I was hooked from the start and can’t wait for this book to be published. Lots of atmosphere, historical detail and a real mystery brewing .....

Having read the extract I am on tenterhooks to read the rest of this novel.

Dora lives in London in 1799 with her uncle. This follows the deaths of her parents and he has taken over the running of their antiquities shop. Times are hard for Dora and she aspires to be a jewellery artist. Are things about to change and will they be for better or worse? Cannot wait to find out.

Ahh!

How am I supposed to wait nearly 8 months to read this?
A brilliant start to what I see easily being a favourite of next year (both mine and the bigger reader community).

Since I didn’t have access to the full book I couldn’t get into it. It certainly has potential but I like to be able to read the whole thing :)

Have previously reviewed this sample. Atmospheric with interesting characters and a story that pulls you in.

I was lucky enough to receive an extract of the first 13 chapters from Pandora. There have been a number of books recently retelling the Greek myths and I have to say this is one of the better ones. I thoroughly enjoyed what I read and I can’t wait to read the full book. Highly recommended.

I did not get access to the entire book, just an extract, so it’s hard for me to give an informed review. What I did read intrigued me greatly and I so look forward to reading the entire book at some point. I have a background in the Classics and this was well written and engaging. The main characters are interesting and I am quite prepared to follow their story.

This weekend, I had the absolute pleasure to get a sneak peek at the new novel by Susan Stokes-Chapman, to be released in January next year, and WOW did it impress! The first thirteen chapters of this novel gripped me absolutely, and I know I will be eagerly snatching this book up the moment it hits the shelves.

Pandora Blake, or ‘Dora’, is a twenty-one year old orphan, the daughter of antiquarians whose once famous shop of antiquities has been driven to the ground by her uncle, who has taken to selling fakes instead of pursuing the family business. She is biding her time until she can find a way to make her own dream come true: designing jewellery. However, as a woman in 1799 London, this is easier said than done, and even though her designs and skills are not bad, nobody will take her on.

Edward Lawrence is a young man seeking acceptance into the Society of Antiquaries, but his third attempt at impressing the stalwarts of the profession has failed. He has all but given up when someone gives him a hint, and directs him to Pandora, whose family history of antiquities may be able to help.

Meanwhile, Dora’s uncle has brought something mysterious back to the shop which is kept under lock and key in the shop’s basement. Dora doesn’t know what it is, but there is something otherworldly about it. Not only does it seem to call to her, but it appears to create chaos.

Like any great teaser, this extract stopped just where the story was picking up, and I am absolutely dying to read more. The characters grabbed me from the start, and I loved how Dora and Edward are so alike in their dreams even though they are from different backgrounds. The setting was also fascinating, not only in the general sense of loving historical novels set in London, but the antiques shop itself, which is alive with mystery and secrets. Stokes-Chapman has done a marvellous job and I cannot wait to read the rest of this novel. I just know I will love it!

Consider my appetite well and truly whetted after reading the first 13 chapters of this book.
The plot is nicely established and full of intrigue. There's Dora's tragic backstory, the ambitions of Edward to enter the Society of Antiquaries, the mysterious white haired man and the curious vase that Hezekiah Blake has determined holds immense value is hinted to be more a curse, and naming one of the main character's Pandora suggests that trouble lies ahead.
The characterisation is superb, so succinctly does Susan Stokes-Chapman capture the essence of the protagonists in a small action or speech, yet passes no judgment upon them. Similarly the atmosphere is richly created, I actually needed to spray some perfume as the 'soils of London's streets' were described.
The sampler ended at a tense moment, the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention and I let out a groan as I realised that I now have 8 long months to wait to find out what happens next. Roll on 2022.

My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the advance sampler copy in return for an honest review.

Ooohh, I am intrigued and invested by this sampler and I will definitely want to read the rest. If I'm not lucky enough to get an advanced copy of the finished version, I will definitely be purchasing it.

I have read an extract of this book, thirteen chapters, and I am intrigued to read what follows.

Set in Georgian England, the story weaves a mystical ethos as it introduces the main players of this Greek-inspired story. It centres on a recovered vase taken from a shipwreck. Pandora has aspirations to be a jewellery designer but is thwarted by misogyny. Her parents died mysteriously, leaving her in the care of her uncle Hezekiah who hasn't respected her parents' legacy. Edward is a young man with ambition. He wants to study antiquities and be accepted by the professional society, but his class stimies him despite being sponsored by a young aristocrat who appears emotionally attached.

The scene is set for Pandora and Edward to meet as her interest in her uncle's latest acquisition intensifies. The extract ends as Pandora finds the vase...

This is atmospheric, with complex characters and an intriguing mystery. The legend suggests the reader can envisage what come next but can they. The historical detail and lyrical prose make this an absorbing and immersive reading experience that I would like to continue.

I received an extract of this book from Random House UK Vintage via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Ancient Greek vase turns up in Georgian London

The mysterious find hooked me in.

Certainly an easy read. The characters and dialogue have yet to convince me.

Will I take a chance on the full novel? Yes! I need to know the secrets surrounding the vase.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage, for the preview.

The only issue I found with this extract it that it ends when the plot is getting really exciting.
It's a bit slow at the beginning but I loved the style of writing and the characters.
Can't wait to read the entire book
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC

Great opening chapters. Looking forward to reading more of this story. So many elements to the story, mysterious characters and secrets.

I enjoyed this extract. Dora is an orphan in the care of her unpleasant uncle who inherited her parents' antiquarian business after they died in a tragic accident abroad. He brings a strange package into the shop which intrigues Dora who is desperate to know what is inside. Meanwhile, a young man Edward is disconsolate at having been refused entry to the Royal Society of Antiquarians for the third time. A mysterious man directs him to Dora, telling him she has something of interest.

Great read but frustrating to stop at such an intriguing part. I very much look forward to finding out what happens next. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Enjoyable extract that has tempted me to buy the full.

Three stars as this is the maximum I would give to a partial.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this extract in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued from the very beginning . This has the potential to shape up into a book I very much want to read, Love the characters and frustrated at not being able to read more. I do hope we get the full version soon.
Would have been 5 stars but minus a star for a picture of a lone magpie! Bad luck!! No!

The story focuses on Pandora/Dora Blake, an orphan due to a tragic accident, and a hopeful jewellery designer. The handsome & charming Mr Edward Lawrence, and Dora’s roguish uncle, Hezekiah Blake. When a mysterious box is delivered to her former father’s antiquities store, Dora’s curiosity is aroused. What does Uncle Hezekiah have in the afore mentioned box, which he has hidden in the store’s basement?

From the first page I was instantly captivated by the story and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I devoured thirteen chapters. The story is captivating and intriguing from the start, and you instantly feel a warmth to the heroine Dora. With each new character added, another piece is placed into the puzzle, and they help entwine the threads of the tale neatly together. The introduction of the mysteriously old gentleman, who knows more about the principal players of the story and artfully guides Edward to Dora, piques the grey matter into overdrive as you try to fathom who he is and what connection he has to Dora and to the contents of Hezekiah’s box. And just as the contents of the box is discovered by Dora........ anticipation building, I’ve come to the concluding page of the extract.

VERDICT: 5*****/5 Stokes-Chapman has created a masterpiece for any historical fiction fan, regardless of your preferred era. I’m so hopeful I will get the opportunity to get my hands on a full advanced copy to read, and even if I don’t, this is one book that will be purchased on release day on 27th January 2022. Pandora is one of the most captivating and intriguing books I’ve read for a while and I am eagerly waiting in anticipation to see how it concludes.

It is 1799 and in London Dora Blake is living in the attic above her uncle’s antique shop. In the past the shop belonged to her parents and was very highly regarded but tragedy struck when Dora and her parents were involved in an accident whilst on a dig in Greece and Dora was left orphaned. Hezakiah Blake is an unscrupulous, shifty man who is happy to spin a yarn in order to sell his dubious antiques and he treats Dora like an unwanted gift. His behaviour of late has been strange even for him, he is jumpy and on edge leading Dora to wonder if it has anything to do with the arrival of a large package that is being housed in his basement office. She decides that in order to get to the bottom of her uncle’s unusual behaviour she needs to trespass into the office and see what’s in the package.

This sampler was an utter treat as it combined my love of history and the unusual. The writing style is exquisite with beautifully descriptive narrative.

Thank you to Random House UK and NetGalley for providing this sampler in order for me to give my honest review.

Fabulous taster of what's to come in the full novel, I can't wait to read on!

The characters are well-set up and their different backgrounds hinted at to make you want to know more, the lovely Pandora and her pet magpie, Edward, pet of a rich patron, and Hezekiah, slightly dodgy uncle with a past that threatens to spill over into the here and now - all three are finely realised.

The plot also looks very promising, from ancient finds to modern frauds and fate or coincidence already acting to shape the next events in the book.

What's not to like? And what, more importantly, comes next?...