Hartslove by KM Grant

"The Treasure Seekers" with Attitude
review by Maryom

Charles de Granville has squandered his fortune on drink and a series of race-horses - each of which he mistakenly hopes to turn into the next Derby winner. The only recourse open to him is to sell the family home, Hartslove Castle, much to the dismay of his six children. Their attempts at haunting keep any interested buyers at bay but a huge amount of cash is needed to pay off all their father's debts. Only one of the family, Daisy, believes that the latest horse may actually be The One to fulfil their dreams, win the Derby and secure the family's future.

Set in 1861, Hartslove, is a sort of Treasure Seekers with attitude. Like the Bastable family, Daisy and her siblings are in search of a fortune but this is a grittier, less fairytale-like world. Daisy shows amazing determination as she battles every day with her disability resulting from a riding accident. Her brother Garth discovers the prop of brandy to help him overcome his terror at riding a horse and finds himself on the slippery slope towards his father's drink-dependency.
A wonderful adventure story for 9+ readers with a taste for horses, ruinous castles and plucky, determined heroes.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Quercus Books
Genre - 9+, fiction, historical

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Belle's Song by K M Grant

A new Canterbury Tale
Review by Maryom

Belle feels she is to blame for an accident which crippled her father and decides to join a group of pilgrims heading to the shrine of St Thomas at Canterbury, to pray there for a miracle to enable her father to walk again. Among these pilgrims is the famous story teller Geoffrey Chaucer, accompanied by his new scribe, Luke, who after visiting Canterbury intends continuing to France to join a monastery there - and another of the pilgrims believes Luke and Chaucer to be involved in carrying messages from the young King Richard II to his French counterpart. On the journey, Belle finds herself tangled in this intrigue and caught between attraction to Luke and Walter the wealthy son of a knight with a troubling secret of his own.
Belle's Song is set against the familiar background of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - but don't expect a hard English lesson slog, it is an excellent blend of romance and intrigue with a rapidly moving plot, lots of historical details and believable 'modern-feeling' characters to identify with. Recommended for teenage lovers of historical fiction.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Quercus Books
Genre - Teenage Historical Romance