Left on the Shelf

About the Author

Renita d’Silva is an award-winning author of historical fiction, often set partly in India, where she is from.

You can also find Renita at:

Author Newsletter

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

(all opinions are my own)

Tuesday, 9 December 2025

A Christmas Caroline by K. L. Crear - #bookspotlight #blogtour

I am so pleased to be shining the spotlight on this book today. A Christmas Caroline by K.L. Crear looks like a fun read and perfect for the festivities.

The Blurb

Caroline’s got frugality down to a fine art. She can make a tin of soup stretch for days, considers “reduced to clear” her love language, and thinks Christmas is just a daft excuse for people to throw their money away on tinsel trimmed tat.

But Christmas Eve night takes a turn when her best mate, Marlene, drops in for a chat. Lovely, right? Except Marlene’s been dead for seven years and she’s got a message for Caroline, she will be visited by three spirits and if she doesn’t pay attention, her future’s looking bleaker than the contents of her fridge freezer.

Caroline’s convinced she’s having a hallucination. Ghosts? Surely not! But as the night goes on, she starts to wonder if she might just learn something worth more than her latest discount voucher. And for someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, this might be the wake-up call she didn’t see coming.

Move over Ebenezer! This modern, laugh-out-loud retelling of the Dickens classic has a new Scrooge in town. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1068583407

Publisher: Crear Publishing

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

No. of Pages: 161 (paperback)

Purchase Links

About the Author

Karen (K.L. Crear) is an author, over-sharer, and walking cautionary tale. Think: a sweary teenager trapped in the body of a menopausal woman who can’t sneeze without risking a wardrobe malfunction. You’re welcome.

Once upon a time, she worked in banking, the Civil Service, and property management, or as she likes to call it, The Beige Trilogy. She spent decades being respectable (ish), responsible (occasionally), and quietly losing the will to live. Then one day she found herself broke, baffled, and built entirely out of biscuit crumbs and unresolved trauma. So she did what any sensible woman would do, she wrote it all down and flogged it in paperback.

Karen has battled cancer twice, and her coping strategy was to laugh at wildly inappropriate moments and shout “F*ck off!” at inspirational quotes. Spoiler: it worked. Her sense of humour is deeply questionable, but it’s kept her just about sane through grief, illness, love, lies, and the time she gave herself food poisoning with a dodgy prawn ring from Iceland.

After years of procrastination (and one too many vinos), she finally swapped Pinot for a pen. She now writes jaw-dropping memoirs and hilarious women’s fiction about women who’ve had enough, snapped slightly, and are thriving in spite of it all, usually with a glass in hand, some top mates, and a solid alibi.

Her hobbies include eating anything wrapped in pastry, shouting at the Real Housewives (“She’s definitely had something done - she’s melting!”), and threatening to adopt an axolotl because they look so absurdly cheerful. She once turned down hugging a sloth in Mexico, it dangles upside down, pees on itself, and honestly felt like a warning from the future.

Karen lives in a sleepy Northern town with her long-suffering husband (he’s partially deaf, which helps) and their cat Pickle, who looks permanently disgusted with their life choices and the ongoing Dreamies rationing.

A portion of every book sale goes to Women’s Aid, Great Ormond Street, the Epilepsy Society, and Macmillan. because she knows what it’s like to need help. The world’s a shitshow, but we can all make a little difference in our own way.

You can also find Karen at:

Tik Tok

(media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

Monday, 8 December 2025

The Standout by Laurel Osterkamp - #bookreview

I wanted to jump but I didn't have the guts. It was one of those moments that I know would never leave me...

The Blurb

Robin Bricker thought joining The Standout—a ballet-themed fashion competition show—would be the boldest thing she’d ever do. But when an anonymous threat tells her to dump her fiancé or risk losing everything, and a smear campaign begins targeting her online, the real danger starts behind the scenes. As jealousy brews among contestants and long-buried secrets resurface, Robin must rely on her brother Ted and the enigmatic Zelda, a fellow contestant with secrets of her own, to navigate a web of sabotage, gaslighting, and betrayal.

The Standout is a fast-paced, emotionally layered novel about reinvention, resilience, and the cost of stepping into the spotlight.

My Review

When the main character, Robin, is offered the chance of appearing in the reality television series, The Standout, she jumps at the chance as this could really catapult her career in fashion design. Alongside this, Robin is receiving threats, and an online smear campaign against her has been launched.

I really liked Robin's character. She is a brave and level-headed woman who is dealing with a lot that is going wrong in her life.

The book changes character perspective throughout. Whilst the bulk of the story is told from Robin's point of view, there are also chapters which are dedicated to Zelda, who is Robin's model on the programme, and Ted, Robin's brother who is also trying to find out what is going on with Robin's mysterious letters and smear campaign while she is out of contact whilst the programme is filming.

The book is fast paced which makes it a page-turner. I definitely wanted to know who was behind the smear campaign against Robin and I didn't guess before the reveal. I also enjoyed the way the author portrayed the growth and development of the characters. Virtually all of them learned something from the experience.

It is an easy and entertaining read and could easily be read in a couple of sittings. I recommend this book to readers.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1933826639

Publisher: Drama, Drama

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

No. of Pages: 333 (paperback)

Series: This isn't listed as a series but the main character, Robin, features in some of the author's other books.

Purchase Links

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

About the Author

Laurel Osterkamp writes smart, emotionally rich fiction about messy relationships, creative reinvention, and the kind of love that leaves a mark. She’s the award-winning author of nearly a dozen novels, including Favorite Daughters and the #1 Amazon bestseller Beautiful Little Furies. Her newest novel, The Side Project, blends second-chance romance with literary flair—perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Annabel Monaghan, and anyone who loves bookish love stories with bite.

In addition to her novels, Laurel’s short fiction has appeared in literary journals across the web. When she’s not writing (which is rare), she teaches adult ESL and middle school enrichment classes, goes running with twisty audiobooks in her ears, and educates her daughter on the cultural importance of Beverly Hills, 90210.

She lives in Minneapolis with a family that loves to argue and cats that love to hiss. Ramona.

You can also find Laurel at:

(ARC and media courtesy of the author/publicist)

(all opinions are my own)

Friday, 5 December 2025

Author Guest Post - Helene Harrison - #author #guestpost

It is my great pleasure to welcome author, Helene Harrison, to the blog today. Helene is going to be talking to us about why she thinks we are still so fascinated with Anne Boleyn.

If you missed my review of her latest book, The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Interpreting Image and Perception, you can find it here.

Welcome Helene.

Why are we still so fascinated with Anne Boleyn?

Firstly, thank you so much for having me on your blog, Annie! My third and most recent book is called The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Interpreting Image and Perception so today I thought I’d offer some of my thoughts on why we are so fascinated with Anne Boleyn. None of the others of Henry VIII’s six wives get so much attention, or so many books written about them. Even books which cover all six wives, the majority is Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn with the other four wives condensed into the last third or quarter of the book.

The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Interpreting Image and Perception by Helene Harrison [2025].

So, what about Anne Boleyn makes us so enthralled by her story? Well one thing is the sheer drama of her rise and fall. The fact that Henry VIII annulled his first marriage to Katherine of Aragon and broke with the Roman Catholic Church in order to marry Anne, means that she was a very controversial person by the time of her coronation on 1 June 1533. But less than three years later when she was arrested for multiple adulteries, incest with her brother, and treason, her reputation disintegrated further. Anne Boleyn basically became taboo on her execution.

However, her life and reputation have been both rehabilitated and attacked over the nearly 500 years since her death. For me, in choosing to write this book on Anne Boleyn, I consciously decided that I didn’t want to write a traditional biography, but more of a study of how her image and reputation have been tackled over 500 years. The fact that we have Anne recurring through 500 years gives a sense of how much her story means to people – we don’t have the same interest in the other wives, or even in other consorts or regnant monarchs from across time!

Today, we have popular culture. The popularity of the likes of Philippa Gregory, or Showtime’s The Tudors, or Wolf Hall, or SIX The Musical, brings Anne Boleyn and Tudor history to new audiences. We are spoiled in the modern age with television, film, theatre, and a glut of historical novels. Anne Boleyn is a prime candidate for featuring because of the drama of both her rise and fall, as well as her position as the mother of Elizabeth I, often considered to be England’s first successful queen regnant, paving the way for later ruling queens like Victoria and Elizabeth II.

Anne Boleyn, mid-16th century, at Hever Castle and Gardens, Kent, England.

The lack of concrete knowledge about Anne Boleyn is also intriguing. Once people start digging into her life, they want facts but that often isn’t possible. We don’t know when Anne was born, what she really looked like, whether she really did hold Henry VIII at arm’s length for seven years, or how many pregnancies she underwent during her marriage. The portraits and images we have of her are all from after her death, aside from a crude sketch from her coronation banquet which doesn’t show any features, and a portrait medal from 1534 which has been damaged. The most popular images we think of are later creations. Not knowing her year of birth (estimates vary from 1501 to 1507 generally) means that we don’t know her age at significant events. The state of her relationship with the king is something that intrigues everyone who looks at her life, specifically Henry VIII’s involvement in her downfall.

What we find so alluring about Anne Boleyn is that she is a bit of an enigma, surrounded by drama, and ripe for modern entertainment drama. But we need to remember that Anne was a real person, who really was beheaded on the orders of her husband, a mother who lost at least two children, and spent years serving a queen, only to replace her on the throne. We will never be able to know or understand what she was feeling because times have changed hugely. We need to be careful not to put 21st century thoughts and feelings onto a 16th century woman. Anne Boleyn will no doubt continue to fascinate, and I hope that my book, The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Interpreting Image and Perception, will give some insight into how some of the myths about Anne came to be, and why I don’t think interpretations of Anne will ever stop – we just need to dig down into what we actually do know and strip away the layers of myth and perception to try and get closer to the real Anne Boleyn.

Thank you for being my guest on the blog today. That was so interesting and I thought your book was fascinating.

More About the Author

Helene Harrison studied at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, achieving both a BA and MA in History before going on to complete an MSc in Library Management. Her passion for Tudor history started when studying for A Levels and completing a module on Tudor rebellions. Her master’s dissertation focused on portrayals of Anne Boleyn through the centuries, from contemporary letters to modern TV and film adaptations. Now she writes two blogs, one Tudor history and one book-related, and works in the university library of her alma mater. In her spare time, she loves visiting royal palaces and snuggling up with a book or embroidery project. Her books are ‘Elizabethan Rebellions: Conspiracy, Intrigue and Treason’ (2023), ‘Tudor Executions: From Nobility to the Block’ (2024) and ‘The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Interpreting Image and Perception’ (2025), all published by Pen and Sword.

Purchase Links to Helene's Publications

‘Elizabethan Rebellions: Conspiracy, Intrigue and Treason’ (2023)

Bookshop.org Pen & Sword

‘Tudor Executions: From Nobility to the Block’ (2024)

Bookshop.org Pen & Sword

‘The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Interpreting Image and Perception’ (2025)

Bookshop.org Pen & Sword

"Small Business Saturday weekender! Buy ANY book 5-7 Dec, and you could win a £250 Bookshop.org digital gift card. Every sale supports independent bookshops: Bookshop.org"

(media courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

Thursday, 4 December 2025

The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Interpreting Image and Perception by Helene Harrison - #bookreview

Anne Boleyn is an absolutely fascinating figure in English history...

The Blurb

Mistress. Queen. Reformer. Traitor. Icon.

This book is not like any others you might have read on Anne Boleyn. It is not a biography of the life of Henry VIII’s second wife and queen. What this book does is to examine Anne Boleyn through images and perceptions of her. Through documents, letters, images, propaganda, films, novels and historical biographies, this book explores Anne Boleyn through more than 500 years of history.

Explore how perceptions of her have changed and developed over time. Whether she is seen as a mistress, a queen, a mother, a reformer, a traitor, or a tragic heroine, Anne Boleyn continues to inspire so much exploration and even new discoveries today. See Anne through the eyes of people who knew her, loved her, hated her, and studied her.

In the present day, Anne Boleyn has quite a devoted scholarship, honed through perceptions built over the last half a millennium. Her life, reign, and tragic death at the hands of the man who tore England apart to be with her have made Anne Boleyn one of the most divisive and exciting figures in English history.

My Review

Before I even begin to review this book, I want to let you know that tomorrow the author of this fantastic book, Helene Harrison, will be here on the blog, talking about why we are still so fascinated by Anne Boleyn. Having read this book, I couldn't be more excited to hear from her.

Once in a while I read a book on my Kindle that I love so much that it makes me want to buy a physical copy to have on my bookshelves, that I can take down and dip into whenever I want to. This was one such book.

It begins with an excellent foreword by Dr. Owen Emmerson, who is a historian, author and Assistant Curator at the childhood home of Anne Boleyn at Hever Castle in Kent.

Published in July of this year, the book takes a slightly different path to many books in the Anne Boleyn canon. It is based on the author's Master's degree research, whereby she considered the different interpretations of Anne Boleyn through history by drawing on both historical sources and historiography. She uses both primary and secondary sources, as well as an array of articles, books and paintings. In addition, she looks at how Anne is presented on stage and screen and in fiction and non-fiction alike.

The book is divided into twelve chapters, and I think it is worth providing the title headings here in order to demonstrate the breadth of the interpretation through the sources.

Chapter 1 - Portraiture and Image

Chapter 2 - Anne as Mistress

Chapter 3 - Anne as Queen and Mother

Chapter 4 - Anne as Traitor

Chapter 5 - Anne Through Foreign Eyes

Chapter 6 - Anne as Reformer

Chapter 7 - Anne as Tragic Heroine

Chapter 8 - Anne on Stage

Chapter 9 - Anne on Film

Chapter 10 - Anne on the Small Screen

Chapter 11 - Anne on the Page

Chapter 12 - Historiography

This was an interesting and informative book to read, which has been written in a highly accessible and approachable manner. Ms Harrison has looked at Anne Boleyn with fresh eyes and considers how she has been interpreted through the centuries, from the plays of Shakespeare to the modern interpretation of Anne in the stage show, The Six. Whether the reader is a relative newcomer to Tudor history or an academic, I believe that there is something for everyone in this book.

For me, the sign of a good book, whether it is fiction or non-fiction, is when it makes me want to go away and learn more about the subject. Although I am a history graduate, I focused on modern history and only touched on the subject of the Tudors. Of course, I have read much about them since my studies were completed. However, this book has left me with a thirst to learn more, and I suspect that it will have a similar effect on many of its readers.

The author's research is extensive and included is a long bibliography which I will definitely be looking into for further reading. The book also has a selection of images which were interesting when viewed alongside the text.

I don't want to finish this review without telling you a personal story about Hever Castle. A couple of years ago, I celebrated a big birthday and arranged a whole family trip there - complete with husband, sons, their wives, grandchildren, and not forgetting the family dogs. Throughout the day, we visited all of it, from the castle to the coffee shop, taking it in turns to do the parts not suitable for dogs.

Hever Castle really worked its magic on my granddaughter that day, who was about nine at the time. Not only did she fall in love with the castle but also with history itself. I couldn't be more proud.

This is an intelligent book which is easy to read. I highly recommend it to lovers of history.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1036105020

Publisher: Pen & Sword

Formats: e-book and hardback

No. of Pages: 296 (hardback)

Purchase Links

About the Author

You can also find Helene at:

(ARC and media courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Tuesday, 25 November 2025

Ripples Through Time by Christina Courtenay - #bookreview #blogtour

West Mercia, Spring AD 873

"Hurry, you're wanted in the hall!"

Merewen looked up from the cough mixture she was preparing in the small hut she used for such tasks. Her younger sister, Aelfwynn, had pulled the door open and stuck her head inside, panting slightly...

The Blurb

A love that will change them forever

A treasure that will bring them home

West Mercia, AD 873 – Merewen's settlement is on guard against the outside threat of the ‘Heathen’ Norsemen. But for Merewen, the real threats come from within, as her future is cruelly snatched away from her.

Eirik, a Norseman, finds himself abandoned and injured after his uncle’s plunder of Mercian land goes wrong. He thinks his fate is sealed – until Merewen saves his life.

Hereford, Present Day – Left reeling after a huge betrayal, Alix moves to her grandfather's farm in Hereford to heal her broken heart. There, after being given a family heirloom, she soon finds herself haunted by memories of a life she never lived, a relationship she never had, and a time in which she never existed.

Local farmer Noah is being hounded by the police to find the Viking hoard that his sister and her criminal boyfriend stole from his farm. Noah must prove his own innocence while struggling to decipher the curious connection he has to newcomer Alix – a bond that seems to transcend their own reality.

As they search for the lost treasure, Alix and Noah start to feel the whispers of a love they never expected, one powerful enough to echo through history.

My Review

Christina Courtenay is an author whose books I have been meaning to try for ages. When I was offered a copy of this book to review, I was very pleased to accept.

This is a dual timeline novel, and moves between AD 873 and the present day. In the earlier setting, the main character is Merewen, a healer who stumbles across an injured Norseman, Eirik, who is an enemy of her people. Despite this, her compassionate heart leads her to help Eirik, and it is not long before an attraction between them evolves.

In the present day, Alix's grandfather has given her his house when he moves into more suitable accommodation. She is in desperate need of a fresh start, so this has come at the perfect time for her.

Alix's neighbour, Noah, lives with his sister, Niamh, on a nearby farm, and there seems to be some strange connection between Alix and Noah, even though they have never met before.

Both strands of the story read extremely well, and I was gripped by them both. The author portrays both the characters and the settings with enough detail to make them utterly believable.

The story moves along at a sensible pace for the genre and moves seamlessly from one time period to the other, whilst deftly connecting the two stories together. The author is clearly a great storyteller.

I enjoyed reading this very much, and will definitely be reading more by this author. She has woven together this story with skill, and I enjoyed it very much.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a dual timeline novel, historical fiction or romance, both contemporary or historical.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1035418633

Publisher: Headline Review

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 304 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

About the Author

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip/dual time and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings.

Christina is a Vice President and former chairman and of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. RIPPLES THROUGH TIME (dual time historical romance published by Headline Review 21st November 2025) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

You can also find Christina at:

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Thursday, 20 November 2025

Maiden Voyage by Bradley Harper - #bookspotlight #blogtour

I am delighted to be shining the spotlight on Maiden Voyage - Love and Larceny Aboard the Titanic by Bradley Harper.

The Blurb

Three female thieves, a priceless painting, and a Pinkerton agent aboard the Titanic. What could go wrong?

Colette DuVall, a young jewel thief from Canada, follows Mary Carr, the 'Queen' of the criminal gang The Forty Elephants, aboard the Titanic to steal a painting by the French master, Blondell. Her resolve weakens when she meets Harry Worth, a young Pinkerton agent hired to safeguard the wealthy passengers during the ship's maiden voyage. Harry, the son of master criminal Adam Worth, questions his role as a private policeman exacting private justice, and his doubts deepen after losing his heart to the charming Colette. Can two people on opposite sides of the law find love and survive the sinking of the largest object ever made?

Loyalties collide as fiercely as the ship with the iceberg, and as the three struggle to escape the foundering colossus, they find love is the greatest thief of all.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1963832389

Publisher: Artemesia Publishing

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 300 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org US

Amazon

Indigo CA

About the Author

Bradley Harper is a retired US Army Colonel and pathologist who has performed over two-hundred autopsies and some twenty forensic investigations. A life-long fan of Sherlock Holmes, he did intensive research for this debut novel, A KNIFE IN THE FOG, including a trip to London's East End with noted Jack the Ripper historian Richard Jones. Harper’s first novel was published in October 2018 and was a finalist for the 2019 Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel by an American Author and won the Killer Nashville 2019 Silver Falchion for Best Mystery. Harper’s second novel, QUEEN’S GAMBIT, was awarded the Killer Nashville 2020 Silver Falchion Award as Best Suspense and Book of the Year.

MAIDEN VOYAGE is Harper’s fourth book.

You can also find Bradley at:

Instagram

(media courtesy of Paste Creative)

(all opinions are my own)

Tuesday, 18 November 2025

Christmas Wishes at the Station Book Shop by Margaret Amatt - #bookreview #blogtour

Being single, jobless, and glaring at puddles from a railway footbridge like she was auditioning for a discount version of The Girl on the Train wasn't how Scarlett Finch had expected to spend her twenty-fifth birthday...

The Blurb

After one toxic relationship too many and more failed jobs than she can count, spirited Scarlett Finch has lost her sparkle and doesn’t think she can face this year’s festive season. The last thing she expects is to land a Christmas job at Glenbriar’s Little Station Bookshop, especially not thanks to a slightly unhinged older woman with a parrot, a pug, a wild imagination, and some crackpot ideas for displays – not to mention a flair for making unexpected decisions, like hiring Scarlett without telling the owner.

Widowed dad-of-three Lloyd Miller is just trying to keep life on track. Between moving house, juggling his day job, and preparing to take over the bookshop from his retired mum, the chaos inside the shop is the last thing he needs, particularly when it includes Scarlett, the woman he shared a no-strings summer fling with… and hasn’t stopped thinking about since.

While Glenbriar twinkles with Christmas lights, both Scarlett and Lloyd are haunted by their pasts, drawn together in their present, and uncertain of their future.

A bookshop full of anonymous wishes might just give them the courage to make their own – but with neither convinced they deserve a second chance, it’ll take more than festive magic to open the book on a new romance. They can’t change the past – but they can still choose how the story goes.

My Review

This was a delightful book to read in the run up to Christmas.

Although it is book 16 in the Glenbriar series, I have not read any of the previous books and coming in at this stage in the series had no effect on my enjoyment of the book. That said, I would now love to go back and read some of the earlier books, as I adored this one.

The chapters are alternated and told from the perspective of the main characters, Scarlett and Lloyd. They originally met in the summer whilst both in a bad place. Consequently, the sparks flew and they fell into a quick but passionate fling. However, neither has been able to forget the other and when they accidentally meet again, the chemistry is still there, but so is a whole load of baggage.

I really enjoyed getting to know these characters. They are both excellently portrayed and I was rooting for them all the way, despite the numerous hurdles that need to be overcome in order for them to become a couple.

The minor characters are equally equally well depicted. I loved Eunice with her pug and foul mouthed parrot and Eve, who is Lloyd's teenage daughter, left me just wanting to give her a huge hug.

The titular Station Bookshop was every bit as important to the plot as the characters were. The author has created a fantastic sense of place in this novel. I loved the concept of the Christmas Wishing Tree and of the Icelandic festival of Jólabókaflóð (Christmas Book Flood) whereby people exchange books as gifts on Christmas Eve then read and drink hot chocolate. What a glorious way to begin the Christmas period.

The book has a warm and feel-good effect and was a real treat to read. This is a lovely book to read and enjoy as we approach Christmas, or even to gift to a loved one. In fact, one of my family members will love this book and she will definitely be finding a copy of this under her tree.

If, like me, you would like to read the whole series of books, the first book in the Glenbriar series is Stolen Kisses at the Loch View Hotel and is available on Kindle Unlimited. Whether you start at the beginning or with Christmas Wishes at the Station Books Shop, as I have, I guarantee you will enjoy it every bit as much as I have.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1914575228

Publisher: Leannan Press

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

No. of Pages: 358 (paperback)

Series: Book 16 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!

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:

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

(all opinions are my own)

Friday, 14 November 2025

Not Pop Pop by Angela De Groot & Illustrated by MacKenzie Haley - #bookreview

Yay! It's library day.

The doors SWISH open.

I slide my old books down the chute.

The Blurb

In this sweet and tender picture book, a trip to the library turns into an adventure in kindness and a reminder that people experiencing homelessness deserve compassion and respect--just like every human.

During a visit to the library, Brian is sure he sees his Pop-Pop around the corner--same eyes, same beard, same bushy eyebrows.

Nope, that's not Pop-Pop!

This man brushes his teeth in the restroom and his sneakers are patched with duct tape. Some people make frowny faces and even call him mean words, but Not Pop-Pop loves books, puzzles, and turtles, just like Brian.

He may not be Brian's pop-pop, but could he be someone's?

Not Pop-Pop also includes a kid-friendly resource for adults to begin conversations about homelessness, empathy, and ways that anyone can make a big difference in the life of a person in need.

My Review

Not Pop Pop is a touching story and is perfect for sharing with children.

The story begins with a young boy, Brian, and his mum entering the library to exchange his books. When he thinks he spots his own Pop Pop he becomes very excited but soon realises that it is not his Pop Pop. Instead, he finds a man who is shabbily dressed, who brushes his teeth in the sink in the library toilets and who seems to be living in his car.

This realisation leads to his mum explaining to him about homelessness. Whilst, other library users are disapproving and even call Pop Pop unwelcome names, his mum is able to teach him about compassion and understanding of those less fortunate than ourselves.

The colourful illustrations by MacKenzie Healey support the text perfectly and will catch the eye of young readers.

Additionally, at the back of the book are sections about homelessness intended for both children and their parents/carers. Headed as Understanding Homelessness, How we can Help and For Parents, Caregivers and Teachers, there is something for everyone in this lovely picture book.

November is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month in the US and an ideal time to share this book with little ones. In the UK we mark World Homeless Day on the 10th October. That said, this would be a marvellous book to share with children at any time and to introduce this important issue.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 0593578926

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

Formats: e-book and hardback

No. of Pages: 40 (hardback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

About the Author

Angela De Groot was born in England, grew up in South Africa, and now lives in New Jersey with her family.

Angela’s debut picture book, NOT POP-POP (PRH/Waterbrook) is a 2025 Moon Beam Gold Medal Winner for Compassion and a 2025 Anna Dewdney Read-Together Award finalist. Angela hopes that her writing inspires curiosity and compassion while creating worlds that readers can find and lose themselves in.

A lifelong lover of reading and writing, Angela teaches ESL and Basic Literacy at her local library. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her in the garden talking to the birds.

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Thursday, 13 November 2025

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

Shortly before the union of the crowns, the financing of the India fleets and the operation of the royal spice monopoly had become too much for the Crown to manage...

The Blurb

Catherine of Braganza has regularly been referred to as ‘the forgotten queen’ and there is much truth in this statement. Following her death in 1705, a fully detailed biography in English remained unwritten until 1915. The last major bio published about her was in Portuguese in 1941 and it has never been translated into English. Despite her sheltered and religious upbringing, she made a spectacular marriage that was plagued by the infidelities of her husbands. Readers can readily find published biographies of Charles II’s many glamourous mistresses, but curiously, little on his wife.

This new work presents more comprehensive information on Catherine’s life in Portugal than previous biographies and integrates new scholarship regarding Catherine’s practice of queenship and patronage of Catholic Baroque culture in an effort to carve out a prominent role at the Stuart court and to compete with her rivals. Readers familiar with Catherine’s story may learn some delightful new details about her life. Catherine has never been forgotten in Portugal. She considered herself Portuguese at heart and during her reign as Queen of England, she persistently looked out for Portuguese interests. In her own words, she considered her marriage a personal sacrifice to what was best for her home country. She is one of the few dowager queens in history to return to her homeland where she acted as regent for her brother.

This biography places Catherine within the context of the history of Portugal and their seaborne empire, and the strong political and commercial ties between England and Portugal dating to the mid-fourteenth century which played a key role in the culmination of the Marriage Treaty of 1661. Her legacy lives on in her dowry, specifically the port of Bombay which allowed England to become a global empire, introducing many everyday items into European culture.

My Review

History is full of the stories of kings and other great men. But what about the queens who served alongside them? In this book, the author, Susan Abernethy, brings to the fore the life and legacy of Catherine of Braganza.

Catherine was the wife of Charles II, a little-known queen who I am pleased to have learned more about in this informative book. She may be the 'forgotten queen' here in the UK, but in her homeland of Portugal, her legacy lives on to this day. In addition, she had a significant influence on English culture.

In this book, Catherine's story is sandwiched between the history of the time before and after her death. The author portrays the political upheaval of the period before Catherine's arrival as the bride of Charles II. Indeed, it demonstrates why the British looked to Portugal to provide a queen for the king, and this has clearly been extensively researched.

My heart went out to Catherine on many occasions. Not only was she parted from her family in Portugal and all that was familiar to her, sent to a country where she neither spoke the language nor understood the English culture, but she also had to contend with a string of mistresses that her husband, the king, openly flaunted before her and society.

The author provides the reader with glimpses into the primary sources with the inclusion of letters and contemporary accounts, all of which blend together to provide this excellent narrative of Catherine's life.

The author has done a great job in celebrating Catherine's life in this book. She has elevated a little-known, female historical figure, bringing her to the fore in this excellent book.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1036121648

Publisher: Pen & Sword

Formats: Hardback

No. of Pages: 248

Purchase Links

About the Author

Susan Abernethy has a degree in history and is a member of the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association, the Society for Renaissance Studies, the Historical Writers Association and The Historical Association. Her blog, The Freelance History Writer has been continuously publishing historical articles since 2012, with an emphasis on European, Tudor, medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern and Women’s history.

Susan's latest book, The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe is due to be published on 30th November and is available for pre-ordered here.

You can also find Susan at: