A wonderful story set in the days of the British empire, showing the class divide really well. Olivia tries to find out why her sister Clara has been abducted, and does her disappearance have anything to do with the death of a native woman? An enthralling mystery involving love, abuse and class divide.

5☆ Enchanting, Captivating, Page turner, Full of Mystery and Charm!

A beautiful first debut novel for Jenny Ashcroft.

Beneath a Burning Sky is a beautifully written story about love, romance, mystery, passion, secrets, intrigue its a beautiful historical fiction.

Beneath a Burning Sky is set in Egypt.
Egypt is one of my bucket list places to visit. So much rich history and character.
Jenny did not let me down on the descriptive encounters of Egypt and is beautiful surroundings. I literally felt like I was in Egypt.

The characters were passionate and strong.
Olivia the main character was a very strong female lead. Watching her grow as a character was lovely to watch. She has been through so much heartache and abuse from her husband Alistair, she still manages to keep strong no matter how much he grinds her down.

So when Edward shows her some attention the sparks shine between them. He is everything her husband isnt. He's kind, caring, romantic. Watching the relationship between Olivia and Edward is special. He is her forbidden fruit. But also her hero!

Olivia and her sister Clara were separated from each other after the death of their parents. Their awful nasty grandmother kept them apart and made sure they never found each other. Until now!
So when Olivia finally finds Clara she is about to lose her again.
When her sister mysteriously disappears things just don't add up.
So she sets out to try and uncover what has happened.

Edward help Olivia to find Clara in what appears to be a race against time. Putting both girls in danger.

There is plenty of twists, turns, suspense, mystery, romance, secrets to keep you page turning till the early hours.

I enjoy reading historical fiction, but Jenny made the pages light up and transport the reader right into the heart of Egypt. It's a fast paced read and it certainly wasn't what I was expecting it was much better.

I'm looking forward to reading more from Jenny! I certainly think she is going to be an Author to watch out for!

Beneath A Burning Sky by Jenny Ashcroft is a story of betrayal and love set in Egypt during the British occupation.

An interesting read set in Alexandria at a time of disquiet and surge in nationalist feeling, two sisters try to get to know each other again after years apart, with tragic results. Hard to know who is friend or foe.

I really enjoyed this book. Do not mistake it for a wishy washy romance story. It makes you understand what it was like to be a woman in those times, with virtually no independence. It also gives a good sense of place. And does not have the usual sort of ending (no spoilers here though). I will look out for more books by Jenny Ashcroft.

I struggled with this novel. A lot of people spoke about it being a romance but my overall impression is a tale of deceipt, betrayal, violence (especially towards women) and scheming. Not a single character seems to emerge in a good light and many were positively evil. I took it on holiday to read and wished I hadn’t as it was generally depressing.

Much of the book centres of Olivia, aka Livvy, who has had a tragic life. Her parents died when she was young and she was separated from her elder sister, Clara, by a wicked (and very clichéd) grandmother who took her from Egypt to a harsh English boarding school at age seven. Later Olivia is forced, by the grandmother, to marry Alistair who is abusive and sadistic. The only saving grace is that Olivia is now back in Egypt with Clara. But soon into the story Clara disappears and there follows a very contorted story about what happened. By the end of the book there have been so many twists and turns that pretty much everyone has done something dastardly.

There’s a side story of a local servant girl, Nailah, and her involvement in the disappearance of Clara. She comes out badly but despite having read the whole book I am still not clear why she was seen in such a bad light compared to the deeds of others. I think I must have missed a vital sentence.

There were too many characters, many of who had alternative names, or pet names, or were referred to by their title. Result being I was constantly taken out of the story by trying to work out who was who. Olivia and Clara’s parents were referred to a lot but the reader never finds out what happened to them or why the wicked grandmother hated her daughter-in-law so much to inflict such cruelty on her grandchildren. At times I felt like I was reading the second is a series of books without the benefit of book one or book three.

I was hoping to learn more about the period and culture of Egypt in the late 19th century when this book is set but I just felt like I was getting a stereotyped version.

I enjoyed this book with its mix of mystery with historical fiction, it's well written and exciting characterisation! Olivia's inner voice is stunning and very modern! A study of marriage in a time of few options for women, in Egypt at the turn of last century! The cover design I feel would put off male readers, where I believe a great many would in fact enjoy this story! Something perhaps to think on!

I've just finished another great NetGalley arc called Beneath A Burning Sky by Jenny Ashcroft. It's now available to buy/download too!

NOTE: If you're sensitive to people disappearing this might not be the book for you!

Beneath The Burning Skies in a historical, standalone novel that tells the stories of a few different characters, who live in Alexandria, Egypt. Two of these characters, Olivia and Clara are the main characters, I feel. The bulk of the story centres around what's going on with them. Both Olivia and Clara are English as are a few other characters too. All of the characters have a main part to play in the story, I feel which is nice.

4 Stars!

Spoilers below...

What most of this book is is a who done it? plot line, along with a few romantic parts too. Olivia and Clara go out to eat, in Alexandria one afternoon but Clara gets captured, and we assume killed. The beginning of the book tells of a capture of a character. We don't know who this is there, though.

The bits of the book that I enjoyed the most were the romantic parts. Olivia, who the story rotates around is abused by her husband. She realises she loves another character that she's known for a long time, Edward. This could potentially be classed as instant love but they've known each other for a long time. They just haven't realised their feelings before now. It takes most of the book for either one to say that they love the other one too. We just see it in the way they think of each other. The sex isn't graphically written about so anyone could potentially pick this up and enjoy it.

Other characters that have a big role are an Egyptian girl called Nailea, her uncle, aunt and mother, Olivia's and Clara's grandmother, who's horrible to both girls but particularly to Olivia as well as Clara's capturer as well. I'm not going to say just who the capturer is as that would totally give away the story but it was a surprise to me.

What did I like about Beneath A Burning Sky?
I loved the romance. I wish there had been more but alas, there wasn't.

I liked how there were good and evil characters and how we knew which was which throughout.

I liked the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Clara and how we didn't know what had happened to her right up until the end.

What didn't I like about Beneath A Burning Sky?
I didn't like the politics surrounding one of the storylines so much. I skimmed over some of those bits.

I didn't like how much the story focused on Nailea. I would have liked more focus given to Olivia's story as I felt like she was the main female character.

I don't like how this story is just a standalone. I feel that the story could continue following Olivia and her life.

Overall, I really enjoyed Beneath A Burning Sky. It was a good mystery novel. I'm giving it 4 Stars because it was a little slow at points but if you're a fan of romance/mystery/suspense/books set in different places, then pick this up!

Clara and her sister Olivia are separated by their grandmother when they return to England from Egypt after the death of their parents. When Clara is coerced into marriage by her grandmother she is taken back to Egypt by her husband and finally meets with her sister again.
But Egypt in the later 19th century is a dangerous place, and when her sister goes missing Olivia turns not to her husband Alistair Sheldon, but to their lodger Captain Edward Bertram.
Part mystery and thriller and part love story, this is a gripping read with an insight into colonial rule more than 120 years ago.

This is a book full of secrets and intrigue. So many twists! Even the ending didn't quite turn out how I expected it to. I had to knock a couple of stars off as I felt the middle section was very slow , in fact I almost gave up as, I found it quite boring in places. Not one for me.

I have enjoyed every word of this book from start to finish. It transported me to Alexandria in a bygone era perfectly. I enjoy reading family sagas and crime/mystery thrillers normally, however this was a mixture of mystery, crime and a family saga all in one. I have not been able to put the book down since I started it, have shed a happy tear at the end and wonder what to do now it is finished. Thoroughly recommended.

I enjoy a good thriller and I also like well-written romantic fiction especially historical so Beneath a Burning Sky ticked all the boxes for me. There is mystery, intrigue, illicit romance, abduction, lies, betrayal, murder. The story takes place in 1890s Alexandria when Egypt was still under British occupation and begins with an abduction (whose?) then takes us back to a few months earlier.

Twenty-two year old Olivia has been brought to Alexandria by her husband Alistair who, you find out very quickly, is a thoroughly nasty, controlling, cruel character. Olivia is very unhappy but is unable to tell anyone. So, I thought to myself, it's a bit of a melodrama; maybe a bit of a cliché.

I'm happy to say I was wrong. It's better than that and I really enjoyed the story.

Years earlier, Olivia and her sister Clara had been forced to leave their childhood home of Cairo after the death of their parents and return to England to their grandmother. However their grandmother, a bitter, nasty woman, had kept them apart and had allowed no communication between the sisters. The grandmother also had a hand in leaving Olivia no choice but to marry Alistair, colluding with him to virtually blackmail Olivia into marriage. On a happier note, it transpires that her older sister Clara is married and has been living in Alexandria with her husband and children.

The story is quite complex, there are several threads and quite a lot of characters, and yet I didn't find it too complicated. It is well written with a good balance of description, dialogue and background information so it's not difficult to read. The romantic parts are not overly mushy but they are part of the story. I didn't try too hard to work out the connections between some of the characters; I just let myself enjoy the story and the plot twists and wait for the connections to be revealed in time.

The pace is good. I didn't find it boring at all. You hope there will be a happy ending but you can't be entirely sure given the way the story unfolds. You just have to read it and find out for yourself!

This is not normally my first choice of read but I was given the opportunity to read this in advance by the publisher and I'm so glad that I did as it was a beautiful and really powerful read.
Egypt in the late 1800's. A story of romance, a wonderful love story. Excellent writing, setting the senses alive. Could almost feel it!
One to recommend. My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

I have mixed feelings about Beneath a Burning Sky by Jenny Ashcroft. I liked the historical setting – Alexandria at the end of the 19th century when Egypt was under British rule. It is a complex book but it is not so much historical fiction but more of a romantic story. Overall I enjoyed it but thought the book was melodramatic and I was hoping for more historical content.

There is a large cast of characters and although the main character, Olivia is convincingly described, many of the other characters are rather flat stereotypes – Alistair the sadistic older husband, Millicent, the wicked grandmother, and Edward, the ‘good’ character, the handsome, romantic lover.

From the start of the novel there is a lot that is not explained and the action moves swiftly from location to location, switching between different sets of characters. Olivia, trapped in an appalling marriage, is reunited with her older sister Clara from whom she was separated at a very young age after the death of their parents. She has no memories of her parents or her early life in Egypt, but throughout the book has tantalising flashbacks. I would have liked to have discovered what had happened to her parents, but this was only hinted at. I also wondered why Millicent, the wicked grandmother, had hated Olivia’s mother so much. And I was not convinced about the plausibility of Olivia’s forced marriage to Alistair.

But this is not the main mystery – that concerns Clara, because shortly after Olivia arrives, Clara disappears. The police investigation is completely useless, mainly because the chief of police is corrupt. What follows is Olivia’s frantic search for Clara with multiple twists as various secrets and passions begin to surface.

An added complication is the story of Nailah, an Egyptian woman, and her family. This shows the contrast between the ruling British class and the local people and the conditions they experienced and I think Jenny Ashcroft’s portrayal is the best part of her book. But I floundered to understand Nailah’s role in the novel and it was only towards the end that that became clear.

It is easy reading, and I was keen to know what had happened to Clara and why she disappeared. But for me it was too long with too many episodes that I sometimes found confusing. However, other people enjoyed it more than I did -there are plenty of 5 and 4 star reviews both on Amazon and Goodreads.

Historical romance set in colonial Egypt in the 1890s, this novel is also full of intrigue and mystery with a complicated plot that keeps the reader guessing right until the end.
Olivia, a young 22 year old orphan, is married to the despicable Alistair. She lives in Alexandria near her elder sister Clara from whom she has been separated for many years by their spiteful Grandmother. Clara is married to Jeremy, Alistair's business partner and they have two young children.
Stuck in a loveless marriage Olivia's only consolation is her illicit romance with Captain Edward Bertram, a soldier who boards at their house. However they both know that there is no future in it as divorce at this time is inconceivable and would ruin both hers and Edward's lives.
Then, suddenly Clara disappears and Olivia and Edward are in a race against time to find her before something worse happens.
This is a story full of romance and hidden passions as well as evil and intrigue. It contains something that appeals to all tastes. Olivia is a feisty character who elicits a great deal of sympathy for her perdicament. Edward is a hero put in a very difficult situation although one hopes that in the end their story will have a happy ending.
The plot is quite complicated as their are many characters including a number of Egyptian protagonists who are called by various different names throughout the novel.
An enjoyable read set in an interesting period in history, the author evokes the stifling atmosphere of Alexandria very well. Perfect for fans of both historical fiction and mystery, this is an interesting take of colonial life under the British Empire. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book, Egypt, history, love and mystery, with some strong characters. The love story of Edward and Olivia, was pure romance, I was gripped by the mystery of Clara who went missing, the pain Olivia felt at losing her sister again. Olivia's husband Alistair was horrible and he made me angry every time he appeared. Beautifully written, with lots of secrets. This is a must read, switch your phone off and indulge, it is well worth it.
Thanks to netgalley, making it possible for me to read and review.

A complex story which I had to concentrate on, set in Alexandria in Victorian times.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book, a great summer read as it has everything you could want to be kept entertained. From the very first page you are completely spellbound by the intrigue of what has happened to this young woman, and as the story unfolds with romance, secrets, desire and beautiful descriptions of colonial Egypt there is lots to keep you captivated. The characters are very vivid, as are the locations and the pace of the book is just right. I read it in two sittings!

A very well put together story about love set in beautiful Alexandria. Every detail is beautifully described and told. A lovely book to get lost in.

An intriguing and well-paced story of love, passion, betrayal and murder set in British occupied Alexandria, Egypt in the 1890s. Olivia, the protagonist, is engaging and it is impossible to follow her story without feeling an immense sense of pathos for the trials she endures, from the early death of her parents, her lonely and isolated childhood and separation from her sister, to the loveless and brutal marriage she is coerced into by her cruel grandmother and her sadistic husband to be. It is Olivia who holds the attention of the reader throughout and it is for her that we yearn to see things turn out the way she wishes by the end.
Throughout the novel, the twists and turns whilst the kidnapping of her sister is investigated, alongside the story of a mysterious murder, and the endless clues and suggestions of the involvement of just about every character around Olivia, cause the reader untold anxiety and force all to attempt to work out what is going on - but it is never so straightforward ad it is necessary to keep going in order to fill in those missing gaps.
Beautifully written, with some outstanding descriptions and evocation of period and setting, excellent characterisation and plot - the author has made a fantastic job of this historical fiction/murder mystery/love story/adventure - it has something for everyone and presents a thoroughly good read.