Category: Blog Tour

Blog Tour/Book Review: Hetty’s Secret War by Rosie Clarke

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Blog Tour Poster (1)

I’m delighted to be hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for Hetty’s Secret War by Rosie Clarke which was published by Aria on 19th March 2019.  Thanks to Vicky at Aria for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy.

If you’ve missed previous stops on the tour, you can catch up here:

A look at locations in the book courtesy of The Book Trail 
Review by Amanda at Ginger Book Geek
Review by Julie at Bookish Jottings
Review and extract at The Avid Reader
Extract hosted by Nicola at Short Book & Scribes

hetty's secret warAbout the Book

In 1939, with the world on the brink of war, one women faces a future more uncertain than she had ever imagined…

Georgie – when the man she has always loved is sent to France on a secret war office mission every knock of the door fills her with dread of it being the feared telegram boy…

Beth – orphaned as a child, Beth is coming of age and determined to do her bit for the war effort. Caught up in a whirlwind romance, she marries only to become a war widow… and one expecting a baby who will never know his brave father. Can she find happiness again?

Hetty – desperately trying to make her way back from Paris to her beloved family in England, a fateful and tragic encounter brings Hetty to Chateau de Faubourg where she joins the resistance and risks both her heart and her life fighting for charismatic resistance leader Stefan Lefarge…

However dark the times, courage, determination and the power of friendship can overcome the hardships of war.

Format: Paperback, ebook (336 pp.)    Publisher: Aria Fiction
Published: 19th March 2019          Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Hetty’s Secret War on Goodreads

My Review

Hetty’s Secret War is the third book in Rosie Clarke’s ‘Women at War’ series.   I haven’t read either of the previous books in the series – Jessie’s Promise and The Runaway Wife – but I’m pleased to say Hetty’s Secret War works perfectly well as a standalone.  However, it does contain references to significant events in the two previous books so it wouldn’t be the place to start for readers planning to read the whole series.

The title and the book description give the impression that Hetty’s story is the main focus of the book but, although hers is certainly the most dramatic, the experiences of the book’s other female characters – Beth and Georgie – also play a major part.  And we shouldn’t forget Hetty’s brother, Ben, who also has a pivotal role in the lives of at least two of the women and whose wartime experiences contribute to a very dramatic and compelling element of the book.

The outbreak of war sees all three women forced to confront changes in their personal lives and the end of the war will see them confronting others.  The book takes readers on an emotional journey revealing the trauma and loss that war can bring as well as the terrible uncertainty about the fate of husbands, lovers, brothers, sons.   It also demonstrates the important contribution of women in wartime, some in roles which involved just as much risk as those on active service.  It also has a chance meeting to rival Casablanca’s ‘Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine’, albeit with a bit of role reversal.

Talking of films, as someone who loves films set in World War 2, I particularly enjoyed Beth’s meeting with a handsome stranger on a train that could be straight out of the 1942 film In Which We Serve (directed by Noel Coward) in which ‘Shorty’ Blake (played by John Mills) first meets Freda Lewis (played by Kay Walsh) on a crowded train.

I know Hetty’s Secret War will delight fans of the series and also readers who like a strong element of romance in their historical fiction – and who aren’t adverse to a bit of bedroom action along the way with descriptions that at times leave little to the imagination.  Reading the book, I was most struck by its message of the possibility of second chances and that companionship, affection and trust play just as important a part in the success of a relationship as those ‘weak at the knees’ moments at the beginning of one.  Of course, the perfect solution is to combine both.  You’ll have to read the book to see if Hetty, Beth or Georgie end up in this happy situation.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Aria, and NetGalley.

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In three words: Dramatic, romantic, passionate

Try something similar… Flight Before Dawn by Megan Easley-Walsh (read my review here)

Rosie ClarkeAbout the Author

Rosie is happily married and lives in a quiet village in East Anglia. Writing books is a passion for Rosie.  She also likes to read, watch good films and enjoys holidays in the sunshine. She loves shoes and adores animals, especially squirrels and dogs.

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Blog Tour/Book Review: The Saxon Wolves by Penny Ingham

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The Saxon Wolves

I’m delighted to be hosting the first stop on the blog tour for The Saxon Wolves by Penny Ingham along with my tour buddies, Karen at Hair Past A Freckle and Zoè at Zooloo’s Book Diary.  You can read my review below.

The Saxon WolvesAbout the Book

Britain 455AD. The Roman Empire has fallen. As the daughter of a king and a priestess of the sacred grove, Anya’s life in Germania is one of wealth and privilege – until she dares to speak out against the high priest’s barbaric human sacrifices. Her punishment is exile.

Forced to leave her homeland, she sails to Britannia, to an island that is sliding into chaos and war, as rival kingdoms vie for power. Alone and far from home, Anya must learn to survive amidst the bloodshed, treachery and intrigue of fifth century Britain.

Can she find a place to belong – a home, a hearth, a welcome?

Format: Paperback, ebook (410 pp.)    Publisher: Nerthus Publishing
Published: 27th August 2016         Genre: Historical Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Saxon Wolves on Goodreads

My Review

The dramatic prologue in which a young woman is washed up on a beach, the sole survivor of a shipwreck, is the setting for what will prove to be a pivotal moment in the lives of two of the book’s characters.  The author then takes the reader back in time a few months to learn how the young woman arrived at this point.  It’s a tale of exile, forced betrothal to a violent tyrant, kidnap, perilous sea voyages and the aforementioned shipwreck.

The book is clearly a result of extensive research.  Through detailed descriptions of food, dress, buildings and domestic customs, the author conveys what it might have been like to live in a noble household.  Equally, when the action moves to 5th century Britannia, the reader gets a real sense of the anarchy and chaos of post-Roman Britain with tribal warlords vying for control of territory in the most ruthless fashion and the population living in constant fear of invasion or raiders.

Although some of the characters are fictional, others such as Hengist and Horsa (the Saxon wolves of the title) and Vortigern are not.  It has to be said that amongst the cast of characters there are a lot of unpleasant individuals who will stop at nothing to achieve power, even at the expense of family members.    In contrast, there is Silvanus, son of the king of Dumnonia.  Respect for his father, the ailing Etar, and awareness of his responsibilities to keep his people safe when he inherits the throne come into conflict with his personal feelings.  In a likeable display of humility for one in his position, Silvanus doesn’t assume he has all the qualities necessary to make a good king.

This is a period when a woman’s role is confined to child-bearing, domestic duties and providing pleasure to men unless, of course, their social status makes them a useful pawn in political alliances.  Anya’s position as a priestess and an outsider, earns her suspicion from some but her skills at healing endear her to others.     The author introduces a mystical element to the story through an ancient prophecy, Anya’s visions and the suggestion that fate will take a hand in her and Silvanus’s story.  The end of the book sees Anya attempting to take control of her future in an effort to find ‘a place to belong beneath the heavens’, paving the way for the next book in the series, The Saxon Plague.

The Saxon Wolves is an exciting story of family rivalry, treachery, betrayal, love and duty set against the backdrop of a turbulent period in Britain’s history, vividly brought to life by the author.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author and Rachel’s Random Resources.

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In three words: Dramatic, engaging, well-researched

Try something similar…On the Edge of Sunrise by Cynthia Ripley Miller (read my review here)

Penny InghamAbout the Author

Penny’s father, a journalist, instilled her with a love of history from an early age. Family holidays invariably included an invigorating walk up an Iron Age hill-fort whilst listening to his stirring stories of the Roman attack and the valiant defence by the Britons. Consequently, Penny has a degree in Classics and a passion for history and archaeology. She has enjoyed a varied career, including BBC production assistant, theatre PR and journalism, but her ambition was always to write historical fiction.

Her first novel, The King’s Daughter, was awarded Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society. Penny has worked on many archaeological excavations, and these ‘digs’ and their evocative finds often provide the inspiration for her books. Penny’s research also takes her to the many spectacular historical sites featured in this novel, including Hadrian’s Wall and Tintagel.

Connect with Penny

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