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Review: Shadows in the Ashes by Christina Courtenay

Today, I'm thrilled to share my review of Christina Courtenay's moving new novel: Shadows in the Ashes! And yes – we have another fabulous novel for your reading lists. Read on!

My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources, and the publisher, for an ARC copy.
 
 
 
 
 
Shadows in the Ashes
 
Christina Courtenay
 
 
As a fan of Christina Courtenay's timeslip and dual-timeline novels, and of the tragedy in ancient Pompeii, I was very excited when I first heard about Shadows in the Ashes. And I was not to be disappointed. It's a riveting, but also thought-provoking read. Let me explain...

In the present, we have Cat, a married stay-at-home mum of a three-year-old girl. But Cat is not a confident, outgoing woman – she is married to an abusive, manipulative husband, whose actions and demands have eroded any confidence she had prior to her marriage. This made an interesting change, and it added a strong sense of urgency and danger. Finding excuses to describe her husband's physical abuse, she has been caught in a tight net from which there seemed no escape. But she must find a way, not only for her own sake but also that of her child, when Derek does the unforgivable and threatens their daughter. He always wanted a son, and her fear finally leads her to flee to Italy – to Naples. There, she meets volcanologist Connor. Then she begins to have visions...

In a parallel situation in Pompeii in the tragic year of 79AD, we have Aemilia - heiress wife to a Patrician husband addicted to gaming, who turns increasingly desperate, and cruel, as his debts grow out of control – and there's nothing left to pawn (well, so he thinks...). To keep himself and his family safe from the creditors, he hires Raedwald, a Germanic slave captured through the treachery of his younger half-brother, and forced into a life as a Gladiator. Soon, a bond begins to grow between the bodyguard and the Roman lady. But will there be a future for them, with her husband growing suspicious and Vesuvius about to erupt? Read the novel to find out!

I found it very brave of the author to use the theme of domestic violence, often overlooked or airbrushed in fiction. And the parallel fates of Cat and Aemilia make for gripping reading. You go with them through their emotions and pain, and you feel their love for their daughters. All these are evocatively described by Ms Courtenay, and the scenes are in no way gratuitous. It shows the skill of a fine writer if you are able to describe the horror inflicted on the women in such a sensitive, but still realistic manner. Their emotional turmoil and their journey out of pain and misery are also shown sensitively. Neither woman is suddenly 'cured', but they stay aware of their psychological dilemma. It's very well done.

As always, Ms Courtenay's research is impeccable, and in Pompeii, we can see the settlement in its splendour, and its darker side unveiled, and as the tension grows, we can smell the volcanic gases in the air. The residents were ignorant of what was going on, as we see in Aemilia who doesn't understand why the land she has inherited on the slope of Vesuvius doesn't yield any produce. Until later. 

I found this a very emotional read, mainly because of the women having escaped such personal terror, only for Aemilia to experience a terror of a different kind altogether as the volcano begins its eruption. The novel begins on a more serious note than, for example, Ms Courtenay's Viking timeslip romances, and in my view, this made a welcome, if a little harrowing change.
 
Shadows in the Ashes is a wonderful novel about the bravery of two women to find the courage to face their dire situation when they need to. Despite living in different eras, there is a delicate bond between Cat and Aemilia that runs like a thread through the centuries. Cudos to Ms Courtenay for tackling this subject, and for giving us two brilliant, strong female leads who, despite their fears, show the courage to move on. 

Highly recommended.
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Blurb:
 
Brimming with romance, adventure and vivid historical detail, Christina Courtenay's gripping dual-time novel travels from the present day to the fires of ancient Pompeii.

The sunlight caught her gold bracelet, sending a flash that almost blinded her.

She closed her eyes, but jumped when the earth started shaking and there was an almighty boom behind her.

Present Day

Finally escaping an abusive marriage, Caterina Rossi takes her three-year-old daughter and flees to Italy. There she's drawn to research scientist Connor, who needs her translation help for his work on volcanology. Together they visit the ruins of Pompeii and, standing where Mount Vesuvius unleashed its fire on the city centuries before, Cat begins to see startling visions. Visions that appear to come from the antique bracelet handed down through her family's generations...

AD 79

Sold by his half-brother and enslaved as a gladiator in Roman Pompeii, Raedwald dreams only of surviving each fight, making the coin needed to return to his homeland and taking his revenge. That is, until he is hired to guard beautiful Aemilia. As their forbidden love grows, Raedwald's dreams shift like the ever more violent tremors of the earth beneath his feet.

The present starts eerily to mirror the past as Cat must fight to protect her safety, and to forge a new path from the ashes of her old life...

 
Buy Links:
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About the Author:
 
Christina Courtenay
 
Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. 
 
 
Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association, now a Vice President, and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes.  
 
SHADOWS IN THE ASHES (dual time/timeslip romance published by Headline Review 18th January 2024) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).
 
 
Connect with Christina:
 

 
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