Monday, 16 February 2026

The Green Baize Door by Eleanor Birney



The Green Baize Door

By Eleanor Birney


Publication Date: January 27th, 2026
Publisher: Parlor & Dock Press
Pages: 295
Genre: Historical Mystery


An atmospheric historical mystery where every character has their own agenda, and their own truth.


In the fashionable mansions on Chestnut Hill, a simple green baize door separates the masters’ world from the servants’. That door is thrown wide when an elderly housekeeper is found brutally murdered on the first day of the new century. Marie Chevalier, the housekeeper’s poor but ambitious granddaughter, and James Lett, the mansion owner’s kind but indolent son, suspect the killer is connected to one of their families—but which one?


From drawing rooms to alleyways, their separate investigations lead them through the sometimes lavish, sometimes brutal, landscape of turn-of-the-century New England. When long-buried secrets begin to unravel the fragile threads that hold both households together, Marie and James must find a way to bridge the gulf between them—if only to prove that the murderer belongs not to their own world, but to that strange and foreign land on the other side of the green baize door.


Inspired by real-life events, The Green Baize Door is a richly layered historical mystery that explores themes of class identity, family loyalty, and the sometimes blurry line between virtue and vice.



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Eleanor Birney



Eleanor Birney writes historical mysteries about class, moral ambiguity, and people who aren’t satisfied with life on their side of the green baize door.


She received a BA in History from UC Berkeley, and works as a legal research attorney, a day job that feeds her love of precision, research, and puzzles.


Growing up in foster care gave her a lifelong fascination with the way society steers people into assigned places—and how some of those people refuse to stay in them.


She lives in Northern California with her family. The Green Baize Door is her debut novel.


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Book Review!!! Wolf of the Nordic Seas (Valiant Vikings Book 2) by Jennifer Ivy Walker




⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Wolf of the Nordic Seas doesn’t wait around to introduce itself or gently draw you in. It drops you straight into a world where fate is already in motion, and emotions are already running high. There’s a sense from the beginning that things are happening whether the characters are ready or not.

What I liked most is how closely the myth and the personal are tied together. The prophecies, and supernatural forces don’t sit neatly in the background; they press in on the characters and complicate everything. Fate isn’t comforting here. It’s intrusive, sometimes frustrating, and often inconvenient, which makes the choices the characters make feel heavier and more real.

The romance is intense and unapologetic. There’s no slow drifting towards attraction—it’s there early, charged with tension and desire, and tangled up with duty and danger. Love doesn’t make anything easier; if anything, it raises the stakes. That gives the relationship a raw edge, as though wanting each other might be just as risky as facing the enemies closing in around them.

There’s also a darker undercurrent running through the story. Power is rarely clean, loyalty is tested, and even moments of closeness feel fragile. The book doesn’t shy away from that discomfort, and it’s stronger for it. Nothing is wrapped up neatly, and nothing feels guaranteed.

By the time I reached the end, I didn’t feel like the story had finished so much as paused. There’s still too much in motion for that. It leaves you with a sense that bigger things are coming, and that the choices already made will matter. Wolf of the Nordic Seas is passionate, myth-heavy, and emotionally charged—a story that leans into fate and desire without trying to make either of them safe.




Book Title: Wolf of the Nordic Seas
Series: (Valiant Vikings Book 2) 
Author Name: Jennifer Ivy Walker
Publication Date: 
Publisher: Green Mermaid Publications
Print Length: 357 Pages
Genre: Historical Romance / Norse Mythology / Fantasy

Named after the Norse God of the Sea, Njörd grew up sailing, swimming, and fishing the fjords of Norway. Endowed with extraordinary senses, speed, and strength, he became known as Wolf of the Nordic Seas, leading lucrative Viking raids from the Baltic shores to the Black and Caspian Seas. When a Viking völva foretells his future through a seidr vision, Njörd learns that his fate and his mate—the siren with the sea goddess eyes—lie on the alabaster coast of Normandy in the distant Land of the White Chalk Cliffs.

Elfi ThorfinnsdĂ³ttir is a skilled shieldmaiden who seeks vengeance against the ruthless Frankish count who killed her brother and abducted her father in an attempt to seize her clifftop castle. But rather that submit to the count’s relentless demand for her hand in marriage, Elfi allies with Richard the Fearless—the Viking Duke of Normandy— and the Danish Jarl of Ribe known as the Wolf of the Nordic Seas.

As Elfi and Njörd discover startling secrets about their respective pasts, they find that the three Norns have entwined the threads of their fates not just as political allies, but as mates destined to fulfill a divine prophecy.

Wolf of the Nordic Seas— book 2 of the Valiant Vikings series set in tenth century Normandy— is a sizzling, scintillating blend of historical fiction, Norse mythology, paranormal fantasy, and steamy Viking romance!

You can pick up your copy on Amazon. This novel is available on #KindleUnlimited


Jennifer Ivy Walker is an award-winning author of medieval Celtic, Nordic, and paranormal romance, as well as contemporary romance, historical fantasy, and WWII romantic suspense.

A former high school teacher and college professor of French with an MA in French literature, her novels encompass a love for French language, literature, history, and culture, including Celtic myths and legends, Norse mythology, Viking sagas, and Nordic lore.







Wednesday, 11 February 2026

Book Review!! Quillan Creek and the Little War: Time Stones Book I by Ian Hunter #QuillanCreek #YoungAdult #FantasyBooks #FantasySeries # #YardeBookPromotions #BlogTour




Quillan Creek and the Little War: 
Time Stones Book I 
By Ian Hunter

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the start, I was pulled into the story with its blend of danger, mystery and discovery.

Jessie is an easy character to root for. Thrown out of her own time and into an unfamiliar past, she reacts with believable shock but also quiet determination. Watching her try to make sense of a harsher, wilder world while still holding on to her compassion makes her journey especially engaging.

The frontier setting, rooted in the lands of the Haudenosaunee tribe, is one of the real highlights. Vast forests, clear lakes and scattered settlements create an atmosphere that feels both beautiful and threatening. There’s a constant sense that history is in motion and that every step the characters take could change more than just their own fate.

This book is utterly beautiful not only in its story but also in the language used; it is evocative and mesmerising. Moments of quiet reflection are just as powerful as the scenes of danger, perfectly captured when Nishkamich gently tells Jessie:

“Your home is here, but it is not to be seen.” Nishkamich’s voice was gentle, and made her look up.
“The lake, these hills, this place is well known to you. But it is not as you know it. Look around you, search the land, the water, the sky, there is nothing of your world here. Your senses are true, trust them. Do they not tell you this is a different place?”

Looming over everything is a relentless antagonist driven by greed and a hunger for power, hunting the Time Stones across centuries. That pursuit adds a constant undercurrent of tension, reminding you that this journey isn’t just wondrous, it’s dangerous, and failure would have devastating consequences.

The other travellers through time add real strength to the story. They begin wary and uncertain, but slowly a deep trust forms between them. Their growing bond brings warmth to an otherwise perilous journey, and Nishkamich’s guidance adds a thoughtful, spiritual weight to everything that happens.

When I reached the final page, I genuinely wanted more. If you enjoy time-travel adventures with strong characters, rich atmosphere and a touch of ancient magic, this is well worth picking up.


***

Publication Date: 3rd August 2018
Publisher: MVB Marketing-und Verlagsservice des Buchhandels
Print Length: 281 Page
Genre: Historical Fantasy 

Jessie Mason lives with her nose in the pages of history. But she is about to discover that the past is a dangerous place where she doesn't belong, and knowledge alone is not going to save her.

In Jessie’s troubled life her aunt is the only constant and comfort she has. But when she inexplicably disappears, and Jessie uncovers her mother's Time Stone, that unhappy life turns unreal and terrifying.

She is summoned to a world in crisis, 250 years in her past, to three unlikely companions, and the aged Onondaga shaman, Nishkamich, who promises an education in the powers of the stones which they each possess.

Over one glorious summer, Jessie reluctantly settles to village life and the developing bond with her prickly friends, until they are forced to accept that their stones are being hunted through history.

But in the depths of winter, their friendship, their wits, and the very limits of their endurance, will be tested by an unforgiving Nature as war finally erupts around them.



Praise

"...the kind of book that one would forgo sleep to finish." 
The Coffee Pot Book Club

"...fantastical and riveting." 
booklife 

"...an exciting adventure for readers with unforgettable companions." 
The Book Commentary 

You can pick up your copy on Amazon. This book can also be found on #KindleUnlimited.

Ian Hunter



Books have been an important part of my life as long as I can remember, and at 54 years old, that’s a lot of books. My earliest memories of reading are CS Lewis’, “The Horse and His Boy” – by far the best of the Narnia books, the Adventures series by Willard Price, and “Goalkeepers are Different” by sports journalist Brian Glanville. An eclectic mix. My first English teacher was surprised to hear that I was reading, Le CarrĂ©, Ken Follett, Nevil Shute and “All the Presidents’ Men” by Woodward and Bernstein at the age of 12. I was simply picking up the books my father had finished.

School syllabus threw up the usual suspects – Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens, Hardy, “To Kill a Mockingbird” – which I have reread often, and others I don’t immediately recall. By “A” level study, my then English teachers were pulling their hair out at my “perverse waste of talent” – I still have the report card! But I did manage a pass.

During a 35 year career, briefly in Banking and then in IT, I managed to find time, with unfailing family support, to study another lifelong passion, graduating with an Open University Bachelors’ degree in History in 2002. This fascination with all things historical inspired me to begin the Time Stones series. There is so much to our human past, and so many differing views on what is the greatest, and often the saddest, most tragic story. I decided I wanted to write about it; to shine a small light on those, sometimes pivotal stories, which are less frequently mentioned.

In 1995, my wife, Michelle, and I moved from England to southern Germany, where we still live, with our two children, one cat, and, when she pays us a visit, one chocolate labrador. I have been fortunate that I could satisfy another wish, to travel as widely as possible and see as much of our world as I can. Destinations usually include places of historic and archaeological interest, mixed with a large helping of sun, sea and sand for my wife’s peace of mind.

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Sunday, 1 February 2026

Book Review!!! The Relic Keeper by Heidi Eljarbo #HistoricalFiction #blogtour #YardeBookPromotions @HeidiEljarbo @maryanneyarde



The Relic Keeper
By Heidi Eljarbo


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


I was drawn into The Relic Keeper by Heidi Eljarbo almost immediately. There’s something about the tone of this book that feels calm and reflective, yet emotionally engaging. I found myself slowing down as I read, really taking in the setting and the moments between the characters. It’s the kind of story that doesn’t rush you, and I appreciated that from the very start.

What stayed with me most were the characters and how real they felt. I cared about the main character right away, and watching his journey unfold was both heartbreaking and hopeful. The relationships in the story felt genuine, especially the way small acts of kindness and guidance can slowly change someone’s life. Nothing felt overdone — it all felt honest and believable.

I also loved how the historical setting was handled. It added depth and texture to the story without taking away from the emotional core. The details felt natural, helping me picture the world without ever feeling like I was being given a history lesson. The themes of faith, art, and second chances were woven in so smoothly that they just felt like part of life in that time.

By the time I finished the book, I realized how much it had stayed with me. The Relic Keeper is thoughtful, warm, and quietly powerful, and it left me feeling moved in the best way. I’d happily recommend this to anyone who enjoys character-driven historical fiction, and it’s an easy five-star read for me.



Italy, 1620.

Angelo is an orphan, lonely and forgotten. Having been passed on from one family to the next, he ends up as a common thief, subject to and under the thumb of a ruthless robber called Tozzo.

Angelo knows no other life and has lost hope that any chance of providence will ever replace his lonely, misfortunate existence. When he loses his master, his livelihood is shaken. Tozzo’s plunder is hidden in a safe place, but what will happen if someone comes after Angelo to get their hands on the stolen relics? More than that, he feels threatened by words he’s heard too many times; that he’ll always remain unforgiven and doomed.

One day, a priest invites Angelo to help with chores around the church and rectory and, in exchange, offers him room and board. Padre Benedetto’s kindness and respect are unfamiliar and confusing, but Angelo’s safety is still a grave concern. Two older robbers have heard rumors about the hidden treasures and will stop at nothing to attain them.

With literary depictions and imagery, Angelo’s story is a gripping and emotional journey of faint hope and truth in seventeenth-century Italy—an artistic and audacious tale that crosses paths with art collector Vincenzo Giustiniani and the powerful Medici family.


You can pick up your copy on Amazon. This novel is available on #KindleUnlimited


HEIDI ELJARBO grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance during challenging times. She’s been named a master of dual timelines and often writes about strong-willed women of past centuries.

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She lives with her husband on a charming island and enjoys walking in any kind of weather, hugging her grandchildren, and has a passion for art and history. Her family’s chosen retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summer and ski the vast white terrain during winter.

Heidi’s favorites are her family, God's beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.












Monday, 26 January 2026

Book Review!! The Unquiet Spirit (Spirited Encounters Book 1) by Penny Hampson #TheUnquietSpirit #paranormal #Romance #blogtour #YardeBookPromotions #cosymystery @penny_hampson @maryanneyarde

 



The Unquiet Spirit 
(Spirited Encounters Book 1) 
By Penny Hampson

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the start, I was drawn into the story, with its mix of mystery, romance and emotional healing.

Kate is a really easy character to root for. After a personal loss, she moves to Cornwall and inherits an old house, hoping for a fresh start. Naturally, the house has other ideas.

The house is one of the highlights of the book. It’s quietly creepy, full of history, and feels as though it has a character of its own. The atmosphere is so well done that I could easily picture the rooms and feel that constant sense of unease in the background.

Tom was another character I liked a lot. He comes across as reserved at first, but there’s much more to him as you get to know him. The romance between him and Kate is swoon worthy, but never in an over-the-top kind of way.

When I reached the final page, I was genuinely a bit sad it was over. If you enjoy paranormal stories with heart and strong characters, I’d definitely recommend it.



Trigger warning: emotional abuse by partner.

She wasn’t home alone...

With her love life in tatters, Kate Wilson needs a fresh start, and where could be better than the old Cornish house that had belonged to her godmother?

There’s just one problem – it comes with a ghost as a sitting tenant.

Her grumpy new neighbour, the broodingly handsome Tom Carbis, is another fly in the ointment – he seems to turn up wherever Kate goes. His dog might be friendly, but he’s definitely not.

Then the discovery of a hidden diary points Kate to a romantic mystery with links to both Tom’s family and her house’s past – a mystery that might explain the reason for her spectral lodger.

The downside? Kate needs Tom’s help to solve it and has to convince him that she is not his foe.

But working with Tom to unravel long-buried secrets has unexpected consequences, and Kate discovers far more than she bargained for.

The Unquiet Spirit is a spooky, suspense-filled, enemies-to-lovers romance.

Praise:

“The Unquiet Spirit” by Penny Hampson is an enthralling paranormal romance that weaves together elements of mystery and the supernatural. In this captivating tale, readers are drawn into a world where love transcends the boundaries of life and death, unveiling a profound connection between the living and the restless spirits that linger in the shadows.

Yarde Book Promotion

You can pick up your copy on Amazon. This book can also be found on #KindleUnlimited.


Penny Hampson writes mysteries, and because she has a passion for history, you’ll find her stories also reflect that. A Gentleman’s Promise, a traditional Regency romance, was Penny’s debut novel and the first of her Gentlemen Series. There are now four novels in the series, with the latest, An Adventurer’s Contract, released in November 2024. Penny also enjoys writing contemporary mysteries with a hint of the paranormal, because where do ghosts come from but the past? The Unquiet Spirit, a spooky mystery/romance set in Cornwall, is the first in the Spirited Encounters Series. Look out for A Plethora of Phantoms coming soon.

Penny lives with her family in Oxfordshire, and when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, and the odd gin and tonic (not all at the same time).

If you’ve enjoyed any of Penny’s books please leave a review on Amazon, Bookbub, or Goodreads, and let other readers know!

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The Green Baize Door by Eleanor Birney

The Green Baize Door By Eleanor Birney Publication Date: January 27th, 2026 Publisher: Parlor & Dock Press Pages: 295 Genre: Historical ...