too.

So despite my initial negative feelings, I ended up really enjoying the book and it is probably my favourite of the series so far.

Related post:

Review: The Devil in Spring (The Ravenels #3) by Lisa Kleypas

Review: A Duke in Shining Armor (Difficult Dukes #1) by Loretta Chase

I'm a huge fan of Loretta Chase, so any book of hers is an auto-buy for me. I particularly enjoyed this story of a runaway bride and the hapless best man dragged along for the ride: 'You're the first bride who's kidnapped me.'

Lady Olympia Hightower is twenty-six years old and has given up any hope of falling in love. So she is happy to marry the oafish Duke of Ashmont, knowing it will help her family financially. Unfortunately she gets cold feet on the day of the wedding and exits the ceremony via the window. She is caught by the groom's best friend Hugh, the Duke of Ripley, who gives chase. Unable to persuade her to return, he tries to do the honourable thing and offers to escort her anywhere she chooses, with the aim of keeping her safe from harm. Of course this is the exact moment when everything begins to go wrong, leading to a catalogue of disasters and pursuit by a furious bridegroom, who has completely misunderstood the situation.

The strength of this story is in the deliciously funny banter between the main characters. A road trip combined with a comedy of errors, the story didn't go in quite the way I thought it would, which is always good, and I do hope the wonderfully eccentric cast of characters, particularly Aunt Julia, Uncle Fred, Blackwood, and Jonesy, will appear in the subsequent books as they started to feel like friends.

If you enjoy this one, you might also like Lord Perfect, by the same author.

Recommended!