Notorious is an upto fate mystery set very loosely on a real historical story. Plenty of great characters in the story. A fun book which will keep you entertained with missing boys and a body in a car park.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an arc

Warm, romantic and different, in the very best way. This author has woven more than a hint of magic through the pages. I absolutely adored it!

Description 🔖

The Snows are a family that everyone has heard of. Belle is a world famous singer, her husband Teddy is a serious actor by day and a wild party animal by night and their children Emma, Pearl, Crystal, Elfred and River are dragged along for the ride.

Emma doesn’t buy into fame like her parents. All she wants from life is to be a successful writer, own a cat and to steer well clear from family friend; Rowan Bosworth. Rowan is darkly handsome and carries with him some equally dark baggage from his past. Emma never knows where she stands with him. Does he want her or does he want to push her away forever?

One Valentine’s Day a tragic event rips through the Snow family, taking Rowan and other bystanders down with them. As an investigative journalist, Emma is determined to find out the truth, even if it means unearthing all of her family’s dirty secrets.

General Thoughts 🤔

I went into this one knowing absolutely nothing about it, so when I started and saw that it was loosely based on Richard III and The Princes in the Tower mystery, I was pleasantly surprised and was excited to dive in to the story. I was happy that it certainly was a “loose” connection and I would say the story gives the odd nod here and there to the historical events which was nice. I was glad it wasn’t a straight modern day re-write.

The story itself was easy to follow but very entertaining. There was a bit of everything thrown in there; romance, sex, drugs, rock n roll, elitism, celebrities and all of it made for an exciting read. Of course I love having a mystery to solve, so that aspect of the book definitely kept me engaged.

Characters 👫👭👬

There were quite a lot of characters in the story but I didn’t struggle to keep track of who was who which is something I have been known to complain about. I had some firm favourites and some characters I’d love to meet in real life and give them what for.

Firstly, I loved Emma. She wasn’t perfect by any means and made some questionable decisions, but her heart was in the right place. It was interesting to see her childhood crush on Rowan turn into something a lot deeper and more serious and heartbreaking to see it crumble time and time again and her feelings get stomped all over. However, this didn’t mean I didn’t like Rowan. In fact I really liked Rowan and I had a feeling all through the book that there was a softer side to him that was waiting to come out.

Henry on the other hand, I could not get on board with. He gave me psycho vibes from the time he came into Emma’s life. His obsession with tidiness; weird. His insistence that he knew what was best for Emma’s career and financial decisions; super weird. His relationship with his awful mother; urgh. The red flags were waving high.

Writing Style ✍️

I haven’t read an Olivia Hayfield book before so I didn’t know what to expect from her writing. I enjoyed her tone and I particularly liked her pacing. At times, the story skipped forward significant chunks of time and I was appreciative of it as it never felt like there was filler or supplementary bits of story to move from one event to the next.

It has taken me a while to finish this book but that’s on me and my reading slump, nothing at all to do with the book or the writing. In fact it was good that I was able to put this book down and come back to it multiple times without having to re-read sections or get my head back into the characters and the story.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

Everything about this book felt juicy and entertaining; the story was full of drama but also intrigue and mystery and the characters were colourful, each one of them I either loved or loved to hate. The nod to the historical story of Richard III was a nice touch, but I also liked that it wasn’t a pre-requisite to know everything about that time in history to understand the loose connections. If you’re a fan of books with family drama, secrets and dark pasts then you will enjoy Notorious as much as I did.

Gossip And Rumour Abound…
Gossip and rumour abound in this entertaining, clever and contemporary twist on the unsolved mystery of the Princes in the Tower. Crossing genres with mystery, romance and history and a plot peppered with well crafted characters and an immersive narrative. An escapist read bursting with literary and historical references, multiple threads and scandal galore.

I absolutely could not put this book down. A big, gossipy, compulsive read, full of twists and turns. I loved (and hated) the characters, I was totally invested in the romance, and couldn’t wait to find out what on Earth had happened to Emma’s brothers. It’s like a Jilly Cooper murder mystery and I had so much fun reading it.

I really enjoyed 'Notorious' by Olivia Hayfield. 'Notorious' is the third book by Hayfield and this is the first one I've read. I really liked the modern twist on Richard the Third and the Tudor history. I'm not clued up on this part of history so, the final revelation of what happened to the two boys may have been obvious to other readers. I was shocked, however, and felt the resolution came out of nowhere as readers are lead to believe it is either love interest of Emma Snow. I felt like 'Notorious' is very similar to 'Daisy Jones and the Six' by Taylor Jenkins Reid which I love. Belle Snow is a famous Worldwide singer off travelling while her actor husband Teddy engages in 'debauchery', looking after his protégé Rowan a family friend and, Teddy and Belle's five children are somewhat left to their own devices. I liked the modern twist to this story and I honestly could not put this book down. There were a lot of literary references to; Pemberley, Mr Bingley and Heathcliff and, sometimes slightly repetitive but, it was an easy and captivating read. There are a lot of different threads that evidently follow true events of history (there is a small excerpt at the back discussing the historical facts and how Hayfield's characters lend themselves to the original people in Tudor England).

Initially follows the story of Emerald or Emma Snow as she tries to make a name for herself in the journalism World without relying on the fame of her influential parents. Emma's two rapscalion brothers, Frederick and Rivers (or Freddy and Riv as they are affectionately known) mysteriously disappear. It takes over one year to find out what happened to her brothers with final closure at the end. An enjoyable read, however, often with difficult themes.

4.5 rounded up

Some of these characters are indeed notorious including the Snow family; there is father Teddy a famous actor and mother Belle a world renowned singer. They have five children which includes two sons Elfred and River and a daughter Emma (Emerald but known as Emma) who wants to be a writer and has thoughts she probably shouldn’t about Rowan Bosworth. He is deep, dark, clever, complicated and inscrutable with tragedy that dogs him. Then there is affable but somewhat parsimonious Henry Theodore, surely a better fit for Emma? One Valentine’s Day a terrible event tears the Snow family apart and Emma embarks on a mission to discover the truth, no matter how bad it might turn out to be.

Absolutely fabulous! A stellar novel which is superbly entertaining from beginning to end.
It is so clever with some of the subtle and funny nods to history which makes me chuckle, very well played! This has a bit of everything with sex, drugs, love and some rock ‘n’ roll. There’s a darker element too with a murder mystery lying at the heart of it with several gut punching acts of betrayal. Oh yes, there’s also a “battle“ for a woman’s heart, it’s all here in spades.

The characterisation is masterful, there are a lot of characters but it doesn’t matter as they’re all so colourful they jump off the pages. There’s some to love (Rowan, I’ll marry you if Emma doesn’t!) and some to hate! In addition there’s a great ending and some terrific settings especially in Yorkshire but as a Yorkie I guess I would say that!

Overall, a highly creative novel loosely based on mystery of the Princes in the Tower and the Wars of the Roses. You don’t have to know the story but it helps to pick up the witty allusions to history but the author does give an excellent résumé at the end. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Little Brown Book Group for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Post to GR and Twitter on 16/8
Post to Amazon and Waterstones on 30/8

Very honored and excited to have the opportunity to read/review this title. Full review to follow here and on the blog. Sorry for any delay due to unexpected health issues. Very excited to read about the Snow family. The cover was very intriguing as well. I think this would make a great tv series or movie as well.

EVERYONE WANTS TO BE FAMOUS

Everyone has heard of the Snows. Belle, world-famous singer of Woodville fame. Her husband Teddy, acclaimed actor by day, notorious party animal by night. Their children: Emma, Pearl, Crystal, Elfred and River.

EVERYONE EXCEPT EMMA SNOW

Emma Snow wants three things in the world: to become a writer, own a cat, and never think about Rowan Bosworth again. Darkly handsome with a tragic past, Emma should know better than to be in love with him. She's never sure whether he actually likes her, or if she's just a pawn in one of the twisted games he likes to play.

EMMA SNOW WANTS TO BE EXCEPTIONAL

One Valentine's Day, a terrible event occurs which rips the Snow family apart. Determined to uncover the truth, Emma is forced to delve into the dark underbelly of her celebrity family - and once and for all decide whether to think with her heart or her head . .

When you're surrounded by rumours, it's difficult to see the truth . . .