June, 1781. An unidentified body hangs upon a hook at Deptford Dock – horribly tortured and branded with a slaver’s mark.
Some days later, Captain Harry Corsham – a war hero embarking upon a promising parliamentary career – is visited by the sister of an old friend. Her brother, passionate abolitionist Tad Archer, had been about to expose a secret that he believed could cause irreparable damage to the British slaving industry. He’d said people were trying to kill him, and now he is missing . . .
To discover what happened to Tad, Harry is forced to pick up the threads of his friend’s investigation, delving into the heart of the conspiracy Tad had unearthed. His investigation will threaten his political prospects, his family’s happiness, and force a reckoning with his past, risking the revelation of secrets that have the power to destroy him.
And that is only if he can survive the mortal dangers awaiting him in Deptford…
So I read this SUPER early and have been sitting on my hands waiting to talk about it – not being the BIGGEST fan of historical fiction I wondered how I’d find it – turns out that in my opinion Blood and Sugar is one of the best books I’ve read in the last decade.
Impeccably researched and beautifully written, this novel is so incredibly descriptive that it places you firmly in its setting to the point you can practically live it. The story itself is utterly gripping, dark and twisty but always authentic, mixing fiction with reality, a literary delight to read from start to finish.
The characters pop, a diverse and fascinating set of people living in a time of change, Laura Shepherd Robinson weaves together a tangled web of relationships and events that never once falters. It is a beautiful thing to behold.
Criminally good and difficult to do justice to in a review, Blood and Sugar should be on all book lovers lists this year- get yourself back to 1700’s Deptford, you won’t regret it – A huge talent has just arrived on the scene fellow book worms, everyone else is going to have to up their game.
Highly Recommended.
You can purchase Blood and Sugar (Mantle) Here.
Happy Reading!
