Left on the Shelf

About the Author

In the authors words:

I’m a man. And a pretty old man as well. I studied languages at Nottingham University a long time ago and then lived and worked in France and Switzerland before going to work in Italy for seven years. My Italian wife and I then came back to the UK with our little daughter (now long-since grown up) where I ran a big English language school for many years. We now live in a sleepy little village in Devonshire. I’ve been writing almost all my life but it was only 13 years ago that I finally managed to find a publisher who liked my work enough to offer me my first contract.

I started off writing romances but after 28 of them, I knew I wanted to try something different, and so the first of the Armstrong and Oscar cozy mysteries, Murder in Tuscany, was born three years ago. I’ve been having a lot of fun ever since getting to know the dynamic duo (and introducing them to people all over the world). These books are cosy crime [a genre I didn't even know existed when I started writing them). They are murder mysteries, but not gory, over-violent stuff, but stories designed to exercise the brain of the reader and to put a smile on their face. Maybe it’s because there are so many horrible things happening in the world today that I feel I need to do my best to provide something to cheer my readers up. My books provide escapism to some gorgeous locations all over my beloved Italy.

You can also find the author at:

Murder at Christmas by T. A. Williams

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

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

(all opinions are my own)

Tuesday, 27 October 2026

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

September

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

***

The Blurb

An unexpected bid for something special this Christmas

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

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

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

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

My Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1914575112

Publisher: Leannan Press

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 402 (paperback)

Series: Book 20 in the Glenbriar series

Purchase Links

About the Author

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

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

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

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

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

You can also find Margaret at:

Summer Nights at Hillview Farm

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

Christmas Wishes at the Station Book Shop

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Tuesday, 20 October 2026

Dreadnought by Robin Bennett - #bookreview #bookblog

London - A Few Years From Now

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

***

The Blurb

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

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

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

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

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

My Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1036959265

Publisher: Monster Books

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 320 (paperback)

Purchase Links

About the Author

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

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

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

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

You can also find Robin at:

Tik Tok

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Thursday, 1 October 2026

Christmas at Honeycombe Bay by Lilac Mills - #bookreview #blogtour

If the next tune was another sodding Christmas song, Eloise Garrett was going to grab the nearest pair of scissors and sever the damn radio's electric cable...

***

The Blurb

Two Scrooges come together for a festive-free holiday season by the sea and find all their anti-Christmas plans going up in smoke when they decide to play Santa for a single mom and her child.

Eloise Garrett thinks Christmas is overpriced, overhyped, and overrated, and without any family to share it with, she feels sad, lonely and isolated. The “season for giving” is just a constant reminder that she’s single, sixty(ish), and staring down retirement. But not this Christmas. Determined to avoid the most magical time of the year, Eloise decides to spend Christmas in Honeycombe Bay. Surely a seaside village in the middle of winter won’t be too festive?

Ever since his wife passed away, Bartholomew Knott hasn’t felt up to welcoming visitors to his guest house. With the prospect of another long, lonely winter, and having become more Scrooge than Santa over the years, Bart is dreading Christmas. However, when he’s contacted by someone who dislikes decking the halls just as much as he does, Bart has the brilliant idea of opening the guest house to people who want to escape all things festive.

Christmas isn’t easy to ignore, though, not even in off-season Honeycombe Bay. So when fate forces Bart to give shelter to a single mother and child whose holiday has been devastated by a terrible fire, Eloise finds herself playing Mrs. Claus to Bart’s Santa—dragging the house’s other guest, a heartbroken teacher looking for a break during the holidays, into the action as well. But holiday cheer isn’t the only thing sparking under the mistletoe. Will the guests at Honeycombe Bay realize that, sometimes, the best way to escape Christmas is to let it into your heart?

My Review

This is a charming story of later-life romance and was most enjoyable to read.

It was such a heartwarming novel full of lovely characters. The main character was Eloise and the book is told largely from her perspective. She has no family and all the Christmas cheer grates on her nerves. So she heads to a bed and breakfast in off-season Honeycombe Bay where she meets the owner, Bart, who is still grieving for his wife.

There are other characters who end up at the B&B too and this turns into a tale of found family. In addition, there is romance in the air between Eloise and Bart, if only they were brave enough to admit it. When circumstances occur that force them to observe Christmas, they both demonstrate such generosity of love towards others that I was rooting for them to do so to each other.

This was a wonderful book to read and I enjoyed every page. The author has created characters that leapt off the page and I almost felt that I was in the B&B with them, sharing a mince pie and glass of Baileys.

I found this gorgeous story captivating and would have gobbled it up in one sitting if I could. It warmed my heart and put a smile on my face. The author did such a fabulous job of creating her curmudgeonly characters and atmosphere, and enabled us as readers to see them grow and change.

This is a lovely book to read in the run-up to Christmas and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1035927302

Publisher: Aria

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 304 (paperback)

Purchase Links

About the Author

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

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

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

You can also find Lilac at:

Surprises on the Scottish Isle

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Tuesday, 29 September 2026

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

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

***

The Blurb

CAN LARA ADD A SPRINKLING OF MAGIC THIS CHRISTMAS?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My Review

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

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

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

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

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

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1915589071

Publisher: Susan Buchanan

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

No. of Pages: 300 (paperback)

Series: Book 5 of the Christmas Spirit series

Purchase Links

A Little Christmas Spirit

About the Author

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

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

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

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

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

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

You can also find Susan at:

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

A Taste of Christmas Spirit

The Leap Year Proposal

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Monday, 21 September 2026

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

***

The Blurb

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

My Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Book Details

ISBN: 979 8993482309 (part 1)

979 8993482316 (part 2)

979 8993482323 (part 3)

Publisher: Midatlantic Press

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 128 (part 1)

126 (part 2)

174 (part 3)

Purchase Links

About the Author

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

You can also find Fiona at:

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Friday, 11 September 2026

Bob and Shirley's Guide to Murder by Suzy K. Quinn - #bookreview #blogtour

Shirley - Murder? In our quiet, little English village?

Great Oakley is a place of hanging baskets, tearooms and riverside walks. We've won 'Britain's safest village' 10 years running...

***

The Blurb

Bob and Shirley run a lovely country pub. They also solve murders ...

A warmly funny, gloriously British cozy crime and murder mystery series that can be read as standalones or part of a series. Set in a village where the pub is the heart of country life and served with warmth, wit and a very good Sunday roast.

“Murder? In our quiet, little English village?

Great Oakley is a place of hanging baskets, tearooms and riverside walks. We’ve won ‘Britain’s safest village’ 10 years running. I keep three pound coins, a box of toffees and a bottle of Pepto-Bismol on my dashboard at all times, and I’ve never needed to lock my car.

Certainly, Bevvy Hogg was disliked. She ran the local Waist Watchers group, yet came to our pub for fish and chips, treacle tart and a bottle of Chardonnay every Friday. But I don’t think she was murdered …”

When Bevvy Hogg is found dead in the Goose and Gander pub garden, with an empty treacle tart plate beside her and several dress sizes slimmer than anyone remembers, Great Oakley’s winning streak as Britain’s safest village comes to an abrupt end.

My Review

This amusing cosy crime mystery is entertaining to read.

Bob and Shirley are a married couple who run a village pub. When a customer is discovered dead and the reputation of the pub's treacle tart needs to be defended, Bob and Shirley investigate how she was killed.

The chapters alternate between Bob and Shirley, so we are able to see the same occurrences through both pairs of eyes.

There were times that I found this book very funny and it caused me to chuckle on occasion. It was a light-hearted read, and those who enjoy cosy crime might well like this book.

The book is the first in a planned series, which will thrill those who enjoyed this book. It is a funny, quick and easy read and can easily be read in a couple of sittings.

For me, I found it hard to engage with but reading is very subjective and I have read many good things about it. So, do give it a go and let me know what you think.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1999866396

Publisher: Book Club Ltd

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

No. of Pages: 286 (paperback)

Series: Book 1 in the Bob and Shirley Cozy Mystery series

Purchase Links

About the Author

Suzy K Quinn (hello – it’s me!) is writing this bio in the third person. Which feels duplicitous and also a little egotistical. But here goes ...

Suzy K Quinn writes book club books and murder mystery series, and has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. She's a bestselling author in the US, UK and Germany and will soon, very possibly, have written more books than she's read.Suzy lives in Wivenhoe, Essex, with her husband and two daughters. She is a twin, an incompetent parent of two and now fully decaffeinated. Her twin sister, Cate Quinn, is also a bestseller author. When Suzy isn't writing in cafes, she is walking around woods dictating like a lunatic.

You can also find Suzy at:

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

My Other Blog Posts Featuring This Author

Love or Your Money Back

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

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Tuesday, 18 August 2026

The Knife Maker of Venice by David Gilman - #authorQ&A #blogtour

I am thrilled to welcome author, David Gilman onto the blog today. David is the author of The Knife Maker of Venice. It's a powerful historical adventure perfect for fans of Kate Mosse, Ken Follett and Robert Harris.

The Blurb

A young Englishman captured by slavers must survive the snakepit that is seventeenth-century Venice.

1604 - As pirates seeking slaves to sell in the markets of North Africa terrorise the coasts of Europe, headstrong Richard Sheriff and his sister Elizabeth are torn from their Devonshire home and thrust into a waking nightmare. Richard's skills as a blacksmith see him fetch a high price, but the pirate captain has other plans for Elizabeth and once they are separated, Richard has no idea of his sister's fate. They must both learn to survive on a deadly voyage into the unknown.

Sold into servitude in Venice: glittering, vicious city of secrets, he is apprenticed to a knife maker. Richard's talents soon win him renown... but haunted by his sister's absence, he vows never to stop looking for her, knowing she would do the same for him.

First he must survive that city of ghosts. Will the siblings live to see each other again, or will they join the myriads lost to Venice, where life is cheap, profit is all, and escape nigh-on impossible?

Welcome to the blog David and for answering some questions about your new book.

Q What first sparked the idea for The Knife Maker of Venice?

A My publisher, Nic Cheetham, caught me unawares during our annual meeting and asked me to write another standalone novel before the next volume in my Master of War series. I had nothing in mind, and then a memory from 30 years ago gave me a starting point. When I returned to the UK after working and living in South Africa, I toured around the southwest coast looking for somewhere to live. I saw a plaque at Dartmouth Castle commemorating the seizure of a boy by pirates in the seventeenth century. There was the germ of the story. Little did I know what I had let myself in for.

Q Why Venice for this story? What does the city allow you to explore that another setting might not?

A It's a magical city. I visited several times and every time felt different. There’s so much to explore and its history is fascinating. I am still in awe as to how all that brick, mortar and beauty were built on a swamp. There’s a story around every corner.

I had already completed a great deal of research, but I learnt an awful lot more by spending a day with a local accredited guide walking the fondamente and calli. Being Venetian, she was soaked in its history. She showed me nooks and crannies and, in some cases, dismissed my understanding of events in Venice. At that time, I thought I had done what I considered to be my own painstaking research. So, as has happened to me in the past with my Master of War series, having someone local proved to be an enormous help.

Q Tell us about your central characters, Richard and Elizabeth, and how it was writing their brother and sister dynamic in this story?

A I always prefer to throw someone in the deep end – why should the writer be the only one? And in this case, I was very keen to have a shared female protagonist. So, we have a talented apprentice blacksmith, Richard Sheriff, ambitious but constrained by the restraints of his trade and social status in the small market town of Totnes. A young, headstrong man with a keen sense of social justice that gets him into continual trouble. And Richard will reach a time in his journey when he has to go against all his deep-seated beliefs.

His sister, Elizabeth, older by four years, works as a house servant in a wealthy merchant’s house nine miles downriver in Dartmouth. She is an intelligent and partially educated woman but carries her own dark secret of something that happened in the merchant’s house one night.

Richard and Elizabeth were orphaned a decade ago when Richard was ten years old. The hardship of their lives is tempered by their love for each other – who looks after whom is the question they often ask each other. And it’s something from Elizabeth’s past that hurls them both into a terrifying fight for survival when they are torn apart.

Q How much historical research went into this novel, and what were the most surprising things you discovered?

A The Knife Maker of Venice heralded one of the most challenging books I’ve written. It demanded constant research across many historical facts. It was the immediate period following the death of Queen Elizabeth I, at a time when corruption and harsh laws caused misery. What had seemed a simple idea was anything but. I researched blacksmithing, knife making, sailing, the slave trade, the wealth of Venice, and the secret trials and executions that took place there. The multi-national traders and the restrictions on trade; and discovering that there were various slave markets in north

Africa – notably in places governed by the Ottoman Turks – for Europeans who had been seized, but there were no slave markets in Venice where slaves were nonetheless bought and sold beyond the Republic of Venice. Hypocrisy at its most blatant. The wealth of characters is drawn from their various backgrounds and circumstances. All of this research and the characters that emerged from it made an enticing time writing the novel.

And I remember being surprised to learn that there were tourists on holiday from across Europe visiting the city in the early seventeenth century. Enjoying the sights and attending extravagant balls and the theatre. And I suppose that as the research unfolded, I was surprised at so many small facts that I wasn’t aware of.

Q What do you hope readers take away from the novel once they’ve finished it?

A I always become immersed in the writing process for a novel, so my hope is that the journey that the reader and writer share becomes a narrative and visual feast. Do readers care about my characters? Are they swept along with the story and the predicaments these people face? And perhaps more than anything else is the hope that the storytelling takes the reader out of their own lives for a while and plunges them into a dangerous and vivid world they can believe in.

Many thanks David for your fascinating answers to my questions. It has been a pleasure to have you on the blog today.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1035910373

Publisher: Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book

Formats: e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages: 512 (hardback)

Purchase Links

About the Author

David Gilman has enjoyed many careers, including paratrooper, firefighter, and photographer. An award-winning author and screenwriter, he is the author of the critically acclaimed Master of War series of historical novels, and was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for The Last Horseman. He was longlisted for the same prize for The Englishman, the first book featuring ex-French Foreign Legionnaire Dan Raglan. David lives in Devon.

Follow David on @davidgilmanuk, and

You can also find David at:

(media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Thursday, 13 August 2026

The One Where They Fall in Love by Cristina Wolf - #bookreview #blogtour

This cannot be said enough: Living in New York City in your twenties is nothing like Friends makes it out to be. Really, nothing about being in your twenties is how Friends made it out to be. I'm thirty years old, and I have not had an all-consuming romance like Ross and Rachel...

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The Blurb

You never know when love may come knocking…

Hopeless romantic and romance editor Elle Thompson lives for happy endings—but real-life love? Not so much. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t thrilled when her best friend gets engaged. Really. Not jealous at all.

Meanwhile, Oliver Cole likes things a certain way. Schedules and routines and order. So when his move back to New York is disrupted with the unwelcome addition of Thor—the dog his sister adopted for him—he’s less than enthused. Even less enthused than Oliver? His neighbour, Elle.

When Elle can’t bear to hear Thor howling all night, the two agree to strike a deal: she’ll dog-sit while he’s on shift.

But what starts as a reluctant arrangement soon turns into late-night chats, sizzling chemistry, and two lonely hearts daring to let each other in.

My Review

I absolutely loved the slow burn of friendship, later followed by desire between the two main characters in this book.

Elle and Oliver are neighbours. They meet when Elle is shocked by the noises coming from Oliver's flat above hers, where he has left his dog alone for hours. Full of indignation, Elle confronts Oliver, resulting in them sharing care of the dog, Thor.

The chapters are told from both Elle's and Oliver's perspectives, and I really liked this about the story. We can see how they are both dealing with life, both professionally and personally, and the challenges that they both face. As understanding of themselves and of one another grows, we observe this wonderful friendship blossoming into something more.

I found both Elle and Oliver easy to engage with, and the author does an excellent job of bringing them alive on the page. I felt very invested in their story, and I found myself wanting to get back to this book when life forced me to put it down for a while.

Through both narrative and dialogue, the storyline moves along nicely. It is a fast and entertaining read which I enjoyed enormously.

I haven't read anything by this author before, but I shall be seeking out her other books. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy romantic comedy with a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers trope.

Publishing today, this book is worth getting your hands on.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1035915392

Publisher: Aria

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 288 (paperback)

Purchase Links

About the Author

Cristina Wolf wrote her first book in the third grade. It was an adventure book about her beagle, Abby, complete with hand-drawn illustrations and top-notch handwriting. Needless to say, writing and reading has been a passion of Cristina’s from the beginning. After graduating from Marist College with a double major in Business and English, Cristina pursued a career in the publishing industry while earning her Master of Science in Publishing from New York University. Cristina has experience working at literary agencies and as an editorial assistant at a publishing house. Finding life in NYC a bit different than she expected, Cristina returned to her native New Jersey where she earned her Master in Teaching from Monmouth University. She now shares her love of books with her students as a middle school English teacher.

You can also find Cristina at: