Thank you to everyone who contributed a review in April for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. It's been a good start to the 2026 challenge. I will be back in the next week or so with all the statistics for the month.
I am looking forward to reading your reviews throughout the rest of the year! I am sure there is going to be a lot of great historical fiction discovered and shared with fellow HF lovers over the course of this year!
If you haven't already signed up, it's not too late! The sign up post is here.
Just to recap what participants need to know. At the beginning of each month I will put up a post which will have a Mr Linky embedded into it for you to add your link.
Please remember...
add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review).
it doesn't matter where you review - Bookstagram, Goodreads etc as long as you share a direct link to your review.
any kind of historical fiction is accepted (fantasy, young adult, graphic novels...)
if you have time, have a look some of the other links that are present. You never know when you will discover new blogs or books!
You can also join the challenge group on Facebook which you can find here and don't forget to use the #histficreadingchallenge hashtag on the socials.
Rebecca has secretly been in love with her best friend Will for years. When she attempts to finally show this to him, he doesn't see her at all as anything other than the friend who keeps him afloat following the death of his wife five years before.
Humiliated, Rebecca decides that she needs a change and so she packs up and moves to the Algarve in Portugal to work as the yoga teacher at a small family run hotel for the summer.
There she meets the Rebelo family, more specifically Felipe Rebelo. Felipe and his family run the Quinta do Mar hotel. His mother runs the kitchen, his sister the spa, his nieces have jobs that they are forever trying to negotiate their way out of. Whilst Felipe gives off the air of a charmer who has a relaxed view of life, the reality is much different. Whilst none of his family can see it, Felipe is the one who everyone relies on to get everything done, the one they come to for decisions, the one who fills in the gaps such as working shifts in the laundry when no one else can. They all had to lean on him when his father and uncle died years before and they continue to lean on him now.
Felipe had dreams of being a professional cyclist but those dreams were put away to focus on his family. However, Rebecca is very competitive and so they first meet when they silently challenge each other to a race in the pool. She has no idea that he is really her boss. That rivalry quickly turns into attraction.
Soon Rebecca is torn. She has loved Will for so long but Felipe makes her feel desirable, wanted and valued in ways Will never has. Going with Will means leaving behind the life that she is building in Portugal.
I really enjoy Julie Caplins romantic escape series which is set in all sorts of interesting locations around the world and this was no exception. Portugal is on my list of places I would love to visit, although to be fair I am unlikely to join one of Rebecca's yoga classes
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and Bookish Books challenge hosted at Blogging ‘Bout Books. Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour below too!
About the book
The Hotel by the Sea
Pack your bags and get ready to fall in love with The Hotel by the Sea—your next romantic getaway awaits!
Rebecca needs to escape. After making a complete fool of herself watching the man she's secretly loved for years run off with someone else—she jumps at a temporary job at the family-run Quinta do Mar hotel. Sun, sea, and a fresh start sound perfect.
What she doesn't expect is Felipe Rebelo.
Charming, infuriatingly confident, and always ready with a flirty quip, Felipe seems to have life sorted. But beneath his carefree exterior lies a man carrying the weight of his entire family. The last thing he needs is another responsibility. Especially one who challenges him at every turn, makes him laugh, and is dangerously easy to fall for…
Escape to Portugal's stunning Algarve coast in this uplifting summer romance about finding yourself, choosing happiness, and discovering that love isn't about being needed—it's about being seen.
Jules Wake aka Julie Caplin is an internationally bestselling author with over 2 million sales over twenty five books including the highly successful Romantic Escape series which has been translated into over 24 languages. Her books have topped the charts in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Iceland, Italy, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
After reading English at university, Jules Wake worked in PR where she honed her fiction writing skills on press releases and swanned around Europe taking journalists on gastronomic press trips. These visits inspired the locations of many of her books. She’s now a full-time author and what better job is there than making stuff up! It certainly beats housework.
As an avid romance fan, she’s written in several genres including historical romantic fiction, contemporary women’s romance fiction and romantic comedy.
No Weekend Cooking post this week. We are currently on holidays in Turkey and while I have at least two posts to come about all the amazing foodie experiences we have had, I will save them for another week.
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is April Showers (Interpret this however you’d like: rainy day reads, books that make you cry, books that give you happy tears, books to wash away a bad reading experience, books set in rainy places, books with rain/raindrops/umbrellas on the cover, blue book covers, etc.). I am choosing to focus on water and rain!
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - I haven't thought about this book for the longest time!
The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve - I am not sure I remember anything about this book
The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman - I read a number of Carol Goodman books back in the day!
The Water Horse by Julia Gregson - I read a few of this authors books but it's been a long time since I did so.
Fish Out of Water by Mary Janice Davidson - I only read this book because the author was coming to Australia as a guest of honour at a reader convention I was going to many, many years ago!
A Life on Pittwater by Susan Duncan - Next time I go to Sydney I wouldn't mind going out to Pittwater. It sounds like a beautiful place
Water Under the Bridge by Lily Malone - This is part of a trilogy set in a small town in Western Australia
Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin - I read this for last year's Paris in July. I have a couple more books from her to read at some point
The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith - This is part of the Isabel Dalhousie series set in Edinburgh
The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang - This is a fun Korean fantasy novel
Last month, the Lambs Ears Cook Book Club chose Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious One Pot Cookbook by Poppy O'Toole as it's March selection. I tried to get that one from the library but they didn't have it, so instead I borrowed Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious One Pot Cookbook instead.
We haven't had much luck with British chef Poppy O'Toole. I love watching her, and I like her voice and attitude. The intros to her recipes are always a lot of fun, but the two cook books I have tried from her before were interesting, but there wasn't much that I wanted to cook from them.
Poppy is a Michelin trained chef who gained popularity on the socials during the pandemic when she started sharing all the different things you can do with a potato. It turns out that there is a lot and so the first book I looked at was her potato one, and then I borrowed her air fryer cook book because we are still looking for better ways to use the air fryer.
If it hadn't of been for the cook book club, I wouldn't have even looked at this book, and I would have missed out, because there are quite a few things we have made from this book and they are all good. So much so, I am contemplating buying this book so we can keep cooking from it!
The book is set up in a pretty standard format with chapters covering Soups, Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Pork, Turkey, Veggies and Desserts. As you would expect from a cook whose passion is potatoes, there is a whole chapter on potatoes in this book as well.
We have a combo slow and pressure cooker all in one, and we tend to use the pressure cooker function more than the slow cooker. With the weather becoming cooler, it was a good time to try some of these hearty slow cooked meals.
So far we have tried Beef Bourgignon, Marry Me Chicken, Chicken and Chorizo Orzo and Tomato and Paneer Curry which is the recipe I am sharing today. All of them have been good, with nice flavour which sometimes can go a bit missing when you are cooking things in the slow cooker.
There are so many recipes that I would like to try though which is why I might need to purchase this book. Some I want to try include
Chicken: Coq au Vin, Teriyaki Chicken, Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs, Fajita Chicken, Chicken Korma and more
Beef: Beef Rendang, Stroganoff and more
Pork: Char Siu Pork, Overnight Apple and Cider Pork Bap
Veggie: Potato and Aubergine Curry, Breakfast Home Style Potatos
For the record, we also tried a recipe called Chicken and Orange Tray Bake which comes from the One Pot book and is available on her website. It was delicious too.
Today I am sharing the recipe from the Tomato and Paneer Curry which was really good. Before I went to India last month, paneer isn't something that I would normally have gravitated to. While I was there we ate quite a few curry dishes which featured paneer so now I am looking forward to experimenting with it more.
Tomato and Paneer Curry
1 red onion, thinly sliced 4 fat garlic cloves, grated or crushed 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into 2cm slices thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated, or peeled and julienned or finely chopped 1–2 green chillies, thinly sliced (or 1–2 teaspoons chilli flakes) 450g paneer, cut into 2–2.5cm dice 25g butter, cubed 1 x 600g jar of passata 1 tablespoon tomato purée 1 teaspoon caster sugar 1 teaspoon garam masala 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon salt, plus extra to season 150ml single cream 1 lime, juiced 150–200g spinach small handful of coriander, stalks finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped
1. Add the onion, garlic, peppers, ginger, chillies, paneer, butter, passata, tomato
purée, sugar, garam masala, cumin seeds, teaspoon of salt and lots of black
pepper to the bowl of your slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours, until the veg are
completely tender and the paneer is pleasantly soft, but hasn’t completely fallen
apart.
2. Stir in the cream, lime juice, spinach and coriander stalks, until the spinach has
wilted. Taste to check the seasoning and adjust as needed.
3. Divide the curry between four bowls and scatter over the coriander leaves.
Weekly meals
Saturday - Swedish Meatballs Sunday - Marry Me Chicken (new) Monday - Pork chops with mash and broccoli Tuesday - Spaghetti Bolognaise Wednesday - Away Thursday - Away Friday - Away
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
Since his wife died 9 months ago, chef Guy Lyon has shut himself away from the world. He has closed down their food and boutique hotel business in the villa they owned, Villa Celestia and refuses to see anyone. It’s not just grief though. Guy doesn’t really know why his wife was in the taxi that day.
Sandy and her husband Romain run retreats. They hire lovely villa’s, provide themed events and good food and let groups of people with shared interests come together and thrive. When the owners of the villa that they had rented for an upcoming writers retreat pulls out at the last minute, they only have two options. First is to cancel the retreat. The second is to see if Guy will let them use Villa Celestia. Originally he is set against the idea but he finally agrees on one condition. He will cook simple food (not the fancy food he is known for) and he will stay in the background.
The attendees are a varied bunch. There is successful novels Liz James who is trying to find her voice again after going through a difficult divorce, there is Lorraine a successful self published author who wrote romantasy before it was a thing, Isobel is polishing her book, Helena and Mandy are friends who want to write a book and don’t know where to start. Finally there is Becky, instagrammer, influencer and wannabe fiction author
Helena has been in love with her childhood friend, Teddy, for years, but they have only just gotten together and she hasn’t told anyone yet, especially not her mother and brother. She does feel a bit guilty going on the retreat as it will be the first time in years their mother won’t be able to celebrate their birthdays today with either one of her children.
When her brother surprises her with a visit from their mother, it sets in chain a series of events which is life-changing for several people in the story. This was a lovely part of the story for me.
There were some interesting dynamics at play. For example, Becky was busy living her best Insta life and often left the group to go and do other things. She also thought she would be able to write a best seller but just working with AI
Several of our characters start to see life differently thanks to spending their time at the writing retreat including Guy, Sandy, Liz and Helena and her family.
This was once again an enjoyable visit to France through the eyes and pen of Jennifer Bohnet.
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and Bookish Books challenge hosted at Blogging ‘Bout Books. Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour below too!
Can a grieving chef and a group of writers find their own happy endings?
Eight months after his wife Jacqueline died in a tragic car accident, Michelin stared chef and proprietor of Villa Celestia, Guy Lyon’s life has been in freefall. Consumed by grief and plagued by questions as to why she was in a taxi that fateful day, the doors to Villa Celestia have remained closed.
When a good friend, Sandy Thoreau, asks to rent the villa on the French Riviera for a fortnight to hold a women’s writers retreat after being let down, Guy reluctantly agrees.
All the women at the retreat are looking forward to being inspired. Helena and her friend Mandy are writing debut novels, Isobel is editing a cosy crime story, Liz is desperate to kickstart a new book, self-published author Lorraine is looking for advice and Becky, well Becky is a law unto herself.
Over the course of the next fortnight, two of these women will change the course of Guy’s life forever and new chapters - hopefully with happy endings - will begin for all of them.
The perfect tonic and escapist read to the South of France full of warmth and second chances.
Jennifer Bohnet is the bestselling author of over 14 women's fiction titles, including Villa of Sun and Secrets and A Riviera Retreat. She is originally from the West Country but now lives in the wilds of rural Brittany, France.
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.This week the theme is Book Titles That Describe Me/My Life (Example titles: Well Traveled could describe you if you like to travel, Hotshot Doc could describe you if you’re an awesome doctor, Falling into Place could describe a life where things are starting to work out, An Infinite Love Story could describe your relationship, It Could Have Been Her could describe a thing you’re happy you avoided or a path you could have taken but didn’t. You can explain your choices or not, and they can be as specific or as abstract as you’d like.) (Submitted by Susan @ blogginboutbooks.com)
I am taking a simpler approach to this topic by sharing authors/books/characters with my name! Let's start with authors I have read whose name is either Margaret or similar/derivative to Margaret
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George
My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
And then move onto others
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan
Summer in Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Are you there God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
I couldn't resist including the last two. The reason for the first is likely obvious, but the second not so much. The main female character in North and South is called Margaret. And my post title is a paraphrase of a line that comes from absolutely fantastic mini-series adaptation of the book!
Don't you love it when you have occasions of reading serendipity!
I am currently watching a renovation show which is set in Corfu. Last week I read two books in a row set in Greece, the second set in a hotel by the sea in Corfu. The next book I am reading's title is literally Hotel by the Sea!
The first book I read was a WWII novel call The Islander's Daughter by Patricia Wilson which I reviewed here. Then I read Summer Ever After by Mandy Baggot which is set in a beachside hotel on Corfu. My review is here.
I then started The Hotel by the Sea by Julie Caplin. However, I realised that I had another book due before that one so now I am reading New Chapters on the French Riviera by Jennifer Bohnet. The review for that one will be up later this week.
I am currently trying to list the books I want to read while I am on holidays in priority order. I think the Julie Caplin will be my plane reading on the way to Turkiye at least
I did finally finish listening to The Lost Brides by Nora Roberts, which is the last book in the Lost Brides trilogy.
I then started The Names by Florence Knapp on audio. I got to the end of the first chapter and stopped, mainly because I am wondering if it might be a bit heavy for now, but if I stop now that means that I have to figure out what I need to listen to instead. Maybe it is easier to just stick to the decision I already made
I'm watching
Last night I watched the first seven episodes of The Other Bennett Sister and I am hooked! I can't wait to watch more, although I am a bit concerned that I might need to wait for a few weeks to watch the last couple of episodes.
The Other Bennett Sister focuses on the middle Miss Bennett. Often overlooked because she is plain, it is only once she gets out from under her mother's thumb that she truly blooms! It's so much fun!
Life
We went to two comedy shows at the Melbourne Comedy Festival over the last couple of weeks. First, we saw Wankernomics and then Nurse Georgie Carroll. Wankernomics basically takes all the things that happen in corporate workplaces and then makes fun of them. Here's a clip that I recognised. My boss says she has a hard stop quite regularly!
Nurse Georgie Carroll talks about a lot of medical stuff, the joys and trials of being a nurse in the healthcare system. Both of these shows were very, very funny!
The countdown in on to our holidays. After the indecision about whether we should go or not, I am really looking forward to getting away! The holiday nails are done. The pre-holiday haircut is scheduled for tomorrow night. Just have to get through three frantic days at work now!
I am not sure if I will be able to post my This Week posts or not. We'll see!
Every month I share some of the statistics related to the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. I try very hard to visit every post which has been linked (time permitting) and I find it interesting to see what are the books that people are reading and reviewing! I often end up adding a couple of books to my never ending TBR list.In terms of the books read in March, there were 46 reviews linked up for the challenge, shared by 17 participants. There were 43 individual titles reviewed, written by 42 different authors. There were 4 reviewers who reviewed 4 or more books each. Thank you to everyone who shared their links whether it be 5 or just 1.
So which books were reviewed more than once in March? There were 3 and coincidentally I read and reviewed 2 of them.
The first book that was linked up more than once was James by Percival Everett which was one of the most popular books for the challenge last year. Bree from All the Books I Can Read and I both read it, which probably isn't entirely a coincidence. You can find Bree's review here and mine is here.
The second book as The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams which was read by both Kim on Goodreads and Laura from Laura's Reviews.
The final book to be read twice this month was The Strawberry House by Rachel Burton which both Helen from She Reads Novels and I read. I can confirm that this is totally unplanned!
Bev from My Reader's Block read two novels by Manda Collins this month, being A Lady's Guide to Mischief & Mayhem and Portrait of a Nightingale. Something that is a bit interesting is that we had 4 books reviewed by authors with Collins in their name!
I added several titles to my TBR pile after visiting all the posts this month. Goodness only knows if and when I will be able to read them though! One post I did find interesting was about a book The Colony of Good Hope by Kim Leine which is about the Danish colonisation of Greenland, which is not a subject you see very often!
If you enjoy reading Historical Fiction why not join us? You can find all the details here.
In 2012 a German woman named Margot Wolk shared a story that before then was unknown. She claimed that she was one of a group of 15 women who were forced to be the taste testers for Hitler's food, and that she was the only one of the women to survive the war. Some have cast doubts on the story, but whether it is true or not, it does make for an interesting tale. Le Assaggiatrici is an Italian movie which tells that story.
Rosa is a young woman who moves to a small town in what is now Poland to live with her in-laws. Her husband is a solder. They have been married 4 years but in that time she has only seen him for a few weeks as he has been off fighting the war. The letters have become at first infrequent and now non-existent so she is not sure if he is alive or not.
Not long after arriving, there is a knock at the door and Rosa is ordered to board a bus by soldiers. She doesn't know why or where she is going or who the other women already on the bus are. The women on the bus arrive at a facility where they are taken to a dining room where they are ordered to eat. At first the women are reticent, but food is food. It is only after they have eaten that they are told that they have now been conscripted to be the tasters of Hitler's food as the Fuhrer is paranoid of being poisoned.
Each day they are bought to the dining room and they have to eat. They then have to wait for a prescribed period of time to see if they are ill after eating. Only then will the chef give the all clear for the food to be presented to Hitler. It is easy how this could absolutely affect your mind. After all, if someone is going to try to poison him, you could also be poisoned. The guards are very alert, and even if you aren't hungry, or not feeling well for other reasons, you must still eat or face the consequences.
At first, the women are wary of each other, especially of Rosa who is an outsider. These women are doing the best they can to survive a brutal war, to raise children, and for those who are single hoping for the opportunity to find love. Some of the women are also trying to keep their secrets safe, some more successfully than others. Over the course of the film, the dynamics between the women shift constantly from rivals, to uneasy friendships and strong bonds.
I wasn't sure about one aspect of the film which is when Rosa began a passionate secret affair with one of the lieutenants who was in charge of the group. It did add additional tension into the movie but it did seem like an odd decision.
As the war progresses, the desperation of the soldiers increases as well as the fear of what will happen if and when the Russians arrive.
This is a WWII movie which focuses predominantly on the experience of a group of women, which makes it unusual given that so often women are on the outside of the story. It is based on a bestselling book called The Wolf at the Table by Rosa Postarino
This movie was originally shown here as part of the German Film Festival in 2025. However, I missed it then so I was pleased when I saw it as one of the options on the plane when I was travelling recently and that I took the opportunity to watch it! I quite often watch foreign movies on planes. Given that we are travelling again soon it will be interesting to see what I find to watch on these flights!
Here's the trailer
Weekly meals
Saturday - Away Sunday - Away Monday - Tomato and Paneer Curry and rice (new) Tuesday - Spicy Pork and Beans Noodle stir fry Wednesday - Grilled cheese on toast Thursday - Enchiladas Friday - Swedish Meatballs and mash
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
It is a complete coincidence that I read two books set in Greece in a row, and I am also watching a TV series set there as well. Or is it? Maybe it is fate telling me to hurry up and go and visit Greece! If I was to visit Greece any time soon, then Mandy Baggot has convinced me that Corfu would be worth going to.
When Faye Lawson's marriage falls apart she finds refuge and purpose at one of her favourite places on Earth. She moves to Corfu and becomes the hotel manager at the family owned hotel Margaritari. Here she deals with the hotel guests, manages the team and budgets and so much more. She lives at the hotel but her dream is to find a small beachfront home to call her own.
When Dimitria, her friend and the hotel owner, announces that they have an important guest, his name means nothing to Faye. Kostas Petsas, twenty-something ex-professional basketball player, is a Corfiot hero. There is even a statue of him in the town square. Unfortunately, the love and pride the people of Corfu feel for Kostas is not really reciprocated. He blames the community for the demise of his father. Now, he wants to build a massive tourist development and marina right in the unspoilt area near the hotel.
Despite their 15 year age gap, Kostas and Faye are immediately attracted to each other, but it's complicated. He's a famous former athlete, she's an older divorced mum to a nineteen year old daughter who seems to still think that there is a chance for her parents to reunite, even though that is the last thing that Faye wants.
When she hears that her beloved hotel might be up for sale, she also has to worry about whether her Corfu dream might be coming to an end. And if she find out what Kostas real intentions are, could their fledgling relationship survive?
I have read a number of Mandy Baggot's books and I do enjoy them. Sometimes, there is an element of madcap in the humour, but this was not one of those books. There is still humour for sure, but you can tell that this book is talking about topics that are important to her.
I loved the characters of Dimitria and Kyriaki, Kostas' grandmother who he had long believed to be dead. Kyriaki lives in a tree house with no electricity or other mod cons, which doesn't mean to say that she doesn't know what is going on in the world around her. As she says, "Here I am away from everything I do not want and in the middle of everything I do."
I also loved the epilogue. I can't tell you why, but just the way that everything played out showed that Kostas really got Faye, her history, her dreams and more. In a way it surprised me to see that, despite his age, he really understood her.
A key part of the story is the locals opposition to the full scale development that Kostas is originally proposing. In the afterword, Mandy Baggot talks about how this is a very real campaign in the area that the book is set, which is near her home. The video below, which comes from the Save Erimitis page, shows how beautiful the whole area is, and why people are keen to ensure that it is preserved in it's current state.
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour too!
Rating 4/5
About the Book
Summer Ever After
Forty-year-old Faye Lawson is falling back in love with life at last. Finally divorced from her cheating husband, she has turned her back on the UK and has been living the Greek dream in Corfu managing a beautiful traditional boutique hotel.
For Kostas Petsas, twenty-something ex-professional basketball player, life as he has always known it is over. Having to take early-retirement because of injury, he’s at a loss as to what to do next. But when a piece of land in Corfu comes on the market, it seems this might be the perfect fit. There’s just a couple of things in the way… an area of natural beauty and… a little hotel on the beach.
Kostas has never met any woman like Faye before – she doesn’t behave around him how women usually do, and, when conflict starts to surface, it seems they can’t see eye-to-eye on anything. Or perhaps, when things get body-to-body, both of them begin to wonder if it can turn into heart-to-heart.
Escape to the beautiful island of Corfu with Mandy Baggot - queen of Greek summer romance!
Mandy Baggot is a bestselling romance writer who loves giving readers that happy-ever-after. From sunshine romantic comedies set in Greece, to cosy curl-up winter reads, she's bringing gorgeous heroes and strong heroines readers can relate to. Mandy splits her time between Salisbury, Wiltshire and Corfu, Greece and has a passion for books, food, racehorses and all things Greek!
As much as I enjoy reading made up stories in historical fiction, there is something special about stories which are based on real life events, which is the case with this book.
The Islander's Daughter tells the story of a terrible massacre on the small Greek island of Milos in August 1943. 14 men were killed by the German occupiers in retribution for the bombing of the cargo ship, SS Artemis Pitta.
The story is predominantly told through the eyes of Dora, a young woman who has grown up on the island. Like many young women of her time, her life is all planned out for her. She is expected to marry family friend Zoodow, but it is more complicated than that as her brother also has feelings for Zoodow. Her brother is forced to leave home, with tragic consequences, leaving Dora at the mercy of her violent and unpredictable father.
The author really cleverly builds the tension, from the bombing of the ship, with the timelines counting down to the date of the massacre. Dora and her family are key to the events. Dora has a natural caring nature and so finds herself caring for a survivor of the boat explosion in secret, and soon finds herself falling in love. War brings out the best and worst in people and Dora experiences this first hand when she is betrayed.
If you read the blurb for this book it appears as though it is a dual timeline is, and I guess, technically, it is. However, it is only the prologue and epilogue that have a modern setting. To be honest, the reason why is only obvious in the last couple of pages. I do wonder if there was a different way of doing this.
This is my first book from Patricia Wilson, who retired to Greece many years ago. Just looking at the titles and descriptions of her books, it is clear that she loves the country. That enthusiasm shines through the pages of the book!
I am sharing this review with New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. Be sure to check out other stops on the blog tour below.
Rating 3.5/5
About the book
The Islander's Daughter
When Trisha receives a mysterious letter to her Liverpool home, it opens a decades’ old mystery, drawing her back into her family’s forgotten past, the horrors of war, and a small island off the coast of Greece…
Eighty years earlier, on the island of Milos, Dora is dreaming of a better life, free from the oppression of the occupying army and, closer to home, the brutal rule of her father, an infamous horse breeder.
Then a German cargo ship is bombed in the harbour, killing dozens of the men on board. The islanders trawl the waters for spoilage from the wreckage – finding among the debris a badly injured man, who may just hold the awful truth about what happened.
Dora soon finds this man under her care, and it changes her life forever, introducing her to the possibility of love and freedom for the first time… But Dora cannot know, as she nurses the stranger back to health, that her actions will have devastating consequences for her beloved island. Consequences that will last for generations…
Born on the Wirral, Patricia Wilson is the author of emotional, escapist historical fiction set in the Greek Islands, including the Sunday Times bestseller Villa of Secrets. She has had seven bestsellers, and her books have been published worldwide and in thirteen languages. She is dyslexic, and fell in love with writing thanks to modern technology.
The news that there is a new Maggie Christensen book coming is always welcome! This is the eighth book in the Pelican Crossing series, which is set in a small beachside town on the Queensland coast.
We had met Ranah Black in previous books in the series, given her friendship with Erica and Livvy who featured in early books in the series. Now Erica and Livvy are all loved up with their new partners and they want the same for her. Ranah does allow herself moments where she wishes for someone, but she has never been in a relationship and she can't see that changing any time soon. The reality is that she much prefers the company of her dogs to that of people. As a breeder of spaniels, she came into contact with people often enough.
When she meets a young woman who is crying on the street, Ranah does something completely out of character and offers Tiffany a place to stay. Tiffany works in hospitality in town but is finding it difficult to find accommodation due to the lack of affordable housing. She is also somewhat estranged from her family and in a situation not of her own making. The kindness of a stranger is the last thing Tiffany expects, but she is grateful for the offer and accepts.
Steve Morton has lived outside of Pelican Crossing for a few years now. He is an American with Australian heritage who found the town by accident and loved it so much that he moved there. However, he too keeps himself to himself. He runs his hot air ballooning and scenic helicopter business from his property but other than that he keeps himself to himself. Ranah and Steve have never even met despite the fact that they are neighbours.
Despite his aloofness, Steve has made a big difference to the town. They just don't know it. Over the years he has made anonymous donations for a variety of local causes, including saving the local newspaper. Now though, he is turning his attention to the housing situation, and he knows that if his plans come to fruition, there is no way he is going to be able to keep his philanthropy anonymous!
Steve and Rhana finally meet when she is invited to go on a hot air balloon ride with her friend which isn't really her idea of fun. Privately, Rhana calls Steve "the birdman" and she is not really that interested in getting to know him. However, sometimes fate has other ideas and the two of them seem to keep on running into each other. Soon, they discover
I thought that the author did a great job a looking at trauma and the way it can impact your whole life. Both Steve and Rhana have had significant impacts on their lives. For Rhana, it has shaped her in ways that have led her to isolating herself from people, and from never believing that anyone would want a relationship with her. She has never, ever told anyone what happened to her, and she doesn't intend to start now. However, when she sees Tiffany suffering, she knows that she needs to share to try to help the younger woman down a different path to the one that she has chosen. And she also might need to put aside the fear of intimacy she has and give the birdman a chance.
Whilst Steve loves his hot air balloon and helicopters, it is a double edged sword. He knows that if it weren't for the tragic loss of his fiancée in a small plane crash many years before he probably wouldn't even be in Pelican Crossing. He has build a successful life for himself despite his loss but he doesn't really want to broaden his life.
These books are my comfort read. I know when I pick them up I am going to get immersed in the lives of a small town where there is a solid community, good people, friendships, lifestyle and so much more. Would I like to live in a town like Pelican Crossing? Yes, I think I would. Do I believe that I would get absorbed into the town in the ways that are portrayed in these books. Probably not. At least I can get absorbed into Pelican Crossing through the pages in these books! I am already looking forward to my next visit!
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews. Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.
Rating 4/5
About the book
Something in the Air in Pelican Crossing
Rhana Black has always been content with her quiet life in the Pelican Crossing hinterland, where she spends her days breeding spaniels. Following a traumatic incident at her school formal and weighed down by her own insecurities about her appearance, Rhana has shied away from any romantic relationships. That is, until a chance encounter with a hot air balloonist changes everything.
Steve Morton has been struggling to move on after the tragic death of his pregnant fiancée. In search of solace, he finds himself in Pelican Crossing, where he rediscovers his love for flying and starts offering hot air balloon rides and scenic helicopter flights along the coast. When he meets Rhana, he is taken aback by the intense emotions he feels towards her.
As Rhana and Steve navigate their complicated pasts and undeniable chemistry, they must decide if they are willing to break their self-imposed barriers and take a chance on love. But with their old wounds and deep insecurities threatening to keep them apart, can they be able to overcome their fears and find happiness together?
After a career in education, Maggie Christensen began writing contemporary women’s fiction portraying mature women facing life-changing situations, and historical fiction set in her native Scotland. Her travels inspire her writing, be it her trips to visit family in Scotland, in Oregon, USA or her home on Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. Maggie writes of mature heroines coming to terms with changes in their lives and the heroes worthy of them. Maggie has been called the queen of mature age fiction and her writing has been described by one reviewer as like a nice warm cup of tea. It is warm, nourishing, comforting and embracing.
From the small town in Scotland where she grew up, Maggie was lured to Australia by the call to ‘Come and teach in the sun’. Once there, she worked as a primary school teacher, university lecturer and in educational management. Now living with her husband of over thirty years on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, she loves walking on the deserted beach in the early mornings and having coffee by the river on weekends. Her days are spent surrounded by books, either reading or writing them – her idea of heaven!
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week the theme is Books About/Set In Places on My Bucket List (submitted by Rachel @ Sunny Side). In theory this is an easy topic for me as I read a lot of books set in places I would love to visit. I have done entire posts just on Paris alone, France, and Greece, Japan, previous holiday destinations, armchair travelling and more. As I start this post, I am away for Easter on a island called Phillip Island which is a couple of hours away from home. So, my twist this week is that I am going to focus on books set on islands, however, I am limiting it to islands that are not countries. To be fair, I could probably do this topic several times over! I am saving islands that are also countries for another time.
Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett - This book is set on Bruny Island which is in Tasmania. I just read this one recently!
The Bad Bridesmaid by Rachael Johns - A lot of this story takes place on Norfolk Island which is a place I would love to visit (my review)
The Secrets of the Huon Wren by Clair van Ryn - This is another book set in Tasmania (my review)
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa - This one is set in Sicily (my review)
The Islander's Daughter by Patricia Wilson - I am currently reading this one which is mainly set on a Greek island called Milos during WWII
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune - I think a lot of islands are magical but this one is set in a magical world!
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See - This book is set on the island of Jeju in South Korea
The Sweet Life Cafe by Helen Rolfe - Set on an island in the Channel Island (my review)
The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman - Takes place on a tiny island just off the Australian coast where the only structure is a lighthouse
Over the Seas to Skye by Sue Moorcroft - This is the third book in the Skye Sisters trilogy which are all set on the Isle of Skye in Scotland (my review)
This week my reading has been all about upcoming review books.
I read Jessica Redland's Hopes and Dreams at the Chocolate Pot Café which I reviewed here.
This coming week I have three reviews due. I powered through Maggie Christensen's Something in the Air in Pelican Crossing. I always love Maggie Christensen's books and this was another engrossing read.
I also started reading The Islander's Daughter by Patricia Wilson. This is a dual timeline WWII novel which is partly set in Greece. I haven't read this author before. My review will be up for this in a couple of days. I need to finish this one was I have one more book due for review by the end of the week
We went away for the weekend and we started listening to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir while we were driving (for reasons that will become obvious later in this post!
I read 14 books in March which kind of surprises me as I didn't feel like I was getting a lot of reading done and work has been pretty challenging. I didn't give any books 5/5 this month, although there were 5 books that I gave 4.5/5 to. They were
Books let our imaginations travel where our feet cannot - Nora Nguyen
This is where I travelled through books during March
Europe
UK - The Strawberry House, The Language of Food, The Heir Apparent
America
Maryland - Lovelight Farms, The Correspondent
Mississipi/Missouri - James
Australia
New South Wales - Everyone this Christmas has a Secret, Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon
Tasmania - The Heir Apparent, Past the Shallows
Europe
Italy - The Leopard Russia/Germany - The Rebel Romanov:Julie of Saxe-Coburg, the Empress Russia Never Had
Asia
Japan - We'll Prescribe You a Cat
I'm watching
We went to the movies on Friday and saw Project Hail Mary which we really enjoyed. I did spend half the movie trying to remember what other Ryan's name was. No idea why my mind fixated on that. The Martian is one of those movies for me where I will put it on whenever I come across it on the TV schedule. I suspect Project Hail Mary might too!
Life
We decided to do a quick getaway for the Easter long weekend so we visited an island which is a couple of hours away from us called Phillip Island. It is most famous for two things. The motorcycle grand prix was held here for many years and each night at dusk a colony of penguins waddles up out of the sea. We didn't see either of those but we did enjoy our time on the island visiting the Nobbies (where we saw this fellow as well as lots of big geese and more), the local market, going the Vietnam Veterans Museum and more.
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