Close to the Wind - Zana Bell

'A new world looped within a perfectly circular horizon, under the command of an autocratic captain whose smile could stop her breath.'


It's 1868 and Georgiana da Silva overhears a conversation involving her fiancé Jasper that prompts her to flee from her home and undertake a daring journey to try and save her brother Charles from death. She hadn't been in love with her fiancé, just fond of him, grateful and accepting, after all, he'll take her away from life with her aunt. Now she has discovered what is going on, that Charles may be in grave danger, she escapes and finds her way onto a ship bound for New Zealand, where her beloved brother is now, in the goldfields. 

Captain Harry Trent is getting ready to set sail for New Zealand. He has his own aims on arrival and is allegedly sought by some who believe he has committed a crime. The paths of these two headstrong individuals cross and they are destined to continue overlapping as they both pursue their own agendas. It becomes increasingly difficult though, for either of them to ignore the mutual attraction and admiration they feel.

I read this novel on holiday, and I found it enjoyable and good fun; an entertaining historical adventure on the high seas that I could escape into. The New Zealand aspect appealed to me as it's a place I love, although it's well into the novel before the drama actually takes place there; I'd have loved more time with that as the backdrop, although I did enjoy the time at sea with the crew, and the other destinations that were mentioned. I liked Georgiana, she is feisty, determined and courageous, an admirable female character when considering the period, unafraid, keen in fact, to leave behind the role society would have her play. I liked her plan for successfully getting aboard Harry Trent's ship though I knew it wouldn't last forever. 

The interaction between Harry and Georgiana was nicely done and I enjoyed the dialogue between them. There's mystery too, in trying to discover the truth about what happened back in England, the matter which Harry is implicated in. Yes, there were times when the plot could have moved a bit faster or been a bit tighter, but then the resolution couldn't happen too early as the tension as to what would happen to the two of them, and whether they were in fact at cross purposes, rightly needed to last further into the novel. I liked that there was a lot more than just romance to the story.

Overall Close to the Wind offers escapist reading with fun and excitement, there's a lot to enjoy, a strong heroine, a handsome captain, a plot with drama, deception, romance, intrigue, travel and adventure. 

Author links - twitter @ZanaBellAuthor | website |

Published by ChocLit

New England Rocks - Christina Courtenay

I've previously read one of this author's historical fiction titles, Highland Storms, which was a really enjoyable, well written period adventure and romance. I like to read a young adult novel from time to time, as I enjoy a nice variety in my reading matter! This is Christina Courtenay's first novel for young adults, and it is the first in a trilogy all to be set in New England.

Rain Mackenzie is expelled from Blakeborough boarding school in England and travels to join her wealthy parents where they currently live, in a small town north of Boston in New England. They hope to teach her a lesson after her exploits at her previous school where she was found in the boys dormitory surrounded by empty tequila bottles, by sending her to the local school, Northbrooke High, and bringing her down to earth. She is intent on not enjoying it at Northbrooke High, determined to keep to herself and not get involved with anyone. After all, she thinks she won't be there long. However, her opinion starts to waver when she gets to know fellow student and musician Jesse Devlin a little better. Despite a definite attraction between the pair, there's a complication because Jesse is already attached, and his girlfriend Amber isn't at all keen on Rain spending any time with him. The story follows Rain's time settling in at the school and getting to know Jesse. 

I thought this was an easy, enjoyable, fun and undemanding read, with a sweet storyline, featuring an independent, sassy heroine and a troubled, sensitive and handsome hero. It was an escapist read, and the development of friendships and romance were nicely portrayed. The author writes with a compassion for her characters, and captures the high school environment with its cliques and rivalries. I enjoyed the bonding day episode when the kids went out into the forest. I felt perhaps the outcome was a little easy to guess at, but I was glad that it concluded the way it did. Rain developed as a character, moving from her initial disgruntlement at finding herself thrust into a new school in another country, to an acceptance and even appreciation of the new people she meets, and happiness at how things turn out. There's a lot more to Jesse than initially meets the eye, and his tougher background is in stark contrast to Rain's privileged upbringing. There's some highlighting of the contrasts between the UK and USA, in terms of language and cultural comparisons; I'd have liked a bit more of this, and I'd have loved a little more about the New England setting and landscape.

Overall New England Rocks is a fairly quick read and an enjoyable teenage tale with heart, and I'd be keen to see what the author does in the next book in this series; in the meantime, I'll be hoping to read some of her other historical fiction.

Published by Choc Lit

Thanks to the publisher for kindly sending a copy of this novel to read and give an honest review.

You can find the author on twitter @PiaCCourtenay  and visit her website here.

You can read the prologue and first chapter on the Choc Lit website here. 

To Turn Full Circle - Linda Mitchelmore

'Sometimes life's not about wishes and dreams but about making the most of the situations we find ourselves in.'

It is 1909. Emma Le Goff is fifteen, and as the novel begins she is recovering from illness at the house of a neighbour in the small fishing village in Devon. When she regains her strength and faculties, she remembers the deep sadness that has gone before. She has experienced three huge losses within a short space of time, first her father, then her mother and younger brother Johnnie passing away. Worse is to come when she returns home to Shingle Cottage, only to discover that Reuben Jago, owner of the town's fishing fleet and some of the properties, has taken possesion of the house, in payment of the family's debts, he claims.

Reuben's youngest son, Seth, is sweet and gentle towards Emma, and there is a wonderful attraction between the two of them. They share a friendship which is a rare thing for Emma and for Seth, she is the only one he can speak about certain things with. They are compassionate towards each other; Seth having lost his mother too, both of them are affected by sad bereavements with mysterious circumstances surrounding them:

'Seth reached for Emma's hand and she placed hers in it. How good it felt - the touch. The caring. The mutual understanding. "It's as if we can't let the deaths of our mothers be an end of them, isn't it?" Emma said. "We can't get on with our lives - not really - because we've both got unanswered questions."'

The new tenant at Shingle Cottage is Matthew Caunter, who starts working as a fisherman for Reuben. Emma is eventually persuaded to become his housekeeper, with the promise of a strictly professional relationship. Meanwhile, a new arrival takes over Nase Head House and it becomes a lovely hotel. Emma dreams of working somewhere like that one day. Her father having been French, Emma brings a continental flavour to this community which is distrusting of foreigners. She has advanced culinary skills learned from him.

As well as all the events happening in young Emma's life throughout the story - things are never straightforward for her - there is further intrigue in the plot regarding Reuben Jago and his two elder sons, and the activities on their boats as well as elsewhere; Seth has always suspected that there may be underhand activities occurring, though he takes no part in them. He has to become, and stay, a strong young man if he is to remain honest in his dealings with others, whilst dealing with the rest of his family and what might happen to them. Seth has to cope with the less than gentlemanly, dishonest ways of his father and two brothers, and try and somehow keep his own reputation from sinking to their level. Only when he is with Emma can he escape: 'Being with Emma made him forget time and responsibilities.'

Emma is a strong, determined young woman who has endured so much suffering at a young age. As kindly Mrs Drew remarks, 'a lot's happened to that poor maid in a short space of time.' She has ambitions which stretch beyond what is usual for a woman to undertake at the time, she would like her own business and wants to follow her heart not her head as far as men are concerned, she intends to marry for love. The relationship with Seth has it's twists and turns, but it is evident that the pair always care about each other and long for the circumstances to be right for them to be together. At times it was frustrating that misunderstandings or other events have thwarted them, I was willing things to work out. Matthew is an interesting and kind character who adds a lot to the story too. He demonstrates a gentleness towards Emma at a time when she feels so alone, and she feels there is more to him; 'the man was complex. Emma had never met anyone like him.' 

In To Turn Full Circle, Linda Mitchelmore offers us a lovely, warm-hearted evocation of a past time and place. She writes with skill and compassion about people, with much of the story related via convincing dialogue and internal thoughts. It has romance, endearing characters, cruel, selfish villains, and a world on the cusp of change, where cars are on the increase, telephones are being installed, and aeroplanes are being spoken of. It has a compelling plotline, with intrigue as to Emma's friendships and romantic intentions. As an aside, I love how much Emma treasures the one book that she has: '...she hugged her copy of Persuasion to her as she fell asleep each night, knowing her mama had bought it for her, touched it...She couldn't imagine how a life would be that had no space in it for books.'

I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for an enjoyable romantic read to really escape into, with a compelling plot and some lovely characters. This is the first novel in a trilogy, so lots more to look forward to from this author involving these characters - hooray!

Published by ChocLit on 7th June 2012 in paperback. Ebook available now.

Thank you to the publisher for kindly sending an ebook of this novel for me to read and give an honest review of.


4.5/5

Run Rabbit Run (Sophie Green Mysteries 5) - Kate Johnson

'I had to fall in love with someone who gets nearly killed three times a year.'

Sophie is an ex-spy who is having a very bad day indeed. She was the last person at the scene of the murder of an MI5 officer and despite her protested innocence, everything points to her being guilty of the crime; he was shot with her gun, and her fingerprints are found in his office. Now she's on the run, and trying to discover who has set her up.

Her boyfriend Luke Sharpe works for MI6, and he swore he'd never get involved with a woman like Sophie, but then: 'Hurricane Sophie had blown into his life, the levees had cracked, and a lifetime of emotion had unleashed itself...now the strength of his feelings terrified him'. He has fallen in love with her, and sets about trying to help her find out what has happened. 

Sophie meets Jack in a very entertaining way. He is wanted for a crime in the USA that seems all too similar to what Sophie is alleged to have done. Could the same person or people have set them both up? And can Jack be trusted? 

I think Sophie is a very likeable, highly entertaining and fun character, and despite the amount of trouble she seems to attract and the sometimes rather daft actions she takes, you get the feeling she would be a very interesting person to be around, and life would certainly never seem to be boring with her. She watches 'Buffy as a kind of therapy.' Sometimes she acts before she thinks, making her dangerous too. When a friend asks Luke if he intends to marry Sophie, the thoughts that run through his head give us a detailed picture of this larger than life lady who he loves:

'She was a lunatic. She had no prospects, even when she wasn't on the run. His family hated her. She was fast-mouthed and sharp-tongued and soft-hearted, and she'd turn his home into a lost-cat sanctuary given half a chance. She was young, irresponsible, bright, mad, and everything he'd spent his life ordering himself to believe he'd never wanted.'

The story concentrates alternately on Sophie's escapades, and then on what Luke is getting up to. The writer develops both characters, so we have both a heroine and hero whose points of view we get to know in this story. There is always something happening to keep the reader interested. I love how they travelled around and so we get many different locations in the story. There is also some lovely witty humour at times. This is a romantic story with two handsome heroes and a good deal of adventure and mystery woven in. I would have liked it to be perhaps a little bit more intricate on the mystery side and perhaps a little tighter in the middle, but the novel for the most part is fast-paced and Kate Johnson keeps us guessing and interested in what is coming next.

As mentioned in the title, this is number five in the Sophie Green mysteries series. I haven't read the other books in the series, but I enjoyed this one very much without any knowledge of her previous encounters. There are occasional mentions of past episodes in her life and career which adds a bit of background for those of us who are new to her adventures having only started with this book.

A fun read full of antics, dilemmas, disguises, mystery and romance featuring 'the stubborn, contrary, brilliant, corkscrew-brained entity know as Sophie Green.' 

Published by ChocLit and available now in paperback and ebook formats.


You can follow the author on twitter @K8johnsonauthor and visit her blog and website here.

Thank you very much to the publisher for sending me an ebook of this novel to read and review.


3.5/5

Love and Freedom - Sue Moorcroft

Honor Sontag has travelled to England from her home in Harrison Drives, Connecticut, USA, to leave everything from her life behind for a few months, to escape and have some time and space to think. Honor's 'old life had fractured and she'd crept out of one of the cracks.' She also aims to find and meet her English birth mother for the very first time, having been raised by her American father and by her Grandparents. She rents a bungalow in Brighton owned by Clarissa Mayfair, and at the very start of the novel, Honor meets Martyn Mayfair in a rather unusual and interesting situation! He immediately becomes her rescuer, and a mutual attraction is sparked. 


As the story grows, Honor begins to establish a life in and around Brighton, and gets to know more about Martyn. The two of them find they have a lot in common, not least with regards to their unusual familial backgrounds. But Martyn doesn't want to get involved with anyone who isn't single and available, having been hurt before, and Honor had 'come to England to get away from the storms in her life, not to brew up new ones.' Additionally, in Robina, the owner of the local teashop, Martyn has an ardent admirer who doesn't give up easily. Honor befriends Rufus, Robina's son, and takes his side against some local bullies.  Honor tries to help everyone out and seems like someone who really wants to make life better for people, especially those she cares about. But will she be able to find, as the title suggests, love and freedom in her own life?


This enjoyable romantic novel has a beautiful, kind heroine trying to make sense of her life, a very handsome hero with some interesting relations, a jealous would-be lover who is a real hippy but can bake a great cake, a bullied teenage boy who is under appreciated by his mother, and more! There is a lovely sense of place in the novel, the writer really conjures up the seaside setting and the charming little streets and quirky shops, all of which Honor comes to love. 'She felt more at home here, looking out to the ocean, than she had in any other place.'  The story really builds towards the end of the novel when there is a surprise visitor and an unexpected twist in the tale. A sweet, modern-day romantic read.

4/5

Thank you very much to the publisher for sending me a copy of this novel to read and review.

Published by Choc Lit and available to buy now as a paperback and as an e-book. 


You can visit the author's blog here. 

The UnTied Kingdom - Kate Johnson

Eve is a has-been celebrity who was in a girl band, now starring in a reality television show, when she falls through a hole or portal in the world, and when she comes to, she finds herself in an England very different from the one she left behind. Here, the country is under military control and is at war with Coalitionist fighters. Everyday things are no longer available – telephones are scarce and only owned by the very rich, hardly anything is known about computers, and even more frighteningly for Eve, history as she knows it has been rewritten – there was no British Empire, and England is not a major power in the world, in fact it is a much more primitive place.

Eve is found by Major Will Harker, and ends up under his wing. Those around her initially view Eve with suspicion. What are all these things that she speaks of, which to them sound so peculiar, or are completely unknown? Is she a spy or an alien? How do they deal with this woman who is evidently so unfamiliar with their world, and how does she try and comprehend them when everything seems the same and yet totally different – is she mad, is this a parallel universe? Harker has his own problems, with Sholt, the man he despises, looking to get promoted, and now his boss wants him to run a mission to find a computer, using Eve to help him and his team, since she knows all about them, whereas to Harker and his crew, they are totally unknown. 

This is an appealing romance novel with a twist – a clever concept that makes it an original, exciting, and dramatic read too! I love the premise behind this book and I like the clever title. It’s intriguing and if you can suspend disbelief, it really makes you think about how life could be very different. Eve makes for a clever, spirited heroine who takes a full part in the adventure, and we feel how unsettled she is to find that the London, the England she knows, its history and culture has all changed. Why doesn’t anyone recognize the songs she sings to them? Harker is a strong, formidable man, a loyal and proud leader, but he has a soft, sensitive side which is revealed to the reader, as, despite the internal conflicts regarding who she is and where she has come from, his romantic feelings for Eve develop. There is an interesting supporting cast of characters including Harker's ex-wife and her sister, who he takes under his wing. There is so much more to this read than romance, it is also very much an adventure story, a wartime drama, with a paranormal/fantasy element, all of which the author has cleverly combined.  

4/5

Published in the UK by ChocLit and available now.

Find out more about the author here and more about ChocLit here.

Highland Storms - Christina Courtenay

Brice Kinross returns to the Scottish Highlands from Sweden in 1754 looking for a fresh start away from his troubles, after suffering disappointment and what he considers to be betrayal at the hands of his sweetheart and his brother. He arrives to take up his inheritance, the family estate at Rosyth. He firstly wants to find out about the true state of things there, as his father Killian believes the estate should have been doing much better financially than it has, and he hasn’t heard from his relatives there for some time. The factor or caretaker there who has been in charge, Colin Seton, is suspected of not pulling his weight, or worse, and Brice must establish what has been happening through his own investigations into the place. He attempts to reconnect with the people there who remember him as a youngster, and to make a good impression on those who don't yet know their newly arrived laird.  

I loved this novel. Brice makes for a dashing, kind, fair, chivalrous, strong and impressive hero.  The story builds nicely from the new chief arriving, trying to make his mark and demonstrate his commitment to turning Rosyth into a success again and making it a good place for them all to live, and the attraction and potential of romance between Brice and pretty, intelligent housekeeper Marsaili is a joy to read as the story unfolds.  There is much adventure and drama as the story progresses, making for an exciting conclusion. The historical perspective is weaved into the tale, with only a few years having passed since the Jacobite rebellion.

The novel has a gorgeous cover design too, a beautiful colour which to me evokes the purple heather mentioned in the landscape in the book. A lovely book to sit back, curl up and relax with and be transported back to the mid 18th century Highlands. This was a bit of different kind of read for me, and I got drawn into the story and the period, with some marvellous characters, my favourites being Brice, Marsaili and Liath the dog! I will definitely read more by this author.

This book follows on from the earlier novel 'Trade Winds', but 'Highland Storms' can definitely be read as a very enjoyable stand alone novel too. 


5/5

Thank you to Shaz at Jera's Jamboree for highlighting this book during the blog tour, and for the book giveaway from the author via that site, which I was lucky enough to win.

Find out more about the author on her website: Christina Courtenay

And more about ChocLit novels: Choc Lit