#BookReview THE COTTAGE ON WINTER MOSS by ALLIE CRESSWELL

ABOUT THE BOOK

Burned-out author Dee needs fresh inspiration. Impetuously, she abandons London and her good-for-nothing boyfriend to go wherever her literary quest takes her. Journey’s end is a remote village on the shores of a wild estuary, overshadowed by a ruined pele tower. She rents Winter Cottage and waits for a story to emerge.

The bleak beauty of the whispering dunes, the jacquard of colour and texture of the marsh and a romantic tree in a secluded glade—The Trysting Tree—all seduce Dee. Nevertheless, the secretive behaviour of a handsome neighbour, lights across the marsh, a spurious squire and a bizarre, moonlit encounter all suggest there is something odd afoot.

Local gossip and crumbling graveyard inscriptions give Dee the opening she needs. She begins to weave hints about the tragic history of a local family, feuding brothers and a fatal fire into a sweeping historical saga. Her characters clamour for a voice as the tale spools effortlessly onto the page—demanding to be told. Dee feels more like its instrument than its instigator.

As she becomes enmeshed in the local community, Dee is startled to find her fiction unnervingly confirmed by fact, her history still resonating in the present-day.
Is she being guided by echoes of the past?

PUBLISHED BY ALLIE CRESSWELL LIMITED

PURCHASE LINK

AMAZON

MY REVIEW

Another stunningly beautiful book from Allie Cresswell! The settings and characters quickly get under your skin and the story just absorbs you, which means it’s very difficult to put down as you just want to keep on reading!!

The author in the story, Dee, has faced highs and lows in a very short space of time and now needs time to recharge and refocus. So she travels to the back of beyond for that time and soon finds herself under the spell of the local area, and all those who live there. The more she uncovers from the local gossips, the more it inspires her to write her new book about characters of the past, and it almost begins to feel like she is experiencing their story herself.

With a dual timeline, we get to read the story she creates and it centres around Todd, who lived in the village from the turn of the century and life was hard, especially on the farm where he had to work from a very young age. What follows on is a very dramatic life with sibling rivalry, unrequited love – really emotional goings on, both then and in the now as Dee learns more about her neighbour and his father.

I loved this story. There is so much to take on but you feel part of these characters lives as you see them unfold, amidst scandal and unresolved resentments with emotions being bottled up, and taken out in the wrong circumstances and towards the wrong people.

Emotional, evocative and a pure joy from first page to last!

★★★★★

Advertisement

#BookReview Lily’s Secret by Kirsty Ferry #PublicationDay #LilysSecret

ABOUT THE BOOK

‘There’s nothing logical about Pencradoc!’

Aspiring actress Cordelia Beaumont is fed up of spending summer in the city. So, when the opportunity presents itself, she jumps straight on a train to pay a visit to Pencradoc – the beautiful Cornish estate where her friend Merryn works. 

But far from the relaxing break Cordy imagined, she soon finds herself immersed in the glamorous yet mysterious world of Victorian theatre sensation, Lily Valentine. Lily was once a guest at Pencradoc and, with the help of visiting artist Matt Harker, Cordy comes to discover that the actress left far more than memories at the old house. She also left a scandalous secret …

PUBLISHED BY CHOC LIT

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lilys-Secret-secrets-romance-Perfect-ebook/dp/B089T2R6VK/

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/search?query=Lily%27s+Secret

Apple: https://books.apple.com/gb/book/lilys-secret/id1517403239?mt=11&app=itunes&at=11lNBs 

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lilys-secret-kirsty-ferry/1137150436?ean=2940162924333

MY REVIEW

This is the 2nd book in the Cornish Secrets series – A Secret Rose being the 1st – and the ghostly goings on are back in full force and I loved it!  Any excuse to revisit Pencradoc is fine by me, and it was glorious to be seduced by the history of the house once more and the intriguing characters who have lived out their lives in the house and grounds.

This story is seen through the eyes of Cordelia, an actress who finds herself seeking time out at Pencradoc with her friend Merryn, to escape an ex and issues with her flat! She’s looking foward to a different pace of life for a while and finds herself falling for the charms of the house, the history of past inhabitants and a friend of the owners!!

As the story flits from the now back to the past, we’re introduced to Lily Valentine who was a star from the Victorian era, and ends up living at Pencradoc with her new husband.  I found both timelines to be captivating  but especially the story of Lily as she is facing an uncertain future as an actress, and fearing the past may be going to catch up with her, no matter how hard she tries to distance herself from it.  And we get to see the world through the eyes of little Elsie who is a whirlwind of a personality in the body of an 8 year old!!

I always love these dual timeline stories as there is so much to explore with these characters,  it’s fun and exhilarating to see their worlds combine throughout this story.  There are a few scary moments to get the heart thumping but you’re mostly left feeling with a warm fuzzy feeling and a real bond with these characters.  I’m just hoping there’ll be another book in this series very soon!!

★★★★★

#GuestPost LILY’S SECRET by KIRSTY FERRY #PublicationDay @ChocLituk @kirsty_ferry

Hello!  Time for a takeover on my Blog today, a special treat for Publication Day of LILY’S SECRET!  And the lovely Kirsty Ferry is here to share a bit of background to the book – it’s a book you don’t want to miss out on as I have already had the pleasure of reading it and loved it!!

So, over to you Kirsty……

Release Day Post: Lily’s Secret by Kirsty Ferry 

I’m very happy that Lily’s Secret has now been published and how it’s added beautifully to my new Cornish Secrets series for Choc Lit. It’s a sequel to A Secret Rose and is set at Pencradoc, the same gothic old mansion on the edge of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, that has now made a name for itself as an Arts Centre.

It’s lovely creating these sort of places, because I can pick and choose how they look and what facilities they have! I tend to take parts of places I’ve visited and shamelessly use them – this time we have the historical thread incorporating a ‘Pageant’ that the children of the family put on, and I’ve borrowed bits from the likes of Lyme Park and Mount Grace Priory and Abbot’s Hall, which is part of the Museum of East Anglian Life in Suffolk.

All these places had, when we visited, images, photographs and even black and white home movies of children taking part in pageants and plays, and I thought it was the ideal backdrop to frame Victorian actress Lily Valentine and her scandalous secret – how something so innocent and fun can reveal something so shocking!

I’m not going to spoil it for you, but I loved creating Lily, who I based on famous, scandalous actresses of the day and discovering more about her contemporary counterpart, Cordelia, who you may remember was a minor character in A Secret Rose. This time, Cordelia is feeling rather disillusioned with her acting career and after her flat floods, she decides to come down to see her friend Merryn at Pencradoc – and thus the two actress’s lives collide …

Unlike Hartsford Hall in my Hartsford Mysteries series, Pencradoc is haunted in a very different way. With Hartsford, the ghosts tend to drift around all the time, but with Pencradoc, they only appear to people they have a connection with – and it’s usually to help tell someone their story and reveal a secret that’s hidden in the very fabric of the old buildings. I do hope you enjoy reading Lily’s Secret as much as I enjoyed creating it, and fall in love with little Lady Elsie who stomped right up to my keyboard and demanded some attention whilst I was writing. I had to reign her in a bit and promise Elsie her very own book when she was a big, grown up girl – but for now, this is Lily’s story and I do hope you like it.

About the book:

‘There’s nothing logical about Pencradoc!’ Aspiring actress Cordelia Beaumont is fed up of spending summer in the city. So, when the opportunity presents itself, she jumps straight on a train to pay a visit to Pencradoc – the beautiful Cornish estate where her friend Merryn works. But far from the relaxing break Cordy imagined, she soon finds herself immersed in the glamorous yet mysterious world of Victorian theatre sensation, Lily Valentine. Lily was once a guest at Pencradoc and, with the help of visiting artist Matt Harker, Cordy comes to discover that the actress left far more than memories at the old house. She also left a scandalous secret …

Buy from: 

Amazon

Kobo

iBooks

Nook

About the author:

Kirsty Ferry is from the North East of England and lives there with her husband and son. She won the English Heritage/Belsay Hall National Creative Writing competition and has had articles and short

stories published in various magazines. Her work also appears in several anthologies, incorporating such diverse themes as vampires, crime, angels and more.

Kirsty loves writing ghostly mysteries and interweaving fact and fiction. The research is almost as much fun as writing the book itself, and if she can add a wonderful setting and a dollop of history, that’s even better.

Her day job involves sharing a building with an eclectic collection of ghosts, which can often prove rather interesting.

Find out more about Kirsty: 

Twitter

Facebook

💮💮💮

#BookReview THE SECRET OF THE CHATEAU by KATHLEEN MCGURL

ABOUT THE BOOK

Everything is about to change…

1789. Pierre and Catherine Aubert, the Comte and Comtesse de Verais, have fled the palace of Versailles for their château, deep in the French Alps. But as revolution spreads through the country, even hidden away the Auberts will not be safe forever. Soon they must make a terrible decision in order to protect themselves, and their children, from harm.

Present day. When Lu’s mother dies leaving her heartbroken, the chance to move to a château in the south of France with her husband and best friends seems an opportunity for a new beginning. But Lu can’t resist digging into their new home’s history, and when she stumbles across the unexplained disappearance of Catherine Aubert, the château begins to reveal its secrets – and a mystery unsolved for centuries is uncovered…

Unlock the secret of the château today. Perfect for fans of Kate Morton, Fiona Valpy and The Forgotten Village!

PUBLISHED BY HQ DIGITAL

PUBLICATION DATE – 15TH MAY 2020

PRE-ORDER LINK

Amazon

MY REVIEW

I do love a dual timeline historical story, and this is brilliantly gripping and emotional as the story switches between now and back in the 1700’s in France, as times were becoming very different for those in the royal palaces. It gives you 2 storylines that are equally as compulsive and I loved how both came together to provide a fitting ending.

In the present day, we meet Lu and her husband Phil and their friends. All in their 50’s and wondering what lies ahead for them all next, when one of them has the genius idea of pooling all their resources and buying one property in France so they can all live together! Everyone is up for the idea, although Lu seems a little hesistant and wonders if it will come to be! Their group has had crazy ideas in the past and they’ve never panned out! But this time it happens, and when they stumble across an old Chateau that needs a bit of refurb it seems they’ve found their new home!

And in 1785, we follow the story of Catherine who finds herself living at Versailles (lucky!!) after marrying Pierre who is an advisor to King Louis XVI, so they are part of the inner circle of the royal court and life seems blissfully happy. But things are changing outside the palace walls, and as tensions rise their lives are about to become much different.

Both women have to face new changes in their lives and I loved seeing how they both reacted to these shifts in their set ups. Both are plagued with doubts and nerves but they find inner resolve and prove themselves to be quite resilient as they try to overcome challenges and tragedies that befall them.

I loved the sense of history portrayed in the past storyline, and I really enjoyed Lu trying to solve the mystery aspect in the present timeline. This was a wonderfully absorbing read and I highly recommend it!

★★★★

#BookReview THE SECRET MESSENGER by MANDY ROBOTHAM

ABOUT THE BOOK

Set between German-occupied 1940s Venice and modern-day London, this is a fascinating tale of the bravery of everyday women in the darkest corners of WWII, for readers of Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network and Pam Jenoff’s The Lost Girls of Paris.

Venice, 1943

The world is at war, and Stella Jilani is leading a double life. By day she works in the lion’s den as a typist for the Reich office; by night, she risks her life as a messenger for the Italian resistance. Against all odds, Stella must impart Nazi secrets, smuggle essential supplies across the city, and produce an underground newspaper on her beloved typewriter.

But when German commander, General Breugal, becomes suspicious, it seems he will stop at nothing to find the mole, and Stella knows she faces an uncertain future…

London, 2017

Years later, grieving Luisa Belmont finds a mysterious old typewriter in her attic. Determined to find out who it belonged to, Luisa delves into the past, and uncovers a story of fierce love, unimaginable sacrifice, and, ultimately, the worst kind of betrayal…

published by Avon

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon UK

MY REVIEW

An engrossing piece of historical fiction that really brings home the untold stories of those who lived during WWII and the brave and selfless acts that many went through to do all the could to ‘fight the good fight’ whilst putting themselves in danger, and the importance of sharing those stories so that future generations can understand what happened.

It’s a dual timeline story, so we see the story from the point of view of Luisa in London in 2017 as she is dealing with the grief of losing her mother, and sorting through all her personal possessions and finding out the significance of certain pieces she finds, especially a portable typewriter.

And we see the story of Stella, in Venice in 1943, and her remarkable story of how as a young woman she is helping the resistance, whilst living and working amongst the Nazi’s who have taken over Venice. She gets a role as a typist of the Reich during the day, but at night she delivers messages for the resistance and writes articles for a newspaper. Seeing her struggle with keeping her double life quiet from those around her was a real eye opener, and as a young woman her only aim is to do the right thing and keep those she loves safe. It was fascinating to see how the war affected those who lived and worked in Venice at the time – with soldiers patrolling the streets liable to ask you questions or search your belongings at everytime, so the importance of safe houses was paramount to those working to get messages out.

The storyline of Stella was obviously far stronger and the more captivating, but I did like the role Luisa played in bringing things together and how the research into her family history helped distract her mind from the grief she was suffering, and that she wished she’d known more whilst her relatives were still alive. I hadn’t given much thought to what it must have been like for those in Venice at the time living under Nazi rule, and there were some horrific acts that were committed on innocent people that really brought home how awful it must have been for everyone at the time. Not knowing who to trust and trying to get on normally with your day to day business, whilst fearing what was going to happen next must have taken its’ toll on everyone. But Stella was always determined to keep on putting herself in danger to keep doing what she could and is a really inspirational character.

An excellent historical story

★★★★

#BookReview The Botanist’s Daughter by Kayte Nunn

ABOUT THE BOOK

Discovery. Desire. Deception. A wondrously imagined tale of two female botanists, separated by more than a century, in a race to discover a life-saving flower . . .

In Victorian England, headstrong adventuress Elizabeth takes up her late father’s quest for a rare, miraculous plant. She faces a perilous sea voyage, unforeseen dangers and treachery that threatens her entire family.

In present-day Australia, Anna finds a mysterious metal box containing a sketchbook of dazzling watercolours, a photograph inscribed ‘Spring 1886’ and a small bag of seeds. It sets her on a path far from her safe, carefully ordered life, and on a journey that will force her to face her own demons.

In this spellbinding botanical odyssey of discovery, desire and deception, Kayte Nunn has so exquisitely researched nineteenth-century Cornwall and Chile you can almost smell the fragrance of the flowers, the touch of the flora on your fingertips . . .

Published by Hachette

PURCHASE LINKS

hive.co.uk  £7.89

whsmith  £8.72

Bert’s Books  £8.99

MY REVIEW

An historical, dual time-line story about gardening and romance?! Yes please!! And I loved every minute of it and has made me want to set off on my own plant hunting adventures – but maybe with less danger involved!!

In the present timeline, Anna is a gardener who is currently overseeing the renovation of her beloved grandmothers’s house that she has been left, and when the builder start knocking walls down they uncover a box hidden in the walls. Anna and her family know nothing about this box and when she discovers what is inside she is intrigued to discover more.

Back in 1886, Elizabeth Trebithick is living at Trebithick Hall with her beloved father and sister. She has inherited her fathers’ need for exploring – he’s a plant hunter and is often away -and she wishes she could escape too. He shares his dreams with her of plants he aims to find and makes her promise him that she’ll carry on his work for him. She’s not one to be stopped and kept at home, as was expected of women back then, so she soon sets off with her maid to the other side of the world to hunt out a very rare and dangerous plant. Being seasick isn’t the best start for her journey though!

The 2 timelines work brilliantly with one another – as Anna delves further into the origin of the paintings she finds, along with reading the diary that was also hidden away she is drawn into the need to explore and finds herself travelling to Cornwall to see what more she can find out about this family she knows little about. 

And as Elizabeth settles into her new life, her head is soon turned by a local guide who seems to share her interest and passion for plants, but with a rival plant hunter also on the scene, she is unsure whether she can trust her guide with the real reason she is out there, other than painting the different plants she sees.

I loved the characters in both timelines of this book – both women weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty and do whatever became necessary to achieve their tasks! Be it uncovering a rare plant, or putting the pieces together in a mystery puzzle and discovering who hid the box in a wall and why. It really gave a great insight into just how precarious plant hunting was, but so rewarding when a new plant was found, or local knowledge helped you learn something new about a plant.

Really enjoyable and easy to read and I’ll definitely be reading more from this author in the future!

💮💮💮💮

#BookReview #20booksofsummer The Garden Of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans

Back on track with my 20 Books of Summer List! And Book 5 has now been read and reviewed!!  Can I keep this pace up?! Of course not, but I’m enjoying being so productive while I can!!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Nightingale House, 1919. Liddy Horner discovers her husband, the world-famous artist Sir Edward Horner, burning his best-known painting The Garden of Lost and Found days before his sudden death.

Nightingale House was the Horner family’s beloved home – a gem of design created to inspire happiness – and it was here Ned painted ‘The Garden of Lost and Found’, capturing his children on a perfect day, playing in the rambling Eden he and Liddy made for them.

One magical moment. Before it all came tumbling down…

When Ned and Liddy’s great-granddaughter Juliet is sent the key to Nightingale House, she opens the door onto a forgotten world. The house holds its mysteries close but she is in search of answers. For who would choose to destroy what they love most? Whether Ned’s masterpiece – or, in Juliet’s case, her own children’s happiness.

Something shattered this corner of paradise. But what?

Published by Headline Review

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon   £11.81

hive.co.uk  £12.99

whsmith  £11.89

Bert’s Books  £16.99 – sigend edition

MY REVIEW

A dramatic opening starts this book off with a bang and I was just totally captivated from the first page to the last with the events set over a dual timeline, relating to the painting of The Garden of Lost and Found, alongside the family history and drama of Nightingale House. The author has a wonderful way of capturing the day to day lives of people in various periods in history, mixed with the added mystery of secrets hidden behind closed doors that just makes you want to read more!!

Set in 1893 and 2014 this story follows the story of 2 families an their not so happy lives! In the 2014 timeline we follow Juliet who is married with children, but her husband seems to have form of playing away from home and she finally reaches breaking point and a legacy from the past leaves her with a way of breaking free from the marriage and starting over – albeit in a crumbling house that had sad memories for her family in the past. Her children aren’t so keen on the move and add to the stress she is under, but she is pretty determined to move on with her life and find the happiness she feels they all deserve.

In 1893 we follow the story of Liddy, who marries Ned (Juliet’s great grandfather), an artist, and find themselves moving to Nightingale House, a home she grew up in and despite the good times they shared together there, their time is soon tinged with sadness and pain. When Ned paints his most famous piece ‘The Garden of Lost and Found’ it should mean an end to all their worries, but just seems to add to the misery and he comes to despise his own work.

Juliet starts to learn more about her own family history when she starts working nearby and the more she uncovers the more devastating the revelations become.

I really loved both timelines in this one – I did find Juliet’s more powerful as she dealt with all that she learned about her past, while dealing with her own family problems – and I raced through the 440+ pages. The characters, the settings, the history, the escapism – perfect combinations for such an enjoyable book!

★★★★★

#BookReview A Secret Rose by Kirsty Ferry #publicationday

ABOUT THE BOOK

A fabulous new story from Kirsty Ferry set in Cornwall. Perfect summer reading! 

“Wherever you go, I will follow …” 
Merryn Burton is excited to travel down to Cornwall to start her first big job for the London art dealers she works for. But as soon as she arrives at Pencradoc, a beautiful old mansion, she realises this will be no ordinary commission. 

Not only is Pencradoc filled with fascinating, and possibly valuable artwork, it is also owned by the Penhaligon brothers – and Merryn’s instant connection with Kit Penhaligon could be another reason why her trip suddenly becomes a whole lot more interesting. 

But the longer Merryn stays at Pencradoc the more obvious it is that the house has a secret, and a long-forgotten Rose might just hold the key … 

Published by Choc Lit

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon UK

Kobo

Apple Books

Google Play

Nook

MY REVIEW

An old mansion in Cornwall  full of secrets – a dual timeline – romance – family history… yes, yes, yes!!  Hopefully this is the start of another lovely series to be set in this idyllic setting.

 It’s fair to say I loved spending time in the company of Merryn Burton as she travels to Cornwall and the Pencradoc home recently inherited by the Penhaligon brothers and they are eager to have the art collection appraised by her, and the moment she arrives the deja-vu feelings start and she feels an incredible connection with both the house and Kit Penhaligon – it’s as if they already know one another.

I really do love the dual timelines that Kirsty seems to write with ease – the now timeline works so seamlessly with the jaunts back to the past and the characters of Alys , Jago and Zennor also have an intriguing and thrilling story to tell – can lessons be learnt from the past or will history be repeating itself once more?

There’s so much to be uncovered at Pencradoc that Merryn finds herself unable to leave and move on and it was so atmospheric and easy to follow that I didn’t want to leave either!  Loved the sibling rivalry, the ghosts, the drama and the love stories – it made for the perfect mix for a fabulous read!

★★★★★

#BlogTour The Forgotten Secret by Kathleen McGurl #BookReview @rararesources

A huge pleasure to be the latest stop on the Blog Tour for THE FORGOTTEN SECRET by KATHLEEN MCGURL.  My thanks to the author, publisher and Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for letting me be part of it all!

A country at war

It’s the summer of 1919 and Ellen O’Brien has her whole life ahead of her. Young, in love and leaving home for her first job, the future seems full of shining possibility. But war is brewing and before long Ellen and everyone around her are swept up by it. As Ireland is torn apart by the turmoil, Ellen finds herself facing the ultimate test of love and loyalty.

And a long-buried secret

A hundred years later and Clare Farrell has inherited a dilapidated old farmhouse in County Meath. Seizing the chance to escape her unhappy marriage she strikes out on her own for the first time, hoping the old building might also provide clues to her family’s shadowy history. As she sets out to put the place – and herself – back to rights, she stumbles across a long-forgotten hiding place, with a clue to a secret that has lain buried for decades.

For fans of Kate Morton and Gill Paul comes an unforgettable novel about two women fighting for independence.

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

KATHLEEN MCGURL lives near the sea in Bournemouth, UK, with her husband and elderly tabby cat. She has two sons who are now grown-up and have left home. She began her writing career creating short stories, and sold dozens to women’s magazines in the UK and Australia. Then she got side-tracked onto family history research – which led eventually to writing novels with genealogy themes. She has always been fascinated by the past, and the ways in which the past can influence the present, and enjoys exploring these links in her novels.

Social Media Links –

 Website: https://kathleenmcgurl.com/

 Twitter: @KathMcGurl https://twitter.com/KathMcGurl

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenMcGurl/

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenmcgurl/

MY REVIEW

Set over two timelines, 2016 and 1919, this absorbing story takes a look back at troubled times in Ireland , alongside a woman taking control of her own life after many years of being controlled by her husband, and finding her own feet again at the age of 50.

In the present timeline, we follow Claire who has been left a Farm in Ireland by an Uncle, which is in dire need of renovation and the thought of that gives her goosebumps! Not so her husband, Paul, who is used to getting his own way and just wants her to sell it so he can invest the money in something else.  Over the years she’d given up going against his wishes for the sake of her two sons, but now they’re grown up and doing their own thing she gets the courage to do what SHE wants for a change and makes the big decision to leave her husband and set out on a new journey in Ireland.

And back in 1919, we follow the story of Ellen who is a young girl living with her Dad with not much money, but sets out on her life journey with a new job and a new romance that  is put to the test early on as Jimmy is determined to join the cause to fight for Irish independence.  Ellen’s new boss is also involved with setting up clandestine meetings and Ellen finds herself passing on messages and doing all she can to avoid being detected by those out to thwart all those plotting against the English.

The two timelines worked so well with each other – we had the historical look back at some very troubling times and got to see how it affected the people living and working in Ireland at the time, and that is set against the backdrop of Claire who is looking to make her own way in life and explore the things she finds on the farm that had been hidden away for many years and to look back at the family history she didn’t hear about.  Some of the revelations are pretty shocking but dealt with in sympathetic ways but left you as a reader feel quite emotional about what went on, and how things were so different back then.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

#BookReview Spring at Taigh Fallon by Kirsty Ferry

About the book

From old secrets come new beginnings … 
When Angel Tempest finds out that her best friend Zac has inherited a Scottish mansion, Taigh Fallon, from his great aunt, she immediately offers to go and visit it with him. It will mean closing up her jet jewellery shop in Whitby for a few days but the prospect of a spring trip to the Scottish Highlands is too tempting. 

Then Kyle, Zac’s estranged and slightly grumpy Canadian cousin, unexpectedly turns up at Taigh Fallon, and events take a strange turn as the long-kept secrets of the old house begin to reveal themselves … 

Part of a series, Tempest Sisters, which can be read in any order.

Published by Choc Lit

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon UK

iTunes

Kobo

Google Play

MY REVIEW

This is Book 2 in the Tempest Sisters series, BUT can be easily read as a standalone, although I can highly recommend Book 1 – Summer At Carrick Park if you’d like to read that first! And in Taigh Fallon we follow the story of Angel Tempest who is a jewellery maker in Whitby, and who loves all things gothic! She is no shrinking violet in her choice of clothes or sharing her opinion and she does a lot of that in this book!

When her best friend Zac learns that he has inherited his the mansion in the Scottish Highlands that used to belong to his Great Aunt, he needs a friend to go with him and who better than Angel! She immediately falls in love with the history and setting of the house, and feels a real connection to the place – more so than Zac! Taigh Fallon has also been left to his Canadian cousin, Kyle, who used to bully Zac when they’d both be in Scotland visiting, but times have moved on and they’re both different people now so it’s interesting to see how that dynamic works – Zac seems much more forgiving than Angel who had heard from Zac about how he’d been treated in the past!  

While they are all there a few strange sights and sounds begin to fill the halls and Angel is both fascinated and a little freaked about the feelings she has. It’s as if Taigh Fallon is trying to share the past with her and I loved the atmospheric setting and flashes back.

The storyline set in 1897 featuring Annis was a fascinating mix and added so much with an intriguing romance and seances and the link to the family history is always a favourite part  of mine in any story.

I loved the whole feeling of this book!  The friendship between Zac and Angel was really touching and her passion in sticking up for her friend against Kyle was admirable, if a little over the top at times! She’s not one who quickly forgives and forgets!! I absolutely raced through this book and really hope there’ll be more in this series as I love the time-slip elements!!

Highly recommended!!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟