Clues to You by Claire Huston - #bookreview #blogtour

Kate squeezed past another huddle of chattering guests, her gaze fixed on the banner at the top of the noticeboard to the left of the reception desk...

The Blurb

One murder mystery weekend. Two rival sleuths.

They’re looking for answers. But will they find love?

Kate Brannon is delighted to be attending her first murder mystery weekend in a movie-worthy Victorian manor house. Still getting over being dumped, cracking the case would be a welcome boost to her flagging confidence. And the prize money wouldn’t hurt either.

But Kate’s dreams of victory become a nightmare with the arrival of Max Ravenscroft. Smart, enigmatic and annoyingly handsome, Max is Kate’s sleuthing nemesis. 

When she and Max are forced to work together, Kate despairs. But, as the investigation brings them closer, she finds being his partner in solving crime isn’t all bad. 

With growing suspicions that the game is rigged against them, can Kate and Max beat the odds to find the killer? And, as their partnership deepens, can they find romance too?

This rivals-to-lovers romance is a standalone romcom and part of the Love in the Comptons collection.

My Review

Clues to You was the winner of BBNYA 2024! More about BBNYA below.

It was a highly entertaining novel which I really enjoyed reading. Whilst it is the third book in the Love in the Comptons series, each book is completely standalone. This is the first in the series which I have read.

Set during a murder mystery weekend, friends Kate, Bella, Ethan and Max make up a team to solve the murder in a 1920's manor house. However, there are tensions between Kate and Max which creates the enemies to lovers trope perfectly and I loved the undeniable chemistry between them.

The author has done a great job in creating her characters. Kate and Max are believable and well fleshed out. The secondary characters are equally good.

Kate has always felt that Max thinks he is superior to her. However, this weekend she is determined to prove to him that she is just as capable as him of reading all of the clues and discovering the murderer.

The book had Agatha Christie vibes and I liked the way the author created a 1920's story within a  contemporary setting. She writes very well and really knows how to pull a reader into the story.

I am not in the least surprised that this book won the Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award last year, and I feel it was a very worthy winner. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy murder mysteries, coupled with a nice romance.

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads. 

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1913719906

Publisher:  Goldcrest Books International

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

No. of Pages:  379 (paperback)

Series:  Part of the Love in the Comptons series

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Amazon CA

About the Author

Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire, UK, with her husband and children. She writes uplifting modern love stories about characters who are meant for each other but need a little help to realise it.

A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for all the cakes mentioned in Art and Soul, her first novel, at clairehuston.co.uk along with over 150 other recipes. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.

 You can also find Claire at:

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(ARC and media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(all opinions are my own)

Alliance with Her Renegade Knight by Lissa Morgan - #bookreview

Ludlow, 1459 -

"Who would have thought to see Proud Cis brought so low? How shaming for her!" Isolda, standing at the window looking down onto the town square, noded in response to her mother's remark. "Yes, but how brave she is."

***

The Blurb

The knight's target...

Becomes his greatest desire!

From the moment wool merchant Isolda catches sight of Sir Henry, she senses a powerful bond. But the vigilante knight is tracking down the person penning seditious poems exposing corruption...poems she secretly wrote!

Henry is torn after discovering Isolda's hidden identity, especially as he sympathizes with her cause. When Isolda's apprentice is murdered, Henry joins forces with her, hiding out in his manor, where passions run high! Yet after the traumatic death of his family, Henry can't let Isolda breach the walls around his heart. Still, he must find a way to earn her trust--their lives depend on it!

My Review

I was delighted when the author of this book, Lissa Morgan asked me if I would consider reading her latest novel. I have previously read, enjoyed, and reviewed her titles, The Warrior's Reluctant Wife and The Warrior's Forbidden Maiden, which form her Warriors of Wales series. Consequently, I had high hopes for this novel too, and I am glad to say that it surpassed those expectations, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The book is set in Ludlow in 1459 during the War of the Roses. Yorkists and Lancastrians oppose one another, and this brings Lancastrian knight, Sir Henry Wevere to the once Yorkist stronghold of Ludlow to seek out and punish the person who is pinning insurgent poetry to the church door.

When Sir Henry lays eyes on Isolda, who is the main character in the book, they both sense an instant chemistry. However, their loyalties lie on opposing sides of this war, and Isolda is, in fact, the author of the poems!

This was a fabulous premise for this book, and I loved watching it unfold. The chemistry between Sir Henry and Isolda was palpable, and it made for a wonderful enemies-to-lovers story.

Isolda was a marvellous main female character. She is a strong and determined woman. On her father's death, she took over his business as a wool merchant. Consequently, she is shunned by the Merchant's Guild because she is a woman in business. Her conviction that she is as worthy as any man to run a business perfectly sets up her strength of character, which we can see demonstrated throughout the novel.

Henry is fleeing his own demons after his family were all killed in a fire. This makes him a complex character, full of grief, dread, and unable to get close to anyone else for fear of losing them.

The author has created two brilliant characters who were likeable, and I was longing for them to find a way to put aside their differences and fears.

The author has skill in portraying historical stories while making them relevant to a modern readership. I think, as women, we can all identify with Isolda being held back merely because of her gender, a concept recognisable to the majority of women today.

I thought this was a book that was well worth reading, and I enjoyed it very much.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1335540225

Publisher: Harlequin

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 272 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Blackwell's

Harlequin

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Lissa Morgan hails from Wales but has travelled far and wide over the years, usually in pursuit of the next new job.  A history graduate and former archivist, she now works in academia and freelance website design, which she fits in around her writing time. She lives between the mountains and the sea in rugged north-west Wales surrounded by medieval castles that provide the perfect inspiration for her books.

You can also find Lissa at:

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(book courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

10 Ten Exciting New Releases in November 2024

 

November is fast approaching and I am looking ahead at a few lovely new publications. There are so many, but as always, I am confining myself to just ten.

Anything here excite your reading tastebuds?

City of Silk by Glennis Virgo

Bologna, 1575.

A talented seamstress

A powerful merchant

A fierce battle of wills

Elena Morandi has gained a fragile foothold in the workshop of a master tailor, despite the profession being officially barred to her as a woman. But then a powerful man from her past crosses her path and threatens everything she has worked for. Antonio della Fontana has every corner of the city in his pocket and, as Elena knows all too well, he abused his position of power at the Baraccano orphanage. Driven to fight for justice against a man seemingly above the law, Elena hatches a plan to get retribution for herself, a lost friend and those still prey to Fontana's abuses.

With sumptuous detail that brings the sights, sounds and textures of Renaissance Italy to vivid life, City of Silk is a breathtaking historical fiction debut.

Winner of the inaugural Debut Writers Over 50 Award.

The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective by Sara Lodge

A revelatory history of the women who brought Victorian criminals to account—and how they became a cultural sensation From Wilkie Collins to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the traditional image of the Victorian detective is male. Few people realise that women detectives successfully investigated Victorian Britain, working both with the police and for private agencies, which they sometimes managed themselves. Sara Lodge recovers these forgotten women’s lives. She also reveals the sensational role played by the fantasy female detective in Victorian melodrama and popular fiction, enthralling a public who relished the spectacle of a cross-dressing, fist-swinging heroine who got the better of love rats, burglars, and murderers alike. How did the morally ambiguous work of real women detectives, sometimes paid to betray their fellow women, compare with the exploits of their fictional counterparts, who always save the day? Lodge’s book takes us into the murky underworld of Victorian society on both sides of the Atlantic, revealing the female detective as both an unacknowledged labourer and a feminist icon.

The Reunion by M.A. Hunter

Never underestimate how much people can change...

It's been years since Zoe last saw them – since they graduated, drifted apart, and lost touch.

Years since Zoe ended things with Dan because the memories were too painful to bear.

Years since that night – the night an unexpected death shattered their close-knit group of friends.

Now, Zoe is invited to Scotland for a wedding – a grand affair at a manor house on a remote island. Apprehensive about the reunion, she hopes the long drive with Lily will help ease her nerves.

But things are far from simple. Lily has also agreed to give Dan a lift, and Rod, not wanting to be left out, is joining them as well, along with his fiancée.

And when they come into trouble on a cold, dark, desolated Highland road, it sets off a chain of events which will leave them all shaken to their very core, and questioning everything they thought they knew…

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

December 1952

As a young Queen Elizabeth II prepares to deliver her first Christmas speech, staff work behind the scenes to get ready for the festivities at Sandringham Estate. Among them are Jack and Olive – old friends who are surprised to be reunited after seven years apart.

While Olive works for the BBC reporting on the royal family, and Jack is employed in the queen’s kitchens, their bond deepens – until a secret threatens to tear them apart. When the truth comes to light, it could change Olive and Jack's lives forever.

But maybe Christmas has one last gift to deliver…

Second Chances at Hollyhock Farm by Georgina Troy

Festival season has come to Hollyhock Farm…

Since his sister Lettie took over their parents' farm on the beautiful island of Jersey at the start of the year, Zac Torel's life has changed completely. Zac loves Hollyhock Farm, and he's determined to help Lettie succeed, but when their insurance company refuses to pay for the restoration of one of their barns in time for winter, the clock is ticking for the Torels to raise the money themselves.

The siblings decide to host a wellness festival, but with the summer already well underway, they've got their work cut out to get everything ready before the season ends. Lettie recruits the help of Melody, a yoga teacher from Edinburgh. New to the island, Melody is determined to shake things up and make a success of Lettie’s festival.

But Melody has come to Jersey with more baggage than her small backpack implies. And as her friendship with Zac grows, will her past catch up with her?

Gone with the Penguins by Hazel Prior

"Emperor penguins defy the odds, and I shall too.”

Still fiery and feisty at eighty-seven, Veronica McCreedy, the very first Penguin Ambassador, is determined to prove that nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it.

Eileen, Veronica’s ever-patient assistant, is content taking care of other people. But when a new adventure calls, it makes her question everything...

Ten-year-old, penguin-obsessed Daisy can’t wait to be reunited with Mrs McCreedy in her huge house by the sea for the school holidays.

When they discover that the local Sea Life Centre is under threat, the unlikely trio are determined to save it and the penguins that live there.

Inspired by the penguins and fuelled by Darjeeling tea and finger sandwiches, they embark on an epic fundraising walk. But soon, their mission becomes so much more and it might just lead each of them to a new beginning...

Don't You Want Me Baby? by Rachel Dove

Amber Fitzpatrick is about to hit thirty and has achieved none of the things she hoped to have done by now. Her dreams of owning her own business seem out of reach. Her boyfriend has just dumped her and now her biological clock is clanging in her head.

But maybe Amber doesn’t need a man for the next stage of her life? Maybe as an independent woman she can have a baby all by herself?

There’s only one problem. Handsome but excruciatingly annoying best friend Tyler Williams. Tyler thinks Amber’s motherhood plans are plain crazy! She just needs to wait for Mr. Right to come along…and maybe he’s closer than she thinks?

But with Amber hellbent on doing it alone, Tyler sets out to prove to her that being her best friend could also come with excellent benefits…if only she's brave enough to take the chance.

The Sea House by Louise Douglas

A mysterious bequest and the legacy of a tragic love – only one person can unravel the hidden secrets of the past before it’s too late…

When Elisabeth Quemener dies she leaves a small parcel with the instructions that it must only be opened by Astrid Oake. The trouble is, no one knows who Astrid Oake is…

Elisabeth’s family turn to Touissants detective agency for help but, when Mila Shepherd and Carter Jackson try to track Astrid down, their frustration soon mounts. Their only clue is a photo of two young women holding the hands of a tiny child. The women are smiling but Mila is haunted by the sadness in their eyes. Is this Astrid and Elisabeth and if so, who is the child? And why are there signs everywhere in Elisabeth’s home that the old woman was frightened despite her living a quiet life with no known enemies?

As Elisabeth and Astrid’s story slowly unfolds, Mila feels the walls of her home The Sea House closing in. And as the secrets finally begin to reveal themselves, she is ever more determined to carry out Elisabeth’s final wishes. Because what is inside that unprepossessing parcel might just save a life…

The Foyle's Bookshop Girls' Promise by Elaine Roberts

London, 1918: war rages on, but the girls of London’s Foyles bookshop always have a place to feel safe.

Rosie Burrows loves being part of the Foyles team, and outwardly, she’s a happy young woman, engaged to the love of her life. But inside, Rosie faces a horrible dilemma. When Alfie enlisted, she promised to wait for him to return from France. And she has waited, quietly preparing for him to come home so they can marry. But for years her letters to him have gone unanswered, and now she doesn’t know where she stands.

To keep occupied, Rosie starts volunteering at the local school. She loves reading to the children, and takes solace in her growing friendship with the kind and gentle class teacher. But Rosie knows she can’t allow herself to develop feelings for Sam – she gave her word.

But why hasn’t Alfie answered her letters? Has he changed his mind about her? And how long should she wait for a man who may never come back?

A Skye Full of Stars by Sue Moorcroft

Under the winter stars, anything is possible…

Ezzie Wynter can’t wait for Christmas on the beautiful Isle of Skye. Her island home sparkles at this time of year thanks to the snow-capped mountains and frosty winter walks, topped off with family gatherings with those she loves the most.

But her peaceful Christmas idyll is upended when she hears that the Larson family – the owners of Rothach Hall – are flying in from Sweden for the festivities. As Manager of their grand Scottish manor house, Ezzie suddenly has decorations to hang, food to source and itineraries to organise.

Life only becomes more difficult when Mats Larson turns up. The owners’ handsome, self-assured son is used to doing things his own way – and he is only another headache to add to her overflowing list.

Yet when unexpected visitors arrive looking for Ezzie, nothing else matters as she is left questioning everything she ever knew about herself. But amidst the Christmas chaos, she might also discover that, when all is lost, it’s sometimes those we least expect who come to our aid…