#Review of Austenella by Janey Jones @janeylit #Austenella #RomanticFiction #JaneAusten #ContemporaryFiction

Austenella
By Janey Jones

Review by Louise Cannon

At the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen, what better year to reacquaint yourselves with her books and get acquainted with those authors whom she has inspired. This latest creation, Austenella, is also inspired by her writing. Janey Jones, many of you may know as Janey Louise Jones from her days of writing Princess Poppy books. Having now hung up her tiara, she now writes books for adults like The Edinburgh Seven and books about her character, Lucy Lovecake.
Thanks to Janey Jones, I have a copy of Austenella for review, which you’ll see after the blurb. I will add here, that the sharp-intake of breath I often take when such books are put my way, was found to be not required as it was genuinely a very well-though out, concept and one that feels respectful to Jane Austen.
As you float down, you’ll find the cover, blurb and my full review.

Blurb

‘Made in Chelsea meets Pride & Prejudice’
Country house capers – an escapist modern fairy-tale with Jane Austen main character energy. Austenella hen weekends? Book now to avoid disappointment!
Daisy Delaney (pen-name Lucy Lovecake) buys a run-down stately home in Perthshire for Austen-themed hen weekends. She devises a reality TV show ‘AUSTENELLA’ to fund the elaborate conversion. Local characters are recruited for the show: the influencer, the actress, the Brigadier, the disinherited step-mother, the wallflower. Romantic chaos ensues. TikTok is crazy for the show!
And of course, there’s a local Mr Darcy. Jonny Abernethy. Who had to sell his big house. To a girl.
Will ‘Mr Darcy’ accept that ‘Lucy Lovecake’ now owns his stately home? The patriarchal property power just shifted! Jane would be proud.
A whirl of a book about what Lizzie Bennet describes as ‘the inconsistency of all human characters.’ And the ‘little dependence that can be placed on sense!’

Review

Austenella is a rather surprising and fun take, inspired by Jane Austen’s creations.

Daisy Delaney, who some of you may have read about before in other Lucy Lovecake books, is back and this time she’s devising a tv show and a Perthshire stately home. The Regency/Georgian period hen weekends are entertaining, and are very much Jane Austen themed.

The characters are interesting as there is a Mr Darcy, but the positive is, it isn’t a re-writing of her novels set in modern day, it very much feels original, with the universal themes Austen also used when she wrote, but with a modern twist. Respectfully, there appears to be plenty of nods to Jane Austen and her desires for women. It feels like a novel she may have liked and to have seen how far things have moved on.

Like Jane Austen’s writing, Austenella, is very well-observed of human life and it’s all there to see, including its quirks.

For an entertaining modern read about strong women and fun, Austenella is one I recommend to continue your celebrations of Jane Austen’s anniversary, perhaps even alongside or sandwiched with some of Jane Austen’s books.

#Review of Dead Festive By Peter Buckman @peterwordofmouthbooks @RandomTTours #PumpernickleMysteries #DeadFestive #Christmas #BlogTour

Dead Festive
By Peter Buckman

Review by Louise Cannon

Dead Festive is a book to get cosy with this Christmas season, well almost cosy with the cute dog, except there is a body count!
I’m on the Random T. Tours blog tour reviewing Dead Festive, A Pumpernickle Mystery today. Check out the blurb and my review below…

Blurb

“Everyone needs a Marion and Leo in their life. They are warm, kind, reassuring and funny.”
Patrick Neale
——
Murder, mince pies, and mayhem—a family Christmas takes a deadly turn.

For veteran lawyer Leo, Christmas Day is going according to plan. His vegetarian Wellington has been well received; his beloved partner Marion has finally introduced him to her dress-wearing brother Harold, who seems very happy with his partner Julian; Leo’s granddaughter Jazz is behaving impeccably; and his oldest friend Dennis, the doyen of crime journalists, is being kept under control by his wife Susan, helped by large quantities of wine. Even Leo’s dog Pumpernickel joins in the fun.

Until Julian, a reluctant player of charades, lies down to enact his last word, and fails to get up again. Suddenly, the festive mood turns dark. Was it a heart attack, something he ate, or could it be murder?

As they wait for the police to turn up, the tension isn’t eased by the arrival of Leo’s sister Becky with her husband and moody son. Family rows erupt and secrets jostle to the surface.

Why did the victim hide away a box of champagne truffles?

Who was really meant to receive Harold’s glittering bracelet?

Was Pumpernickel right in detecting the presence of poison?

Answers are provided in this romp of a story featuring all the main characters of Peter Buckman’s romantic cosy crime series The Pumpernickel Mysteries. This novella is a tale of love, greed, death, devotion, and brandy butter.

Review

Christmas seems normal as the festivities and joyous fun begins. There’s food, traditional family games and more… There are also the rows that families have at this time of year. The one problem is that those tensions don’t stay contained. They explode into a death that leaves so many questions unanswered over the course of a few hours. That is until the police show up and as you immerse yourself into this novella, you’ll also be guessing what happened to Julian.

Dead Festive is a cosy Christmas read with both a good festive atmosphere and an air of mystery and a cute dog called Pumpernickle.

For an extra book for a stocking or a treat for yourself, this is a great entertaining short, but perfectly formed Christmas book to take time out with and relax.

#Review by Lou of The Fracture by Morgan Cry @GoJaBrown @RandomTTours #CrimeFiction #Thriller #TheFracture

The Fracture
By Morgan Cry

Review by Louise Cannon

This Fracture is the second book in the Blake Glover series, but the first I have read and reviewed in this series. For a new series, it’s definitely worth spending time with this former police constable, now taxi driver.

Blurb

Ex-police officer Blake Glover’s past threatens to catch up with him and destroy his small town life in this second instalment of the Blake Glover Crime series by Bloody Scotland co-founder Gordon Brown writing as Morgan Cry.

‘The Cost is a decidedly moreish thriller that will leave you hankering for just one more chapter’ Ian Rankin

Ex-police constable and now taxi driver Blake Glover thought retiring to his hometown of Fraserburgh would be calm – until, while attending a local funeral service, he notices something disturbing: did the sturdy expensive coffin split as it was lowered into the grave? How could this be possible? Is there a cruel scheme taking place?

As if this wasn’t enough, one of Blake’s customers from the night before has gone missing and Blake is the last person to have seen him alive.

To make matters even worse, Blake is contacted by his old colleague-turned-nemesis, Mitch Campbell – now imprisoned in Glasgow’s HMP Barlinnie. Mitch is threatening to frame Blake unless he agrees to a dangerous request.

Torn between helping friends, confronting a past enemy and uncovering dark deeds, Blake is dragged into a toxic world of small-town tragedy and big-city drama. As he tries to untangle the truth, he underestimates just how deadly things will become . . .

An intricately plotted, twisty and clever Tartan noir thriller by Scottish crime writer Morgan Cry – perfect for fans of IAN RANKIN, VAL McDERMID, DENISE MINA and WILLIAM McILVANNEY!

Review

Fractures appear in Fraserburgh, Scotland in this fast-paced, on the edge of your seat thriller.

Former or present police often have a moment of their past catching up with them, but the story that surrounds this happening to Blake Glover feels original for how this comes from his life in Glasgow.

Former police constable, Blake Glover took on a rather different job, as a taxi driver at ailing company, Doddy’s Taxis that needs life support injected into it to survive.
He soon discovers some dark things happening with one of his customer’s, but what’s really going on? It’s far from the quiet life Blake was hoping for.

There’s something not right about a funeral coffin and how it is lowered that becomes very mysterious, so much so that it keeps those pages turning.

The Fracture has great characterisations, intriguing relational observations and built tension that leaves you wanting more of this series.

About the Author

Gordon Brown, also writing as Morgan Cry, has twelve crime and thriller books published to date, along with a novella and a number of short stories.

Gordon is a founding director of Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival and runs a strategic planning consultancy. He lives in Scotland (and when Brexit rules allow, Spain) and is married with two children – who have long since flown the nest.

In a former life Gordon delivered pizzas in Toronto, sold non-alcoholic beer in the Middle East, launched a creativity training business, floated a high tech company on the London Stock Exchange, compered the main stage at a two-day music festival and was once booed by 49,000 people while on the pitch at a major football Cup Final.

#Interview by Lou on The Fit Prince (Who Gets Switched On The Square In The Frosty Castle The Night Before Christmas @awkwardprods @KingsHeadThtr #Christmas #Theatre

Interview by Lou with Linus Karp on
The Fit Prince (Who Gets Switched On The Square
In The Frosty Castle The Night Before Christmas
2 December 2025 – 3 January 2026
King’s Head Theatre, London

Welcome Linus Karp to Bookmarks and Stages. Thank you for the opportunity to interview you. They have a new show this Christmas running from 2 December 2025 – 3 January 2026. See further details, plus a link after the interview. First, here’s the synopsis of what it’s about, then there’s an entertaining and interesting interview about the play, its created location, subversion, Christmas films and so much more…

Panic! In Swedonia. The King is dead, and the Prince in line to the throne is unmarried – if he doesn’t find someone soon, he must forfeit the crown!
Meanwhile, in New York City, baker Aaron Butcher is butchering his career as a family baker. His puppet colleague, the ever-optimistic Jenny Puppetson, secretly enters him for a mysterious royal commission in the faraway land of Swedonia: Aaron has been chosen to bake the wedding cake for the Prince himself.
Extremely reluctantly, and mostly to spite his ex, Aaron accepts. Maybe a commission in a suspiciously familiar, completely fictional country will fix his problems…
Audiences are invited to Swedonia – the perfect setting for the ultimate queer parody of all those Netflix and Hallmark romcoms you love to cringe at; the chaotic queer cousin to them all.
Written by and starring Linus Karp and Joseph Martin, with original music by Golden Globe–nominated songwriter and producer Leland (Troye Sivan, Charli xcx, RuPaul’s Drag Race) and multiple surprise cameos, The Fit Prince is a joyous subversion of heteronormative romcoms and a love letter to Karp’s native Sweden.

Without further ado, let’s find out what was said:

What inspired your play?

Joseph and I spent Christmas 2022 ill with covid. For close to two weeks, we watched endless Netflix and Hallmark holiday films. We felt like we wanted to put our own awkward prods spin on one of those stereotypical storylines, making it queer to the max. We added A LOT of audience participation, cameos from many of our fave people, some catchy musical numbers written by Leland and, of course, some beautiful puppets.

The play is said to flick through the Net of traditional holiday movies, bringing all their Hallmarks together in the signature awkwardprods way. How did you go about weaving the feeling of those types of films into your play and what attracts you to this type of comedy?

There is something really fun in embracing clichés and predictable moments and then create surprises around that. It’s also fun to take what is traditionally heterononormative stories and make them queer.

The play is set in the fictional place in Swedonia with a prince who is next in line to the throne and is yet unmarried, which poses a problem. It sounds a bit fairytale like, what inspired this part of the premise in your play?

We wanted to create a fictional world, that’s to some extent removed from reality. Being Swedish, it felt really fun to play with people’s ideas of what Sweden is in creating that world – making Swedonia equal parts a fantasy land and a love letter to Sweden.

There’s a lot of playfulness in the names, Aaron Butcher and Jenny Puppetson, what were the discussions like when coming up with those names?

I thought Puppetson was a really funny name, Joseph wasn’t sure, but I put it as a placeholder in the first draft, and soon enough we both loved it. Because Aaron’s a baker it just felt very stupid that his surname would be Butcher, and we love stupid.

There’s romance and a bit of subversion, can you tell us a bit more about that?

Well, it’s Christmas. And at Christmas you tell the truth. Which is that love, actually is all around. So it felt natural to incorporate that into the story. The people need more queer love stories.

What are some of you favourite Christmas films?

Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, The Christmas Prince, The Princess Swithch, A castle for Christmas, The Knight Before Christmas – Josh Whitehouse who is the romantic lead in that film actually makes a video appearance in Fit Prince. And the show also sees a tribute to the Queen of Netflix Christmas movies – Vanessa Hudgens.

What do you like most about Christmas?

Personally, I never feel like it’s Christmas until I’m performing our show the Fit Prince at King’s Head Theatre.

Where can people find out more about and follow your play

Head to your favourite social media and follow @awkwardprods to find out more about Fit Prince, and our other shows; Gwyneth Goes Skiing and Diana:The Untold and Untrue Story

The Fit Prince (Who Gets Switched On in the Square in the Frosty Castle the Night Before Insert Public Holiday Here) is at King’s Head Theatre from Linus Karp and Joseph Martin, with original music by Golden Globe–nominated songwriter and producer Leland . Tickets available HERE

#Review of Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage by Kim Nash review by Lou @KimTheBookworm @Tr4cyF3nt0n @RandomTTours @Rararesources #ZoolooBookTours #CompulsiveReaders #FeelGoodRomance #Christmas #LifeBeginsAtTheCornishCottage

Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage
By Kim Nash

review by Louise Cannon

Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage with this first love, revisited book with a gorgeous scenic look at Cornwall. It is also special in that some of you may recognise the location of Standpiper Shore from previous books, but this particular story is Stand-Alone. It’s a beauty for this Christmas. See the blurb and my full review below
Thanks to Compulsive Readers, Random T. Tours, Rachel’s Random Resources, Zooloo Book Tours, I am on what is an exceptional digital blog tour, which all those aforementioned top blog tour organisers have teamed up with a host of us reviewers, which I am proud to have a space on. Check out my blurb and review below and then follow the rest of the tour…

Blurb

Set against the sparkling shores of Cornwall☀️, this BRAND NEW heartwarming, uplifting and gorgeously romantic tale of second chances is perfect for fans of Veronica Henry, Trisha Ashley and Cathy Bramley. ✨
When life gives you heartbreak 💔, sometimes it also gives you a second chance… 💕

When Tom Sullivan returns to the quiet village of Sandpiper Shore, Emma can hardly believe her eyes. She hasn’t seen him since they played Romeo and Juliet in their school play – a lifetime ago, before real heartbreak, and long before she ever imagined life as a widow.

The last thing she wants is to relive the past, especially with someone who once made her teenage heart flutter. But when Emma agrees to put on a charity pantomime to raise money for the air ambulance service that helped her late husband, she’s thrown firmly back into Tom’s path.

As rehearsals begin and the local community rallies around her, Emma finds unexpected joy in bringing people together – and a surprising connection with Tom that feels far too real to ignore. Maybe it’s time for Emma to become the leading lady in her own life, not just for the show, but for herself.

Full of warmth, humour and heart, this is a story about letting go and discovering that it’s never too late to take a chance on love.

While this novel is set in the same village as the other books in the Sandpiper Shore series, it can be read as a STANDALONE

Review

On first entering the gorgeous Cornish scenery, it becomes apparent it’s going to be a slow-burn, but in a luxurious reading way. The way that immerses you and really get to know the characters and the place.

Tom Sullivan was Emma’s first love who has returned to Sandpiper Shore. It’s a fascinating angle on the romance story and poses the question of will they still like each other and how will both of these characters react? They haven’t seen each other since school and now they’re both rather grown-up. It makes for a rather interesting plot shape.

Like Iris in the film, The Holiday, Emma decides it’s high time she was the leading lady of her own life and develops some gumption as opportunities are presented and memories of her younger days come flooding back, not all are those she wanted to come to the forefront of her mind…

The opportunity she grasps, however is to put on a Pantomime with her friends to raise money for charity, specifically, the Air Ambulance. This is when Tom enters the scene, but what will she do with the feelings she still seems to hold for him, even though he broke her heart many years ago?

Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage has all the warmth of a cosy fleece, heart that lightens whatever is going on around in real life, just for a moment, beautiful scenery to fall for and a joyous community you want to be part of.

Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage is one for cosying up on a dark Christmas night with hot chocolate or any other warming beverage, or doing an act of kindness and gifting it to someone.

#Review of Inside No9 Stage Fright #InsideNo9StageFright #InsideNo9 #StevePemberton #ReeceShearsmith #Theatre #TheatrePlay #Stage #UKTour

Inside No9
By Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith

Review by Louise Cannon

Inside No.9 hits all the right notes from start to finish.

It starts with one of the best and surprising ways to capture an audience’s attention. It has the best short play before the main show about theatre etiquette. It’s one that could be replicated in every theatre before shows. It’s jaw-droppingly amazing with tensions rising, reaching an incredible crescendo. Then the main event begins.

Inside No9 is cleverly quirky, witty and at times scary. It’s a genius stage version of the tv series Inside No9.

Starring the original creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton with a scene of a different unexpected guest star for each performance, who are not told in advance what they’re going to have to do. The ad-lib and how they get around it is funny and all good fun natured. Apparently the list of people wanting to be part of this extraordinary play was exceedingly long.

From screen to stage, this play translates very well onto the stage. The premise is putting on a show, the theatre is haunted and there’s a superstition that you will learn about pertaining to your theatre, so far from the usual and more well-known theatre superstition.

There are many references to past, present actors and comedians and a future show and theatre in general. Some songs also bring levity in a quirky sort of way.
There are some dark, strange goings on occur too in a hammerhead horror type of way.

If you haven’t seen the tv series before, it’s a bit like The Tales of the Unexpected but with darker twists. The series can be caught on IPlayer.

Inside No9 translates very well from screen to stage with the fast-paced, darkly humorous writing. The premise is putting on a show, the theatre is haunted, many references to past, present actors and comedians and a future show and theatre in general. There are some songs that bring levity in a quirky sort of way. Some dark, strange goings on occur too. I may have jumped a couple of times lol.
It’s all strangely enjoyable. Inside No.9 hits all the right notes and leaves you on a high as you leave the theatre.

It is on tour now around the UK and returning soon to London.
Inside No.9 Tour Dates and Tickets

*Please note I am not affiliated to any theatre nor company.