It’s far too long since I read Amanda Jennings and I’m delighted to rectify that by sharing my review of her latest book The Haven. My huge thanks to the author for sending me a copy of The Haven in return for an honest review.

Amanda’s The Cliff House was one of my favourite reads of 2019 and you’ll find my review here.

Published by Harper Collins imprint HQ on 22nd March 2022, The Haven is available for purchase here.

The Haven

It was meant to be paradise…

Winterfall Farm, spectacular and remote, stands over Bodmin Moor. Wanting an escape from the constraints of conventional life, Kit and Tara move to the isolated smallholding with their daughter, Skye, and a group of friends. Living off-grid and working the land, they soon begin to enjoy the fruits of their labour amid the breathtaking beauty and freedom of the moor.

At first this new way of life seems too good to be true, but when their charismatic leader, Jeremy, returns from a mysterious trip to the city with Dani, a young runaway, fractures begin to appear. As winter approaches, and with it cold weather and dark nights, Jeremy’s behaviour becomes increasingly erratic. Rules are imposed, the outside world is shunned, and when he brings a second girl back to the farm, tensions quickly reach breaking point with devastating consequences…

The Haven is the compelling new novel from Amanda Jennings, author of The Cliff House.

My Review of The Haven

Jeremy, Kit and Tara are starting a new idyllic life.

Amanda Jennings writes the sort of books that make your heart ache because she has the ability to convey the very souls of her characters and connect them to the reader’s so that they experience everything as intensely as if it were them participating in the action. And that action is perfectly depicted here so that I experienced a gamut of emotions from sadness to fear, and elation to rage as I read The Haven and found it totally mesmerising.

It was Tara with whom I felt the most affinity because she is so brilliantly portrayed through her first person strands, but all the characters in The Haven, from the most minor like the neighbouring farmer or Tara’s parents, to the most central like Tara, Dani, Kit and Jeremy are absolutely real and vivid. The Haven has a cast of flawed, messy, complicated human beings who illustrate every aspect of reality.

The rural Cornish setting is every bit as important as the characters, with the fables and superstitions of its history serving as portents and warnings for present lives. Cornwall shows benevolence and malevolence in its seasons and weather, so that through the Cornish setting Amanda Jennings steers her reader’s reactions and experiences of reading The Haven with utmost skill. The depth of research that must have gone in to The Haven, particularly with regard to alternative medicine and sustainable living, makes the narrative totally convincing. The Haven is one of those stories you can read without being anxious because you know the author will exceed every expectation in a beautifully written and meticulously plotted narrative that is moving as well as being entertaining.

The ebb and flow of off-grid country life at Winterfall is fascinatingly compelling. I loved the way Amanda Jennings illustrated the fine line between inspiration and insanity, between love and hate, and between friendship and enmity. What we see in The Haven is the elusiveness of genuine happiness. Indeed, it is during winter that the utopia begins to fall so that the setting is perfectly named.

The Haven is impossible to categorise. It’s partly a thriller, partly literary fiction, partly a psychological exploration of relationships and ideals, but however it might be described, The Haven is always gripping, immersive and completely entertaining. I thought it was wonderful and I loved it.

About Amanda Jennings

Amanda Jennings writes psychological suspense and is the author of Sworn Secret, The Judas Scar, In Her Wake, and, most recently, The Cliff House. Her books have been published in translation. Like In Her Wake, The Cliff House is set in Cornwall, where her mother’s side of the family is from, and where she spent many long and very happy childhood summers.

Amanda is a regular guest on BBC Berkshire’s weekly Book Club and enjoys meeting readers at libraries, book clubs and literary festivals. Amanda lives just outside Henley-on-Thames with her husband, three daughters and an unruly menagerie of pets, and is currently writing her fifth book which will be published in 2019.

For more information, visit Amanda’s website or find Amanda on Twitter @MandaJJennings, Facebook and Instagram.

I’m a huge fan of C.L. Taylor’s writing and so when a surprise copy of her latest book The Guilty Couple arrived I was thrilled. My huge thanks to Becci Mansell for sending me an early proof and to Ella Young for sending me a finished hard back copy. I’m delighted to share my review of The Guilty Couple today.

Other reviews of C. L. Taylor’s books here on the blog include Strangers, The Missing, The Treatment, The Fear and Sleep.

The Guilty Couple will be published by Avon Books tomorrow, 23rd June 2022, and is available for purchase through the links here.

The Guilty Couple

What would you do if your husband framed you for murder?

Five years ago, Olivia Sutherland was convicted of plotting to murder her husband.

Now she’s finally free, Olivia has three goals. Repair her relationship with her daughter. Clear her name. And bring down her husband – the man who framed her.

Just how far is she willing to go to get what she wants? And how far will her husband go to stop her?

Because his lies run deeper than Olivia could ever have imagined – and this time it’s not her freedom that’s in jeopardy, but her life…

My Review of The Guilty Couple

Olivia is about to be released from prison.

Every time you pick up a CL Taylor novel you know you’re in for a twisty, exciting and compulsive read and The Guilty Couple is no exception. It’s an absolute cracker and I loved every word. Think of every aspect you want in a thriller and The Guilty Couple has it in spades. Unreliable, rounded and wide ranging characters fill the pages, and plot twists abound in The Guilty Couple so that it’s packed with surprise. There’s compelling writing, a fast pace and hooks that won’t let you go, making The Guilty Couple a fabulous read.

What C L Taylor does so brilliantly is to create flawed, nasty, repulsive, appealing and utterly brilliant characters that the reader loves, loathes and is totally mesmerised by. Except perhaps for Ayesha, the women in the story are far outside my experiences and yet I believed in every one completely. Although Olivia is at the heart of the story, I think it was Smithy I loved the best, but what we have here are women whose personalities are authentic, contradictory and complicated – just like any one of us in real life. The pairings and guiltiness in this story ebb and flow so that I found my head spinning with the relationships and interconnections ensuring that I was left breathless by the cleverness of both plot and character. The phrase ‘guilty couple’ could certainly be applied to more than just Dominic and Dani! Because both plot and character are so dynamic, settings are smaller and more familiar, like offices or flats, so that the contrast heightens the tension in the action, making for an even more satisfying read.

I loved the themes here too. I think The Guilty Couple would reward numerous readings even when the plot is known – or perhaps that should be especially when the plot is known, because the explorations of guilt, motivation, retribution, revenge, control, what constitutes criminality and so much more reverberate beneath the surface and the intelligent plotting becomes even more impressive in retrospect. It’s a story that makes you think long after you’ve finished reading it.

It’s so hard to review The Guilty Couple without spoiling the read for others. I thought it was a fabulous story. I always expect top quality from CL Taylor, but this time she has surpassed my expectations. The Guilty Couple might be my favourite of her books to date. It’s brilliant.

About C.L. Taylor

C.L. Taylor is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her psychological thrillers have sold over a million copies in the UK alone, been translated into over twenty languages, and optioned for television. Her 2019 novel, Sleep, was a Richard and Judy pick. C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and son.

You can follow C.L. Taylor on Twitter @callytaylor and find out more about her on her website. You’ll also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

I think I have at least three of Jane Corry’s previous novels awaiting me on my towering TBR so when I found latest online My Weekly magazine review was to be Jane’s latest book, We All Have Our Secrets, I was delighted because I’ve heard such wonderful things about her writing.

Published by Penguin on 23rd June 2022, We All Have Our Secrets is available for purchase through these links.

We All Have Our Secrets

Two women are staying in Willowmead House.

One of them is running.
One of them is hiding.
Both of them are lying.

Emily made one bad decision, and now her career could be over. Her family home on the Cornish coast is the only place where she feels safe. But when she arrives, there’s a stranger living with her father. Emily doesn’t trust the beautiful young woman, convinced that she’s telling one lie after another. Soon, Emily becomes obsessed with finding out the truth…

But should some secrets stay buried forever?

My Review of We All Have Our Secrets

My full review of We All Have Our Secrets can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that We All Have Our Secrets is a fascinating exploration of truth and relationships that leaves the reader reeling. I was hesitant to begin with and ended up loving this one!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Jane Corry

Jane Corry is a former magazine journalist who spent three years working as the writer-in-residence of a high security prison for men. This often hair-raising experience helped inspire her Sunday Times-bestselling psychological dramas, My Husband’s Wife, Blood Sisters, The Dead Ex, I Looked Away and I Made A Mistake which have been translated into over 16 languages and sold over a million copies worldwide. Jane was a tutor in creative writing at Oxford University; an RLF Fellow at Exeter University; and is a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and My Weekly magazine. We All Have Our Secrets is her sixth novel.

For further information, follow Jane on Twitter @JaneCorryAuthor and visit her website. You’ll also find Jane on Facebook and Instagram.

One of the pleasures of reviewing online for My Weekly magazine is the variety of books I get to read. Today, my latest review is of an author I haven’t read before. I’m delighted to share details of my review of Lauren Ho’s Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic today.

Published by HarperCollins on 23rd June 2022, Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic is available for purchase through these links.

Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic

Lucie Yi has tried love – it didn’t work.

She’s decided that finding Mr Right is a myth, and that finding Mr Right-enough-to-have-children-with is the next best option. So when she meets easy-going Collin Read on a platonic co-parenting website, it finally feels like she has found her version of happily ever after.

But things take a turn for the worse when they move back home to Singapore where her very traditional family and remorseful ex-fiancé await.

With pressure mounting on all sides and her perfect plan unravelling, Lucie has to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice for a chance at happiness – and maybe, just maybe, love.

My Review of Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic

My full review of Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic is funny, hugely entertaining, deeper and more moving than I expected and an all round cracking read!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Lauren Ho

I think just about every author interview I see or hear asks the author where they get their ideas from. However, I make no excuses today for asking GD Harper to introduce the catalysts for his book The Maids of Biddenden – conjoined twins Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst in a super guest post that I’m delighted to share with you today.

Published by Ginger Cat, The Maids of Biddenden is available for purchase here.

The Maids of Biddenden

‘There is no me; there is no you.
There is only us.’

The Maids of Biddenden is inspired by the real-life story of conjoined twins Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst, born in 1100 into a wealthy family from a small Kent village.

Joined at the hip, the sisters overcome fear and hostility to grow into gifted and much-loved women – one a talented musician and song-writer, the other a caring healer and grower of medicinal plants. Entangled in the struggles for power and influence of the great Kent nobles of the time, they achieve much in their lifetimes and leave behind a legacy in Biddenden that survives to this day.

Introducing The Maids of Biddenden

A Guest Post by GD Harper

Eliza and Mary Chulkhurst were 12th-century conjoined twins born to a wealthy family from the village of Biddenden in Kent. The two women lived to be 34 and left their land to charity when they died. An annual dole from the proceeds of their estate, the ‘Bread and Cheese Lands’, is still paid out to the poor and elderly every Easter, and is thought to be the oldest charity dole in England, still taking place almost 900 years later. Biddenden cakes are made using a mould showing two women joined together and sold on the day as souvenirs. They are brick-hard and store well, but are almost inedible.

The first mention of the dole was in 1605, when the Archdeacon of Canterbury, after visiting the Biddenden parish at Easter, wrote to his superiors to complain about the unruly mob that crowded the church, eagerly awaiting the distribution of bread, cheese, cakes and beer. A court case in 1645 contained depositions from witnesses saying these lands had originally been donated by ‘two Maidens that grew together in their bodies’, showing the story was well known in the seventeenth century. The cakes in the form of an effigy of the Maids were first mentioned in 1775; in 1808, the first broadsheet on the Chulkhurst twins was printed and sold outside the church at Easter for two pence. One of these broadsheets survived and is in the Wellcome Museum in London.

The first photographs of the customs associated with the Maids was taken by Sir Benjamin Stone in 1906, showing the widows of the parish queuing at the window of the Old Workhouse, along with a photo of the cakes. When I attended the Easter dole this year, it was a poignant moment to stand on the same spot that Sir Benjamin photographed over a century before.

I thought the story of these two remarkable women deserves to reach the widest possible audience. Little factual information is known about Eliza and Mary Chulkhurst, so I have taken the real-life historical events and characters of the time and used them to write The Maids of Biddenden, a hopefully credible, entertaining and inspirational story about their life. It is difficult to imagine what it would be like to live a life as a conjoined twin, so I researched all the fiction, non-fiction and medical books on the subject I could find, to try to understand what the physical and psychological implications are of being joined to another person. The end result is a book which not only describes a historical adventure, but also has two very unique lead characters

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The Maids of Biddenden sounds utterly fascinating. Thanks so much for introducing them to us today.

About GD Harper

GD Harper became a full-time author in 2016. His three previous novels are Love’s Long Road, A Friend in Deed and Silent Money. He was a Wishing Shelf Book Award finalist and Wishing Shelf Red Ribbon winner, shortlisted for the Lightship Prize, longlisted for the UK Novel Writing Award and longlisted for the Page Turner Writer Award. His latest book, The Maids of Biddenden, was a finalist for the 2021 Page Turner Book Award for unpublished manuscripts, longlisted for the 2021 Exeter Novel Prize and the 2021 Flash 500 Novel Award, and shortlisted for the 2021 Impress Prize.

You can find out more about GD Harper by visiting his website, following him on Twitter @harper_author or finding him on Facebook.

Having been away for a couple of weeks, what better way to return to blogging than with a review of It Ends At Midnight by Harriet Tyce? My enormous thanks to Rosie Margesson at Headline for sending me a surprise copy of It Ends At Midnight.

I love Harriet Tyce’s writing and you’ll find my reviews of her book Blood Orange here and of The Lies You Told here.

It Ends At Midnight was published by Headline imprint Wildfire on 14th April and is available for purchase through the links here.

It Ends At Midnight

It’s New Year’s Eve and the stage is set for a lavish party in one of Edinburgh’s best postcodes. It’s a moment for old friends to set the past to rights – and move on.

The night sky is alive with fireworks and the champagne is flowing. But the celebration fails to materialise.

Because someone at this party is going to die tonight.

Midnight approaches and the countdown begins – but it seems one of the guests doesn’t want a resolution.

They want revenge.

My Review of It Ends At Midnight

New Year’s Eve will be different this year!

Harriet Tyce has done it again with It Ends At Midnight. It’s nasty, corrupt, duplicitous and completely compelling. I loved it.

Following the dramatic opening, I had no idea how the present story involving Sylvie would tie in with it until the final few pages. With deft plotting, Harriet Tyce threads her narrative with little portends and omens that make the reader tense and that ensnare them so that they experience a feeling of uneasiness and dread as they read. I loved the sensation this created. I felt tense, fascinated and excited. It Ends At Midnight was a story that had me completely hooked.

The plot simply races along with short, mesmerising chapters that create drama and engagement. Whilst the story is leading the reader back to the beginning, what Harriet Tyce does so well is to place the drama against a backdrop of personal and professional flaws, misdemeanours and errors, that swirl and reform like a malevolent kaleidoscope and inveigle their way into the reader’s brain, making It Ends At Midnight reverberate long after it’s finished. I loved this effect.

Sylvie is a brilliant creation. She’s a pillar of society working in law and yet she’s rash, self-delusional and possibly as criminal as those she encounters in court. Her drinking, and her self obsession, make her a person to be repulsed by and yet I found myself drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Through Sylvie, there’s an almost Shakespearean hubris that is illustrated perfectly, making It Ends At Midnight a fantastic read.

Tess too is complex and misguided. Harriet Tyce writes her so evocatively that I found my responses to her echoed Sylvie’s, drawing me further and further into this captivating narrative.

Underneath the exciting plot there are modern themes that represent so much of what happens in the world, with violence towards women, social media, sexism and ambition swirling through the pages of the story with devastating toxicity. The story may be dramatic and entertaining, but it also holds a salutary concept that any one of us could find ourselves in Sylvie’s situation.

It Ends At Midnight is a brilliant, breath taking, exploration of revenge that I thought was just wonderful. Don’t miss it.

About Harriet Tyce

Harriet Tyce grew up in Edinburgh and studied English at Oxford University before doing a law conversion course at City University. She practised as a criminal barrister in London for nearly a decade, and subsequently completed an MA in Creative Writing – Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia. She lives in north London. Her first novel, Blood Orange, published in 2019 to huge critical acclaim and her second novel, The Lies You Told, published in summer 2020. It Ends at Midnight is her third novel.

You can follow Harriet on Twitter @harriet_tyce and visit her website for more details. You’ll also find her on Instagram and Facebook.

Today it’s time for another of my online My Weekly reviews and I’m delighted to share my thoughts on Twelve Days in May by Niamh Hargan.

Published by Harper Collins on 28th April 2022, Twelve Days in May is available through the links here.

Twelve Days in May

Lizzy Munro is working at the Cannes Film Festival, in a job that involves a lot more admin than red-carpet glamour.

There, Ciaran Flynn is the man everyone is talking about: heartthrob of the moment and director of the most romantic movie of the year.

What nobody knows is that twelve years ago, they were best friends . . . and they haven’t spoken since.

But when Ciaran’s film runs into trouble, there’s only one person he can turn to.

Is twelve days enough to save not only Ciaran’s film, but also the spark he and Lizzy once shared?

My Review of Twelve Days in May

My full review of Twelve Days in May can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Twelve Days in May is fresh, engaging, romantic and fun with added layers that make it a very satisfying read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Niamh Hargan

By day, Niamh Hargan is a film and tv lawyer. Born and raised in Derry, she is currently based in Edinburgh. Niamh has no husband, no children, no dogs, and no cats. Twelve Days in May is her debut novel.

You can follow Niamh on Twitter @EveWithAnN and find her on Instagram.

I’m thrilled that These Streets by Luan Goldie is my latest online My Weekly magazine review.

Published by Harper Collins imprint HQ on 23rd June 2022, These Streets is available for purchase through the links here.

These Streets

Jess is a single mother to two teenage children, and although life can be tough she’s just about keeping things together. But when her landlord asks her to move on, so he can sell the house they’re living in without warning, Jess’s worries take on a whole new meaning. As Jess struggles to regain her footing, cracks begin to appear in other areas of her life, and suddenly she feels she’s failing at everything. Her daughter Hazel is becoming more and more distant, her son Jacob is struggling to find where he fits in the world, and the menacing spectre of Jess’s older brother, someone she cut out of her life years ago, begins to make his presence felt again.

Jess knows she’s the only one who can keep her family together, but how can she keep going when life keeps beating her back?

Set on the streets of East London, These Streets is a searing and powerful novel that explores how we are meant to find our place in a world that is designed for only the privileged to succeed. Beautiful and honest, it is an essential story about living in Britain today.

My Review of These Streets

My full review of These Streets can be found on the My Weekly website here.here.

However, here I can say that These Streets is a fabulous insight into the ‘what ifs’ of life that I thought was touching, realistic and brilliant.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.here.

About Luan Goldie

Luan Goldie is a Glasgow born author and primary school teacher who grew up in East London.

Her debut novel Nightingale Point was longlisted for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize. It was also a BBC Radio 2 Jo Whiley Book Club Pick.

Her short stories have appeared in Hello! magazine, Sunday Express, Resist: Stories of Uprising and The Good Journal. She is also the winner of the 2017 Costa Short Story Award.

For further information, follow Luan on Twitter @LuanGoldie and Instagram.

The latest of my My Weekly magazine online reviews is the fabulous Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare.

Published by Harper Collins’ imprint HQ on 28th April 2022, Miss Aldridge Regrets is available for purchase through the links here.

Miss Aldridge Regrets

London, 1936

Lena Aldridge is wondering if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn’t worked out. Instead, she’s stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho and her married lover has just left her. She has nothing to look forward to until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York.

After a murder at the club, the timing couldn’t be better and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. Until death follows her onto the ship and she realises that her greatest performance has already begun.

Because someone is making manoeuvres behind the scenes, and there’s only one thing on their mind…

MURDER

Miss Aldridge Regrets is the exquisite new novel from Louise Hare. A brilliant murder mystery, it also explores class, race and pre-WWII politics, and will leave readers reeling from the beauty and power of it.

My Review of Miss Aldridge Regrets

My full review of Miss Aldridge Regrets can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Miss Aldridge Regrets is absolutely brilliant. It’s beautifully written, evocative of the era and so packed with twists turns and murder that I never knew quite might happen next. I loved it!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review herehere.

About Louise Hare

Louise Hare is a London-based writer and has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. Originally from Warrington, the capital is the inspiration for much of her work, including This Lovely City, which began life after a trip into the deep level shelter below Clapham Common. This Lovely City was featured on the inaugural BBC TWO TV book club show, Between the Covers, and has received multiple accolades, securing Louise’s place as an author to watch.

You can find out more by visiting Louise’s website, following her on Twitter @LouRHare, and finding Louise on Instagram and Facebook.