#BookReview of ‘The Butterfly Conspiracy’ by Vivian Conroy @VivWrites @Crookedlanebks #BookBloggers

#BookReview of ‘The Butterfly Conspiracy’ by Vivian Conroy @VivWrites @Crookedlanebks #BookBloggers

The Butterfly Conspiracy is a new Victorian detective series by mystery writer Vivian Conroy featuring amateur zoologist Merula Merriweather and the enigmatic Lord Raven Royston. I connected with Vivian Conroy on twitter during her regular #Histficchat hosted by @Vivwrites and was eager to find out more so, I was pleased to be sent a copy by Crooked Lane Books.

A COSY MYSTERY TO CUDDLE UP WITH

The publishers promise a cosy mystery and that is exactly what Vivian Conroy delivers. Her new Victorian mystery series features female zoologist Merula Merriweather and I know from tweets with the author that she has a passion for natural history.

Merula’s scientific exploits are a closely hidden secret. Her zoological discoveries are credited to her guardian, Uncle Rupert who has given her free rein to hatch exotic creatures in the conservatory of his London town house because the Royal Zoological Society would never accept a woman.

The story begins on the night they are presenting Attacus atlas to the society freshly hatched from its cocoon during a talk on a newly discovered tarantula as proof to the doubting stiff gentleman that an ugly caterpillar can indeed turn into a beautiful butterfly the size of a pair of hands. But when Merula’s butterfly lands on the arm of the guest of honour,  the very wealthy Lady Sophia who promptly experiences breathing difficulties and dies, Uncle Rupert is arrested for the murder after recently publicly arguing with Lady Sophia over her controlling nephew’s relationship with his daughter Julia.

A New Detective Partnership

Merula finds an unlikely partner to prove her family’s complete innocence in Lord Raven Royston. A man who has unwisely invested in a failed steam-powered coach and a disastrous hair tonic, and yet he sees her for the brilliant young  woman she is and doesn’t hesitate to get involved when Victorian society turns against her. Is it simply that Royston feels partly responsible for encouraging Merula to release the butterfly from its glass case or is he merely drawn to danger and mystery? With the police and far more dangerous people on their tail can Merriweather and Royston reveal the truth before more lives are lost and save her uncle from the gallows? Is there really a conspiracy against them?

I enjoyed the emerging partnership between Merriweather and Royston and as well as the mystery they’re investigating I’m looking forward to finding out more about their pasts. Merula has been the ward of her Uncle Rupert and Aunt Emma since she was a baby and Royston’s family have an abandoned country house where his mother’s met an untimely death. Their next adventure will be on Dartmoor, will there be hounds to be weary of I wonder?

The Butterfly Conspiracy is available in the UK in hardback, paperback and e-book. Vivian is lovely to connect with on twitter, do follow her.

Reviewed by Author Amy Beeson

More About The Author, Vivian Conroy

Having spent many afternoons as a teen on the Nile with Poirot or confronting sinister spinsters in sleepy English towns with Miss Marple, it was only natural Vivian Conroy would start writing mysteries of her own. Atmospheric descriptions, well developed characters and clever plotting made several of her cosy mysteries #1 Amazon US and Canada bestsellers in multiple categories. Besides writing, Vivian enjoys hiking, collecting stationery and trying new desserts, especially if chocolate is involved. This is her first Merriweather and Royston Mystery.

#BookReview of ‘The Cottingley Secret’ by @HazelGaynor @fictionpubteam

#BookReview of ‘The Cottingley Secret’ by @HazelGaynor @fictionpubteam

The Cottingley Secret is an enchanting story that blends historical fiction and saga with touches of magic and romance. It’s the fourth book by author Hazel Gaynor who is New York Times bestselling novelist and published by HarperCollins.

Hazel Gaynor credit Deasy Photographic

The Plot

Inspired by events from a hundred years ago the book is spilt across two time periods. From 1917 we follow the story of nine-year-old Frances Griffiths newly arrived from South Africa to live in Yorkshire with her mother’s family whilst her father fights in the First World War. She becomes the best of friends with her sixteen-year-old cousin Elsie Wright. Do the girls really discover fairies at the bottom of the garden by the beck? Their secret world soon comes public after the cousins claim to have photographed real fairies and even attract the attention and authentication of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In the present day runaway fiancée Olivia Kavanagh has inherited her grandfather’s second-hand bookshop in a small Irish harbour town. On discovering Frances’s manuscript Olivia uncovers not only the story of the Frances and Elsie, but her own family. The two tales slowly intertwine and take root in the imagination like the mysterious fairy garden in the bookshop window box that seems to grow as if by magic.

A Charming Tale

Beautifully written historical fiction blends with discovering new paths after loss and opening up oneself to the magic within. The Cottingley Fairies is famous story but it was exciting to look at it from not only the perspective of the girls but of Olivia who is searching for answers and trying to carve out a new life for herself from grief and disappointed.

Hazel Gaynor interviewed Frances’s daughter Christine Lynch as part of her research for the book. During their long talks Christine told Hazel Gaynor all about the book her mother had always wanted to write. The family historical research comes through as events unfold between 1917 and 1921. After the First World War the need for children and adults to escape the horrors, and the willingness to believe there is more in heaven and earth is a powerful instinct in human beings. Our desire to create meaning from chaos, to believe tomorrow will be better than today is a strong theme for all the characters in the book whether they’re fact or fiction, or living a hundred years ago or today.

The fictional characters of Ellen, Martha and Olivia are very well created and their connection to the Cottingley story takes it beyond history into a more fascinating world. They become the way to explore the story from different perspectives, making each discovery of family secrets more exciting. I really enjoyed the moments with Olivia in the Something Old bookshop on Little Lane, it was charming place to escape to, especially if you do believe in fairies.

Reviewed by Author Amy Beeson

More About The Author, Hazel Gaynor

Hazel Gaynor is a New York Times bestselling, award-winning historical novelist, who lives in County Kildare, Ireland with her husband and two children. Her 2014 debut historical novel The Girl Who Came Home—A Novel of the Titanic hit the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists, and went on to win the 2015 Historical Novel of the Year award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association in London. Her second novel A Memory of Violets, was also a New York Times bestseller, and her third, The Girl from The Savoy was an Irish Times and Globe & Mail bestseller, and finalist for the 2016 Irish Book Awards. Her releases in 2017 – The Cottingley Secret  and Last Christmas in Paris (co-written with Heather Webb) both hit the Canadian Globe & Mail bestseller list.

In autumn 2018, Hazel will release The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, a novel inspired by the true events surrounding the life of Victorian lighthouse keeper, Grace Darling.

Book Review: ‘Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves’ by Rachel Malik

Book Review: ‘Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves’ by Rachel Malik

I connected with rising star Rachel Malik on Facebook Group Book Connectors. Since then I’ve enjoyed her posts on Twitter @rachelmalik99 and shared her love of Daphne du Maurier on instagram. It was one of her Instagram posts that inspired me to reread Rebecca before picking up Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves.

An Original Work Of Literary Fiction

There are times when it is unfair to a contemporary author to read their book immediately after a modern classic. This wasn’t the case with Rachel Malik’s debut novel. The writing is sharp, confident and pleasingly challenging. The reader is engaged and included in analysing the emerging relationship between Berkshire farmer Elsie Boston and her newly arrived Mancunian Land Girl Rene Hargreaves during the early part of World War II and ends after a courtroom drama in 1950s West Country.

The Plot

Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves, begins in 1940, travels back to 1913 and forwards into the 1950s. It is a fiction drawn from the black sheep of the author’s family. An ordinary woman who left her husband and three children before the outbreak of war. The recreation of the land and being part of the English countryside is an almost constant. Creating stark contrast to the wet streets of Winchester during the trial. The relationship between Elsie and Rene unfolds but it isn’t a kiss and tell story. It’s subtle, distant and removed at times whilst layering intimate details that leaves rooms for the reader’s own imagination.

I knew there was going to be a courtroom drama in the book, but when it would come I couldn’t be certain. With every twist and turn of the novel I felt myself wondering, “is this it?” and willing that no harm would come to the unpolished but gentle Elsie and the unconventional industrious Rene. When it did come it was a bolt out of the blue, but I found myself glad feeling that the worst moments I’d suffered as a reader were over, even though the characters troubles were no-where near ended.

I spent one evening in bed unable to turn off the light and stop reading; half-gripped and half in horror of the visitor trespassing into the order and companionship of the “maidenly ladies” secluded home. I couldn’t let sleep come until the crisis came to its climax.

I enjoyed the characters memories of the earliest twentieth century and warmed to Elsie’s longest and enduring love of the silver screen. Like a detective I was on constantly on the look out for signs that the past was catching up with them. Wary and yet excited by the arrival of new characters in large hats, glasses or offering lifts in passing motor cars.

Rachel Malik’s debut novel skillfully and successfully creates a fiction that is both fascinating and unsettling yet full of tenderness and devotion.

Literary Acclaim for the Author

Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves is on the long-list for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Rachel Malik is currently one of four authors to win a place as Writer in Residence at The Gladstone Library, Hawarden, Wales for 2018. She was a lecturer in English Literature at Middlesex University and lives in London.

Reviewed by Author Amy Beeson

5 Stars All Round

My mum, author Sarah Beeson also read the book and thought it was, ‘Touching and enthralling, a story seemingly domestic and everyday which unfolds captivating her reader, thoroughly recommend Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves.’

Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves by Rachel Malik is published by Penguin, Fig Tree and is available in hardback, paperback and ebook.

‘A Cornish Gift’ by Fern Britton #BookReview @Fern_Britton @W6BookCafe @Fictionpubteam @HarperCollinsUK #BookBloggers

‘A Cornish Gift’ by Fern Britton #BookReview @Fern_Britton @W6BookCafe @Fictionpubteam @HarperCollinsUK #BookBloggers

A Cornish Gift by Fern Britton published by  HarperCollins is a delightful collection of short stories available in Hardback and e-book which have previously been published in e-book as separate stories called A Cornish Carol, The Stolen Weekend and The Beach Hut.

If  you’re a Fern Britton fan and have read all her previous books bear in mind that this a collection of previously published ebooks so  you don’t buy the same book twice. But if you haven’t read them this hardback collection of stories would make a lovely gift for someone who is looking for a cosy read this christmas.

Christmas comes to the little village of Pendruggan and Cornwall’s very own Mr Rochester, Piran Ambrose, discovers the true meaning of the festive season when even he can’t resist the village celebrations. Meanwhile, best friends Penny and Helen are embarking on a stolen weekend of blissful indulgence but best laid plans often go awry and the ladies are in for a big surprise. In an idyllic cottage on the Cornish cliffs, the Appleby family and their bearded collie, Molly, are having a holiday to remember. It’s time for a little Cornish escape for all.

full of cornish promise

I read Fern Britton’s Cornish novel A Good Catch last summer and really enjoyed it. Her books are very like her, warm and funny, and this collection of stories were great fun to read. There’s a huge amount of bonne amie in all three stories and it certainly made me want to pack up my bags for a weekend and head from West London to the West Country.

The characters of Ex-Londoner, TV Producer and vicar’s wife Penny, and her otherhalf, the gentle-mannered vicar of Pendruggan Simon, and their good friends Ex-Londoner Helen and her  fisherman boyfriend, historian and brooding Cornishman Pirran, feature in all three stories. As do colourful locals from the village which give the books a saga quality. I recognised characters from A Good Catch as well, and it soon becomes like seeing old friends in the local pub.

There’s a huge element of escapism in the books which makes the tone easy to read and refreshing. As a busy working mum, having the excuse to put on my pjs for an early night to read them felt like a real treat. I read a story a night and passed three evenings in the company of lovingly created characters and enjoyed the ride with the same enthusiasm I would have curled up with a copy of The Famous Five many years ago.

Making the transition from screen to page Fern Britton writes with the same affability, good humour and natural charm that have made her a household name as a presenter.

Reviewed by Author Amy Beeson

Come to Book Club

We’ll be chatting about A Cornish Gift at our virtual Book Club on Facebook Live at 8pm Thursday 26 October. Pop over and join us for some book chat.

#BookReview ‘The Woman at 72 Derry Lane’ by Carmel Harrington @HappyMrsH @W6BookCafe @Fictionpubteam @HarperCollinsUK #BookBloggers

#BookReview ‘The Woman at 72 Derry Lane’ by Carmel Harrington @HappyMrsH @W6BookCafe @Fictionpubteam @HarperCollinsUK #BookBloggers

The Woman at 72 Derry Lane is Carmel Harrington’s fifth novel published by HarperCollins. It’s already published in the author’s home nation of Ireland and will be released in the UK on 16 November in paperback and is already available on kindle and audiobook.

Carmel Harrington’s other autumn read is Cold Feet The Lost Years published by Hodder & Stoughton. So, it was lovely surprise to see The Woman at 72 Derry Lane in ITV’s new series of Cold Feet being read by Adam’s new girlfriend Tina.

On a leafy suburban street in Dublin, beautiful, poised Stella Greene lives with her successful husband, Matt. The perfect couple in every way, Stella appears to have it all. Next door, at number 72 however, lives Rea Brady. Gruff, bad-tempered and rarely seen besides the twitching of her net curtains, rumour has it she’s lost it all…including her marbles if you believe the neighbourhood gossip. But appearances can be deceiving and when Stella and Rea’s worlds collide they realise they have much in common. Both are trapped in a prison of their own making. Has help been next door without them realising it?

Win a Book

We’ll be giving away a copy of The Woman at 72 Derry Lane during our Book Club on Facebook on Thursday 26 October at 8pm. Simply  comment during the live to enter.

Authors Carmel Harrington and Amy Beeson

I met the lovely Carmel Harrington at the HarperCollins Summer Party at the V&A in London and she’s a warm and funny in person as she is on the page.

Plot twist

A cry of “plot twist” is the mum of the Madden Family’s favourite phrase when things don’t go according to plan. Family is a really strong theme throughout this book which is packed with scenes around of the kitchen tables of Dublin sharing hopes, dreams, loss and making plans for the future whilst enjoying the odd take-away and bottle of wine.

The book focuses on the lives of glamorous twenty-seven-year-old Stella at number 70 and her sixty-year-old neighbour Rea at 72. Both women are isolated in their leafy suburban homes and have become physically and mentally trapped by the sorrow of catastrophic pasts events neither of them want to talk about. Stella and Rea’s unlikely friendship creates a lifeline for both women to emerge from the shadows of regret and pain if  only they can overcome their fears and face up to Stella’s charming but chilling husband Matt, before time runs out.

There’s lots of fun, warmth and friendship in the book and I really enjoyed the flamboyant character of Charlie who brings fabulous hair, musicals and laughter into Stella and Rea’s formerly gloomy days.

Family seems to be everything for the central characters in The Woman at 72 Derry Lane, both your biological ties and the family you create from the people who support you and help you come what may.

Reviewed by Author Amy Beeson

Come to Book Club

We’ll be chatting about The Woman at 72 Derry Lane at our virtual Book Club on Facebook Live at 8pm Thursday 26 October. Pop over and join us for some book chat.

‘True Love at the Lonley Hearts Bookshop’ by Annie Darling @_AnnieDarling @W6BookCafe @Fictionpubteam @HarperCollinsUK

‘True Love at the Lonley Hearts Bookshop’ by Annie Darling @_AnnieDarling @W6BookCafe @Fictionpubteam @HarperCollinsUK

True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop is the second romantic novel by author Annie Darling for HarperCollins.

Like the novel’s protagonist, since early adolescence I have been a Jane Austen fan. Like any girl growing up in the 90s with a love of books and period drama, the BBC’s 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice made Elizabeth Bennet the ultimate heroine and Colin Firth as Mr Darcy emerging from the lake of Pemberley in his wet shirt, a crush to end all crushes. Why worry about finding true love when curling up with a cuppa and a box set on a squashy sofa offers perfect escapism?

It’s a truth widely acknowledged that a single woman in possession of a good job, four bossy sisters and a needy cat must also have want of her one true love. Or is it?

The Plot Thickens

When in doubt reluctant bookseller and vicar’s daughter Verity Love asks “What would Elizabeth Bennet Do?”  Verity’s been single by choice since breaking up with her first boyfriend Adam. What she craves is a quiet life in her rent free flat above Bloomsbury romantic bookshop Happy Ever After with her cat Strumpet and multiple copies of her favourite book Pride and Prejudice.

But everyone wants to find true love don’t they? Verity’s friends and family are determined to introduce her to barely eligible bachelors and when her father’s Mr Collins worthy curate is even suggested, Verity needs to put a stop to the unwanted matchmaking but how?

After a chance encounter with handsome architect Johnny who is possession of a good fortune and rather fine house, and no inclination to marry (no, he’s not gay), Verity and Johnny decide to team up and face the summer’s social engagements as “friends” and avoid the blind dates, matchmaking and singles tables.

By the end of the summer, Verity starts to think being in a couple might not be so bad, but Johnny has given his heart away to Caroline Bingleyesque, Marissa, and unlike Mr Darcy he can’t see that she’s no good for him. Will Verity find her happy ending or is there no such thing?

A thoroughly enjoyable read any Jane Austen fan will enjoy and lap up the references to places, people and the comedy of social situations. Find your favourite squashy chair, skip the box set and revel in the romance.

Reviewed by Author Amy Beeson

Come to Book Club

We’ll be chatting about True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop at our virtual Book Club on Facebook Live at 8pm Thursday 26 October. Pop over and join us for some book chat.

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