Merryn is set for a huge inheritance but has always been underestimated and has few friends. She has to adapt to her new position in life as well as shifting family relationships. She even considers love for the first time!
Merryn is the 5th book in the Cousins of Pemberley series. Last week I reviewed Jane, the previous book in the series. Each book works as a stand alone novel but the romantic pairs from earlier books do feature.
Merryn’s Darcy/Bennet connection is a little further away in the family tree so the opening chapters include a lot of detail about the family relationships. I found myself a little confused at the start as there are several main characters whose names begin with ‘R’ so I wasn’t clear on their role and connection.
Few fans of the original Pride and Prejudice can forget the overbearing Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her poor frail daughter Anne. Merryn is Anne’s daughter and now set to inherit her grandmother’s fortune. She strikes a tragic figure as an orphan and rejected by her paternal grandfather.
Our sympathies are instantly aligned with Merryn as she strives to find a place in life and adapts to her new fortune. Her long standing friendship with Jacob is innocent but his brother Ryder is well educated and offers Merryn the chance to find an intellectual equal.
Merryn is an entertaining historical romance novel and essential reading for Jane Austen fans.
Merryn’s Book Links
Book Blurb
Many years have passed since the dramatic events of Pride and Prejudice. In The Cousins of Pemberley series we follow a new generation of heroines – cousins with lives as different and interesting as those enjoyed by their mothers.
Merryn :
When a young woman is the recipient of a great fortune, her life can become difficult.
Lady Merryn Bowyer has many problems – learning how to behave in society, dealing with relatives who hate her and men who wish to marry her!
Can she learn to trust, find a way to survive, to love?
Luckily Merryn has two advantages – strength of character, inherited from her formidable grandmother, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and a reckless, dare-devil cousin, Bennetta Darcy.
Author Bio
Fiction has always been my go-to world, a place of entertainment, excitement and imagination – I am told that I wrote my first story when I was four about a lady who had twenty children! Sadly it has been lost for posterity.
I have been writing all my life in the time I could spare from having a “proper job”, mostly for children under the name of Linda Blake, stories of ballet dancers, pony riding and talking animals! Not all in the same book!
But my love of romance, a great tendency to say “What if..?” and the endearing characters of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice have now resulted in a series of books that will take the reader forward to the next generation of heroines.
I am retired, live in Kent and am a keen member of my local drama group. Directing and acting take up a lot of my time – I have been given the onerous task of writing the Christmas pantomimes – but I still need to cope with a large garden, doing daily battle with the heron who thinks my pond is his own breakfast buffet and keeping in touch with friends and family scattered all over the world.
Linda’s Links:
Lucy is a computer programmer who suffers from ill health and moves to the country for some peace and quiet. Except her cotttage has a llama, cockerel and donkey that shouldn’t be there…!
The Llama Farm on New Moon Lane is a light hearted book about a change of pace for a physical and emotional reset.
Lucy’s health takes a turn for the worse just as her career is set to take a new direction. Her new game sounds fab although the computer jargon was a bit above my head. However, the connection she makes with the animals is beautifully written. The animals’ characters are brought to life and I especially fell in love with Dimitri the donkey.
The book is written in the third person which allows some disance from the emotions that Lucy is feeling as she rethinks her life and priorities. There is a gentle humour and light hearted tone to the writing which makes this story so enjoyable. The villagers are very involved in every aspect of communiety life which adds another touch of exasperation and humour. The conclusion of the book is open ended and a little abrupt, setting the scene for the next book in the series. Overall, the book leaves a feel-good response to the plot and characters.
The Llama Farm on New Moon Lane is a warm and uplifting book about fresh starts and emotional healing.
The Llama Farm on New Moon Lane
Young and quiet, Lucy Granger leads an introverted life in Reading, living in a flat and working in design at a graphics company—until it is upended when she both sells her idea for a mobile game and suffers an unexpected medical diagnosis shortly afterwards.
Facing a mandated medical rest period, she decides to use her windfall earnings to take a year’s holiday, renting a farm on New Moon Lane in a country village in Yorkshire. As Lucy settles into her holiday home for some tranquility, she soon learns that she is not the only tenant, when a llama named Llarry strolls out of the farm’s supposedly-derelict barn. He is shortly followed by others in a menagerie of abandoned animals left behind—from a sickly donkey who likes eating crisps to a flirtatious cockerel sleeping in the back garden.
To Lucy’s consternation, no one is willing or able to take them on, leaving her with a strange mix of furry and feathered friends to find homes for. Reluctantly adapting to her circumstances in order to deal with this problem, Lucy will discover other surprises about the animals in her care, and the place she is temporarily calling home. About herself, as well.
Will her ordinary life ever be the same after her experience on New Moon Lane? More importantly, should she really want it to be?
Author Bio –
Laura Briggs is the author of several feel-good romance reads, including the Top 100 Amazon UK seller ‘A Wedding in Cornwall’. She has a fondness for vintage style dresses (especially ones with polka dots), and reads everything from Jane Austen to modern day mysteries. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, caring for her pets, gardening, and seeing the occasional movie or play.
Social Media Links –
Author Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1JjeMoI
Author Twitter: http://bit.ly/1ME9ivJ
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Ros makes a new friend on holiday and the pair go out for the night. Alcohol is flowing and in the morning, Ros can’t remember what happened, if she cheated on her husband or revealed the secret that has been haunting her. But a holiday friendship is temporay so she relaxes knowing she won’t see Lotte again. Until Lotte moves in around the corner and her daughter is in the same class at Ros’…
The Mother at Number 5 is a psychological thriller about two women whose lives become interconnected.
Ros and Lotte make friends with each other while on vacation. But a night out dancing and drinking leaves Ros hungover and scared. She can’t remember what she said or did that night but hopes she kept her devastating secret to herself. Then Lotte turns up back in Ros’ hometown, firmly planting herself ino her life and hinting that she knows something.
The book is written from the third person perspective of Ros and the first person narrative of Lotte. There are hints about what Lotte’s motive could be and this maintained the mystery until the reveal occurred.
Ros had the added pressure of her older daughter’s behaviour which is becoming more disturbing and even violent. I didn’t trust Lotte right from the start but she isn’t the only one hiding devastating secrets. The clues are hinted at throughout the first half of the book, building tension and anticipation. The ending was a little abrupt and there are sudden reveals in the epilogue (I was starting to wonder if I’d missed something) so I wish there had been further plot and character detail to conclude the story fully.
The Mother at Number 5 is an entertaining and intriguing psychological thriller.
Title: The Mother at Number 5
Publication Day: June 21st 2023
Author: JILL CHILDS
Buy Links:
Audible:
Description:
I told her my darkest secret. Then she moved next door…
Once you find our perfect little town nestled between the gorgeous hills, you never want to leave. My husband and I both grew up here and we knew there was nowhere better to raise our two sweet girls… But when the moving van pulls up, and a mother and daughter jump out, my blood runs cold.
I met the mother once on our summer holiday and I let slip a terrible secret, something no one here must ever know… Fear rushes through me as I remember that night, but I’m sure I never told her where we live. As if she can read my mind she leans in close and says, ‘Don’t worry, you’d had a few drinks. Your secret’s safe with me.’ But I don’t trust her – why has she moved to my street?
I try to warn my kind, loving husband to stay away, but he laughs me off and invites her into our lives. When she lets my precious daughter get hurt, she’s gone too far. I know she’s here to destroy my perfect life.
But the mother at number 5 has made a mistake. She has underestimated me ever since the night we met. And she has no idea what I’ll do to protect those I love and keep my secret safe…
A completely unputdownable psychological thriller from the USA Today bestseller about family secrets, guilt and lies. If you love The Girl on the Train, The Housemaid or Lisa Jewell, you will gasp out loud at the shocking twists!
Author Bio:
Jill has always loved writing – real and imaginary – and spent 30 years travelling the world as a journalist, living overseas and reporting wherever the news took her. She’s now made her home in London with her husband and twin girls who love stories as much as she does. Although she’s covered everything from earthquakes and floods, riots and wars, she’s found some of the most extraordinary stories right here at home – in the secrets and lies she imagines behind closed doors on ordinary streets, just like yours.
If you’ve enjoyed reading one of Jill’s books, please do leave a review.
For latest news, follow Jill on Twitter (author_jill) and Facebook (Jill Childs)
Author Social Media Links:
1925, Cressida Fawcett is visiting Ayrton Castle in Scotland to offer interior design advice. Her trip is interrupted by the murder of the previous owner in a locked room. Cressida begins to investigate while she waits for DCI Andrews to arrive but is she putting herself in danger?
Death in the Highlands is the third book to feature Cressida and DCI Andrews. I have previously reviewed the second book in the series, Death by a Cornish Cove. There are mentions of the earlier cases but no spoilers about the culprits.
Cressida is on hand for the discovery of a body, stabbed to death while in a locked room. How did the killer escape and could it really be someone on the estate? Luckily Andrews is on holiday in Scotland but it still takes him a while to arrive so Cressida gets started on the investigation on her own.
There is a whole host of suspects as Hamish had a lot of enemies among his employees, family and wider social circle. Cressida searches for motive and finds plenty but which were worth killing for? Andrews doesn’t arrive until halfway through the book so Cressida has already made significant progress in the hunt for the killer all by herself.
There are lots of clues and red herrings to keep the reader guessing. Cressida’s dog Ruby adds a touch of humour and the overall tone of the book is quite light despite the murderous content. I felt that the historical and geographical setting provided an interesting backdrop to the plot and characters.
Death in the Highlands is an enjoyable historical cosy murder mystery.
Book Description:
There’s a dangerous killer lurking by this loch… and only canny Cressida can track them down.
Scotland, June 1925.Socialite Cressida Fawcett has been invited to cast her interior design eye over the Stirling family’s new seat, Ayrton Castle, up in the Scottish Highlands. Thrilled to be spending the summer at the historic estate, Cressida fills her suitcase with this season’s hunting jackets – and some tartan for her little pug Ruby, of course!
But before the party is ready to tramp through the glens, shocking news puts paid to their plans. Hamish Glenkirk, former owner of Ayrton, has been found dead inside a turret room of the castle. The door was bolted from the inside, and the room is three storeys up, surrounded by impenetrable stone walls… How did the murderer get in? And out?
With Detective Andrews of Scotland Yard at least a day’s journey away, Cressida knows she needs to get to the bottom of this case – and fast. There’s no end of suspects among the hunting party. Could it be the local doctor whose wife left him for a fling with the now-dead laird? Or is the gamekeeper hiding secrets under his kilt?
Just as Cressida is closing in on the truth, a blood-curdling scream echoes through the mist. Another member of the party, and one of the suspects, has been shot. With a wee dram in hand, can Cressida find the killer before the bagpipes play for another victim?
An unputdownable and gripping cozy mystery which fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss will love.
Author Bio:
Fliss Chester lives in Surrey with her husband and writes historical cozy crime. When she is not killing people off in her 1940s whodunnits, she helps her husband, who is a wine merchant, run their business. Never far from a decent glass of something, Fliss also loves cooking (and writing up her favourite recipes on her blog), enjoying the beautiful Surrey and West Sussex countryside and having a good natter.
Buy Link:
You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo
Jane Darcy has always been delicate and sickly, especially in contrast to her vivacious twin Anne. Now she is heartbroken and angry at her twin’s betrayal. Can she finally step out of her twin’s shadow and find happiness?
Jane is the 4th book in the Cousins of Pemberley series which follows the next generation from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I have previously reviewed the earlier three books in the series: Catherine, Cassandra, and Miriam.
Jane was sickly at birth and has been delicate ever since. The whole family have been protective of her but now she wants freedom and passion. Her love affair is in tatters after the gentleman proposed to her sister instead of her and now she escapes to her godfather’s house to get some distance and perspective.
This series is a must for all Jane Austen fans. I loved being immersed into the heart of the Bennett family again. Jane is the archetypal delicate female yet she has an inner core of strength that not even she is aware of. As well as broken heart and a domineering twin, Jane has to contend with a rather sly distant cousin and the potential of a new love interest.
Once again I was swept back in time to the 1800s and the social and gender roles felt accurately depicted. The writing is reminiscent of Jane Austen’s but there is more direct insight into the emotions of the characters.
Jane is an enjoyable historical romance novel that Austen fans will enjoy.
Jane’s Book Links
Book Blurb
Many years have passed since the dramatic events of Pride and Prejudice. In The Cousins of Pemberley series we follow a new generation of heroines – cousins with lives as different and interesting as those enjoyed by their mothers.
Jane:
The Darcys have always worried about their daughter Jane.
Gentle and delicate, she has been cosseted and protected from the world.
But all the Darcy wealth and power cannot save Jane from heartbreak and betrayal.
Can she find a courage no one believes she has?
Can she break free from the golden cage that imprisons her?
Author Bio
Fiction has always been my go-to world, a place of entertainment, excitement and imagination – I am told that I wrote my first story when I was four about a lady who had twenty children! Sadly it has been lost for posterity.
I have been writing all my life in the time I could spare from having a “proper job”, mostly for children under the name of Linda Blake, stories of ballet dancers, pony riding and talking animals! Not all in the same book!
But my love of romance, a great tendency to say “What if..?” and the endearing characters of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice have now resulted in a series of books that will take the reader forward to the next generation of heroines.
I am retired, live in Kent and am a keen member of my local drama group. Directing and acting take up a lot of my time – I have been given the onerous task of writing the Christmas pantomimes – but I still need to cope with a large garden, doing daily battle with the heron who thinks my pond is his own breakfast buffet and keeping in touch with friends and family scattered all over the world.
Linda’s Links:
