BOOKSTAGRAM TOUR: The Truro-Bound Coach and Four - Mark Butterworth

In the shimmering heat of summer, 1795, Kit and Samuel Cade are returning to Cornwall, taking the coach and four from London to Truro. Their travelling companions each have their own challenges and stories, and they are thrown together as they face the perils of stormy weather and the dangers of the road.

Lieutenant Edward Pascoe, badly wounded in a naval battle with the French, is heading home to begin a new life in Cornwall. He finds himself captivated by the beautiful Bethany Strange, yet she holds a secret that brings him further pain. Will Kit ever be able to see the shy governess, Alice, again?

The wealthy and sophisticated Mrs Meredith Darling has inherited a Cornish estate that she is uncertain she wants. Turning to Samuel Cade for guidance, she forms an unexpected friendship with him, but can they overcome the difference in their ages?

Will the stagecoach reach Cornwall safely, free from attack by highwaymen, and will love blossom during the week-long journey?

 

What did I think?

I enjoyed The Truro-Bound Coach and Four; it's a very charming story that made me feel very grateful about how easily we can travel from A to B these days.

There's a map at the start of the book showing the journey from London to Truro which is roughly 280 miles and would take around 5 hours by car today.  Back in 1795 though, travellers took a coach and four that stopped off at various locations so the horses could rest.  What a long and arduous journey this must have been!  

Anyone who could afford to travel by coach and four, especially with the luxury of an inside seat, would very likely encounter highwaymen along the way.  The coach and four journey is beautifully described by Mark Butterworth and I love how he balances the danger and mundanity of travel with a hint of romance.  The travellers may have started as strangers but they finish as friends due to the shared experience of the journey.

It's a very gently paced book but I rather enjoyed the change of pace.  I was completely invested in the characters and wanted them to reach their destination safely.  The story and the style of writing has the feel of a modern classic and I absolutely loved how it ended.  It's an atmospheric and enchanting historical fiction novel that is well worth a read.

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

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BOOKSTAGRAM TOUR: Calypso's Odyssey - Anna Ellison

Some loves are meant to stay…some are meant to set you free.

The Summer I Turned Pretty meets Circe in this windswept, emotional retelling of The Odyssey. A stunning story of first love, ancient echoes, and the power of rewriting your own fate.

Callie Quinn has never left Catalina Island. Her world is a crumbling cliffside inn, a father who’s more prison guard than parent, and a curse she believes she’s doomed to repeat: every summer brings a boy, a spark—and then a goodbye. Until one summer everything changes.

A storm. A shipwreck. A boy washed ashore.

Odie is secretive, wounded, and desperate to disappear. Callie offers him shelter, a place to heal, and slowly, something more. But Odie is no ordinary castaway. He carries secrets that could destroy them both. On Catalina, Callie shows him another way to live. A life of freedom and belonging. An everlasting life where he could be anyone—even himself.

But when Odie’s world crashes back into their paradise, both Odysseus and Calypso must make impossible choices: one between legacy and love. The other, between holding on and setting herself free.

Inspired by the tale of Odysseus and Calypso from Homer’s The Odyssey, this fresh retelling gives star-crossed lovers a chance to defy fate. Full of longing, first love, and impossible choices, it’s a story where, at last, they find their happily ever after.

A star-crossed, slow-burn summer romance. A contemporary reimagining with mythological roots. A girl who learns that sometimes, the most epic love story is the one you write for yourself.

Perfect for fans of:

• Forbidden Love
• MMC with a mysterious past
• "Just for the summer" relationships
• Mythology retellings
• 1-Chili Pepper Romance 

What did I think?

I love mythology retellings and I'm partial to a bit of YA so when Calypso's Odyssey appeared on my radar I couldn't wait to read it.  It's a quick read with just 249 pages but it's very entertaining, mesmerising and charming.

Set on Catalina Island, which is a real island off the coast of California, we meet Callie who is working at her dad's inn.  In one of the most dramatic meetings I've ever read, Callie's path crosses with Odie's and the chemistry virtually sizzles off the page.  It's not a traditional boy meets girl story though as Callie guards her heart very carefully and she doesn't plan to let anyone get near enough to hurt her...again.

I was so mad that Callie wasn't free to enjoy the blossoming of first love as she has been hurt, betrayed and humiliated in the past.  Honestly, I was fizzing with fury that one juvenile idiot spoiled Callie's ability to believe in happily every after.  Of course, Odie's not being entirely truthful either and it really makes you think about whether lying by omission is as bad as purposefully lying.  You also have to remember that the characters are teenagers so they don't have the wisdom (ha) and life experience of adults.

The Odyssey seems to be everywhere at the moment so it's good to explore retellings that are more accessible and easier to read than Homer's masterpiece.  I know a bit about The Odyssey and having read Calypso's Odyssey it has made me want to read the original.  Wish me luck!

Heartwarming, romantic and captivating, Calypso's Odyssey is a cute and delightful retelling that enthralled me from start to finish.  I enjoyed it and think it's well worth a read for both adults and young adults who enjoy reading romance.

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

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BOOKSTAGRAM TOUR: Some Rise By Sin - Siôn Scott-Wilson

1829 is a tough year to be a body snatcher. Burke and Hare have just been convicted of killing people to sell their bodies, to widespread outrage—but despite the bad press, doctors still need fresh corpses for medical research.

Sammy and Facey are a couple of so-called ‘resurrection men’, making a living among society's fringe-dwellers by hoisting the newly departed from the churchyards of London whilst masquerading as late-night bakers. Operating on tip-offs and rumours in the capital’s drinking dens and fighting pits, the pair find themselves in receipt of some valuable intelligence: an unusual cadaver has popped up on the market, that of a hermaphrodite.

For any medic worth his salt it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—a medical curiosity and rara avis—and famous anatomist Joshua Brookes commissions the two men to obtain the body, at any cost. But some corpses hold secrets, and before long the enterprise becomes a deadlier and more complex undertaking than either man could ever have imagined.

Some Rise by Sin is a rich, authentic and absorbing historical narrative with a darker edge, a story of surviving on the outskirts of respectability. With echoes of Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White, it is meticulously researched and suffused with the dark and grimy atmosphere of Regency London, and explores what ambition can mean for poor people in a society that conspires to grind them down at every turn.

What did I think?

I didn't expect a book about body snatchers to be so funny and I absolutely loved reading Some Rise by Sin by Siôn Scott-Wilson.  I couldn't put it down once I started reading and read it in two sittings.

You've heard of Burke and Hare, now meet Sammy and Facey who provide the medical profession of Victorian London with fresh corpses to dissect.  It's always interesting to read how fascinated the Victorians were with bodies so it's no wonder that dodgy gangs of body snatchers saw a gap in the black market; it's all about supply and demand.

The story is entertaining and action-packed as Sammy and Facey track down the body of a hermaphrodite which several parties are interested in acquiring.  I sometimes couldn't hold in my laughter at their hilarious escapades that are vividly described by Siôn Scott-Wilson.  The pair are a cracking double act who reminded me of Blackadder and Baldrick; Sammy is the thinker who comes up with his cunning plans whereas Facey dives straight in with his fists flying.

It is written colloquially that really adds colour and depth to the story, although I did have to keep stopping to look up some of the unfamiliar Victorian words.  I didn't always know what they meant at first but I still found it incredibly funny.  I think the book would have benefitted from a glossary of terms at the back as I really didn't want to put the book down to look them up.

Incredibly atmospheric and wonderfully entertaining, Some Rise By Sin is a gripping and amusing novel.  I am delighted to see that it is the first book in a series and I can't wait to see what Sammy and Facey get up to next.  A very highly recommended read.

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

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BOOKSTAGRAM TOUR: All In - Claire Powell

A marriage on the rocks. A family in disarray. A weekend in the sun at a luxury, all-inclusive hotel. What could possibly go wrong?

Jo and Dave haven't had a holiday in years. They've had other things on their plate: failed IVF, the death of Dave's mother, doing up the bathroom.

So when Dave’s flashy brother Teddy offers to fly in from Dubai and take them – along with his gorgeous young girlfriend and their curmudgeonly father – to a beachfront resort in the Med, the couple can hardly refuse.

But while romance might be on the cards for some, Jo and Dave soon find that tensions don't disappear in paradise. In fact, they might just get worse...

Set over the course of one scorching weekend, All In is a compulsively entertaining and bittersweet novel that asks: when life gets choppy, how does love stay afloat?

 

What did I think?

All In is a very addictive book and once I started reading I couldn't put it down.  I felt like I was spying on this family holiday as Claire Powell puts each character under the microscope.

The story is told in four parts and I loved the titles of each part that gave some indication of what was to come, although nothing is ever quite what it seems.  Part one is Fun Jo and Jo couldn't feel less like having fun.  She has it in her head that her marriage is over and Dave doesn't help matters by hiding things from her.

When Dave's brother Teddy invites the couple and their dad to go on holiday, sibling rivalry rears its ugly head and adds further tension to Jo and Dave's already strained marriage.  Teddy appears to have it all and Dave feels very inadequate in comparison but once again, appearances can be deceptive.

Claire Powell really knows how people tick and I loved reading each character's thoughts and feelings over the course of the holiday.  Humans are complex characters and this is very evident as you read this compelling novel.

Honest, raw and entertaining, All In is a very thought-provoking and powerful novel that makes me glad to be an only child.  It is perfectly described as bittersweet in the blurb as it's both witty and poignant.  I enjoyed it and think it's well worth a read.

I received a gifted hardback to read and review for the Novel Tours bookstagram tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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BLOG TOUR: A Cold Whisper - Casey Dunn

 

Catch your breath. It might be your last . . . A bone-chilling, terrifying story about two sisters and secrets hiding beneath the snow.

A raging blizzard isn’t enough to keep fourteen-year-old Rose and seven-year-old Lily in their abusive home for another night. But their escape plan goes wrong when Rose disappears and Lily wakes up in the snow-covered woods, terrified and alone. She never sees her sister again.

Twenty-five years later, Lily is a social worker with a skill for finding missing children – and a deep fear of the cold. When a foster child she works with is found frozen to death in the snow, Lily is forced to confront her past trauma. What happened to Rose, and why did she abandon her sister in the snow? As terrible secrets are finally dug up, the truth takes a bone-chillingly dark turn.

Told in alternating viewpoints of Lily and Rose, this chillingly atmospheric, dark novel of suspense with jaw-dropping twists is perfect for fans of Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong, The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld and The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf.

What did I think?

I was drawn to A Cold Whisper by the blurb and I'm so pleased that I picked it up as it's a fantastic read.

Told via multiple points of view we follow two sets of siblings: sisters Lily and Rose and brothers Daniel and Hunter.  Lily is a social worker and she has first hand experience of being abandoned as her sister Rose left her in the snow 25 years ago.  Daniel is the new cop in town and he's trying to live up to his brother Hunter.

I just loved the way the story unravelled piece by piece and the dual sibling characters was very unusual and worked really well.  It is so devastating to read about missing children and it definitely pulled at my heartstrings.  The pacing is fast and it doesn't let up until you turn the final page.

Gripping, haunting and chilling, A Cold Whisper is a fantastic psychological thriller that hooked me from the start and kept me riveted throughout.  A highly recommended read.

I received a gifted paperback for the Bookstagram Tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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