Source: Publishers Group Canada

#BookReview The Manual for Good Wives by Lola Jaye @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheManualForGoodWives #LolaJaye #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Manual for Good Wives by Lola Jaye @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheManualForGoodWives #LolaJaye #PGCBooks Title: The Manual for Good Wives

Author: Lola Jaye

Published by: Pan Macmillan on May 6, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Everything about Adeline Copplefield is a lie . . .

To the world Mrs Copplefield is the epitome of Victorian propriety: an exemplary society lady who writes a weekly column advising young ladies on how to be better wives.

Only Adeline has never been a good wife or mother; she has no claim to the Copplefield name, nor is she an English lady . . .

Now a black woman, born in Africa, who dared to pretend to be something she was not, is on trial in the English courts with all of London society baying for her blood. And she is ready to tell her story . . .

From the author of The Attic Child, Lola Jaye, comes The Manual for Good Wives, a dual narrative historical novel about love, generational trauma, second chances and hope.


Review:

Rich, compelling, and alluring!

The Manual for Good Wives is predominately set in England during the 1800s, as well as present day, and is told from two different perspectives. Temi, an African woman born of noble blood who, after being forced to marry a man she does not love, flees to the UK to start a new life, leaving her husband and daughter behind, and Landri, a young woman who, after having doubts about her new fiancé, heads to her ancestral home where she discovers more about herself and her family history than she ever could have imagined.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are intelligent, determined, and independent. And the plot is a moving tale about life, loss, love, trauma, emotion, betrayal, family, friendship, heartbreak, resiliency, and courage.

Overall, The Manual for Good Wives is a heart-tugging, absorbing, empowering tale by Jaye that is a wonderful choice for anyone who enjoys a dual timeline historical story that also includes a sliver of mystery and a touch of romance.

 

This book is available now.

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Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lola Jaye

Lola Jaye is an author and psychotherapist who has penned seven novels and a self-help book. She was born and raised in London, England and has lived in Nigeria and the United States.

The Attic Child, released in 2022, was her first epic historical novel and has since been nominated for the Jhalak Prize and shortlisted for The Diverse Book Awards.

#BookReview The Midnight Secret by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheMidnightSecret #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Midnight Secret by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheMidnightSecret #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks Title: The Midnight Secret

Author: Karen Swan

Series: The Wild Isle #4

Published by: Pan Macmillan on May 1, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 480

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

If there’s one thing Jayne Ferguson has learnt in her life, it’s that every blessing comes with a curse. She married the most handsome man on the isle of St Kilda – but he’s a bully. She inherited her mother’s gift of second sight – but only ever forsees her fellow islanders’ deaths. She has learnt to keep to herself, treading in the shadows and shirking the highs for fear of the lows.

When a needless death strikes at the heart of her home, Jayne’s bad marriage becomes worse and she finds solace with an unlikely friend. Glimmers of happiness tantalise her, though there’s no possibility for anything more, especially once word comes of St Kilda’s evacuation.

But as the day draws near, tensions on the island rise. Secrets are being forced to the surface, passions and enmities erupting with equal violence. A man is killed, as Jayne knew he would be, and those closest to her are implicated.

On the mainland, the villagers scatter into new lives, hoping distance means refuge. But then Jayne has another of her dreams and she knows the past isn’t done with them yet.


Review:

Captivating, heart-tugging, and nostalgic!

The Midnight Secret is a compelling, beautiful tale that takes you back one last time to 1930 and into the lives of a handful of previous St. Kilda residents, including the kind Jayne Ferguson, as long-buried secrets come to light, love is lost and found, justice is finally served, and some get to make one final trip to the place they used to call home.

The prose is lyrical and rich. The characters are layered, loyal, and conflicted. And the plot is a captivating, heartwarming tale of life, loss, love, family, friendship, grief, guilt, denial, secrets, revelations, self-reflection, and forgiveness.

Overall, The Midnight Secret is a poignant, passionate, epic, historical fiction novel by Swan inspired by real-life events that is full of soul-searching dilemmas, dangerous situations, and complex, intriguing characters. And while it’s extremely bittersweet to say goodbye to this amazing cast of characters I’ve come to be invested in over these last four novels, it is nevertheless a brilliant ending to a fabulous series that I highly recommend and will undoubtedly miss.

This book is available now.

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Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Karen Swan

Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism before giving it all up to raise her three children and a puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She lives in the forest outside Sussex, England, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs.

An internationally bestselling author, her numerous books include The Rome Affair, The Paris Secret, Christmas Under the Stars, and The Christmas Secret. 

Photograph by Alexander James

#BookReview The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer @BelindaBauerBooks @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #TheImpossibleThing #BelindaBauer #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer @BelindaBauerBooks @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #TheImpossibleThing #BelindaBauer #PGCBooks Title: The Impossible Thing

Author: Belinda Bauer

Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press on Apr. 18, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the exceptionally original mind of CWA Gold Dagger Award winner and Booker longlisted author Belinda Bauer comes this sweeping tale of obsession, greed, ambition, and a crime that has remained unsolved for a hundred years.

How do you find something that doesn’t exist?

1926. On the cliffs of Yorkshire, men are lowered on ropes to steal the eggs of the sea birds who nest there. The most beautiful are sold for large sums. A small girl—penniless and neglected by her family—retrieves one such treasure. Its discovery will forever alter the course of her life.

A century later. In a remote cottage in Wales, Patrick Fort finds his friend, Nick, and his mother tied up and robbed. The only thing missing: a carved case containing an incredible scarlet egg. Doggedly attempting to retrieve it, Patrick and Nick discover the cruel world of egg trafficking, and soon find themselves on the trail of a priceless collection of eggs lost to history. Until now.

A taut, wonderfully imagined novel brimming with skullduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer’s status as one of our greatest living crime writers.


Review:

Suspenseful, simmering, and humorous!

The Impossible Thing is a crafty, twisty tale set in Yorkshire during the early 1920s, as well as present-day Wales, that takes you into the lives of two main characters. Celie, a young girl from an impoverished family who, due to her size, ends up retrieving one rare guillemot egg each year for thirty years for a wealthy collector, and Patrick Fort, a man with special talents who, after “Weird Nick” his friend and neighbour is burglarized, offers to help hunt down and retrieve the fancy wooden box containing a red egg that surprisingly was the only thing stolen.

The prose is descriptive and light. The characters are quirky, charming, and determined. And the plot, using a past/present, back-and-forth style, is a captivating tale full of red herrings, amateur sleuthing, dangerous endeavours, deduction, secrets, deception, and the fascinating world of oology.

Overall, The Impossible Thing is another creative, amusing, beautifully written tale by Bauer that was not only entertaining and nostalgic but also thoroughly enjoyable and interesting.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Belinda Bauer

BELINDA BAUER is the award-winning author of seven previous novels that have been translated into twenty-one languages. She won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Crime Novel of the Year forBlacklands, the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award forRubbernecker, and the CWA Dagger in the Library Award for outstanding body of work. Her previous novel, Snap, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. She lives in Wales.

#BookReview 33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #33PlaceBrugmann #AliceAusten #PGCBooks

#BookReview 33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #33PlaceBrugmann #AliceAusten #PGCBooks Title: 33 Place Brugmann

Author: Alice Austen

Published by: Grove Press on Mar. 21, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

On the eve of the occupation, in the heart of Brussels, life for the residents of eight apartments at 33 Place Brugmann is about to change forever.

Art student Charlotte Sauvin, daughter of a prominent architect in apartment 4L, knows all the details of the building and its people: how light falls and voices echo, the distinct knock of her dearest friend, Julian Raphaël, the eldest son of an art collector’s family across the hall in 4R. But all that’s familiar for Charlotte and the other residents of 33 starts to fracture as whispers of Nazi occupation become reality. The Raphaëls disappear—becoming refugees, nurses, soldiers, reluctant heroes. Masha, the seamstress on the 5th floor, deepens a dangerous affair with a wartime compatriot of Colonel Warlemont in 3R, a man far less feckless than he’d have his neighbors believe. In the face of a perilous new reality, every member of this accidental community will discover they are not the person they believed themselves to be. When confronted with a cruel choice—submit to the regime or risk their lives to resist—each discovers the truth about what, and who, matters to them the most.

33 Place Brugmann is a deeply empathetic and disarmingly hopeful tour-de-force about love, courage, and the role of art in a time of threat


Review:

Poignant, immersive, and compelling!

33 Place Brugmann is a rich, intriguing tale set in Brussels during WWII that takes you into the complex lives of about a dozen residents of one apartment building as they endeavour to navigate wartime living, the arrival of the Nazis, and one prominent Jewish family vanishing one night without a trace.

The prose is polished and evocative. The characters are feisty, multilayered, and resilient. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel into a moving tale of life, loss, heartbreak, betrayal, secrets, danger, survival, tragedy, friendship, and love.

Overall, 33 Place Brugmann is Austen’s colourful, absorbing, evocative debut that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly in the feelings, lives, and personalities of the characters you can’t help but be fully invested.

 

This book is available now.

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Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Alice Austen

Alice Austen won the John Cassavetes Award for her debut film Give Me Liberty (writer/producer). She is a past resident of the Royal Court Theatre and her internationally produced plays include Animal Farm (Steppenwolf Theatre), Water, Cherry Orchard Massacre, and Girls in the Boat (Dramatic Publishing). She studied creative writing under Seamus Heaney at Harvard, where she received her JD, after which she moved to Brussels and lived on Place Brugmann. Austen currently lives in Milwaukee and is working on a new film and her next novel.

#BookReview The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr @PGCBooks @picadorbooks #TheBoyFromTheSea #GarrettCarr #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr @PGCBooks @picadorbooks #TheBoyFromTheSea #GarrettCarr #PGCBooks Title: The Boy from the Sea

Author: Garrett Carr

Published by: Picador on Feb. 6, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

1973. In a close-knit community on Ireland’s west coast, a baby is found abandoned on the beach. Named Brendan Bonnar by Ambrose, the fisherman who adopts him, Brendan will become a source of fascination and hope for a town caught in the storm of a rapidly changing world.

Ambrose, a man more comfortable at sea than on land, brings Brendan into his home out of love. But it’s a decision that will fracture his family and force him to try to understand himself and those he cares for.

Bookended by the arrival and departure of a single mesmerizing boy, Garrett Carr’s The Boy From the Sea is an exploration of the ties that make us and bind us, as a family and community move irresistibly towards the future.


Review:

Atmospheric, intimate, and immersive!

The Boy from the Sea is a captivating, poignant tale that sweeps you away to the Irish coastal village of Donegal and into the lives of the Bonnar family as their lives are irrevocably changed forever when one day they decide to adopt a young baby boy who washed up on the shore in a barrel.

The prose is rich and expressive. The characters are flawed, hardworking, and authentic. And the plot is an astute, compelling tale about life, loss, friendship, family, secrets, curiosity, guilt, jealousy, politics, responsibilities, sibling rivalry, marine life, hope, love, and self-identity.

Overall, The Boy from the Sea is ultimately a beautifully written, tender tale by Carr that does a remarkable job of delving into the complex dynamics that exist between family members and is a wonderful reminder of just how complicated, challenging, memorable and emotional growing up can truly be, especially when doing so in a small island community where everyone knows everyone else.

 

This novel is available now.

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Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Garrett Carr

Garrett Carr teaches Creative Writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University Belfast, and he is a frequent contributor to The Guardian and The Irish Times. His non-fiction The Rule of the Land: Walking Ireland's Border was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. The Boy from the Sea is his debut novel.

#BookReview The Ice Retreat by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheIceRetreat #RuthKelly #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Ice Retreat by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheIceRetreat #RuthKelly #PGCBooks Title: The Ice Retreat

Author: Ruth Kelly

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jan. 21, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

From bestselling author Ruth Kelly, The Ice Retreat is a spine-tingling thriller set in the world of controversial wellness treatments. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Sarah Pearse.

HEALER?

Meet Hollie Jenson, presenter of the smash-hit docu-series Bad Medicine, which exposes the perils of extreme therapies. Her next a new retreat run by wellness guru Ariel Rose, who claims to have discovered the secret to healing pain through her three-day ice rebirth treatment.

LIAR?

Acting on a mother’s plea to find her son, who vanished soon after his stay, Hollie ventures into the Swiss mountains where the retreat occupies a former observatory. There she will search for the boy, and hopes to expose Ariel as the charlatan she believes her to be.

KILLER?

As the isolation of the valley sets in, Hollie finds herself in an increasingly dangerous situation. There is much more to the retreat than meets the eye, and she must confront explosive secrets from her own past if she is to ever make it out alive . . .


Review:

Ominous, sinister, and intense!

The Ice Retreat is an eerie, suspenseful tale that takes us into the life of Hollie, a young investigative journalist who, after a desperate mother asks her for help to find her missing son, travels to Switzerland to uncover what’s really going on at a wellness retreat that seems too good to be true.

The prose is sharp and crisp. The characters are secretive, determined, and multilayered. And the plot, using a past/present, back-and-forth style, builds and unravels quickly into a foreboding tale of lies, secrets, abuse, deception, drama, manipulation, desperation, experimentation, and murder.

Overall, The Ice Retreat is another dark, taut, unnerving thriller by Kelly that did a wonderful job of keeping me mystified, surprised, and guessing from start to finish while at the same time reminding me that everything is not always what it seems.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

  

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ruth Kelly

Ruth Kelly is an award-winning journalist who has ghosted a string of Sunday Times top ten bestsellers - most recently The Prison Doctor, which sold over 250,000 copies, and The Governor, which went straight in at number one on the Amazon charts and number five in the Sunday Times bestseller list. The Villa is Ruth's debut thriller. She's drawn inspiration from her years working as a reporter for national newspapers as well as her experience writing for TV shows, most notably with Endemol, the creators of the original reality show Big Brother.

#BookReview The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #JosephOConnor #TheGhostsOfRome #RomeEscapeLineTrilogy #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #JosephOConnor #TheGhostsOfRome #RomeEscapeLineTrilogy #PGCBooks Title: The Ghosts of Rome

Author: Joseph O'Connor

Series: Rome Escape Line Trilogy #2

Published by: Europa Editions on Feb. 14, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

In the final months of World War II, a clandestine group known as The Choir smuggles thousands of escapees out of Nazi-occupied Rome via a secret route known as the Rome Escape Line. When an unidentified airman falls from the sky, The Choir is plunged into lethal danger and the survival of the Escape Line itself is threatened.

The Choir is riven with internal tensions and infighting. The organization is in danger of falling apart, which would leave thousands of escaped allied soldiers, POWs, Jews, and objectors stranded in a Rome that is ruled with vicious efficiency by the Nazis. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, the architect of the Escape Line and acknowledged leader of The Choir, broods inside the Vatican, seemingly paralyzed by what he sees as the intolerable risks of keeping the Escape Line in operation.

One man has been given the task of definitively destroying the entire operation and the price of his failure is high—SS Commander Paul Hauptmann’s wife and children are under Gestapo supervision in Berlin. Hauptmann is ordered to stay on in the city he both loathes and loves and to dismantle the Escape Line, or watch his family perish. Into this deliriously thrilling melee steps the Contessa Giovanna Landini, a reckless, audacious, and magnetic member of the Italian Resistance who has the nerve to challenge Hauptmann’s authority.

A beautifully written and expertly crafted historical suspense novel that is bursting with action, atmosphere, and unforgettable characters, The Ghosts of Rome is the thrilling follow-up to Joseph O’Connor’s best-selling My Father’s House.


Review:

Charged, emotional, and action-packed!

The Ghosts of Rome is a fascinating, enticing tale that picks up right where My Father’s House left off, taking us back to Vatican City during WWII and into the lives of a handful of individuals known as “The Choir” who now find themselves doing whatever they can to help a shot down, wounded allied airman evade capture while also getting him the life-saving surgery he desperately needs.

The prose is smooth and expressive. The characters are selfless, reliable, and resourceful. And the plot unravels and intertwines briskly into a sweeping saga of life, loss, bravery, strength, loyalty, espionage, grit, determination, deception, secrets, and survival.

Overall, The Ghosts of Rome is an intricate, suspenseful, captivating tale by O’Connor based on real-life events that does a wonderful job of interweaving historical facts and compelling fiction into a thrilling, heart-tugging tale that is atmospheric and highly absorbing.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Joseph O'Connor

Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin. He is the author of the novels Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes , The Salesman , Inishowen , Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls , as well as a number of bestselling works of non-fiction.

He was recently voted ‘Irish Writer of the Decade’ by the readers of Hot Press magazine. He broadcasts a popular weekly radio diary on RTE’s Drivetime With Mary Wilson and writes regularly for The Guardian Review and The Sunday Independent. In 2009 he was the Harman Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Baruch College, the City University of New York.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview The Boyfriend Hypothesis by Susannah Nix @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheBoyfriendHypothesis #ChemistryLessonsSeries #SusannahNix #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Boyfriend Hypothesis by Susannah Nix @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheBoyfriendHypothesis #ChemistryLessonsSeries #SusannahNix #PGCBooks Title: The Boyfriend Hypothesis

Author: Susannah Nix

Series: Chemistry Lessons #3

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jan. 7, 2025

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 293

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

After four lousy boyfriends in a row, chemical engineer Penny Popplestone swears off men until she can figure out why they keep cheating on her. But her no-men resolution hits a snag when the mysterious and superhumanly hot barista at her favorite coffee shop strikes up a friendship with her.

Penny strives to keep things platonic, but when Caleb gives her the kiss of her life, she realizes he wants to be more than just friends. Tired of always being “good little Penny,” she throws caution to the wind and pursues a no-strings fling with the hottie barista. It’s not like they have anything in common beyond scorching physical chemistry, so what does she have to lose?

Only her heart.

Now, this fanfic-reading, plus-size heroine faces an unsolvable problem. What do you do when being apart is unbearable…but being together is impossible?

Advanced Physical Chemistry is the third in a series of standalone rom-coms featuring geeky heroines who work in STEM fields.


Review:

Heartfelt, light, and fun!

The Boyfriend Hypothesis is a tender, passionate rom-com featuring the kind, intelligent Penny who, after finally deciding to swear off finding Mr. Right, decides to have a no-strings fling with the quiet barista at her favourite coffee shop, the sexy, charismatic Caleb, who may turn out to be more of a forever guy than either of them ever expected.

The prose is sweet and spirited. The characters are charming, independent, and reliable. And the plot is a push-pull tale of instant attraction, witty banter, palpable chemistry, friendship, family, light drama, and unconditional love.

Overall, The Boyfriend Hypothesis is a cute, heartwarming, entertaining tale by Nix that’s a great addition to the Chemistry Lessons series with its amusing characters, heartfelt moments, and happy-ever-after ending.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

  

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Susannah Nix

Susannah Nix is an Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of rom-coms and contemporary romances who lives in Texas with her husband. On the rare occasions she's not writing, she can be found reading, knitting, lifting weights, drinking wine, or obsessively watching Ted Lasso on repeat to stave off existential angst.

#BookReview The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse @KateMosse @PGCBooks #TheMapOfBones #KateMosse #TheJoubertFamilyChronicles #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse @KateMosse @PGCBooks #TheMapOfBones #KateMosse #TheJoubertFamilyChronicles #PGCBooks Title: The Map of Bones

Author: Kate Mosse

Series: The Joubert Family Chronicles #4

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jan. 7, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 480

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Following The Ghost Ship, bestseller Kate Mosse brings readers a sweeping novel of adventure and hardship, injustice and triumph, in the epic conclusion to The Joubert Family Chronicles.

Olifantshoek, 1688. When the violent Cape wind blows from the south-east, they say the voices of the unquiet dead can be heard whispering through the deserted valley. Suzanne Joubert, a Huguenot refugee from war-torn France, is here to walk in her cousin’s footsteps. Louise Reydon-Joubert, the notorious she-captain and pirate commander, landed at the Cape of Good Hope more than sixty years ago, then disappeared from the record as if she had never existed. Suzanne has come to find her—and to lay the stories to rest. But all is not as it seems.

Franschhoek, 1862. Nearly one hundred and eighty years after Suzanne’s perilous journey, another intrepid and courageous woman of the Joubert family, Isabelle Lepard, has journeyed to the small frontier town once known as Oliftantshoek in search of her long-lost relations. A journalist and travel writer, intent on putting the women of her family back into the history books, she quickly discovers that the tragedies and crimes of the past are far from over. Isabelle must face a race against time—to not only discover the truth, but escape with her life as well.

Moving and ambitious in scope, The Map of Bones tells the story of courageous women battling to survive in a hostile land—of revenge, retribution, and ultimately, redemption. Most of all, it is a poignant novel about the importance of women bearing witness and the power of the written word.


Review:

Captivating, immersive, and memorable!

The Map of Bones is an atmospheric, fascinating tale that picks up a few decades after The Ghost Ship left off, sweeping us to the Cape of Good Hope in the late 1600s and into the life of the fierce, independent Suzanne Joubert who, after arriving as a refugee on the shores of South Africa is bound and determined to do whatever it takes, even amongst the hostility and danger that surrounds her, to once and for all discover the fate of her infamous ancestor Louise Reydon-Joubert, the she-captain of the Ghost Ship.

The prose is rich and expressive. The characters are persistent, resilient, and strong. And the plot is a passionate, engrossing quest full of life, loss, love, courage, action, adventure, family, friendship, sacrifice, savagery, injustice, and revelations.

Overall, The Map of Bones is the alluring, insightful, stunning conclusion to The Joubert Family Chronicles by Mosse which spectacularly highlights her incredible knowledge and research into the vivid, tragic history of the Huguenots.

 

This novel is available now.

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Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kate Mosse

KATE MOSSE is a multiple New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author with sales of more than eight million copies in thirty-eight languages. Her previous novels include Labyrinth, Sepulchre, The Winter Ghosts, Citadel, The Taxidermist’s Daughter, and The Burning Chambers. Kate is the founder director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, a visiting professor at the University of Chichester, and in June 2013, was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature. She divides her time between Chichester in the United Kingdom and Carcassonne in France.

Photo Credit: Ruth Crafer

#BookReview One Last Rainy Day by Kate Stewart @authorklstewart @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #OneLastRainyDay #RavenhoodLegacySeries #KateStewart #PGCBooks

#BookReview One Last Rainy Day by Kate Stewart @authorklstewart @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #OneLastRainyDay #RavenhoodLegacySeries #KateStewart #PGCBooks Title: One Last Rainy Day

Author: Kate Stewart

Series: Ravenhood Legacy #1

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Dec. 3, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Erotica, New Adult

Pages: 477

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

The first installment of the deliciously steamy Ravenhood Legacy series, a spin-off of the internationally bestselling Robin Hood retelling that set TikTok on fire. One Last Rainy Day sheds new light on the secret, morally gray brotherhood—this time from the brooding and magnetic perspective of Dominic.

“We love rainy days, don’t we, baby?”

Dominic King doesn’t want or need anything…except his freedom.

The key to his cage is tucked in the suit pocket of his overbearing, overprotective, older brother, Tobias—the leader of a secret vigilante group Dominic helps govern.

Their mission? Destroy Roman Horner. And what better way to start than with their target’s daughter?

The problem is, the moment Cecelia Horner arrives in Triple Falls, plans and motivations change. For Dominic, she’s a potent reminder that there’s still good in the world. With Tobias away for the summer, things start to heat up quickly, until she’s not just a want, she’s a need.

With the Ravenhood’s fate on his shoulders, Cecelia becomes Dom’s only solace, and a light for his tortured soul. Because he knows, better than anyone, that a choice is coming. And once the decision is made, there’ll be no coming back.


Review:

Sultry, menacing, and emotional!

One Last Rainy Day is a charged, tantalizing tale that takes us back to Triple Falls and into the lives of Dom, Cecelia and Sean as we now get to see how their introduction, lives, relationships, responsibilities, struggles, and feelings all unfolded from Dom’s point of view.

The writing is edgy and passionate. The characters are troubled, impulsive, and resilient. And the plot is an alluring mix of friendship, family, drama, danger, expectations, heartbreak, desire, self-discovery, sacrifice, and love.

Overall, One Last Rainy Day is the steamy, dramatic, entertaining first story in the new Ravenhood Legacy spinoff series by Stewart that takes us back into the same dark, gritty, sexy world we came to know and love in The Ravenhood series but this time from a male perspective.

 

This book is available now.

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Thank you to PGC Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kate Stewart

Bestselling author and Texas native, Kate Stewart, lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick. Kate is a lover of all things '80s and '90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whiskey.
Her series, The Ravenhood Trilogy, consisting of Flock, Exodus, and The Finish Line, has become an international bestseller, TikTok phenomenon, and reader favourite.