#team boldwood

[lizanneyoung97]

ARC REVIEW: THE LOVE ALGORITHM BY CAMILLA ISLEY

⭐⭐⭐⭐

TROPES

Workplace Romance

Billionaire Romance

STEM Romance

One Bed

Dual POV

I have enjoyed Camilla Isley’s previous STEM-centric romance stories, so this was a no-brainer to read. This time, I get to follow Reese, the head of a research and development team in robotics, and Thomas, an MBA-clad suit that he going to take over as CEO of the company because his father says so.

This was one of those instances where a billionaire romance worked for me. Thomas is incredibly down to earth, which makes the story hit differently than other billionaire romances I’ve read. He also has a genuine interest in learning about the company he’s taking over, and putting in the effort, which is part of why I root for him and Reese. His understanding father feels like a bit of a stretch, but it gives them a happy ending, so I love it.

Reese is great to follow because she is unapologetically herself. From her hair dye to what she wears to work, she just wants to do the job she loves and have the respect her title comes with. It’s why the third act conflict hits so much harder, because that’s taken away in a sense. However, I love how that was resolved in so many ways because it was something that felt natural and like a best-case scenario in real life. Everyone is acting professionally for once in a story and that’s nice.

I also have to give a shout-out to K-2P. I have never rooted for a robot side character more.

📘 The Love Algorithm comes out on April 26!

Thank you to Boldwood Books for the chance to read!

[coloursofunison]

Happy 4th Birthday to Boldwood Books, to celebrate here are 4 writing tips from me

Happy 4th Birthday to Boldwood Books, to celebrate here are 4 writing tips from me #BoldBookClub @theBoldBookClub

I’ve been with Boldwood since just before their 2nd birthday – we celebrated birthday number 2 in an online Zoom. It was fab. Since then, I’ve met many of the authors and the ‘team’ behind the success of Boldwood in person. And, and the other members of the Warrior Chronicles, Donovan, Peter, JC Duncan and me, try and have a chat once a month to share our knowledge, chat about random things and…

[annarellix]

Murder at Waldenmere Lake by Michelle Salter (The Iris Woodmore Mysteries #2)

A murder shocks the small town of Walden. And it’s only the beginning…

Walden, 1921. Local reporter Iris Woodmore is determined to save her beloved lake, Waldenmere, from destruction. After a bloody and expensive war, the British Army can’t afford to keep the lake and build a convalescent home on its shores yet they still battle with Walden Council and a railway company for ownership. But an old mansion used as an officer training academy stands where the railway company plans to build a lakeside hotel. It belongs to General Cheverton – and he won’t leave his home. When the General is found murdered, it appears someone will stop at nothing to win the fight for Waldenmere. Iris thinks she can take on the might of the railway company and find the killer. But nothing prepares her for the devastation that’s to come…

Purchase Link - https://amzn.to/3vDssgr

My Review: 4.5 upped to 5 I'm loving this series that mixes historical fiction with cozy mystery and it's both entertaining and compelling. The author did a good job in describing the effects of the aftermath of WWI on an area and how different economical interest can affect the life of people. There's a mystery but there's also some interesting social remarks and issues like environment. Iris is growing and I'm loving the evolution of this well thought character, these characters are not static but they change and I like this. The solid mystery kept me guessing and surprised me with the numerous twists. I couldn't guess the culprit and thoroughly enjoyed it. My only note: there's some repetition and some parts are a bit too long and put the mystery on the backseat. I highly recommend this series and this novel as they're well written and intriguing. Many thanks to Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources for this arc, all opinions are mine

The Author: Michelle Salter is a historical crime fiction writer based in northeast Hampshire. Many local locations appear in her mystery novels. She's also a copywriter and has written features for national magazines. When she’s not writing, Michelle can be found knee-deep in mud at her local nature reserve. She enjoys working with a team of volunteers undertaking conservation activities.

Social Media Links:   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleSalterWriter Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleASalter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellesalter_writer/ Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-salter

[jomiddlemarch]

The one who was all to me

She married William Boldwood. Not because he had a splendid house and acres of parkland, the windows cleverly placed to make the most of the vista and the sunsets, though he did. Not because he was a fine gentleman with a library full of books and a harp, his knotted cravat silk, his riding boots polished to a mirror’s sheen, though he was. Not because it was expected and not because she admired him, though it was and she did.

Bathsheba married William Boldwood because he sang with her at the feast, his baritone clear and true, though she heard in its tone that he would have kept singing even if his voice trembled. Because he knew every word and she could tell he knew what they meant and how he was asking her a question the whole time. Because he watched her as she sang with a longing she understood she could gratify—and found, suddenly as a match was struck, she wanted to. She knew she would not need to say very much and that he would pick up her hand in his when she spoke; she had not known he would bring her palm to his lips to kiss her there or that she would close her hand around to caress to keep it. She had not known how sweet his smile would be when he saw.

They had three years. She asked to plant more barley and fewer oats and he agreed. She asked to start a school for the village girls, a proper school, for the twelve most likely to begin with, and he agreed, nodding but not laughing. She did not give him a son and apologized for it; he refused to accept it, saying she was young and there was time, that she was all in all to him. When a poor girl was found on the brink of death with a newborn child, Bathsheba asked for the apothecary to be called and William gave her to coins to pay from his own pocket. He let her send the maid to Bathsheba’s dowry farm, let her name the baby Will Robin.

A fever came and few died. A grandmother, two nursing babies, a young boy already ill with consumption. And William Boldwood, who came home from riding and said,

“My head aches, I fear I’m unwell.”

He did not die in a day or a day and a night. Bathsheba nursed him herself, fed him broth from a silver spoon with his crest on the handle, lifted his head for him to sip from a cup of water. She gave him medicine the physician left after shaking his head with a mixture of sagacity and resignation, a particular sorrow that a gentleman of long acquaintance would shortly be departing. When nothing worked, she brewed her own teas from herbs she remembered were supposed to help, peppermint and chamomile, boneset and lemon balm, and he choked them down. She read to him and she sang every song she could every recall he’d smiled to hear and she prayed, not well but nothing to lose. She saw how he tried to rally and what it cost him; she saw when he decided it cost too much.

“Gabriel Oak,” he said, his voice halfway ruined with catarrh.

“What? Mr. Oak is fine, he’s managing the farm perfectly well, the flock is thriving. You needn’t worry about that,” Bathsheba said, dipping a soft cloth in water with a handful of lavender buds thrown in. The lavender did nothing for the fever; William still burned to the touch but the scent was pleasant, the reminder of happier days, of summer mornings when the fragrance came in through open windows like laughter.

“When I’m gone, marry him. He’ll help you,” William said.

“But he’s not a gentleman!” Bathsheba exclaimed.

“I’ve a sense that doesn’t make much difference, facing eternity,” he said, beginning to smile before he coughed. When he finished, she wiped his face with the cloth but he reached up to take her hand, to hold her still. “He’s a good man, steady, and he loves you. Has loved you all this time. I know.”

“How do you know?” she asked, not arguing that he would live. She saw in his dark eyes he noticed, that it was a relief and a disappointment. She saw that he loved her and meant to leave her.

“I have seen his expression in my own looking-glass these three years. And the year before, before you married me. I’ve seen how he turns away. And how he cannot help turning back.”

“I don’t need anyone,” Bathsheba said. William still held her hand in his and there was some strength left in him. Just not enough for this world.

“You mayn’t. You’re the most independent woman I’ve ever met. The most self-reliant soul. But it is still a good thing to be loved by someone worthy,” he said, squeezing her hand. “It is till good to have someone’s hand to hold when it grows dark.”

“What if I don’t love him?”

“You’re not a liar, my dear. Not to me and not to yourself. I don’t think you’d lie to Gabriel. He won’t ask you, you’ll have to say something,” William said. He hadn’t spoken this much, this long, in days. He looked something beyond tired.

“I’ll do what’s right, you must know that,” she said softly. He wanted to shut his eyes, to turn his face towards the light from the window. “Rest now, William. It’s all right.”

She married Gabriel Oak. Not because he made every arrangement she couldn’t face, the coffin and the stone, telling the people who worked for her she grieved in her own way, though he did. Not because William had made it his dying wish or request or blessing, though he did. Not because he asked, because he didn’t and not because she couldn’t think of what else to do, because she could.

She married Gabriel Oak because he waited when she asked him into her grand parlor and in his rough clothes, he was all she wanted to look at. Because his eyes were grey and filled with the most patient longing, though she did not know what to say and could not have sung a note, her voice half-ruined with weeping. Because when she lifted a hand, he took it and he came to her instead of drawing her to him, because he murmured there now, sweetheartas he stroked her hair and only kissed her forehead though he held her close, so very close.

The baby came quickly, within the year; William had been right, she was young and there was time enough. Just enough for the midwife to attend to the delivery, instead of Gabriel, just enough time for him to brush the loose hair back from her flushed cheeks as the baby cried, indignant at the cool air, soothed only by her mother’s breast.

Gabriel said they might call the baby Wilhelmina, but Bathsheba shook her head.

“Her name is Ruth, because whither thou go, I shall go. He’d like that better, I think.”

“You’re all in all to me,” Gabriel said. She heard William saying it too, the memory like a charm. She closed her eyes and felt the swaddled baby in her arms, Gabriel’s hand on their daughter’s head. If someone else watched over them all, she couldn’t, didn’t mind it. She didn’t mind it at all.

[weirdletter]

Gruesome Grotesques Volume 4... In Space! Edited by Trevor Kennedy, TK Pulp/Phantasmagoria Publishing, 2019. Cover design by Adrian Baldwin, interior artwork by Stephen Clarke, info: Facebook.

An international science fiction anthology paying tribute to the genre masters of page and screen, featuring the literary talents of a unique team of writers from right across the globe, including Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, USA, Canada, Germany, Poland, Brazil and Australia. Weird stories and verse with a science fiction twist.

Contents: Foreword by John Gilbert Introduction by Trevor Kennedy ONE SMALL STEP FOR (A) MAN (One Giant Lie For Mankind?) by Adrian Baldwin WINTER ON AUBARCH 6 by David A. Riley NOTES MADE ON MAY 10, 2120 by Norbert Góra RELATING TO THAUMATURGY by Trevor Kennedy DREAM SEQUENCE by Samantha Lee UNDER THE GLAMOUR by David A. Sutton THE MOON ONCE MORE by Owen Quinn THE BURNING LAND by Raven Dane PROBABLY BECAUSE OF QUANTUM by Carl R. Jennings INTERSTELLAR CHASE by Ricky L. Mohl Sr. HEAD OF STATE by Alex S. Johnson THE HOST by Carl Redding BEAUTY AND THE BEASTLY ASSASSIN by Allison Weir THE SPACE INVADER by David Williamson MUTANTS by H.R. Boldwood WAITING FOR BABY by Belle Taine STAR DREAMS by Belle Taine SURREALITY?? by Leanne Azzabi TRIALS OF A DITCH RAT by Jamie Bunting WAKING UP TO THE TRUTH by Lyedson Enrique A JUDGEMENTAL STRANGER by Nathan Waring AWAKE IN BELFAST by Rosie Glasgow THE STRING THEORY by Tiffany Purstone JAMIE BEACON WAZ 'ERE! by Andrea Bickerstaff SHOELACES by Ricky L. Mohl Sr. PRISONER 42 by Ransom Wall TOMMY by Robert Nesbitt TRANSFORMATION by Robert Donaldson DIRTY LITTLE GIRL by Joe X. Young THE CAPSULE by David R McCaughey A CHILD'S VOICE by Helen Scott STARMAN by Rob Thomas SYSAPHOS by Rob Thomas OVARIA by Abdul-Qaadir Taariq Bakari-Muhammad HERE BE MONSTRES by Trevor Kennedy ANTARCTICA by Dean M. Drinkel DAMMIT, SPACE PHONE! by Russell Holbrook Biographies

[jenmedsbookreviews]

The Santa Killer by Ross Greenwood

Today I am delighted to join the blog tour for The Santa Killer, the final DI Barton novel by Ross Greenwood @greenwoodross @BoldwoodBooks @RaRaResources #books #booktwitter #bootwt #thesantakiller

Today I am both delighted and a little sad to share my thoughts on The Santa Killer, the latest and final!!! Detective Barton novel from Ross Greenwood. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Barton, Zander and the team over the course of these books so want to say a big thank you to publisher Boldwood Books for providing an advance copy and to Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources for the tour…

[awayfromitallseries]

A Curious Liddy Reports | Episode 22 - Away From It All

*taps mic-hairbrush* is this thing on??? anyway Bath has someone new making puppy eyes at her across the bar and I won’t lie, it’s a BIG level up from Mr Boldwood. We sent the world’s best news team to find out more!

Liddy has the scoop on the new guy in town.

Subscribe to Liddy here!

‘Away From it All’ is a modern web series adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’, told in a multimedia format.

Watch the series here!

Follow the series: Twitter Facebook Instagram

And use #AFitA to join in the conversation!

[annarellix]

Death At Crookham Hall by Michelle Salter (The Iris Woodmore Mysteries, #1)

A fatal jump. A missing suffragette. An inexplicable murder.

London, 1920. When she catches news of a big story, reporter Iris Woodmore rushes to the House of Commons. But it’s a place that holds painful memories. In 1914, her mother died there when she fell into the River Thames during a daring suffragette protest. But in the shadow of Big Ben, a waterman tells Iris her mother didn’t fall – she jumped. Iris discovers that the suffragette with her mother that fateful day has been missing for years, disappearing just after the protest. Desperate to know the truth behind the fatal jump, Iris’s investigation leads her to Crookham Hall, an ancestral home where secrets and lies lead to murder…

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3DuWBSw

My Review: This is a mix of historical fiction and mystery that I enjoyed. I wouldn't define it a cozy mystery as it's darker and it deals with some topics that are not usually in a cozy mystery. That said the author did a good job in delivering a story that kept me turning pages and trying to guess the secrets and who-did-it. There's a vivid historical background, well researched and details. The characters are fleshed out and I quite realistic. Iris is a well developed and interesting woman, she's clever and focused. I liked her her and I want to read other books featuring her. The author is good storyteller even if the plot is a bit slow in the middle. The mystery is solid and kept me guessing. Recommended. Many thanks to Boldwood Books for this arc, all opinions are mine

The Author: Michelle Salter is a historical crime fiction writer based in northeast Hampshire. Many local locations appear in her mystery novels. She's also a copywriter and has written features for national magazines. When she’s not writing, Michelle can be found knee-deep in mud at her local nature reserve. She enjoys working with a team of volunteers undertaking conservation activities.

Social Media Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleSalterWriter Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleASalter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellesalter_writer/ Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-salter

[jomiddlemarch]

What have you looked at, Moon?

They slept with one curtain drawn back, so the sunlight would wake Gabriel at dawn. Bathsheba discovered, however, that the moonlight woke him as well; he was most restless when the moon was full. He was another man then, he spoke then of what he would not say during the day, nor when the candles were lit or the flames guttered in the hearth. He was not tender with her the way he was when he kissed her goodnight, beginning with her two hands, raised to his lips in a ritual of his own making. Gabriel-in-the-moonlight woke her with a deliberate finger tracing her cheek, her jaw; he waited for her eyes to open before he kissed her mouth, slipped his hand beneath the hem of her nightdress to stroke her thigh to flank, his desire for her unconcealed, apart from any civility. He moved behind her or above, disappearing in the silvered light like the moon’s hidden side. She heard his voice, the words he uttered without first considering her response. Without hesitation.

“I wanted you so badly. I loved you but not only that. I wanted to believe loving you was enough, but it wasn’t,” he said, his skin warm, matching his breath with hers.

“You wanted this?” she asked, arching against him as if she were tempting him when it was herself she pleased first. His hand tightened at her hip.

“Body and soul. All of you. When it was Boldwood, I could bear it. He was honorable, he sought your happiness. If he could give it to you,” Gabriel said, somehow closer, his accent stronger, the sound of the waves and the chalk downs in it. The moonlight was supposed to be cooler than the sun, but it was not. She felt her heartbeat speed up as if she ran a race she might win. Gabriel-in-the-moonlight was always the winner.

“To think of you with Frank—to know he’d never care for you, to see him think you were his, you who would never belong to anyone,” he muttered and she heard his anger and longing, as if he did not hold her in his arms, as if she was not urging him towards her.

“You wanted me to be yours,” she offered, as she felt him touch her. It was the greatest intimacy and it was not enough, not with him; she was a different wife at midnight.

“You said that, you feared it, that I wanted to tame you,” he said, each phrase paired with his body straining against hers, so she cried out and felt his mouth at her ear, on her throat. His beard was rough against the delicate skin and she gloried in it.

“I never wanted that, you were wrong. I wanted you wild, like this.”

“Yours,” she murmured.

“No, Sh’ba, not mine. I only wanted to see your real face, I wanted to see how I might get you to show me,” Gabriel said. “I wanted to take away any hands touching you that did not seek your pleasure first,” he added, pausing longer between the words. Even now, he could not be anything other than gentle, though every movement was fierce and confident.

“You were wrong. Sh’ba, you were wrong,” he said. She was wordless, not consumed but consummate, made compleat. Gabriel-in-the-moonlight knew she would speak when he was spent, her head against his breast, saying the only what was necessary between them in the night.

“Gabriel, my Gabriel.”

“Aye, yours, beloved.”

In the morning, when the sun rose and the moon sank among the trees, that was his same greeting. It did not shame her, nor make her blush to hear it, to know she was known to him and he to her, moonlight or no.

[annarellix]

Lil's Bus Trip by Judy Leigh

My Review (5*) This is an excellent book that moved me, made me laugh and kept me reading as I found it engrossing and entertaining. It's a light read but it's also the story of a group of people of different ages, of their struggles and joy. Lil is a great character, well rounded and relatable. You cannot help loving her, feeling for her hard life, and enjoying her antics. I loved her and I loved Cassie, the free spirited daughter, and her lifestyle. Both share the same zest for life. Even if they are my favorites all the characters, their stories, are interesting. I loved the character development and how the author feels for the characters. The plot is fast paced and gripping, the descriptions of the places are excellent and there's plenty of emotions. Judy Leigh is an excellent author and this was my favorite astory. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Boldwood Books, Rachel's Random Resources and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Synopsis: It’s always a good time for a road trip… When 82-year-old Lil decides to book herself, her 65-year-old daughter, Cassie, and her friend Maggie on a bus trip across Europe, she hopes for a little adventure to counteract the monotony of life in sheltered accommodation. Along with three members of the Salterley Tennis Club and the Jolly Weaver five-a side football team, whose ideas of a good time are rather different to Lil’s and strikingly at odds with each other’s, the merry band of travelers set out on their great adventure. From moving moments on the beaches of Normandy, outrageous adventures in Amsterdam, to the beauty of Bruges and gastronomic delights of France, the holiday is just the tonic Lil, Maggie and Cassie needed.   And as the time approaches for them to head home, Lil makes an unexpected discovery - even in her advancing years, men are like buses – there isn’t one for ages then two come along at once. Is Lil ready to share her golden years, and can the ladies embrace the fresh starts that the trip has given them. Or is it just too late to change…  

Purchase Link - https://amzn.to/3wV7Kr4

The Author Judy Leigh is the bestselling author of A Grand Old Time and The Age of Misadventure and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.

Social Media Links:  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/judyleighuk Twitter https://twitter.com/JudyLeighWriter Instagram https://www.instagram.com/judyrleigh/ Newsletter Sign Up Link http://bit.ly/JudyLeighNewsletter Bookbub profile https://www.bookbub.com/authors/judy-leigh

[jinabacarr]

Thank you Team Boldwood for this fab notebook! @bookandtonic #christmasgifts #bookstagram #ilovebooks https://www.instagram.com/p/B6hpem2gsiK/?igshid=1mi13yy21h09y