Friday 28 April 2017

Bloodie Bones by Lucienne Boyce



Bloodie Bones

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


"Parsons and tyrants friends take note. We have born your oppreshuns long enough. We will have our parish rights or else Bloodie Bones will drink your blood."

When Lord Oldfield encloses Barcombe Wood, depriving the people of their ancient rights to gather food and fuel, the villagers retaliate with vandalism, arson and riot. Then Lord Oldfield’s gamekeeper, Josh Castle, is murdered during a poaching raid. Dan Foster, Bow Street Runner and amateur pugilist, is sent to investigate.

Dan’s job is to infiltrate the poaching gang and bring the killers to justice. But there’s more to Castle’s death than at first sight appears. What is the secret of the gamekeeper’s past and does it have any connection with his murder? What is Lord Oldfield concealing? And did someone beside the poachers have a reason to want Josh Castle dead?

As tensions in Barcombe build to a thrilling climax, Dan will need all his wits and his fighting skills to stay alive and get to the truth.

"A gripping historical thriller – I’m longing for a sequel already!"

– Debbie Young, writer and journalist

'Bloodie Bones' was joint winner of the HNS Indie Award 2016, and a semi finalist in the M M Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction 2016. 

"'Bloodie Bones' is a terrific novel and was very difficult to put down. It is amazingly well written, with a smooth expert hand and faultless flow...The main characters are engaging and believable...It had a thriller feel that kept me turning the pages...I loved this book, highly recommend it and eagerly await the second Dan Foster novel." Historical Novel Society 

'Bloodie Bones' has been awarded a place on the Awesome Indies list of quality independent fiction. 

"Lucienne is a masterful storyteller, skillfully weaving history, culture and the social customs of the period into the story in a natural manner...The characters were magnificently portrayed. Dan Foster, the protagonist, is totally captivating..." Awesome Indies 

"There's something rather special about the combination of good historical fiction and complex crime, and in this, the first book in the Dan Foster mysteries, we are introduced to a talented protagonist, who has his foot firmly placed in the reality of eighteenth century life, and yet he attacks crime enquiry with all the gung-ho of a seasoned crime scene investigator...the many twists and turns in the plot adds realistic depth to the story and keep you turning the pages in order to find out what happens next...Weaving together history and mystery with great flair and fine attention to detail make this a most enjoyable historical crime story.” Jaffa Reads Too


Bloodie Bones was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?


This book has also received...







Wednesday 26 April 2017

Sea Witch by Helen Hollick



Sea Witch

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


The first voyage of Captain Jesamiah Acorne, pirate, scoundrel and charming rogue. A meticulously researched, full-blooded adventure full of heart-stopping action, evil villains, treasure and romance. “Everything we want in a grand pirate adventure … a terrific read” (James L. Nelson, author).


Sea Witch was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?


This book has also received...








Tuesday 25 April 2017

For King and Country by Charlene Newcomb



For King and Country

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award



England 1193
Civil war threatens as battle-scarred knight Henry de Grey returns from the Crusades. King Richard languishes in captivity, a prisoner of the Holy Roman Emperor. Traitors to the crown pit Henry and his friends against dangerous and unknown enemies.

Loyalties will be tested, families torn apart. Friend or foe? It is hard to tell one from the other.

The king’s brother John and his allies plot to usurp Richard’s throne. With the knights Sir Stephan and Sir Robin, Henry fights for king and country. But he must keep his feelings for Sir Stephan l’Aigle secret. Sure as arrow or sword, their forbidden love could destroy him.

War, political intrigue and passion… heroes… friends and lovers… and the seeds for a new Robin Hood legend await you…


For Kind and Country was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?


This book has also received...








Monday 24 April 2017

The Lights Went Out and Other Stories by Fiona Cooke Hogan



The Lights Went Out and Other Stories

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


The Lights Went Out and Other Stories was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria


An eclectic mix of flash fiction, short and longer stories. At times humorous, eerie and poignant; a mother burdened by financial troubles shares her problem with a stranger, a young couples' journey to the the airport takes a strange turn, a wedding anniversary in Dingle goes from bad to worse, a small dog is forced to change his ways and a vampire hiding out in suburbia just wants to be left alone. Dip your toes into this quirky collection and find your favourite.


1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?



Friday 21 April 2017

The Guardian Child's Return by Diana L Wicker



The Guardian Child's Return

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


The Guardian Child's Return was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

One of the Tales from Feyron - The Ripples of Power stories

The Guardians have awakened after the Time of Sleep and returned to renew the magic with the clans of Faie. At the request of the Guardian, Lord Grypos, Keeper of Knowledge, the Master Scholar travels through the Outer Gateway with craftsmen and apprentices to coordinate the repairs of the once great oasis that houses the ancient archives of knowledge known as the Island in the Sands.

As the summer wanes and the oasis begins to return to its former glory, the Guardian calls the Master Scholar to the meditation room in the wee hours of the night to discuss a journey. In the fire an image flickers of the red desert sands speeding past, a land of grey beyond the desert, and a cavern of twilight behind an obsidian wall. “Arwyn and Shyamal are to go there for me to seek out that which was once mine.”

What starts as a seemingly simple journey becomes an adventure with life threatening consequences as the two are unexpectedly joined by their friends on a journey far from home beyond the realms of light in a realm that few within the clans of Faie knew could even be reached.


1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?



Wednesday 19 April 2017

Queen of Trial and Sorrow by Susan Appleyard



Queen of Trial and Sorrow

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


Queen of Trial and Sorrow was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

A B.R.A.G. Medallion winner, this is the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of King Edward IV and the mother of the Princes in the Tower. As an impoverished widow, she was wooed and won by the handsome young king and believed her dreams had come true. But she was soon swept up in the War of the Roses, enduring hardship and danger as her husband struggled to keep his throne. When he died Elizabeth was unable to protect her family against the ruthless ambitions of the man he trusted above all others. It was the king's brothers, the unstable Duke of Clarence and the loyal Duke of Gloucester, who would prove to be Elizabeth's most dangerous enemies.



1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?


This novel has also received...







Monday 17 April 2017

Mask of Duplicity by Julia Brannan



Mask of Duplicity

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


Mask of Duplicity was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

Following the death of their father, Beth’s brother Richard returns from the army to claim his share of the family estate. However, Beth’s hopes of a quiet life are dashed when Richard, dissatisfied with his meagre inheritance and desperate for promotion, decides to force her into a marriage for his military gain. And he will stop at nothing to get his way.

Beth is coerced into a reconciliation with her noble cousins in order to marry well and escape her brutal brother. She is then thrown into the glittering social whirl of Georgian high society and struggles to conform. The effeminate but witty socialite Sir Anthony Peters offers to ease her passage into society and she is soon besieged by suitors eager to get their hands on her considerable dowry. Beth, however, wants love and passion for herself, and to break free from the artificial life she is growing to hate. She finds herself plunged into a world where nothing is as it seems and everyone hides behind a mask. Can she trust the people professing to care for her?

The first in the series about the fascinating lives of beautiful Beth Cunningham, her family and friends during the tempestuous days leading up to the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, which attempted to overthrow the Hanoverian King George II and restore the Stuarts to the British throne.
Join the rebellion of one woman and her fight for survival in...
The Jacobite Chronicles.


1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?


This novel has also received...







Friday 14 April 2017

The Flower Seller by Ellie Holmes



The Flower Seller

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


The Flower Seller was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

Jessie Martin believes that when it comes to love there are three types of people: the skimmers, the bottom dwellers and the ones who dive for pearls. Jessie is a pearl diver. She had thought her husband William was a pearl diver too. But when William leaves her for a much younger woman, it’s not just Jessie’s heart that is broken, her ability to trust is shattered too. All Jessie wanted was a love she could believe in. Was that so much to ask? Loyalty it seems has gone out of fashion.

Refusing to retire from the battlefield of life, Jessie resolves to put her heartache behind her. She doesn’t want to be that woman who was too scared to love again. There has to be another pearl diver out there; all she has to do is find him.

Urged on by her sassy best friend, Anne and her daughter Hannah, Jessie makes three New Year’s resolutions: get a divorce, get a promotion, get a life. Enthusiastically embracing her new start, Jessie sets about making all her resolutions come true.

When fate brings handsome flower seller Owen Phillips into her life, will Jessie have the courage of her convictions? Can she take her heart in her hands and give it away again? Hope springs eternal they say but a bruised heart needs to time to heal. Will Owen have the patience to understand? Will Jessie be brave enough to take that leap of faith?

By the time summer holds her firmly in it’s warm embrace, Jessie’s monochrome world of heartache has been transformed into one full of colour, romance and love.

Jessie can hardly believe her luck. Can Owen really be the one?

All things seem possible and even husband William’s attempts to bully Jessie into a less than fair divorce settlement don’t have the power to upset her as they once might have. Supported by Owen, Jessie stands her ground. Putting William’s deceit and betrayal firmly in the rear view mirror of her life, Jessie is full of hope for the future. Perhaps loyalty and true love haven’t gone out of fashion after all.

When autumn’s burnished hues colour the world around her, Jessie looks forward to cosy nights by log fires with her handsome flower seller. But is Owen really the pearl diver Jessie had hoped for? Or is Jessie’s fragile trust about to be shattered all over again?
The Flower Seller is an engaging and page-turning read full of love, deceit, betrayal and hope.

This romantic tale follows Jessie from the depths of winter, to the excitement of spring through a hot and passionate summer to the turmoil and drama of a stormy autumn.
As a second winter approaches and her world is once more turned upside down, will Jessie ever find a love she can believe in with a man she can trust?



1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?



Wednesday 12 April 2017

Fair Weather by Barbara Gaskell Denvil



Fair Weather

has been AWARDED

a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award


Fair Weather was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against a five point criteria

In Molly’s dreams, it is the year 1206 A.D.

She is a young street urchin who has no last name and remembers no father. She is part of a band of thieves roaming the dark alleys of medieval London in search of their next mark. But it isn’t a dream.

Molly is living two separate lives.

In one life, she is a writer living in the present with the modern conveniences that we all enjoy. In the other life, she suffers the hardships of an orphaned waif with only the clothes on her back, using her wits to survive.

Does Molly leave her body behind? Or is she physically tied to both worlds? There is much she doesn’t understand. Who is the mysterious and dangerous Vespasian, the orphan family’s mentor? Molly senses that he’s hiding something sinister, but she is strangely drawn to him, as if by fate.

Can Molly stop the evil that is following her between the two worlds?


1.       Were the characters strong and engaging?
2.       Was the book well written?
3.       Did the plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4.       Was the ending satisfying?
5.       Would you tell your friends?


Fair Weather has also been honoured with a