“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of many romance novels, must be in want of a book boyfriend.”
Thanks to Source Books for sending me Most Ardently Yours to review from…
The above, bold statement certainly applies to Zoe Knight. She reckons she’s sworn off men, even though she writes romance, although she’s struggling at that as much as her love life and working out how to not feel lonely. Fictional men help, such as Jane Austen’s Mr Darcy. It reminds me of a time when there were reams of social media posts about preferring books and if a man is involved, preferring imaginary ones that really only live on a page. She does come across a real life man in the form of bookseller and indeed, bookshop owner, Nick whom she argues with because he refuses to stock any romantic fiction.
The book takes a surprising turn of events…
It’s an interesting book that appears to feed into the desires of some readers, to have that man come to life from a favourite book, in this case, Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. He leaps from the page, literally! There are many familiar moments in the collision of worlds that add charm and a cosyness as well as a wry humour at the situation, where her dream comes real. Mr Darcy is there in front of her. There is however, the even more real, handsome Nick and there’s a point where she has to choose. He certainly doesn’t want Mr Darcy hanging around, although he is giving Zoe some life lessons.
As whimsical as it is, it is cleverly thought out, not just how to plot it, but to link it into those desires of certain readers and that chat that goes on in social media. It certainly makes for a fun holiday romantic read to curl up with.
Blurb
From USA Today Bestselling author Freya Sampson comes a swoon-worthy, laugh-out-loud romance inspired by Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice that begs the question: what if your book boyfriend jumped from the pages of their story and into your life?
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of many romance novels, must be in want of a book boyfriend.”
Zoe Knight, a struggling romance writer, has sworn off men for good. At least…the ones in real life. Once a believer in a happily ever after, she now curbs her loneliness with the help of the best book boyfriends in literature – and there is no better man than Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy. So when she stumbles into a classic London bookshop and argues with the annoyingly attractive store owner, Nick, who refuses to sell romance novels, she decides to liberate him of a dusty copy of Pride & Prejudice abandoned on a top shelf.
But this is no ordinary book.
After reading from the pages, Zoe finds herself in a remarkable situation: she has accidentally summoned the Mr. Darcy to the real world. Now, she’s face-to-face with the man she’s loved forever, and he’s everything she dreamed he would be. Handsome? Check. Brooding? Check. Talks like he swallowed a thesaurus? Check and check. But even in all his regency perfection, can he ever be as good as in the novel? And if he’s here, in her London apartment trying to figure out how to work a shower , what will happen to the literary world he came from? With Nick—the last man she could ever be prevailed upon to work with—urging her to send the fictional Darcy back to his own story, Zoe will have to decide what she really wants from a happy ending, before it’s too late.
Gabriel Tait is an independent author from Toronto and writes a psychological thriller series, consisting of Meeks and The Ranleigh Tapes with a third on its way. He has been sober for over 2 decades and to a certain extent brings this and city life to his novels, giving them some authenticity. In his books, he explores addiction, recovery, identity and memory.
In the first, Meeks, you meet him working in a warehouse in Toronto in the late 90’s. There’s a story arc for readers to follow, where there’s a “door” leading him into addiction and a path of violence and how it takes hold, eating his soul as he loses a solid grasp on reality. By Ranleigh Tapes, time has moved on and Meeks has a sponsor. He has secrets he must disclose. The Third, Echo publishes in 2027 and will delve into Meek’s next stages.
Gabriel Tait and I cover his experiences being an independent author, his psychological thrillers, being immersed in the main character and his development as the books go on and more, including where you can find the books after what has emerged is an insightful and fascinating interview.
Let’s welcome Gabriel Tait to Bookmarks and Stages:
1. It’s interesting that you are an independent novelist in Toronto. Who or what inspired you to be an author and what made you choose the independent route to getting your books published, starting with Meeks, followed by The Ranleigh Tapes, with a third on the way?
I don’t think I was really setting out to become a novelist. I’d had the idea for Meeks since my early twenties. I used to offer it to friends who were writing or starting out in filmmaking. None of them took me up on it. Years later I told my kids the story, and they encouraged me to write it. I was turning fifty and wanted to try something I hadn’t done before. I reread Stephen King’s On Writing, sat down and started typing.
If I’m being honest, I couldn’t really be bothered to chase publishers or try to get a book deal. I just wanted to get Meeks out there and see how readers would connect with it. By the time I got to The Ranleigh Tapes, I had another reason to stay independent. I wanted to tell the story through tape transcripts, and I figured a publisher who’d picked up Meeks would have wanted something closer to the first book. I wanted to take it in a completely different direction. That freedom still matters to me with Echo.
2. What are the challenges and highs of being published independently after carrying an idea for around thirty years?
The hardest part was promotion. I got pretty lucky with Meeks. I promoted it in a Stephen King group on Facebook, and that got the first batch of reviews going. But promotion is still the biggest challenge for me as an independent author.
The high was hearing from readers. One person told me that after reading Meeks, they looked at addiction differently. They have a family member who’s struggling, and the book helped them understand what that person was going through and maybe reassess some of their own biases. That one really knocked me back.
3. Meeks is a dark psychological thriller that focuses on the life of a warehouse worker who is in the grip of addiction and is losing his grasp on reality? How did you research this and where did the idea come from?
The idea came to me when I was about twenty. It wasn’t very well developed, but I thought it was solid. I had the skeleton of a story. I had no idea then who Ranleigh Meeks was.
As far as research goes, a lot of what I drew on was my own experience with recovery. I’ve been sober for 25 years, and I understand how Ranleigh gets himself into the mess he’s in. I know how something that looks like an absolutely terrible idea from the outside can make perfect sense to you right then and there. I could write that part from experience. Ranleigh himself is a character I made up. His life and mine are very different.
4. Meeks is an unreliable narrator, what interests you about this type of narrative and what’s your thought/writing processes to ensure the narration doesn’t become reliable from your narrator?
In Meeks, the story is told in the third person, but you’re close enough to Ranleigh to see how things look to him. That’s the part that interests me. He’s in dire straits, and a choice that might make his life a little easier for an hour can make perfect sense to him. You’re hopefully in a better position than he is. You can see what he’s hoping to get out of it, and you can also see the trouble coming.
That’s what I tried to get on the page. If you can see both things at once, I can let him make the choice and get on with the story. You probably knew it was a bad idea before he did it.
5. Intriguingly, the story continues in the book, through what becomes known as The Ranleigh Tapes, presenting a confession in first person. To what extent did you find yourself being immersed into your main character, Ranleigh Meeks and what did you feel? As a reader, first person can feel quite emotive and intense. It often works well.
In preparation for it, I created a fully fleshed-out fourth step for Ranleigh that was focused mostly on his childhood and teenage years. When I actually sat down to do the actual writing, I felt at times that I might be, as strange as this sounds, and as corny as this sounds, channeling him in a way. I felt I knew him so well by this point. That didn’t happen all the time, of course.
At the end, what was most surprising is I felt like I had done a fifth step, and it was a very strange experience. I’d done those in recovery, and there was that same sense of peace and calm, and, like, that feeling of a big load off. I really didn’t expect that, and I thought that was pretty interesting.
6. Your third book will take Meeks to a different place in his life. You say you’re looking a lot about what recovery looks like over a long period of time, what changes, what stays the same and self-belief once things are figured out. What have you discovered so far that most interests you in this exploration and how are you choosing a direction for Meeks?
Well, define long-term recovery. The plan with Echo is to pick up with Ranleigh about ten years into his recovery. I think what people generally misunderstand about recovery is that you never arrive. You never get to a finish point where they give you your diploma. “Here’s your certificate.” It doesn’t work like that.
The challenge in writing Echo is similar to writing the other books. I have to go back and remember what things were like around ten years into sobriety. It’s very different from 25 years in, which is where I am now.
Ranleigh’s put together a decent amount of sobriety. His life will be very different from when we saw him doing the fifth step in his sponsor’s apartment in The Ranleigh Tapes. I’m not going to give away too much because I’m still working it out, but the bones of it are there. I think people are going to be very surprised by the third book. It will explore long-term recovery in a way I don’t think anyone is going to expect.
7. Do you have more books on the horizon after the third and where can people find them?
I have a couple of ideas percolating. Just sketches, really. So who knows? Meeks started as a very basic idea I had when I was 20, and I didn’t put pen to paper until I was 50. So going by that math, I may not sit down and do anything with the ideas I have today until I’m 80. But the short answer is no, I don’t have any plans for any books after Echo.
The links for Meeks and The Ranleigh Tapes are on my website, gabrieltait.com.
Whether you are a young adult or a fully-fledged adult, this non-fiction book contains the stuff that nobody talks about and isn’t taught. People may know some things, but let’s face it, no one knows everything or you may find something you hadn’t thought of before that might be of use in your life. It’s about practical things like storing food, tax codes, handling landlords, cleaning tips, bleeding radiators, employment issues, including handing in your notice, health like endometriosis that it talks about and covers so much more… It’s like the un-spoken rules of life that you can’t possibly expect to know, but need to know. Surprisingly, there’s a bit of humour that actually keeps it from being too dry when you read it, but the essential info it contains are the bits more remembered, which is perhaps more useful than looking at an appliance or form and only remembering the joke.
The book is divided, very helpfully into subject matters, each is written in short, very easy to understand paragraphs. It is in bite-sized segments, but packed full of all you need to know about many topics you need to get on in life.
The Stuff Nobody Tells You means you now can have this book handy and have this valuable information at your fingertips. It is so concisely written that it isn’t a hefty tomb, making it easy to use and does not overwhelm.
The Stuff Nobody Tells You is very readable and will certainly be helpful for in people’s present and futures.
Antti Tuomainen is the sole reason why I read Scandi-Noir from time to time. He does what Scandi-noir authors don’t do too much and that is bring quite a bit of humour to his characters and mixes it very well with a twisty, dark crime to be solved. Thanks to Orenda Books, I have The Fresh Cut, which has the honour of being Finnish Crime Novel of the Year, in exchange of an honest review. I have reviewed a few books now by Antti Tuomainen from trilogy to stand-alone books, so let’s see what I thought of his latest stand-alone novel.
The Fresh Cut takes readers into the life of Heikki Nevalainen who owns the once successful sawmill, but has fallen on hard times, with huge debts now being attached to its reputation. The solution comes in the form of gangster, Ismo Sippo. His proposal is to dispose of Sippo’s already dead wife, Annaleena and keep the mill working or lose everything. All isn’t quite as Sippo presumes it is with his wife, creating quite a different twist that may or may not be in his favour…
To add to the fray, there’s a Belgian buyer who turns up and his work colleagues are coming up with their own plans. There are also further complications, some that may prove rather fatal…
The humour that comes through is part pure comic caper and in part it’s deadpan and is cleverly written and placed. There’s some properly good humour that propels a chuckle. The humour comes from some of the dialogue, the misunderstandings and the situations the characters find themselves in as well as some of the narrative. Some of its dark humour, some quirky and it all fits smoothly into the plot.
There’s intrigue and little parts that become thought-provoking. There’s a mysterious photograph showing someone at a celebration, but the person in the picture doesn’t convey someone who is celebrating…
There are interesting encounters between Senior Constable Lievonen and Sippo that brings an intriguing atmosphere to the book.
Amongst the humour are dark, intense twists and turns as crimes are committed. What happens is gripping and not all decisions made from available choices are wise ones, sometimes creating something quite catastrophically explosive for a small Finnish town.
The Fresh Cut doesn’t disappoint. It feels a quick read, but that’s because time flies whilst reading it.
The Fresh Cut is an excellent, compelling read for winter with hot chocolate and other treats or as a Christmas present for your favourite reader.
Iain Kelly is perhaps most synonymous for the highly successful stand-alone book, The Barra Boy. He has, in fact been writing for a few years with the series, State Trilogy and Cal Jackson. February 2027 will see a new Cal Jackson book, Hopeman.
From scenic, tranquil Scotland to crime on the streets and from seemingly unassuming people to dark secrets to be revealed. This is the corners of Scotland Iain Kelly will take readers to. The dark, mysterious places where people lurk and linger. He takes you to what lurks below the surface of cities and its people.
Check out what all his books are to date as you scroll down to discover stand-alone novels and series. They would make a great Christmas present for somebody special or a fabulous addition to your own reading pile and bookcase.
Stand-Alone Books
THE BARRA BOY
Thirteen-year-old Ewan Fraser is sent to the remote island of Barra, off Scotland’s west coast, to stay with his aunt and uncle.
Resigned to a monotonous summer of boredom, he is befriended by local girl Laura Robertson; together they explore the golden beaches and rocky coves of the idyllic island.
But a dark secret that connects Laura to the mysterious outcast Mhairi Matheson and her son, Billy, is hidden beneath the tranquil surface…
A secret that threatens to tear the small community apart.
Forty years later, Ewan returns to confront the truth about the formative summer of his adolescence, and finally learn the truth about Laura and the boy from Barra.
ALL WE CANNOT LEAVE BEHIND
Edinburgh, 1920. Three children are missing, abducted from the poorhouses of the city.
When a body is found near the town of Liberton, Dr Thomas Stevenson, still suffering from the trauma of the First World War, finds himself drawn into the police investigation. But suspicion falls on the woman with the mysterious past who lives with Thomas. Could she be guilty of the brutal murder?
With time running out and lives at stake, Thomas must prove her innocence, but to do that he has to find the real killer and unlock the truth about her secret past. A past that casts a long, dark shadow.
Cal Jackson Series
FULL SUN – CAL JACKSON 1
Cal Jackson has just been released from prison. Now all he wants is a quiet life.
But when his sister marries into the family of corrupt businessman Francis McArthur, Cal finds himself caught in the middle of an ongoing war between his new family and the police.
When a childhood friend, the mysterious and enchanting Elise Moreau, disappears, Cal’s got his work cut out to find her and discover what links her to McArthur.
And that’s before the first dead body turns up.
As a heat wave grips Glasgow’s mean streets and vibrant night life, Cal is reluctantly forced to act, before he finds himself either back in prison, or buried in the ground.
HOSTILE CITY – CAL JACKSON 2
A young human rights lawyer, Rose Black, is dead. Her killer is on the run.
As the police fail to apprehend a dangerous murderer, tension rises and fear grips the city. While Detective Simone Millar is on the trail of a gang destroying properties across Glasgow, far-right agitators are stirring up hatred and division ahead of the upcoming national elections.
Cal Jackson is just trying to keep his head down and stay out of trouble, but when the violence hits too close to home, he can no longer avoid confronting his past – and being dragged back into a world of trouble and pain.
As events conspire to bring them together, Cal and Millar face a stark choice if they want to catch a killer and clean up the corrupt streets of the city – it’s kill or be killed.
HOPEMAN – CAL JACKSON 3 – COMING FEBRUARY 2027
‘One day, you can pay me back somehow. Who knows when I might need your help.’
Cal Jackson owes Ben Weaver a debt he can never forget. When Ben disappears after his release from prison, Cal agrees to try and find him.
His search takes him to Hopeman, a picturesque village on the beautiful Moray Firth coast in the Scottish Highlands. Behind the sandy beaches and the idyllic landscape, a far darker reality is revealed, and the hunter soon becomes the hunted.
When Cal gets entangled with the Shannon family, a ruthless crime dynasty using the village as a base for smuggling, the stakes get higher, and violence lurks behind every closed door.
If Cal thought finding Ben was going to be easy, he should have known better. As violence erupts across Hopeman, Cal must risk everything to repay the old debt…
FLOW, flows exceptionally well. Flow is joyous and hilarious from start to finish with excellent observation and a little bit of heartwarming tenderness too. Connor Burns is going places and creates a show that’s impressive. Connor Burns is the stand-up comedian to watch! He’s one of the funniest Scottish comedians I have seen in a while. The good news is he’s on tour around the UK. I saw him at the Albert Halls, Stirling, Scotland. A few days before he went to Stirling, I was fortunate to be able to interview him. His ever increasing popularity is impressive. You can find the interview at the end of this review as well as how you can get your ticket on this UK wide tour and expanding to the rest of Europe for 2026/2027. Lots of dates for everyone and comedy for a wide range of tastes. I was asked to not take a notebook or recording equipment. No mean feat, but this show was so memorable from what I felt to what I heard and saw was memorable, it was a joy to be in the moment and know it was all sinking in.
The atmosphere was dramatic with great stage lighting, a bit like Live at the Apollo and the audience was ready to be entertained. Flow should be on everyone’s live show list. It truly was laughter from start to finish. Laughter from the audience filled the auditorium all the way through.
Connor Burns burst onto the stage and had great banter with the audience. He revealed he likes to do this before the warm-up act. A bit like a warm-up before the warm-up. Unique, but brought a warm feeling. It ultimately meant the audience was relaxed and ready to warmly receive the support act.
The warm-up came in the form of Australian comedian, Annie Boyle. She was deadpan and funny in style, about relatable topics like trying to find jeans in Primark and relationships. Her comic timing was great, even the gaps of silence, which felt well planned to work with that timing, brought laughter!
After a short break, Connor Burns had a very funny introduction, setting-up the rest of the evening and atmosphere perfectly. From that moment on, the well-constructed, relatable stories with well-timed punchlines brought much hilarity.
Connor Burns met Annie Boyle in Australia whilst on tour. There’s a funny story about that and what happened after the show, taking audiences to the world of fast-food Drive Thru, such as McDonalds. Apparently you really do need a car… The middle part of that story, just gets funnier and funnier as it picked up pace as it moved along.
If you want to know, in absolutely hilarious style, what it’s like being a Scot when Scotland makes it to the World Cup, Conner is your man. Football fanatics, non-football fans and everyone in-between will appreciate and find the funny side alike.
There are funny, yet relatable things that happen in coffee shops, such as Black Sheep. It’s insightful, hitting points experiences that many people will recognise around coffee shops.
He cracks great jokes with certain home-truths about Gen Z and over 50’s. The parents of Gen Z are also not completely let off the hook. The wit here is very clever, with some insights and little bits that might land with people in their minds and reflect them. A scenario with a cafe is also hilarious and yet may be familiar to some customers.
The drinking culture of the alcoholic kind also doesn’t escape the observational humour. He even cleverly adds in a new law that’s come into force about bottomless brunches.
There’s a lot of fun, it seems about MOTs as he gives one of the most hilarious scenarios about them, breaks on his car, drivers, especially in the Honda Jazz in particular.
He parted with some happy news about his impending marriage (congratulations) and went onto talking about women, how they behave when they meet each other in-comparison to men. His observations don’t end there as he gives a thorough examination to only just moving in together, a minor, but inconvenient health matter, that’s a bit self-depricating, and women’s hangups when getting ready to go out.
So you can also experience an absolutely memorable and hilarious night out, check out where he’s going to be and how to get your ticket here: https://connor-burns.com/flow-uk-tour/
