Hannah Morgan-Lewis

I very much enjoyed this well written historical fiction set in Spain. I don't know a great deal about the Spanish Civil war, but Hayes brought the two periods she was writing about to life, and gave a real sense of the tragedy and danger of the situations that the characters were in. You could tell how much research and attention to detail the author paid. I loved how the story of Sophia and her lover gradually unfolded and the characters were well drawn and true to life. The romance was beautifully written too. I will be looking out for more of this author's work.
I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review. Thanks to Netgalley.

Under the melodrama and the cheesy romantic interludes I felt like there was possibly a better book struggling to get out. There were occasions where the author did some nice descriptions of the emotions of the characters. Unfortunately, I found that these were brief glimpses marred by an irritating protagonist with an irritating husband and a weird murder mystery plot where she got far too involved with a client to the point of complete unprofessionalism. It was a shame as I felt like Jay could have been an interesting character if she didn't spend so much time mooning. I also got a bit annoyed by the descriptions of the murder victim and felt like it would have been a stronger book if she'd been less of a stereotype.

I think the great strength of this thriller was the main character, who I thought was very true to life. I loved how the author portrayed him and his family relationships after the death of his sister, and I thought the book had a really strong plot too, going right to the heart of the establishment. The way Peston portrayed the thinly disguised Labour politicians of the 90s was entertaining too.
I read and advanced review copy on Pigeonhole and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Another fantastically gripping book from Catherine Cooper, perfect for when you are looking for some escapism. Aura and Nick have moved to a giant French château that needs a great deal of renovation in order to get away from some unfortunate past misdeeds. But are the neighbours what they seem? The novel gradually reveals why they left England in the first place. This is full of unpleasant characters, twists and turns and massive great parties. Kept me reading. Thanks to Pigeonhole for the advanced review copy, I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I thought that the author built the world of Empire City in 1924 well, with some good period detail especially with the clothes and the deliciously described Italian food! The characters were well drawn with fleshed out back stories and families, especially the large Italian criminal family. Well written, erotic sex scenes with a good dynamic between Aiden and Francesco. The book also had a decent plot. If I had a criticism it would be that I would have preferred it to ba a little darker with more angst, and for Francesco to be a bit more villainous, but that's down to personal preference and I would be very happy to read any follow ups by the author.
I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I absolutely loved this and definitely want to read more by this author. A very different kind of murder mystery, and ideal if you are not particularly into gore. It raises many philosophical questions about eugenics and in particular how people are affected after the pandemic, as it's set just after. I loved the sense of community that the author gave, and how human and fallible she made her characters. The plot was really gripping too.
I read this as an advanced review copy for free on Pigeonhole and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I won't forget this brilliant novel in a hurry. Beautiful written, it tells the stories of Santi and Thora who keep meeting in different lifetimes in Cologne, at different ages and with different relationships to each other. The plot is gripping and the author skillfully releases hints of what's happening all the way through, though it is not easy to guess what's happening. The magic of the book though comes through the beautiful way she writes about the characters and their relationships and how they change over time. This is a deeply philosophical novel that certainly makes you think, but without being overtly complicated or inaccessible. It crosses genres and is totally different, and I hope it wins the awards it deserves.
I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

It's obvious that a great deal of research went into writing this book and I loved the period details such as the details of the food they ate. I also appreciated the author's note explaining how she arrived at her conclusions and how she had departed from history. Good to see a book with mostly female characters and set in France too. It was fascinating finding out about the real royal family of France and to see Mary (Henry VIII of England's sister) in action in the French Court and her future husband, Charles Brandon.
I think however that maybe by let the reader know a little too much about the thought processes of the characters it meant that there weren't many surprises in the plot. Also, whilst the characters were well drawn, I wanted the villainous Louise to be something more than just a villain as it felt a little like most of the book was Claude reacting to another villainous scheme. Claude was more of a multifaceted character who grew as the story progressed, but I felt like Louise was a bit too much of a moustache twiddler and we could have had more about the motivations of a complex character. Still, I did think it had promise and will look out for the follow up.
I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Equal opportunities satirical fiction where neither side is better than the other! I found this a very enjoyable read and would welcome a sequel. Though the characters are completely flawed and the anti-heroine Patty Pitypander is just that, you can't help somehow rooting for her at times, as the author managed to make her funny, vulnerable and a scheming sleazy politician at the same time. Add to this her casino owning husband, a naive young reporter and the dodgy current president and you have a winning cast of characters. Loved the scene where she attempted to speak Spanish and some of her political ideas were absolutely crazy. I thought the plotting was good too, and kept me reading. Will look out for more of the author's work.
I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I thought the editor chose these stories well, a number on different themes. If you like traditional/historical gothic stories with shocking mysteries, ghosts, plotting families and tangled love stories you will probably enjoy this. Many of the stories are quite long, separated into different chapters but I thought this allowed them to more in depth. I enjoyed seeing another side to Louisa May Alcott and would probably read more if they were available.
I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Read this for free on The Pigeonhole and leaving an honest review. I really enjoyed it. Told in the form of emails within a fictional writing group. Some really quirky, over-the-top characters you wouldn't want to meet in real life. It captures the agonies of the writing community perfectly. Even though it was highly character driven, it also had a bonkers plot. Kept my fellow pigeons howling. I would recommend it if you are suffering from a reading slup as it's very light, yet clever and keeps you gripped.

Don't read the kindle unlimited edition as I foolishly did, it's not the proper text, just scanned it and it's riddled with typos. Not sure how to review this, it's undoubtedly clever and I found myself drawn into the plot at times, but at the same time parts of it are extremely pretentious. I think I'd like to read the proper edition one day, but for now I am happy to digest it!

I thought that the plot was really good, if you like the pretending to be lovers trope, this is an ideal book, and I liked the adventure and sense of peril.

Good development of the characters and their budding relationship, secrets are revealed in a natural way and the sex is hot!

However, as I reader I could tell this was the opening to a series as my goodness were there a lot of characters introduced! Between army buddies, family members, consultants and Ukrainian mafiosa I got a bit confused as to who was who at times, and I would definitely need to reread it when I read the next in the series. Nevertheless, I would seek out more books by the author as it was an enjoyable read.

I received a free advance review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A wild ride of a book with all the elements you would expect from a gothic novel. Lily returns to the house where she grew up after many years away due to a tragic accident that happened when she was a child. The house is just as it was left with secrets left to discover, but she is not the only person in Lostmor with a past. Great atmospheric descriptions of both the house and the village add to the tense plotting.
This is the kind of book that keeps you reading, but I did find parts of the plot got a little too gothic perhaps! I also thought that some of the ‘villains' had few redeeming qualities, which maybe made them a little unrealistic, however, this may have been a deliberate choice considering the genre. Otherwise, the rest of the characters are well drawn and I would definitely be interested in reading a follow up.
I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I thought this was a great idea, the story of how a blind music master makes his way in Georgian London. The book is populated with a cast of good characters including rogues and people from the musical theatre where Tom works. The author is obviously very knowledgeable with the musical background, and brings the colourful world to light with both fictional and real characters (Handel puts in an appearance). I thought the historical background was well researched and liked the use of the historical slang, although I found that this didn't detract from the story or how easy it was to understand. Tom has a variety of adventures, and whilst his blindness is handled sensitively, it doesn't prevent him from living a full life. If I had one criticism, it's that sometimes it felt like this was a series of loosely connected incidents rather than having an overarching plot. It seemed to go off on a tangent at some points. Otherwise, this was an enjoyable read.
I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

First an admission. It took me a while and a few goes before I appreciated Wuthering Heights. I still can't describe myself as a massive fan, but I will fiercely defend Emily Bronte as the writer.

Emma Tennant's Heathcliffe's Tale did sound like the kind of book I love, as I enjoyed reading her Pride and Prejudice spin off when I was first getting into Austen. However, I found this book did a great disservice both to the source material and to the Bronte family.

Wriiten in the 18th century style, this is the tale of Henry Newby, who visits Haworth Parsonage on a mission to find the elusive Ellis Bell, along the way finding fragments of original manuscripts which tell additional parts of the story of Heathcliffe and also illuminate who may have written the manuscript and their inspiration. It is all very confused and confusing and places Bramwell, the brother of Emily Bronte in the forefront of candidates for the author of the novel. I'd heard of the theory of Bramwell as the author previously, and wasn't really impressed, I'm afraid I was even more disappointed that a female author placed him as the author. There is little sense of the family in the book anyway, at the point it's set Charlotte is elsewhere and the other Brontes have all died aside from Patrick and the servant. Worse still, the novel is supposedly inspired by a potential incestuous relationship between Emily and Bramwell and the found manuscript includes and explanation whereby Heathcliffe is the bastard son of Mr Earnshaw and Cathy his incestuous daughter by Catherine! I thought this aspect was sensationalised and unnecessary. The relationship is already forbidden by way of the class differences and the fact that Heathcliffe's parentage is unknown, he can have an interesting backstory and motivation without it being incestuous and Emily can be as passionate and complicated as Bramwell, enough to write WH especially without making the backstory all about ‘Byronic' passions between her and her brother.

I found Nelly Dean by Alison Case a much better exploration of the world of WH.

Part of the popular dual timeline genre where the past is discovered in the present, this is set in Ireland in 1949 and the present day. In 1949, Violet Ward, her husband and her young daughter move to a small village where she is reviled as she has written a scandalous play that is banned due to its religious content. The author really captures the small town ‘holier than thou' mentality where poor Violet and her daughter feel threatened by the locals and can't do anything to improve the situation. Things get worse as Sylvia, the daughter, discovers some nasty letters.

In the present day, Emily O'Connor buys a mysterious house but her mother is upset by it and she can't understand why. Some really good descriptions of the house and how it's been left as it was.

The story mainly focuses on Violet and I think this was a good decision as I thought this was well told and interesting. The modern day parts are briefer, but the book was a satisfying length and pace. If I had a criticism, it would be that I thought Sylvia's mysterious illness was a bit over dramatic and not sufficiently explained, but overall this was an enjoyable novel.

I received an advanced copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Really not for me at all.


Panto villain Sinclair decides to get back at a man who swindled him out of some money by having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Elena, the world's most innocent, childlike and youngest exotic dancer; becoming obsessed with possesing her in the process. None of the characters in this book have a personality, they are just stereotypes - the naive girl, the gangster, the charming rogue, even Elena's strip club friend the tart with the heart. Sinclair has no motive for killing people and no fear of retribution or from the police, violence is just a casual thing with no meaning as we don't care about the characters he kills. She is used by all the male characters to get what they want and she's frequently described in terms of being small and young. The worst thing is that she is described as being turned on by the thought he's a gangster. I found this book really disappointing. I don't think it works as a thriller, it's more of a romance but it doesn't work as that either as the sex scenes are brief and full of bad language. I am not sure if the readers are supposed to pity Eleanor for getting into the situation or envy her for the lavish lifestyle (which like Anastasia Steele she shuns anyway). All I know is that she has no agency whatsoever. He just has to look at her and she caves.

I received a free advanced review copy from booksirens and leave this review voluntarily.

Makes me glad that I never fulfilled my dream of going on a cultural trip to Italy!

Beautiful descriptions of the ill fated trip where Ada, who is incredibly self absorbed and manipulative, attempts to cover up the death that she witnessed. Caring only about fitting in with her rich friends who often look down on her and realise that she's not quite their class. After the trip she continues to stalk them, continually believing that they owe her loyalty. The characters are for the most part pretty unpleasant with some twisted motives but I thought that this was a good thriller.

The author marketed this as a medical style mystery about what happens when a new contagious disease is identified in a small village during the late 60s. Poleaxe hits its victims with paralysis and sometimes death. Most of this is seen through the eyes of two doctors and a patient at a hospital who investigate the cause. This was written just before the covid pandemic, so the book has come about at the right time, but is more about the medical investigation than the consequences for those who have it, so I don't think it's likely to be upsetting. 


Firstly, I want to make it clear that I read a proof edition of the novel (from Pigeonhole) so some of the issues may be cleared up. However, whilst I though that the book had some interesting ideas it was rather a let down for me in terms of plot and more specifically the depiction of Barbara, the patient. I didn't appreciate the descriptions of ‘firming breasts' and a ‘creamy body' and thought that the author was objectifying her, particularly with the way that she was portrayed as being young, naive and virginal.


The author was obviously very knowledgeable about the medical side of things, especially about how doctors were treated during the period, and whilst I think the book had potential, I think it needed an editor or a few more constructively critical readers to help the author improve it. 

Not a genre I would usually go for as I am a little bit put off by violence, but I found this police procedural entertaining if requiring a suspension of disbelief about the actions of some of the characters! Despite this being the third book in the series I had little trouble picking up the plot and the characters. 


Ash Henderson is an ex detective inspector who is called to help investigate murders along with police colleagues. The plot centres around an investigation where the house is falling into the sea where the bodies are buried. I found the plot gripping, with some very exciting moments of peril for the main characters. Aside from that, it had a lot of dark humour in it, though the author resisted peppering it with the f word! However, I wouldn't describe this as one for the squeamish. There's torture and child murder and some moments of violence that are pretty horrific. Ash gets away with all sorts of things too, and seems to manage seemingly superheroic feats of strength, but I get that whilst the author was going for gritty, it also needed the sense of someone able to avenge the victims without too much of a fear of retribution from authorities. I liked the way the author portrayed the other characters too, from the police to the ex cons and villains. 

“Even if you were a witch, which –” he smiled a little bit at himself “– you are not, the story is coming for you. The gossip, the charges of murder. All of it. It's too damned convenient . You should be on the next ship off, Theodora. Get away like your mother did. Like your man did.”


A group of witches and their children facing persecution leave Salem and head off to find sanctuary somewhere different, ending up on a remote island. Hundreds of years later in the 1940s one of  their descendents, Theodora, is in the difficult position of being pretty much the last witch, presumed widowed and suspected of murdering her husband and unable to actually do witchcraft since her husband disappeared. She is blamed as there is a severe drought and the male islanders conspire against her and her friend John Dove is in danger of being killed and the blame placed on her. 


I enjoyed the world building in this novel, the island feels as if it's both a real place and a good setting for fantasy as the author uses beautiful descriptions and the invlusiin of details of island life like the fish the islanders mostly eat and the algae they use to light their homes. I thought that the characters were particularly well written too. Theodora is a great main character and grows during the storyline, but I also liked the way the writer portrayed the other women on the island who are fighting the patriarchy in their own way. Adelaide, Theodora's cousin, in particular, helps Theodora but has her own private battles to fight and grows as a result. Though the author uses magic realism, it doesn't feel like it's out of the realm of possibility of it happening. The development of the relationship between Theodora and her friend John is nicely written. I enjoyed reading this and was pleased to see that this is potentially a series, I thought that this is a hidden gem in that it's an unusual but beautiful novel. 

I received an advanced copy of this book free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Christmas is all about proving ourselves as wives and mothers. It's like an A level in showing we can do it all, and failure is not an option. Show me a woman who hasn't obsessed about it.'

Following the stories of Beth, a university lecturer recently married to an older widower and Carol, a magazine editor and single mother, this is a slightly outdated festive novel about women trying to do everything at Christmas including reviving an ailing magazine and organising a mammoth Christmas Village party on Christmas eve. Whilst both women are highly competent, they both feel the guilt of not having enough time and the pressure of being surrounded by people who continually need them in some way and wanting to make everything absolutely perfect. 

I found it quite frustrating to read at times as I just wanted the characters to stop what they were doing and talk about how they felt. Lost count of the number of meals Carol skipped and the lists Beth made. Even when they attempted to delegate it didn't work, and Beth's stepdaughter Holly actively sabotaged everything, but I think this and the ‘helpful' tips at the beginning quoted from women's magazines gave a sense of the pressure. I also got a bit cheesed with the mocking the politically correct nativity play. Thankfully, most of this was addressed by the end and overall I enjoyed reading it. 

Mildly amusing, but definitely not hilarious. Some interesting entries but a bit too heavy on the US sports for me. I don't usually skip parts of books but I couldn't be bothered to read those parts! Liked the short lists of truths such as the original names for novels and pen names of famous authors, but I didn't like no footnotes or bibliography. I think maybe it's a US thing, but it drives me nuts particularly in the case of history books and books covering political areas where there is inevitably a bias. Reveal your sources, it might be more work but it makes your book more credible!

Liked it, didn't love it. For some reason I found it dragged a little and I missed the build up between the characters as the romance geared up a little too soon in the book, I would have appreciated a little more angst at times. I found some of the characters that popped infrequently a little difficult to keep straight in my head at times, particularly the podcast buddies. Not in a rush to continue the series, but might pick it up in the future.