Category: HF Reading Challenge

Blog Tour/Book Review: Island on Fire by Sophie Schiller

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Island on Fire_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL

I’m delighted to be hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for Island on Fire by Sophie Schiller, set in the Caribbean island of Martinique.  Having been lucky enough to visit Martinique, albeit only for a day as a port of call on a Caribbean cruise, I simply couldn’t resist the invitation from Amy at Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours to read and review the book.  You can find my review below.

On the tour page, you can check out the other great book bloggers taking part in the tour with links to their reviews of Island on Fire.  For example, Stacie at Pursuing Stacie described it as ‘an enjoyable, fast-paced historical fiction’, praising the author’s ‘impeccable research’.  Ashley at Oh, October described the book as ‘unique, well researched historical fiction’ and Briennai at Bri’s Book Nook loved the beautiful setting.

WinIf those comments have piqued your interest and you’re a US resident then, good news, as there’s a giveaway with a chance for one lucky person to win their very own copy of Island on Fire. Enter via the Gleam form at the bottom of the tour page.  Don’t hang about though as entries close on 14th August 2018.

Island on FireAbout the Book

In the lush, tropical world of Martinique where slavery is a distant memory and voodoo holds sway, Emilie Dujon discovers that her fiancé, a rich sugar planter, has been unfaithful. Desperate to leave him, she elicits the aid of a voodoo witch doctor and is lured into a shadowy world of black magic and extortion. When the volcano known as Mount Pelée begins to rumble and spew ash, she joins a scientific committee sent to investigate the crater. During the journey she meets Lt. Denis Rémy, an army officer with a mysterious past.

At the summit, the explorers discover that a second crater has formed and the volcano appears to be on the verge of eruption. But when they try to warn the governor, he orders them to bury the evidence for fear of upsetting the upcoming election. As the pressure builds, a deadly mudslide inundates Emilie’s plantation and she disappears. With ash and cinders raining down, chaos ensues. Left with no choice, Lt. Rémy deserts his post and sets off on a desperate quest to rescue Emilie. But with all roads blocked, can they escape the doomed city of St. Pierre before it’s too late?

Format: ebook, paperback (270 pp.)    Publisher:
Published: 15th March 2018          Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance

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

Find Island on Fire on Goodreads

My Review

In Island on Fire the author creates a picture of a society where, much like the volcano, a lot is going on underneath the surface, whether that is commercial and political machinations or continued belief in voodoo practices in an age of modern science and rationality.

Despite evidence to the contrary, those in authority choose to believe that there is no threat from the volcano, having more regard to the consequences of panic by the population than the possible risk to life and property. This will prove to have disastrous consequences.

The book’s heroine, Emilie, whilst in all other respects an intelligent, independent-minded young woman, reflects the dichotomy in Martinique society. As a result she acts in a way that seems out of character but which reflects the desperation she feels at the situation in which she finds herself.

Whilst the book description reveals much of the story (a little too much to my mind), the author creates a credible sense of melodrama as events unfold in dramatic fashion.

I really enjoyed the evocative portrayal of the island’s lush landscape, vegetation and wildlife. ‘Everywhere he looked, the island was teeming with life. Mango trees, sprawling bougainvillea, flaming flamboyant, majestic palm trees, and endless plantations dotting the hillsides like a parchwork quilt of sumptuous beauty.’ Plus, as regular followers of this blog will know, I can’t resist delicious descriptions of food and there are plenty of the local cuisine in the book.

Island on Fire reveals a fascinating aspect of the history of Martinique that was new to me as well as being an entertaining, if slightly melodramatic, story of betrayal, honour and love

I received a review copy courtesy of the author and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Romance, melodrama, adventure

Try something similar…Fireburn by Apple Gidley

Sophie SchillerAbout the Author

Sophie Schiller was born in Paterson, NJ and grew up in the West Indies. She loves stories that carry the reader back in time to exotic and far-flung locations. Kirkus Reviews called her “an accomplished thriller and historical adventure writer”. Her latest novel is Island on Fire, a thriller about the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. She was educated at American University, Washington, DC and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

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Throwback Thursday: Diamond Cut Diamond by Jane Jakeman

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ThrowbackThursday

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme originally created by Renee at It’s Book Talk.  It’s designed as an opportunity to share old favourites as well as books that we’ve finally got around to reading that were published over a year ago.

Today I’m revisiting a book that has been sitting in my TBR pile for quite a long time – Diamond Cut Diamond by Jane Jakeman.   It’s the fourth in the author’s ‘Lord Ambrose Mystery’ series, the previous books being Let There Be Blood, The Egyptian Coffin and Fool’s Gold.  Diamond Cut Diamond was published in January 2017 by Endeavour Media and you can find purchase links below.

As you will see from my review below, Diamond Cut Diamond was a really fun, light read.  The fact that it is fairly short was an added bonus. I don’t know about you but sometimes I just don’t feel in the mood to pick up a whopper of a book!

Diamond Cut DiamondAbout the Book

It is 1835, and Lord Ambrose Malfine is outside the walls of the ruined castle of Pribyslav in Bohemia. As he watches his horse graze, he contemplates how he got there…

The story begins at Lord Ambrose’s mansion, where he and Elisabeth are entertaining friends for dinner. They admire a beautiful necklace worn by the wife of Ambrose’s friend Dr Lawrence.  Later, the gentlemen learn that Lawrence has taken credit of £1,000 for the necklace. Elizabeth is shocked; her experience having told her the stones of the necklace are false, albeit very good fakes.

Ambrose takes it upon himself to find the jeweller who sold his friend the false stones. Whilst there, he is introduced to a countess who sold the original necklace to the jeweller and seems also to have been defrauded. As a reward for his services, the lady gives him a small key and a clue to the whereabouts of the lock it will open. This should perhaps have been the end of the matter, but Ambrose’s natural curiosity and gentlemanly behaviour result in him following the countess home, at a distance, and finding out from a local urchin that she is from Bohemia.  And thereby begins Lord Ambrose’s adventure in Bohemia…

Format: ebook (123 pp.)                           Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 17th January 2017                Genre: Historical Mystery

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

Find Diamond Cut Diamond on Goodreads

My Review

Diamond Cut Diamond is a fun, lively historical mystery with reformed Regency rake, Lord Ambrose Malfine, as its engaging hero.   His instinctive curiosity is, luckily for him, indulged by love of his life, Elisabeth: “Well, Ambrose, I know you too well to try and persuade you to act against your nature.”  Soon Ambrose is setting off on the trail of the mystery countess he encountered whilst exposing the jeweller who sold his friend a fake diamond necklace.

His quest involves a journey to Bohemia that turns out to be more perilous than he imagined.  Before long it becomes clear Ambrose has a dangerous enemy on his trail, moreover one with few scruples.   However, as Ambrose admits himself, ‘I have this nature – the more I am warned against doing something, the greater my determination to do it.’   Thankfully, Ambrose gathers some useful allies along the way and there is an unexpected but very welcome encounter with an old friend.    This will prove vital in the exciting, explosive and dramatic climax to the book.

As well as the satisfying mystery, I really enjoyed the humour in the book, such as the running joke that Ambrose is frequently identified as an Englishmen by the quality of his footwear.  For example, on one occasion, a stranger remarks “I have not seen such fine boots.  You must be from London!”

I didn’t feel coming in at book four in the series had any impact on my enjoyment of the book.  In fact, I quite enjoyed spotting the little nuggets of information about events from earlier books the author included.   It did however have an impact on the state of my bookish wish-list because I added the three earlier titles to it as soon as I finished Diamond Cut Diamond!  They’ll be ideal for the next time I feel in need of a historical mystery pick-me-up.

Diamond Cut Diamond is part of my 20 Books of Summer and What’s In A Name reading challenges.

In three words: Entertaining, lively, mystery

Try something similar… Lady Helena Investigates by Jane Steen (click here to read my review)

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Jane JakemanAbout the Author

Jane Jakeman is an art historian who has travelled in the Mediterranean and the Middle East and has had numerous articles on art, food and travel published in newspapers and magazines, including The Independent, The Sunday Times and The Guardian. She studied English at the University of Birmingham and has a doctorate from Oxford University in the architectural history of Islamic Cairo. She lives in Oxford and is at present on the staff of the Bodleian Library.

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