Let us Talk of Many Things; of Books and Queens and Pirates, of Mystery and Kings...: August 2025

Friday, 29 August 2025

King and Conqueror my review (don't bother with it - awful!)

don't bother with the TV series - read the book instead

Harold the King (UK title) https://viewbook.at/HaroldTheKing
I Am the Chosen King : (US title) https://viewBook.at/ChosenKing

I watched this new series on iPlayer on Sunday afternoon - from the trailers it looked bad. After five minutes I started skipping, after 35 minutes I gave up. Saying it's awful is an understatement.

1. I couldn't read the opening text (OK my problem, I can't see red colours)

2. it was so dark on iPlayer... and sound was awful - do we need subtitles to hear?

3. Why has Duke William got a moustache? Well known that the Normans were clean shaven

4. Why is Harold Godwinesson clean shaven. Well known that the Saxons had moustaches' and beards.

5. They (not sure who, I assume the Godwinessons) were talking about the recent civil war. What recent civil war? There wasn't any civil war. (Yes Viking Danes v the English but that was way back...) (Did they mean Harald Harefoot? Even that wasn't civil war...)

6. It was so dark on iPlayer. And the sound way too inaudible (or were the actors all muttering). Why are all these noble (rich) people dressed in dark clothes? The Anglo-Saxons (and the Normans) wore bright colours - red, greens, yellows...

7. 'Your Majesty'? I think this was King Henry of France. This term wasn't used until Henry VIII in the 1500s.

8. Can't hear what they're saying -have the sound turned right up.

9. Worked out that this was 1042 as Edward was about to be crowned as King. (hold onto your hats - things are getting worse...) IF William was invited to England it would have been in 1052/3 not 1042. Given that Edward is not yet married he would still have been expected to eventually have a son, so why would William even have been considered? Edward was replacing Harthacnut, Emma's son by Cnut ... oh and as for Emma... good grief!!!!

10. William was not married to Matilda until about 1053.

11. The F* word. Used several times. It's a Dutch word from the 16/17th century.

12. Sweyn Godwinesson: 'deflowering a bride' ... *sigh* apart from this 'ritual' probably didn't happen anyway, if it did it would come from post-conquest 1200s era.

13. Wrong type of horses - these looked like Icelandic ponies (well they did film in Iceland, so...

[15 minutes in...]

14. what's going on - still haven't a clue (and I KNOW this period!)

15. Just got even worse. What???? Queen Emma is saying she wants WILLIAM as King of England? That is utter cr*p! Emma fought tooth and nail to ensure HER sons became Kings. No way would she put William (even if he was kindred) above a son of her own.

16. Is that Godwine saying his daughter is to be crowned Queen (sorry I did lose the plot here) Emma saying Edward's wife won't be attending the ceremony because she's ill? Didn't catch the name - but Edward's wife is EDYTH!!!! and he wasn't married in 1042, he married in 1045. If the difficulty is that there were two Ediths ... simple, one is pronounced Ee-dith one is pronounced Edd-ith.

I gave up after 35 minutes. These aren't just nit-pick things, they are ridiculous inaccuracies.

SPOILER~ apparently in episode 4 Edward beats his mother, Emma, to death with his crown. Blimey - is it supposed to rival Eastenders! (Emma actually died of old age, probably in her bed, on 6th March 1052 - a FACT extremely well documented!)

I'm not saying my novel is 100% accurate (nothing concerning fiction and history can be!) but it's a darn site more accurate than this utter garbage!

we need the funding to make our 1066 movie...and we'll promise do it as properly as we can!

<previous review

15th - 19th September
Jan Christopher Blog Tour

RECENT

August 21st
I'm a guest on Alison Morton's blog

(Isn't that a lovely smile!)

Thursday, 28 August 2025

My Coffee Pot Book Tour Guest: Julia Ibbotson - Daughter of Mercia

Welcome to my Blog!
Wander through worlds
real and fictional,
meet interesting people,
visit exciting places
and find good books
to enjoy along the way!

About the Book

Name: Julia Ibbotson

Book Title: Daughter of Mercia

Series: Dr Anna Petersen Mysteries, book #1

Publication Date: June 6th, 2025

Publisher: Archbury Books

Pages: 301 ebk, 392 pbk

Genre: medieval dual-time mystery romance

Echoes of the past resonate across the centuries as Dr Anna Petersen, a medievalist and runologist, is struggling with past trauma and allowing herself to trust again. When archaeologist (and Anna's old adversary) Professor Matt Beacham unearths a 6th century seax with a mysterious runic inscription, and reluctantly approaches Anna for help, a chain of events brings the past firmly back into her present. And why does the burial site also contain two sets of bones, one 6th century and the other modern?

As the past and present intermingle alarmingly, Anna and Matt need to work together to solve the mystery of the seax runes and the seemingly impossible burial, and to discover the truth about the past. Tensions rise and sparks fly between Anna and Matt. But how is 6th century Lady Mildryth of Mercia connected to Anna? Can they both be the Daughter of Mercia?

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://myBook.to/DOMercia

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Author Bio:

Julia Ibbotson is fascinated by the medieval world and the concept of time. She is the author of historical mysteries with a frisson of romance. Her books are evocative of time and place, well-researched and uplifting page-turners. Her current series focuses on early medieval time-slip/dual-time mysteries.

Julia read English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language / literature / history, and has a PhD in socio-linguistics. After a turbulent time in Ghana, West Africa, she became a school teacher, then a university academic and researcher. Her break as an author came soon after she joined the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme in 2015, with a three-book deal from Lume Books for a trilogy (Drumbeats) set in Ghana in the 1960s.

She has published five other books, including A Shape on the Air, an Anglo-Saxon timeslip mystery, and its two sequels The Dragon Tree and The Rune Stone. Her latest novel is the first of a new series of Anglo-Saxon dual-time mysteries, Daughter of Mercia, where echoes of the past resonate across the centuries.

Her books will appeal to fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, and Christina Courtenay. Her readers say: ‘Julia’s books captured my imagination’, ‘beautiful story-telling’, ‘evocative and well-paced storylines’, ‘brilliant and fascinating’ and ‘I just couldn’t put it down’.

Author Links:

Website:

https://juliaibbotsonauthor.com

Twitter / X:

https://twitter.com/@juliaibbotson

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/JuliaIbbotsonauthor

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/julia.ibbotson

Bluesky:

https://bsky.app/profile/juliaibbotson.bsky.social

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/juliai1

Amazon Author Page:

https://Author.to/JuliaIbbotsonauthor

Goodreads:

https://goodreads.com/juliaibbotson

read an excerpt

Excerpt 3:

Sixth century Lady Mildryth is called to attend a stranger’s imprisonment in the lock-up and has memories of the 20^th century

535 AD

Aelfric was quickly at her side, and the guard held the flaming torch even higher, up towards the roof.

“Take care!” she snapped. “We do not want to set fire to the building.”

“My lady, the prisoner seemed familiar to you?” Aelfric’s voice was unsteady.

Mildryth looked across the lock-up to the creature who stood there against the wall. His eyes bore into her soul. Was that a plea? Or a sneer?

“I have never seen this man before,” said Mildryth, but behind her back, her fingers were crossed against the lie…

Mildryth slowly uncrossed her fingers behind her back and brought them to clasp in front of her kirtle. Yes, she knew this man. But she also knew that she could never tell anyone how and where she knew him. Nor indeed, that she knew him. And yet knew him she did. She hardly understood it herself. Those times when she seemed to be someone else, no longer herself, for those brief moments of time. His clothes then had not been filthy and torn as his tunic was now, although they were strange to her eyes. His hair and beard were not matted and his skin not red and sore. In truth, he had seemed to her like a god, something unworldly – no, more out of this world.

But what was she to do with him now? He looked a poor and pitiful creature, cowering there against the damp mud walls of the lock-up. No longer the strong muscular warrior of her dreams, those visions of a mysterious place, a hall so bright and filled with light and manuscripts … dear lord, those manuscripts, she had never seen so many before. Piled up, stacked above each other on wooden planks as high as the roof. And that table laden with parchments as thin as a goat’s whisker …

She could not share that place with anyone else. Nor that person she had for a short moment become. Who was she, that other person?

His hard eyes softened as she looked across at him, pleading with her. He did not need to speak the words; his eyes spoke for him. And yet he struggled, pushing himself away from the wall to stand tall before her. And in that moment she remembered more. She remembered those eyes flashing hard, angry, and unyielding one moment, a warrior true, a thegn, making her heart quiver with fear. But the next, gentle and tender, smiling for her alone it seemed, making her heart strain against the bonds of her heritage, her restraint. So, which one was he truly? The devil or the lover? Who was he really?

“Cūning,” he murmured again, hesitantly, peering across at her, “Mil …dryth.” And she did not know whether he was savouring her name slowly on his tongue, or whether he was trying it out for the first time.

So, had the gods sent him to her like this? And for what purpose? In this place this time; her own village. His eyes bore into her as if he saw into her soul.

What happened to you? Her soul silently appealed to him. But of course there was no answer.

She could not share him with anyone else. She must take him into her protection. If only to prevent him from speaking to anyone else. For how could she explain it all? This bending of time itself.

“Aelfric,” she said sharply as she turned to her ceorl. “See to this man. Have him cleaned and dressed in thegns’ clothes.”

“Thegns’ clothes, my lady?”

“Indeed. You heard me.”

“But … but my lady … he is a prisoner!”

“Aelfric, you said yourself that he came dressed like a warrior thegn. We agreed that he might be a Saxon. We do not wish to anger the Saxons nor cause them any opportunity to seek revenge for so little. We are Angeln and proud, but we are also prudent. We will pick our battles when they can be fruitful. When he is ready, bring him to my hall.”

She felt a tug on her mantle and swivelled round to see Edythflaed, pale-faced and trembling, cowering behind her. “My lady, does he have the plague?”

Mildryth swiped her maid’s hand from her kirtle. “I believe he does not. There is no sign of fever nor swelling nor coughing of phlegm, as far as I can see in this dim light. What say you, Aelfric?”

“No, my lady,” he conceded hesitantly, “I see no signs. I have examined him after the sickness-ceorl gave me the nod – although I feared to touch him or be too close in case of pestilence. But there was nothing upon him when the serf took his travelling clothes and burned them to make certain, and I saw his naked flesh. Yet we surely must still take care. He may have been touched by it on his journey – or before – how can we tell? I have heard that some may carry it without bearing outward signs. We must trust no man from outside our region.”

My Thoughts

Well written and absorbing, with believable characters and a believable plot. The dual-timelines blending smoothly together.

From what I know of this Anglo-Saxon period the research has been diligently and accurately done, With the present-day archaeology equally so.

I struggled a little with the opening prologue - maybe it would have been better as an integral opening chapter, not a prologue? This would have instantly brought the reader into the style and context of the narrative, maybe? Just my opinion. (Being very picky I also query the mention of the central character aware of her 'pulse' which anyone of this period would not have associated with a heartbeat. I'd have stayed with the feel of a beating heart in her chest to give the same meaning.)

All in all a decent, exciting read for anyone who appreciates a good mystery and dual-timeline stories.

A good start to a potentially promising series.

**** 4 stars

Follow the tour:

Bsky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

Twitter Handles: @JuliaIbbotson @cathiedunn

Instagram Handles: @julia.ibbotson @thecoffeepotbookclub

Hashtags: #DaughterOfMercia #JuliaIbbotson #medieval #anglosaxon #dualtime #timeslip #timetravel #mystery #romance #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page:

https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/08/blog-tour-daughter-of-mercia-by-julia-ibbotson.html

< PREVIOUS POST

*** ***

scroll down to leave a comment

thank you!

You might also like books written by

Helen Hollick

Website/Blog : https://helenhollickauthor.blogspot.com/

Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick

NEW!

Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick

Monday, 25 August 2025

My Coffee Pot Book Tour Guest: Scents of Lavender by D.C. Wilkinson

Welcome to my Blog!
Wander through worlds
real and fictional,
meet interesting people,
visit exciting places
and find good books
to enjoy along the way!

About the Book

Name: D. C. Wilkinson

Book Title: Scents of Lavender: Queer Love Through the Ages –In Verse

Publication Date: June 1, 2025

Publisher: DCW Press

Pages: 108

Genre: Poetry / Historical Fiction / LGBTQ+ Romance

Timeless and unwavering, love flows through a universal melody that echoes in every corner of the globe. Transcending borders and cultures, it sows the seeds of memories that sprout and blossom in Scents of Lavender, a collection of 25 illustrated poems that breathe life into evocative scenes where queer love proudly re-emerges from the depths of history, uncovering deep and everlasting bonds.

Each poem invites the reader to explore the narrator’s deeply personal and intimate perspective through pantheistic eyes. Written in the first person, every verse unfolds as both a reflection and a manifestation of a single universal mind and soul, drawing the reader into a shared understanding that love –in all its forms– is boundless, eternal, and permeates the cosmos.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/Fbo5QDA

Author Bio:

D. C. Wilkinson is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lifelong voyager of inner and outer realms. His literary work centers on his passion for historical tales, portal fantasies, and dreams and visions often weaved into narratives that highlight LGBTQ+ experiences.

He began his career in the Midwest as a student of Language Arts before relocating to the East Coast in his early twenties. A graduate of Columbia University and former New York City public school teacher, he now calls Connecticut his home, where he resides with his spouse and their beloved beagle.

Author Links:

Website: https://dcwilkinson.substack.com

Twitter / X: https://x.com/dcwilkinson2024

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.crossa.92

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dcwilkinson2024

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-c-wilkinson-4b870b14b/

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/dcwilkinson2024

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@dcwilkinson

Amazon Author Page: Amazon.com: D C Wilkinson: books, biography, latest update

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/56733113.D_C_Wilkinson

Trailer: https://dcwilkinson.substack.com/p/scents-of-lavender-bea

read a snippet