Book Review: A Corpse in Christmas Close by Michelle Salter
I’m pleased to be welcoming Michelle Salter back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, A Corpse in Christmas Close, book five in The Iris Woodmore Mysteries series.
When a pantomime turns deadly, Iris investigates a cast of killers…
Christmas, 1923. When reporter Iris Woodmore is sent to cover the Prince of Wales’ visit to historic Winchester, she discovers more than just royal gossip.
The leading lady in Winchester Cathedral’s charity pantomime is found dead in mysterious circumstances. And the chief suspect is Cinderella’s handsome prince, played by Percy Baverstock’s younger brother, Freddie.
For the sake of the Baverstocks, Iris must investigate the murder, even though it means confronting an old enemy. And as the line between friend and foe blurs dangerously, she’s ensnared by someone she hoped she’d never see again…
Everyone’s favourite amateur sleuth returns for a Christmas mystery, perfect for fans of Verity Bright, Claire Gradidge and Emily Organ.
*****
It’s 1923 and Iris Woodmore is preparing for royalty to arrive in Winchester. However, when a girl is found murdered on the day of the Prince of Wales’s visit, Iris is in a race against time to find the person responsible before they potentially strike again.
I am such a BIG fan of the Iris Woodmore Mysteries series and was very excited to be invited onto the blog tour for book five in the series, A Corpse in Christmas Close. Iris and a mention of Christmas in the title. Come on, no brainer.
It was so lovely to catch up with Iris. She’s a strong, independent woman and such a wonderful character to read. I love that she forges her own path, especially in the time in which this novel is set. She’s how I hope to have been had I lived in that time period. It was also fabulous to catch up with the familiar faces surrounding Iris.
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Book Review: The Fecking Fabulous Forties Club by Freya Kennedy
I’m very excited to be welcoming Freya Kennedy to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Fecking Fabulous Forties Club.
Becca Burnside isn’t sure where it all went wrong. How did she end up single in her forties, with the highlight of her weekend being a trip to Big Asda with her mum and the only chance of cuddles coming from her dog?
It’s fair to say that Becca’s life isn’t quite where she’d hoped it would be. She already knew that, deep down, but when she finds the time capsule she and her friends made as teenagers and remembers the hopes and dreams sixteen-year-old Becki (with an i) had for the future, she knows she has to do something, and fast.
Refusing to be controlled by her hot flushes and Unexplained Waves of Sadness, Becca is determined to turn things around – for Becki’s sake. But what will it take to prove there’s life in the old girl yet?
*****
Now in her forties, Becca is wondering how the most exciting thing in her life has become a trip to ASDA. After finding a time capsule and a letter from her 16 year-old self, Becca is determined to improve her life, hot flushes and menopause be damned.
Having been a big fan of this author’s psychological thrillers (where she writes as Claire Allan,) and The Hopes and Dreams of Libby Quinn, I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for The Fecking Fabulous Forties Club,
First, I want to show some appreciation for the title. I love it. Haha.
by Book Extract: Legacy Of The Runes by Christina Courtenay
I’m so excited to be welcoming Christina Courtenay back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest novel, Legacy Of The Runes.
A bond that even time cannot break
Storm Berger has never forgiven himself for his younger sister Madison’s disappearance. Suspecting she’s travelled back to the ninth century in the footsteps of other family members, Storm can only make sure she’s safe by going after her.
Raised unconventionally as her father’s only child, Freydis has never been content to simply accept her fate. So, when she’s promised in marriage to a tyrant, she’s determined to find a way out of the arrangement. Help comes in the form of a mysterious and attractive stranger stranded on her island’s shores: Storm.
The only way Freydis can truly be free is for Storm to marry her himself. But that would mean entwining lives that, until now, have been separated by centuries. . .
Christina has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
*****beginning of extract*****
The heroine Freydis’s betrothed, Ingolf, has come for a visit to look her over and she hates him on sight:
Freydis made sure she behaved impeccably during Ingolf’s visit, and to her huge relief, he left the following day. He only spoke to her one more time, to say farewell. ‘I will see you at the Yuletide celebrations over on Mávey. I’ll be there too.’
‘Yes.’ She nodded, even though this was the first she’d heard of it. She hadn’t known they would be going there this year, but it didn’t matter.
‘Until then, farewell.’ He gripped her face with both hands and placed a proprietorial kiss on her mouth, then turned to stride down the path towards the ship that was waiting in the cove.
She suppressed a shudder and made a beeline for the bathing hut. There was water and lye soap there, and she used it to scrub her mouth thoroughly. It was the only place she could do it in private, and she couldn’t let anyone see what she was doing. Ingolf’s kiss hadn’t been slobbery or unpleasant, merely impersonal and harsh, yet the imprint of it lingered. It was his way of branding her, she supposed. Her skin still crawled at the thought of it. Never again. She would not let him anywhere near her.
by Book Review: Kings of Conflict by MJ Porter
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming MJ Porter back to Novel Kicks and their latest novel, Kings of Conflict, the final, thrilling instalment in the Brunanburh series.
Can King Edmund of the English banish the Norse invaders from England one final time?
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In the wake of the agreement reached at Lincoln between Edmund and Anlaf Sihtricson of the Norse, Edmund returns to Wessex to reflect and rebuild, impatient to reverse his losses at Lincoln.
But this is the winter of discontent. In Jorvik and the kingdom of the Scots, those who’ve waited too long to become kings in their own right grow restless.
As the enemies of the English turn on themselves, Edmund senses the opportunity to reclaim all his brother, the victor of Brunanburh, managed to gain before his untimely death plunged England back into war with her many foes.
With his sights set firmly on York, can he recreate the England his brother built, or will the enemies of England realise the error of their ways and once more unite to drive Edmund back to Wessex, leaving York in the hands of the Norse.
A thrilling conclusion to MJ Porter’s epic retelling of the consequences of the battle of Brunanburh.
*****
Kings of Conflict is the final instalment in the epic Brunanburh series.
The book sees old rivals pitched once again against each other as Edward fights to create a united England. Can the Scots and the Norse hold on to what they have won, or will Edward take York and banish the dependents of Ivar The Boneless?
by Book Review: The House Of The Witch by Clare Marchant
I’m excited to be welcoming Clare Marchant to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, The House of the Witch.
Utterly gripping timeslip historical fiction, perfect for fans of The Witch’s Tree, The Essex Serpent and Weyward.
Now: When Adrianna arrives at the small, run-down cottage, near the sea in rural Norfolk, she can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Here she can forget her life in the city, and the problems she’s left behind there, at least for a while.
But – like Adrianna herself – the cottage holds secrets. And when Adrianna finds a mysterious bundle of notes hidden under a floorboard, she can’t shake the idea that they’ve been waiting for her. Especially when – in the rambling, overgrown garden – she then finds a strangely-carved stone, drawing her into a centuries-old mystery…
1646: Between her work as the village midwife and the medicines she sells from her cottage, Ursula has no need for a man. But this ideal leaves her unprotected in a world where just one accusation of witchcraft can mean certain death. So when she catches the eye of a powerful new local doctor, she must use every part of her cunning, or risk becoming his prisoner…
Can the two women – their paths bound by place and history – each find the keys to their own destiny?
*****
1646
Ursula lives alone. After witnessing the death of her mother at the hands of her father, she is determined to make her own way in the world. As the local midwife and healer, she is content, owns her cottage and makes her own money. However, the arrival of Dr. Oliver Bruton threatens the life she has built for herself and all it will take is one accusation.
by Book Club
