Read my #BookReview of The Girl from Venice by Siobhan Daiko #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @siobhandaiko @maryanneyarde

 

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

The appeal, I think, of WW2 novels is the sense of realism, and the fact that despite the years rolling on, it still does not seem that long ago. As one would expect, there are scenes in this book that really tug at your heartstrings, but there are also lighter moments, hints of happiness even. While this book technically follows two timelines, both focus on Lidia, in WW2 Italy. The second timeline follows Charlotte, in 2010, as she attempts to uncover her Gran’s past. Lidia, being a Jew during the Second World War, faces some desperate challenges. She desperately wants to stay with her father, but as living in Venice starts to become more and more dangerous, and with him refusing to listen to her and leave while they still can, Lidia’s path takes an unprecedented turn with both emotional and physical hardships.

With two storylines, you get double the joy and love, but also double the sadness. Charlotte doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere, and Lidia must leave where she knows and belongs to stay alive and safe. Lidia ends up with a wonderful family, who, when she asks, point her in the direction of the partisans, with whom they work, and support. With both women, we get to watch a love story unfold, and both bloom so similarly that the two women seem to be alike in more than just looks, but in personality as well.

There are some distressing scenes in this book, and they make your heart wrench. The outcome, as well, is equally heartbreaking.

This book is so utterly riveting, I simply could not put it down. This is the sort of book that I could read again and again.
 

Lidia De Angelis has kept a low profile since Mussolini's racial laws wrenched her from her childhood sweetheart. But when the Germans occupy Venice in 1943, she must flee the city to save her life.

 

Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains, where she meets David, an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him, harsh Nazi reprisals and Lidia’s own ardent anti-fascist activities threaten to tear them apart.

 

Decades later in London, while sorting through her grandmother’s belongings after her death, Charlotte discovers a Jewish prayer book, unopened letters written in Italian, and a fading photograph of a group of young people in front of the Doge’s Palace.

 

Intrigued by her grandmother’s refusal to talk about her life in Italy before and during the war, Charlotte travels to Venice in search of her roots. There, she learns not only the devastating truth about her grandmother’s past, but also some surprising truths about herself.

 

A heart-breaking page-turner, based on actual events in Italy during World War II

 

Trigger Warnings:

Death, Miscarriage, PTSD, Rape.

 

If you would like to read this click on the book's name - The Girl from Venice - and it will take you to your favourite online bookstore.

 

 

 Siobhan Daiko is an international bestselling historical romantic fiction author. A lover of all things Italian, she lives in the Veneto region of northern Italy with her husband, a Havanese puppy and two rescue cats. After a life of romance and adventure in Hong Kong, Australia and the UK, Siobhan now spends her time, when she isn't writing, enjoying the sweet life near Venice.

 

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How does a fantasy story based around the American Revolution sound? Intrigued? Read on!! @TDurwood @maryanneyarde

 

How does a fantasy story based around the American Revolution sound? 

Intrigued? 

Read on!!

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh my goodness, there are some talented people in the world. The illustrations in this novel are stunning. They really captured the essence of this novel.

The Pact is a short read, with short chapters and lots of illustrations - perfect for the younger reader. It has likeable and some not so likeable characters, and the story is quite engaging. It is not a historical fiction novel in its truer sense as the author has taken some liberties with dates and depictions, but there is an air of the era about it.

I thought this book was great and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. 

Six international teens join the American Revolution.

 

Coming of age and making history. 

 

They went into 1776 looking for a fight. Little did they know how much it would cost them…

 

Six rich kids from around the globe join the Bostonian cause, finding love and treachery along the path to liberty.

 

A new perspective on one of history’s most fascinating moments.

 

Amply illustrated edition of a young-adult historical fiction novel. 

 

If you would like to read this book then you can find it on Amazon where you can also read it for free with #KindleUnlimited subscription.

 

 

Tom Durwood is a teacher, writer and editor with an interest in history. Tom most recently taught English Composition and Empire and Literature at Valley Forge Military College, where he won the Teacher of the Year Award five times. Tom has taught Public Speaking and Basic Communications as guest lecturer for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group at the Dam’s Neck Annex of the Naval War College.

 

Tom’s ebook Empire and Literature matches global works of film and fiction to specific quadrants of empire, finding surprising parallels. Literature, film, art and architecture are viewed against the rise and fall of empire. In a foreword to Empire and Literature, postcolonial scholar Dipesh Chakrabarty of the University of Chicago calls it “imaginative and innovative.” Prof. Chakrabarty writes that “Durwood has given us a thought-provoking introduction to the humanities.” His subsequent book “Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism” has been well-reviewed. “My favorite nonfiction book of the year,” writes The Literary Apothecary (Goodreads).

 

Early reader response to Tom’s historical fiction adventures has been promising. “A true pleasure … the richness of the layers of Tom’s novel is compelling,” writes Fatima Sharrafedine in her foreword to “The Illustrated Boatman’s Daughter.” The Midwest Book Review calls that same adventure “uniformly gripping and educational … pairing action and adventure with social issues.” Adds Prairie Review, “A deeply intriguing, ambitious historical fiction series.”

 

Tom briefly ran his own children’s book imprint, Calico Books (Contemporary Books, Chicago). Tom’s newspaper column “Shelter” appeared in the North County Times for seven years. Tom earned a Masters in English Literature in San Diego, where he also served as Executive Director of San Diego Habitat for Humanity.

 

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Do you like your books set at sea? If that is yes, then you must read Discerning Grace @LombardEmma @maryanneyarde

 Today we are casting off and heading to the high seas with The Coffee Pot Book Club!

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  

It is always exciting to come upon a new author. When I was offered the chance to read Emma Lombard’s debut novel, Discerning Grace, I jumped at the chance.

The characters in this novel are larger than life, the plot was utterly enthralling, and the historical setting was carefully portrayed.

I always have a great admiration for authors who set their novels at sea—they must have to do so much research. I am sure if I had to write about life on the high seas in the early 19th Century I would soon find myself adrift- pardon the pun!

Grace is a feisty protagonist who is determined to take control of her life, and I could only admire such determination. She does, because of her sheer stubbornness and her inability to think about consequence, makes some really bad decisions which leads to one of her friends ending up in Newgate prison and the other… well, you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens to him, but be prepared and have some tissues with you.

Despite the feel of this book being a little Treasure Islandly—without the treasure, or pirates, although I guess O’Reilly could be classed as the latter, this book was a really fun read. There is, however, a scene of explicit sexual assault which could certainly be very upsetting and traumatic for some readers. I would suggest a small warning at the bottom of the blurb so a reader can come equipped with the knowledge that there are such scenes.

As I have said, I really did enjoy this novel, and I was gripped from page one. This novel is certainly one that I would be happy to read over and over again. I am certainly looking forward to reading the second book in this series.

Discerning Grace

(Book One of The White Sails Series)

By Emma Lombard

As the first full-length novel in The White Sails Series, DISCERNING GRACE captures the spirit of an independent woman whose feminine lens blows the ordered patriarchal decks of a 19th century tall ship to smithereens.

Wilful Grace Baxter, will not marry old Lord Silverton with his salivary incontinence and dead-mouse stink. Discovering she is a pawn in an arrangement between slobbery Silverton and her calculating father, Grace is devastated when Silverton reveals his true callous nature.

Refusing this fate, Grace resolves to stow away. Heading to the docks, disguised as a lad to ease her escape, she encounters smooth-talking naval recruiter, Gilly, who lures her aboard HMS Discerning with promises of freedom and exploration in South America.

When Grace's big mouth lands her bare-bottomed over a cannon for insubordination, her identity is exposed. The captain wants her back in London but his orders, to chart the icy archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, forbid it. Lieutenant Seamus Fitzwilliam gallantly offers to take Grace off the fretting captain's hands by placing her under his protection.

Grace must now win over the crew she betrayed with her secret, while managing her feelings towards her taciturn protector, whose obstinate chivalry stifles her new-found independence. But when Grace disregards Lieutenant Fitzwilliam's warnings about the dangers of the unexplored archipelago, it costs a friend his life and she realises she is not as free as she believes.

If you would like to read this book then you need to head over to your favourite ONLINE BOOKSTORE! 

 

Emma Lombard

 

Emma Lombard was born in Pontefract in the UK. She grew up in Africa—calling Zimbabwe and South Africa home for a few years—before finally settling in Brisbane Australia, and raising four boys. Before she started writing historical fiction, she was a freelance editor in the corporate world, which was definitely not half as exciting as writing rollicking romantic adventures. Her characters are fearless seafarers, even though in real life Emma gets disastrously sea sick. Discerning Grace, is the first book in The White Sails Series.

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Read an exerpt from The Custard Corpses by MJ Porter

 I am a little nervous, as I have never taken part in a blog tour before, but I thought it would be a great way to discover new authors. So, with that in mind, please welcome MJ Porter onto the blog!

 

 

The Custard Corpses

By M J Porter

 

A delicious 1940s mystery.
Birmingham, England, 1943.

While the whine of the air raid sirens might no longer be rousing him from bed every night, a two-decade-old unsolved murder case will ensure that Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is about to suffer more sleepless nights.

Young Robert McFarlane’s body was found outside the local church hall on 30th September 1923. But, his cause of death was drowning, and he’d been missing for three days before his body was found. No one was ever arrested for the crime. No answers could ever be given to the grieving family. The unsolved case has haunted Mason ever since.

But, the chance discovery of another victim, with worrying parallels, sets Mason, and his constable, O’Rourke, on a journey that will take them back over twenty-five years, the chance to finally solve the case, while all around them the uncertainty of war continues, impossible to ignore.

 

“Here it is,” and Higham pulled the car close to the kerb and pointed to the same tree that Sam had just seen in the old newspaper article.

 

“Is it still the Women’s Institute?”

 

“Yes, but they don’t use it much, not at the moment, and not really since then. Too many memories.”

 

The building before him was typical of the others in the street. Quite grand, with a large enclosed front door, a bit too fancy for his eyes. He couldn’t help but think that the building looked cold, despite the stack of chimneys on the tiled roof. Perhaps it was always cold inside.

 

“I think the body was found here.” Higham had taken herself to the enormous oak tree and looked around as though the corpse might still be there.

 

Sam twirled to take in the view before him. There was the scent of rich earth and an overwhelming salty smell from the sea, even though he couldn’t see it through the press of houses on the other side of the road. It was very different from Erdington and yet also the same. Even now, the street was quiet, the building silent and foreboding but offering the illusion of privacy.

 

“I think there used to be a cut through to the park, behind the building. That’s why the dog-walker found the body.”

 

Sam smirked. He’d just been considering why anyone would be hovering in what seemed to be an abandoned garden, screened off from the main street by a tall stone wall and a thick cover of trees.

 

“But, I think much of this has been planted since.”

 

“You seem well informed?” he offered. Higham grinned.

 

“I live over there,” and she pointed to one of the large Victorian houses on the other side of the tree-lined road, with a bright red door. “I’ve watched this place change throughout my lifetime. It used to be popular, but not anymore. I don’t think it’s because of the murder. It’s just a bit out of the way now that everyone goes into the busy shopping area. I would think the Women’s Institute might sell it. They mainly use the Town Hall for meetings now. There’s more parking for those well-to-do women who have access to a motor vehicle. and it’s much warmer than this cold, old building.”

 

“So, you’re what? Twenty-two?”

 

“Twenty-four, sir. We moved here seventeen years ago, just after the murder. I think my parents managed to get the house cheaply because of what had happened. The other family just wanted to move away.”

 

Higham paused, and Sam waited, curious to see what she’d say.

 

“It’s always been a bit strange around here. It’s not as though people avoid the place, but I’ve seen people of a certain generation cross over when they get close to the Women’s Institute. The memories of what happened here are long for people who lived in Weston at the time. New arrivals know nothing about it, and so they’re not at all bothered. They don’t cross the road or avoid coming here.”

 

“It’s similar where my victim was found. It’s a church hall still, but no one uses it other than for necessities. Certainly, parties and fetes are held elsewhere.”

 

Higham nodded, a flicker of relief on her intense face...

You can pick up your copy over on Amazon.

 

M J Porter writes historical fiction set before 1066. Usually.

 

This is M J's first foray into the historical mystery genre and the, relatively recent, twentieth century.

 

M J writes A LOT, you've been warned.

 

You can connect with MJ Porter at the following locations: Website, Blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, BookBub, Amazon Author Page, Goodreads & Tumblr.

 

 If you would like to follow the tour for The Custard Corpses you can do so at the following locations: