Tag: Melissa Addey

I’m sharing my review for To Win Her Hand by Melissa Addey #regencyromance #blogtour #bookreview #festiveread

I’m sharing my review for To Win Her Hand by Melissa Addey #regencyromance #blogtour #bookreview #festiveread

Here’s the blurb


They’ve been engaged since they were children, so he sees no need to woo her. She wants a love match and is determined to find an alternative suitor. Perhaps a Christmas trapped together in snowy London will change both their minds. 

Lord Comerford has returned from the navy to claim his title, but ton life appears shallow after active service and the woman he has been promised to since birth seems a frivolous child, only interested in parties and clothes.

Lady Celia is hoping her betrothed will make her heart skip a beat – but dour Lord Comerford hardly fits the bill, so she’s planning to call off the wedding just as soon as she can find a better suitor.

Trapped in snow-covered London, the two patch together Christmas celebrations and in so doing find that actions speak louder than words and that an arranged marriage may turn out to contain a spark of romance. 

A seasonal Regency romance, full of historical detail and festive fun, as a couple find out that a dutiful promise might be joyful after all. The Season has begun, the ton is gathered… will Christmas work its magic for Alexander and Celia?

Purchase Links

https://mybook.to/RegencyOutsiders

My Review

To Win Her Hand adopts the old Regency romance storyline of both main characters being unable to speak their minds to one another. Instead, we hear their thoughts as they both manage to completely misunderstand the other, leading to Lady Celia deciding she can’t possibly marry the man she’s been engaged to since she was a child. This is a nice set-up for what comes next (although, I do find myself gnashing my teeth at these people. Grrr. Why can’t they just speak their minds:))

But, all this is to change when Celia and Lord Comerford find themselves ‘thrown’ together and unable to escape one another over the Christmas season. What follows are a charming collection of scenes where both begin to realise they’ve been too hasty. But, of course, it wouldn’t be a Regency romance without more miscommunication between our pair.

To Win Her Hand is another charming Regency romance from Melissa Addey. In her Regency Outsiders series, she offers readers something a little different, with her main characters constrained by a society that misunderstands them. It is quite refreshing, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the books in the series (although they are standalone novels – you don’t need to read the previous books as each one has new characters – but you would be missing out).

Check out my review for Lady for A Season, the first book in the Regency Outsiders series, and The Viscount’s Pearl (they are all standalone novels). And, check out my reviews for Melissa Addey’s Roman books, From the Ashes and Beneath the Waves.

Meet the author


Melissa Addey writes richly researched historical fiction inspired by what she calls “the footnotes of history” – forgotten stories and intriguing lives from the past. Her novels span Ancient Rome, medieval Morocco, 18th-century China, and Regency England. She has a PhD in Creative Writing, was Writer in Residence at the British Library, and lives in London with her family. Discover her books (and get a free novella) at www.melissaaddey.com

Connect with the author

Check out my review for From The Ashes, Melissa Addey’s Roman-era historical fiction set around the events of Vesuvius and the building of the Colosseum.

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I’m sharing my review for The Viscount’s Pearl by Melissa Addey #regencyromance #blogtour #bookreview

Here’s the blurb


He’s a carefree rake who wants a marriage of convenience.

She’s an awkward spinster who doesn’t want to marry at all. 

Fate has other plans in store for them both. 

Laurence enjoys his dalliances with the married ladies of society, and thinks marriage is only a matter of convenience. He’s on the lookout for a practical woman accustomed to society. Frances is an odd and awkward young woman, more at home gathering shells on the beach than in the ballrooms of London, hoping to stay a spinster forever.

When the two meet in Margate, will their initial dislike of one another turn into something important?

While Laurence finds his life growing shallow, Frances wonders if love might be worth making a bold move for. Can she find her way into Laurence’s heart, and will he undertake to love her, just the way she is?

A warm-hearted Regency romance, full of historical detail and emotional discovery, as two opposites find they might just attract. The Season has begun, the ton is gathered… who knows what the tides will bring for Laurence and Frances.

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0DW3RNQNT

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DW3RNQNT

My Review

The Viscount’s Pearl by Melissa Addey is a charming and thrilling Regency romance with a difference.

Our main character, Frances, is her mother and father’s despair, about to start her fourth scandalous season with no match. She’s outspoken, easily overwhelmed by society’s expectations and also entirely assured of her own mind. And it doesn’t involve marrying when she already has a fortune to her name. The only person who seems to understand her is her aging godfather, who happens to be Laurence’s uncle.

In contrast, Laurence is entirely at home amongst society’s expectations of him, until his uncle asks him to think again about his plans for the future, which he finds himself doing whether he wishes to or not.

Laurence and Frances are engaging main characters, but it is Frances who perhaps shines a little brighter. I adored that the author never worked to soften Frances’ awkwardness. Rather Laurence must work to accommodate her if they’re ever to be happy together.

This is both your usual regency romance and also not. But it is a joy to read and thoroughly enjoyable, and I admire the author for accurately portraying Frances as who she is and for maintaining consistency.

Check out my review for Lady for A Season, the first book in the Regency Outsiders series. And, check out my reviews for Melissa Addey’s Roman books, From the Ashes and Beneath the Waves.

Meet the author


I grew up and was home educated on an Italian hill farm. I now live in London with my husband, two children and a black and white cat called Holly who enjoys the editing process as there is so much scrap paper involved.

I mainly write historical fiction, inspired by what I call ‘the footnotes of history’: forgotten stories or part-legends about interesting people and places. I have a PhD in Creative Writing, for which I wrote The Garden of Perfect Brightness and an academic thesis about balancing fact and fiction in historical fiction. 

I like to move from one historical era to another, finding stories to share, like a travelling minstrel. So far I’ve been to Ancient Rome, medieval Morocco, 18th century China and Regency England. Join me on my travels: browse my books. 

If you’d like to know more about me and my books, visit my website www.MelissaAddey.com where there are free novellas, book trailers, interviews, videos of research trips, info for book clubs and more. 

Connect with the author


www.MelissaAddey.com 

Check out my review for From The Ashes, Melissa Addey’s Roman-era historical fiction set around the events of Vesuvius and the building of the Colosseum.

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Today, I’m welcoming Melissa Addey and her novel, Beneath the Waves, to the blog #bookreview #historicalfiction #highlyrecommended

Here’s the blurb

The Colosseum is being flooded. And emotions are rising to the surface.
Rome, 80AD. The Emperor orders the Colosseum to be flooded. There must be vast battles, spectacular props and epic storytelling. Meanwhile Emperor Titus must somehow be persuaded to give up his love affair with the Jewish Queen, Berenice.

Marcus, manager of the amphitheatre, must face the dangers, mistakes and emotions of the watery depths as new members join his team. His scribe, Althea, must find out what she wants from life, now that she is a freedwoman, but a woman’s choices are not always free.

Words may be dangerous, but desires must be spoken out loud. As the backstage team takes on new challenges, a change is coming.

Beneath the Waves is the gripping second novel in the Colosseum historical fiction series. If you enjoy immersing yourself in the past and finding characters you care about, then join the Colosseum’s tough, loyal and quick-witted backstage team.

Trailer Link – https://youtu.be/CbM54gjiT20

Purchase Link 

https://amzn.to/44Fh43J

My Review

Beneath the Waves is the thrilling second part of The Colosseum series by Melissa Addey.

Picking up the tale of Althea, a Greek slave woman, from where we left her at the end of From the Ashes, this is the story of the ending of the 100 days of Games, begun in From the Ashes, and also takes the reader through to the second year in the life of the Colosseum.

Our much-loved characters reappear in Beneath the Waves, along with a few new additions. While From the Ashes focused very much on surviving the events of Vesuvius, the plague and the fire that our characters suffered, book 2 is perhaps less filled with huge peril for everyone, as instead, it focuses on the peril our main characters experience. Their humanity is very evident. They are people. They don’t always do the right thing. They are perhaps beset with irrational fears. And they also perhaps do what they’re supposed to do when we, as a modern audience, would demand alternatives. Althea and Marcus are characters of their time, which is one of the huge strengths of the novel.

I adore the descriptions of the Games and the minutiae of day-to-day life, and this second novel builds very much to an impressive and potentially dangerous ending for Marcus, Althea and their young charge.

I so look forward to book 3.

Read my review for From the Ashes here.

(And, if you’re a fan of Simon Turney as well, then reading this series alongside his Domitian, will ensure you know what’s happening to the toffs as well as the plebs.)

Meet the author

Melissa Addey writes historical fiction set in Ancient Rome, medieval Morocco and 18th century China. She is a full time self-published author and runs workshops for authors wanting to be entrepreneurial. Her books have been selected for Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society and won the inaugural Novel London award. She has been the Leverhulme Trust Writer in Residence at the British Library, has a PhD in Creative Writing and works with the Alliance of Independent Authors on their campaigns. 

If you’d like to try her writing, visit http://www.melissaaddey.com to pick up a free novella, The Cup.

Connect with Melissa Addey 

www.melissaaddey.com where readers can get a free novella that starts another series (medieval Morocco).

https://www.facebook.com/MelissaAddeyAuthor

https://twitter.com/MelissaAddey

Today, I’m welcoming Melissa Addey and her novel, From the Ashes to the blog #blogtour

Here’s the blurb

They called it the Flavian Amphitheatre. We call it the Colosseum. Let the Games begin. 

Rome, 80AD. A gigantic new amphitheatre is being built. The Emperor has plans for gladiatorial Games on a scale no-one has ever seen before. But the Games don’t just happen by themselves. They must be made. And Marcus, the man in charge of creating them, has just lost everything he held dear when Pompeii disappeared under the searing wrath of Vesuvius.

Now it will fall to Althea, the slave woman who serves as his scribe, to ensure the Colosseum is inaugurated on time – and that Marcus makes his way out of the darkness that calls to him.

Can a motley crew comprising a retired centurion, slaves, a prostitute and an ex Vestal Virgin pull off the greatest gladiatorial Games ever seen? Or will they fail and find themselves in the arena as punishment? Time is running out to deliver an unforgettable spectacle.

From the Ashes is the first, fast-paced novel in the gripping new Colosseum series. Follow the quick-witted and fiercely loyal backstage team of the Colosseum through the devastation of Pompeii, plague and fire. This is historical fiction at its most captivating: both action-packed and tender.

Take a front row seat at the Colosseum’s inaugural gladiatorial Games. Buy From the Ashes today.

Trailer Link – https://youtu.be/CbM54gjiT20

Purchase Link 

Amazon UK Amazon US

My Review

From the Ashes is a captivating tale of Rome in the aftermath of the eruption of Vesuvius. Titan is Emperor (incidentally, I’ve not long read Simon Turney’s take on Domitian, and I felt as though I knew the time period well), and the Flavian Amphitheatre is to be opened in honour of his father. As such, he is invested in its success.

From the Ashes, told through the eyes of Althea, a Greek slave woman, is a well-told and thrilling story of the Colosseum by those who ensure the spectacle is arranged and carried out as expected for the people attending the games, including the Emperor and despite the year of the three disasters, the eruption of Vesuvius, a plague and a fire that threatens Rome itself.

Althea is a fabulous main character. Her viewpoint, as a slave woman who became a freewoman, who once lived in Pompei and yet has knowledge of Rome, ensures that while the reader might be a stranger to the era, she certainly is not. The telling of the tale is thrilling.

Her story, and that of Marcus and the rest of the group of men and women labouring to ensure the opening of the Flavian Amphitheatre goes without a hitch, is human and real – Marcus, grieving, Althea, out of her depths and the rest of their collection of allies, ensure we know all about the people behind the scenes. Some scenes are distressing, and I appreciated that the author made no apology for them and still included them. As sophisticated as elements of the Roman way of life sound, some elements chime against today’s sensibilities.

I thoroughly enjoyed From the Ashes. It is a well-told story of the ‘plebs’ of Rome, and it is a triumph.

Meet the author

Melissa Addey writes historical fiction set in Ancient Rome, medieval Morocco and 18th century China. She is a full time self-published author and runs workshops for authors wanting to be entrepreneurial. Her books have been selected for Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society and won the inaugural Novel London award. She has been the Leverhulme Trust Writer in Residence at the British Library, has a PhD in Creative Writing and works with the Alliance of Independent Authors on their campaigns. 

If you’d like to try her writing, visit http://www.melissaaddey.com to pick up a free novella, The Cup.

Connect with Melissa Addey 

www.melissaaddey.com where readers can get a free novella that starts another series (medieval Morocco).

https://www.facebook.com/MelissaAddeyAuthor

https://twitter.com/MelissaAddey

Purchase link (universal) http://getbook.at/Colosseum