The House on Calle Sombra by Marga Ortigas - #blogtour #spotlight

 

I am delighted to be bringing you an excerpt from The House on Calle Sombra by Mara Ortigas. It looks like a fabulous book, and is one that I am looking forward to reading.

The Blurb

The House on Calle Sombra follows the fates and fortunes of the esteemed Castillo de Montijo family over three generations. Set in the Philippines - a tropical island nation where truth blends with fiction - none of the Castillos is quite as perceived. Successful patriarch Don Federico arrived from Spain a penniless orphan. Formidable matriarch Doña Fatimah is a native Muslim fugitive. And their brood of privileged descendants is struggling to live up to their famed and crested motto: FAMILY FIRST.

 Mirroring events in the country's turbulent history, the Castillos' perfect façade begins to fracture as shadows from their past return to claim their due. 

Sardonic, witty, and brutally frank, The House on Calle Sombra is an ode to family, and a compelling exploration of how greed, love, and trauma are passed down through generations.

The Excerpt

The owner—Federico Julián Castillo—arrived on the islands from Spain in 1937, a penniless orphan fleeing a brewing civil war.

He was eighteen and not interested in dying.

Fortunately, after nearly four centuries, the far-off Philippines were no longer owned by the Spanish Crown. And from what he’d heard, the Americans—the new colonial masters—were more egalitarian.

Without a pedigree or an inheritance, Federico believed—and rightly so—that he’d fare better in the tropics than in the rugged, landlocked region of his birth. Extremadura didn’t sound like ‘extreme hardship’ for nothing.

The voyage over—though hidden in the hold for most of it—was the first he’d seen the ocean.

Federico fell in love with The Islands the moment he crept off the ship and wandered towards the elegant walled city of Intramuros, once the seat of Spain’s only colony in Asia.

Like the country he left, Intramuros had ramparts, cobbled streets, and stone churches—but it was adorned by a wealth of wonderfully unfamiliar trees.

There were more fruits than he recognized and unexpectedly numerous shades of green.

The weather was mild, and everywhere he looked, a fiesta of flowers dazzled against the crystal sky. He was determined to learn their names. Ka-la-chu-chi, gu-ma-me-la, sampa-guí-ta.

Young Federico could not afford to live in the fortified city, but some evenings—after working the docks—he treated himself to a horse-drawn carriage ride through its narrow streets. Blissfully hypnotized by the patter of hooves upon cobblestone and the heady, sweet aroma of tropical plants.

Sometimes, he walked.

Reading Roundup for February 2023

 

I find it impossible to think about February without pancakes popping into my mind. Actually, I did not partake this year. My healthy eating plan is going well, and whilst I know that there are healthy versions to be made, if I can't smother them in lemon and sugar I would rather give it a miss.

Instead of food, I have focussed on reading this month, and here is my list of books which I read this month.

Books I Have Read

The Story of Us by Dani Atkins - I enjoyed this book very much and you can read my review by clicking here.

A Mother's Hope for the Cornish Girls by Betty Walker - This was a lovely WWII book which I really enjoyed. You can read my review by clicking here.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - This is the second time that I have read this book. I think I enjoyed it even more this time. It is a fantastic book and you can read my review (from my initital read) by clicking here.

Birdwatcher by William Shaw - I read this book with my book group this month. Everybody enjoyed it and overall we scored it seven and a half out of ten.

The Rescue by A. L . Rosewarne - I read this as part of a blog tour and it was a delightful read, narrated by a dog called Moll. You can find my review by clicking here.

Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell - This was a good read set in the jazz world of America. You can read my full review by clicking here.

Not That Kind of Ever After by Luci Adams - This was a very funny book revolving around finding fairy tale romance in the technological age. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain - A wonderful crime mystery. I literally finished reading it about half an hour ago and my review will be up as soon as I have written it. (You can now access my review by clicking here.)

Books I am Partway Through

Maid of Steel by Kate Baker

Where We Belong by Sarah Bennett

Lyrics for the Loved Ones by Anne Goodwin

The Story of Us by Dani Atkins - #BookReview

Despite the obvious assumption, it was definitely the deer that caused the accident and not the daiquiris, and it most definitely wasn't due to Caroline's driving, because she hadn't touched anything stronger than lemonade all night.

As hen parties go, mine had been a fairly subdued event. Nothing tawdry; no strippers, no L-plates, no drunken antics that come back to haunt you in the months to follow. At twenty-seven I felt I was perhaps a little too 'elderly' for the night of raucous partying which had been a signature note to my university days...

***

Emma Marshall can't wait to marry her childhood sweetheart, Richard. But then a tragic accident changes everything, and introduces a stranger, Jack, into her life. Gorgeous and mysterious, Jack is like no-one Emma has met before. But Richard is the man she loves...

Two different men.

Two different destinies.

How will Emma end her story?

***

This was one of those books that I did not want to put down. I was gripped from the very first sentence where we are immersed into the car accident that friends, Emma, Caroline and Amy, are involved in.

It is beautifully written and the author has a very real understanding of her characters and their feelings. Emma is the protaganist and I felt very involved in her life, and one way or another, I was rooting for her throughtout the story.

Ms. Atkins is an excellent storyteller and uses a mixture of narrative, dialogue and description throughout the book; all of which combine to move the story along at an appropriate pace for the subject matter.

It was an interesting protrayal of friendship, love, loss and betrayal. It made for an emotive and heart-felt reading experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am very much looking forward to reading more from this author.

ISBN: 978 1781857144

Publisher:  Head of Zeus

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  384 (paperback)

About the Author:

Dani Atkins was born in London in 1958, and grew up in North London. She moved to rural Hertfordshire in 1985, where she has lived in a small village ever since with her family. Although Dani has been writing for fun all her life, Fractured was her first novel. She has since written several other books, including The Story of Us.

A Mother's Hope for the Cornish Girls by Betty Walker - #bookreview

Sonya stared at her old friend, her heart thudding erratically, sure the whole world was about to crumble to dust beneath her feet.

Summoned by the bell, she had come toiling up the steep stairs to Lady Symmonds' top-floor rooms, in the stately but ramshackle apartments next door to the orphanage, the windows overlooking green fields and the wild blue expanse of Carbis Bay, St Ives. She had half expected to be sent on some errand of mercy for one of the orphans or maybe asked for her help with an embroidery project, since needlework was her forte.

Instead, she had been told, after nearly twenty-five years as Babs' live-in companion, that she was surplus to requirements.

***

Can the bonds of motherhood give them the strength they’ll need to get through the war?

St Ives, Spring 1943.

After having given up her baby at seventeen, Sonya is inspired by her work at an orphanage to discover what happened to her daughter twenty-five years ago. Reunited, they struggle to bond whilst braving the war together.

Nurse Lily has returned to St Ives to finish training as a midwife. But when old flame Tristan is brought in wounded, she must put the past firmly to bed in order to care for him.

And working at Tristan’s convalescent home, Mary longs for the romance she reads of in her novels. But her overprotective mother is making that more difficult at every turn…

In times of war, the Cornish Girls can rely on one another to make it through. But can they lean on the bonds of motherhood for support too?

***

This is the second book which I have read that is set in Cornwall in as many weeks. It is definely making me feel that Cornwall should be on my holiday shortlist this year.

Set during World War II, the story portrays the experiences of Sonya, Lily and Mary. They were each well fleshed out characters and it was a pleasure getting to know them. Each woman faces challenges in her life, not simply because it was wartime but because life brings with it their individual experiences and complications.

It is a very character driven novel and even the secondary characters offer much to the book. Partway through there is a scene where Sonya and Yvonne visit Sonya's parents. It was well written and ensured that the character of her father will remain with me. It is the authors use of these secondary characters which really move the story along and allow the main characters to shine.

There are many themes running through this heartfelt book; friendship, family, motherhood and love. It was interesting to observe how differently society viewed a woman's role compared to now. It also highlighted other societal attitudes that have developed significantly during the intervening years.

This book is the fourth in the Cornish Girls series although it works perfectly well as a stand alone novel. However, it has sufficiently enticed me to want to read it's predecessors and I have already ordered a copy of the first book in the series, Wartime with the Cornish Girls.

ISBN:  978 0008525170

Publisher: Avon

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  384 (paperback)

About the Author:

Betty Walker lives in Cornwall with her large family, where she enjoys gardening and coastal walks. She loves discovering curious historical facts, and devotes much time to investigating her family tree. She also writes bestselling contemporary thrillers as Jane Holland.

Betty Walker also writes under the names Jane Holland, Hannah Coates and Beth Good.

(book courtesy of the publisher)

(author photo and info courtesy of LBA)

Not That Kind of Ever After by Luci Adams - #bookreview

I want what all those Disney princesses had before the producers and writers got better and found independent non-male-orientated storylines. I want a good, old-fashioned man to sweep me off my feet and make me feel like royalty, but I'm living in the twenty-first century so I also want a man who treats me with respect and admires my strength and talents for what I'm worth whilst he rides me off into the sunset...

***

Once upon a time, in a flatshare south of the river, there lived an aspiring author names Bella Marble. Above all things, above her wish to be a writer, above absolutely anything and everything, Bella wants to find love. But one fateful week changes everything.

When her best friend moves in with the most boring ogre in history and her perfectly paired parents tell her their own love story is coming to an end, Bella's illusions of finding 'the one' shatters.

With the help of her very own knight in shining Armani, Bella ditches the fairytale and decides it's time to write herself a brand new kind of happy ending. And while London may be fresh out of Princes, it's got a surplus of frogs - and as Bella learns, kissing frogs can be extremely fun.

***

This is a highly humorous book in which we observe the protagonist, Bella, pursue her dreams of a fairy tale romance in the modern world.

From the very first line it is attention grabbing. It is an apt opening line for this book as this dark romantic comedy focuses largely on Bella's sexual exploits, firstly in a bid to find 'the one', and then as subject matter for her own writing.

It was hard not to feel that the majority of Bella's problems were of her own making. However, the writer conveys this in a fun and quirky way. This made the book a quick and easy read and it would make for an ideal holiday read.

Bella was an interesting character to read about. Although, she is thoroughly self-centred, I did develop a soft spot for her and accompanying her along her journey towards self-realisation made this a worthwhile read.

Publishing today, anyone who likes contemporary women's fiction or chick lit will enjoy this book.

ISBN: 978 0349431130

Publisher:  Piatkus

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  464

About the Author:

Leaving LAMDA for Leeds and graduating with a first class degree in Maths, Luci spent her early career torn between creativity and logic until she realised it’s possible to do both.

She started out life in the tax world before swiftly seeing the light. She has since worked copywriting for Apple Music, assisting with Amazon and BBC productions at Working Title Television and now works as an analyst at the Guardian by day whilst writing tales of heartbreak, adventure and truly terrible dates by night.

She lives in leafy St Albans and when she’s not writing, she spends her time drawing, animating and exploring the countryside with her little puppy.

(author photo and bio. info. courtesy of Watson, Little Ltd)

(ARC courtesy of the publisher)

The Rescue by S. L. Rosewarne - #BookReview #BlogTour

 

'She's very bright you know,' Pip said to everyone when I was little. He may have been biased, but it was still gratifying to have my intelligence acknowledged.

He still said it now, five years on; most recently on their wedding anniversary, when we had a day out to our favourite beach. A little boy mis-hit a tennis ball which landed nearby and bounced over to me. I stood guard over it, my eyes fixed on the boy as he ran over.

***

When terrier Moll’s owner dies, she is determined to protect his widow, Suki. And that means finding her anew man to care for her.

As Suki navigates grief, dating and men with baggage of their own, Moll tries gently to push her beloved owner to moving on with someone Moll has chosen, with a good sense of humour, a generous heart, and a steady supply of biscuits.

But Suki has a frustrating habit of doing things the way she wants, instead of Moll’s way. Until she meets Ted, who Moll adores almost as much as Suki does.

Ted, though, has demons of his own - so is he really the right choice for Suki?

With Moll getting older, and Suki still struggling, can this devoted pup fulfil her promise to look after her owner, before her time runs out?

A quirky tale of second chances, told through the eyes of woman’s best friend.

***

Dog lovers will adore this book which is narrated by the authors dog, Moll. She tells the story of her owner, Suki's experience as she steers her through a journey of love and loss en route to finding happiness again.

It is a heartfelt account of the routes upon which grief can send you. However, at times it is humorous, at other times it's poignant and at all times it is an enjoyable read.

The descriptive passages of Cornwall made me want to hop on a train and walk through its countryside with my own dog. However, he is elderly and riddled with arthritis and cannot walk far but I think he would strongly identify with Moll's ability to enjoy a good sniff.  Although I have visited Cornwall in the past, and it is indeed a beautiful county, reading this book has initiated my desire for a return visit.

The book contains a certain charm, and it's being narrated by Moll elevates the story. Whilst based on the author's own experiences, it is imaginatively constructed and well written. I am already looking forward to reading the author's next book, Lainy's Tail.

I defy anyone who reads this not to fall in love with this little bundle of canine intuition.

ISBN: 978 1912009343

Publisher: Compass Publishing UK

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 308

About the Author:

S. L. Rosewarne writes contemporary women’s fiction with an underlying theme which can be overcoming grief, second chances, how to live with anorexia, dealing with a problem rescue dog - everyday dilemmas that many of us face. 

She hopes that by sharing her experiences, wrapped up in characters that have grown from her imagination, you may laugh and cry with her, and enjoy reading how she overcome her dilemmas.

(author photo and bio information courtesy of the authors website)

(book courtesy of Rachel's Random Resource)

Top Ten New Releases in March 2023

 March is fast approaching and with it comes a whole fresh batch of new releases. There are some great ones coming up, and here are my top ten.

Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry

Recently retired policeman Tom Kettle is settling into the quiet of his new home, a lean-to annexed to a Victorian castle overlooking the Irish Sea. For months he has barely seen a soul, catching only glimpses of his eccentric landlord and a nervous young mother who has moved in next door. Occasionally, fond memories return, of his family, his beloved wife June and their two children.

But when two former colleagues turn up at his door with questions about a decades-old case, one which Tom never quite came to terms with, he finds himself pulled into the darkest currents of his past.

A beautiful, haunting novel, in which nothing is quite as it seems, Old God's Time is about what we live through, what we live with, and what may survive of us.

The Last Party at Silverton Hall by Rachel Burton

Two women. Two centuries. A life-changing night...

1952: Vivien and Max collide in the thick London smog. Within a few years, their whirlwind romance sees them living a quiet life on the Norfolk coast, blissfully happy with their beautiful daughter - at least, that's how it appears...

2019: Isobel is hoping for a fresh start when she inherits her beloved grandmother Vivien's house in Silverton Bay. But when she discovers an old photograph of Vivien at one of the infamous parties held at Silverton Hall in the 1950s, Isobel is forced to question how well she really knew her grandmother. Silverton Hall is a place Vivien swore she never went and never would - but why would she lie? And what other secrets was she keeping?

Together with an old friend, Isobel searches for answers. But is she prepared for the truth?

All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow

Sunday Forrester lives with her sixteen-year-old daughter, Dolly, in the house she grew up in. She does things more carefully than most people. On quiet days, she must eat only white foods. Her etiquette handbook guides her through confusing social situations, and to escape, she turns to her treasury of Sicilian folklore. The one thing very much out of her control is Dolly - her clever, headstrong daughter, now on the cusp of leaving home.

Into this carefully ordered world step Vita and Rollo, a couple who move in next door, disarm Sunday with their charm, and proceed to deliciously break just about every rule in Sunday's book. Soon they are in and out of each others' homes, and Sunday feels loved and accepted like never before. But beneath Vita and Rollo's polish lies something else, something darker. For Sunday has precisely what Vita has always wanted for herself: a daughter of her own.

A New Home in the Dales by Betty Firth

To follow her dream, she’s gone from city to village – but can she ever fit in?

October 1940. Twenty-three-year-old Bobby Bancroft is working as a typist for a city newspaper, but she longs to be breaking the news herself. When she successfully applies for a junior reporter role at The Tyke, a magazine serving the Yorkshire Dales, she’s thrilled to be entering the world of journalism – even if she only gets the position because so many men are away fighting in the war.

Bobby moves to the sleepy village of Silverdale, but she quickly discovers life in the countryside is a different world. Not only does she need to win over the local animals – from rampaging bulls to belligerent geese – but there are a whole host of eccentric characters to get to know, not least of whom is her editor’s younger brother: charming but infuriating village vet Charlie.

As Bobby struggles to be taken seriously by the gruff dalesfolk, she starts to wonder if she’s made a huge mistake. Will the city girl ever find her place in the beautiful but hostile countryside of the Dales?

The Hagley Wood Murder by M.J. Trow

Nazi Spies and Witchcraft in Wartime Britain

Astonishingly, The Hagley Wood Murder is the first book solely on the subject (other than a selection of privately printed/self published offerings) ever written on this murder, which too place eighty years ago. In April 1943, four teenaged boys discovered a corpse stuffed into the bole of a wych elm in a wood in the industrial Midlands. The body was merely bones and had been in the tree for up to two years. The pathologist determined that she was female, probably in her thirties, had given birth and was just under five feet tall. The cause of death was probably suffocation. Six months after the discovery, mysterious messages began to appear on walls in the area, variants of Who Put Bella Down the Wych Elm - Hagley Wood'. And the name Bella has stuck ever since. Local newspapers, then the national press, took up the story and ran with it, but not until 1968 was there a book on the case - Donald McCormick's Murder by Witchcraft - and that, like others that followed, tied Bella in with another supposedly occult murder, that of Charles Walton on Meon Hill in 1945. Any unsolved murder brings out the oddballs - the police files, only recently released, are full of them - and the nonsense still continues. The online versions are woeful - inaccuracy piled on supposition, laced with fiction. It did not help that a professional occultist, Dr Margaret Murray, expressed her belief, as early as 1953, that witchcraft was involved in Bella's murder. And ill-informed nonsense has been cobbled together to prove' that Dr Murray was right. McCormick's own involvement was in espionage and his book, slavishly copied by later privately printed efforts, have followed this tack too. It was wartime, so the anonymous woman in the wych elm had to be a spy, parachuted in by the Abwehr, the Nazi secret service. The Hagley Wood Murder is the first book to unravel the fiction of McCormick and others. It names Bella and her probable murderer. And if the conclusion is less over-the-top than the fabrications referred to above, it is still an intriguing tale of the world's oldest profession and the world's oldest crime!

If I Let You Go by Charlotte Levin

A gripping, darkly comic tale of searing loss, coercive control and the consequences of taking the wrong path.

Every morning Janet Brown goes to work cleaning offices. It calms her, cleanliness, neatness. All the things she’s unable to do with her soul can be achieved with a damp cloth and a splash of bleach. However, the guilt she still carries about a devastating loss that happened eleven years ago, cannot be erased.

Then, Janet finds herself involved in a train crash and, recognising the chance to do what she couldn’t all those years ago, she makes a decision. As news spreads of Janet’s actions, her story inspires everyone around her, and for the first time her life has purpose and the future is filled with hope.

But Janet's story isn't quite what it seems, and as events spiral out of control, she soon discovers that coming clean isn't an option. Because if Janet washes away the lies, what long-buried truths will she finally have to face.

Where We Belong by Sarah Bennett

On paper, Hope Travers has an idyllic life.

Living in a bustling farmhouse with her mum, aunt and uncles, cousin and too many dogs to count, surrounded by the breath-taking Cotswolds countryside, she knows she is privileged and protected.

But all families have secrets, and the Travers family are no exception. Their farmhouse sits in the grounds of the Juniper Meadows estate, passed down through the generations and now being made to pay its own way with a myriad of businesses and projects. When a construction crew uncover what appear to be historical ruins, the history of the Travers family is put under ever closer scrutiny as a dig gets underway.

Hope may have found a blossoming romance with local archaeologist Cameron Ferguson who is running the dig, but when things start to go wrong around the estate and family secrets begin to be revealed, Hope wonders if she’s made a big mistake in digging up the past.

Rasputin and His Russian Queen by Mickey Mayhew

The True Story of Grigory and Alexandra

RASPUTIN’S RELATIONSHIP with Russia’s last Tsarina, Alexandra, notorious from the famous Boney M song, has never been adequately addressed; biographies are always for one or the other, or simply Alexandra and her husband Nicholas. In this new work, Mickey Mayhew reimagines Alexandra for the #MeToo generation; ‘neurotic’; ‘hysterical’; ‘credulous’ and ‘fanatical’ are shunted aside in favour of a sympathetic reimagining of a reserved and pious woman tossed into the heart of Russian aristocracy, with the sole purpose of providing their patriarchal monarchy with an heir. When her longed-for son then developed haemophilia, she turned to the one man capable of curing the child’s agonising pain – Grigory Rasputin. Some say that between them, Grigory and Alexandra brought down 300 years of Romanov rule and ushered in the Russian Revolution, but theirs was simply the story of a mother fighting for the health of her son against a backdrop of bigotry, sexism and increasing secularism. She liked to pray and he liked to party, but when they found themselves steering Russia through the First World War, her gender and his class gave society no option but to destroy them. Bubbling with his trademark bon mots, Mickey Mayhew’s latest book breathes fresh life into two of history’s most fascinating – and polarising – figures. This is the real story of Rasputin and his Russian Queen.

A Noble Cunning by Patricia Bernstein

The Countess and the Tower

A thrilling tale, based on a true story, of one woman's tremendous courage and incomparable wit in trying to rescue her husband from the Tower of London the night before he is to be executed.

The heroine of A Noble Cunning, Bethan Glentaggart, Countess of Clarencefield, a persecuted Catholic noblewoman, is determined to try every possible means of saving her husband's life, with the help of a group of devoted women friends.

Amid the turbulence of the 1715 Rebellion against England's first German king George I, Bethan faces down a mob attack on her home, travels alone from the Scottish Lowlands to London through one of the worst snowstorms in many years, and confronts a cruel king before his court to plead for mercy for her husband Gavin. As a last resort, Bethan and her friends must devise and put in motion a devilishly complex scheme featuring multiple disguises and even the judicious use of poison to try to free Gavin.

Though rich with historical gossip and pageantry, Bethan's story also demonstrates the damage that politics and religious fanaticism can inflict on the lives of individuals.

The Letter by Josephine Cox

Bella can’t wait to be married to her fiancée Sidney, and dreams of the day she will walk up the aisle to be given away by her widowed father, with her bookish sister Alice as her bridesmaid.

Their lives are disturbed when they receive a letter from their fourteen-year-old cousin Millie. Taken in by her austere aunt and uncle when her parents were killed in an accident, Millie says she is being badly treated and pleads to be rescued.

When the two sisters take a trip to find out the truth, things take a troubling turn. Millie is brought home to live with them, her only possessions her ill-fitting clothes and a tatty suitcase.

But soon they are questioning this act of kindness. Does their teenaged cousin just need some love and kindness? Or is she a troublemaker, with only mischief and malice on her mind…?