Read about The Jewish Ghetto in Shanghai by Deborah Swift, author of The Enemy's Wife #TheEnemysWife #HistoricalFiction #WW2 #Shanghai @swiftstory @cathiedunn

The Enemy’s Wife 

By Deborah Swift

'A fast-paced, beautifully written, and moving story. Refreshing to read a book set in a different theatre of war. Wartime Shanghai jumped off the page' CLARE FLYNN

A poignant story of the impossible choices we make in the shadow of war, for fans of Daisy Wood and Marius Gabriel. 

1941. When Zofia’s beloved husband Haru is conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army, she is left to navigate Japanese-occupied Shanghai alone.

Far from home and surrounded by a country at war, Zofia finds unexpected comfort in a bond with Hilly, a spirited young refugee escaping Nazi-occupied Austria.

As violence tightens its grip on the city, they seek shelter with Theo, Zofia’s American employer. But with every passing day, the horrors of war and Haru’s absence begin to reshape Zofia’s world – and her heart.

Can she still love someone who has become the enemy?

Readers love The Enemy's Wife:

'A gorgeous novel that will truly pull at your heartstrings' CARLY SCHABOWSKI

'I loved The Enemy’s Wife – a gripping, fast-paced and evocative story about the Japanese occupation of Shanghai during WW2 – and really rooted for the brave and selfless central character, Zofia. Highly recommended' ANN BENNETT

'Such an emotional and moving read, grounded in immaculate research that never overshadows the heart of the story' SUZANNE FORTIN

Page Length: 380

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Grab a copy HERE!

The Jewish Ghetto in Shanghai

By Deborah Swift 

“Shanghai was a strange refuge—alien, chaotic, yet a place of survival.”

Ernest G Heppner

In the early 1940s, as Jews like my main character Zofia, tried to escape Nazi-controlled Europe, most countries closed their borders. However, Shanghai remained an open port city, and between about 1938 and 1941, nearly 20,000 Jewish refugees, mainly from Germany and Austria, arrived there. Many settled in the area called Hongkew, a poor, already crowded district that had been heavily affected by earlier bombing and fighting.

At the time of my novel, Japan had occupied Shanghai except for some foreign-controlled areas like the International Settlement. Following Japan’s alliance with Nazi Germany, pressure increased to restrict Jewish refugees. The Japanese authorities established what they officially called the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees. This is what we now refer to as the Shanghai Jewish Ghetto. Within the ghetto they needed permits to leave, but unlike Nazi ghettos in Europe, this was not an extermination camp, and there was no systematic mass murder policy.

Life in the Ghetto

Most refugees arrived with little or nothing and were housed in overcrowded houses and or subdivided rooms, often with multiple families sharing a single space. These buildings were badly maintained having been damaged from earlier fighting in the Second Sino-Japanese War, and had few facilities. There was little heating in winter, intense heat in summer, limited clean water, and privacy was almost non-existent. Some Jewish writers used a Yiddish expression to describe Shanghai: shond khay, "a shame of a life." 

Despite these harsh conditions, the Jewish community were intent on survival and built for themselves a functioning society – Schools, newspapers, and theatres were established and many refugees recreated a semblance of European cultural life. Despite restrictions, a small internal economy developed and refugees opened cafés, bakeries, tailoring shops, and repair services. Money was scarce, so bartering was very common. Newspapers and newsletters circulated within the community, and lectures, concerts, and literary events were held. This wasn’t just entertainment – it was psychological survival. Maintaining culture helped people cope with exile and uncertainty.

The uncertainty of being in a war zone cannot be underestimated. The ghetto suffered from bombing raids, after the Attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1945 U.S. bombing raids hit Hongkew, causing casualties among civilians, including Jewish refugees.

Integration with the Chinese Community

Hongkew was already home to many poor Chinese families before the refugees arrived, so the two communities were forced to live lived side by side, often sharing the same hardships. These two underclasses developed cooperation and mutual understanding, since both groups suffered under the brutal Japanese occupation. 

The Chinese were considered to be lower than animals in the estimation of the Japanese army and were treated like slave labour. After 1943, when the Japanese created the restricted zone, all movement was monitored, passes were needed to go anywhere, and curfews and regulations controlled all routines. Punishment for disobeying the Japanese was violent and uncompromising and could lead to imprisonment or death.

The ghetto effectively ended with Japan’s defeat in 1945 and the conclusion of World War II. The entry of US troops into Shanghai was a double-edged sword – both jubilation that the Japanese were defeated, but also the news of the fate of their relatives in the Holocaust. Most refugees had heard nothing since the spring of 1941 from the families they had left behind in occupied Europe. And the long business of tracing them would take far more time.

Those lucky enough to live in the ghetto remember it as a place where, however harsh it was, at least they could survive.

The Enemy’s Wife tells the story of Zofia and her friend Hilly who live in the ghetto at the beginning of the novel, before fate takes them into the larger landscape of occupied China.

Deborah used to be a costume designer for the BBC, before becoming a writer. Now she lives in an old English school house in a village full of 17th Century houses, near the glorious Lake District. Deborah has an award-winning historical fiction blog at her website www.deborahswift.com.

Deborah loves to write about how extraordinary events in history have transformed the lives of ordinary people, and how the events of the past can live on in her books and still resonate today.

Her WW2 novel Past Encounters was a BookViral Award winner, and The Poison Keeper was a winner of the Wishing Shelf Book of the Decade.

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Read an excerpt from Infidel: The Daughters of Aragon (Six Tudor Queens) by Nicola Harris #CatherineOfAragon #HistoricalFiction #TudorHistory #YardeBookPromotions @maryanneyarde @harris_nic59544

Infidel: The Daughters of Aragon 

(Six Tudor Queens)

By Nicola Harris

Born in the glittering courts of Castile and Aragon and forged in the shadow of war, Catalina de Aragón grows up surrounded by queens, rebels, and explorers. She is her mother’s last daughter, the final jewel of a dynasty built on conquest and faith, and the one child Isabella of Castile cannot bear to lose.

But destiny has already claimed Catalina.

Promised to Prince Arthur of England since childhood, she is raised to bind kingdoms, soothe old wounds, and carry the hopes of an empire across the sea. Yet, Spain fractures under rebellion, grief, and the ruthless zeal of its own rulers.

From the burning streets of Granada to the stormlashed Bay of Biscay, Catalina and her sisters must navigate a treacherous path shaped by ambition, betrayal, and the dangerous love of men who fear the power of queens. She learns to read cyphers, to read hearts, and to stand unbroken even as her childhood is stripped from her piece by piece.

And when she finally sails for England armed with her mother’s lessons, her father’s steel, and the ghosts of the Alhambra at her back, Catalina steps into her fate not as a girl, but as a force.

A princess.

A survivor.

A daughter of Aragon.

Infidel is the story of a young woman raised for greatness and destined to reshape the fate of nations. This is Catalina, as she has never been seen before. She is fierce, vulnerable, and unforgettable.

A sweeping, intimate portrait of sisterhood, survival, and the making of a dynasty, Infidel reveals the hidden lives of a woman whose courage shaped the Tudor world.

Genre: Biographical Historical Fiction | Tudor Fiction | Historical Fiction

Pages: 268

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This novel is free to read with #KindleUnlimited subscription.

EXCERPT

Juana: 

Catalina had been waiting for weeks for Isabel’s return. She was certain that the moment our widowed sister stepped through the gates, our sister would be happy again. Over and over, she told me how Isabel would open her arms wide, how she would run into them and sit on her lap as she always had. Catalina spoke of nothing but Isabel’s laughter, her stories, her dancing, her love of sweetmeats and flowers, and how much she had missed her.

When Isabel finally arrived, she came riding sidesaddle on a humble donkey that clacked its hooves across the courtyard stones. The animal halted, but Isabel did not dismount at once. When she did, the breath caught in my throat.

She was veiled, her body swathed in black, moving slowly as though the very air weighed her down. Her hair was hidden. Her face was hidden. The joy was gone from her step.

The servants guided Isabel forward, their arms firm around her as if she might collapse. She did not look up. She did not greet us. She seemed smaller, thinner, her steps dragging. In her hands, she clutched a crucifix so tightly that Our Lord’s face must have imprinted itself into her skin.

Catalina cried out and tried to run to her, but I held her back. The picture she had carried in her head of Isabel laughing and of Isabel radiant, shattered in an instant. Isabel did not see us. She did not speak. She showed no joy at being home.

She passed beneath the archway, the veil trembling with her breath, and I saw only the shadow of my sister, hollowed by grief.

She wore the habit of a Poor Clare nun. And as I watched her move through the courtyard like a ghost, I thought, this is how sorrow must be lived.

oOo

Catalina:

We were herded into our parents’ bedchamber to greet Isabel. I clutched Juana’s hand, still halfbelieving the picture in my mind of the Isabel I had always known, sensible and smiling and glad to be home.

But the figure before us was draped in black. Cloth hung from her shoulders, her veil heavy, she was dressed like a nun.

Isabel did not look at us. As she lay on our parents’ bed, her face turned to the wall, I saw that her lovely hair was gone. Her cheeks were hollow, and her bones were sharp beneath her skin.

I edged closer, desperate to speak. ‘Isabel,’ I whispered, my voice small.

She stirred only slightly, a hand twitching against the sheet. No words came.

The candle beside her flickered, throwing long shadows across her wasted body. 

I stayed where I was, bewildered by all the tears for a prince none of us had ever met. The sister I remembered, the golden sister laughing and alive, was gone. In her place lay a new Isabel, silent, veiled, her sorrow filling the room as surely as smoke had filled our tent at Santa Fe.

I held out a single flower from the courtyard. It was bright, alive and fragile in my hand. Surely it would cheer her. She had always loved the smell of gardens, the soft brush of petals against her cheek.

I lifted the flower toward her. ‘Here,’ I whispered. ‘It is pretty. It will make you happy.’

She did not move. She turned her head further toward the wall, deeper into the dark.

The flower trembled in my hand. I thought of my grandmother, who everyone called mad, sitting alone in her shuttered chamber, refusing the sunlight. Isabel was the same now. She, too, was choosing darkness, choosing candlelight and choosing sorrow.

I placed the flower on the coverlet, close to her hand. ‘It is yours,’ I said, my voice breaking.

Isabel’s fingers did not even twitch. It was as if she, too, had died.

I stayed there, staring at the flower lying useless on the bed, knowing she would never reach out for me, never reach for happiness, and want only the dark.

I stood straighter, my fists tight at my sides. 

I thought of my grandmother, choosing the dark. Isabel had chosen it too.

But I would not.

I would keep the colour, keep the sweetness of my life, even if no one else wanted it and even if no one wanted my love.

oOo

Juana:

I sat at the foot of the bed, our mother’s letter open in my hands. Isabel lay pale against the pillows, her eyes fixed on nothing. The book of Job rested beside her on Mother’s finest coverlet, open but unread. She had no strength for anything but weeping and lamenting her miserable fate.

‘Mother is returning from Santa Fe to comfort you,’ I whispered.

Isabel’s response was razor sharp. ‘Only because she wants me to marry again. She will be furious that the Portuguese alliance has failed. She will send me elsewhere the moment she can find a treaty that suits her.’

‘She loves you and wants the best for you, Isabel,’ Catalina said, and there was an edge in her voice that startled me.

‘What would you know, Catalina? You are but a child.’

‘At least I am not unkind like you are,’ Catalina shot back.

Silence fell, heavy and brittle. Then Isabel whispered, ‘What would you know about love? I will not marry again. No one can make me. I will enter a convent.’

Catalina perched on her stool, her feet swinging, restless. ‘Read it to me,’ she demanded, chin lifted. ‘I am the Princess of Wales. I must know what happens in England.’

I smoothed the parchment, lowering my voice so as not to disturb Isabel. ‘Mother writes of a youth in Ireland. Do you know where that is?’

Catalina nodded solemnly, so I continued. ‘He is calling himself Richard, Duke of York. They say he looks like King Edward, and Margaret of Burgundy has taken him in, claiming she recognises him. His name is Perkin Warbeck.’

Catalina’s eyes widened. ‘So, there is another person claiming to be one of the boys who died in the Bloody Tower and a new claimant to the Tudor throne?’ she whispered, hungry for intrigue and quick for her age.

I folded the letter carefully, my movements slow, as if gentleness might shield Isabel from the weight of her pain. ‘Yes. And that is why he is dangerous. Every enemy of England will swear he has a genuine claim.’

‘Does he?’

‘I think the Queen of England would know her own brother as easily as we would recognise Juan.’

‘Has she seen him?’

‘No. But if she did, she would know.’

Catalina nodded with all the gravity of a lady of our mother’s age, though her feet still swung absently above the floor.

I’ve always been a writer, but it was only when illness forced me to stop everything that I finally had the time to write a novel. After decades of misdiagnosis, I learned I was born with a serious genetic condition, not rare, but profoundly misunderstood. The clues were there from birth, and suddenly, a lifetime of struggle made sense.

Writing became my lifeline: a way to step beyond my pain, to shape my experience into a story, and to find meaning where there had once been only endurance.

I have a lifelong love of children, Counselling, and Psychotherapy Theory and history.

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Have a look at Margery and Me by Maryka Biaggio #MargeryandMe #historicalfiction #realpeople #TheCoffeePotBookClub #BlogTour @cathiedunn

Margery and Me 

By Maryka Biaggio

Audiobook narrated by Mark Sanderlin

In the 1920s, Margery Crandon captivated both Boston society and psychic researchers with her astonishing seances. At her gatherings, her deceased brother Walter regularly appeared, entertaining the circle with his witty and cheeky remarks. Margery's abilities earned her the admiration of luminaries, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William Butler Yeats. But one man stood in opposition: Harry Houdini, the legendary magician, who was determined to expose her as a fraud.


Margery and Me tells the true story of the medium who mystified scientists, challenged skeptics, and sparked a sensation across America and Europe. As Houdini and Margery clashed in a battle of wits and wills, the question remained: Could the master illusionist unmask her, or would her extraordinary powers be enough to convert even the most resolute of doubters?

Pages: 292

Genre: Historical Fiction

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Maryka Biaggio is a psychology professor-turned-novelist who brings forgotten lives back into the light. Specializing in historical fiction inspired by real people, she crafts emotionally resonant narratives anchored in careful research.

Her debut novel, Parlor Games (Doubleday, 2013), launched a distinguished career that includes Gun Girl and the Tall Guy and Margery and Me. Her work has earned numerous accolades, including the Willamette Writers Award, Oregon Writers Colony Award, Historical Novel Society Review Editors' Choice, La Belle Lettre Award, and a Publishers Weekly pick.

Biaggio is celebrated for illuminating overlooked historical figures with psychological depth and narrative grace.

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Read about the research behind Another Soul Saved by John Anthony Miller #HistoricalFiction #WWIIFiction #WomenInHistory #YardeBookPromotions @authorjamiller @maryanneyarde

Another Soul Saved 

By John Anthony Miller

Vienna, 1941

Monika Graf, the wife of a wealthy Austrian military commander, steals two Jewish girls from the Nazis—a crime often punishable by death. With soldiers in rapid pursuit, a homeless Jew named Janik, a mysterious man who lurks in the shadows, helps her escape.

Unable to have children of her own, she finds a new purpose in life—rescuing Jewish children from the horrendous Nazi regime. She asks the Swiss for help, trading military secrets she gleans from her husband for the lives of Jewish children. With Janik’s continued support, she also enlists Father Christoff, a priest at St. Stephen's Cathedral coping with unexpected emotions and doubting his commitment to God. Monika quickly forms bonds that can’t be broken, feelings exposed she never knew existed. 

Relentlessly pursued by Gestapo Captain Gustav Kramer, Monika combats continuing risk to her clandestine operation. When her husband, a rabid Nazi, returns from the battlefield severely wounded, she gets caught in a cage that she can’t crawl out of.

Wrought with danger, riddled with romance, Another Soul Saved shows humanity at both its best and worst in a classic struggle of good versus evil.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 415

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Research required to write the novel
By John Anthony Miller

An author’s goal in writing a novel is to create an imaginary world with make-believe characters that keep the reader immersed in the story. When writing historical fiction, the story is usually grounded in fact—actual places, events, or historical accounts. To keep the reader fully engaged, the author needs to mimic the every-day life of people who lived during that time. Details lend credibility to the narrative, and details require research.

Another Soul Saved is my nineteenth published novel, and I typically approach each one from the same perspective. Usually, I start by choosing a location and time period, or a world event that drives the plot. Once I have the basic concept underway, I start the research.

I begin with the names of the characters. Another Soul Saved is set in Vienna, Austria, in the early days of WWII. Assuming the characters are around thirty years old, and the book takes place in 1941, I searched online for popular Austrian baby names in 1910 – the year around when the characters would have been born. I use a legal pad and make three columns: female names, male names, and surnames. Then I match them based on my image of the character. I actually spend a lot of time on names because I want them to flow, especially for the main characters.

Next, I researched the city of Vienna, where the book takes place. I have been to Austria, but not the neighbourhood where the book is set, so I used Google Earth—it has a dropdown feature where you can actually “walk the streets.” It helps me describe buildings and use actual street names. Since some of the book takes place in St. Stephen’s Cathedral, I had to find the floor plans, including those of burial crypts in the basements, which are used in the novel to hide escaping Jews.

To create the right atmosphere, I had to understand the city of Vienna as it existed in 1941. Ninety-nine percent of the residents supported the policies of Adolf Hitler, but my novel uses the voice of the one percent who didn’t—those risking their lives to save others, knowing that friends, neighbors, and even family members could betray them. I had to create the underlying tension so the reader felt the same fear that the main characters lived with. I read books about the Austrian Resistance movement and the nation’s policies and treatment of the Jewish population, so I understood what their lives were like. 

Another Soul Saved tells the story of Monika Graf, a wealthy woman who risks everything to rescue Jewish children, with no recognition or reward, betraying both her country and her husband. Unable to have children of her own, she impulsively rescues two Jewish children from the Nazis, which starts a whole underground movement. To realistically portray the process, I had to research real-life events. How did Jewish children escape the Nazi regime in Austria? A limited number were permitted to emigrate. What process was followed to get them out of the country? Many more children posed as Catholics, sheltered by the church in orphanages, convents, and seminaries. How was this accomplished? Other children were hidden on farms where it was easy to blend in with the farmer’s family, with much less exposure to soldiers or citizens who supported them.

Topics specific to the novel that I had to research included train travel, a nearby concentration camp, the workings of St. Stephen’s Cathedral—how many priests and what duties were they assigned, food rationing, the Gestapo presence in Vienna—headquarters and processes, and a timeline for the Jews in Vienna.

And lastly, I conducted research common to any historical novel: clothing worn during the time period, women’s hairstyles, local foods, and popular automobiles. 

My goal as an author is to blend the different levels of research into a world the reader doesn’t want to leave.

John Anthony Miller writes all things historical—thrillers, mysteries, and romance. He sets his novels in exotic locations spanning all eras of space and time, with complex characters forced to face inner conflicts—fighting demons both real and imagined. He’s published twenty novels and ghostwritten several others, including Another Soul Saved. He lives in southern New Jersey.

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Have a look at Bride of the Devil by J.P. Reedman #HistoricalFiction #Norman #WomenInHistory #BiographicalFiction #BlogTour @stonehenge2500 @cathiedunn

Bride of the Devil 

By J.P. Reedman

She is a great heiress; he is the wickedest man in Normandy.

Known to men far and wide as 'The Devil,' Robert de Belleme terrorises France alongside his equally fearsome mother, Mabel the Poisoner. But even a Devil needs an heir, and Mabel chooses the wealthy heiress Agnes of Ponthieu to be her son's bride. The marriage is unhappy, though the longed-for son and heir is eventually born...but when Robert is away on one of his military campaigns, Agnes flees back to her father's castle.

She is not safe; her young son William is not safe.

The Devil will seek to claim his own.

Pages: 248

Genre: Historical Biographical Fiction

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This novel is free to read with #KindleUnlimited subscription.

J.P. Reedman was born in Canada but has lived in the U.K. for over 30 years. 

Interests include folklore and anthropology, prehistoric archaeology (neolithic / bronze age Europe; ritual, burial & material culture), as well as The Wars of the Roses and the rest of the medieval era. Novels include the popular I, Richard Plantagenet series about Richard III, The Falcon and the Sun (featuring other members of the House of York), and Medieval Babes, an ongoing series about lesser-known medieval queens and noblewomen.

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Read my review of The Love Equation by Meg Benjamin #Romance #ContemporaryRomance @GoddessFish

The Love Equation

By Meg Benjamin

They’re both unlucky in love. Can they find the equation for the perfect mate?

Celine Murphy has had it. Her current boyfriend has broken up with her by text. That makes three boyfriends who’ve turned out to be losers, including one who left for Antarctica. She’s decided to go for an online matchmaking service, but as a mathematician, she wants to minimize her own faulty choices and let an algorithm make the selection.

At the same time, musician Delaney Boone has come to Austin to mentor “the kid,” a popular actor turned musician. He’s also escaping a broken heart from a failed relationship, and he’s hoping Austin will provide some new possibilities. With those new possibilities in mind, he goes for an online dating service.

Fate—or math—matches these two unlikely lovers. But can they overcome their own doubts to accept another chance at romance? Maybe with the help of an unlikely cupid in the form of Celine’s grandfather, The Judge, and the matchmaking skills of some familiar faces in Konigsburg. And an unexpected dose of cedar fever. It’s Texas y’all.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 248

Amazon UK • Amazon US

MY THOUGHTS

Boyfriends are not Celine Murphy’s strong point – that is, choosing them isn’t her strong point. The last three boyfriends she has had have turned out to not be the guy of her dreams that she was hoping for. Falling into the world of online dating, she decides to take matters out of her hands. As a mathematician, numbers and algorithms are her life – why not let them pick out the guy of her dreams?

Country music is Delaney Boone’s life, but he has come to Austin to escape his life for a while. A broken heart has driven him away from his hometown, and his life has become monotonous, helping to mentor a popular actor he has nicknamed ‘the kid’ as he attempts to create an album full of songs he may or may not be able to sing. What better way of moving on and finding himself again than putting himself out there, going on a dating app, and meeting some new people?

Whether their meeting was intended by the stars, or if it was configured by algorithms and luck, Celine and Delaney find themselves meeting, taking turns to plan where to take the other next time, and begin to enjoy spending time together. But with Celine’s previous bad luck in love, and Delaney’s inability to fully trust after his previous girlfriend broke his heart, they have a lot of differences and issues to work through before they can truly feel comfortable with each other.

Delaney and Celine introduce each other to new worlds - Delaney introduces Celine to the music scene, and Celine makes sure Delaney has actually seen the sights in the place he has moved to. I loved how they take turns in planning the next date, always ensuring there was something else planned, something else to look forward to, and another chance to see each other again. Their relationship simmers with heat from their first meeting, as if they have met each other and their very souls have realised that they belong together. The heat increases drastically as they become closer, with some very spicy scenes that accentuate how well they work together – they bring sanity to the other, bringing out fun and joy that they have both been lacking for a long while. I loved both Celine and Delaney, perhaps Delaney a little more, as he is such an incredibly loveable character, I almost would like him for myself…! 

One of my favourite character additions was The Judge – Celine’s imposing and intimidating grandfather, who makes a mean bloody Mary and won’t take any nonsense from anyone. He is a man with an intimidating aura, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a soft and gooey centre. When he needs to be, he is kind and caring. The rest of the time, though, he finds great enjoyment in trying to catch Delaney out with various country artists, and insinuate to Celine that he quite likes this guy, and that she should keep him around!

This is the kind of romance book that you get through really quickly, because you don’t want to stop reading it. It is a nice easy read, but also one that draws you in through the characters, and makes you love them so much you don’t want to step away. If you are after a romance wherein the characters have some issues to work through, where the spice level has a little bit of a kick to it, and with a loveable cast to boot, this is certainly the book for you! 

Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance and cozy mysteries. Meg’s cozy mystery series, Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth based in the mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Her Konigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available from Entangled Publishing and from Meg’s indie line). Along with romance and cozies, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from Berkley InterMix and the Folk trilogy from Meg’s indie line. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the New England  Romance Writers, the Carly Crown Jewel of Books from the Mid-America Romance Authors, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers. 

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GIVEAWAY!

Read my review of A Plethora of Phantoms (Spirited Encounters Book 2) by Penny Hampson #SupernaturalFiction #SlowBurnRomance #BookReview #YardeBookPromotions @penny_hampson @maryanneyarde

A Plethora of Phantoms 

(Spirited Encounters Book 2)

By Penny Hampson

Whose footsteps in the dark?

He is heir to the earldom of Batheaston and lives in an elegant, stately home, but handsome twenty-something Freddie Lanyon is not a happy man. Not only is he gay and dreading coming out to his family, but he’s also troubled by ghosts that nobody else can see.

When Freddie’s impulsive purchase of an antique dressing case triggers even more ghostly happenings with potentially catastrophic consequences, he has to take action.

Freddie contacts charismatic psychic Marcus Spender for help and feels an immediate attraction to this handsome antique dealer –– a feeling that is mutual. But the pair’s investigations unearth shocking, long-buried secrets, which prove a major challenge to their task of laying unhappy spirits to rest and to their blossoming relationship.

Being brave isn’t one of Freddie’s standout qualities, but he’ll need all the courage he can muster to rid himself of wayward phantoms and get his life on track.

A Plethora of Phantoms is an uplifting ghostly tale about love, friendship, and acceptance.

Genres: Paranormal Ghost Romance / Gay Romance

Pages: 259

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This novel is free to read with #KindleUnlimited subscription.

MY THOUGHTS

Strange things are happening at Lanyon Park. Could it be a ghost?

I thought this book was utterly wonderful. The story is told from the perspective of Freddie Lanyon who has come home to help his father run the estate. But things are never simple at Lanyon and there is a ghostly presence that Freddie cannot ignore, especially when it keeps tidying up after him. There is also a restless, malevolent spirit in the long corridor, a place where Freddie hates to venture, but has to to make sure the house is secure.

When Freddie meets Marcus, he is at first cautious. Marcus is charismatic and good-looking and they share an interest in antiques. But Freddie is slightly cautious for his parents do not know that he is actually gay and he is scared of rocking the boat. But soon Freddie and Marcus are thrown together as they try to discover what this ghostly spirit wants with Freddie.

Marcus is a much more confident character than Freddie and he too has his own ghost - his likes to shut the door in peoples faces if he does not like them! Their relationship is at first cautious, but it soon turns passionate, although Hampson keeps sensual scenes closed behind doors.

Together they begin to try and figure out what the ghosts want from them, and this leads them to some unexpected discoveries. What they find is something that resonates with both of them greatly, especially Freddie who has yet to come out to his parents. Although, when they do find out it is a bit of a anti-climax for Freddie as they just except him for who he is - he need not of worried afterall!

This story is a lot of fun and it is a gripping read and one I throughly enjoyed. If you love ghostly fiction with believable characters and a fast-paced plot then this book is certainly worth a read.

Penny Hampson writes mysteries, and because she has a passion for history, you’ll find her stories also reflect that. A Gentleman’s Promise, a traditional Regency romance, was Penny’s debut novel and the first of her Gentlemen Series. There are now four novels in the series, with the latest, An Adventurer’s Contract, released in November 2024. Penny also enjoys writing contemporary mysteries with a hint of the paranormal, because where do ghosts come from but the past? The Unquiet Spirit, a spooky mystery/romance set in Cornwall, is the first in the Spirited Encounters Series. Look out for A Plethora of Phantoms coming soon.

Penny lives with her family in Oxfordshire, and when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, and the odd gin and tonic (not all at the same time).

If you’ve enjoyed any of Penny’s books please leave a review on Amazon, Bookbub, or Goodreads, and let other readers know!

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