BLOG TOUR: Costanza - Rachel Blackmore

Rome, 1636: In the scorched city of Rome, the cobbled streets hum with gossip and sin...

Costanza Piccolomini is a respectable young wife - until she meets Gianlorenzo Bernini, the famed sculptor and star of Roman society, whose jet-black gaze matches his dark temper. From the second they set eyes upon each other, a fatal attraction is born.

Their secret love burns with a passion that consumes them. But with every stolen kiss and illicit tryst, Costanza's reputation is at stake. Meanwhile, Bernini has a dangerous desire: he wants to make Costanza immortal. He vows to possess her not just in body and soul, but also in marble.

When Bernini unveils his sculpture of Costanza, she is exposed as his lover, marking the undoing of their affair - and the beginning of a scandal which will rock Roman society. For Bernini would rather destroy Costanza than let her go.

Betrayed. Abandoned. Banished. This was meant to be the end of Costanza's story. But Costanza is no ordinary woman: from the ashes, she will rise...

History calls her a Muse. Temptress. Fallen woman. This is her story. Costanza is a dizzying, sensual novel that brings to life a feminist icon who has been written out of history. This utterly addictive tale of desire and betrayal is perfect for fans of The Marriage Portrait and The Miniaturist.

 

What did I think?

Costanza is absolutely unmissable for historical fiction fans; it is as stunning inside as out, I mean just look at that beautiful cover!  I had no idea that Costanza Piccolomini was a real historical figure until I read the author's note at the end of the book.  Even more astonishing is that this is Rachel Blackmore's debut novel - brava!

The tantalising prologue haunted me throughout the novel and I couldn't read fast enough to discover whose life was in danger and how it came to be.  So I stepped back into 17th century Rome and devoured every single perfectly crafted word in this stunningly breathtaking novel.  

I was completely riveted as I discovered Costanza's story and my heart went out to her when her marriage didn't turn out quite as she planned.  If circumstances had been different, I think she still would have been attracted to sculptor Bernini but she would have been more reluctant to act upon it.  Bernini takes advantage of Costanza's situation and moulds her into the woman of his dreams.  Of course, he is completely blameless when it all goes wrong as he had been powerless to resist seduction by a temptress!

Magnificent, compelling and powerful, Costanza is an absolute masterpiece filled with passion and betrayal and it evoked such fury in me at the way women were treated and often still are.  I really must applaud Rachel Blackmore for giving Costanza such a strong and powerful voice and writing her back into history where she belongs.  

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Born in Birmingham, Rachel spent her childhood in the Northeast, then the Midlands. She studied history at King's College London, where her fascination for women's history took root. After a brief stint in politics, Rachel built a career in corporate communications. In 2021, she was runner-up in the Harper's Bazaar Short Story Competition and won the Irish Writers Centre 2022 Novel Fair. Rachel lives in London with her three teenagers, two cats and one dog.

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BLOG TOUR: New Memories (The Sandlin PI Series Book 3) - S.E. Shepherd

For three decades, Olivia Farnley used alcohol and drugs to try to block out the memory of the horrific murder of her mother which put her father in prison. Now, she’s ready to face her past, and her hypnotherapist is sure he can help her to fill in the gaps.

During therapy, a key detail comes back to her, one that is so momentous that Liv is forced to share this new-found information with the police. When they dismiss her claims, Liv is left frustrated and furious. Then a chance encounter leads Liv to private investigator Hannah Sandlin, who, accompanied by her best friend Lottie, embarks on an investigation in the Spanish resort of Marbella.

Amid the magnificent villas and infinity pools of Porto Banus, and the stunning beaches of Playa de la Fontanilla, dark secrets lurk. Once Hannah deploys her sharp investigative mind and shameless tenacity, she discovers what really happened to Liv’s mother, Susan, all those years ago. In the process, she uncovers some shocking secrets that the rest of the Farnley family have been trying their hardest to keep.

Can Hannah separate the lies from the truth and bring Liv the resolution she so desperately needs?

S.E. Shepherd’s brilliant third novel in her darkly funny crime series is a story of how untrustworthy memory can be and how love can blind you to the darkness of those close to you. Everyone has a dark side, do they not? Even the ones you love. New Memories is a gripping new thriller that you won’t want to put down.

 

What did I think?

New Memories is the third book in the Sandlin PI series but you can definitely read it as a standalone as PI Hannah Sandlin and her team are tasked with a brand new investigation.

This is a very intriguing case and the client, Olivia Farnley, wants to find out who killed her mother.  Olivia's father was convicted of the crime when a neighbour saw him fleeing the scene, however, nobody seemed to consider that he had an identical twin brother.  Olivia's memories of that awful night are accessed through a series of hypnosis sessions but as far as the police are concerned the case is closed, so Olivia turns to Hannah to prove that these new memories are a true recollection of what really happened.

I absolutely loved the exploration of memories and how traumatic events can be locked away inside your brain until you are ready to look for the key to open them up.  I've always been fascinated by hypnosis, although I would never consider having it done to me, and think it's amazing that the brain can be put into such a state that it is receptive to suggestions, outside the brain owner's control. 

The fabulous plot in New Memories is so compelling that it races along at a fast and furious pace.  I couldn't read fast enough to uncover all of the secrets buried deep within the book and the big reveal at the end has a wonderful Agatha Christie feel about it.  I certainly didn't see any of it coming!

Intriguing, gripping and impossible to put down, New Memories is a thrilling mystery that had me on the edge of my seat throughout.  Very highly recommended.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

Hobeck Books

Amazon

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BLOG TOUR: In Bloom - Eva Verde

A deeply affecting novel, In Bloom tells of strength, survival, forgiveness, resilience and determination, and the fierce love and unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters.

Delph has kept herself small and quiet as a form of self-protection, ever since the love of her life Sol’s untimely death left her pregnant and alone at the age of twenty-four. Theirs was such a once-in-a-lifetime love, that the loss of her soulmate broke her heart ‒ and almost broke her, too.

Years on, Delph’s protective bubble bursts when her daughter Roche moves out of the flat Delph shares with her partner Itsy and in with her estranged nan, Moon. Now that it’s just the two of them, the cracks in Delph and Itsy’s relationship begin to grow. Feeling on the outside of the bond between her fierce-yet-flaky tarot-reading mother and volatile martial-arts-champion daughter, Delph begins questioning her own freedom.

Is her life with Itsy all it seems? And has keeping small and safe truly been her choice all these years…?

 

What did I think?

Oh my goodness, where do I begin?  This exceptional novel left me absolutely speechless and although it broke my heart at times, Eva Verde's powerful narrative put it back together piece by piece. 

The three generations of women in this story are incredibly inspirational.  Grandmother Moon has buried a terrible secret for most of her life and it's through her own strength of character that it didn't break her.  Moon's daughter Delph lost the love of her life in tragic circumstances but Sol's spirit lives on in their daughter Roche.  Delph's new partner Itsy is determined to drive a wedge between the three women as Moon and Roche see him for what he really is...if only Delph would open her eyes.

The story is dark at times as the full extent of Itsy's hold on Delph becomes apparent but Delph is stronger than she thinks and I was totally rooting for her.  I was furious on her behalf too.  What a horrible man Itsy is and it's even more shocking to think that people like him do actually exist.

Stunning, heartfelt and emotive, I absolutely adored In Bloom and I felt bereft when I turned the final page as these three wonderfully strong women had left a firm imprint on my heart.  A very highly recommended read and one I'll never forget.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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BLOG TOUR: Seraphim - Joshua Perry

From a former New Orleans public defender comes a gritty and thrilling interrogation of crime, violence, and the limits of justice in the chaotic times after Hurricane Katrina…

A 16-year-old confesses to the murder of a local celebrity—a hero of New Orleans’s shaky post-storm recovery... The boy’s father, doing life in prison on the installment plan for a series of minor offenses, will do anything to save him...

Enter Ben Alder, a carpetbagging attorney (and former rabbinical seminary student) who has drifted down to New Orleans. He winds up defending them both. 

Ben and his partner, Boris, are public defenders obsessed with redeeming their case history of failures, and willing to do anything to protect their clients. As Ben tries to disrupt a corrupt and racist criminal justice system that believes an inexplicable crime has been solved, he confronts his own legacy of loss and faith. And as the novel hurtles towards its tragic, redemptive conclusion, Ben finds himself an onlooker and a perpetrator where he thought he was the hero.

A riveting and propulsive story about loyalty and grief, Seraphim is also an unflinching cross-examination of a broken legal system; a heartbreaking portrait of a beautiful, lost city, filled with children who kill and are killed; and a discomforting reflection on privilege, prejudice, and power.

 

What did I think?

Seraphim is a very accomplished debut novel from Joshua Perry, a former public defender in New Orleans.  It's a riveting glimpse into the American justice (or lack thereof) system and it's a sobering, thought-provoking novel.

My heart went out to 16-year-old Robert Johnson who confessed to murder, without really knowing what he was doing.  The police really took advantage of his youth and inexperience and before you know it Robert is in jail awaiting trial.  It made me feel so angry that the police are so blinkered that they're just happy for someone to be convicted for the crime rather than finding out whether they actually did it.  This is people's lives they're playing with just to hit their arrest and conviction targets!

I was fascinated by the whole court system set out in the novel and I loved the public defenders: Ben and Boris.  Although I often didn't approve of their methods, I think they cared about their clients.  So much so it often led them into danger.  It certainly made me grateful that we don't have the right to bear arms in the UK!

Dark, gritty and incredibly thought-provoking, Seraphim is a wonderful debut novel and a highly recommended read for anyone who likes legal thrillers.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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Bookmagnet Best Bookish Buys: Postscript Books

I've only recently discovered Postscript Books so I thought it was worthy of a best bookish buy post as they have loads of brand new books at discounted prices.  Postscript Books is a family run business that was established in 1987 and they have a free monthly catalogue (produced in the UK on paper from sustainably managed sources) as well as a website.  Delivery is free when you spend over £25 and their packaging is eco-friendly.

July catalogue

Click here to order a free catalogue featuring over 400 books from multiple fiction and non-fiction genres.

Postscript very kindly offered to send me a couple of books so I could share my shopping experience and I have to say that I was very impressed from order to delivery.  The website is easy to navigate and there are so many books I could have ordered, so I could easily spend £25 to take advantage of the free delivery offer.

So, what did I order?   I decided to order a book from three different categories: contemporary, crime, thrillers & mystery and historical.  

In contemporary, I chose The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line by Ruth Thomas that was published in 2021 and was priced at £3.99.  

My choice in the crime, thriller & mystery category was A Bitter Remedy by Alis Hawkins that was published in 2023 and was priced at £4.99.  

In historical fiction, I chose The Murder of Harriet Monckton by Elizabeth Haynes that was published in 2019 and was priced at a bargainous 99p.

So I got three books for under £10 without even leaving my home!  Bargain!

Postscript Books is a Bookmagnet Best Bookish Buy and a great bookseller for some bookish retail therapy.  Go on, treat yourself to some new books!

BLOG BLITZ: Poppy's Parisian Patisserie - Daisy James

Escape to chic and glamorous Paris!

When Poppy Phillipson loses her chocolate-making business in the Blossomwood Bay fire, she’s heart-broken; all her hopes and dreams wiped out in the space of an hour. As if that wasn’t enough, her last three dates were a complete disaster – one two-hour lecture on the intricacies of the off-side rule, one no-show, and an embarrassing abandonment mid-date – and she’s having a hard time not to take it personally.

So, when her brother asks her to come to the rescue of his friend Olivier Bourdain, owner of Pâtisserie Madeliene, following a freak skiing accident, she decides it’s the perfect way to escape the Devonshire drizzle and enjoy a petit sojourn from all-thing romance exploring the boutiques and boulevards of elegant Paris.

However, when she meets handsome French chef Fabien Dumont, with his sexy accent and dark brooding eyes, her determination to take a dating hiatus is severely tested. Should she concentrate on improving her skills as a pâtissière, or should she throw caution to the wind and embrace everything the City of Light has to offer… including the possibility of love?

Join Poppy as she heads to the dazzling city of Paris, and enjoy a story filled with delicious French pâtisserie and a soupçon of heart-warming romance.

 

What did I think?

I am absolutely loving Daisy James' Blossomwood Bay series and Poppy's Parisian Patisserie is another fabulous instalment, filled with romance, drama and delicious pâtisserie.  Don't worry if you haven't read any of the other books in the series as they can all be read as standalones.

Poppy lost her livelihood in the Blossomwood Bay fire so she's at a bit of a loose end when a wonderful opportunity comes her way.  So she jets off to Paris to work in a pâtisserie and learn from one of the best pâtissières in the city.  A local chef catches Poppy's eye and a spark of romance is ignited, but Fabien has a lot on his plate with strange deliveries appearing at his bistro and some awful reviews that threaten his business.  Somebody definitely has it in for him!

I love the little sprinkling of mystery that Daisy James adds to her books, it adds a huge dollop of drama to the mixing bowl of romance.  I thought Paris was brought to life beautifully through Daisy's writing and I felt as if I was walking along the banks of the Seine, experiencing all the sights, sounds and smells of Paris.

Poppy's Parisian Patisserie is a fun, romantic read that sweeps the reader off to Paris.  I really enjoyed my virtual visit to the City of Light and can't wait to read more about the lovely residents of Blossomwood Bay.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog blitz and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Purchase link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0CX9N1JLL

About the author:

Daisy James loves writing stories with strong heroines and swift-flowing plotlines. She especially likes to create sunshine-filled settings in exotic locations - the Caribbean, Tuscany, Cornwall, Provence - so she can spend her time envisioning her characters enjoying the fabulous scenery and sampling the local food and drink.

When not scribbling away in her peppermint-and-green summerhouse (garden shed), she spends her time sifting flour and sprinkling sugar and edible glitter. She loves gossiping with friends over a glass of something fizzy or indulging in a spot of afternoon tea - china plates and teacups are a must.

Daisy would love to hear from readers via her website – daisyjames.co.uk, or her Facebook page or you can follow her on Twitter @daisyjamesbooks, or on Instagram @daisyjamesstories.

Social Media Links – 

https://www.facebook.com/daisyjamesbooks/

https://www.instagram.com/daisyjamesstories/

https://x.com/daisyjamesbooks

BLOG TOUR: The Trap - Ava Glass

How far would you go to catch a killer?

This is the question UK agent Emma Makepeace must ask herself when she is sent to Edinburgh for the upcoming global G7 Summit.

The Russians are in town and Emma and her team know a high-profile assassination is being planned.

But who is their target?

There is only one way to find out. Emma must set a trap using herself as bait.

As the most powerful leaders in the world arrive and the city becomes gridlocked, Emma knows the clock is ticking.

 

What did I think?

I was so excited to read the new Alias Emma novel and I was not disappointed.  I just couldn't read it fast enough and the super-fast pacing left me breathless.  They don't call Ava Glass the Queen of Spy Fiction for no reason.

Although The Trap is book three in the series, you can read it as a standalone but you will definitely want to read the earlier books, if you haven't done so already.  Emma Makepeace has a new undercover assignment.  This time it's based in Edinburgh as intelligence discover an assassination plot planned for the G7 Summit.

It's a race against the clock to discover their identity and stop the assassin so Emma teams up with local law enforcement officer Kate Mackenzie.  I loved the connection Emma and Kate have so I don't think it's the last us readers have heard of Kate Mackenzie (yay!).

Blisteringly fast paced, sharp and addictive, it's impossible to put The Trap down once you pick it up.  Ava Glass is firmly cemented in place as one of my favourite authors and I highly recommend this book.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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