Book Review: The Unquiet Spirit (Spirited Encounters Book 1) by Penny Hampson @penny_hampson @maryanneyarde

 

The Unquiet Spirit 
(Spirited Encounters Book 1) 
By Penny Hampson

Publication Date: 17th October 2025

Publisher: PP&M Publishing

Page Length: 245

Genre: Paranormal Ghost Romance

Triggers: emotional abuse by partner

“The Unquiet Spirit” by Penny Hampson is an enthralling paranormal romance that weaves together elements of mystery and the supernatural. In this captivating tale, readers are drawn into a world where love transcends the boundaries of life and death, unveiling a profound connection between the living and the restless spirits that linger in the shadows. — Yarde Book Promotion

She wasn’t home alone...

With her love life in tatters, Kate Wilson needs a fresh start, and where could be better than the old Cornish house that had belonged to her godmother?

There’s just one problem – it comes with a ghost as a sitting tenant.

Her grumpy new neighbour, the broodingly handsome Tom Carbis, is another fly in the ointment – he seems to turn up wherever Kate goes. His dog might be friendly, but he’s definitely not.

Then the discovery of a hidden diary points Kate to a romantic mystery with links to both Tom’s family and her house’s past – a mystery that might explain the reason for her spectral lodger.

The downside? Kate needs Tom’s help to solve it and has to convince him that she is not his foe.

But working with Tom to unravel long-buried secrets has unexpected consequences, and Kate discovers far more than she bargained for.

The Unquiet Spirit is a spooky, suspense-filled, enemies-to-lovers romance.

Book Rating:

📚📚📚📚📚⭐ = A book in a million

📚📚📚📚📚 = I could not put this book down. I Highly Recommend it.

📚📚📚📚 = A really great read.

📚📚📚 = It was enjoyable.

📚📚 = It was okay.

📚 = Um...! 😕

My Review

The Unquite Spirit

📚📚📚📚📚⭐ = A book in a million

From the very first chapter of The Unquiet Spirit, it’s clear this isn’t just another ghost tale — it’s a carefully woven story about history, healing, and the quiet ways the past refuses to be forgotten. When Kate returns to Cornwall and steps into the house she’s unexpectedly inherited, Penny Hampson surrounds her, and us, with an evocative blend of unease and tenderness. The house doesn’t just creak with ghosts — it carries memories, regrets, and whispers of unfinished stories.

What truly sets this book apart is the emotional warmth beating beneath the mystery. Kate isn’t simply confronting restless spirits; she’s slowly reclaiming her confidence after life has worn her down. What could have been a straightforward haunting becomes something far more meaningful as Hampson infuses the narrative with empathy and depth. Kate’s slowly deepening friendship — and the spark of something more — with Tom Carbis brings a wonderful human balance to the supernatural tension. Their connection feels authentic: hesitant, endearing, and quietly hopeful.

And then there’s the haunting itself — beautifully layered and utterly compelling. Forgotten letters, echoes of old lives, and secrets hidden beneath time gradually emerge, drawing you deeper with every chapter. The ghostly presence at the heart of the story isn’t simply there to frighten; it’s achingly tragic, filled with heartbreak, loss, and a yearning that lingers long after the truth is revealed. Hampson blends the paranormal with history so seamlessly that the past feels vividly alive, breathing alongside the present rather than buried beneath it.

Despite its eerie moments, the story never feels heavy or bleak. Instead, it carries a gently haunting sadness balanced with warmth and hope, creating an atmosphere that enchants rather than overwhelms. Hampson strikes a lovely balance between suspense and compassion, weaving in humour, humanity, and genuine emotional depth that makes every character and every secret feel real.

In the end, The Unquiet Spirit is more than a spooky mystery; it’s a story about courage, connection, grief, and the healing power of facing what haunts us — both literally and emotionally. Immersive, heartfelt, and beautifully atmospheric, it’s an easy five-star read that lingers long after the last page — this is a book in a million.

You can pick up your copy of this book on Amazon. If you subscribe to #KindleUnlimited you can read this novel for free.

Penny Hampson writes mysteries, and because she has a passion for history, you’ll find her stories also reflect that. A Gentleman’s Promise, a traditional Regency romance, was Penny’s debut novel and the first of her Gentlemen Series. There are now four novels in the series, with the latest, An Adventurer’s Contract, released in November 2024. Penny also enjoys writing contemporary mysteries with a hint of the paranormal, because where do ghosts come from but the past? The Unquiet Spirit, a spooky mystery/romance set in Cornwall, is the first in the Spirited Encounters Series. Look out for A Plethora of Phantoms coming soon.

Penny lives with her family in Oxfordshire, and when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, and the odd gin and tonic (not all at the same time).

If you’ve enjoyed any of Penny’s books please leave a review on Amazon, Bookbub, or Goodreads, and let other readers know!

Social Media Links:

Website, Instagram, Twitter / X, Facebook, Bluesky, BookBub, Goodreads 

Tour Schedule

Book Review: Rough Diamond - Rough Justice by Avien Gray @aviengrayauthor @maryanneyarde

Rough Diamond - Rough Justice 

By Avien Gray

Publisher: Avien Gray. Page Length: 466. Genre: Political Thrillers & Suspense / Historical Fiction

After a first kill, MI5 Agent and erstwhile photographer Cain becomes an undercover, extra-judicial killer for a secret Bureau.

Recovering from injuries sustained protecting the Royal Family, Cain embracesa new life and romance in sun-drenched Australia, leaving his past life behind.

But when tragedy strikes, he is on the move again. This time to a new career in the world of diamond dealings in Florida.

Curiosity takes Cain to the diamond world in South Africa, where his past finally catches up with him, the criminal world allies against him and he becomes a killer again.

In Cain's action-packed escapades, a spectacular betrayal takes him into the rigours of a Chinese prison where the truth about his past begins to unravel.

Aided by a loyal band of friends from the shadowy world of intelligence, he delivers his own particular brand of rough justice.

However, with enemies closing in on all sides, will Cain prevail?

Trigger warnings: violence, murder

Praise

“Rough Diamond, Rough Justice” by Avien Gray is a riveting spy thriller that seamlessly blends electrifying elements of espionage, adrenaline-charged action, and daring escapades.

Yarde Book Reviews & Book Promotion

“A gripping high-stakes thriller, “Rough Diamond - Rough Justice” by Avien Gray is driven by the urgent question of whether one can ever truly escape a dark and violent past.”

The Coffee Pot Book Club

“Aiven Gray’s Rough Diamond, Rough Justice is a gritty and cinematic thriller that follows Cain, a former professional photographer turned MI5 surveillance agent, as he navigates a world of espionage, betrayal, and violence.”

Literary Titan

Book Rating:

📚📚📚📚📚⭐ = A book in a million

📚📚📚📚📚 = I could not put this book down. I Highly Recommend it.

📚📚📚📚 = A really great read.

📚📚📚 = It was enjoyable.

📚📚 = It was okay.

📚 = Um...! 😕

My Review

Rough Diamond - Rough Justice

📚📚📚📚📚

This book is the kind of thriller that grabs you by the collar from the opening chapter and refuses to loosen its grip. Avien Gray drops you straight into a world of covert operations, moral compromise, and emotional scars, following Cain — a former MI5 operative who can’t seem to outrun the life he thought he’d left behind.

Cain is a brilliant protagonist: capable, stubborn, and deeply human. He’s not a cardboard action hero; he’s a man shaped by trauma, loyalty, regret, and the constant tug-of-war between justice and survival. What makes the story compelling is how Gray balances explosive action with quieter, more reflective moments. You never forget Cain is dangerous — but you also never forget he’s wounded.

The novel moves confidently across continents, and each location feels atmospheric rather than decorative. The sense of place is strong, whether the story is steeped in heat, danger, or emotional tension. The stakes always feel personal, even when the plot spirals into wider conspiracies and darker corners of the diamond world.

This isn’t just a thriller filled with shootouts and betrayals; it’s about resilience, consequence, and the cost of living a life built on secrets. At times the story throws a lot at you, but the relentless pace suits the life Cain leads — chaotic, unpredictable, and never really safe.

By the time you reach the final pages, you feel like you’ve lived every hit, heartbreak and hard decision right alongside Cain. Rough Diamond – Rough Justice isn’t just exciting — it has heart, grit, and a raw honesty that sticks with you after you put it down. If you like thrillers that make you feel something as well as keep you on edge, this one’s definitely worth reading.

You can pick up your copy of this book on Amazon.

Avien Gray

Avien Gray, the English author behind Rough Diamond – Rough Justice, brings a wealth of experience to his gripping debut novel. Born in the UK, Gray has led a dynamic, bachelor’s life marked by an impressive array of skills and global adventures. He has a driver’s license, motorbike license, and pilot’s license. His physical discipline extends to martial arts, where he earned a karate black belt, complemented by a lifelong passion for photography that captures the world through his discerning lens.

Gray’s rumoured travels paint the picture of a man unbound by borders. He is said to have spent many months in Saudi Arabia, Australia, the USA, South Africa, Europe and China. This rich tapestry of experiences infuses his writing with authenticity, lending a vivid, worldly edge to the thrilling narrative of his complex protagonist: a man called Cain.

Avien and his best friend shared a flat and went out with various female friends together. They had a great time. As it says in the book when Cain is talking with his best friend: a Royal Protection Officer.

 ‘We will have to write that book when we retire,’ Cain said.

 They looked at each other with knowing smiles – for a long few seconds.

 ‘All those secrets,’ said Jerry. ‘Perhaps we will.’

 And time moved on.

But in real life, his best friend tragically died – leaving Avien to write their book alone.

Social Media Links:
Twitter / X 
Goodreads

Tour Schedule

Read my book review of The Irish Midwife by Seána Tinley

 

The Irish Midwife

By Seána Tinley

Can she finally put herself first, in order to find love?

Peggy Cassidy is a milly, working in the Belfast linen mills to just about get by. But Peggy also has another job - a secret one. She works as a handywoman - an illegal midwife, tending to the women of her community in their time of need.

When Peggy is offered the chance to leave Belfast to receive formal midwifery training in Dublin, it sets off a chain of events that will change her life forever.

But amongst her middle-class colleagues, Peggy must keep the truth about her past secret at all times. If the realities of her life in Belfast are revealed, she could lose everything she has worked for.

And when she meets a well-to-do doctor down in Dublin, she must make a decision: should she protect her family and her history? Or can she let herself fall in love?

Book Rating:

📚📚📚📚📚⭐ = A book in a million

📚📚📚📚📚 = I could not put this book down. I Highly Recommend it.

📚📚📚📚 = A really great read.

📚📚📚 = It was enjoyable.

📚📚 = It was okay.

📚 = Um...! 😕

My Review

The Irish Midwife

📚📚📚📚📚⭐ = A book in a million

The Irish Midwife by Seána Tinley had been sitting patiently on my reading list for a little while, quietly waiting its turn while I caught up with other books and reviews. But it was always there, calling to me. I had a feeling that once I started it, I would be completely drawn in – and I was absolutely right.

What can I say but WOW! This is one of those novels that doesn’t just pull you in, it claims you. From the very first pages, I found myself utterly immersed in the story, the setting, and the lives of the characters. Compelling doesn’t quite cover it – this book is completely addictive. I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading and sneaking in “just one more chapter” whenever I could.

Tinley’s ability to bring the past vividly to life is remarkable. The sense of time and place is so authentic that I felt as though I had stepped straight into the heart of the story. The characters are richly drawn, deeply human, and impossible not to care about. At the centre of it all is a protagonist whose quiet strength, compassion, and resilience shine through every page. Her journey is both heartbreaking and inspiring, and I was emotionally invested from beginning to end.

What I particularly loved was the way Tinley highlights the often-overlooked role of women and the immense emotional labour they carried. There is no melodrama here – just beautifully observed moments, honest emotion, and a deep respect for the lives being portrayed. The writing is lyrical yet accessible, and every detail feels purposeful.

This novel is a real gem. For anyone who enjoys well-researched historical fiction with strong female characters and an emotionally resonant story, The Irish Midwife is an absolute must-read. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

You can pick up your copy on Amazon.

Seána Tinley

Seána Tinley is an Irish author of saga historical romance. She also writes regency romance as Catherine Tinley.

After a career encompassing speech & language therapy, Sure Start, being President of a charity, and managing a maternity service, she now works as NI Country Director for a leading UK charity.

Seána was appointed as chair of the Romantic Novelists' Association in August 2024.

She lives in Ireland with her husband, children, and dog. 

Social Media Links:

Website