Madam Burova was a magical read. Enchanting, switching between the present & the 1970s.
Billie discovers she was abandoned as a baby, Madam Burova, keeper of secrets, knows who Billies mother was.

A gentle uplifting read. My first book by this author, I will definitely be reading more.

Oh wow - what a magical wonderful story. Full of emotion this kept me totally gripped til the very end. I love Ruth Hogan’s books and this one is beautiful. Imelda,Billie and Henry are such wonderful characters- interesting and quirky, they’ve all lived such full and varied lives. The setting of Brighton was perfect and I could almost smell the fish and chips and hear the waves against the pier. My favourite of the year so far.

I really enjoyed this book, and read it all in one evening (this is the test of a good book!). The characters had distinct personalities. Brighton and London in the 1970's and the present time were portrayed accurately. I'll definitely be reading Ruth Hogan's other books. Thank you for introducing me.

Another uplifting tale from this talented author who excels in creating wonderfully engaging, somewhat quirky and definitely memorable characters.
Madame Imelda Burova is retiring after 50 years working as a tarot reader, palmist and clairvoyant in a booth on Brighton seafront.
At the same time, the other main character, Billie, is setting out on her own voyage of discovery and of course, their paths merge in this absolute gem of a book.
The dual timeline beginning in 1972 and moving to the present day worked seamlessly. The parts set in the 70’s brought back many memories. I can certainly vouch for their authenticity as I was around the same age then as the young women characters and experienced some of the exact same things, including some rather dodgy discos!
The author does include themes commonplace and deemed acceptable in the 70’s such as racism, misogyny and sexism and your heart goes out to the characters who had to endure these. However, there is also clever humour and many truly heart-warming moments in this brilliant book.
I was a bit sad when I finished as I didn’t want to leave all these wonderful characters behind. Wouldn’t it be great if only you could bump into Madame Burova walking her dog along the seafront in Brighton!

I really enjoyed reading this and send huge thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.

.Enjoyable, light read. Madame Burova was an interesting ending. The pace was a little slow in the middle.. The final ending was sweet.

This book is like a wonderful box full of surprises and tied up with a colourful ribbon, finished perfectly with a lovely bow. Madame Burova is a fascinating character and the story is full of hope and love and quirky characters. If you want to be left with a warm, happy glow then read this book.

Have you ever seen a photo of a group of people that you wished you could be mates with too? That's how these characters made me feel, Ruth Hogan has a way of telling stories about people that I just want to meet, they seem so real.

I really enjoyed the story, the reveal, and the fact that there are so many dogs. It touches on subjects that are haaarddd and complicated but manages to uplifting and left me feeling ultimately happy and longing to be beside the sea.

Madame Burova is a particularly gifted clairvoyant, though she has unfortunately has never been able to use her gift for herself. And with all the secrets she's been keeping for other people, there are parts of her own life that she has never known the answer to. Billie suddenly gets a bombshell dropped into her life and ends up going to Madame Burova for help.
This is one of those books that you fall into and then just want to keep reading all the way through. Somehow Ruth Hogan has a way of making me love all her characters almost immediately. I love how kind and non-judgemental Imelda Burova is, and how much she cares about everyone around her. Billie is so sweet, wanting to find out about her own past but so careful not to hurt others in the process. There is plenty of mystery to keep you guessing, the book is never boring and keeps moving forward. And as always, there are lots of humorous bits to make you smile.

I have read and really enjoyed 'The Keeper of Lost Things' and this work by Ruth Hogan is every bit as enchanting and full of life and fun. The storyline setting of two different places and two different eras worked relly well. She's a great writer and I would really recmmend this to others.

A heartwarming story of secrets, love and friendship. Set both in the early 1970s and the present day, following Billie's search to uncover the secrets of her past with the help of Madame Burova, a fortune teller on Brighton sea front, who also has mysteries of her own to resolve. Great attention to detail, conjuring the spirit of the times and an intriguing storyline which keeps us guessing to the end.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.

#MadameBurova #NetGalley

England 1970s and present day flashing back and forth between the two. Hippie gypsy Madame Burova is psychic and enjoys hearing people’s secrets and Billie goes to her to find the answer to a key question. A very enjoyable book.

This is a wonderful book full of love, secrets and memories.
Madame Burova tells the story of the title character who is a fortune teller who has been privy to many stories and secrets over the years. When Billie discovers that she was abandoned as a baby, Madame Burova helps her to find the truth. The book is written using a dual time line that alternates between the present day and the days leading up to Billie's birth.
A lovely book full of great characters and a brilliant story line that I loved!

My thanks to John Murray Press/Two Roads for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Madame Burova’ by Ruth Hogan in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed all of Ruth Hogan’s previous novels and so welcomed her fourth featuring Madame Burova, who for many years has had a booth on the Brighton seafront in which she reads palms and the Tarot. Now after fifty years Imelda Burova is retiring as she is weary of other people’s lives and secrets. Yet before she can rest there is a promise that she made a long time ago and now is the time to deliver the two brown envelopes that she has held in trust.

Meanwhile in London, Billie has recently lost both her parents. The year before she had divorced and taken voluntary redundancy from her position as a university lecturer to look after her father in his final months. Yet her world and sense of identity is shattered by a letter she receives after the funeral in which he shares that they had adopted Billie when she was three weeks old and that she had been a foundling.

Then Billie’s solicitor forwards a letter from Imelda Burova who invites Billie to Brighton as she says that she has information to share that would be ‘advantageous’ to Billie.

The story unfolds in two time periods- the present as Billie seeks answers about her past and 1972 onwards recounting Imelda’s early career. In both eras Hogan brings in a strong cast of memorable supporting characters.

I found this a lovely, uplifting tale that also examined social issues in both time lines including racism and sexism. These are issues close to Hogan’s heart as she had served for years as a senior advisor on race and gender equality.

Overall, a well written, heartwarming comedy drama. Ruth Hogan’s titles have already proven popular with reading groups and I am sure that ‘Madame Burova’ will be joining the list. I know that I will be recommending it to my own group as well as to friends.

This is a lovely gentle read set partly in the present but interwoven with flashbacks to the 1970s.
It's not gritty or nail biting but there are secrets and questions and the storyline draws you in making you just want to keep on reading to find out what happens. The flow of the book is excellent and just carries the reader along.
I've read a previous review that complains that the characters are too 'nice', well there may be an element of truth in that but the book is no worse for it. Indeed in this backbiting world we now live in it is a pleasure to just engage and relate to these characters. Think of it as a palate cleanser.
So if you want to sit back and enjoy non demanding but gently intriguing fiction then I would recommend this book.

Thank you, NetGalley for a chance to read and review this!

While I really want to absolutely love and adore Madame Burova, some part of me is really disappointed. On the one hand, every character was far too good, with the exception of Vivienne and Marty. Treasure was the only one who seemed to be slightly more complicated, but that was only when he was a child; when he grew up he was just as nice as the others. Marty was a creep and Vivienne is just depicted as this girl who wants to steal away Imelda's man and because she's bored of her rich girl life and then leaves her baby on the doorstep...do you see where I'm going with this? And of course Cilian never betrayed Imelda because Vivienne hooked up with Henry, which no one could have seen coming because at every turn we were shown that she wanted C.

A magical book from Ruth Hogan.
This book is very like her others and does not disappoint.
It has the same fairy story qualities and the characters are just wonderful.
This story tells the tale of Billie and how after the death of her father she finds herself a little lost, especially after having found out some secrets about her past.
Madame Burova has been a tarot reader and palmist for many years and us thinking of retiring; first she must share secrets she has kept for many years.
The depth of the characters makes them so visible and you miss them when you have finished the book.
It is set in Brighton and you can almost hear the sea in the beautiful descriptions of the seaside attractions.
This is a book that you cannot put down, but also don't want to finish.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley in allowing me to read in return for a review.

Madame Burova is a rare find both as a character and as a book. Imelda is a wonderful person with a past that

catches up with her in a very strange, intriguing way. As a Romany tarot card reader along the Brighton seafront,

she is both witness and contributor to many events involving love, secrets, deception, betrayal and a foundling

baby...One day, Billie shows up looking for answers. The book is mysterious and magical. I felt the heartbreak and

compassion all in one brilliant package.

This is a wonderful, uplifting tale, told in two interwoven timelines. It is heartwarming and soul-searching in equal measure. Historical context felt accurate and there was no shying away from behaviours which whilst widespread at the time would be wholly unacceptable today.

The characterisation is excellent and I really felt that I got to know both the main characters and the supporting cast. The story kept me guessing for a long while and, when revealed, the tale then reached a new crescendo which is a credit to the brilliant writing.

Thoroughly recommended.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

I have been a fan of Ruth Hogan's ever since I read her first book The Keeper of Lost Things and I have loved every book she has written since. I know Madame Burova is only her fourth novel but to produce such consistently creative, unique, enjoyable, amazingly readable books full of eccentric, quirky characters that readers love to befriend is an outstanding accomplishment.
Whilst each of Hogan's four novels are different, I love her trademark flourishes of the supernatural/other worldly, which together with stellar casts of unforgettable characters, become a signature that signs away any doubt about whether the book will be good or not. The novels are always SUPERB!
I read Madame Burova like a child desperate to eat all the sweets before their parent realises and confiscates their sugar overloaded stash. I couldn't devour it quick enough. As the paragraphs passed, my heart expanded, filled with the joy and compassion that Hogan does so deliciously well.
Madame Burova is once again set in Brighton, and as I have lived there and have lived nearby for years, knowing the location only adds to that sense of reading about friends who, whilst fictional, you hope that if the Tarot Cards come out right, you might actually bump into them, as long as you turn the right corner at just the right moment.
Imelda Burova, her Dad Alexei, her Mum Shunty-Mae, together with Ruby and Cillian, Vivienne and Jeanie, Treasure, Billie and MI5 Clive and a whole host of charming, and not so charming people at Larkins Holiday Park, the Tea Leaf cafe and the booths, promenade and pier of Brighton, mix and match, dipping into 1972 and 1973 and then forward in time to present The Greatest Show.
Madame Burova is a gilded, magical, mystical love story filled with hope and loss, secret pasts and friendships which span decades. The Holiday Park reminded me so much of childhood TV viewing, watching Hi-de-Hi, and the way in which Madame Burova doesn't just tell fortunes, but takes care of personal matters, treating customers with respect and guarding their secrets, made me want to find her booth and ask for a reading. I also found myself thinking, what would Madame Burova think of me, such a vibrant character is she.
Add in the dogs, the enormous hearts and a very satisfactory ending, Madame Burova is a serenade to serendipity, a showcase of song tunes to lift the spirits, inspire new beginnings and above all celebrate the good in the world, triumphing over those who do wrong.
I want to read it again and again, sit in the vardo in the Brighton back garden and enjoy a life where a necklace of moons and stars, and a Romany caravan are my treasures forever.

Ruth Hogan’s book is magical. Madame Burova, the main character, has spent a lifetime keeping other people's secrets and she had enough. Her cards have unmasked people, shown them for who they are and her cards never lie. Madame Burova wants to stop what she’s been doing and have a life of her own. But before she can, she has a few lose ends to tie up.
A smashing story about a glorious character. A book which will whisk you off from the drudgery of your world to magical world of Madame Burova. Totally entertaining!