#Review#TheWhirlpoolsofTime #AnnaBelfrage #HFVBTBlogTours

September 29, 2021September 29, 2021 / coffeeandink / 2 Comments

The Whirlpools of Time by Anna Belfrage

Publication Date: June 11, 2021
Timelight Press

Series: The Locket, Book One
Genre: Historical Romance/Scottish/Time Travel

He hoped for a wife. He found a companion through time and beyond.

It is 1715 and for Duncan Melville something fundamental is missing from his life. Despite a flourishing legal practice and several close friends, he is lonely, even more so after the recent death of his father. He needs a wife—a companion through life, someone to hold and be held by. What he wasn’t expecting was to be torn away from everything he knew and find said woman in 2016…

Erin Barnes has a lot of stuff going on in her life. She doesn’t need the additional twist of a stranger in weird outdated clothes, but when he risks his life to save hers, she feels obligated to return the favour. Besides, whoever Duncan may be, she can’t exactly deny the immediate attraction.

The complications in Erin’s life explode. Events are set in motion and to Erin’s horror she and Duncan are thrown back to 1715. Not only does Erin have to cope with a different and intimidating world, soon enough she and Duncan are embroiled in a dangerous quest for Duncan’s uncle, a quest that may very well cost them their lives as they travel through a Scotland poised on the brink of rebellion.

Will they find Duncan’s uncle in time? And is the door to the future permanently closed, or will Erin find a way back?

Amazon

About the Author

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England.

More recently, Anna has published The Wanderer, a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense trilogy with paranormal and time-slip ingredients. While she loved stepping out of her comfort zone (and will likely do so again ) she is delighted to be back in medieval times in her September 2020 release, His Castilian Hawk. Set against the complications of Edward I’s invasion of Wales, His Castilian Hawk is a story of loyalty, integrity—and love.

Find out more about Anna on her website or on her Amazon page. You can also follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Review by Coffee & Ink:

It’s 1715 and Duncan Melville reluctantly returns to his family for a funeral. He leaves town on family business with his assistant. While on the road, he encounters a strange and terrifying storm that sucks him out of his time and dumps him in the present.

Erin Barnes, a journalist, has hit a dead on a story she desperately needs to pursue. On her way home from the office during a bad storm, she nearly runs over a man who appears at first to be dressed for a Renaissance Faire. Eventually she learns the truth: Duncan Melville is displaced in time.

A crash course in modern love and culture ensues before Erin’s troubles arrive on her doorstep ready to lay claim to a family heirloom the matriarch of the criminal clan is obsessed with. Duncan and Erin have to hide in the Panic Room, but are trapped—no way out but to use the heirloom which sends them back to Duncan’s time.

Packed with adventure, this time travel novel delivers plenty of edge of your seat excitement and suspense. Highly recommended for lovers of time travel romance.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, August 23
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Tuesday, August 24
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Excerpt at Books & Benches

Thursday, August 26
Review at Reader_ceygo

Friday, August 27
Review at Novels Alive

Monday, August 30
Review at With A Book In Our Hands

Wednesday, September 1
Review at The Book Review Crew

Friday, September 3
Excerpt at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Monday, September 6
Review at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals

Wednesday, September 8
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Friday, September 10
Review at Rajiv’s Reviews

Monday, September 13
Guest Post at Hoover Book Reviews

Wednesday, September 15
Review at Books, Writings, and More

Friday, September 17
Excerpt at Reading is My Remedy

Monday, September 20
Review at Amy’s Booket List

Tuesday, September 21
Review at Anna’s Book Blog

Wednesday, September 22
Excerpt at The Cozy Book Blog

Friday, September 24
Review at Passages to the Past

Monday, September 27
Excerpt at Cross My Heart Writing & Reviews

Wednesday, September 29
Review at Coffee and Ink

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of The Whirlpools of Time by Anna Belfrage! Two copies are up for grabs!

The giveaway is open internationally and ends on September 29th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Whirlpools of Time

#Review#TheArtistColony #JoannaFitzPatrick #HFVBTBlogTours

September 23, 2021October 28, 2021 / coffeeandink / 1 Comment

The Artist Colony by Joanna FitzPatrick

Publication Date: September 7, 2021
She Writes Press
Paperback & eBook; 328 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Paris, July, 1924…

Sarah, a young Modernist painter, receives a cable from California. Her estranged older sister, Ada Belle, has died under suspicious circumstances. When she arrives two weeks later at San Francisco’s Union Station, Sarah is confronted by a newspaper headline: “Inquest Verdict: Artist Commits Suicide.”

Sarah remembers the last haunting words Ada Belle said to her: “Ars longa, vita brevis: Art is long, life is short.” But Ada Belle’s work is selling, and her upcoming exhibition of portraitures would bring her even wider recognition. Why would she kill herself? Sarah’s quest to find the truth of what happened to Ada Belle leads her to join the bucolic artist colony to look for clues. As she delves into her sister’s underworld, tensions surface. The darker things get, the closer she comes to terrible danger. How far will a killer go before he kills again?

AMAZON | GOOGLE PLAY | BOOKSHOP | BARNES & NOBLE

REVIEW FROM COFFEE & INK

Successful painter Sarah Cunningham travels to California to bury her sister, also a successful painter. The authorities, and others, believe Ada Belle committed suicide, but Sarah knows this can’t be true.

The author paints a gorgeously layered picture of Carmel-by-Sea, an early bohemian refuge for artists and poets. But the pretty layers of Carmel are peeled away by Sarah’s suspicions her sister was murdered, revealing the dark heart of the people who live and work there.

A deeply satisfying mystery paired with an equally satisfying prose style. Highly recommended for all historical mystery lovers. And I know it’s a phrase I use frequently, but I mean it—I could not put this book down! 😊

Praise

“. . . delivers an escape to gorgeous Carmel and an engaging mystery.” — Kirkus Reviews

“The Artist Colony is bold, creative, and unexpected – all the things nice ladies weren’t supposed to be in the 1920’s when they escaped to Carmel-By-The-Sea to make art without criticism. Joanna FitzPatrick, a descendant of one of those feisty female pioneers, has honored her family legacy and entertained her fans yet again with a fast-paced whodunnit that is equal parts loving tribute and killer thriller.” — Meredith May, author of The Honey Bus and Loving Edie

“The Artist Colony” is a sumptuous ride through the Carmel-by-the-Sea, circa 1920, as Sarah Cunningham, newly arrived from Paris, attempts to uncover the truth about her sister’s mysterious death. Atmospheric and delicious, FitzPatrick delivers a thrilling page-turner woven with artistic flourish. This exquisite novel does not disappoint! Highly recommended!” — Michelle Cox, author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series

“It’s 1924 and a young woman journeys to Carmel, California, to learn more about her sister’s sudden death. She soon learns that the bohemian arts colony is anything but idyllic, as she’s confronted by flagrant racism and intimations of murder. Fitzpatrick has written a vivid historical novel with an absorbing mystery at the center of it, and I was riveted.” — Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen

“The dramatic landscapes of Carmel, beautifully depicted by FitzPatrick, are central to the plot, whose blow-by-blow story keeps us gripped to the final revelation of Ada’s murderer . . . a must-read novel for anyone who loves historical fiction, art, detective stories, and the West Coast.” — Maggie Humm, author of Talland House

“. . . readers who enjoy an exciting narrative with unexpected twists will find this a diverting and illuminating read.” — Historical Novels Review

About the Author

Joanna FitzPatrick was born and raised in Hollywood. She started her writing habit by applying her orange fountain pen and a wild imagination to screenplays, which led her early on to produce the film White Lilacs and Pink Champagne. At Sarah Lawrence College, she wrote her MFA thesis Sha La La: Live for Today about her life as a rock ’n’ roll star’s wife. Her more recent work includes two novels, Katherine Mansfield and The Drummer’s Widow. The Artist Colony is her third book. Presently, FitzPatrick divides her time between a mountaintop cottage in Northern California and a small hameau in Southern France where she begins all her book projects.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Wednesday, September 1
Guest Post at Novels Alive
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Thursday, September 2
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Friday, September 3
Review at SJ Through the Looking Glass

Tuesday, September 7
Interview at Books & Benches

Wednesday, September 8
Review at Booking With Janelle

Thursday, September 9
Review at Novels Alive
Interview at Books, Ramblings, and Tea

Saturday, September 11
Review at Reading is My Remedy

Monday, September 13
Review at Jorie Loves A Story

Wednesday, September 15
Review at Passages to the Past

Friday, September 17
Review at Nat Reads

Monday, September 20
Feature at What Is That Book About

Thursday, September 23
Review at Coffee and Ink

Friday, September 24
Guest Post at Coffee and Ink
Review at The Enchanted Shelf

Giveaway

Enter to win a paperback copy of The Artist Colony by Joanna FitzPatrick! We have 2 copies up for grabs!

The giveaway is open to US addresses only and ends on September 24th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Artist Colony

#Review#TheSpiritedMrsPringle #JillianneHamilton #HFVBT

September 17, 2021September 12, 2021 / coffeeandink / 1 Comment

The Spirited Mrs. Pringle by Jillianne Hamilton

Publication Date: June 30, 2021
Tomfoolery Press

Genre: Historical Fiction

LONDON, 1888.

Upon the death of her husband, self-involved social climber Cora Pringle assumes her recent dalliance with a wealthy gentleman will be her second chance at a happily ever after. That is until her paramour turns out to be a penniless imposter. Despite his betrayal, Cora can’t quite let go of the tug the handsome playwright has on her heart.

Desperate for an income, Cora becomes a séance-performing spiritualist and gets a taste for celebrity—and it’s so delicious. So what if she can’t actually communicate with the dead? Her eager patrons don’t need to know that.

Amelia Baxter, an ambitious journalist and suffragist, is discouraged when her editor refuses to let her cover the horrific Jack the Ripper murders. Instead, Amelia pours her frustrations into bringing Cora’s deceptive and manipulative act to an end, even if it means risking her family’s reputation.

“Like the most memorable of its vividly drawn characters, The Spirited Mrs. Pringle is clever, lively, and unabashedly entertaining. Perhaps most enjoyable of all is the seemingly endless series of surprises. A string of sometimes astonishing pleasures to the last page.” – Award-Winning Author Leo McKay Jr.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

About the Author

Jillianne Hamilton is the author of three novels and one non-fiction book. Her debut novel, Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire (2015), was shortlisted for the 2016 Prince Edward Island Book Award. The Molly Miranda sequels were published in 2016 and 2017.

Her lighthearted look at the 16th century, The Lazy Historian’s Guide to the Wives of Henry VIII, was published in 2018.

Jillianne has been published in Macleans, the Truro Daily News, the Sackville Tribune-Post, and Career Options Magazine. She also blogs about history at The Lazy Historian. Jill graduated from Journalism at Holland College in Prince Edward Island in 2010.

She lives in Charlottetown on Canada’s beautiful east coast.

Review by Coffee and Ink

In late 1880s, significantly during the time Jack the Ripper terrorized London, Mrs. Pringle finds herself in severely reduced circumstances. Forced out of her home to pay her late husband’s debts, she is down, but not out and comes back fighting.

She manages to find her way as a spiritualist, with mixed results, but now she can pay for food and the rent on the rooms she is now reluctantly sharing with her partner and love interest. Her popularity increases but an intrepid woman reporter, Amelia, writes about her dishonest tactics—some might say criminal, some might say harmless. All Amelia wants is for the male reporters and her boss to see her as an equal and not relegate her to only writing columns about fashion and housekeeping tips.

I was fascinated by the rise and fall of Mrs. Pringle and Amelia as these two strong women characters clashed with each other. Neither of them wrong but neither of them completely in the right either. They make sacrifices to protect loved ones and to keep themselves from destitution in the hard, cruel male-dominated world of Victorian London.

What a wonderful book—original, charming, and well-researched. I could not put it down and highly recommend it. I am very much looking forward to more from this author.