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

I am going to be taking a short break from the blog while I head up to sunny (I hope) Berkshire to look after my son's dog, Floki, while he and his family take a well earned break somewhere with some guaranteed sunshine. Floki is a gorgeous English Springer Spaniel. Our own dog, Roxie, who is a young bundle of energy, will be very excited to have Floki to play with.

Obviously, I'm debating which books to take with me. This book, Charles's II's Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza by Susan Abernethy is top of my list as I've been wanting to read it for ages. I can't wait to get stuck into it. Keep your eyes peeled for my review that will be coming once I get home.

I guess I really should get to that packing. So far, all I've packed is my knitting, a book and some dog treats. I think that speaks volumes about my priorities. Clothing and other essentials are very overrated in my opinion!

This is how sleepy Floki usually looks after about half an hour with my energetic Roxie.

My crazy bundle of energy who I adore!

The Blackest Time by Ken Tentarelli - #bookreview #blogtour

Gino cracked the skull into pieces, dropped the fragments into a mortar, and began the arduous task of grinding them into a fine white powder...

The Blurb

Set in the 1300s during the devastating black plague, The Blackest Time is a powerful tale of compassion, love, and the human spirit’s ability to endure immense adversity.

Gino, the central character, is a young man who leaves his family’s farm to find work in a pharmacy in Florence. His experiences show us how people coped in the most horrific time in history.

Shortly after Gino arrived in the city, two years of incessant rain destroyed crops in the countryside, leading to famine and despair in the city. Gino offers hope and help to the suffering— he secures shelter for a woman forced to leave her flooded farm, rescues a young girl orphaned by the plague, and aids others who have lost everything.

The rains had barely ended when the plague hit the city, exposing the true character of its people. While some blamed others for the devastation, the story focuses on the compassionate acts of neighbors helping each other overcome fear and suffering. Doctors bravely risk infection to care for their patients. A woman healer, wrongly accused of witchcraft and driven from the city, finds a new beginning in a village where her skills were appreciated. 

Despite the hardships, love blossoms between Gino and a young woman he met at the apothecary. Together they survive, finding strength in each other and hope in a world teetering on the edge.

The Blackest Time is a testament to the strength of the human spirit in overcoming unimaginable tragedy.

My Review

Through the lens of the main character, Gino, we get a glimpse of Italian history during the 14th century. 

Set in Florence, we follow young Gino, who has left his poor family farm in Poppi to seek work as an apothecary's assistant. Through his work in the apothecary, we meet some interesting characters, and the author does a good job of depicting them.

Florence is going through one of its worst periods in history. First, a long period of rain and flooding means that none of the crops can grow, and a large-scale famine ensues. Finally, as life begins to look more hopeful for the city when the rain comes to an end, Florence is hit by the Black Plague.

I felt fully immersed in the time and setting of this novel. The author does a great job of immersing the reader in this horrendous situation, and whilst we observe that people are suffering in their homes and on the streets, it was never portrayed in a sensationalist way. 

Instead, Gino is an unassuming hero. He has a good and kind heart and will help people in any way that he can, despite his own difficult circumstances as he watches society collapse around him. He is a resilient young man who I was rooting for with every turn of the page.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1685136536

Publisher:  Black Rose Writing 

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

No. of Pages:  268 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Ken Tentarelli is a frequent visitor to Italy. In travels from the Alps to the southern coast of Sicily, he developed a love for its history and its people.

He has studied Italian culture and language in Rome and Perugia, background he used in his award-winning series of historical thrillers set in the Italian Renaissance. He has taught courses in Italian history spanning time from the Etruscans to the Renaissance, and he's a strong advocate of libraries and has served as a trustee of his local library and officer of the library foundation.

When not travelling, Ken and his wife live in beautiful New Hampshire.

You can also find Ken at:

Author Website

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

(all opinions are my own)

The Legend of Valentine by Sheldon Collins - #blogtour #guestpost

I’m delighted to bring attention to Sheldon Collins’s The Legend of Valentine, a gripping tale of love and defiance set during one of Rome’s most turbulent chapters. I am absolutely delighted to be hosting Sheldon today, who will be telling us about the day his book hit the best seller list.  

But first, a little about the book...

The Blurb

The story unfolds in the year 268 AD, when the empire is fractured by cruelty and fear. Valentine, a warrior once defined by violence, emerges from near death with a new sense of purpose inspired by his love for Agatha, a woman whose blindness cannot dim her strength. Risking everything, Valentine secretly blesses Christian couples in marriage despite the emperor’s ban, each act of devotion both a rebellion and a beacon of hope. As he defies tyranny, Valentine becomes more than a man—he becomes a symbol, his sacrifices shaping a legend that centuries later would be celebrated as Valentine’s Day. Collins delivers a novel that blends the intensity of rebellion with the tenderness of romance, transporting readers to a world where faith and love are tested by the harshest of empires.

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8991362412

Publisher:  Hutchinson and Collins

Formats:  e-book, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  352 (paperback)

The Day My Book Hit the Bestseller List

On January 24, 2025, The Legend of Valentine reached the Amazon bestseller list for Classic Roman Literature — only three days after release. For many authors, that moment would be all celebration. For me, it came three weeks after the Palisades Fire destroyed my home and nearly everything I owned.

At the time, I could barely register the achievement. My days were consumed with relocating my family, replacing the basics, and simply surviving. It wasn’t until months later that the significance of that milestone sank in — and when it did, I was struck by how much my own life seemed to echo the very story I had written.

Valentine, my protagonist, is a soldier of Rome. He’s courageous on the battlefield, but emotionally unmoored — a man who has lost family, lost a true sense of home, and nearly loses his own life. The only anchor he knows is the brotherhood of warriors at his side. What makes his journey powerful isn’t just the clash of empires, but the quieter battles: the movement from emptiness to belonging, from faithless to faithful, from loveless to love-full.

After the fire, I felt some of those same fractures. A house is more than walls; it is a sense of place, of rootedness. Losing that left me feeling adrift, as though the ground itself had shifted. But, like Valentine, I began to see what remains when everything else is stripped away. For him, it was faith and love reborn in the midst of loss. For me, it was the outpouring of community — friends, neighbors, and even strangers showing up with tangible acts of kindness.

What deepened the experience was hearing back from readers. Some wrote to me about the history, others about the love story, still others about the themes of endurance, forgiveness, or faith rediscovered. I realized then that the book wasn’t one-dimensional; I had packed many threads into it, using Rome as the stage to explore truths that still resonate today. There issomething in it for everyone to take hold of, because the themes are timeless.

That, to me, has been the real gift. Hitting a bestseller list is meaningful, of course, but the deeper joy is discovering that a story born in another century can meet readers right where they are — just as it met me in the ashes of my own life.

In the end, the lesson is the same for both author and reader: when everything seems lost, love and faith have a way of finding us again.

About the Author

Sheldon Collins began his creative career in Hollywood, where he wrote and directed films acclaimed for their strong characters and powerful narratives. His projects earned awards and were broadcast on premium networks before he turned to fiction with The Legend of Valentine, his debut novel, which is also available as a multi-cast audiobook he co-directed. Today Collins lives in California with his wife and daughter, drawing inspiration from the beauty of the outdoors and enjoying hiking, biking, surfing, and skiing. He holds a BA in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley and an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute. Discover more on his website or follow him on Instagram.

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

(media courtesy of Book Amplifier)

(all opinions are my own)

Tailored Truths by Nancy Jardine - #bookreview #blogtour

The Blurb

Is self-supporting success enough for Margaret Law or will her future also include an adoring husband and children? She might secretly yearn for that though how can she avoid a repeat of relationship deceptions that disenchanted her so much during her teenage years?

Employment as a lady’s maid, and then as a private tutor in Liverpool in the 1860s bring thrilling opportunities Margaret could never have envisaged. Though when those posts end, her educational aspirations must be shelved again. Reliance on her sewing skills is paramount for survival when she returns to Dundee.

Meeting Sandy Watson means love, marriage and starting a family - though not necessarily in that order – are a striking development though it entails a move north to Peterhead. Yet, how can Margaret shed her fear of commitment and her independence and take the plunge?

Jessie, her sister-at-heart, is settled in Glasgow. Frequent letters are a life-line between them but when it all goes horribly wrong, the contents of Margaret’s correspondence don’t necessarily mirror her awful day-to-day realities.

My Review

Although this is the second book in the series, there is sufficient reference to the first book to make this one work perfectly as a standalone.

This book features Margaret as the main character.  We read of how she fights to keep her head above water - working in various jobs from tutoring, to being a lady's maid/companion and even sack sewing. However, her skills enable her to move up in the world to a leadership role in a factory.

Her search for employment highlights how women were viewed during the period in which the book is set. It was very hard for a woman to make much of herself, as all the opportunities to grow were only available to men. Through this, the author demonstrated the role of women at the time and how they were considered by Victorian society.

Margaret was an excellent character. She is a hard-working young woman with a strong character, which enabled her to survive in difficult situations.

The author immerses the reader in the time and place. She has exhaustively researched the time period and, therefore, immerses the reader in the book. I almost felt like I was there.

It is a dialogue-led book, which served to move the story along at an appropriate pace for the genre. It made for easy and engaging reading.

I enjoyed this book very much, and am looking forward to the next book in the series already.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1739696443

Publisher:  Nancy Jardine with Ocelot Press

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

No. of Pages:  468 (paperback)

Series:  Book 2 in the Silver Sampler Series

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Nancy Jardine writes historical adventure fiction, historical saga, time travel historical adventure and contemporary mysteries. Research, grandchildren, gardening fill up her day in the castle country of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, when not writing or promoting her writing. Interacting with readers is a joy at Book and Craft Fairs where she signs/sells paperback versions of her novels. She enjoys giving author presentations on her books and on Ancient Roman Scotland.

Memberships include: Historical Novel Society; Scottish Association of Writers, Federation of Writers Scotland, Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Alliance of Independent Authors. She’s self-published with Ocelot Press.

You can also find Nancy at:

Author Website

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

(all opinions are my own)

The Self-Made Saint by Alexandra Addams - #bookreview #blogtour

"Best get on with it before you go under it."

The Blurb

Judith Drainger has always played life by her own rules. But these days life seems to be playing her right back.

Divorced, orphaned and forcibly retired, 59-year-old Judith is determined to seize the opportunity to leave her broken home in London and move across the world to Australia. Here she reunites with her estranged adult daughter Cassandra – only to land smack bang in the emotional quagmire of her daughter’s anger and abandonment issues. To make matters worse, Judith can see her new granddaughter Emily has a serious health issue, but her offers of help are ignored and rejected.

When an accident knocks her off her feet, Judith is swamped by the kindly care of her nosy new neighbours. Yet, when given a chance to become a part of their community, Judith shocks even herself by making a series of unforgivable blunders. Realizing if she’s to have any hope of reuniting her family, well-meaning but stubborn curmudgeon Judith must learn the power of saying ‘sorry’ - and what it actually means to be a good person.

My Review

Hidden between the covers of this book is a real gem.

The main character is Judith. She is bad-tempered, curmudgeonly and irascible. She has left England and gone to live near her daughter, Cassandra, and baby granddaughter, Emily, in Australia, in order to rescue her from an unhappy relationship and take her and Emily away to live with her. However, the reality is that Cassandra is very happy in her relationship and has no intention of going anywhere - let alone with the mother with whom she has abandonment issues. 

Judith was a fabulous character.  She is complex and flawed, and it made her such an interesting character to spend time with. She is also highly relatable. I think most readers, especially those of us who have adult children, will find a little of themselves in Judith.

The author demonstrated real skill in her depiction of the characters and their various interactions. They all came very much to life on the page, from the handsome man next door to the dog walker who allowed his dog to toilet by Judith's house. Even the minor characters are well-nuanced.

I enjoyed being immersed in the environment and the characters, both Judith and those around her. The Australian setting was perfect and well portrayed. This was a fabulous book to read. Despite Judith's irascibility, it was impossible not to like her, and I loved observing how her character developed through the book.

This is a fantastic debut novel and I can't wait to see what the author brings us in the future. If this novel is anything to judge by then she is definitely one to watch.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1962931175

Publisher:  High Frequency Press

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  266 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Blackwells

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

You can also find Alexandra at:

Instagram

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(ARC and media courtesy of the publicist)

(all opinions are my own)

Books I Want to Read in October 2025

Welcome October - the month of pumpkins, witches and all things spooky!

I've got some cracking books in my to read list for this month. Some new, some old and some that have been on my TBR for far too long.

What are you planning to read this month?  Is there anything here that has caught your eye?

 Frankie by J.M. Gutsch and Maxim Leo

Meet Frankie the cat. He’s a stray who belongs to no one, and that’s just how he likes it.

Until one day, everything changes. He crosses paths with Richard.

Richard isn’t doing so well. Grieving the loss of his partner, he’s turned his back on hope and is ready to end it all. But his plans are halted when Frankie the cat is injured on his doorstep.

Frankie needs help. But then, so does Richard. What Richard doesn’t know is that Frankie is no ordinary cat.

It’s an unlikely partnership. But it might be exactly what they both need . . .

 Concrete Dreams by Ferdinand Dennis

Concrete Dreams tells the gripping story of Lucas Bostock, a Jamaican immigrant who arrives in 1950s London determined to succeed — and to impose his vision of success on his family. A harsh, domineering man, shaped and scarred by survival, Lucas is no one’s idea of a nice man. When his wife Rhoda finally leaves him, taking their only daughter, he’s left to raise their three sons with a mix of toughness, pride, and unrelenting ambition.

Lucas believes that hard work — on building sites, as a carpenter, and eventually as a landlord — is the only way to protect his family. But as his children grow up and take their own paths through boxing, journalism, politics, retail, and religion, they are forced to reckon with the cost of their father’s influence. Meanwhile, the tenants in his houses add further layers to this vivid portrait of Caribbean-British life, sharing their stories of resistance and renewal in a changing city.

Dennis crafts Lucas with remarkable honesty — flawed, often unlikeable, but deeply human. Concrete Dreams is both an intimate family saga and a bold exploration of race, masculinity, and generational legacy. It’s a Windrush story, but one that refuses easy narratives, capturing instead the full complexity of Caribbean London and the voices that shaped it—and a narrator determined to tell his own.

 In Memoriam by Alice Winn

In 1914, war feels far away to Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood. They're too young to enlist, and anyway, Gaunt is fighting his own private battle - an all-consuming infatuation with the dreamy, poetic Ellwood - not having a clue that his best friend is in love with him too.

When Gaunt's mother asks him to enlist, he signs up immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings. But Ellwood and their classmates soon follow him to the front. Ellwood and Gaunt find love in the trenches – but just as war brought them together, it can tear them apart…

An epic, unforgettable love story between two soldiers in the First World War, In Memoriam is a breath-taking debut.

  A Lot to Unpack by Portia MacIntosh

Liberty’s just landed her dream job. The catch? It’s at Matcher, the dating app that ruined her life. After catching her boyfriend sending intimate pictures to everyone in a twenty mile radius, Liberty is struggling to get back into the dating game. Every man gives her the ick sooner or later.

Still, she’s having a great time travelling the world for work, until she’s assigned a secret mission: Travel to New York with her handsome and charming boss Jordan and swap out a contract from under his nose. It should be easy, but the more time Liberty spends with Jordan, the more she realises he might not be the bad boy she thought he was. But it turns out they’ve both got a lot to unpack, and Liberty still needs to complete her mission if she wants to keep her job - which means not breaking the one golden rule: do not fall for the boss!

 The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey

When Leah and her husband moved to France, it was with the dream of becoming self-sufficient. But in truth, it’s not the ‘good life’ she’d imagined, as three hours of digging barely yield a single straggly carrot. Worse, her teenage daughter is acting up, and her husband seems to find every strange excuse under the hot French sun to disappear.

So when her friend entreats her to join the new bookclub she’s forming, Leah decides it’s something she will do for herself. The chance to make new friends, to drink a few glasses of wine, and to escape into stories that take her miles away from the life she’d thought would be her own happy-ever-after.

But the book club is a strange group of misfits. There’s prickly Grace, who lives alone and seems to know everybody and like no-one. Buttoned-up Monica, who says her husband is away and appears to be parenting her baby all alone. Handsome builder George, who has barely read a book before. And Alfie – who is a full two decades younger than everyone else, and is hiding a devastating secret…

As the stories they read begin to bring the new friends closer together, Leah is about to discover that happy-ever-afters don’t always look how you expect them to…

  The Silent Sister by Jan Baynham

A woman searching for somewhere to belong.

A child rescued from the rubble of a ruined island.

A secret buried in the heart of Kefalonia.

Greece, 1953. When a catastrophic earthquake reduces the beautiful island of Kefalonia to ruins, Cassia Makris risks everything to save a young girl buried beneath the rubble that was once her home.

In that moment, Cassia makes a life-changing decision that will bind their fates forever but force her to carry a devastating secret . . .

Wales, 1973. Eléni Davies has always felt there was something unspoken in her past — a silence at the heart of her childhood. When she discovers a hidden journal among her mother’s belongings, it unravels an untold story of love and loss on a faraway island.

Drawn to the place where her story really began, Eléni travels to the now-rebuilt Kefalonia. Among the lemon groves and sun-bleached chapels, she begins retracing her mother’s footsteps to piece together a story that was never meant to be told.

But in doing so, Eléni must decide whether some secrets are better left buried — or whether confronting them is the only way to finally heal.

  Ever After by Amanda Prowse

If you’re given another chance at love, shouldn’t you take it?

Enya’s life has become small. Her husband’s death has left her bereft, and though she’s only in her early fifties, she’s happiest looking after her son, Aiden, his childhood sweetheart, Holly, and her beloved cat, Pickle.

So the spark she feels for the stranger who bumps into her car in the airport car park is a complete shock. But Enya can’t stop thinking about him.

Then, when Aiden makes a life-changing decision, Enya suddenly finds her close-knit community thrown into chaos. Her best friend, Jenny, isn’t speaking to her, Aiden’s future hangs in the balance, Holly is devastated, and the stranger from the car park is suddenly in her life.

Torn between family, love and loyalty, Enya faces a dilemma: stay safely where she is, or take a leap into the unknown? Because maybe her happily-ever-after could have one more chapter yet…

  Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall by Sharon Booth

Can Callie give some needy ghosts their happy-ever-afterlife, while making Rowan Vale her own forever home?

When cash-strapped single mum Callie visits the beautiful Cotswold village of Rowan Vale on a school trip with her daughter, she is enchanted. It's run as a living museum, with a steam railway, vintage teashop, Elizabethan manor house and old water mill allowing tourists to see history in action.

But there's more to Rowan Vale than meets the eye...

To Callie's surprise, the owner of the village, elderly Sir Lawrence Davenport, requests a meeting with her. It appears Callie has been observed talking to several villagers she shouldn’t be able to see - as they’re ghosts.

Sir Lawrence then makes an astonishing offer: to sell Callie the whole estate for a tiny sum, if she agrees to protect the village’s present tenants and make sure the headstrong ghosts are represented too.

With a spectral lord of the manor and his imperious wife, a naughty 1940s schoolgirl and the man who once taught William Shakespeare among them, it seems Callie’s role as owner wouldn’t be easy.

And that’s without the added complication of Lawrie’s disinherited grandson, the gorgeous Brodie.

Rowan Vale and Callie may need each other. But is this a match made in heaven or hell?

  All Change at Harbour House by Fenella J. Miller

Wivenhoe May 1940

A moment that changes everything...

The war continues to rage, but for now, Harbour House continues to keep the Roby family safe from harm. Not so for new lodger Richard Stoneleigh. As one of the few men who can captain a ship, Richard is called to help with the dangerous evacuation of troops from Dunkirk – it’s a perilous voyage that almost costs Richard his life…

Housemaid, Annie Thomas, initially disliked Richard and his hoity toity ways, but after his heroic return she sees a changed man. Richard seems to know the value of life and is eager to grab every day and make it count. And Annie, recently widowed and feeling slightly adrift in life, finds him compelling.

As their friendship develops, so too do their feelings for one another. But Annie knows that she can never truly be with a man like Richard – he is far above her own lowly class.

But war changes everything and with the fear of imminent invasion hanging over everyone, Anne and Richard decide that perhaps it’s time that they change too…and take a chance together?

Will they overcome the social divides between them and find love in the darkest of times?

  The Wonderful Discovery of Elizabeth Sawyer by Jonathan Vischer

The year is 1621: a time of paranoia following the English Reformation. In London’s Newgate prison, Elizabeth Sawyer, the mother of eleven children, lies shackled in her cell. Denounced as a witch by her woodland neighbours and condemned to death by the court, Elizabeth has one last chance to make her peace with this world. By way of confession, she tells the prison chaplain three stories about her life.

Chaplain Goodcole at first responds with revulsion. Like the court he condemns Elizabeth as wicked and depraved but as her execution draws near, his opinion shifts. Does this ‘ignorant’ countrywoman know something that he doesn’t? Has she indeed made a wonderful discovery, or has he, as his colleagues suspect, fallen under the spell of a wily and malign witch?

Based on a true story, this novel is rooted in the struggles of rural women 400 years ago. Exploring different types of power, it unravels the fear and superstitions surrounding any girl or woman who spoke her mind.

Books I Have Read in September 2025

 

Here in my part of the world the weather has turned rather chilly. Still, I have a day at home today so plan on snuggling down with a book this afternoon.

I have read some lovely books this month and even read my first Christmas book this year. I am sure there will be more to come over the next couple of months.

Have you read anything good this month? 

The Vanishing Act by Jo Jakeman

What happens when a body is found and named as you? I enjoyed every page of this super book and was sorry when it ended. You can find my full review by clicking here.

The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken by The Secret Barrister

Written by an anonymous barrister, this account of what can go wrong in our court system was fascinatingly scary. It was easy to read and I enjoyed it.

The Irish Midwife by Seana Tinley

I enjoyed this novel, which is set in Belfast, very much. You can find my full review by clicking here.

A Keeper by Graham Norton

I just didn't have a free slot in which to review this book but it was probably my favourite book of the month. A well-written, dual timeline novel set in Ireland. Excellent.

The Figurine by Victoria Hislop

I have read several of this author's titles and really enjoyed them. However, this one disappointed me.

A Taste of Christmas Spirit by Susan Buchanan

A lovely feel-good Christmas story which I really enjoyed. You can find my full review by clicking here.

The Sitter by Caroline McGhie

This was a wonderful literary book to read. Beautifully written. You can find my full review by clicking here.

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

This book is a refreshing new take on this genre of books - crime and science fiction mixed together. You can find my full review by clicking here.

Tiger's Last Roar by Harriet Howe

This is a moving story about losing a pet. The death of a pet is a difficult enough experience when you are an adult, but for children, it can be a sad and confusing time. If you would like to read my full review please click here.