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ClareR (6225 KP) rated Spitting Gold in Books

Jun 4, 2026  
Spitting Gold
Spitting Gold
Carmella Lowkis | 2024 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+, Paranormal
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’ll be honest: I didn’t know what this was going to be about. It was a case of judging the book by its cover. I didn’t even read the synopsis before I got stuck in. I was very happy indeed when the first page took me in to a woman’s prison in Paris, France in 1866 - just for a little while, until we start to learn why exactly Sylvie is in this predicament.

Atmospheric writing places the reader in Paris after the French Revolution, where Baroness Sylvie is living a perfect life with her affluent lawyer husband.

Her estranged sister, Charlotte Mothe, visits with an offer that’s hard to refuse. Their father is very ill, Charlotte needs to pay the bills, and Sylvie must come out of retirement and conduct a seance to help her out. But Sylvie is risking her marriage.

Spitting Gold is a debut, and I thought it was gripping and entertaining - it kept me reading! The characters were fleshed out, believable and colourful (to say the least!). There were moments where it made me feel very uncomfortable - was it the ghosts?

There’s a bit of something for everyone here: historical fiction, mystery, the paranormal, sapphic romance and family dynamics.

Recommended!
  
The Resistance Girl
The Resistance Girl
Mandy Robotham | 2022 | History & Politics, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first book I have read or listened to by this author and if her others are anything like this one, it won't be the last.

Following the lives of a small group of people in Norway during WWII, this is a compelling story of their bravery as part of the resistance movement.

With exceptionally strong characters and a powerful story, this is an important part of history that I was not familiar with and although this is historical fiction, it does weave actual events into the story which gives it a sense of realism and shows you what lengths 'normal' people will go to to protect freedom and whilst they have a strong regard for the danger they are putting themselves and, potentially, others in, the bigger picture is far more important. A poignant read given the current events in Ukraine.

The narrator told the story with ease and kept me engaged and enthralled from beginning to end; her voice was perfect.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys a great story of bravery, love and the importance of family, friends and freedom.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
  
The King in Rome (Warrior #1)
The King in Rome (Warrior #1)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
As an author, Simon Scarrow is - IMO - most associated with the genre of historical fiction.

Even more so - again, IMO - with those set during the time of the Roman Empire: I think we're approaching 20, now, of his full length Cato and Macro novels (edit: as of typing this, 22 novels).

I can't say much about TJ Andrews, other than I'm aware he has collaborated with Scarrow on a a few e-book novella's.

This is the latest in that collaboration, taking - as it's inspiration - the tale of Caratacus, the British warlord who defied the Empire before the time of Boudica, and who appeared in some of the earlier Eagle (aka Cato and Macro) novels as an antagonist. Eventually defeated by the Roman legions, Caratacus was spared by the Emperor Claudius to live out his life in the confines of Rome (and with Prefect Cato being name dropped when he mentions that in this novella), which is where this series of novellas picks up, as Caratacus is persuaded to tell his life story to a Roman historian who first encounters him at a banquet hosted by the Emperor Nero.

Told, therefore, from the 'other point of view' than the usual, I'm interested in seeing where this goes!