Author: bookafterbook

Publication: 7th December 2021 – Berkley

Jane Austen meets reality TV and murder in this quirky cozy mystery—the first in a new series!

Phaedra Brighton is perfectly content with her life of lecturing college students, gossiping with her best friends, and dreaming of Mr. Darcy. As a young, respected (if somewhat peculiar) English professor, her expertise lies in all things Jane Austen—but she knows that the closest she’ll ever get to being a real-life Elizabeth Bennet is in her dreams.

When Who Wants to Marry Mr. Darcy, a new reality TV show, starts filming at her best friend Charlene’s estate, Phaedra is intrigued. And when the producer asks her to lend her Austenian knowledge as a consultant on the show, she’s over the moon. But on the first day of filming, when Charlene’s new husband is found electrocuted and Charlene herself is accused of the crime, Phaedra comes crashing back to reality.

With murder on the syllabus and her best friend in dire straits, there’s no Mr. Darcy around to help Phaedra—she’ll have to get to the bottom of this mystery herself.

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BARNES & NOBLE

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I see Jane Austen and a mystery murder together and, of course, I am intrigued. Pride, Prejudice, and Peril is the first book in the Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery series and it introduces its fantastic protagonist, an English Literature professor and renowned Jane Austen scholar, who dresses in Regency dresses and, somehow, gets involved in murder investigations.

Professor Phaedra Brighton is known for her knowledge of Jane Austen and the Regency era so it’s no surprise when she is asked to consult for a new reality show where the Bachelor meets Pride and Prejudice: Who Wants to Marry Mr. Darcy?. The show is filmed in the Marling mansion, recently on the news following the death of its owner who left all his estate to his nephew, William Collier, leaving his wife and four daughters with almost nothing. On the first day of filming, a storm rages, the lights go out, and first there is a theft and then William Collier is found murdered in the tub. And when the first suspect turns out to be none other than the victim’s wife, a close friend of Phaedra, she decides to investigate on her own. Dodging the warnings of detective Morelli to stay out of the investigation, organizing the annual Jane Austen festival, and welcoming the new arrogant and yet striking Shakespeare professor to the university keep Phaedra busy, but she’s convinced of her friend’s innocence and there were many people who wanted to see the victim dead…  

I had so much fun reading Pride, Prejudice, and Peril. It’s entertaining, immersive, and with quite a few twists. Professor Phaedra Brighton is a surprising heroine. She is not a typical professor. She dresses in Regency clothes to make her classes more realistic and entertaining and she is quite popular among the students. Her love for Jane Austen slips into real life as she waits for her own Mr. Darcy, while avoiding her mother’s attempts to match-making. She lives in a carriage house with her unusual cat Wickham and she holds monthly meetings of her Jane Austen Tea Society where, due to recent events, book talks have turned into murder talks and a murder board. I love her (in real life, we would be great friends, sharing our love for Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy)!!!

Pride, Prejudice, and Peril is an enjoyable and intriguing cozy mystery with a sharp, witty, and determined protagonist and I am already looking forward to her next adventure!

A huge thank you to Austenprose and Berkley for providing me with a proof of this brilliant novel.

Katie Oliver is known internationally as a writer of Jane Austen rom-coms with a hint of mystery. In the U.S. and the U.K., she’s the bestselling author of the Dating Mr. Darcy and Marrying Mr. Darcy series.

Publication: 7th November 2023 – Headline Eternal

The sainted Miss Venus was up to something – and he was damned if that didn’t intrigue him.

Venus Merriwell knows exactly what she wants in a husband: a selfless academic, free from all the wretched vices of her gambling father. Unfortunately, at twenty-three and after several romantic disappointments, the one true love of her life is a bursting-at-the-seams Covent Garden orphanage that desperately needs to expand into the empty building next door.

Gambling isn’t just Galahad Sinclair’s life, it’s in his blood. Following a childhood in a New York tavern, he’s spent the last five years making a success out of his East End gaming hall and saving for the pleasure palace of his dreams in Covent Garden. The only fly in his ointment? His perfect building just happens to be right next door to Venus’s orphanage.

With Venus’s malevolent orphans doing their darndest to sabotage Galahad’s lifelong dream, the two soon find themselves locking horns. Will either of them ever take the ultimate gamble and learn to love their neighbour?

AMAZON

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I loved the Merriwell Sisters series from the very beginning and I have been looking forward to the final book, Never Wager with a Wallflower, whose protagonist is the youngest sister, Venus “Vee”.

When she was 14 years old, Vee had dreams of romance and a husband who would love her above everything else. But after many failures and disappointments, Vee has had enough. She is no longer looking for love and she would happily settle for a husband she could have good conversations with and who loves books as much as her. Unfortunately, the only option seems to be a boring and pompous viscount. Luckily, her work at the orphanage keeps her busy and distracted, especially since Galahad Sinclair is always around to goad her and challenge her.

Never Wager with a Wallflower is a fantastic ending to a brilliant series. I have been waiting for Vee and Gal’s book since their first disastrous and hilarious meeting in Never Rescue a Rogue. I expected sparkles to fly between these two characters and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved how well Venus, who loves books and is a master at card games, has developed since the first book. Just like her sisters, she’s been burnt by their father’s abandonment and betrayal, but she’s found her foot volunteering in the orphanage. On the other hand, after the death of his grandfather and his mother, Gal hasn’t found a place to call home, but he’s determined to make a success of his gaming hall, even if it means to collide with Vee. As they exchange witty banter and challenge each other at card games, they realize they have more in common than they expected.

An enemies-to-lovers romance, a meddling found family, and an ending that left me slightly emotional, Never Wager with a Wallflower is engaging and immersive and I couldn’t recommend it enough!

A huge thank you to Headline Eternal and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

When Virginia Heath was a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older, the stories became more complicated, sometimes taking weeks to get to the happy ending. Then one day, she decided to embrace the insomnia and start writing them down. Twenty-one books and two Romantic Novel of the Year Award nominations later, and it still takes her forever to fall asleep.

Publication: 26th October 2023 – HQ

A long-lasting friendship
Every year, Erica, Claudia, and Anna reunite for their book club holiday. They’re bonded by years of friendship and a deep love of books, but there is still so much they keep from each other…

A perfect Christmas escape
At the cosy Maple Sugar Inn, Hattie specialises in making her guests’ dreams come true, but this Christmas all she wants is to survive the festive season. Between running the inn and being a single mother, Hattie is close to breaking point.

The start of a brand-new story…?
Over the course of an eventful week, Hattie sees that the friends are each carrying around unspoken truths, but nothing prepares her for how deeply her story will become entwined in theirs. Will this Christmas be the end of the book club’s story or the start of a whole new chapter?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

It’s not Christmas without a Sarah Morgan’s novel! And I read The Christmas Book Club is two sitting while dreaming of Christmas in snowy Vermont.

Four women and an idyllic hotel in the snow. Hattie never thought that at 28 she would find herself widowed, taking care of a 5-year-old and a dog, and managing the Maple Sugar Inn, a cozy hotel in Vermont. While dealing with a couple of rude staffers, still grieving over the death of her husband, and struggling with her feelings for her handsome neighbour – and Christmas tree man – Noah, she must put on a smile and welcome her guests and give them an experience that will make them return. 

Workaholic Erica is not one for relationships or emotions. After her father abandoned her and her mother mere minutes after her birth, she’s been raised with the belief that you can’t rely on anyone, but yourself. Her only family is her two best friends to whom she hasn’t yet told the real reason why she has chosen the Maple Sugar Inn as the hotel for their annual book club meeting.

Claudia had thought that she and her boyfriend would have been together forever, but, after ten years together, he left her for another woman. Six months later, she’s also lost her job – not that she’d mind, as she hated it – so she is really looking forward to the annual book club meeting with her best friends. But, looking at their perfect lives, she can’t keep wondering what she is going to do next.

Her friends think her life is perfect, but Anna is dreading the day her two teenage children leave home. She loves being a mother and being always there for them, even if it means giving up on time alone with her husband, but they don’t seem to need her anymore.  

I really loved The Christmas Book Club. I loved the evocative Christmas atmosphere, the beautiful village and the sense of close community. And I loved the characters, authentic, relatable, and well-developed. Well-written, heart-warming, and entertaining, The Christmas Book Club is the perfect book to cozy up in front of a fire with hot chocolate!

A huge thank you to HQ and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Sarah Morgan is a USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She has sold more than 21 million copies of her books and her trademark humour and warmth have gained her fans across the globe. Sarah lives with her family near London, England, where the rain frequently keeps her trapped in her office. Visit her at www.sarahmorgan.com

Publication: 2nd November 2023 – Pushkin Children’s Books

Eighteen-year-old Sorinda is a deadly assassin with a reputation to match. But her latest assignment is like no other. The pirate queen, Alosa, has tasked her with captaining a handpicked crew on a dangerous rescue mission, and her sailing master is none other than the infuriating Kearan.

But as they navigate through treacherous waters, they accidentally awaken the King of the Undersea, who summons an army of undead soldiers from the depths. With Kearanby her side, Sorinda must fight tooth and nail to survive. Will Sorinda and her crew manage to save the world, or will she face a fate worse than death – becoming an undead queen controlled by the King himself?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

I loved the first two books in the series and I was thrilled to return to this world of sirens and pirates, even though the protagonist is no longer Alosa, now the Pirate Queen, but her best assassin, Sorinda.

Sorinda is the person who the Pirate Queen sends to take care of her enemies. They don’t see her coming and she gets the job done. But when Alosa asks her to captain a crew to find some of her girls undercover on a ship of the Land’s King, Sorinda is not exactly thrilled. Still haunted by her past and its monsters, she doesn’t feel up to the job and she doesn’t want to disappoint Alosa. Even worse, Kearan is part of her crew. She doesn’t like the attention he reserves her or the belief that he stopped drinking because of her. But her queen has tasked her with a mission and she has every intention to accomplish it. And if surviving a Kraken-like sea monster was hard, facing the King of the Undersea is even worse. But Sorinda is determined to save her crew, even if it means sacrificing herself…

I really enjoyed Vengeance of the Pirate Queen. The beginning was a bit slow, but then the story really picked up pace and I turned page after page. There are monsters, undead, pirates, sirens, a quest for revenge, alliances are formed, and curses are broken. And of course, a fantastic slow-burn romance that kept me completely immersed.

If you haven’t read the first two books, I think it can be easily read as a standalone as there is some backstory, which helped me, too, as I couldn’t remember some of the characters from the previous books. That said, if you love stories of pirates, romance, a fantastic world-building, I recommend the entire series!

A huge thank you to Pushkin Children’s Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Tricia Levenseller is from a small town in Oregon and now lives next to the Rocky Mountains in Utah with her bossy dog, Rosy. When she’s not writing or reading, Tricia enjoys putting together jigsaw puzzles, playing Overwatch, and watching her favorite TV shows while eating extra-buttered popcorn. Her books include Daughter of the Pirate King, its sequel Daughter of the Siren Queen, Warrior of the Wild, The Shadows Between Us, Blade of Secrets and its sequel Master of Iron, all published or forthcoming from Pushkin.

Publication: 12th October 2023 – Jo Fletcher Books

Captured by the king of darkness, she was forced to find the light within.

Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King.

Arwen knows better than to face the ancient, wicked woods that surround the castle on her own, which means working with a fellow prisoner might be her only path to freedom. Unfortunately, he’s as infuriating as he is cunning-and seems to take twisted pleasure in playing on Arwen’s deepest fears.

But here in Onyx Kingdom, trust is a luxury she can’t afford.

To make it out of enemy territory, she’ll have to navigate back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and deadly beasts. But untold power lies inside Arwen, dormant and waiting for a spark. If she can harness it, she just might be able to escape with her life-and hopefully, her heart.

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A Dawn of Onyx is yet another brilliant debut fantasy that I had the pleasure to read lately.

There are kingdoms at war, magic, and a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance that I really enjoyed. Arwen’s magical abilities allow her to heal everyone in a few minutes, except her chronically ill mother. And as the war between her kingdom and the ruthless Onyx king perseveres, Arwen fears for the life of her brother and his best friend on the front line. But, an unexpected turn of events forces her to make a deal with the enemies to protect her family, so she is taken to Onyx to work as a healer. While she tries to find a way out, Arwen discovers that the truth about the war is much more complex and darker than she thought and that maybe she can’t really trust anyone, not even the man she’s been falling in love with.

I had so much fun reading A Dawn of Onyx. I liked the characters, starting from the protagonist Arwen who, even though at times was a bit naive, I found strong and quite resourceful, determined to protect her family, even at the cost of her life and I enjoyed how her relationship with her broody and evasive love interest develops, with lots of banter and chemistry.

There are also an intriguing world-building, twists, magical creatures, loyalties tested and secrets revealed, with an ending that promises more exciting things to come in the sequel.

A huge thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Kate Golden lives in Los Angeles where she works full time in the film industry developing stories with screenwriters and filmmakers. A Dawn of Onyx is her debut novel, and the first in the Sacred Stones trilogy. In her free time she is an avid book reader, movie fanatic, and functioning puzzle addict. An embarrassing LA cliché, she likes to hike, brunch, and go to the flea market with her fiancé and her puppy.

Publication: 24th October 2023 – Soho Crime

The final volume of the critically acclaimed mystery series featuring Jane Austen as amateur sleuth

March 1817: As winter turns to spring, Jane Austen’s health is in slow decline, and threatens to cease progress on her latest manuscript. But when her nephew Edward brings chilling news of a death at his former school, Winchester College, not even her debilitating ailment can keep Jane from seeking out the truth. Arthur Prendergast, a senior pupil at the prestigious all-boys’ boarding school, has been found dead in a culvert near the schoolgrounds—and in the pocket of his drenched waistcoat is an incriminating note penned by the young William Heathcote, the son of Jane’s dear friend Elizabeth. Winchester College is a world unto itself, with its own language and rites of passage, cruel hazing and dangerous pranks. Can Jane clear William’s name before her illness gets the better of her?
 
Over the course of fourteen previous novels in the critically acclaimed Being a Jane Austen Mystery series, Stephanie Barron has won the hearts of thousands of fans—crime fiction aficionados and Janeites alike—with her tricky plotting and breathtaking evocation of Austen’s voice. Now, she brings Jane’s final season—and final murder investigation—to brilliant, poignant life in this unforgettable conclusion.

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Truly excited to take part in the blog tour for Jane and the Final Mystery, the latest fantastic novel by Stephanie Barron.

Set in 1817, Jane and the Final Mystery sees my all-time favorite author in the last year of her life solving a murder and proving a young man’s innocence while her health keeps declining.

In Chawton, the Austen’s family receives the news of Uncle James’ death and while her brothers and sister go to the funeral and the reading of the will, Jane remains home with her mother. But when her nephew Edward informs her of a death at Winchester College, his former school, involving the son of her close friend Elizabeth, Jane decides to investigate, but not everyone in the school is eager to talk and many are keeping secrets.

Unfortunately, I discovered this series only recently and I haven’t read the previous books (yet!), but it can easily be read as a stand-alone and I am certainly planning to read all fourteen other books because I love how the author brings Jane Austen to life, making her feel real and authentic and perfectly mixing real-life facts, characters, and locations with a murder mystery.

The story is very well-written and well-paced with a captivating plot and the evocative and intriguing setting of Winchester. The mystery is suspenseful: Jane is convinced of her friend’s son’s innocence and she intends to prove it, using her determination and her wit, and she doesn’t let her illness slow her down.

Jane and the Final Mystery is truly an entertaining and immersive story, perfect for all Jane Austen fans, but also those who love a good and well-drafted mystery. I am sorry that this is the final book in the series, but I am really excited to read the entire series. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to Austenprose and Soho Press for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and providing me with a proof of this brilliant novel.

Stephanie Barron is a graduate of Princeton and Stanford, where she received her Masters in History as an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow in the Humanities. Her novel, THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN (Ballantine, January 22, 2019) traces the turbulent career of Jennie Jerome, Winston Churchill’s captivating American mother. Barron is perhaps best known for the critically acclaimed Jane Austen Mystery Series, in which the intrepid and witty author of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE details her secret detective career in Regency England. A former intelligence analyst for the CIA, Stephanie—who also writes under the name Francine Mathews—drew on her experience in the field of espionage for such novels as JACK 1939, which The New Yorker described as “the most deliciously high-concept thriller imaginable.” She lives and works in Denver, CO.

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PRAISE FOR JANE AND THE FINAL MYSTERY

“Poignant . . . Elicits deep emotion out of Jane’s struggles against her own mortality. This is a fitting send-off for a beautifully realized series.”— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Barron developed Jane’s narrative voice by reading Austen’s collected and published letters, and it is neither spoiler nor surprise to say that series readers will be sorry to say goodbye to Jane Austen, amateur sleuth.”— Booklist

“[Barron] has brilliantly combined authentic historical and biographical details with skillful plotting and a credible evocation of Austen’s wry, distinctive voice. She brings the English author’s final investigation to a poignant, unforgettable close. Fans of this historical series will not be disappointed.”— First Clue

Publication: 24th October 2023 – HarperVoyager

From Greta Kelly, the author of the Warrior Witch duology, comes The Queen of Days, an epic adventure that weaves together a flawed-but-lovable family of thieves, a battle between fallen gods, and stakes high enough to cause vertigo—perfect for fans of The Lies of Locke Lamora and Six of Crows.

For Balthazar and his family of thieves, stealing a statue during the annual celebration of the god Karanis was just a good bit of fun…or a way to stick it to the governor who murdered his parents. And yeah, the small fortune in reward doesn’t hurt—even if his boss also hired the mysterious Queen of Days to join the crew as “the weapon of last resort…”

Whatever that means.

But Bal doesn’t know the ceremony isn’t simply empty words and dusty tradition; it’s true magic. The kind of magic that rips open a portal for the god himself. Only the idol that Karanis planned on using for a body now lies broken at the Queen of Days’ feet. And half of it is missing.

With the aid of a lovable brawler, a society lady turned bomb maker, a disgraced soldier, and a time-eating demon, Bal must hunt down the missing half of the statue if he has any hope of earning his money, keeping his crew alive…and perhaps even saving all of humanity. But as his journey sends him racing through the city—and across realities—he discovers that doing all this might just doom the city.

The city be damned. It’s time to kill a god.

AMAZON

Full of adventures and surprises, The Queen of Days is an entertaining and immersive fantasy novel that kept me immersed from beginning to end.

The story is told from two different perspectives. On one side, there is Balthazar. Born from one of the most powerful families in the city of Cothis, Bal and his siblings were forced to flee after the murder of their family by the hands of the now governor. But now, he and his band of thieves are back in search of revenge and a huge pay off that will allow them to start a new life. All they have to do is to steal a statue during the celebrations of the god Karamis and, in doing so, disgracing the man who killed their family. But, to do that, they need the help of the Queen of Days. Also known as Tass, the Queen of Days is certainly not human, but she gets things done, even though her price is high and it’s not money, but time. Bal is determined to get his revenge, no matter the cost, even when the statue they were supposed to steal is broken in half and a door is open to a wrathful god.

I must admit that I really enjoyed this novel. The world-building is quite interesting and there are twists and turns at every corner, lots of action, bored gods who want to conquer the human world, time magic, and loyalties questioned.

The characters are interesting. Their motivations are realistic and, despite frequent arguing and secrets, they love each other and always come together. Bal’s obsession for revenge can be his weakness and sometimes puts in question his leadership, but I liked how his character develops towards the end. Tass/the Queen of Days’ perspective were some of my favorite parts to read. Her confusion to human’s actions and emotions and her desire to belong somewhere made her an authentic and fascinating character.

The Queen of Days is a well-written story of revenge, action, love, and found family and I am already looking forward to its sequel.

A huge thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Greta K. Kelly is (probably) not a witch, death or otherwise, but she can still be summoned with offerings of too-beautiful-to-use journals and Butterfingers candy. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her husband EJ, daughters Lorelei and Nadia who are doing their level-best to take over the world.

Publication: 6th July 2023 – Simon & Schuster Children’s UK

Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya . . . The exceptional. The Elites. The Elites have possessed powers for decades, gifted to them by the Plague, while those born Ordinary are just that, banished from the kingdom and shunned from society.
 
No one knows this better than Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary posing as an Elite. When she unsuspectingly saves one of Ilya’s princes, Kai Azer, she’s thrown into the Purging Trials, a brutal competition to showcase her ‘Elite’ powers.
 
If the Trials and the opponents don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for will if he discovers what Paedyn really is . . . completely Ordinary.

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I adored this novel. It’s an addictive and witty enemies-to-lovers fantasy set in a world in which those with magic powers, the Elites, are convinced that those without magic, Ordinaries, are the source of a plague and for this reason they must be eliminated.

The protagonist, Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary, has spent all her life pretending to have powers in order to survive. Since the death of her father when she was thirteen years old she’s lived on the streets with her best friend Adena, stealing and pickpocketing to survive. One day, she saves the life of prince Kay and she’s entered into the Trials, a competition in which the Elites use their powers to win a series of dangerous challenges.

As the second son of the King of Ilya, Kai Azer has been training all his life to become the future Enforcer, afflicting torture and enduring it himself, and learning to kill without remorse. He entered this year’s Trials with every intention of winning, but he didn’t expect to face the woman who saved his life.  As they try to not fall in love with each other, they have to face not only the Trials and some ruthless competitors, but also political intrigue and the secrets that could be their ruin.

I loved Paedyn and Kai. She’s smartass and fierce. Without powers, she plans to win the competition on pure strength and wit. Her past haunts her and she’s out for revenge against those who murdered her father. Kay is smug and arrogant and I couldn’t help but love him. He’s a complicated relationship with his father, while he is very close to his brother and future king. Their romance is slow-burn, swoony, and exciting. I loved when those two got together: the easy banter and the tension kept me glued to the page. 

I think that Powerless is an amazing debut. It is well-written, immersive, and intriguing and with an incredible ending that makes me countdown the days until the next book!

A huge thank you to Simon & Schuster Children’s UK and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this novel.

When Lauren Roberts isn’t writing about fantasy worlds and bantering love interests, she can likely be found burrowed in bed reading about them. Lauren has lived in Michigan her whole life, making her very familiar with potholes, snow, and various lake activities. She has the hobbies of both a grandmother and a child, i.e., knitting, laser tag, hammocking, word searches, and coloring. She’s the author of Powerless, and she hopes to have the privilege of writing pretty words for the rest of her life. If you enjoy ranting, reading, and writing, Lauren can be found on both TikTok and Instagram @Laurens1ibrary for your entertainment.

Publication: 17th October 2023 – Quercus

With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant story with romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible: a story you will never forget.

In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm – and the mysterious curse that has haunted them for generations.

The madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance left her daughter, June, to be raised by her grandmother. Everyone in Jasper is certain it’s only a matter of time before she finds the same end, but June has kept secret that her unravelling has already begun.

After her grandmother’s death, June follows a series of clues that link her mother’s disappearance to the town’s dark history, leading finally to a mysterious door.

Behind it may lay the answer to the mysteries that have always lingered like a dark shadow. Upon crossing the threshold, June embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but entangle her fate and her heart in a star-crossed love.

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In Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow has always wondered what had happened to her mother Susanna. June knows that she had the same illness that cursed all the Farrow women, herself included, but why did she abandon her when she was only a few months old? And where did she go? 

June has always known her fate and, following her grandmother’s death, she can no longer pretend that she is not suffering the Farrow curse. The hallucinations and voices have become more frequent and there is a red door that keeps appearing. And passing through that door leads June not only to find out more about her mother, but also about the curse that makes the Farrow women different, and to have the chance to the love that she thought she’d never have. All her life June has been following the same path, convinced that the madness of her family was inevitable, but suddenly she has the chance to make a choice for the life she wants to live.

And, as June tries to figure out the truth about her birth, her mother, and her family, she also gets involved in the mysterious murder of the minister of Jasper in the 1950s which was never solved. 

Beautifully written, riveting, and thrilling, I can’t stop thinking about The Unmaking of June Farrow and I don’t think I will do it anytime soon (not that I really want to). Adrienne Young created a magnificent and unforgettable story of magic, love, and family that kept me completely engrossed and I can’t wait to see what she is planning next!

A huge thank you to Quercus and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this addictive novel.

Adrienne Young is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of Spells for Forgetting, the Sky in the Deep duology and the Fable series. When she’s not writing, you can find her on her yoga mat, on a walk in the woods, or planning her next travel adventure. She lives and writes in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

I’ve reached the end of the readalong of the captivating DI Ben Kitto series and I have enjoyed it so much. Brilliant characters, a carefully-plotted and suspenseful story, and the fascinating setting of the Isles of Scilly…

Publication: 12th October 2023 – Simon & Schuster UK

ON A REMOTE ISLAND

When Jez Cardew’s boat is found drifting empty on the Atlantic Ocean, DI Ben Kitto and his fellow lifeboat crew members immediately fear the worst. After an extensive search yields no results, the team are forced to retreat to dry land as darkness sets in.
 
THE OCEAN IS MERCILESS

But Kitto can’t let it go. Why would Jez – an experienced sailor – get into difficulty when the sea has been calm for weeks? Unless his disappearance was no accident.
 
BUT SO ARE THE PEOPLE …

The gruesome discovery of a hand washed ashore on the beach confirms his hunch. Because a medal is attached to the index finger, and it can only have been placed there by the killer.
 
This strange clue is the only lead to an agenda as cold as the ocean itself. Kitto must work fast, before the small, isolated community closes ranks. And it’s only a matter of time before the murderer among them strikes again…

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I was very excited when, a few months ago, I was invited to take part in the readalong for the DI Ben Kitto series because it gave me the chance to go back to a series that I adore, starting from its big grumpy protagonist, DI Ben Kitto, to the gripping mysteries and the evocative and atmospheric setting of the Isles of Scilly.

Hangman Island is the seventh and latest (hopefully, not last) book in the series and it sees DI Ben Kitto right in the middle of the organization of his wedding to his girlfriend, and mother of his child, Nina. Ben’s also been volunteering with the lifeboat crew of the islands and he has to interrupt his dress fitting when one of his fellow crew goes missing. He is convinced that something darker and more twisted than a disappearance on the unforgiving sea is going on, especially when a hand is found on the beach, convincing him that there is a killer targeting the members of the crew. But why? And who is going to be next?

Once again, Kate Rhodes kept me guessing until the end with a long list of suspects, secrets uncovered, and many twists and turns. The suspense increases as Ben Kitto races against time to find the killer before they kill again, but it’s not easy when the small community keeps its secrets well protected. And with a family of his own, Ben’s job becomes even more difficult. Is he willing to risk his life on the sea while his family is waiting for him at home?

With its unpredictable mysteries, its complex and well-developed characters, and beautiful and remote setting, the DI Ben Kitto series is one of my favourite and Hangman Island is as immersive, thrilling, and addictive as the other novels.

A huge thank you to Tracy and Simon & Schuster for inviting me to take part in the readalong and providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Kate Rhodes is a bestselling British crime writer. Her latest books are the acclaimed ISLES OF SCILLY MYSTERIES, which have been optioned for TV. Kate has been passionate about the islands since holidaying there as a child, and still returns regularly to research her books. Kate’s books have been nominated for the Crime Novel of the Year award, and the Library Dagger award.

Kate was born in south London, but now lives in Cambridge with her husband. She did a wide range of jobs including working in bars, being a theatre usherette, and teaching at a liberal arts college in Florida, before focusing on her writing. She works part-time as a Creative Writing Fellow at Cambridge University.