The Daughter Of The Fens by Elena Collins is the most awe inspiring, beautiful timeslip novel that I could not get enough of. I read it in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep.
The action is set in the Fens in present day and also two millennia earlier under Roman occupation. It is an area of mystery where the past and present collide as the veil of time is thin.
This is a beautiful story about a forbidden love that will last a lifetime. A character is searching in the past, and her presence is linked to a soul in the present, through dreams and the landscape.
Alternating chapters reveal the parallels between the characters and the time periods.
Elena Collins brings the landscape of two millennia ago to life as we enter a Roman villa and follow the life of an Iceni servant girl. She is a good soul, loyal and true.
As we follow the servant girl, we see that her Roman mistress is more imprisoned than she is. Roman wives knew their duties. They knew their places. They were not free but had to do the bidding of their fathers and then their husbands.
In present day a character is returning home to her roots after time spent abroad. Her connection to the past is strong. She will not rest until she has answered the call.
All the characters were well drawn, springing to life under the artistic pen of Elena Collins.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Daughter Of The Fens. It was a beautiful tale that I ‘lived’. It’s beauty and love transcended time and space, radiating from the pages of the book and into my heart.
I received a free copy via Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

Oh wow! I have loved reading all of Elena's books, timeslip novels are my most favourite genre and this one ranging from 60AD to the present day was wonderful. Hanna and Brea are so connected with Brea, from the Iceni tribe trying to find peace through Hanna in dreams, such a wonderful story told exceptionally well, thank you

This is my second book by this author and she has blown me out of the water. We follow a dual timeline Hanna returns to Norfolk while still experiencing the same dreams. As a child, she had dreams including battles, gladiators, and temples. However, when her dreams begin to follow her into the day, she begins to recognise people she has only met in her dreams or visions. Hanna has a connection to an event that occurred many centuries ago, and if she wants to be happy in the present, she needs to find a way to reconcile her past travelling between the year 61A.D and the 21st century.
This book, which is set in the ethereal Fens, weaves a potent tale of love, loss, cruelty, tragedy, death, joy, and hope. I found myself totally engrossed in its pages, fully enthralled by the story's development and the building tension. I was brought to tears by the book's atmospheric tone, which at times is frightening but brilliantly captures the tremendous power of love.


The character of Marcellus, whom I greatly love, adds yet another brilliant element to this tale.

Engrossing novel told in dual timelines that you will not want to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Recently returned from abroad, Hanna finds herself back in Norfolk, and plagued by the same dreams. She had as a child. Dreams of warriors and gladiators and temples. But then her dreams haunt her waking hours as well, and she recognizes someone in the present that she’s seen in her dreams, or rather visions. Hanna how’s the connection to something that happened thousands of years before and she will have to find a way to make peace with her past if she is to find happiness in the present. Traveling between A.D. 61 and the 21st century, this story has much to offer fans of Barbara Erskine and Susanna Kearsley

Thankyou NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this eCopy to review

I really enjoyed The Daughter of the Fens, it is like a time-travelling novel but without the time travel. Hanna after bumping her head as a teenager starts to dream of a woman who was a Roman slave and is suddenly able to learn languages very easily. She struggles with her sleep for many years and only gets a respite from them when she works in China. On her return home the dreams start up again and Hanna also sees a ghost.

Many people help her and she is able to find out what happened to the Roman slave, Brea and find all her jewellery.

I liked how we get both Brea's and Hanna's story, whilst Brea has a sad ending Hanna's is ultimately a happy one. The settings, characters and plot are all beautiful described and suitably mystical, it is well paced after a slow start, definitely one worth carrying on with.

Hanna is returning home to Little Rymer, Norfolk, after four years teaching at Guangzhou International School. As a teenager, Hanna had aspirations of becoming a gymnast, a dream her mother Stephanie was only too happy to follow with her. After suffering a bump on the head whilst competing, Hanna’s plans changed. Since the accident she has been plagued by dreams and visions of another time, where she is a young girl/woman, Brea, who is enslaved to a prestigious Roman family. The dreams abated whilst Hanna was in a China, but as soon as she was on the plane home they started again.

After a slow start I really got into this book. Well written, descriptive and a good plot with appealing characters, it was compelling reading. The addition of both the domus plan and Roman Britannia map were really helpful.

If I have one critique then it’s that at times the story became a little mawkish, though I accept that is because I dislike romance novels!

A good, fascinating read, with a well developed and thoroughly researched plot.

Thank you NetGalley.

As I knew this book would be, the storyline was fascinating, and full of history, some of the characters were friendly and warm for me very quickly, and I couldn't help but love it all. The Romans I certainly did not!. There's a lot to learn about the war between Iceni and Romans. It's fascinating.
As you'll read the synopsis, I don't have to tell you the story, but know this, Brea is a strong and independent spirit who I came to admire greatly in this story and as time progresses on, you'll be more and more invested!. The dual timeline flows so well that it doesn't hinder your reading of the story at all.
Also, there are gorgeous men who are main characters too!. I might be a little in love!.
I received this free arc book for an honest review.
#Netgalley, #boldwoodbooks, #judyrleigh.

Absolutely brilliant new book from Elena Collins!! Set in two timelines of now and in Roman times, in the Anglian area of England.
Brea is from the Iceni tribe in East Anglia who had been forced into being a slave at the age of thirteen when her village had been plundered by the Romans in the first century AD. Hanna had a successful gymnastics career at the age of thirteen when she had an accident that changed her life. As the two women connect over millennia both in search of something, so the magical story weaves into the heart!
The details are astonishing, so interesting!!
This beautifully written and recounted story is full of history, connections, family, loyalty and of course love. Totally fascinating and heart warming, heartbreaking and gripping in so many ways.
I completely loved reading this amazing book and can heartily recommend as a brilliant enjoyable read!!
Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the early read, hugely appreciated!!

I love this author and I will probably read any any book with this author’s name!
I was not disappointed by this new book either. I love the combination of the past and the present, as well as that it isn’t about reincarnation. The ideas behind the book are quite esoteric, but not unbelievable and that is what I like a lot. The characters are loveable and their actions are fully acceptable to my mind. I love the historical knowledge I can learn here and I also like the relationships which are shown here (I am not really a fan of romantic novels).
So I can really recommend this book!

What can I say about this wonderful book? I absolutely loved it. It is beautifully written, vividly descriptive, with a cast of characters that I immediately engaged with. It has a dual timeline which I love, and is set in the present day and Roman Britain. The pages abound with ancient history, and the story itself is fascinating. Hanna is the modern-day girl, a gymnast who, after a childhood accident, finds herself being drawn behind the curtains of time and connecting with Brea, a young Iceni slave girl who has been captured by the Romans. In her dreams Hanna sees flashes of Brea’s story being played out before her, and finds herself compelled to discover the truth of what happened all those centuries ago. As her dreams become more real, Hanna realises that her life is entwined with Brea’s, and that the story must be told. Set in the mystical Fens, this is a powerful story of love, loss, brutality, tragedy, death, happiness and hope. I was completely immersed in this book, captivated by the story, and really enjoyed the tension racking up. It’s very atmospheric, making me feel uneasy at times, and the power of love that is portrayed in this fabulous book moved me to tears. I love Marcellus, he’s a wonderful character, and a very worthy hero, in my opinion. I honestly can’t recommend this wonderful book highly enough. This is a book that I will definitely go back to again and again. Superb!!

The Daughter of the Fans by Elena Collins

Well knock me down with a feather and help me back up again ! I have just found out my two favourite authors are one and the same author ! Elena Collins / Judy Leigh are one and the same .

Anyway back to the book , I love it ( as with all the others ) as Elena she writes about two timelines in the most brilliant way.
We have AD 61 and Brea as a young Iceni has been taken a slave by the Romans all whilst yearning to be back with her family.

In present day , Hanna newly returned to Norfolk starts having recurring dreams that she has had since a child .
Great characters in Brea and Hanna and their lives they are living whilst the feeling of a link somewhere out there in the eons of time.
Highly recommended.

I highly recommend this wonderful dual timeline novel telling the story of Brea a young girl from an Iceni tribe captured by the romans and Hanna in present day who is haunted by visions of a young girl.
It was such a captivating read and very emotive. I really didn't want it to end. Felt bereft when I got to the end. Perfect for fans of Barbara Erskine.