Yarde Reviews & Book Promotion

Wednesday, 15 July 2026

The Making of Marigold McGrath: A Novel of London in the Second World War by Carrie Hayes

The Making of Marigold McGrath:
A Novel of London in the Second World War
By Carrie Hayes

Publication Date: April 29th, 2026
Publisher: HTPH Press
Pages: 332
Genre: Historical Fiction

New York City, 1937. Seventeen-year-old Marigold McGrath is coming undone.

Her mother is dead. Her father is drawn to dangerous politics. The only place she feels joy is behind a camera — where she can frame the world on her own terms.

After a series of her own missteps, she reinvents herself in London: mentored by a celebrated émigré photographer, photographing Kindertransport children, working alongside Edward R. Murrow. She falls in love with Joop, a charming Dutch student, and shrugs off the war gathering around her.

Then the Blitz begins.

Joop vanishes into the Dutch Resistance. And Marigold — who has always preferred to photograph the world as she wishes it were — must finally decide what kind of woman, and what kind of witness, she is willing to become.

A sweeping WWII coming-of-age novel set in wartime London.

For readers of Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn, and SL Beaumont's The War Photographers

Praise

I read a lot of historical novels ... this one was one of my favorites. From the characters to the setting to the actions depicted I thoroughly enjoyed the journey—I really didn’t want it to end!

Netgalley Review, 5*

"The Making of Marigold McGrath by Carrie Hayes is the tale of a well to do American seventeen year old sent to Europe just prior to World War II. The book is exquisitely written with a well paced dialogue. The characters are well formed and interesting. Sprinkled throughout the book are bits from news outlets that help set the larger context for the reader - they are well timed and helpful. Great read, well worth it!"

Goodreads Review, 5*

"The Making of Marigold McGrath explores a rarely examined aspect of WWII: the complex journeys to maturity of young adults in war-torn Europe as they seek human connection and meaning. Marigold finds both, using her skills as a photographer to document the stories of refugee children. With gobs of historical references and vivid imagery, interlaced with intrigue and romance, The Making of Marigold McGrath is a great read!"

Goodreads Review, 5*

Pick up your copy of The Making of Marigold McGrath

HERE.

Carrie Hayes

Carrie’s first two novels, Naked Truth or Equality and Well Dressed Lies, follow the lives of the iconoclastic suffragist sisters, Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin.

Carrie lives with her husband and two spoiled dogs in a rambling Victorian house just outside of New York City.

Soldiers of Christ (The Northern Crusader Chronicles, Book #2) by Jon Byrne

Soldiers of Christ
(The Northern Crusader Chronicles, Book #2)
By Jon Byrne

Publication Date: April 28th, 2026

Publisher: The Book Guild

Pages: 388

Genre: Historical Adventure

In a land torn by crusade and rebellion, honour is earned in blood.

1205. Richard Fitz Simon has fled England after his title was usurped, joining the Livonian Order of Swordbrothers – a German brotherhood of warrior-monks fighting to bring the word of God to the pagan frontier. After slaying the Lithuanian champion at the Battle of Rodenpois, Richard is celebrated by the Order and their Semigallian allies.

Yet his position remains precarious. Jealous rivals question his right to stand among the brotherhood, and his master, Knight-brother Rudolf, is enraged by Richard’s disobedience. When dark secrets from Lübeck resurface, Richard also finds himself at odds with Bishop Albert, head of the Christian mission in Livonia. As he struggles to reconcile faith, duty and identity, he is drawn into a brutal world of suspicion and bloodshed.

Sent on an expedition to build a castle deep in the wilderness, Richard soon sees tensions erupt – and the path he has chosen threatens to destroy everything he has fought to become.

Pick up your copy of Soldiers of Christ HERE.

Jon Byrne

Jon Byrne, originally from London, now lives with his German family by a lake in Bavaria with stunning views of the Alps. As well as writing, he works as a translator for a local IT company and occasionally as a lumberjack. He has studied the medieval world for over twenty years, building up a comprehensive personal library and a particular interest in the often-overlooked Northern Crusades.

Soldiers of Christ is Book Two of The Northern Crusader Chronicles, a gritty, historically grounded series focused on realism, moral ambiguity, and the brutal realities of medieval warfare.

Written for readers who value authenticity and atmosphere over romanticised adventure, the novel explores a largely forgotten crusading frontier, culminating in the first of many confrontations in a harsh wilderness of forest and swamp.

Readers who enjoy the historical detail of authors such as Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, or Ben Kane may find familiar ground here.

The Rabbits of Ravensbrück by Jana Petken

The Rabbits of Ravensbrück
By Jana Petken

Publication Date: 2nd July 2026

Publisher: JCP Publishing

Print Length: 556 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

The International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg is over, but the Doctors’ Trial is just beginning. Twenty German doctors and three SS officials have been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Three defendants must face the prosecution’s star witness, a survivor of their mutilations.

Malina Dostler, a German Romani woman, is not only an eyewitness to murder and maiming by German doctors in Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, but she is also a victim of some of the most inhumane experimental medical procedures ever conducted by the Nazi regime.

Josh Steinbock, an American army captain, is tasked with preparing Malina for the witness box, but as the story of her imprisonment in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück unfolds, his feelings for her begin to blind his judgement. Malina is hiding something, but can Josh find out what it is before she takes to the witness box?

Christian Bloss, an ex-SS-Sturmbannführer and defendant in the Doctors’ Trial, is a man cloaked in many layers. Josh believes Bloss and Malina share a secret, but how deep does their relationship go?

Drawing on the true story of the Doctors’ Trial, the first of twelve post-war American Military Tribunals in Nuremberg, Jana Petken presents a riveting tale of courage and resilience in the face of unimaginable evil.

Praise

“Bestselling author, Jana Petken, presents a riveting story of courage and survival in the face of evil. A stunning portrayal of one of the most atrocious events of the Second World War, The Rabbits of Ravensbrück, is a serious and accomplished piece of work..”

C.M. Gray, author of One More Hour of Daylight

Pick up your copy of The Rabbits of Ravensbrück HERE.

Jana Petken

Jana Petken is critically acclaimed as a bestselling, gritty author who produces bold, colourful characters and riveting storylines. She is the recipient of numerous major international awards for her works of historical fiction.

Before life as an author, she served in the British Royal Navy. During her service, she studied Naval Law and history. After the Navy, she worked for British Airways and turned to writing after an accident on board an aircraft forced her to retire prematurely.

Titles by Jana Petken.

Bestseller, Multi Award Winning, The Guardian of Secrets. (2013)

The bestselling Mercy Carver Series: award-winning, Dark Shadows, book 1, and award-winning Blood Moon, book 2. (2014)

Multi Award Winning, The Errant Flock: The Flock Trilogy Book 1. (2015)

Multi Award Winning, Swearing Allegiance. (2016)

Award Winning, The Scattered Flock (The Flock Trilogy book 2)

Award Winning, Flock, The Gathering of The Damned (The Flock Trilogy Book 3)

Multi-Award-Winning, The German Half-Bloods The German Half-Bloods Trilogy Book 1 (2018)

The Vogels: On All Fronts. The German Half-Bloods (Book 2)

Multi Award winning | Bestseller Before the Brightest Dawn. The German Half-Bloods (Book 3)

Oath of Allegiance (2020)

Dawn of Ages (2021)

From the Ashes of Amiens (2021)

The Man from Section Five: Brinley Knight of MI5

The Dying Peace: Brinley Knight of MI5

Connect with Jana Petken:

Website

Instagram

The Serpent's Longing: The Naga Princess and the Himalayan Yogi by NAMITA KUMARI

The Serpent's Longing: The Naga Princess and the Himalayan Yogi

By NAMITA KUMARI

Publication Date: 29th May 2026
Publisher: Independently Published
Page Length: 214 Pages
Genre: Romance / Asian Myth & Legend

She has worn a thousand shapes and never wanted to keep a single one.

Soma is a Naga princess — a shapeshifter of the deep waters, ageless and unknowable, meant to be alone forever. Kaundinya is a yogi from the far mountains of India, who gave away everything he owned and crossed a sea with nothing but a dream of her. When he lands on her shore at the edge of the ancient world, neither of them is built to survive the one thing they find in each other: being truly known, and not wanting to be anywhere else.

For eleven stolen days, in the warm green dark, they are simply, secretly happy — talking late, laughing like fools, learning the shape of each other in the firelight. But loving her is quietly spending the powers it took Kaundinya a lifetime to gather. And loving him will cost Soma every shape she has ever worn, until she is only one woman: mortal, ageing, with a single life to give.

The world was never going to let them keep this. And something old and patient at the bottom of everything offers them a mercy — stop loving, and it will never hurt at all.

They choose each other anyway. Out loud, eyes open, knowing exactly what it will cost — and whether, when the time comes to pay, they can do it not in sorrow, but gladly.

Drawn from the real founding legend of Funan, the 3rd-century kingdom that became Cambodia, The Serpent's Longing is a lush, aching standalone romance for readers of Madeline Miller's Circe — a mythic love story about being fully known, and the courage to give up everything for it, gladly.

Pick up your copy of

The Serpent's Longing:

The Naga Princess and the Himalayan Yogi

HERE.

This book is available to read with #KindleUnlimited

Namita Kumari

Namita Kumari is an Assistant Professor at the University of Delhi and the author of The Serpent's Longing: The Naga Princess and the Himalayan Yogi, a historical fantasy romance drawn from the real founding legend of Funan, the ancient kingdom that grew into the Khmer civilisation. Her writing sits at the meeting point of her academic love for history and her lifelong fascination with the women mythology remembers only in passing. She lives in Delhi, India, and is currently working on her next mythological romance.

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