Martin Dukes – Hearts of Ice and Stone @hyggebooktours @WeAreProvoco @MartinDukes5 #hyggebooktours #heartsoficeandstone #SharonBTB

I’m happy to say I have my review for Hearts of Ice And Stone by Martin Dukes on the blog today. Thanks to Hygge Book Tours and Provoco Publishing for the invitation to the tour and the ARC of the book.

Laura never realised that she was different, or that she was touched in some way by the heavens, until she first set foot, contrary to all law and tradition, within the portals of Darkharrow. Here, in the remote Eastings of Britannia, far from the wealth and the power of London, the dead lie sleeping beneath the ancient towers and cloisters of the great abbey. For some, destiny dictates that their long slumber shall endure until the last trump sounds and all the dead shall rise from their graves, but for some the care of the Camalodolite Order shall reawaken them long before that day. No one has ever been able to look upon the countenances of the departed and tell whether they may be awakened, whether their hearts are of ice or of stone – until now.

Since taking part in the cover reveal for this book, I have been looking forward to reading it. Martin Dukes is an unknown author so I did wonder how much I would enjoy Hearts Of Ice & Stone.

A dark story that’s a blend of genres. Gothic horror interwoven with historical fiction and fantasy too! These genres are all my favourites along with dystopian which I would say there is a frisson of even this running through the book too. I couldn’t get enough of this story.

We follow sixteen year old Laura. Beginning to kick against her mother’s new partner, Jonah. Her sister Emily is, in Jonah’s mind neither use nor ornament to the family as she is ill.  The family experiences a tragedy which kickstarts a chain of events that alters Laura’s life more than she could ever know.

I was gripped from the start. Martin Dukes so vividly described the settings so I could almost see them. I felt like I could have been there as the story unfolded. His characterisation was great, each one unique in the role they play. I always think that well rounded characters always help to give a book more depth.

Laura herself is a character I rooted for. She is so relatable and she even brought my maternal side out. I was mentally helping her throughout. I love a main character I can be invested in one hundred percent and I was.

Hearts Of Ice And Stone is a well written, richly detailed and so intriguing novel. I adored reading this book. It took me one and a half days to read. I couldn’t put it down the more I read, the more questions I needed answering. If you are even a bit tempted by this book, just try it!

Pre order link out on November 24th https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BKLQN3YT?ref_=cm_sw_r_mwn_ts_S92HW7YFSG75190554C2

About The Author

I’ve always been a writer. It’s not a choice. It’s a compulsion, and I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. Lots of childish scribbles in notebooks, lots of rejection slips from publishers and agents testify to a craft long in the making. In addition, it has proved necessary to earn a living by other means whilst those vital skills mature. For thirty-eight years I taught Art and Graphic Design, thirty-seven of them in a wonderful independent girls’ school in Birmingham, UK. For much of the latter part of this career I was Head of Department, which gave me the opportunity to place my own stamp on Art education there, sharing with the pupils there my own love of Art and the History of Art. Over a decade I was able to lead annual visits to Florence, Venice and Rome (some of my favourite places on the planet) as destinations on my Renaissance Tour. These visits created memories that I shall cherish for the rest of my life.

I love history in general, reading history as much as I read fiction. I have a particular interest in the ancient world but I am also fascinated with medieval times and with European history in general. This interest informs my own writing to the extent that human relationships and motivations are a constant throughout the millennia, and there is scarcely a story that could be conceived of that has not already played itself out in some historical context. There is much to learn from observing and understanding such things, much that can be usefully applied to my own work.

Teaching tends to be a rather time-consuming activity. Since retiring, I have been able to devote much more of my time to writing, and being taken on by the brilliant Jane Murray of Provoco Publishing has meant that I am finally able to bring my work to the reading public’s attention. I like to think that my ideas are original and that they do not readily fall into existing tropes and categories.

I am not a particularly physical being. I was always terrible at sport and have rather poor physical coordination (as though my body were organised by a committee rather than a single guiding intelligence!). I tend to treat my body as a conveyance for my head, which is where I really dwell. My writing typically derives from dreams. There is a sweet spot between sleeping and waking which is where my ideas originate. I always develop my stories there. When I am writing it feels as though the content of my dreams becomes real through the agency of my fingers on the keyboard. I love the English language, the rich majesty of its vocabulary and its rhythmic possibilities. My arrival at this stage could hardly be describes as precocious. However, at the age of sixty-three, I feel that I have arrived at a place where I can create work of value that others may appreciate and enjoy