Category: Rachel’s Random Resources

I’m delighted to share my review for The Players Act 1: All the World’s A Stage by Amy Sparkes #historicalfiction #bookreview

I’m delighted to share my review for The Players Act 1: All the World’s A Stage by Amy Sparkes #historicalfiction #bookreview

Here’s the blurb

How far would you go to save what you truly love?

England, 1715.
When society doesn’t understand you, and your family is out of the picture, a strolling theatre company could be your perfect home…

Ambitious lead actor Thomas is determined to reach Drury Lane and prove to his father that he is not a failure.

Fierce Caroline has a traumatic past and is determined to protect the company which saved her.

Kind-hearted Annie just wants to look after her found family.

So, when their heartbroken manager Robert is injured and decides to fold the struggling company, the players are resolved to change his mind, whatever the cost. Unfortunately for them, the odds are stacked against them. They’ve lost their stage, they still haven’t got a skull for Hamlet, and flamboyant ex-member Piero is hunting them down, with a spot of revenge on his mind…

Is it time for the final bow?

The Players Act 1: All The World’s A Stage gives voice to the forgotten strolling players of the 18th century in this fun, uplifting, and page-turning read.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

  • Energetic, accessible historical fiction
  • Working-class characters
  • Found family
  • Comedy and tragedy
  • Shakespeare
  • LGBTQ+
  • Neurodiversity
  • Mental health issues
  • Multiple POV
  • Heart and hope

Purchase Links 

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-players-act-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Players-Act-All-Worlds-Stage-ebook/dp/B0DY8CM3LX

https://www.amazon.com/Players-Act-All-Worlds-Stage-ebook/dp/B0DY8CM3LX

My Review

The Players Act 1 follows our cast of strolling players from a hurried exit from their latest performance. Dejected and ejected, Thomas decides on a desperate course of action to save his dream of becoming an actor and treading the boards at Drury Lane. Still, he’s forgotten that not everyone in his family shares his dream.

And it’s not only Thomas. We’re treated to the thoughts and feelings of many of our cast, as they endeavour to make the seemingly impossible happen to reverse the strolling players’ bad fortune.

There’s much desperation for our characters, much hope and laughter, and even more disappointment as the storyline rumbles towards its conclusion. The reader, like the main characters, is desperately hoping for some stroke of fortune for our players. Will they earn it, or will this comedy end in tragedy? Read on to find out.

Meet the author

Amy was born in Eastbourne, England, where the sea and South Downs encouraged her love of the outdoors and nurtured her wildness. Her childhood was filled with folk music, caravans and imagination, and she was always dreaming up stories and characters – usually when she was meant to be doing something else. 

She enjoys stories that explore both comedy and tragedy. She is a New York Times bestselling author and her work includes THE HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF MAGIC series, and the picture books for BBC’s THE REPAIR SHOP. THE PLAYERS is her debut novel for adults. 

Amy now lives in Devon with her husband and six children. When she isn’t writing, Amy enjoys drinking tea, climbing trees and playing the piano, although disappointingly she is yet to master doing all three at once.

Image shows author Amy Sparkes

Connect with the author

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I’m delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, Murder Most Wilde. #bookreview #cosymystery #blogtour #avidreader

I’m delighted to welcome a returning Helen Golden to the blog with her new book, Murder Most Wilde. #bookreview #cosymystery #blogtour #avidreader

Here’s the blurb

In the world of amateur theatre, the drama isn’t all onstage…

Tragedy Strikes the Windstanton Players

Popular local actor, Noel Ashworth, who collapsed during the rehearsal of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, was pronounced dead at the scene. As shock ripples through Windstanton’s tight-knit amateur theatre group, the Fenshire Police are looking at them as suspects.

I can’t let Perry’s acting debut end in disaster! With the cast spooked and the local police under-resourced, Bea—along with Perry, Rich, Simon, and her trusty Westie, Daisy must shift through the cast’s petty jealousies and diva behaviour to unmask the killer before they strike again. 

When the show must go on…will everyone make it to opening night?

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Wilde-Right-Investigation-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0DS2PP3WJ

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Wilde-Right-Investigation-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0DS2PP3WJ

My Review

Murder Most Wilde is the latest installment in Helen Golden’s Right Royal Investigation mystery series. I’ve read all the books in the series so far, including all the short stories. Lady Bea and Perry, our amateur detectives, are both fab characters, even if, these days, they do have a large collection of professionals on hand to help out.

This time, we return to Windstanton, after our brief holiday in Portugal. We’ve been hearing about Perry’s debut on the stage for a few books now, and he’s so excited to be cast in The Importance of Being Earnest. But of course, not everything goes to plan, and he and Bea find themselves once more investigating a suspicious death.

New readers will not be disappointed if they dip their toe into this series. It’s always reliably good (that might sound boring, but it’s a compliment). The mysteries are enjoyable to unravel, and it’s always a race to see if I’ll solve it before the characters do (not very often).

Check out my reviews for the other books in this fabulous series.

Spruced Up For Murder

For Richer, For Deader

Not Mushroom For Death

A Dead Herring

A Cocktail to Die For

A Death of Fresh Air

I Kill Always Love You

Meet the author

Helen Golden spins mysteries that are charmingly British, delightfully deadly, and served with a twist of humour.

With quirky characters, clever red herrings, and plots that keep the pages turning, she’s the author of the much-loved A Right Royal Cozy Investigation series, following Lady Beatrice and her friends—including one clever little dog—as they uncover secrets hidden in country houses and royal palaces. Her new historical mystery series, The Duchess of Stortford Mysteries, is set in Victorian England and introduces an equally curious sleuth from Lady Beatrice’s own family tree—where murders are solved over cups of tea, whispered gossip, and overheard conversations in drawing rooms and grand estates.

Helen lives in a quintessential English village in Lincolnshire with her husband, stepdaughter, and a menagerie of pets—including a dog, several cats, a tortoise, and far too many fish.

If you love clever puzzles, charming settings, and sleuths with spark, her books are waiting for you.

Author image for Helen Golden

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It’s happy release day to Warriors of Iron, the second book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy. I’m sharing some photos from my visit to Sutton Hoo #newrelease #MenOfIron #WarriorsOfIron #histfic

It’s happy release day to Warriors of Iron, the second book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy. I’m sharing some photos from my visit to Sutton Hoo #newrelease #MenOfIron #WarriorsOfIron #histfic

Sutton Hoo

As part of my research for the trilogy, I visited Sutton Hoo in July 2024. While it was a fascinating place to visit (see the images below of the surviving grave mounds), it was actually something else my Canadian guide told me that resonated with me for the series. It was that while this area gets a lot of interest, a further gravesite has also been found under where the car park for the visitor centre is now. This gravesite contained thirty-six graves (I think I’ve got the figures correct), twenty-nine of which were burials while the rest were cremations. The car park burials are believed to date to between 510 and c.600, and so before the Sutton Hoo burial of such fame. Fourteen of the graves were warrior graves, buried with shield and spear.

You might wonder why that intrigued me so much, and you’d be correct to do so. But, of course, I wanted to write the series before the advent of what we know as Saxon England, and this was therefore where I needed to be researching. The ‘shiny’ helmet and sword (reconstructions, I know), have a strange allure for us as we live in a time where we don’t need such things (hopefully), but did the earlier warriors have the same? This trip to Sutton Hoo certainly influenced the way I wrote about Wærmund and his fellow warriors. And the trip to the Norfolk Broads reminded me of how pesky bugs can be, and how much they like to nibble me. I came straight home and added that to the storyline. It always pays to remember the little elements that make characters feel very real to readers.

  • Board showing the burial mounds at Sutton Hoo
  • View of one of the burial mounds
  • View of one of the burial mounds from a distance
  • One of the other burials
  • View from the viewing platform
  • Another view from the viewing platform
  • The viewing platform over the Sutton Hoo Burial Mounds
  • Research photo dump with the Sutton Hoo Helmet and image of the burial mounds
Image shows the book cover for Warriors of Iron by author MJ Porter. The cover shows three mounted warriors and also a sword, all with a blue fiery background. The tag line is 'deceit threatens even the strongest.'

Curious about the trilogy? Check out my blog for more details below

Blog links

The Dark Age Chronicles
To what extent can we – or should we – select one date or event as ‘the end of Roman Britain’? #nonfiction
Image shows a map of Early England showing the places mentioned in the text of the book
The Dark Age Chronicles Map

Purchase Links

https://books2read.com/Men-of-Iron

https://books2read.com/WarriorsofIron

Image shows the book cover for Men of Iron by historical fiction author MJ Porter
Image shows the book cover for Warriors of Iron by hstorical fiction author MJ Porter

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It’s happy release day to Warriors of Iron, the second book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy #newrelease #MenOfIron #WarriorsOfIron #histfic

It’s happy release day to Warriors of Iron, the second book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy #newrelease #MenOfIron #histfic

Listen to me waffle about it.

Listen to me read ‘The Story So Far’ from Warriors of Iron

Curious? Check out my blog for more details below

Blog links

The Dark Age Chronicles
To what extent can we – or should we – select one date or event as ‘the end of Roman Britain’? #nonfiction
Image shows a map of Early England showing the places mentioned in the text of the book
The Dark Age Chronicles Map

Purchase Link

https://books2read.com/Men-of-Iron

https://books2read.com/WarriorsofIron

Image shows the book cover for Men of Iron by historical fiction author MJ Porter
Image shows the book cover for Warriors of Iron by hstorical fiction author MJ Porter

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I’m welcoming The Soprano’s Daring Duke by Susanne Dunlap to the blog #blogtour #RegencyRomance #bookreview

Here’s the blurb

A princess with a scandalous secret. A duke desperate for a wealthy bride. A debutante torn between duty and passion.

Newly widowed Princess Adelheid Kinsky thought she was free—until she learns of her abusive late husband’s final betrayal. The son she believed dead, the illegitimate child of a forbidden love, still lives. To secure his future, she must marry within a month—without revealing the truth. Her best prospect? The Duke of Hartland, a notorious rake drowning in debt.

Meanwhile, Hartland sets his sights on Olivia Fontenoy, an heiress whose fortune could solve all his problems. But innocent Olivia dreams of music, not marriage, and seizes the chance to perform in disguise at the King’s Theatre—unwittingly ensnaring everyone she knows in scandal.

As deception and desire collide, Olivia finds herself drawn to Hartland’s closest friend, the quiet yet passionate Marquess of Lewiston—a man who offers her something far more profound than mere security. And for Adelheid, an unexpected alliance may hold the key to her dreams.

With a surprising ending worthy of grand opera, The Soprano’s Daring Duke is a sweeping Regency tale of love, risk, and the courage to defy expectations.

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DZHXZZ6H

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0DZHXZZ6H

My Review

The Soprano’s Daring Duke is a Regency romance with a difference. It starts with a bang as we’re introduced to Adelheid at her husband’s deathbed, where she reacts, not with grief, but rather delight, until the terms of his will reveal her dilemma.

Olivia is our second female lead, who, awkward and too tall, and not at all the Regency ideal wife, longs for something other than marriage, but is being pushed into the marriage market by her mother. The scene is set, and all the reader need do is wait for our male lead to appear with his own Regency problems and dilemmas.

This is the second of Susanna Dunlap’s Regency novels I’ve read and it will delight fans of the genre while placing our main players in situations a little different to those we might expect, and all with a delightful ring of authenticity and dilemma.

Check out my review for The Dressmaker’s Secret Earl

Meet the author

Susanne Dunlap is the award-winning author of over a dozen historical novels, as well as an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach in fiction, nonfiction, and memoir. Her love of history began in academia with a PhD in music history from Yale. Her novel THE PORTRAITIST won first prize in its category in the 2022 Eric Hoffer Book Awards, and was a finalist in the CIBA Goethe Awards and the Foreword Indies Awards. THE ADORED ONE: A NOVEL OF LILLIAN LORRAINE AND FLORENZ ZIEGFELD, won first place in its category in the 2023 CIBA Goethe Awards for Late Historical Fiction. Today, she lives, coaches, and writes in beautiful Biddeford, Maine.

Connect with the author

https://susanne-dunlap.com

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I recorded myself introducing the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy #newrelease #MenOfIron #WarriorsOfIron #histfic

It’s happy release day to Men of Iron, the first book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy #newrelease #MenOfIron #histfic

Listen to me waffle about it.

Listen to me (almost competently) introduce you to the Dark Age Chronicles and my two main characters, Meddi and Wærmund, or Wærmund and Meddi (you’ll have to listen to find out:)

Curious about the trilogy? Check out my blog post for more details below (or the really nerdy one below that)

The Dark Age Chronicles
To what extent can we – or should we – select one date or event as ‘the end of Roman Britain’? #nonfiction

Purchase Link for Men of Iron

books2read.com/Men-of-Iron

Warriors of Iron (book 2) Coming 13th July

Image shows the book cover for Warriors of Iron by hstorical fiction author MJ Porter

Preorder Link (releases 13th July)

books2read.com/WarriorsofIron

Here’s the blurb

During Britannia’s tribal age only the strongest prevail…

Britain AD541

Seeress Meddi has been restored to her rightful position of influence within the Eorlingas tribe. But a heavy cloud hangs over the tribe’s survival with the escape of the treacherous Elen who seeks to exact a bloody vengeance following Meddi’s reinstatement and her downfall.

Meddi knows Elen will return to settle the blood feud and the tribe must be ready to face this deadly threat with iron. They must toil day and night to harness the power of the lost magiks to make the weapons needed to overpower Elen.

Meanwhile, Wærmund, a warrior of Saxon descent, has escaped his enforced captivity and vows vengeance against his captors. He too hungers for the promise of sharp blades and travels West to find those who can fashion iron into blades sharp enough to kill. But when a lone woman befriends the band of warriors, promising him even more than that, he’s beguiled by her tale of deceit amongst her own tribe, so reminiscent of his own.

Unbeknown, Meddi and Wærmund share a common enemy and one who is just as belligerent as they are…

The all important map for the series

Image shows a map of Early England showing the places mentioned in the text of the book
The Dark Age Chronicles Map
Image shows the book cover for Men of Iron by historical fiction author MJ Porter
Image shows the book cover for Warriors of Iron by hstorical fiction author MJ Porter

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I’m excited to share the cover for Warriors of Iron, the second book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy #newrelease #WarriorsOfIron #histfic

It’s happy release day to Men of Iron, the first book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy #newrelease #MenOfIron #histfic

Listen to me waffle about it.

Here’s the beauty

Image shows the book cover for Warriors of Iron by hstorical fiction author MJ Porter

Preorder Link (releases 13th July)

books2read.com/WarriorsofIron

Here’s the blurb

During Britannia’s tribal age only the strongest prevail…

Britain AD541

Seeress Meddi has been restored to her rightful position of influence within the Eorlingas tribe. But a heavy cloud hangs over the tribe’s survival with the escape of the treacherous Elen who seeks to exact a bloody vengeance following Meddi’s reinstatement and her downfall.

Meddi knows Elen will return to settle the blood feud and the tribe must be ready to face this deadly threat with iron. They must toil day and night to harness the power of the lost magiks to make the weapons needed to overpower Elen.

Meanwhile, Wærmund, a warrior of Saxon descent, has escaped his enforced captivity and vows vengeance against his captors. He too hungers for the promise of sharp blades and travels West to find those who can fashion iron into blades sharp enough to kill. But when a lone woman befriends the band of warriors, promising him even more than that, he’s beguiled by her tale of deceit amongst her own tribe, so reminiscent of his own.

Unbeknown, Meddi and Wærmund share a common enemy and one who is just as belligerent as they are…

Curious about the trilogy? Check out my blog post for more details below

Blog links

The Dark Age Chronicles

https://mjporterauthor.blog/2015/03/28/a-discussion-of-early-anglo-saxon-sources/

Image shows a map of Early England showing the places mentioned in the text of the book
The Dark Age Chronicles Map

Purchase Link for Men of Iron, the first book in the trilogy

books2read.com/Men-of-Iron

Image shows the book cover for Men of Iron by historical fiction author MJ Porter
Image shows the book cover for Warriors of Iron by hstorical fiction author MJ Porter

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I’m delighted to spotlight Metropolis by Colin Garrow, a historical crime novel set in Edinburgh #blogtour #histfic

Here’s the blurb

Edinburgh, 1936. People are disappearing. The police are clueless. Can Finlay MacBeth track down the perpetrator before someone else goes missing?

Haunted by his recent past, Professor Finlay MacBeth returns to his home town to take up a new post at the university. Within hours, his reputation for solving the occasional murder prompts the police to ask for his help. Four men—seemingly unconnected—have vanished into thin air. MacBeth must find whatever it is that links the men before the kidnapper strikes again. 

But the police aren’t the only ones interested in MacBeth’s activities, and the amateur sleuth soon discovers that finding the missing men is the least of his problems…

In this thriller series set in Edinburgh, Metropolis is book #1 in the Finlay MacBeth Thriller series.

Book cover for Metropolis by Colin Garrow

Purchase Link

https://geni.us/ps3XiW

Meet the author

Colin Garrow grew up in a former mining town in Northumberland. He has worked in a plethora of professions including taxi driver, antiques dealer, drama facilitator, theatre director and fish processor, and has occasionally masqueraded as a pirate. 

He has published more than thirty books, and his short stories have appeared in several literary mags, most recently in Witcraft, and Flash Fiction North. Colin lives in a humble cottage in Northeast Scotland where he writes novels, stories, poems and the occasional song.

He also plays several musical instruments and makes rather nice vegan cakes.

Author Colin Garrow

Connect with Colin

Check out my reviews for Colin’s other books

Terminal Black

Crucial Black

The Watson Letters

Blood on the Tyne

I’m delighted to spotlight This Ruined Place by Michael Lawrence #blogtour #histfic #WW2

Here’s the blurb

Evy Miller thinks a summer with her grandparents in sleepy Dorset will be painfully dull. Her suspicions are confirmed when Juby, a wild-haired, lanky old man, strolls through her grandparents’ doorway. At first, she thinks he’s nothing more than an odd duck who charms her grandmother and annoys her grandfather. The last thing she expects is to become his companion on visits to the small village of Rouklye, whose entire population was evicted during WWII. 
She has no idea that the reason for Juby’s visits will become a defining moment in her life and change her understanding of history and her own family forever.

 Purchase Link 

https://books2read.com/u/bwBNZy

Meet the author

MICHAEL LAWRENCE has written and published a great many books, but he’s done a few other too. For instance, after leaving art school he began training as a graphic designer in a London studio before morphing into a photographer. As a photographer he took pictures for advertising agencies, publishers and newspapers, of pop stars and politicians, of fashion models and underwear, and many other kinds of people and things besides. He also worked in a travelling circus for a little while, and has been an antiques dealer, co-owned two art galleries, and made hundreds of paintings, drawings and experimental digital images. One of his private joys is recording songs (many of which he’s written) under the alias Aldous U.

As a writer he’s won the odd award, had books translated into twenty or so languages (one of which – ‘Young Dracula’ – was the inspiration for five BBC-TV series), has shuffled onto stages at literary festivals, and been interviewed on TV and radio. ‘There’s more,’ he says, ‘but I don’t want to bore you. There’s a lot of me in the Rainey novels, but I’m not saying which bits.’

Connect with the author

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I’m sharing my review for Fields of Glory by Michael Jecks #newrelease #histfic #blogtour

Here’s the blurb

1346. France. King Edward III is restless. Despite earlier victories the French crown remains intact. Determined to bring France under his own rule, Edward has devised a new plan of attack – one which he believes will finally bring the French army to its knees: a final, cataclysmic battle …

Berenger Fripper, Vintener of a pox-ridden mob of sixteen who make up the Vintaine of Sir John de Sully, storms the beaches of Normandy to bring victory to their king. But the French are nowhere to be seen…

And so Berenger leads his Vintaine through France and onward to battle – the Battle of Crécy – one which will both bond and break his men and be a decisive turning point in the Hundred Years’ War.

Image shows the book cover for Fieldsof Glory by author Michael Jecks. The image shows 5 mounted medieval warriors, one holding a banner, hurrying towards the viewer with a battlescene image behind them

Purchase Link

 https://mybook.to/Fieldsof

My Review

Fields of Glory by Michael Jecks is a novel about the Hundred Years’ War in all its bloody glory. Featuring an ensemble cast of characters, every person has their own story to tell, hidden behind the veneer of bloody war, and the demands of an intolerant king, who appears to preach reconciliation with the French but finds every excuse to change his mind.

I can’t say any of this ragtag collection of men is particularly endearing. Sir John cares more for his horse than his men, while King Edward and the Prince of Wales are just as thoughtless regarding the lives they’re destroying. This makes it a very realistic portrayal, if not for the faint-hearted. Indeed, if seeking some semblance of empathy between the characters, we must look to the men of the Vintaine, and not those who command them.

A blood-drenched traipse through France will bring our characters the opportunity to earn battle booty, if only they can live through it. Fields of Glory is a must-read for fans of the genre and those interested in the Hundred Years’ War.

Meet the author

Studied actuarial science, then became a computer salesman for 13 years- after the 13th company folded, he turned to writing.

He’s the author of 50 novels, 6 novellas, 4 collaborative books and short stories. His tales are inspired by history and legends, but are all grounded in real life and real people, what motivates them, and why they turn to violence. 

Founder of Medieval Murderers, he has served on the committees of: Historical Writers’ Association, CWA and Detection Club. He has judged the Debut Dagger, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and other prizes, as well as serving as Dagger liaison officer and CWA Chair. He has taught writing at Swanwick and Evesham, and tutored for the Royal Literary Fund. He now runs South West Writers in Devon. 

His work has been celebrated by Visconti and Conway Stewart pens; 2014 he was International Guest of Honour at the Bloody Words festival in Toronto, and Grand Master of the first parade in the New Orleans Mardi Gras.

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/MichaelJecksNews

Bookbub profile: @michaeljecks

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