Sunday, September 16, 2018

Book Review: The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston

Book Review


The Little Shop of Found Things

Paula Brackston


Book Description:

New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter Paula Brackston returns to her trademark blend of magic and romance guaranteed to enchant in The Little Shop of Found Things, the first book in a new continuing series.
An antique shop haunted by a ghost.
A silver treasure with an injustice in its story.
An adventure to the past she’ll never forget.
Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds. When she touches them, she can sense something of the past they come from and the stories they hold. When she has an intense connection to a beautiful silver chatelaine she has to know more.
It is while she’s examining the chatelaine that she’s transported back to the seventeenth century where it has its origins. She discovers there is an injustice in its history. The spirit that inhabits her new home confronts her and charges her with saving her daughter’s life, threatening to take Flora’s if she fails.
While Xanthe fights to save the girl amid the turbulent days of 1605, she meets architect Samuel Appleby. He may be the person who can help her succeed. He may also be the reason she can’t bring herself to leave.


Release Date: October 16, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy


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My 5-Star Review:

I must preface this by saying that I have read all of Paula Brackston’s “witch” books and enjoyed them immensely, so it went without saying that I would read anything new that she wrote. And I’m very happy that I read her newest novel, The Little Shop of Found Things. While this isn’t a novel about witches, it is a story with magical qualities and interesting characters that made it very hard to put down.

Xanthe is a special woman who sells antiques with her mother and has the ability to “feel” certain things about the most special items that come into her life. Moving to a new town to start their life over again, Xanthe and her mother, Flora, buy an old antique shop in need of a lot of love and cleaning. While attending an auction to buy items to fill their new shop, Xanthe is drawn to one particular item and must have it. That item takes her on an adventure through time where she must come to the aid of a young girl or else risk the consequences of a very angry ghost. Sounds intriguing? It is, believe me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The characters come to life and take you on a journey that you will not soon forget. Once again, Ms. Brackston has created a unique world with interesting characters. It is a story you will not want to miss.

(I received a copy of this novel from the NetGalley and the publisher and have given an honest review.)


About the Author:

Paula Brackston lives in a wild, mountainous part of Wales. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, and is a Visiting Lecturer for the University of Wales, Newport. Before becoming a writer, Paula tried her hand at various career paths, with mixed success. These included working as a groom on a racing yard, a travel agent, a secretary, an English teacher, and a goat herd. Everyone involved (particularly the goats) is very relieved that she has now found a job she is actually able to do properly. 

When not hunched over her keyboard in her tiny office under the stairs, Paula is dragged outside by her children to play Swedish tennis on the vertiginous slopes which surround them. She also enjoys being walked by the dog, hacking through weeds in the vegetable patch, or sitting by the pond with a glass of wine. Most of the inspiration for her writing comes from stomping about on the mountains being serenaded by skylarks and buzzards.

In 2007 Paula was shortlisted in the Creme de la Crime search for new writers. In 2010 her book 'Nutters' (writing as PJ Davy) was shortlisted for the Mind Book Award. Last year she was selected by the BBC under their New Welsh Writers scheme.


Don’t miss my review of Paula Brackston’s novel, The Witch’s Daughter.

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Release Day ~ Miss Etta: A Novel

Miss Etta ~ Release Day!


What Reviewers Are Saying:

“This is a fantastic story, a great adventure, and a real joy to read.  I highly recommend this book to all lovers of romance, action, adventure, and history.5-Star Review from Readers’ Favorite

"Sletten’s fast-paced novel is inspired by real history and features historical figures Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The suspense surrounding both real and fictionalized events helps weave the narrative together and lends it an authentic feel—readers soon forget to wonder what is real and what is fiction in this heartwarming story." --Critic's Report - The BookLife Prize 


"Miss Etta is the great novel every writer hopes to pen in their lifetime and the book every reader is dying to find. By mixing known facts with fiction, it tells the story of Etta Place, Sundance the Kid’s wife. The book has action/adventure, with gunslinging bank robbers, brothels, and daring escapes. Friendships that last lifetimes are featured, as is a love triangle, family secrets, and difficult decisions that brought me to tears at the end. If I had to tell people what the book is about in one sentence, I’d say it’s the Titanic of the Wild West. If you love women’s historical fiction, read Miss Etta. It’s a story you will never forget."
--Kim Cano, Author



It's finally here!

Release Day for

MISS ETTA

This novel holds a special place in my heart. I started writing it
over 25 years ago. I wrote it out by hand in notebooks
while sitting at my children's baseball practices or during stolen
moments in my van as I waited for the kids to get out
of school.

And now it's finally here!

I waited a long time to finish this novel 
because I never thought the time was right to
publish it. But with a renewed interest
by readers in historical fiction,
I set aside all my other writing projects
and finished MISS ETTA.

And now I can finally share it with all of you.

I hope you enjoy this story. I have to say, it's my favorite of all my books.


Book Description:

She rode with the most famous outlaws of her time. Then she vanished.

In the fall of 1895, Etta Place falls in love with Harry Longabaugh, alias the Sundance Kid. She gives up everything to follow him and his partner-in-crime, Butch Cassidy, in their outlaw life across the continent and beyond. Breathtakingly beautiful and every inch a lady, Etta can also ride and shoot as well as any man. As their fugitive life begins to crumble, she finds herself alone and living in a convent with her newborn son. Knowing she can’t hide away forever, she moves halfway across the country to begin anew. Etta prays her past won’t catch up with her.

In 1911 Emily Pleasants steps onto the train station platform of Pine Creek, Minnesota with a teacher’s contract in hand and a secret life she’s fled. A young widow with a small son, she’s searching for a safe place to raise her child where no one will recognize her. She meets Edward Sheridan, a successful merchant and bank owner, who quickly falls for her beauty, intelligence, and kindness. Still, she worries her notorious past will threaten the one thing dearest to her—her son.

From the deserts of Texas to the sweeping vistas of Wyoming, the refinement of New York City to the lush valleys of Argentina, Etta followed the outlaw men she loved so dearly. And then, she disappeared.

One woman, two separate lives. What became of the elusive Etta Place?  


Buy Now:


Barnes & Noble Nook: http://ow.ly/JOeu30kjekn

Apple iBooks: http://ow.ly/pZUJ30kmk9N



Paperback: https://amzn.to/2PyKgDh
 Audiobook:  https://amzn.to/2Pn12EJ   






If you read MISS ETTA and love it,
please take a moment to review online
and tell your friends!