Monthly Archives: May 2022

RELEASE DAY!! Empires of Bronze: The Dark Earth by Gordon Doherty

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Today I’m celebrating the release of Empires of Bronze: The Dark Earth, book 6 in the series by Gordon Doherty.

Here’s the blurb.

The time will come, as all times must, when the world will shake, and fall to dust…

1237 BC: It is an age of panic. The great empires are in disarray – ravaged by endless drought, shaken by ferocious earthquakes and starved of precious tin. Some say the Gods have abandoned mankind.
When Tudha ascends the Hittite throne, the burden of stabilising the realm falls upon his shoulders. Despite his valiant endeavours, things continue to disintegrate; allies become foes, lethal plots arise, and enemy battle horns echo across Hittite lands.

Yet this is nothing compared to the colossal, insidious shadow emerging from the west. Crawling unseen towards Tudha’s collapsing Hittite world comes a force unlike any ever witnessed; an immeasurable swarm of outlanders, driven by the cruel whip of nature, spreading fire and destruction: the Sea Peoples.

Every age must end. The measure of a man is how he chooses to face it.

Review

Ah..where to start. I’ve loved this series from the 1st page to the last.. The fate of the Hittites is sealed in history but what Gordon Doherty offers the reader is a masterful tale of hope, glory, blood and betrayal.

The time of King Hattu has sadly come to and end and it’s time for Tudha to take up the mantel in what will be the Hittite’s biggest battle.

After the events at Troy and the internal struggles faced by the Hittites Tudha hopes for peace… a peace that is shattered into a thousand pieces. The army of Agamemnon’s might be gone but there’s new foes on the horizon as well as a dark face from the past to contend with…on top of that the ground is shaking.. drought and famine are a daily struggle… but Tudha has hope!

Development wise as much as I’ll miss Hattu it was really enjoyable and fresh to see this instalment play out through the eyes of Tudha and Kurunta.. the faces of the past disappear to let the new blood shine through and some of those characters will stay with you, I loved the impact made on me by Ibiranu, Nerikkaili and particularly Zakuli.

Reading the The Dark Earth was tough.. it’s dark and brutal and the author broke me repeatedly with the events that play out.. dangling Tudha’s hope.. ahhh.

The Dark Earth is a masterclass in grabbing a reader’s attention, there’s pivotal moments, exciting characters, conflict and surprise..a real roller-coaster of emotions.

Is this the best yet from Gordon Doherty??? Perfection can’t top perfection! It just a joy to read!

No spoilers for me.. but it’s one to remember.. relish it!

5/5 Stars!

To find out more head to Goodreads or Amazon, or any good retailer 😊

BLOG TOUR – The Witch’s Tree by Elena Collins

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Witch’s Tree by Elena Collins.

Here’s the blurb

A tale as old as time. A spirit that has never rested.

Present day

As a love affair comes to an end, and with it her dreams for her future, artist Selena needs a retreat.  The picture-postcard Sloe Cottage in the Somerset village of Ashcombe promises to be the perfect place to forget her problems, and Selena settles into her new home as spring arrives.  But it isn’t long before Selena hears the past whispering to her. Sloe Cottage is keeping secrets which refuse to stay hidden.

1682

Grace Cotter longs for nothing more than a husband and family of her own. Content enough with her work on the farm, looking after her father, and learning the secrets of her grandmother Bett’s healing hands, nevertheless Grace still hopes for love. But these are dangerous times for dreamers, and rumours and gossip can be deadly. One mis-move and Grace’s fate looks set…

Separated by three hundred years, two women are drawn together by a home bathed in blood and magic. Grace Cotter’s spirit needs to rest, and only Selena can help her now.

Review

The Witch’s Tree is a duel timeline novel following the lives of Grace and Selena, one set in the seventeenth century the other modern day.

When we meet Grace we learn how hard her life has been, helping her father while working the fields trying to edge out an existence. Her life is a simple one.. eat, sleep, repeat but you can see how content she is with her lot in life.. although things are about to change drastically.

In the modern day, Selena, an artist has just suffered betrayal from the one she trusted the most.. and that hurt is going to increase exponentially. It’s time for some downtime..

Selena heads to Sloe Cottage..Grace’s home… separated only by time..

Sloe Cottage seems ideal…and it’s cheap…that should have been the red flag..

We soon learn that not everyone likes Sloe Cottage and it becomes clear why. 300 years ago Grace’s life took a turn for the worse, her sprit needs to rest, with Selena’s help Grace may find peace.. and in turn Grace may help Selena let go of her own pain.

The Witch’s Tree is a beautiful story about a connection through the ages. The duel time line worked very well and aided the flow of the tale, never a dull moment. I quite enjoying jumping around a clear timeline as it kept me engaged with the story.

Character wise The Witch’s Tree is onto a winner too as the development is paced smoothly, nothing forced, perfectly drip-fed allowing Grace and Selena to develop naturally.

There’s a growing suspense throughout the tale as we learn Grace’s fate and how that may impact on Selena.. it’s a enthralling tale showing the real strength of these two fascinating characters.

If I had to pick I think I loved Grace’s tale the most..her life..growth.. the pain she suffered. A very moving life and such a strong character.

A wonderful story.

5/5 Stars

My thanks go to the author, publisher, and Rachel @ rachelsrandomresources.com for having me on the tour! I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review, but I’ll be grabbing a copy too.. at £1.89 currently for the kindle version it’s a real bargain! 😊

To find our more head to Goodreads, Amazon (Or contact your local bookstore 😊 )

Why not follow the tour?

Author Bio –

Elena Collins is the pen name of Judy Leigh. Judy Leigh is the bestselling author of Five French Hens, A Grand Old Time and The Age of Misadventure and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.

Social Media Links.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/judyleighuk

Twitter https://twitter.com/judyleighwriter

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/judyrleigh/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/JudyLeighNews

BLOG TOUR – Outcast by Chris Ryan!

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for Outcast by Chris Ryan!

Chris was born in Newcastle, my neck of the woods! So how could I not jump on the chance to be part of the blog tour!!

Here’s the blurb

After single-handedly intervening in a deadly terrorist attack in Mali, SAS Warrant Officer Jamie ‘Geordie’ Carter is denounced as a lone wolf by jealous superiors.

Now a Regiment outcast, Carter is given a second chance with a deniable mission: locate SAS hero-gone-rogue, David Vann.

Vann had been sent into Afghanistan to train local rebels to fight the Taliban. But he’s since gone silent and expected attacks on key targets have not happened.

Tracking Vann through Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Carter not only discovers the rogue soldier’s involvement in a conspiracy that stretches far beyond the Middle East – but an imminent attack that will have deadly consequences the world over . . .

Review.

Outcast follows the journey of Officer Jamie ‘Geordie’ Carter.  Carter is a likeable fellow, but he’s ruffled some feathers along the way and has found himself out of favour with his superiors.  

On his current assignment it looks like he’s about to make things worse but just when things are about to get interesting an offer comes his way that he can’t resist.  

A fellow Blade, his mentor, David Vann has gone missing while on assignment, information is lacking so Carter is sent in the extract Vann.

As soon as Carter picks up the trail he gets a sense something isn’t quite right but little does he know what kind of shitstorm he’s about to walk into.

There’s action and betrayal behind every chapter and it ends up a race against time for Carter as there’s much more at stake than we first thought.

This is my first time reading a Chris Ryan book and I’ve heard many a good thing said about his work. Flow wise the book didn’t disappoint, it’s all about the build-up but with plenty of action and adrenaline as Carter constantly reassess the situation as the plot takes a twist. Character wise it didn’t disappoint either, the plot leaves little chance to give the characters too much depth but perfectly matches the flow as the author packs details in that quickly help you assess the characters and their motivations.

There’s a real authentic edge to the tale, the setting within Afghanistan after the withdrawal of western troops which gave the perfect backdrop for this story.

Outcast is a fast-paced thriller that fans of the genre will love. There’s a twist at the end which I hope means we will see more of Carter.. I’ll be waiting 😊

My thanks go to the author, publisher and Rachel @ rachelsrandomresources.com for having me on the tour! I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review but I’ll be more than happy to grab a copy too 😊

5/5 Stars from me 🙂

To find our more head to Goodreads, Amazon or Browns Books.

Why not follow the tour?

Author Bio

Chris Ryan was born in Newcastle.

In 1984 he joined 22 SAS. After completing the year-long Alpine Guides Course, he was the troop guide for B Squadron Mountain Troop. He completed three tours with the anti-terrorist team, serving as an assaulter, sniper and finally Sniper Team Commander.

Chris was part of the SAS eight-man team chosen for the famous Bravo Two Zero mission during the 1991 Gulf War. He was the only member of the unit to escape from Iraq, where three of his colleagues were killed and four captured, for which he was awarded the Military Medal. Chris wrote about his experiences in his book The One That Got Away, which became an immediate bestseller. Since then he has written over fifty books and presented a number of very successful TV programmes.

Social Media Links  

Twitter

https://twitter.com/exsaschrisryan

https://twitter.com/ZaffreBooks