historical fiction – Page 8

Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease

It’s (nearly) happy release day to Storm of Mercia. Return to the world of young Icel in the ninth book in the Eagle of Mercia Series. #histficbook #newrelease

Listen to me talk about Storm of Mercia (and other books too because it’s hard to stay on track)

Wessex has never been Mercia’s ally, neither has it been her only enemy.

Wessex, AD836

The Viking raiders’ devastation has been halted once more by the shields of Mercia as opposed to Wessex. But their whereabouts are unknown.

King Wiglaf of Mercia is keen to ensure the Viking raiders are swept from his shared border with Wessex but these Viking ships are quick and difficult to track and Icel is once more deployed with Ealdorman Ælfstan warriors to do his King’s bidding. However, Icel’s quest is beset with many more obstacles and it’s not all about the seax and shield.

Worrying news from home overshadows Icel’s every deadly encounter. Will the storms of war keep him away or has he time to make one more desperate journey back to Tamworth?

With raging seas driving him ever further from Mercia’s shores, and the threat of a new conspiracy against the Mercian kingship will Icel overpower the sands of time, or will he be defeated by his deadliest nemesis yet?

Preorder now (releasing on 1st April)

https://amzn.to/4a3G1ed

Check out the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles series page

If you can’t get enough of young Icel, you need to try The Mercian Ninth Century Series

AND releasing on 7th May, The Eagle Will Rise, the first book in The Sundered Kingdom series (for anyone who’s curious, many of the Easter eggs for Storm of Mercia will show up in The Eagle Will Rise).

Sign up to my Boldwood Books newsletter to keep up to date with all things Icel… https://bit.ly/MJPorterNews

Or, you can order a signed paperback copy directly from me. Check out my bookstore.

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The Secret Sauce is now available in audiobook format #histfic #historicalmystery

The Secret Sauce audiobook is now available from Audible, Apple Books and Amazon

Check out the beginning of The Secret Sauce, narrated by the fabulous Matt Coles.

In the UK, follow this referral link

In Australia, follow this referral link

In Canada, follow this referral link

In the US, follow this referral link

(I’d forgotten that Audible offered referral links to authors/producers – if you click on of the links, Audible rewards me and Matt:))

Here’s the blurb

Birmingham, England, November 1944.

Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is summoned to a suspicious death at the BB Sauce factory in Aston on a wet Monday morning in late November 1944.

Greeted by his enthusiastic sergeant, O’Rourke, Sam Mason finds himself plunged into a challenging investigation to discover how Harry Armstrong met his death in a vat containing BB Sauce – a scene that threatens to put him off BB Sauce on his bacon sandwiches for the rest of his life.

Together with Sergeant O’Rourke, Mason follows a trail of seemingly unrelated events until something becomes very clear. The death of Harry Armstrong was certainly murder, and might well be connected to the tragedy unfolding at nearby RAF Fauld. While the uncertainty of war continues, Mason and O’Rourke find themselves seeking answers from the War Office and the Admiralty, as they track down the person who murdered their victim in such an unlikely way.

Join Mason and O’Rourke for the third book in the quirky, historical mystery series, as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.

The Secret Sauce is available in ebook, audio, paperback and hardback. Or order a paperback directly from me via my SumUp store.

Check out The Erdington Mysteries series page for more details on The Custard Corpses, The Automobile Assassination, The Secret Sauce and The Barrage Body.

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Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Viking Conqueror by JC Duncan #blogtour #historicalfiction #HaraldHardrada

Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Viking Conqueror by JC Duncan #blogtour #historicalfiction #HaraldHardrada

Here’s the blurb

Born to be king. Destined to die for glory.

1066 AD, Norway

Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, the Thunderbolt of the North, reigns supreme; undefeated on the battlefield and unchallenged at home. His banner, Land-Waster, flies triumphant everywhere he marches. Everything that was stolen from his brother, King Olaf, has been regained.

But power does not satiate. Glory does not fill the empty void in an ambitious heart. Victory is an elixir that runs dry no matter how freely it flows. No matter the height on which the triumphant stand, there, in the corner of his eye, is the glitter of another conquest.

Harald has achieved more than any man of his time, but fate is not done with him. His destiny lies on the banks of a quiet river in England’s green and pleasant land – Stamford Bridge.

To finish his great story, to forge the empire he always desired, all the last Viking conqueror must do is defeat a worthy opponent; King Harold of England, and seize his country and his crown.

His life changed nations.
His death will change the world.

The thrilling conclusion in the extraordinary tale of Harald Hardrada ‘The Last Viking‘. A formidable warrior king known for his military prowess, ambition, and ruthlessness.

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/VikingConqueror

My Review

So here we are. This is the last book in the saga of Harald Hardrada, a man we’ve always known is destined to die at Stamford Bridge in the tumultuous events of 1066.

JC Duncan has spun us a fabulous tale of Hardrada’s life, never stinting to show us what Hardrada was before that fateful day, and this final instalment remains as triumphant as earlier books in the series, even if, Harald as king of Norway isn’t perhaps as filled with such fabulous stories of his brave daring do and his astonishing life as the earlier books. But then, he must earn his title of Hardrada – or hard ruler.

We move inexorably towards the events of Stamford Bridge with the ever loyal Eric returning to Harald’s side. It all seems so easy to accomplish close to Jorvik. So easy, and yet…it is not. Harald, at long last, finds a worthy opponent, one worthy of matching him in battle.

Not only does Harald’s story near its conclusion, but our narrator and his reasons for telling his tale are finally revealed as well.

I’ve loved this series by JC Duncan following the life of Harald Hardrada. It’s been fascinating to learn about his time away from Norway and all about that fateful day in 1066, which is recounted poignantly, and does indeed show Harald as the battle commander he was – ruthless, ambitious. Honourable (mostly). If you’ve not yet started the series, go pick up Warrior Prince now. You will not be disappointed.

Check out my review for book 1, 2 and 3, Warrior Prince, Raven Lord and

Meet the author

JC Duncan is a well-reviewed historical fiction author, with a passion for Vikings. When he isn’t writing or doing his full-time engineering job, James is happiest being an amateur bladesmith

Connect with JC Duncan

https://bit.ly/JCDuncanNews

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-c-duncan

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I’m welcoming The Teacher’s Noble Heart by Susanne Dunlap to the blog #blogtour #RegencyRomance #bookreview

I’m welcoming The Teacher’s Noble Heart by Susanne Dunlap to the blog #blogtour #RegencyRomance #bookreview

Here’s the blurb

In Regency Cornwall, governess Miss Wilkins has always survived by being sensible, capable, and self-reliant. When she dares to take a bold step toward independence, she has no intention of complicating her life—or her heart.

Her encounters with James Pentarrant, the steadfast captain of the Delabole slate quarry, are marked less by romance than by spirited disagreement. Self-contained and disciplined, James challenges her views at every turn, even as he respects her resolve. What begins as wary sparring and mutual resistance gradually deepens into an understanding neither expected nor sought.

Alongside their unfolding story, a young heiress newly returned to Cornwall hides a calling that defies convention. When a moment of danger on the moor—and the inevitable gossip that follows—forces her into an unintended engagement, assumptions harden and emotions become dangerously entangled. Her growing affection for her own sparring partner, a gentle country doctor with the manners of a true gentleman and a secret of his own, only further unsettles what society is determined to set in place.

Set against the rugged beauty of Cornwall’s coast, quarries, and windswept moors, The Teacher’s Noble Heart is a tender Regency romance of intertwined lives, mistaken conclusions, and love discovered in spite of every sensible intention.

Purchase Link

My Review

The Teacher’s Noble Heart is the fourth of Susanne Dunlap’s Regency romances I’ve read, and I’ve enjoyed all of them (see my reviews below for the previous books). Every book offers something a little different, while still delivering on what we all expect from a Regency romance.

In this story, we are transported to Cornwall, where society is a little different to that of London and yet mostly governed by the same conventions, even if some elements are a little less refined. The addition of our working nobleman and the mystery of the new local doctor adds a delightful element to the story of our two heroines,as does our less-than-typical professions of the two women.

A charming Regency Romance, offering something a little different to stories of London and the Ton and sure to delight fans of the genre.

Check out my review for The Dressmaker’s Secret Earl and The Soprano’s Daring Duke

Meet the author

Susanne Dunlap started out a historian, became an award-winning historical novelist with fourteen published novels for adults and teens, and is now the author of the Regency romance series, Double-Dilemma Romance. She lives and writes in a converted textile mill in Biddeford, Maine.

Connect with the author

https://susanne-dunlap.com

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I’m spotlighting Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933-1946 by Barbara Kent Lawrence #BothSidesOfThePond #HistoricalFiction #WorldWar2History #MyFamilysWar #maineauthor #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m spotlighting Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933-1946 by Barbara Kent Lawrence #BothSidesOfThePond #HistoricalFiction #WorldWar2History #MyFamilysWar #maineauthor #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m spotlighting Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933-1946 by Barbara Kent Lawrence

Here’s the blurb

In January of 1939 when Barbara Greene, a beautiful young British actress, met Joe Kennedy, Jr., son of the American Ambassador, she could not have expected that their relationship would lead to her emigrating to the United States and learning to pilot a plane. Neither could her brother, Kent, have foreseen his bitter retreat from Dunkirk when he left England in January 1940 to fight in France, or his subsequent service on the frontlines in Cornwall, North Africa, Sicily, and Burma.

In this intensively researched war story of the author’s family, we also hear the stories of other ordinary people who survived extraordinary circumstances. Richly illustrated with photographs and documents, “Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933 – 1946” is a captivating book.

Praise for Both Sides of the Pond:

“Author Barbara Kent Lawrence weaves a rich tapestry of the lives of her British mother and uncle from 1933 to 1946, before, during, and just after World War II. …
War stories are very personal. This is such a story, and it offers insight into how two young people navigated difficult years that altered the trajectories of the lives they thought they would live. It is a worthy read, written beautifully. Don’t miss it.“
~ Patricia Walkow, Military Writers Society of America

“I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. History and the complexity of human relationships unfold with uncommon grace.“
~ Barbara Lazear Ascher, winner, most recently, of Pushcart’s Editors Book Award for Ghosting: A Widow’s Voyage Out.

Purchase Link

Amazon UK Paperback Buy Link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Both-Sides-Pond-Familys-1933-1946/dp/B0FMF2NTQZ/

Amazon US Paperback Buy Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Both-Sides-Pond-Familys-1933-1946/dp/B0FMF2NTQZ/

Meet the author

Dr. Lawrence is the author of many articles and nine books, including an award-winning dissertation about the influence of culture on aspirations in Maine. Her new book, Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933 – 1945, is available in book stores and on amazon.com.

A former professor, she has taught courses in anthropology and sociology, research, and writing non-fiction and memoir. Lawrence grew up in New York City and Washington D.C., then earned a BA in anthropology from Bennington College, an MA in sociology from New York University, and an Ed.D. in Administration, Policy and Planning from Boston University.

In addition to teaching, Lawrence has worked for the Department of Social Services and the Housing Development Administration in New York, directed a small museum in Maine, co-run a brokerage and construction company, consulted for the Rural School and Community Trust and KnowledgeWorks, and started four non-profit organizations supporting the environment and students.

When not working she loves to garden, knit, and go for walks, pastimes she learned from her British mother. She lives in Maine and is working on the third novel in her Islands series.

https://linktr.ee/barbarakentlawrenceauthor

https://barbaralawrence.com/