Monday, 4 September 2017
Release Date: 9th February 2017
Publisher: Crooked Cat Books
Publisher: Crooked Cat Books
Genres: Paranormal Romance
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Two stories, two heartbreaks: one past, one
present…
Leaving her native France and arriving in North Wales as a postgraduate student of History and Folklore, Mel is cautiously optimistic that she can escape from her troubled past and begin a new and happier life.
She settles into her student accommodation and begins work on her thesis, concentrating particularly on one fascinating manuscript: a compelling and tragic tale of a cursed medieval princess.
Then she meets Ray – charming, down-to-earth and devastatingly handsome. Within days, Mel’s entire world has transformed from lonely and frustrated to loving and fulfilled. Despite her failure with previous relationships, she allows herself to hope that this time, at last, she can make it work.
But Mel’s dreams of happiness are under constant threat. She is hiding a dark and terrible secret, which Ray – or indeed anybody else – must never ever discover…
Leaving her native France and arriving in North Wales as a postgraduate student of History and Folklore, Mel is cautiously optimistic that she can escape from her troubled past and begin a new and happier life.
She settles into her student accommodation and begins work on her thesis, concentrating particularly on one fascinating manuscript: a compelling and tragic tale of a cursed medieval princess.
Then she meets Ray – charming, down-to-earth and devastatingly handsome. Within days, Mel’s entire world has transformed from lonely and frustrated to loving and fulfilled. Despite her failure with previous relationships, she allows herself to hope that this time, at last, she can make it work.
But Mel’s dreams of happiness are under constant threat. She is hiding a dark and terrible secret, which Ray – or indeed anybody else – must never ever discover…
EXTRACT
From Chapter 3
[SUNDAY]
“Here you are!”
Ray had appeared at her side, clutching two large white bread rolls, each
wrapped round with a paper serviette. “Hang on to these for a moment, would
you? I need to go back for the coffees.”
Mel laid aside
the binoculars before lifting up the top of one of the bread rolls and peering
cautiously inside. The bread itself was feather-light, and the filling
consisted of two steaming slices of dark-pink meat, each edged with a strip of
crisp golden-brown fat. Her mouth watered at the bewitching aroma, but she
forced herself to wait until Ray had rejoined her and placed two paper cups on
the table in front of them.
“So, this is a
bacon bap?” she asked, as she handed one back to him.
“It is indeed!”
He pulled the paper serviette aside and took a large bite from the roll, chewed
for a moment, then closed his eyes as if in rapture. On opening them again, he
noticed that her roll still remained untouched.
“Come on,” he
urged, “don’t let it go cold!”
Mel picked up
her roll and took a cautious nibble. The flavour was quite unlike anything she
had ever experienced; smoky, savoury, salty and sweet, all at the same time.
“Mmm, this is
divine!” she murmured. “I can’t believe I’ve lived for so long without tasting
this.”
Ray grinned.
“And you come from France – the spiritual home of good food?”
Mel nodded as
she prepared to take another bite. “I’d always thought it was. But I suppose
this must prove that there’s still room to learn more!”
They finished
their rolls in companionable silence. As they sipped their coffee, Mel took up
the binoculars and focussed on the tops of the pine trees.
“What are you
looking at?” Ray asked.
“Those birds up
there. What are they?”
Ray picked up
his own binoculars and followed her gaze. “Oh, they’re crossbills. They feed on
the seeds from the pine-cones. Can you see the shape of their beaks?”
“Cross-bills?
Oh, yes, I see now. In France, we call them becs-croisés. I didn’t
realise you had them round here. That’s probably why I didn’t recognise them.”
She sighed.
“What’s the
matter?”
Mel forced a
smile. “The last time I saw any of them was in the pine forests in the Vendée.
They reminded me a little of home.”
Feeling a tear
pricking the corner of her eye, she quickly turned her head away and focussed
even more intently on the birds. Why did such a seemingly trivial thing as the
sight of a flock of crossbills make her so upset? But she would not cry – not
here, not anywhere. She would enjoy the day. Whatever else might be troubling
her, she would enjoy the day.
In fact, she had
another six days before she needed to trouble herself about anything at all.
Yes, she told herself firmly. She would enjoy
the day.
Never on Saturday is a short read novella of about 124 pages and took no time at all to read which makes it perfect for those days when you want to disappear into a book but need a quick read. Saying that, it doesn't make it any less of a brilliant book and perfectly satisfied my reading fix. Never on Saturday will appeal to those readers who are like me and adore stories centred around myth and legend. It's almost a fairy story of sorts aimed at adult readers.
Mel has moved from France to Wales to continue her studies in History and Folklore. She is a private person, not revealing too much about herself. Very quickly she gets to know Ray, a friendly and approachable guy who works in a coffee shop. Despite her intention to keep a low profile, Mel is drawn to Ray and enjoys spending time with him. He is keen to show her the local area and is knowledgeable in many things. Mel however has a secret she is keeping from Ray and one that threatens her relationship with him.
Interwoven throughout is a back story set in a different time. A different place. A story of a faerie princess who falls in love but is hiding a deep and dark secret. The book switches back and forth between past and present linking the two stories. Exploring myths, legends and historical events its clear that Sue Barnard has done extensive research for this book and its fascinating. She has created a book of many elements to appeal to a variety of readers - romance, history and the paranormal. Great read! I liked it a lot!
GIVEAWAY
A
signed copy of the paperback of Never on
Saturday, plus ten runner-up prizes of a signed Never on Saturday postcard. (Open Internationally)
ABOUT SUE BARNARD
Sue
Barnard is a British novelist, editor and award-winning poet whose family
background is far stranger than any work of fiction. She would write a book about it if she
thought anybody would believe her.
Sue
was born in North Wales but has spent most of her life in and around
Manchester. She speaks French like a
Belgian, German like a schoolgirl, and Italian and Portuguese like an
Englishwoman abroad.
Her
mind is so warped that she has appeared on BBC TV’s Only Connect quiz show, and
she has also compiled questions for BBC Radio 4’s fiendishly difficult Round
Britain Quiz. This once caused one of
her sons to describe her as “professionally weird”. The label has stuck.
Sue
joined the editorial team of Crooked Cat Books in 2013. Her first novel, The Ghostly Father (a new
take on the traditional story of Romeo & Juliet) was officially released on
St Valentine’s Day 2014. Since then she
has produced three more novels: Nice Girls Don’t (2014), The Unkindest Cut of
All (2015) and Never on Saturday (2017) – all published by Crooked Cat.
Sue
lives in Cheshire with her extremely patient husband and a large collection of
unfinished scribblings.
Personal: https://www.facebook.com/sue.barnard.7
Author page: https://www.facebook.com/suebarnardauthor
Twitter: @SusanB2011
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1171386.Sue_Barnard
Google+ http://google.com/+SueBarnard
Blog: http://broad-thoughts-from-a-home.blogspot.co.uk
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