BOOKSTAGRAM TOUR: Topaz (The Topaz Files book 1) - Richard Robinson

What if the most powerful intelligence operation in UK was hiding in plain sight?

What if the people recruited to protect the nation never knew they were being tested?

In the mid-1990s, as political tension simmers and covert wars are fought beyond public view, a forgotten UK college becomes something far more dangerous than it appears.

TOPAZ is an engaging espionage thriller that pulls readers deep into the hidden machinery of UK intelligence, where recruitment is subtle, loyalty is tested without warning, and one wrong decision can cost lives.

Jones, an unremarkable student drifting through life, believes he’s landed an ordinary university place by chance. But beneath the faded corridors and outdated courses lies a secret pipeline feeding MI5, MI6, and GCHQ. Those selected for Topaz are not told what they’re joining.

They’re simply watched… tested… shaped.

As training exercises escalate into live operations, lines blur between simulation and reality. Ciphers hide deadly intent. Field exercises carry real consequences. And deniability becomes the most valuable weapon of all.

When an intelligence operation goes catastrophically wrong, the recruits must confront a terrifying truth:

This is no longer preparation. This is the real thing.

 

What did I think?

WOW!  Take a bow, Richard Robinson!  Topaz has just taken my breath away and it's one of those books where five stars is just not enough.  It is OUTSTANDING!!

Now that's what I call gripping; I gave myself three days to read Topaz but I couldn't put it down and finished it within 24 hours.  Richard Robinson is a genius; Topaz takes all of your favourite spy thrillers and upgrades them into an incredibly entertaining and compelling novel.  It's built on a foundation that resembles the TV show Spooks but with a group of eclectic characters that you might find in Slow Horses or Police Academy.  

The pacing is so fast that I was laughing out loud one moment and holding my breath the next.  I loved every single character and can't wait to continue their journey throughout the rest of the series.  Topaz is definitely going on my favourites shelf.  Another thing I loved about it is the various beers that were ordered throughout the story; I felt like I was on a bit of a pub crawl and couldn’t wait to see what they’d be drinking next.

Filled with non-stop action and unexpected humour, Topaz is an unmissable spy thriller that captivated and entertained me from start to finish.  I'd give it 10 stars if I could.  

I received a gifted paperback for the Love Books Tours booksta tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: Nightcats - Kristen J. Sollée

In this feral feminist vampire novel, cats-and cat ladies-are out for blood.

It's 2005, and Vera Valcourt is an aimless goth waitress in New York City, desperate for something to sink her teeth into. Caged by her Catholic upbringing, her dead-end job, and her deadbeat boyfriend, Vera's only solace is her rescue cat, Sammy. But when Sammy disappears, Vera is forced to claw her way out of the domestic life she's been trapped inside.

The frantic search for her missing cat drives Vera into the dark underbelly of cat lore. Following a blood-soaked trail blazed by a medieval abbess and a roaring twenties witch, Vera is cast into a world of ancient myths and ancestral magic, ruthless cults and cutthroat cat ladies. If she and her beloved Sammy are to survive, Vera must uncover the secrets of a deadly feline species with more than nine lives.

A suspenseful mix of occult horror and urban fantasy drenched in dark humor, Nightcats explores the unbreakable bonds between women and their cats, and what we sacrifice to keep our teeth sharp in a world that wants us defanged. 

What did I think?

Nightcats is the perfect read for the dark nights and I think I might read it every year just to experience it all over again. It’s very creepy and a little scary.

It is told from three points of view: Cassandra in London in 1925, Vera in New York in 2005 and actress Candy, who Vera meets when interviewing her for a cat adoption.  As well as the dual timeline and various points of view, there are excerpts from a 13th century book called the Lonetal Heresy.

It is a very enjoyable read and I positively raced through it.  It’s perhaps not as gory or as feral as I expected but the vampire cats freaked me out a bit and their feeding actions, that Kristen J. Sollée describes very vividly, really made my skin crawl.

As the chapters are quite short, there’s a lot of back and forth with the different viewpoints but it’s not confusing at all and they start to link together nicely towards the end.  Kristen J. Sollée’s writing is very accomplished and the whole book played like a Hitchcock movie in my head.  It would be great to see Nightcats made into a film.

Nightcats is a chilling feminist horror novel that is deliciously dark and skin crawlingly good.  It’s incredibly imaginative and shockingly vivid; it’s definitely a book that horror fans will lap up.

I received a gifted paperback for the Black Crow PR review tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Feral Eye

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Warm Bodies - John Marrs

From the multimillion-copy bestselling author comes a chilling tale about Brenda: they watched her, judged her, and talked. They should have left her alone.

Brenda lives quietly in a picture-perfect English village. She looks after her grandchildren, restores old furniture, and keeps herself to herself. She’s the sort of neighbour people feel comfortable judging.

And judge they do. Because villages notice everything. The shopping. The visitors. The hours kept behind closed doors. And when the local WhatsApp group begins to turn its attention to Brenda, curiosity hardens into suspicion, and gossip becomes a sport.

As scrutiny tightens, Brenda finds herself navigating busybodies, moral crusaders and a community that believes it knows best. What they don’t know is that Brenda has spent a lifetime solving problems discreetly.

Methodically. Permanently.

And she is very good at it.

The village may come to regret not minding its own business.

 

What did I think?

Warm Bodies by John Marrs is a short story from one of my favourite authors and it is an absolute cracker.  I think John Marrs could make his shopping list sound suspenseful, twisty and thrilling.

With 107 pages in the novella, it's a quick read and it's impossible to put down anyway so it's definitely a one sitting kind of book.  It starts with an excerpt from the village WhatsApp group and poor Brenda is the main topic of conversation.  What a bunch of b*tches!

Brenda looks like a doting grandmother on the outside but she has a very dark secret relating to the night time deliveries she keeps getting.  Uh-oh!  I really don't think the villagers want to start poking this particular hornet's nest.

Warm Bodies is so good I wanted to read it again as soon as I finished it.  It is so vivid that it played like a movie in my head and I loved every single second of it.  Another easy five stars for John Marrs!

I received a gifted digital book for the Tandem Collective readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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The Last Handmaid - Clare Whitfield

 

A gothic historical suspense novel about Countess Erzsébet Báthory, the world's most prolific female serial killer, told through the eyes of the maid who served her.

Hungary, 1604. Catalina, an orphaned girl is sent to serve the infamous Countess Erzsébet Báthory at Csejte Castle. It is a place of shifting loyalties, where girls who displease the household vanish without a trace. Survival here depends on obedience and silence.

When Catalina is summoned to the Countess's private chambers, she is drawn into a dangerous relationship and becomes entangled in the Countess's obsession with strange 'medicines'. As more girls disappear, Catalina knows there is a cost to staying alive.

She must decide whether to try and escape her mistress' hunger, be consumed by it – or learn to feed it herself…

What did I think?

I love Clare Whitfield's books and will read whatever she writes so I was delighted to get my hands on an early copy of The Last Handmaid.  As with the other Clare Whitfield books I have read, it is inspired by a real character from history, this one being Countess Erzsébet Báthory.

Catalina is the handmaid in the story and she has certainly had a difficult life after being orphaned at such a young age.  She is a very strong and determined character but there are times when she must hold her tongue in order to save herself.  The Countess is such a volatile character and you never know what she's going to do next.

I have to say that I had never heard of Erzsébet Báthory but I have been so intrigued by her story that I have been doing my own research as I have been reading The Last Handmaid.  That's one of the things I love about Clare Whitfield's writing: the fact that she brings these real characters to life with such original and vivid reimaginings.

Deliciously dark and completely mesmerising, The Last Handmaid is a chilling and compelling novel that captivated me from start to finish.  The ending is worthy of a chef's kiss - it is absolute perfection!  I don't think you will find a novel more gothic than this one and I highly recommend it.

I received a gifted hardback for the Insta Book Tours readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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UK.Bookshop.org

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BOOKSTAGRAM TOUR: Sherwood - Meagan Spooner

Robin of Locksley is dead.

Maid Marian doesn’t know how she’ll go on, but the people of Locksley town, persecuted by the Sheriff of Nottingham, need a protector. And the dreadful Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff’s right hand, wishes to step into Robin’s shoes as Lord of Locksley and Marian’s fiancé.

Who is there to stop them?

Marian never meant to tread in Robin’s footsteps—never intended to stand as a beacon of hope to those awaiting his triumphant return. But with a sweep of his green cloak and the flash of her sword, Marian makes the choice to become her own hero: Robin Hood.

 

What did I think?

Sherwood by Meagan Spooner is described as 'a fierce feminist fairy tale retelling' where 'Maid Marian becomes Robin Hood' and I love retellings so I jumped at the chance to read it.  Whilst I wouldn't describe it as fiercely feminist (or a fairy tale), I did enjoy it as it's a fun gender swap of the legend of Robin Hood.

Marian and Robin were due to be married when Robin returned from the war in the Holy Land but alas Robin did not return.  Marian is lost without him but she hears his voice in her head guiding her to do what he would have done to protect the people from the wicked and greedy Sheriff of Nottingham.

The story is interspersed with snippets from Marian and Robin's childhood and I loved reading these parts, although it was often a little tricky as the pages are printed with a dark to light gradient and the black text was a bit tricky to read with my old eyes.

I found the whole book incredibly entertaining and read it in two sittings.  It is a reasonably chunky book with 467 pages but, as the characters were already known to me (Little John, Will Scarlett etc), the story flowed easily and the action is non stop.

Sherwood is an enjoyable and captivating retelling of Robin Hood and I will definitely be looking out for more of Meagan Spooner's books to add to my reading queue.

I received a gifted paperback for the Novel Tours bookstagram tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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REVIEW TOUR: When the Light Broke Through - N. Rae Rosen

Raegan Oaks has spent her life fighting invisible battles of pain with no name, and grief that never lets her breathe. When betrayal shatters the fragile bridge she’s built with her flatmate, Ethan Zarik, she flees into the night towards an ancient oak, which mysteriously opens to the realm of Liravel: a world of magic long thought lost.

There, beneath its epic sky and ancient peaks, embers of power begin to spark, shadows whisper her name, and a dangerous Fae warrior sees what she cannot…

Back in the mortal world, Ethan is unravelling, haunted by nightmares and clawed by demons and darkness he can barely control. When fate rips their worlds apart, he surrenders to the monster within, knowing it’s the only way to tear open the realms to reach her.

Two souls bound by a curse older than time.

Light and shadow. Love and ruin.

And a starlit flame that could reduce even the darkness to ash.

What did I think?

When the Light Broke Through is a dual point of view, dual timeline and dual realm novel so it took me a little while to get into the story.  Once I got to know the characters and got used to when and where each chapter was, the pages turned very quickly.

Raegan and Ethan tell their stories via their own point of view chapters.  The chemistry between the pair is evident but Ethan is holding back for fear of hurting Raegan.  Just when you think they might get together, Raegan disappears into another realm and it feels very much like this is not an accident.  

It's a beautifully written story that transports the reader to the magical and dangerous faery realm.  It is a little dark at times but it's not distressing at all and although there's a lot of sizzling chemistry, I wouldn't say it is particularly spicy.

When the Light Broke Through is a fabulous debut romantasy novel that has a strong emphasis on destiny and it's a very entertaining and enjoyable book.

I received a gifted hardback for the Literally PR Online Book Review Tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: A Knightly Betrayal - Jill Bray

October 1224. Simon de Hale, Sheriff of Yorkshire, is travelling to his manor to celebrate the birth of his first grandchild. Awaiting his arrival is an unexpected guest, Lady Cecily Chalcombe, a beguiling acquaintance from his days at the royal court. Recently widowed in scandalous circumstances, Lady Cecily throws herself upon his mercy and seeks his protection from the people threatening her.

Guests arrive for a celebration feast, including Lady Cecily’s brother Nicholas and the distinguished Earl Warenne. But upon retiring, Simon finds Lady Cecily standing over the dead body of her maid, hands bloodied.

Simon cannot believe she has killed her maid, but if she hasn’t then who was it. Was the death meant as a warning to Lady Cecily?

With the help of his daughter Katherine, Simon starts to investigate the murder and uncovers a web of gambling, deceit and betrayal. But will he be able to find the killer before Lady Cecily becomes the next victim.

 

What did I think?

I loved A Brotherly Devotion so I was very excited to return to 13th century Yorkshire in A Knightly Betrayal and this fantastic sequel completely exceeded my expectations.  You can read it as a standalone even if you haven't read the first book as it has its own murder mystery storyline.

The prologue drew me straight into the story with a murdered maid that appears to be a threat to Lady Cecily who has inherited her husband's land on his death.  What?!? A woman as a landowner!  This is almost unheard of in the 13th century and there are suitors lining up to take this manly responsibility off Cecily's fair hands.  The question is how far are her suitors willing to go to get their hands on the land.

I absolutely loved catching up with Simon de Hale and his two daughters, new mother Angharad and newly married Katherine.  The murder happens at Simon's manor and as the Sheriff of Yorkshire he starts an investigation immediately.  Of course, Katherine has to get involved as she is as sharp as a tack and I found the murder mystery storyline incredibly gripping.

A Knightly Betrayal is a hugely atmospheric piece of historical fiction with a compelling crime element.  I couldn't put it down once I picked it up and I loved every second of it.  I had a little lump in my throat at the end and can't wait for book three: A Deceitful Death.  Do not miss this incredible series, historical fiction fans!

I received a gifted ARC for the Rachel's Random Resources blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the author:

Jill lives on the Island of Guernsey now, but is originally from Yorkshire. She has a love of early medieval history which led her to study the subject at Huddersfield College in the 1980's. Working in Leeds at the time, meant that she had access to the Yorkshire Archaeological Society on their late night opening and following research, she wondered what the lives of the people she read about were actually like. This started a love of writing historical fiction, but her initial stories were never sent to a publisher. Life and work then intervened and writing was put to one side. It was only following a workshop held by the Guernsey Literary Festival in 2024 on writing historical fiction, that her love of writing was reignited. Her first novel 'A Brotherly Devotion' was published in July 2025. Her second novel 'A Knightly Betrayal' will be published in October 2026.

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