I'm reviewing Wed in Haste to the Duke ...

 ... by Sarah Mallory.  It's quite a while since I last read a historical romance, and it was so good to be back with this genre again.  Read on to find out more ...

Beginning with a family wedding, Angeline Carlow comes across an old childhood friend – the current Duke of Rotherton.  He is invited to the wedding as her brother’s groomsman.  It is clear from the outset of the story that these two characters mean something to each other.  But in what capacity is gradually revealed.  Are they just childhood friends who have reached adulthood and nothing else, or is there much more to come for them both?

It was that last question that kept my mind occupied throughout the book.  The Duke, Jason, is a young man with a great deal of responsibility, having taken on the Dukedom as a youngster following the untimely death of his father.  He has a great sense of duty, and he is a very private man.  Add into the mix that he is recently widowed with a young daughter and a teenage stepdaughter, and you have a man who could perhaps be considered to have aged before his time.

Angeline is very practical and equally as sensible as Jason, but she is still unmarried with no apparent offers from suitable gentlemen.  She has slipped into a niche that supports her mother and her siblings, which means that she always puts her family first.

I really enjoyed how the dynamics between Angeline and Jason played out.  The misconstrued actions, the misunderstood reactions, the miscommunications and the misguided assumptions all came together to create a fascinating story.  There was a lot about this story and the interplay between Jason and Angeline that reminded me of the many stories of Henry James.

The narrative voice was easy to read, and the twists and turns in the plot kept me turning the page right through the end and the very satisfactory conclusion. I found the central characters, Jason and Angeline, to be very well drawn. They took me with them across all of the pages of this book.

As a historical romance, I Ioved the detail of the time in which the story was set.  The historical background has clearly been very well-researched and provided a perfect backdrop for the novel.  I will be reading more from this author.

And if you want to know more about Sarah, you read an interview with her Here 

I'm Off My Beaten Track in Eidfjord...

 ... where the trees wear jumpers!!!  Read on ...

NORWAY NOTES

It’s May, but this is Norway. Yesterday, the temperature barely reached 9˚ centigrade all day, and overnight, it was even colder.  Today, we have bright blue skies and sunshine, but a breeze carries the sting of winter in its tail.  As I venture onto the tender to take us to shore, I have my cagoule all zipped up and fastened.

On shore, I want to take photos of the vastness of the fjord, the steep escarpments on each side, and the crystal-clear water beneath.  But our driver has parked the boat in the centre of the sound!!!  I’m not impressed.  His inconsideration means he’s ruined every single shot.

I head off in the opposite direction from everyone else.  My route takes me along the river that skirts the town.  The quiet is deafening.  Eidfjord is one of the principal towns in this county.  With its population of 962, that makes it a place to be reckoned with.  As I meander, accompanied by the sound of fast rippling water, I think about how this tiny place – a village by English standards – can match up to Leeds, a major British city with equivalent civic importance but a population of more than 500,000.

This fjord is an inner branch of the much larger Hardangerfjorden.  As evidenced by the old church, habitation here has existed since at least the fourteenth century. However, burial grounds further up the valley date from much earlier periods.

My wanderings eventually bring me to a large lake with a wide shore in the sunshine.  I take the opportunity to sit and watch the water, listen to the goat and cow bells on the other side of the valley and enjoy the sun.  My coat remains firmly closed, though.

When it’s time to make my way back to the ship, I partially retrace my steps and take a right through the village.  The houses are all different – no blocks of urban terraces here.  The postboxes are all brightly painted, as are the houses.  But it’s the trees that capture my attention as I get into the heart of the village.  The trunks of all the trees are covered in knitwear.  Each has its own pattern and colour scheme, and I stand there wondering why.  After all, it can’t be that the trees are cold, can it?  This is Norway, these are native species, and the cold is guaranteed!  I take a few shots as I know no-one back home will believe me when I tell them about trees wearing jumpers.

My route back to the boat also takes me to a major intersection – and if you’re thinking spaghetti junction, then you need to rein in your imagination.  This is a junction between the road out of town – a car and a half wide – and the road leading through the landscape to other towns and villages – something we at home would call a lane.  It’s clearly a major junction because there is a vast plot of municipal planting.  The flowers are in full bloom, presenting a rainbow of colour.  I’m surprised to see that they are all tulips.  It’s May, and by now, at home, the tulips have been replaced by trees and hedgerows with pink and white flowers, peonies and many other early flowering plants.  At home, May means rapeseed pollen and hay fever.  For a moment, I’m glad I’m here and not there…

Back on the boat, I find that conversation is dominated by the jumper-wearing trees. Apparently, it’s all down to Dr Zeuss and a character called Lorax…

Please welcome, friend and author, Louise Wise...

... to my blog today. Hi Louise, and thanks for being here. I understand that we are about to meet Jenny, the central character in your book, Eden. Read on... 

Robinson Crusoe, The Martian, Castaway, and Blue Lagoon are timeless tales that have enthralled audiences worldwide.  But can anyone share a similarly captivating, deeply personal narrative?  I can.

As an astronaut, one might assume I was trained to handle any challenge.  We were selected for our resilience and subjected to extensive training, and we pride ourselves on our ability to conquer the unknown.  Yet, at our core, we remain human—vulnerable to the same emotions and fears as anyone else. The only difference lies in our capacity to manage them—or so we believed.

In our expedition to the Earth-like planet called Eden, there were three of us: Bodie, Matt, and myself, Jenny.  Embarking on the first manned mission beyond the solar system filled us with excitement and optimism.  Departing from our mother ship orbiting Eden, we ventured into uncharted territory in our space pods.  Our objective: to implant probes into the planet’s mantle and collect samples, returning as pioneers.

Image courtesy of Louise Wise

No amount of preparation could have prepared us for the awe-inspiring sights of an untouched planet: the twin suns casting a perpetual twilight, the mesmerising dance of eight moons, and the surreal landscape of an alien terrain.  The planet’s beauty was both enchanting and treacherous.

Yet, three perilous errors brought our mission to an abrupt end and forever altered our lives.

Our first mistake was deviating from the plan, leading us to stumble upon a decaying alien spaceship reclaimed by the environment.  Curiosity compelled us to investigate further—our second error.

I squeezed through a gap in the spaceship’s hull, finding myself in a dark, silent chamber filled with countless alien bodies resembling humans.  Amidst the motionless forms, one stood out—it was alive.  The mere presence of the creature filled me with dread.  Its imposing figure loomed over me, casting a shadow stretching for miles.  Every instinct urged me to flee, to escape from this nightmare incarnate.

The ensuing moments are a blur.  I recall a suffocating sensation as I was dragged back outside.  Before losing consciousness, I glimpsed the horror on Bodie and Matt’s faces.

Upon awakening, I found myself alone outside the spaceship, with no sign of the alien or my companions.  Fearing the worst, I could only assume the alien had dispatched my fellow astronauts and absconded to our mothership, Taurus, in one of our space pods.  However, if that were its plan, it would have met its demise upon arrival, as Taurus would have neutralised any foreign threat.

Thus, I found myself stranded on the alien planet—utterly alone, with only my thoughts and the enigmatic landscape for company.  The wonders of the planet were now overshadowed by its perils and mysteries, from its enigmatic creatures to its hazardous flora.

Oh, and my third error?

That was believing I was alone.

about the book… A prison ship, transporting criminals through the galaxy to an uninhabited world, crash lands.

The wardens try to keep control, but full of mutiny, anger and a desire for revenge, the inmates wreak havoc, and the result is catastrophic.

Then the human ship arrives...

Astronaut Jenny finds herself stranded when her malfunctioning spaceship abandons her alone on a planet she was sent to explore.  She has no way of getting home.

She has no communication, shelter or food.

No weapons.

Then she realises she’s not alone after all.

about the author… Louise Wise is a renowned British author hailing from the Midlands in England.  Her most notable work is Eden, a critically acclaimed sci-fi romance, which was followed by its sequel, Hunted, in 2013.

In addition to these, Louise Wise has authored other works such as A Proper Charlie, a romantic comedy, Oh No, I’ve Fallen in Love!, a dark comedy romance, and Wide Awake Asleep, a time travel romance.

Wise’s writing style is a unique blend of real-life situations that encompass both tragedy and comedy.  Her short stories have struck a chord with readers and been featured in various women's magazines, including Take a Break and Woman’s Own.

It's worth mentioning that she also writes under the pen name TE Kessler to explore more mature themes.

You can get the book from Amazon  

You can follow Louise on Instagram Tiktok or Facebook Louise also has a Blog and you can contact her by email at info@louisewise.uk

 

Come stroll with me ...

... through the town of Vernon, which sits on the Seine in the département of Eure.   Read on ...

Back in February, I brought you to this lovely little town, and I left you sitting on the bank of the river in the shade of a vast tree with a view of an ancient mill.  You can read that post Here. I'm back again today because there's more to see, and I'm heading straight into the centre of town.  It's a gentle 10-minute or so stroll.  From my shady spot, I take rue d'Albufera, which leads to rue Carnot.  At the junction, I take a left, and the road into the centre of town immediately narrows and is pedestrianised.  The Boulangerie et Pâtisserie on my left is where I bought the absolutely scrumptious amandine that I had for lunch.

If you follow the rue Carnot, you eventually come to Place Adolphe Barette, a wide square that houses the town hall and what is now the parish church of Notre-Dame.  The building of this magnificent edifice began in the 12th century and continued until the 1500s.  This church is considered to be one of the most beautiful remaining examples of medieval architecture in the whole of France.  The time taken to complete the church means that there are numerous styles of architecture encompassed within and without its walls.

The stunningly flamboyant rose window of the front facade dates from the 15th century. It sits above two galleries in the main body of the church. With the sun in exactly the right aspect, the colours of the window harlequin the floor of the nave.  The nave itself is also 15th century.  The altar and the transept are Romanesque in style, as can be seen from the steadfastly round arches.  The rest of the building is a stroll through Gothic fashion - Early, Flamboyant and Perpendicular - with its high pointed arches over windows, intricate masonry work and what some may consider to be overly ornamented carving.

The organ dates from the 17th century and has been heavily restored. But here in the main body of the church, the stained glass windows are not as expected. They are abstract and were installed in the 1970s to replace those that were destroyed by the blanket bombing of the 39/45 war in Europe. However, if you take a step to the right and go into the second chapel, you will find some of the original glass from the 16th century.

The newer windows may be fabulous examples of modern art, but give me the original medieval glass or the Burne-Jones examples from the 19th century anytime.  Such examples are much more in keeping with the style and decorative masonry that is on display here in Vernon.

Stepping outside into the sunshine again, it takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the brightness.  And in front of me is the magnificent town hall.  But I'll save that for another post.

If you enjoyed this post, come with me to the towns of Joinville  Argentan or Pont de l'Arche  Just click the links...