Published By: Mantle
Pages: 320
Released On: 10/07/2025
That’s the trouble with stories, especially the ones you write for yourself. Sometimes you think they’ve ended, when they’ve barely begun . . .
London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in what looks like a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. The Punchbowl and Pineapple, her confectionary shop on Piccadilly, is barely turning a profit. Henry Fielding, the famous author and new magistrate, is threatening to confiscate the money in her husband’s bank account, because he believes it might have been illicitly acquired. And even those who claim to be Hannah’s friends have darker intent.
Only William Devereux seems different. A friend of her late husband, Devereux helps Hannah unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his death. He also tells her about an Italian delicacy called iced cream, an innovation she is convinced will transform the fortunes of her shop – if only she can learn how to make it. But their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip and draws Henry Fielding’s attention her way, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husband’s murder.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Mantle for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I have been looking forward to this book for so long! I have a copy of Laura’s previous book – The Square of Sevens – but haven’t read it yet so this is the first book of hers I’ve read, although I do have her on Twitter and she seems like a marvellous writer and gorgeous person, very kind .And having finished this, I will definitely be moving it up my TBR list and I went and bought a couple of her other books too – Daughters of Night, and Blood and Sugar.
I don’t know how much of this is based on truth but it rings true. Everything to the minutest detail is impressive, you can tell history is her passion.
Historical novels are one of my most read genres, and in my experience, while they can be surprising, they don’t tend to hold the same twists and turns that say a thriller does. But Laura has somehow worked them into this novel in a genuine, natural way. So you’re surprised but not shocked, they fit in perfectly. Although the one at about 12% through the novel was a whopper I wasn’t expecting (no spoilers here).
It starts off very on the surface: a woman loses her husband, her husband may have been involved in something criminal, and she struggles to survive as a widow in the 18th Century. And that’s great. But the deeper into the book you get, the deeper into each strand of the story becomes, and all the twists come together to reveal a fascinating outcome.
The way Laura has described the food in this book is just amazing. I have tried writing scenes involving food and in my opinion, it’s really difficult to write it in a natural way, rather than just writing a list of ingredients. But Laura has made it tempting and delightful.
My one negative I suppose, and this is a personal thing entirely, is the change in points-of-view. It is mainly Hannah’s story, but we do get a POV of William. I generally love multiple POV novels, although hi know some people can get confused by them. And it’s not that I didn’t like William’s contributions, it still made for an interesting story, but I loved Hannah so much that I just wanted to hear her story for the whole thing. So it’s not a negative about the book as such, more of just what I prefer.
This is definitely a stand-out novel, and if I didn’t admire Laura beforehand I definitely do now, and I can’t wait to read her previous books.
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