A Brilliant Read!

A few weeks ago I was kindly sent a pre-release copy of  Christina Courtenay's The Silent Touch of Shadows by my publisher Choc Lit  I had never read any of Christina's before, but I knew she won the 2012 Best Historical Romantic novel of the year award (RoNA) for her novel, Highland Storms.




It was when we had the lovely hot weather, (yes I know it's hard to remember what that was like) and I took the book up the garden with a glass of wine (yep, I know that's hard to imagine for me, I usually only drink fruit juice) and sat under the pergola. I had planned to just have half an hour's break before I carried on with my own writing, but once I opened the book I couldn't close it again. Well, I could physically of course, but I didn't want to leave the intriguing story and beautiful writing.


The Silent Touch of Shadows is a haunting love story set in the present and 15th century Kent. Melissa Grantham, a single parent and genealogist is troubled by vivid dreams after a visit to her aunt's ancient Manor House. The dreams are so real that she feels as if she is somehow actually back in the fifteenth century, and  sharing a connection to a young medieval woman. The connection is so real that Melissa can practically feel, touch and smell the past. The feelings the woman has for a forbidden lover troubles Melissa also in more ways than one. Unable to get the ghosts of the past out of her mind, she harnesses her professional skills to try to solve the mystery of the Manor and her dreams.


Having read this fab story I can see why Christina Courtenay won her award. Her story telling in general and description of the historical period in particular, makes the reader believe they are there alongside the main protagonist every step of the way. If you want an unusual and intriguing love story then look no further than this book. I loved it!


The publication date is the 7th of July - deffo a date for your diaries :) 


You can also get it on Kindle now - The Silent Touch of Shadows