Elizabeth Fremantle

Watch The Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle 

              Stella star of heavenly fire,
              Stella lodestar of desire.

                                    Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella




Penelope Devereux is a beauty that inspires exquisite poetry. But that is not all she is; fascinating, intelligent, prudent, unafraid of flirting with danger... had she been a man, she would have surely been a renowned figure in English history. Goddaughter of Queen Elizabeth I, sister of the Earl of Essex, she loves Philip Sidney but her heart is to be broken when she is forced to marry another.

This book is like a doorway to the past. On opening it to the first page you found yourself transported to Elizabethan England. You don't just follow Penelope in her life in the English Court but you feel her happiness, heartache and fears.

When Sidney looks at her, you feel your heart skip a beat and your breath catch in your throat. When in the Queen's presence your hands tremble slightly and every word is measured carefully before being spoken. Fear of unintentionally saying the wrong thing or displeasing the Queen in any way is palpable.

Beautifully written, enchantingly told, this story brings to life a most alluring character whose story deserves to be told.

When We Were Animals

When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord

"In the town where I grew up, when the boys and girls reached a certain age, the parents locked themselves up in their houses, and the teenagers ran wild..."


This is a dark coming of age novel.

Lumen lives with her widowed father, she's a well behaved girl, trustworthy, intelligent, and excels at school. But, she lives in a strange town. A town where when they reach puberty, the teenagers go through what they call "breaching". They run naked at night when the moon is full, all social restrictions are thrown to the wind and their animal instincts take over.

The story is told by Lumen, Alternating between her as a teenager, and then years later as a married mother.

At times it reads like a nightmare, happenings beyond your control, panic, fear, running, and nothing making sense. Which is essentially what it means to be a teenager. Feelings of uncertainty, of waiting, wanting something but not knowing what that something is, prevail for Lumen.

This book is beautifully written, honest and savage at times. The characters are not just believable but recognisable. Every adult reading the story will find something of themselves in there. My only negative comment would be that occasionally I felt it stopped short of how brutal, how ruthless teenagers without restraints can be.

I really enjoyed When We Were Animals and look forward to reading more by this author.


I give When We Were Animals four stars ★★★★
isbn 9781785030949
Published in 2015 by Del Rey
I received an uncorrected proof copy in a goodreads giveaway

Des Farry

Did Socrates Get Pissed? by Des Farry

This is a humorous short story, very tongue in cheek, hilarious in parts. The characters are all self obsessed but don't mind telling everyone else how to live their lives. Pretty much everyone get's on each other's nerves and the management speak is priceless. 

I only gave this book three stars because the characters grated on my nerves and by the end of the book I could have happily banged their heads together... but maybe that's just me.

No Place For A Lady by Gill Paul

1854 and Britain is the grip of the Crimean War.

Young Lucy Harvington after a whirlwind romance travels to the Crimea with her husband Charlie. Her older sister Dorothea Gray follows her to the front as a pioneering nurse working alongside Florence Nightingale.

Both sisters will risk their lives and face unimaginable horrors. How will they survive?



                                                      *************************


I picked up this book and couldn't put it down. I felt an immediate affinity with the older sister Dorothea and both hers and Lucy's stories grabbed me and refused to let go.

This is a beautifully written book, the images portrayed are done in a way that allows you to step into the story and live the adventure with the characters. The horror of war is described honestly, without holding back at all on the brutality, the fear and the devastation  it brings.

I love the story, the history entwined into the lives of these fictional characters is fascinating. This book is a must read and I can't wait to read more of this authors work.