Left on the Shelf

About the Author

Elizabeth St.John's acclaimed historical fiction brings to life her ancestors—remarkable women linked to England's royalty—offering unique insights into Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times. Her novels unfold not just as traditional series, but as an interlocking web of lives: The Lydiard Chronicles—including the celebrated The Lady of the Tower—The Godmother's Secret, and The King's Intelligencer explore everything from the English Civil War to the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. Her newest novel, The Queen’s Tears, a dual timeline pursuing a stolen crown jewel, reunites favourite characters from the seventeenth-century with a present-day bookstore owner heroine.

At the heart of her writing is the transformation of real ancestral histories into narratives of historical continuity. She follows threads of legacy through generations, guided as much by wills, letters, portraits, country churches, ruined castles, manor houses, and lost gardens as by imagination. Locations become constant companions through time, while characters whisper across centuries—their decisions resonating in the lives of their descendants to reveal how choices shape legacies. Grounded in historic sites like Lydiard Park and the Tower of London, her work creates a living archival flow that continues to flourish as the past yields its secrets.

Elizabeth divides her time between California, England, and the past, surrounded by books, gardens, and animals, with a slightly bewildered, ever-supportive husband beside her.

You can also find Elizabeth at:

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

The Lady of the Tower

(ARC and media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Holly Dates at the Christmas Cottage by Margaret Amatt - #bookreview #blogtour

September

"But what about the singles who want to... mingle?" The words escaped Tiffany Barlow's lips before she's considered the implications. She of all people knew only too well what it was like to be single and feel left on the shelf...

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from Rachel's Random Resources. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

An unexpected bid for something special this Christmas

Perpetually single events manager Tiffany Barlow is used to being in control. So when she agrees to take part in the Holly Dates Auction at Thistle Lodge, it’s with a very specific goal in mind: to catch a respectable date for a high-profile event at a nearby castle. What she doesn’t expect is a last-minute twist…

Reserved English teacher Isaac Emery is looking forward to a peaceful, cosy winter at his grandpa’s Christmas Cottage, pretending he’s perfectly content with his books for company. When he accidentally wins a Holly Date experience at a festive fundraiser, he finds himself committed to a date with Tiffany – someone way out of his league.

As the glittering winter ball at the castle approaches, Tiffany is torn between what she’s been brought up to desire and an unexpected attraction to Isaac.

With a little seasonal nudge from his grandpa, Isaac might risk stepping away from the safety of his solitary world, giving both himself and Tiffany a chance to unwrap true love this Christmas.

My Review

This is the perfect book to read in the run-up to Christmas and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have previously read a couple of books in this series. Not in any particular order as they all work as stand-alones. In fact, I believe that this is the last book in the series but there is no issue with picking up this one even if you haven't read any of the prior novels.

The characters are wonderful. The main characters are Tiffany and Isaac and I loved the way that the individual chapters are narrated from both perspectives. Tiffany is a very self-controlled events organiser from a well-to-do family. Isaac is a shy and awkward English teacher who lives with his grandfather. It is absolutely not an obvious pairing but it is delightful.

When they do meet via an auction it was wonderful to see not just their relationship blossom, but their individual development also. I thought the author did a fantastic job of portraying her characters, and even the secondary characters came alive on the page. I particularly liked Isaac's grandfather and his neighbour Mabel.

The setting of this book was lovely too and I would have loved to join the characters and curl up in front of the fire at Isaac's grandfather's house, appropriately called Christmas Cottage. I also enjoyed the description of the winter ball which was held at the castle where Tiffany's best friend grew up. Tiffany's parents were there and her mother sees it as the sort of event where Tiffany will meet an appropriate man.

This is a wonderful heartfelt book and I enjoyed every word. If you need a book to make you feel Christmassy then you won't be disappointed with this. I thought it was an adorable novel and I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1914575112

Publisher: Leannan Press

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 402 (paperback)

Series: Book 20 in the Glenbriar series

Purchase Links

About the Author

Margaret Amatt is a bestselling Scottish author, professional daydreamer, and certified chocolate addict. She’s been making up stories for as long as she can remember – some of them even made it onto paper (and, tragically, onto floppy disks that no computer can read anymore). After two decades of writing in secret, she finally unleashed her first novel on the world in 2021, kicking off a ten-book series set on the stunning Isle of Mull.

But why stop there? She’s also the creator of The Glenbriar Series, where romance, small-town drama, and a pinch of spice keep readers coming back for more. This series is still going strong, with more books planned, including a spin-off series in 2027 – The Glenbriar Castle Series.

Margaret also has two books out in the Love on the Edge – Barra series, set in the Outer Hebrides.

Margaret has spent her whole life in Scotland’s breath-taking Highland Perthshire, despite her entire extended family coming from the Glasgow area. Her books are romantic and emotional, sweet and funny, and each one can be read as a standalone, but long-time readers know the joy of familiar faces popping up, adding to the chaos.

So, if you love relatable characters, sizzling chemistry, and plenty of banter, you’re in the right place – just don’t blame Margaret when you stay up way too late reading just one more chapter.

You can also find Margaret at:

Facebook

Summer Nights at Hillview Farm

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

Christmas Wishes at the Station Book Shop

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Friday, 23 October 2026

Queen Anna by Tony Riches - #bookreview

Copenhagen Castle 1589

Anna could sense something was going on. She saw it in the way they looked at her...

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from the author. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

A crown won in the eye of a storm. A queen who refuses to be broken...

Princess Anna of Denmark sails for Scotland to marry King James VI, but storms ravage her fleet, igniting a deadly obsession with witchcraft in her new home. Arriving in a strange and paranoid court, Anna finds her new husband’s bed is a treacherous place.

Surrounded by whispering courtiers and shifting alliances, Anna refuses to remain a passive pawn. When the court takes her children to raise them away from her, the young queen draws her line in the sand. From the windswept castles of Scotland to the glittering, dangerous English court, Anna is restored to her rightful place in history.

My Review

Tony Riches is an author who has been on my radar for a while. I've been meaning to try one of his books for ages as I am always intrigued when they pop up on my social media. Consequently, here I am having finished one of his books and I couldn't be more pleased that I finally got around to it.

Queen Anna is the first in the Stuart Queens trilogy. Anna, also known as Queen Anne, was queen to James I/VI of England and Scotland and is perhaps lesser known than some of our queens of the past. I have a particular liking for books which look at our lesser known figures from history and I think the author did a great job in bringing her to the fore.

Forced from her beloved Denmark aged just fourteen, Anna is shipped to England to marry King James. It was a lonely life for a young woman who is foisted into an unfamiliar society and language, and who will soon discover that she also has to take second place to James's 'favourites'.

The author has clearly researched Anna and the time period well and has done well in giving her a voice. He has taken the facts of the period and spun them into this fictional account of her life in court, and often in the seclusion of her birthing chamber.

Her strength of character shines through in this book. She suffers the loss of her children, either through death or from the living ones being taken away from her to be raised in other noble households as was the Scottish custom. Whilst immensely saddened, she faces these things with resilience and fortitude.

This book provides so much in an easy to read and engrossing novel. The author brings her, and Stuart life and customs together on the page and has produced a very authentic feeling novel.

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction and particularly that set in the royal court. I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8186524854

Publisher: Preseli Press

Formats: e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages: 364 (paperback)

Series: Book 1 in the Stuart Queens series

Purchase Links

Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets by Alison Weir

About the Author

Tony Riches is a full-time UK author of historical fiction. He lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the lives of the early Tudors.

As well as his Elizabethan series, Tony’s historical fiction novels include the best-selling Tudor trilogy and his Elizabethan series.

You can also find Tony at:

Author Website

Author's Writing Blog

Author Podcast

Bluesky

Facebook

Some of My Other Blog Posts Featuring Queens of England

The Tudor Queens' Midwife by Brigitte Barnard

Kings & Queens: Alfred the Great to King Charles III and Everyone In-Between by Marcia Williams

Charles II's Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza by Susan Abernethy

(ARC and media courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Tuesday, 20 October 2026

Dreadnought by Robin Bennett - #bookreview #bookblog

London - A Few Years From Now

When the Russian Drone Mobs attacked London, the Plasma Cannons - the ones on all the tallest roofs and along the river on the ghost grey ships - would make them explode...

***

The Blurb

A child sees things she’s sure don’t exist. The adults call it trauma. They’re both wrong.

On a remote Yorkshire headland known as Dreadnought, seven-year-old Cass Delaval begins to glimpse figures and fragments tied to a past that refuses to stay buried.

As the world edges toward conflict, Cass is drawn into a family mystery stretching back to the Second World War: a missing boy, a hidden weapon, and a family secret.

Because whatever has lain dormant on Dreadnought goes deep into our past … and it isn’t finished with us yet.

Dreadnought is a story of loyalty and hope, where the courage of one small girl may be our last defence.

My Review

Generally speaking, I rarely pick up a book which looks eerie. However, as we are now in spooky season, I thought I would give this one a try.

The book is set in the not-too-distant future where, largely, the world is at war. The family who feature in the novel have escaped London and moved to the old family home on Dreadnought, a promontory of land in North Yorkshire which belongs to the family.

Dreadnought is almost a character in its own right, as the entire narrative of the story revolves around it and is central to the plot. It is a place of secrets, whispers and the supernatural.

The book is a multi-generational story, and we get to know each of the characters relatively well as individual characters narrate the different chapters. Although the narrative mostly takes place in the near future, the novel also dips in and out of the past seamlessly.

The character voices are quite distinct, and at no point did I feel confused as to who I was reading. There are three generations living on Dreadnought. Cass is a child who can see and hear things that the adults cannot. Her mother, Olivia, wants to protect her at all costs, and James, who is Olivia's father, seems to know things that he is not revealing. However, we also hear from other characters. Tom is a local farmer who tries to help Cass. There are also characters from the past who help to piece together the secrets and story of Dreadnought's past.

It was hugely atmospheric and eerie. The author did a great job of conjuring up the spooky feeling surrounding Dreadnought; from the rolling fog to the walled-up caves. There were times that it made me shiver.

Although this is a genre that I don't usually read, I was captivated by this book and found I was keen to get back to it when I had to set it aside from time to time.

This is the perfect book to read in the run-up to Halloween. It was scary, but not to a point that I couldn't continue with it. It is definitely spooky and has a dark and brooding feel throughout. I recommend this to lovers of the genre.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1036959265

Publisher: Monster Books

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 320 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

About the Author

Robin Bennett is an author and entrepreneur who has written over twenty-five books for children. He has also written books on the swashbuckling world of business: How to Make a Good Living Running Your Own Business, Kicking the Property Ladder and Start up Smart, all published by Harriman House.

In 2024 Cracking was shortlisted for a Week Junior Book Award and Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year for Children. His YA novel 'XII' was shortlised for a British Book Award in 2023 and his very popular Monster Max Series is a Book Trust pick and won Coventry Inspiration Book Awards in 2022. Picus the Thief, won the Writer's News Indie Published Book of the Year Award in 2012.

When Robin grew up he thought he wanted to be a cavalry officer until everyone else realised that putting him in charge of a tank was a very bad idea. He then became an assistant gravedigger in London. After that he had a career frantically starting businesses (everything from dog-sitting to cigars, tuition to translation)... until finally settling down to write improbable stories to keep his children from killing each other on long car journeys.

When not writing or starting companies, Robin plays most sports. Poorly.

You can also find Robin at:

Tik Tok

(book and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Monday, 19 October 2026

Tightrope: Balancing Duty with Courage and Conviction by Jennifer Hyland - #bookspotlight

Today I am shining the book spotlight on something a little different today. Tightrope: Balancing Duty with Courage and Conviction by retired Deputy Chief Constable, Jennifer Hyland and it looks like a fascinating read.

The Blurb

In Tightrope, retired Deputy Chief Constable Jennifer Hyland takes you inside twenty-six years of frontline policing—working major investigations involving violence, sexual assault, and crimes that rarely make it into public view in full.

This isn't secondhand reporting.

This is what it looks like from the inside.

As Hyland rose to one of the highest ranks in Canadian law enforcement, she saw firsthand how cases unfold behind closed doors—how decisions are made, what gets buried, and the pressure officers face when the truth isn't convenient.

But the job doesn't end when the case does.

The weight follows you home.

It builds.

And eventually, it breaks something.

Facing PTSD and later a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at the height of her career, Hyland was forced to confront a reality few in policing are willing to admit:

Surviving the job can be harder than doing it.

Tightrope is a rare, unfiltered look at the human cost of law enforcement—the cases, the culture, and the toll it takes on the people inside it.

For readers drawn to true crime and real-world policing, this is the side of the story you don't usually get.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1038340825

Publisher: Friesen Press

Formats: e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages: 222 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon CA

About the Author

Jennifer Hyland is a retired Deputy Chief Constable with over twenty-six years of service in Canadian policing, where she rose to one of the highest leadership ranks in the profession. Her career spanned complex investigations, frontline operations, and senior command roles, giving her a rare, inside perspective on both the realities of the work and the systems behind it.

Based in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Jennifer now speaks to organizations and audiences across industries on leadership, resilience, and navigating high-pressure environments. She is especially focused on supporting leaders who are committed to maintaining their values within complex and demanding systems.

Tightrope: Balancing Duty with Courage and Conviction is her first book.

You can also find Jennifer at:

Linked In

(media courtesy of AME)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Thursday, 15 October 2026

Sisters... No Way! by Siobhan Parkinson - #bookreview #blogtour

A happy relief, someone said. Can you believe it? A happy relief! Dad said... that's the sort of thing people say, they don't mean it unkindly...

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from The Write Reads. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

A funny, feisty and heartfelt take on the classic Cinderella story, this 30-year anniversary edition of Sisters ... No Way! invites readers old and new to discover the charming story that defined a generation. With two stories in one – told from different perspectives and flipped to read from either side – this unique book lets readers step into both sisters’ shoes, revealing that there’s always more than one side to every story.

Cindy is a sharp-tongued, no-nonsense teen struggling with her mum’s recent death – and she is not impressed when her dad falls for one of her teachers. A teacher for a stepmother? Seriously? And her two perfect, prissy daughters? There’s no way Cindy is calling them sisters… no way!

But the feeling is mutual. Cindy’s would-be stepsisters think she’s a total nightmare: rude, bossy, and completely unfair to their mum. They don’t want her as a sister any more than she wants them... no way! The trouble is, the wedding is happening whether they like it or not. Soon they’ll all be one family… so something has to give.

But who will it be?

My Review

This is a modern retelling of Cinderella that is aimed at a young adult readership.

At the beginning, the author invites us to "choose where to start." The book contains two diaries: Cindy's, whose mother has recently passed away, and Ashling's, whose parents have split up, leaving her and her sister to cope with the fallout. It is up to the reader to decide which one to read first.

When Cindy's dad and Ashling's mum get together, neither of them are ready to become stepsisters. Through reading the diaries, the reader is able to consider the book from the perspectives of both girls. This leaves the reader to understand the situation from the individual points of view and to understand the two girls better. I enjoyed the epistolary format as it gave me the opportunity to really understand the two characters in a way that a normal narrative may not have.

I love the way the author took a classic story and set it in the modern world of blended families. This was originally published in the 1990s and this is the book's 30th anniversary. It has been given a nice new cover which will appeal to a new generation of young people.

I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1918353952

Publisher: Little Island Books

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 256 (paperback)

Purchase Links

About the Author

Siobhán Parkinson is one of Ireland's best-known writers for children. She has written almost thirty books, most of them for children and teenagers, for which she has won a bagful of awards and nominations, and her books have been translated into about twenty languages. She was Ireland's first Children's Laureate. She is visually impaired, which means she has to rely mainly on audiobooks for reading, and she works by using magnification software and a voice on her computer. She lives in Dublin with her husband, who is a woodturner and without her grown-up son, who is a book editor.

You can also find Siobhan at:

Last Seen Online by Lauren James

My Other Blog Posts Featuring Books for Young Adults

Shorelines by Ruth Ennis

My Heart is Hurting by S.E. Reed

The Time Trials by John and Dayna McConnell

Shadow by Michael Morpurgo

(ARC and media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Wednesday, 14 October 2026

A Gala Ball at Tillingford Hall by Flora Dunn - #bookreview

I'm shivering: it's always freezing at Tillingford Hall in January.

My hand is poised to knock on Guy Tillingford's study door. Since when does my closest friend, my ex-fiancee, close his door to me, expect me to knock?"

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from the publisher. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

***

The Blurb

Sahara Seaton-Smyth's ex, James, is never coming back; her brother Seb is moving out; her modelling career has stalled; and she's just adopted an orphaned piglet.

Meanwhile, her friend Guy Tillingford is losing his calm. His fiancee Alice's due date is also looming while Tin Tub Productions are filming a documentary about Tillingford Hall in the run-up to the gala ball.

Sahara has the chance to return to the spotlight as a TV presenter, but she's reluctant until she learns she'll be working with her old friend, historian Dr Tom Pemberton.

Now widowed, Tom is juggling single parenthood with TV stardom. His son Cory has retreated into video games, while daughter Xanthe, a gifted violinist, is struggling with sudden fame.

Can Sahara help Tom? When she receives unexpected news about her health, will it bring them closer - or push them apart?

With Alice's due date so close to the ball, who will have that first dance?

My Review

Publishing tomorrow, this book makes for delightful reading.

Although this is the fourth book in the series, I haven't read the previous three and that did not impact my enjoyment of this lovely novel.

Set in the English countryside and revolving around a stately home in which a television series is being filmed, the author has created a wonderful backdrop into which she has placed her characters.

The main character is Sahara. She is an ex-model who has come through the other side of a life of alcohol, drugs and anorexia. She has now got her life back on track and I admired her for moving forward so positively with her life. The author portrayed her character very well and Sahara was a delight to get to know on the page.

In fact, all of the characters were well drawn and came to life on the page. I enjoyed observing the chemistry develop between her and her old friend and colleague Tom. His children, Xanthe and Cory, were wonderful creations and I really enjoyed the way they were portrayed. The author clearly understood her characters very well.

The character interactions with Muffin, the fast-growing piglet, were delightful. There was much amusement around him and I couldn't help but laugh.

Although the book refers to some difficult themes, they largely take place off the page. However, Tom and his children are grieving the loss of his wife, but it is handled sensitively.

This was a heartwarming, feel-good romance novel with a very satisfying ending. I was gripped throughout and enjoyed every page. I highly recommend this book if you like contemporary romance... with a naughty piglet thrown in.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1068749484

Publisher: Lumina Publications

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 311 (paperback)

Series: Book 3 in the Tillingham series

Purchase Links

About the Author

In her own words:

I wrote my first book when I was five. It was about a cow and a bed because those were words I knew how to spell. Then I wrote ‘The Crazy Book’ about some kids who went back in time and lots of stories about bunnies.

I fell in love with romance when I read MM Kaye’s The Ordinary Princess, a touching children’s book about a sassy runaway princess called Amy, which was one of the first books to turn traditional fairy stories on their head. And later, Jane Austen and all the classics, until I finally picked up a Mills and Boon in my twenties and my fate was sealed.

Love stories, whether about romance, friendship or camaraderie, how we feel about other people, how we treat them, how we make mistakes and are forgiven and learn to forgive in our turn, are at the very heart of our human existence. You can tell those stories in a light-hearted way but that doesn’t change the depth of the message that true love is the greatest of all the virtues. Even The Bible is a love story between God and his people (and that ending when you think it’s all over, but it isn’t, is just the best plot twist ever).

My stories are set in and around the modern-day fictional village of Tillingham in Jane Austen Country in leafy mid-Hampshire.

The first book in the Tillingford Hall series is Summer at Tillingford Hall (published August 2024). A Little Treat on Honey Street, about Laura and her quest to save the Tillingham community shop and Christmas at Tillingford Hall are both scheduled for publication in 2025.

I write from a posh shed set in a beautiful garden in South-West London. I live with two cats, three grown-up children and my husband, a hunky gardener with a growing collection of tractors. When I’m not writing, working as a charity fundraiser or looking after my family, I’m to be found in the kitchen, baking cakes (which I try not to eat) and cooking home-grown veg (which I do).

You can also find Flora at:

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