Tag: NetGalley

A Wedding in the Olive Garden by Leah Fleming #BookReview #BlogTour @HoZ_Books

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for A Wedding in the Olive Garden by Leah Fleming. Thanks to Vicky Joss at Head of Zeus for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my digital review copy via NetGalley. You can find my review of A Wedding in the Olive Garden below.

FB_IMG_1582298166464About the Book

Can an island in the sun provide the second chance Sara needs?

Sara Loveday flees home and crisis to the beautiful island of Santaniki. Here, amid olive groves and whitewashed stone villas, where dark cypress trees step down to a cobalt blue sea, Sara vows to change her life. Spotting a gap in the local tourist market, she sets up a wedding plan business, specialising in ‘second time around’ couples.

For her first big wedding, she borrows the olive garden of a local artists’ retreat, but almost at once things begin to go wrong. To make matters worse, a stranger from Sara’s past arrives on the island, spreading vicious lies. Can her business survive? And what will happen with the gorgeous new man who she’s begun to love?

Format: ebook (352 pages)           Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 7th May 2020 Genre: Women’s Fiction, Romance

Find A Wedding in the Olive Garden on Goodreads

Purchase links*
Amazon.co.uk | Hive (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

A Wedding in the Olive Garden is a departure from my usual diet of historical fiction but doesn’t everyone need/deserve something sweet and indulgent from time to time, such as a slice of baklava perhaps?

Having really enjoyed the author’s previous book, The Olive Garden Choir,  it was a delight to return to the (alas, fictional) Greek island of Santaniki and to be reunited with some of the characters from the earlier book. My personal favourite is Irini, on this occasion transformed from mother-in-law from hell to avenging angel.

It was also great to make the acquaintance of some new characters. One of these is Sara Loveday who has her own reasons for wanting to begin a new chapter in her life, reasons which she is unwilling to share with anyone initially (including the reader). Luckily, her new wedding planning venture requires all her attention if it’s to be a success. A number of couples amongst the island’s residents have their own very special and personal reasons for wanting to get married and it’s not long before they are making use of Sara’s services. The first wedding she organises is notable for a very unexpected arrival.

With all this going on there’s definitely no place for romance on Sara’s extensive to-do list. At least, that’s what she thinks.

I can certainly attest to the publisher’s description of A Wedding in the Olive Garden as “a gorgeous, warm-hearted and uplifting novel conjuring the local colour, traditions and close bonds of island life.” Of all the weddings featured in the book, my favourite was the traditional Cretan wedding in which the whole community pitch in to help. There are also fabulous descriptions of the islanders’ celebrations of Easter and of the feast day of Phanourios, patron saint of lost and found, whose services are definitely needed at one point.

I have to mention the luscious descriptions of food such as these offerings from the lunchtime menu of the taverna run by Northern lass Mel, her husband Spiro, and the aforementioned Irini: gigantes (butter bean stew), mountain greens in oil and lemon, salad of beetroot, garlic and walnut, village sausages, and roasted vegetable salad with feta. Oh, and don’t forget a carafe of the local wine and a raki to finish. Stomach rumbling yet?

With the author’s customary skilful blend of joyful and poignant moments, if A Wedding in the Olive Garden doesn’t have you longingly browsing travel websites ready for when ‘normal’ life returns, or even planning your own dream wedding, I’ll be surprised.

In three words: Engaging, heart-warming, joyful

Try something similar: The House That Alice Built by Chris Penhall

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Leah FlemingAbout the Author

After careers in teaching, catering, running a market stall, stress management courses in the NHS as well as being a mother of four, Leah Fleming found her true calling as a storyteller. She lives in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales but spends part of the year marinating her next tale from an olive grove on her favourite island of Crete.

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The Straits of Treachery by Richard Hopton #BookReview @AllisonandBusby

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The Straits of TreacheryAbout the Book

September 1810. Raids across the Straits of Messina to disrupt preparations for the French invasion of the island have been repulsed with heavy casualties.

George Warne, a bright young British officer, suspects treachery back in Messina, and is ordered to investigate. Warne uncovers a shadowy underworld of spies, traitors and informers where nothing is quite as it seems and where danger lurks around every corner.

If the long-threatened French invasion erupts will Sicily’s defenders be prepared?

Format: ebook (352 pages)               Publisher: Allison & Busby
Publication date: 23rd April 2020 Genre: Historical Fiction, Military

Find The Straits of Treachery on Goodreads

Purchase links*
Amazon UK| Hive (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

The events in the book unfold over the course of September 1810 with each chapter representing a day and moving frequently between various characters, but principally focussing on Captain George Warne. The setting is Sicily with the British forces facing the French under the command of Joachim Murat, brother-in-law of Napoleon, across the Straits of Messina. Such is the proximity of the opposing forces that each side can observe the other. It’s a waiting game for the British with a French invasion expected at any time.

Ordered to investigate when it becomes apparent there is the possibility of a spy within the British command giving vital information to the enemy, George enlists the help of his mistress, Carlotta. She is a very merry widow who, it has to be said chiefly provides him with assistance of a more intimate nature. There are no shortage of suspects including a local lawyer with high-placed friends and fingers in many pies and a suspiciously helpful member of the nobility.

The book has a generous number of secondary characters and subsidiary storylines. For example, the rivalry between two officers for the affections of a young lady arrived from England to visit her soldier brother which has dramatic consequences.

The author’s background as a historian is evident in the meticulous descriptions of weaponry, uniforms, and military and naval assets. The action scenes, both at sea and on land, are vividly depicted. I also liked the way the author conjured up the bustling piazzas and thoroughfares of Messina.

“The street itself was a seething flood of city life: pedestrians, men on horseback, carts, mules and donkeys uncomplaining under spreading loads, the occasional carriage, its whip-flicking driver impatiently clearing a passage through the crowd, a sedan chair making its stately way among the throng, the odd mangey dog, an aged priest bent over his walking stick, a couple of chickens pecking sneakily in the gutter, men labouring under weighty parcels, a peasant pushing a small handcart laden with lemons, a prim posse of nuns, a pair of young boys rolling a barrel.”

I enjoyed the setting of the book, the period detail and the exciting action scenes, however I’ll confess to being a little disappointed by how the book ended. It seemed to fizzle out with the results of Warne’s investigation wrapped up rather rapidly and some storylines left unresolved. However, perhaps the author is saving those for the planned sequel. But I did like the clever touch of having the ending of the book mirror the opening with George gazing out across the Straits of Messina towards Calabria and the French forces gathered there.

The Straits of Treachery will definitely appeal to fans of historical fiction with a strong naval or military element. If my review has piqued your interest you can view the book trailer here.

My thanks to Allison & Busby for my digital review copy via NetGalley.

In three words: Detailed, action-packed, authentic

Try something similar: The Traitor of Treasure Island by John Drake

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a-b-6-wbAbout the Author

Richard Hopton is an author, historian and journalist. He has published three works of non-fiction, and The Straits of Treachery will be his first historical novel. Richard graduated from the University of Oxford with an M.A. in Modern History. His interests include architecture, the British countryside, art, politics, cricket, racing and springer spaniels. He lives in Dorset with his wife and two children. (Photo/bio credit: Publisher author page)

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