Historical Fiction Cover Winner April 2017

Do you love historical fiction? What makes you choose one book over another? For most of us, the cover is the first thing that attracts our attention. For me, the cover has to look professional and must convey genre and a hint of what the story is about.

Each month I will be taking a look at historical fiction covers and choosing my ‘Pam’s Pick’ for the month. Hopefully, you will be intrigued enough to look beyond the covers I feature and find your next favourite author. If a cover interests you just click on the image to learn more about the book and buy if you wish.

And the not so small print: the judge’s decision is final (that would be me!) and is highly subjective.

Please note this is a cover competition only and does not constitute a review of any of the books featured. It’s up to you to explore. Happy Reading!

**My April winner is: The Finish by Angela Elliott**

I was drawn to this cover by both the individual images and the way they were beautifully combined and the rich and vibrant colours. If I saw this in a book shop I would definitely investigate it. And it’s the first in a series – congratulations to Angela.

THE FINISH Angela Elliott — *The Finish* by Angela Elliott

It is 1769 and these are violent times. London’s Covent Garden has long been a centre of hedonistic pleasure. Kitty Ives, an alluring whore, takes a man to her bed and wakes to find him dead. Scared she will end up on the gallows, Kitty decides to uncover the identity of the murderer. The Finish is the first terrifying and mysterious episode in the Venus Squared series, comprising The Finish, The Surety, The Debt, and The Trade.

As ever, there was stiff competition this month for the top spot. Here are the runners up.

Yankee Years boxset Dianne Ascroft — *The Yankee Years* by Dianne Ascroft

The Yankee Years Series: During the Second World War Northern Ireland hosted American, British and Canadian troops. County Fermanagh welcomed Air Force squadrons hunting U-boats and defending shipping convoys in the Atlantic Ocean and Army battalions training and preparing for deployment to Europe’s Western Front. After the Allied troops arrived, life would never be the same again. The Yankee Years novels and Short Reads weave thrilling and romantic tales of the people and the era.

Fire & Steel - Cliff May — *Fire & Steel* by C.R. May

Britannia 523A.D.
Chaos sweeps the land as rival warlords fight for control of its riches. Into this toxic brew a small tribe clings to its new colony of Anglia as war rages along the frontier. But Britannia is not the only land in flux and powerful enemies covet the homeland of Engeln itself. As Danish raids increase in daring and ferocity, a momentous decision is reached as the English king prepares to lead his people on the greatest campaign in their nation’s history. A hero, Eofer king’s bane lands the first blow. Leading a lightning-fast raid he burns Heorot, the heart of the Danish kingdom. Before the Danes can recover Eofer leads an army north, laying waste the lands of the Jutes as the war of fire and steel begins. Fire & Steel is the first in a major new series which chronicles the migration and settlement of the first English people, the Angles.

Scars from the Past - Derek Birks — *Scars from the Past* by Derek Birks

An unwelcome legacy. An impossible love. A relentless enemy.
By 1481, England has been free from civil war for ten years. The Elder family have found a fragile peace after their part in the bloody struggle for the throne, yet scars from the past remain with them all. Given time, they might heal, but when did the Elders ever have enough time? Close to home, in Ludlow, trouble is stirring.

Born out of the carnage of the Wars of the Roses, young John Elder is now the heir to his father’s legacy, but he finds it a poisonous one. Driven from the woman he loves, John abandons his legacy and flees the country to become a mercenary in Flanders.

In his absence, the other members of the Elder family must face a ruthless outlaw family. When the young heir to the throne, Edward, Prince of Wales, is caught up in their bitter struggle, his very life hangs in the balance. To save a prince, all other lives must be put at risk, but only if the Elders can leave the scars of the past behind them, is there any hope of survival.

TheDukesWickedKiss Kathleen Bittner Roth — *A Duke’s Wicked Kiss* by Kathleen Bittner Roth

While on a secret mission for the Crown, a proper duke falls for an improper daughter of an Indian royal and British noble.

Miss Suri Thurston knows the pain of abandonment. Intent on confronting the grandmother who tossed her to the lions, she travels from England to her birthplace in India. Her plans run afoul when she encounters the man who, ten years prior, left a mark on her soul with one stolen kiss. But he is a duke, and far beyond the reach of even her dreams.

The Duke of Ravenswood, secret head of the British Foreign Service, has no time for relationships. His one goal is to locate and eliminate key insurgents involved in an uprising against the British East India Company before it’s too late. But when Suri appears in Delhi, his resolve is tested as he finds his heart forever bound to her by the one haunting kiss they shared once upon a time.

With Suri’s vengeful Indian family looking for her death, and insurgents intent on mutiny tearing their world apart, can their love rise above the scandal of the marriage they both desperately want?