Wednesday 9 December 2015

Review: the Butcher's Hook by Janet Ellis

The Butcher's Hook by Janet Ellis
Publisher: Two Roads Books
Release date: 25 February 2016
Rating: ****
Back cover blurb: GEORGIAN LONDON, IN THE SUMMER OF 1763. At nineteen, Anne Jaccob is awakened to the possibility of joy when she meets Fub, the butcher’s apprentice, and begins to imagine a life of passion with him. The only daughter of well-to-do parents, Anne lives a sheltered life. Her home is a miserable place. Though her family want for nothing, her father is uncaring, her mother is ailing, and the baby brother who taught her to love is dead. Unfortunately her parents have already chosen a more suitable husband for her than Fub. But Anne is a determined young woman, with an idiosyncratic moral compass. In the matter of pursuing her own happiness, she shows no fear or hesitation. Even if it means getting a little blood on her hands. A vivid and surprising tale, The Butcher’s Hook brims with the colour and atmosphere of Georgian London, as seen through the eyes of a strange and memorable young woman.


Anne Jaccob is a middle class girl who is left feeling very unsatisfied with her life after the arrival of her baby sister. 

She longs to leave the house and find her own way in life, away from her bad tempered father, preoccupied mother and baby sister who she cannot bring herself to love after the premature death of her brother.

But Anne’s father has other ideas for his eldest daughter and is planning her marriage to a wealthy suitor, Mr Onions. Anne is disgusted with her Father’s choice of suitor but knows she must go along with his plans for a quiet life.

When she meets the local Butcher Boy, Fub, he leads her into the dark and grimy back streets of Georgian London. It is amongst the filth and squalor that Anne finds light and love in her life.

She knows she must keep Fub a secret, but a chance encounter with an old friend of her Father’s leaves her concerned for her and Fub’s future.

This is the turning point of the novel, where we see something shift in Anne, and she becomes desperate to keep her love, no matter what that may lead her to do.

Janet Ellis has been signed to a two book deal with Two Roads and I cannot wait for the next.
 
 
the Butcher's Hook by Janet Ellis is available from 25 February 2016.
You can pre-order it now from lovereading and Amazon online.


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Thank you to lovereading.co.uk who sent me an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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