BOOK REVIEW (BLOGTOUR) NO : 168
Historical Romance
Standalone
Length : 271 pages
Publisher : The Book Guild
SYNOPSIS/BOOK BLURB
Maid Of Steel
It’s 1911 and, against her mother’s wishes, quiet New Yorker Emma dreams of winning the right to vote. She is sent away by her parents in the hope distance will curb her desire to be involved with the growing suffrage movement and told to spend time learning about where her grandparents came from.
Across the Atlantic – Queenstown, southern Ireland – hotelier Thomas dreams of being loved, even noticed, by his actress wife, Alice. On their wedding day, Alice’s father had assured him that adoration comes with time. It’s been eight years. But Alice has plans of her own and they certainly don’t include the fight for equality or her dull husband.
Emma’s arrival in Ireland leads her to discover family secrets and become involved in the Irish Women’s Suffrage Society in Cork. However, Emma’s path to suffrage was never meant to lead to a forbidden love affair…
Purchase Links
Publisher’s link: https://www.bookguild.co.uk/bookshop/book/486/maid-of-steel-SMwd/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/191535269X/
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/191535269X/ Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/maid-of-steel/kate-baker/9781915352699
REVIEW ~ NIKI PRESTON ~4 STARS
As a debut novel Maid of Steel is fabulous. You are hooked from the first chapter. Emma, the main character is written with care and although this is not based on a real person you absolutely take away a new found admiration for all those involved with the Suffrage movement. Emma is so passionate that her parents would rather send her far away than have her involved in such a movement. She arrives in Ireland with trepidation but a new found level of independence and she is determined to live her life her way. She is a brave and strong woman.
I felt the story was paced just right and as a reader I was engrossed in every aspect of the story, chracters big or small all had a part to play. The descriptions are brilliant but thankfully not overly flowery. Everything is set just right. Romance, friendships, drama and historical knowledge that definitely leaves you wanting more.
Author Bio
Kate Baker wrote terrible holiday diaries as a child, which her husband regularly asks her to read out loud for their entertainment. She has since improved and has written with intent since 2018. Maid of Steel is her second novel; the first is lining drawers in the vegetable rack at their farmhouse.
With Thanks for the Advance copy to …………
Rachel Gilbey
Kate Baker
The Book Guild
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Niki Preston, Book Reviewer, Writer, AKA The Two Fingered Gardener 