Books I Read in October 2026

 

Here we are at the end of October already. I have read some amazing books this month. In fact, I would even go as far as to say that they were all four and five star reads!

The weather has turned chilly, the clocks have gone back and we are well into autumn. We've had some rain but not nearly enough to refill our reservoirs after our summer of extreme heat and drought.

I am a bit of a coward when it comes to reading spooky books but I did read one this month. How about you - Are you a lover of spooky books?

The Queen's Tears by Elizabeth St. John

I adore a dual timeline in my reading. It shows great depth of skill in the author. You can find my review by clicking here.

Holly Dates at the Christmas Cottage by Margaret Amatt

This is the perfect book to read in the run-up to Christmas and I thoroughly enjoyed it. You can find my review by clicking here.

Dreadnought by Robin Bennett

This is the perfect book to read in the run-up to Halloween. It's spooky but not scarily so. You can find my review by clicking  here.

Queen Anna by Tony Riches

This book provides so much in an easy to read and engrossing novel. You can find my review by clicking here.

Sisters...No Way! by Siobhan Parkinson

This is a modern retelling of Cinderella that is aimed at a young adult readership.  You can find my review by clicking here.

The Gala Ball at Tillingford Hall by Flora Dunn

This book makes for delightful reading. You can find my review by clicking here.

The Twist of the Knife by Anthony Horowitz

I love this series of books by Anthony Horowitz. My review is not up yet but watch this space.

The Forever Witness by Edward Humes

A very interesting non-fiction book detailing the use of genealogical DNA for use in crime solving. I haven't reviewed this one but it is well worth reading.

Christmas at Honeycombe Bay by Lilac Mills

This is a charming story of later-life romance and was most enjoyable to read. You can find my review by clicking here.

He Loves Me (Not) by Maire Zepf

This was my favourite book this month. My review will be up on the 3rd of November.

The Lark by Laura C. Rader - #bookspotlight #blogtour

Isn't this cover gorgeous? I am delighted to be shining the spotlight on this book today. The Lark by Laura C. Rader is historical fiction based around the Wizard of Oz being performed as a comic opera at the turn of the century and is about it's premiere performance in 1902.

The Blurb

When The Wizard of Oz graced the silver screen in 1939, it changed cinema and popular culture forever. But the true story began decades earlier with the young composer who risked everything to bring it to the Broadway stage. 

At the turn of the century, twenty-three-year-old Paul Tietjens is a gifted classical pianist with dreams of greatness and a non-refundable ticket to Europe to study with the master composers of his time. 

But when the bank calls in the debt on his family’s Missouri farm, Paul forgoes his dream to save them from financial ruin. Desperate to find a new road to success, he moves to up-and-coming Chicago, where he persuades author L. Frank Baum to collaborate on a comic opera of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, setting the stage for the defining cultural touchstone that we know today.

Paul embarks on his opera with high hopes, but scandal threatens his soaring ambition when he falls in love with his best friend’s beautiful but married sister, and his fears grow as the Wizard of Oz demands not only his talent but his soul.

Inspired by Paul’s 1901 diary, The Lark follows Paul as he journeys from the theaters of Chicago to the streets of Manhattan, from his family’s Missouri farm to the beaches of Michigan, fighting to hang onto the chance of a lifetime, his integrity, and the woman he loves. 

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8997128401

Publisher: Echoes Publishing

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 452 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Laura C. Rader is the award-winning author of the biographical historical novel Hatfield 1677. When she isn’t writing, you can find her conducting research, playing her 1905 antique piano, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets.

A native of Southern California, she now lives north of Raleigh, North Carolina.

You can also find Laura at:

Author Website

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(media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)

(all opinions are my own)

The Queen's Tears by Elizabeth St. John - #bookreview #blogtour

Barbara - 1619 - Hampton Court Palace

I prepare Queen Anna to stand before God as thunder crashes upon the roof tiles and lightning flashes across her bedchamber's vigilant Diana tapestries, huntress and hunted illuminated in death...

Julia - A rainy Monday morning in the present - The Cotswolds

 Julia opened the front door to a rainstorm transforming Burford's narrow street into the Cotswold equivalent of a Ritz-Carlton spa shower...

***

I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from The Coffee Pot Book Club. 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 stolen crown jewel and an enigmatic portrait force two women to confront the devastating choices they made for love—and summon the courage to live with the truth.

1619: Barbara, Lady Villiers, at the bidding of her brother-in-law, the Duke of Buckingham, has stolen the dying Queen Anna’s jewels—and kept the greatest prize for herself. The Queen’s Tears, a brooch of extraordinary value, torments her: too dangerous to sell, too priceless to discard, and possibly her only means of securing her children’s future. When the family fortunes are shattered, Barbara faces an impossible choice: remain loyal to Buckingham—or betray him by confessing the theft to King Charles.

Present Day: Julia Darke opens her Cotswolds bookshop to start life over peacefully. Instead, a Van Dyck portrait of Barbara’s daughter, with tantalising signs of the missing Queen’s Tears hidden in plain sight, brings her face-to-face with Oliver Villiers, the Oxford art conservator she once loved and walked away from.

Reluctantly drawn together to uncover Barbara’s secret, Julia and Oliver follow the trail of the Queen’s Tears—and the closer Julia comes to Barbara’s truth, the harder it becomes to hide from her own.

Inspired by the true stories of Queen Anna of Denmark’s stolen jewels and a missing Van Dyck painting, The Queen’s Tears weaves history, fiction, and family research across the centuries. 

Readers of The Lydiard Chronicles will find old favourites—and a new heroine following in their footsteps.

My Review

This isn't the first book that I have read by the talented Elizabeth St. John, so when I was offered the opportunity to read this one for the blog tour I jumped at the chance. This was every bit as good as the other book I read (link below) and I enjoyed it very much indeed.

I adore a dual timeline in my reading. It shows great depth of skill in the author. To move back and forth in time this seamlessly demonstrates expertise in her writing.

The book is set in England, Ireland and France during both time periods and, as we read, we can anticipate how the two timelines will amalgamate at the end. 

Barbara Villiers was a confidante of Queen Anna of Denmark. Upon her death, Barbara and two other trusted servants, the Hugsons, remove the Queen's jewels at her request. What follows is a hunt for the jewels in both the 17th century and the present-day narrative.

It is clear that the author knows her characters and the past time period in which she has set her book extremely well.  Life in the royal court is expertly portrayed and the vulnerability of women is demonstrated very well in this book, alongside the wider political, religious and social history of the time.

The present day element of the book is also expertly depicted. Julia comes alive on the page as she researches a Van Dyck painting believed to be of Barbara. There are layers of revelation as we follow Julia's journey of discovery. She learns much about the painting but she equally learns much about herself and her feelings towards her ex-boyfriend Oliver, whom she comes across in her dealings with the auction house who are handling the painting.

I always enjoy learning about a historical figure who I do not know much about, and Barbara Villiers is one such person. I love it when a fictional account of someone's life leaves me wanting to find out more about them via reading some non-fiction about them. For me, this is a sign of a very well-written fiction book. If it leaves me wanting more, that says much about the quality of the book. I believe there will be a second book to add to this fictional account and I can't wait. 

I highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction that has a contemporary narrative running alongside. Enjoy!

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8998165016

Publisher: Falcon Historical Press

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

No. of Pages: 426 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

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:

Author Website

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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)

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...

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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.

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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

Author Website

Amazon UK

Amazon US

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:

Author Website

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My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

Summer Nights at Hillview Farm

Christmas Wishes at the Station Book Shop

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

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...

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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

Amazon UK

Amazon US

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

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Some of My Other Blog Posts Featuring Queens of England

Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets by Alison Weir

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)

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...

***

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

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

Amazon UK

Amazon US

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:

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

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 UK

Amazon US

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:

Author Website

Instagram

Linked In

(media courtesy of AME)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)