From wartime action in the skies to a brand new Age of Sail adventure, there’s something exciting here for everyone. Scroll down to discover this month’s titles from your favourite Sapere authors.
July’s Fiction Releases
Come Fly With Me by Natalie Kleinman is a feelgood contemporary romance about family ties, second chances and unexpected love. Will Olivia find the courage to embrace her newfound family and the future she never planned?
The Stealth Hunters by D. R. Bailey is the third book in the Cooper’s Renegades Aviation Thrillers, set during the Second World War and featuring a squadron of American and British fighter pilots. Cooper Donahue and his Renegades are sent on a top-secret mission — one that could change the outcome of the war.
The Eagle and the Serpent by Daniel Colter is the first book in The Legionary of Rome Military Thrillers series: historical adventures set in Ancient Rome. When Roman citizen Lucius Virius Sura is conscripted into the legions to help quell the Illyrian revolt, he finds himself thrown into the cauldron of war. With no experience and little training, he must learn to fight — or die.
Absolute Honour by C. C. Humphreys is the second book in the Jack Absolute Military Adventure series: a swashbuckling historical saga set in the 18th century. Jack Absolute is returning to England. On the voyage home, he helps in the defeat of a privateer, gaining a new friend, a large share of the prize money, and a nasty dose of cholera. Jack convalesces in Bath, where he falls in love with his friend’s beautiful cousin. But things are not as they seem, and when tragedy strikes, Jack escapes with his life but loses something more important to him: his honour.
First Voyage by Anthony Palmiotti is the first book in the Patrick Welch Naval Thriller series: page-turning nautical adventures set at the outbreak of the Second World War. Patrick Welch, a young American seaman, manages to find a job as third mate aboard an old tramp freighter, the Arrow. He works hard to win the respect of the rough and ready crew, but the reality of the Nazi Germany that awaits them in Hamburg is worse than any of them could have imagined…
The Veiled Bride by Elizabeth Bailey is a compelling Georgian romance with a dramatic secret at its heart. An orphan without means, Rosina Charlton answers an unusual advertisement. But what kind of man advertises for a wife in the local newspaper? Desperate to find refuge, Rosina has few choices in life — but a shock awaits her at the altar…
The Burning of the Ships by Douglas Scott is an action-packed thriller set during the Second World War. When merchant seaman John Rennie is betrayed whilst attempting to escape a French prison camp, he determines to find out who the traitor is. But could he also hold the key to unmasking a Nazi spy?
The Privateer by Dan Donato is the first book in the Gideon Locke Naval Adventures: action-packed maritime adventures set in the 18th century. When Gideon Locke is recruited aboard a privateer, he hopes his luck is about to change for the better. But Gideon soon realises the captain is hiding a dark secret, and his fortunes looks to be once more on a downward spiral. Can Gideon rebuild his reputation? Or will his first foray into privateering be his last…?
Bouncer’s Buzz Bomb by Tony Rea is the fifth book in the Gus Beaumont Aviation Thrillers, military adventures set during the Second World War. Recovering in an RAF convalescent hospital in South Devon, pilot Gus ‘Bouncer’ Beaumont is caught up in a deadly attack by German FW 190 tip and run bombers. Vowing vengeance, Gus asks to be posted to a Typhoon squadron, as these are the only fighters that can catch the German fighter-bombers. But with D-Day on the horizon, can Gus survive another epic battle…?
Caged Eagle by Richard Rohmer is a classic thriller covering the end of the Second World War and the turn of the century. Fighter pilot Garth Peters is training with the Royal Canadian Airforce when he falls in love on a night out. But when the woman of his dreams marries a rival pilot and member of his squadron, Peters vows to take his revenge.
July’s Audio Releases
Lose yourself in a great audiobook this month!
The Bad Popes by E. R. Chamberlin is a dramatic account of some of the most notorious figures of medieval and Renaissance history who ruled from the Eternal City.
In Danger’s Hour by David Clensy is the second book in the Romulus Hutchinson Naval Adventure series: historical adventures following twin brothers fighting with the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy during World War Two.
Don’t miss one of the finest SOE memoirs to come out of the Second World War in Albanian Assignment by David Smiley.
County Bailiff Edward Mountsorrel fights to clear his colleague’s name in Tudor mystery The Slaughtered Widow by David Field.
July’s Non-Fiction Releases
The March on London by Charles Whiting uncovers one of the last great secrets of the Second World War — a clandestine German plan to spark a mass prisoner-of-war uprising. This thoroughly researched account — based on interviews and writings from German POWs and British guards — uncovers the true story behind this remarkably bold plan: who was involved, what was intended, why it was ultimately abandoned, and the brutal repercussions that followed. This little-known episode of the Second World War makes for a gripping read.
Epic Naval Fights of World War Two by Captain Frank H. Shaw is essential reading for anyone interested in learning more about some of the most important but often forgotten battles of the Second World War. From the Arctic to the South Atlantic, Shaw provides a fresh perspective on World War Two at sea and shows just how close the Allies came to losing the war in its early years. From the sinking of HMS Rawalpindi by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau just two months into the war, to the Battle of the River Plate on the other side of the world, Shaw takes us on a journey across the world’s oceans, exploring how the Allies overcame the aggressive Kriegsmarine and gained control of the seas.
The Big Drop by John Golley tells the dramatic, bloody story of how the 9th Parachute Battalion fought to capture and neutralise the Merville Battery. The destruction of this formidable coastal stronghold became one of the most daring and crucial missions of D-Day. Drawing on original wartime documents and first-hand accounts from British and French survivors, Golley vividly reconstructs one of the most daring and decisive raids of the Second World War.
Anzio by war correspondent Wynford Vaughan-Thomas brings one of the Second World War’s most dramatic campaigns to life. Drawing on first-hand experience, interviews with senior commanders, and extensive documentary sources, Vaughan-Thomas captures the brutal reality of life on the front line, while also revealing the tensions and misjudgements within the Allied High Command that contributed to the heavy loss of life. This is the definitive story of Anzio — from bold ambition to bitter struggle, and ultimately to hard-won victory.
Happy Reading! Team Sapere
Vibrant Voices. Sensational Stories. Beautiful Books.
Congratulations to Natalie Kleinman, whose second-chance love story, After All These Years, is out out now!
When Guy Ffoulkes walks into Honeysuckle ‘Honey’ Bunting’s tea shop in the little town of Rills Ford, she’s transported back in a flash to her teenage years – and to the pain of first love.
As a young girl she worshipped Guy from afar – but to him, she knows, she was simply his best friend’s scruffy younger sister.
Over the years Honey has poured her energy into her business and caring for her elderly mother, telling herself it’s enough for her. But no man has ever replaced Guy in her heart…
Now, fourteen years on, Guy has returned from Australia, a rich and successful architect, but a lonely man. And when he and Honey reconnect, neither can deny the spark between them.
But Honey’s loyalties are tested to the extreme when Guy reveals the reason for his return…
Does Honey know her old flame as well as she thinks? Will Guy let pride and ambition drive away the only woman he has ever loved?
And as the pair find themselves at the heart of a local scandal, can they find the strength to take a chance on love?
Congratulations to Natalie Kleinman, whose heart-warming contemporary romance, A Walk in the Park, is out now!
Ever since she was a teenager, twenty-nine-year-old Daisy Shepherd has been thrilled to be able to walk dogs for a living. And with a supportive mother and stepfather, she thinks she has everything she needs.
But when her birth father, James, asks to meet her, her idyllic lifestyle is turned upside down.
Having been abandoned by James as a baby, Daisy has no desire to get to know him. However, she is delighted to learn that she has two half-siblings, Charlie and Kirsty, with whom she forms a warm friendship.
With a newly expanded family, Daisy’s happiness should be complete. But as she spends more and more time with Charlie and Kirsty, her feelings grow more complex.
And with her heart pulling her in one direction and her head in another, she begins to wonder how she can protect her relationship with her siblings while preserving her peace of mind…
Will Daisy be able to work through her feelings? Can she keep her newfound family in her life?
Or are they destined to be pulled apart?
We’re delighted to announce that we have signed three contemporary romance novels by Natalie Kleinman.
In Natalie’s words:
“It feels strange but exciting to be returning to contemporary romance after seven Regencies, but I’m delighted that Sapere are publishing an adaptation of my first book, Safe Harbour, and also After All These Years. They still sit proudly on my bookshelf, but I’m really looking forward to sharing the updated versions with you.
“What I’m even more excited about is the publication of A Walk in the Park. I’m a dog lover anyway, so to have written and have published a book about a young woman who foregoes the rat race to spend time with a variety of pooches has been a real joy. Deserted by her father when she was a baby, Daisy Shepherd has been raised by her cookie artist mother and a stepfather whom she adores. Having always believed she was an only child, she discovers that her father remarried in Australia and that she has a half brother and sister. But everything isn’t quite what it seems.
“How lucky am I that Sapere are happy to take me in a new direction. It’s a joy working with them. I couldn’t be in a better place.”
Congratulations to Natalie Kleinman, whose captivating Regency romance, Some Day My Prince Will Come, is published today!
England, 1819
Having suffered at the hands of an unscrupulous suitor during her first season in London, twenty-one-year-old Rebecca Ware has vowed to leave her ordeal in the past and is now embarking on her second season.
Though she is wary of opening her heart, Rebecca soon finds herself drawn to Comte Hugo du Berge, a handsome French nobleman who has recently arrived in London.
As the season progresses and Rebecca and Hugo find themselves thrown into closer proximity, their warm and easy friendship deepens.
However, with a long-buried family mystery to unravel, it seems that Hugo is not in a position to settle down. And when he prepares to return to France in search of answers, Rebecca begins to worry that she has lost her heart to a man she may never see again…
Congratulations to Natalie Kleinman, whose enchanting Regency romance, The Wishing Well, is published today!
England 1818
Ever since the deaths of her fiancé and her father, Harriet Lambert has thrown herself into the management of her family’s estate to cope with her grief. Though time has eased her sorrow, she has had little opportunity to once again pursue romance.
But when she is called on to accompany her younger sister, Amabel, to London for her introduction into respectable society, Harriet finds herself caught in a flurry of social engagements. And when she meets Major Brew Ware at a soirée, the two form an immediate connection.
Having experienced tragedy at an early age, Brew understands the significance of Harriet’s loss. With their shared interests and honest approach, their friendship continues to flourish as the season wears on.
Though no man has turned her head since she lost her fiancé, Harriet is aware that her affection for Brew is growing stronger. And as she tentatively considers her future, she must now decide whether she is prepared to take another chance on love…
Congratulations to Natalie Kleinman, whose captivating Regency romance, Love’s Legacy, is out now!
When her father — a countryside reverend — dies suddenly, young Patience Worthington is left with no home and little money. In urgent need of support, she is forced to seek out her estranged uncle, a viscount at the vast Worthington Place.
Patience arrives to find that her uncle has died and that the current viscount is her cousin, Gideon. After hearing her plight, he agrees to give her a home on the Worthington estate.
However, when Patience and Gideon learn the cause of the long-standing rift between the two sides of the family, they quickly begin to clash. Now too proud to accept his accept the viscount’s charity, Patience soon leaves Worthington Place to seek shelter with her late mother’s relatives in Bath.
With her kindness and beauty, Patience is an instant success in Bath society and regularly crosses paths with Gideon. Despite their differences, they enjoy each other’s company and form a tentative friendship.
But when dark secrets once again threaten their growing bond, the cousins begin to wonder whether they can ever leave the shadows of the past behind…
Click here to order Love’s Legacy
Congratulations to Natalie Kleinman, whose sparkling Regency romance, The Ghost of Glendale, is out now!
Having never been in love, twenty-four-year-old Phoebe Marcham has no interest in marriage. Fiercely independent, she spends her days helping to manage Glendale, her ancestral home — a centuries-old estate full of long-buried secrets.
While out riding, Phoebe crosses paths with Duncan Armstrong, a charming wanderer who has just returned from the Continent. Finding that they share a penchant for mystery, Phoebe shares the biggest enigma that haunts Glendale: the tortured ghost of her ancestor, Simon Marcham, who took a secret sadness to his grave.
Convinced that Simon’s soul will never be at rest until they uncover his secret, Phoebe and Duncan set about unravelling the riddles that he left behind. As they delve deeper, a story of heartbreak and intrigue soon starts to emerge.
Faced with the darkness of the past, Phoebe is determined to make the most of the future. And as she and Duncan grow closer, she soon begins to wonder whether she has at last met her fate…
Click here to order The Ghost of Glendale
Natalie Kleinman is the author of THE RELUCTANT BRIDE and THE GIRL WITH FLAMING HAIR: glittering romantic adventures set in Regency England.
Research can come in many forms, particularly when it’s for a historical novel. One of my shelves is heaving under the weight of the books I have covering my chosen period, Regency England. And those are just the research books. Another is overflowing with novels set in that era.
Unlike our predecessors, we also have access to a wealth of information on the Internet, so much that if we allowed ourselves to follow its pull we’d never get any words of our own written, so we have to be selective. All these sources have helped in bringing to the page my latest book, The Girl With Flaming Hair.
That said, there’s nothing like seeing real artefacts. Not so easy, you might think, living as we do two hundred years after the time in question. And here’s where I feel particularly lucky. I live in London with easy access to its plethora of galleries and museums. A while ago I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum and amongst its treasures I found things that not only helped with my work in progress at the time but which also affirmed why I love this period so much. One of my characters in another book is a keen artist, and this Watercolour Box circa 1820 is a particularly treasured image.
Women’s dress changed dramatically after 1785. The rich fabrics and complicated formal shapes of the late 18th century gave way to simple, lighter fabrics that draped easily. These new gowns achieved something of the effect of the simple tunics shown on classical Greek and Roman statues and vases. This beautifully elegant creation is muslin embroidered with cotton thread.
You can see how easy it is to get carried away by research when it can be so enjoyable. I’ll leave you with one more image before I tear myself away – I have another book to write!
This is an evening cap (1818-23) described as silk and net embroidery with silk thread; wired paper and muslin artificial flowers. I SO want one!
Click here to order The Reluctant Bride
Click here to order The Girl With Flaming Hair
Natalie Kleinman is the author of The Reluctant Bride, a glittering Regency romance with a strong-minded heroine at its heart.
I spent the first few years of my career writing contemporary romantic fiction, firstly short stories and then novels, until the burning desire I’d had for so long pushed itself to the forefront. I wanted to write a historical novel set in England’s glorious Regency period. Maybe I couldn’t, but I had to try. I’d previously looked upon it as a presumption on my part even to consider it, bearing in mind my love for the works of Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen. But I wasn’t trying to emulate them. I was trying to make my own contribution the genre that had given me so many hours of joy over decades. And so my first Regency novel, The Reluctant Bride, was born, to be followed by another, and then another. They’ll be coming soon, so watch this space.
Charlotte Willoughby — the heroine of The Reluctant Bride — is a young woman of her time. Born into the aristocracy, she is as much tethered by her status as privileged. When she is forced by her father to marry the Earl of Cranleigh, purely to satisfy his own interests, she has no choice but to comply. Six weeks later, fate takes a hand when her husband is killed in a riding accident. Free of a tyrannical parent and a loveless marriage, Charlotte begins to enjoy her newly found independence. Gresham, the earl’s cousin, undertakes to guard her from fortune hunters and, while she finds him arrogant and aloof, she cannot deny the security his protection affords her, particularly with regard to the unwelcome attentions of Lord Roxburgh. Acutely aware of the tension between the two men, Charlotte learns they have a shared history, the animosity of which still lies between them. With the coldness of one and the over-heatedness of the other, will she be able to find her own path to happiness?
Writing The Reluctant Bride, I settled into a deeply satisfying place where I was able to weave a tale while indulging in my love of the setting. I could see the magnificent houses and the glorious balls, but beneath all ran the story of a young woman, struggling with adversity, triumphing over it and finding her own way. I hope you enjoy it.
Click here to pre-order The Reluctant Bride
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Renowned for her wit, humour, realism and sparkling dialogue, Jane Austen is hailed as one of England’s greatest writers. To celebrate her birthday (16 December 1775), we asked three of our Regency romance authors to tell us what her work means to them and how it has influenced their own writing.
Elizabeth Bailey, author of the Brides By Chance series
When I first read Pride and Prejudice, I was already educated to a degree on the period by an addiction to the works of Georgette Heyer. It was a revelation reading a novel contemporary to the era. The style was different, uncluttered by period description, Austen assuming that knowledge in her readers not necessarily available to the 20th century eye. Yet the detailed descriptions of the lives she depicts gave me a rich understanding of the thinking and mores of the day, and her dry humour and insights into humanity’s foibles made me realise that people don’t change very much. The same emotional dilemmas beset the human heart, regardless of the time in which they may be living. The trappings may be different, the moral values tighter or looser, but essentially the human condition remains constant. An invaluable lesson for a writer.
Or find out more about the Brides By Chance series here.
Valerie Holmes, author of The Yorkshire Saga
My work was strongly influenced by Jane Austen’s novels, which are as refreshing today as they were when she wrote them. Social realism and romantic comedy blend subtly to provide moral lessons on life as she saw it: she could have coined the phrase ‘show, don’t tell’.
In 1775, Jane, a lively rector’s daughter was born into a world that restricted women by gender, social strata, the control of male relatives and wealth or a lack of it. Jane described Regency, but did not glorify fashionable finery, wealth, social meetings or snobbery — deliberate or unintentional.
Whether master or servant she wanted people to be unselfish, just and to be aware of the dangers of making quick and personal judgements.
Jane revealed the failings of would-be lovers, but also their ability to change. The resulting memorable novels have happy, hopeful endings.
Order TO LOVE, HONOUR AND OBEY here.
Or find out more about The Yorkshire Saga here.
Natalie Kleinman, author of The Reluctant Bride (forthcoming)
I couldn’t honestly tell you when Jane Austen first came into my life but, when she did, she came to stay. As with any society, there is good and there is bad, the haves and the have nots, but as a reader and a lover of romantic fiction I want to be whisked away to a time and place where I can remove myself from the mundane to a world of fashion, excitement and yes, romance, and that’s what her books do for me. Not that Miss Austen is universally kind to her cast of characters, but isn’t that what makes them seem so real? She has a talent that makes them leap from the page.
The films and TV productions that depict her work have only added to my enjoyment with their amazing sets and beautiful costumes. So on this day, her birthday, I would like to thank her for the abundance of pleasure she has given me over so many years.
Natalie’s Regency romances are forthcoming in 2020 and will feature spirited heroines, determined to succeed against the odds.
Featured image credit: Photo by Elaine Howlin on Unsplash.
On Saturday, Amy and I travelled to York to celebrate the winner of the RNA’s Joan Hessayon Award.
The Joan Hessayon Award is for a debut author who has had their book accepted for publication after passing through the Romantic 
Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme.
This year’s shortlist of fifteen included sweeping wartime romances, uplifting stories of self-discovery, and intriguing mysteries.
Our editorial director, Amy Durant, judged the shortlist alongside RNA Chair Alison May, Vice Chair Imogen Howson, and Simon & Schuster’s Sara-Jade Virtue.
This year’s winner is The Forgotten Village by Lorna Cook: a story of hope, new beginnings and unlooked-for love. Cook’s debut novel intertwines two love stories: one set in 2018, and one set in 1943.
In the present, twenty-eight-year-old Melissa is stuck on a lacklustre holiday in Dorset, with a boyfriend who seems more interested in surfing than working on their stale relationship. On a whim, she visits the nearby village of Tyneham, which was evacuated and closed during WW2 but is now open to the public. There she runs into Guy, a charming celebrity historian. Intrigued by a seventy-five-year-old photograph of Veronica Standish — the long-suffering wife of Tyneham’s tyrannical nobleman — Melissa enlists Guy’s help to find out more about her. They soon find themselves untangling a decades-old mystery to discover the fate of Veronica, her husband, and her secret lover.
Joan Hessayon Award winner Lorna Cook
As well as skilfully navigating and developing two romantic plots, Cook should be praised for her deft interweaving of historical detail, her strong sense of voice and character, and her sensitive handling of one of the book’s more difficult themes: domestic abuse.
We would like to send a huge congratulations to Lorna — and to all of the authors who participated, and managed to overcome the huge hurdle of getting a publishing deal!
Afternoon tea!
As well as indulging in a wonderful Afternoon Tea before the ceremony, we also had the chance to catch up with two of our authors: Ros Rendle and Natalie Kleinman, both of whom have fabulous romantic fiction forthcoming with Sapere Books.
Ros’ Strong Sisters series will explore family relationships, rivalries, and love. Natalie’s Regency romances will feature spirited heroines, determined to succeed against the odds.
Image credits:
The Forgotten Village by Lorna Cook, published by Avon in 2019.
Featured image: Photo by Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash.
