Left on the Shelf

About the Author

Lilac Mills lives on a Welsh mountain with her very patient husband and incredibly sweet dog, where she grows veggies (if the slugs don't get them), bakes (badly) and loves making things out of glitter and glue (a mess, usually). She's been an avid reader ever since she got her hands on a copy of Noddy Goes to Toytown when she was five, and she once tried to read everything in her local library starting with A and working her way through the alphabet.

She loves long, hot summer days in the garden, and cold winter ones snuggled in front of the fire, but whatever the weather she's usually writing or thinking about writing, with heartwarming romance and happy-ever-afters always on her mind.

Lilac also writes under the pseudonyms Liz Davies and Etti Summers.

You can also find Lilac at:

Surprises on the Scottish Isle

Bluesky

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Wednesday, 30 September 2026

Books I Read in September 2026

The autumn is almost upon us and it's a time to think about snuggling down with a warm drink, a blanket and a book.

However, here in the UK we aren't quite there with the weather yet. In fact as I write this we are having a bit of late summer which is lovely.

It has been a good month for reading and I have read some lovely books. I have even squeezed in a couple for the little ones and have started on my Christmas books.

What have you been reading this month?

The Tale That Time Sews by Sita Brahmachari & Jane Ray

This delightful picture book tells the story of time through a continual needle and thread. If you would like to read my full review you can find it here.

Ancestral Virgins (Part 1, 2 and 3) by Fiona J. Mackintosh

I read all three books in the series as they do not really work as stand alone books. If you would like to read my full review you can find it here.

Little Wolf's Big Huff by Harriet Howe & Katie Cottle

This is a delightful picture book to share with children finding themselves in need of a little reassurance. If you would like to read my full review you can find it here.

Invitation From a Dictator by Rory Clements

Although this is the third book in a series, I have not read the earlier books. It works very well as a standalone novel and I enjoyed it very much. If you would like to read my full review you can find it here.

The Wine of Angels by Phil Rickman

This was my Book Group reading choice this month. Although I quite liked it it didn't go down very well with most of the group.

Bob and Shirley's Guide to Murder by Suzy K. Quinn

This amusing cosy crime mystery is entertaining to read. If you would like to read my full review you can find it here.

The Silent Women by Tara Lynn Masih

This book made for great reading. The Silent Women is based on the true story of the Manhattan Project's secret women during World War II. If you would like to read my full review you can find it here.

A Calamity of Waters by Chloe Turner

My favourite read this month. This was one of those books that I wanted to read slowly, to linger over every word and sentence because it has been so beautifully crafted. If you would like to read my full review you can find it here.

The Alchemist's Secret by Clare Marchant

I enjoyed this very much. My review will be up soon.

A Dash of Christmas Spirit by Susan Buchanan

A trip to the Sugar and Spice Cafe is an annual must for me. This is probably my favourite Christmas series. If you would like to read my full review you can find it here.

Tuesday, 29 September 2026

A Dash of Christmas Spirit by Susan Buchanan - #bookreview #blogtour

Florence gazed around her at Winstanton's bustling Christmas market, full of shoppers passing each other with studied determination, whilst people who knew each other occasionally stopped to chat...

***

The Blurb

CAN LARA ADD A SPRINKLING OF MAGIC THIS CHRISTMAS?

Jacob introduces ever tastier treats to the Sugar and Spice cafe’s menu as the Christmas Spirit knits her magic into the lives of those finding this Christmas tough.

Florence is struggling to make ends meet and afford the present she knows her son wants for Christmas. Her ex-husband flaunting his new girlfriend and their baby isn’t helping her mood.

Widower Jude feels a failure as a father to his two young children after the tragic death of his wife. The move to Winstanton was meant to make life easier. Can he learn to carve out time to build new friendships and give himself the chance to grieve?

Rachel’s boss has given the promotion he promised her to the man twenty years her junior, whom she trained. She’s fed up with being taken for granted, and the lack of sympathy from her husband and teenage children.

Retired David feels Grinch-like as his son expects him to look after his grandchildren all the time, without taking his life into consideration. He used to love Christmas, but this year it has lost its sparkle.

Can the warm welcome at the Sugar and Spice café help them find their Christmas spirit?

A feel-good festive romance with a heartwarming community and a generous helping of Christmas spirit!

My Review

A trip to the Sugar and Spice Cafe is an annual must for me. This is probably my favourite Christmas series and I always look forward to a new one being published immensely.

Set in the picturesque and homely fictional village of Winstanton, the warm and welcoming Sugar and Spice Cafe attracts many customers. Each of the books features just a few of the regulars and I got caught up in their stories completely. Jacob, who runs the cafe, is in each of the books that I have read, along with his niece Lara, who is pivotal to the plot.

I love Lara's warm-heartedness and the way she cares about others. Every Christmas she weaves her magic to ensure people get people get the Christmas that they deserve. She is a wonderful character to get to know and, like all the characters in the book, comes alive on the page.

This is a genre of book that you begin reading knowing that everything will be okay in the end. It is lovely to spend time with these characters in the cafe. Descriptions of the cakes on offer made my mouth water. I almost felt as if I were there.

Such pure escapism makes for joyful reading. It is heartwarming to read and I finished the book feeling very satisfied with the ending. If there is one festive book you are going to read this year, make it this one. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1915589071

Publisher: Susan Buchanan

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

No. of Pages: 300 (paperback)

Series: Book 5 of the Christmas Spirit series

Purchase Links

A Little Christmas Spirit

About the Author

Susan Buchanan writes contemporary romance, women’s fiction and romantic comedies, usually featuring travel, food, family, friendship, community – also Christmas!

Her books are Sign of the Times, The Dating Game, The Christmas Spirit, Return of the Christmas Spirit, A Little Christmas Spirit, A Taste of Christmas Spirit and Just One Day – Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, The Leap Year Proposal, You Can’t Hurry Love and The Boulangerie on the Corner.

As a freelance developmental editor, copyeditor and proofreader, if she’s not reading, editing or writing, she’s thinking about it.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors.

She lives near Glasgow with her husband, two children and a crazy Labrador.

When she’s not editing, writing, reading or caring for her two delightful cherubs, she likes going to the theatre, playing board games, watching quiz shows and eating out.

You can also find Susan at:

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

A Taste of Christmas Spirit

The Leap Year Proposal

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Friday, 25 September 2026

The Tale That Time Sews by Sita Brahmachari & Jane Ray - #bookreview

This is the thread that travels the Earth, that Time sews...

***

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

While a young girl awaits the arrival of a new sibling, her Nana works on a special story quilt. As she sews, mends, and adds new patches, Nana shares the story of her own journey - of fleeing her homeland, finding love in a new country, and stitching together a new beginning from fragile threads.

With every new and restored patch, the girl begins to understand her place in the world. Patterns burst with stories, threads shimmer with spirits passed and new patches wait to be brought to life. Each careful mend and every stitch carries the hope of what's to come.

Now, as a new life enters the world, Nana's quilt wraps around her grandchildren in the warmth of the past and the promise of what's to come.

My Review

This delightful picture book tells the story of time through a continual needle and thread.

In fact, as we turn the pages we follow the thread through the life of a young girl as she waits for the birth of her new sibling. We meet her family and friends as we watch her grandmother sewing a quilt, weaving the past and present into every stitch.

It has been beautifully illustrated with the thread and the grandmother working on the quilt as constants throughout the book. We see the grandmother sharing photos and stories of the family's past, their fleeing their country in search of peace.

The illustrations add so much more to what is written in the text. They are delightfully done and encapsulate the story of this family through the three generations in the book.

It is a lovely story which is inclusive and diverse. It is a beautiful book for sharing and I could imagine it being one that a child returns to regularly. There is something very special within its pages and I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1800789654

Publisher: Templar Books

Formats: hardback

No. of Pages: 32

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

About the Author

Sita is a multi-award-winning writer of novels, plays, novellas and short stories. She is the winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Award for Artichoke Hearts, and has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal five times. Sita has been an Amnesty International Ambassador and speaks in schools, at festivals and conferences. In 2018 Tender Earth received the UK Honour from the International Board of Books for Young People.

Sita is based in London. She is a former Writer in Residence for BookTrust and Writer in Residence at the Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants.

You can also find Sita at:

About the Illustrator

Jane is a London-born artist and illustrator. She has illustrated over 60 children's books, and her work has been widely recognised, earning nominations for prestigious awards like the Hans Christian Andersen Award (2018) and the Kate Greenaway Medal. Jane continues to exhibit her art regularly at galleries such as Primavera in Cambridge and Watermark Gallery. She works with Sita as the Artist in Residence at the Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants.

You can also find Jane at:

(book and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Wednesday, 23 September 2026

Invitation From a Dictator by Rory Clements - #bookreview

***

The Blurb

ON THE EVE OF WAR, A ROYAL GUEST IS LURED INTO HITLER'S DEADLY WEB . . .

Munich, 1937. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor have arrived in Germany for a historic meeting at Hitler's mountain retreat.

But recent attacks by ruthless Communist band, Red Freedom, has brought fear and bloodshed to the area. As brutal as the Nazis, their next targets are Edward, Wallis and the Fuhrer himself.

Detective Sebastian Wolff is charged with their protection, but the conflict between his job and his politics becomes even more complicated when Wolff realises who is behind Red Freedom: Ulrike, his first love and the mother of his son.

My Review

Although this is the third book in a series, I have not read the earlier books. It works very well as a standalone novel.

The book is set in Munich in 1937, just as Hitler's power is in the ascendant and prior to the beginning of the Second World War.

The main character, Detective Sebastian Wolff, is investigating a terrorist gang called Red Freedom. However, he is transferred to guard the visit to Hitler's mountain retreat in the Austrian Alps, the Berghof, as the controversial Duke and Duchess of Windsor are going to visit.

Meanwhile, Wolff's fiancée Hexie has also been invited to stay at the Berghof by her old friend, Eva Braun. These three subplots running through the book lead to some exciting twists and turns for Wolff as he continues to investigate Red Freedom whilst also carrying out his protection duties of the abdicated King Edward VIII and his wife, Wallis Simpson.

I really liked the way the author wove the three aspects of the plot together. It demonstrated real skill in the writing. Mr Clements is a great storyteller and for I was completely gripped by the book

The book is fairly slow-paced, but I think this was entirely necessary for the slow burn of the plot to develop. It also provides the reader with a more in-depth understanding of the characters.

The book has definitely made me want to go back to the beginning of the series and read the books prior to this one. Fans of pre-war thrillers will love this book and I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 0241728215

Publisher: Viking

Formats: e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages: 400 (hardback)

Series: Book 3 in the Detective Sebastion Wolff series

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

About the Author

Rory has a passion for thrillers. He loves reading about men and women facing the ultimate test under fire - and he loves writing about them. It must be in his blood.

Born in Dover, Kent, and raised in various outposts of the world while mhis father served in the Royal Navy. He grew up hungry to become a writer.

He worked for many years as a national newspaper journalist but always dreamed of switching to novel-writing. On moving to Norfolk in 2007 he found the perfect spot to achieve his ambition.

So why thrillers? Well, it might have something to do with his family history.

His generation of the Clements clan is the first since the Crimean War not to have seen active service in a branch of the military, and he feels extremely fortunate that this is so. While his father, grandfather and great-grandfather survived fierce and deadly fighting in three major wars, he fears he would not have measured up.

He believes his history has given him a keen understanding of valour and the stoicism of those in peril - whether from enemy agents, at sea, in the air, or on the battlefield.

These are the essential qualities of the protagonists in his three series - Tom Wilde, a Cambridge history professor; Seb Wolff, a Munich cop in the 1930s; and John Shakespeare, a spy in Elizabethan England. They're very different characters but they share one quality - courage.

You can also find Rory at:

Facebook

(ARC and media courtesy of Viking Press)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Monday, 21 September 2026

Ancestral Virgins by Fiona J. Mackintosh - #bookreview #blogtour

***

The Blurb

In early 20th century Britain, society was changing rapidly, but not much was changing for women. From different ends of the social spectrum, Celia Mapperley and May Hallam wrestle with rules and circumstances beyond their control and must navigate love, sex, war, and the thin line between conformity and scandal. As they each bear the shame of a devastating family secret, their stories come together in ways that neither could have imagined.

My Review

This review is of all three of the books in this series, as they do not really work as standalone novels.

The first book begins in 1911 before the outbreak of World War One. Set in the grand house of Mapperley, we follow the main character, Celia, who was born into a world of standing and privilege. As a young woman of the aristocracy, we read of her innocence and naivety. This isn't a spoiler as we are made aware on the first page that Celia and her brother, Makepeace, have an unhealthily close relationship.

In the second book, we meet May and her brother Davey. May's family work on the Mapperley estate until the outbreak of the war when the family are scattered. Two of her brothers are away at the front and her sister Lily is in service at a different aristocratic house. May's brother Davey has Down's syndrome, and a close bond has formed between them.

In the third of this trilogy, the worlds of both Celia and May are brought together. Two women who have had to navigate their ways through life in very different ways left me feeling very hopeful and optimistic for them both.

What we see in this book is two main characters who have formed very close brother-and-sister bonds, but in very different ways. Not only are the characters separated by class, but it also highlights the change that happened following the war, where the class boundaries changed significantly.

I enjoyed the writing in these books. The author has constructed her stories extremely well and each of the books had me gripped. It is a glimpse into the life both upstairs and downstairs of the time period, which the author portrayed very well.

The books made for excellent reading and I wholeheartedly recommend them. However, I must add that these books are not for the faint of heart. We witness on the page both incest and sexual violence, so please be aware.

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8993482309 (part 1)

979 8993482316 (part 2)

979 8993482323 (part 3)

Publisher: Midatlantic Press

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 128 (part 1)

126 (part 2)

174 (part 3)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

About the Author

Fiona J. Mackintosh is a Scottish-American author living in Washington D.C. whose fiction draws from both sides of the Atlantic. Her flash fiction collection, The Yet Unknowing World (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2021), was a runner-up for the 2021 Saboteur Award for best short story collection, and her debut novel Ancestral Virgins will be published on June 26, 2026. Her flashes were selected for Best Small Fictions in 2023 and 2019, and her short stories have been finalists in the Cairde Word, Colm Toíbín, Bristol, Galley Beggar, Exeter, and Fish Short Story Prizes. She is a proud recipient of an Individual Artist’s Award from the Maryland State Arts Council.

You can also find Fiona at:

Bluesky

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Friday, 18 September 2026

The Sun Casts No Shadow by Mark Richardson - #bookspotlight #blogtour

Today I am shining the book spotlight on this book. The Sun Casts No Shadow by Mark Richardson is a dystopian noir novel and will appeal to lovers of the genre.

The Blurb

In the walled, rotting City where daylight is a just a memory, pickpocket Wellington Thorneycroft drifts through life. The rules are simple: take what you can, feel nothing, and never look too closely at the shadows.

But when a ghostly woman appears—silent, radiant, impossible—everything shifts. Her promise is clear: we’ll escape together. With that, Thorneycroft is thrust into a fever-dream journey that twists through brothels, back alleys, and the outer edges of sanity itself.

Guided by visions and a growing hunger for something beyond the City’s poisoned streets, he begins to question the nature of the prison he calls home... and whether escape is even possible.

Laced with brutality and bleak wonder, Mark Richardson's The Sun Casts No Shadow is a neo-noir descent into metaphysical horror.

Dark. Gritty. Unforgettable. Enter the City.

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8184326337

Publisher: Independently published

Formats: e-book, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages: 180 (paperback)

Purchase Links

About the Author

Mark Richardson writes neo-noir novels which blend elements from a range of genres, including surrealism, science fiction, fantasy, and dystopia.

He grew up near Chicago, graduated from the University of Iowa, and now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

You can also find Mark at: