Christina Courtenay writes dual-time romances. I think her books would be great for fans of authors like Elena Collins and Diana Gabaldon.

Shadows in the Ashes tells the stories of Raedwald in the past and Cat in the present. We first meet Raedwald in Frisia in AD 73, where we see him at eighteen with his younger half-brother Osbehrt. Six years later, he has moved to Pompeii and has become a famous gladiator known as Rufus the Barbarian, due to his long red hair.

Rufus and his friend, fellow gladiator, Duro (Drusus) are asked to guard Lucius and his wife Aemilia and daughter Caia (3). We soon see the conflict in their marriage, as Lucius is a controlling, abusive husband with debts and gambling problems.

Meanwhile in North London in April 2022, we meet Caterina (Cat) who lives with her controlling, abusive husband Derek and their daughter Bella (3). After she finally escapes from him, she moves back to Italy, the country of her birth and begins a new life as a waitress, where she meets an interesting man called Connor, who has beautiful green eyes and stunning red hair.

I really enjoyed this book and was emotionally invested in both stories. The characters were all very believable and I loved the descriptions of life in the past and could easily visualise everything. It is obvious how much research the author has done. I loved the parallels between Aemilia and Cat’s lives and was interested to see how things would turn out for both the women. Rufus/Raedwald and Connor are great characters too, really decent and kind men you root for.

The links between the two timelines were beautifully done and felt very natural. The story is well-paced and holds your interest throughout. Overall, Shadows in the Ashes has everything – romance, drama, tension, intrigue, mystery – and I would definitely recommend it.

Another winner from Christina Courtenay. I have been a fan of her time-slip novels for several years and was intrigued to read one set in ancient Pompeii.

In the present Cat is stuck in an abusive marriage to Derek. She feels unable to leave until he does the unforgivable, he hurts her young daughter Bella, Now with the impetus to leave and the help of her neighbor Suzanne, Cat escapes to her mother’s and to Naples. In Naples Cat meets Connor a scientist earning his PhD in Volcanology. As Connor and Cat start to get know one another and visit the ancient cites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, Cat starts to have visions of a man and woman from the Roman times of Pompeii.

In 79 AD, Raedwald is fighting as a gladiator in Pompeii, after being sold into slavery by his backstabbing half-brother and step-mother, so his half-brother can inherit their tribe from their father. Raedwald is working to earn enough money to purchase his freedom to go back home and take back his inheritence. Aemilia is a patrician Roman woman married to the degenerate Lucius. Lucius is from a patrician family who has fallen on hard times, his gambling habit does not help. He has run through Ameilia’s dowry and is being threatened by money lenders. He hires Raedwald and another gladiator Duro to act as bodyguards for himself, Aemelia and their daughter Caia. Raedwald and Aemilia fall in love, but can there be a happy ending between a gladiator and a Roman matron when Pompeii is about to erupt?

I really enjoyed this story. The two couples have intriguing back stories and the history of Pompeii has always fascinated me.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher Headline and the author for the chance to read and review this book.

What a brilliant dual timeline romance this proved to be,
Set now and in Pompeii back in history.
Two timelines are followed, life for the characters revealed
Though for years the wives kept their abuse concealed.

When her husband threatens their daughter with harm
Her neighbour helps them escape and keeps her calm.
Her Mum then helps her flee to family in Italy where
Her uncles and cousins don't hesitate to show them care.

Back in history, Raedwald was sold by his half-brother
Who wanted to be their father's heir as Raedwald was to discover.
Raedwald becomes a gladiator in Roman Pompeii
And a bodyguard for those who hire him and pay.

When Caterina visits Pompeii she's shocked to see
She has visions of life as it used to be.
She can see the places as before the volcano erupted
And feel the earth shake as life then was disrupted.

An enthralling read with two heroines whose lives
Mirror each other as for safety they strive.
A story with strong men who will play their parts
As they endeavour to win the lady's safety and heart.

I really enjoyed escaping into this book
And highly recommend you give it more than a look!
For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

Christina Courtenay is a master storyteller and always delivers story that mixes past and present rich in details and well researched.
I learned a lot about Vikings reading her novels and was curious about this dual timeline set in Pompei, just before the eruption that destroyed the city.
I wasn’t disappointed as it is a book that kept me reading till late in the night and turn pages very fast. One of those books that make you root for the character and feel like you’ve known them for ages.
My favourite dual timeline historical fiction is Green Obscurity by Anya Seton and this one is a good contender as I found a lot of emotions but also an entertaining and compelling story.
Another good work for Ms Courtenay, can’t wait for another book that will make me travel in the past.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book was really interesting!
Time travel / dual time line doesn’t always do it for me, but I liked the sound of the plot so thought I would try this book. The Roman Empire makes for a gripping setting, and the characters were so well written and vivid it would be hard not to be completely immersed in this.

Fleeing an abusive marriage Cat escapes to Naples, her familiarial home, once there she soon becomes attracted to Connor, but on a visit to Pompeii has a sensation of deja vu, everything seems so familiar to her but how can it be.
Pompeii 79AD, and Aemilia's husband is in debt and being threatened, hiring a couple of Gladiators to protect himself. Raedwald, is saving his winnings to escape the arena and to return to his native Frisia. But frequent tremors are threatening everyone in the area and Vesuvius isn't the only danger looming.
Christina has woven a tapestry of words in this, her latest dual timeline novel. The research she does is proven as the past and present merge perfectly. The descriptive writing positioned me perfectly on the streets of Pompeii. A perfect read for fans of Barbara Erskine

I've loved every one of Christina's Viking series and was thrilled to discover she had set a book in the Roman era. This dual time novel is a rich and fulfilling reading experience. The parallels between the two stories are strong and intriguing and both are set mainly in the atmospheric world of Pompeii and Southern Italy. In both the historical and contemporary story, Christina describes the settings so beautifully that you can smell and taste Italy and the Roman world. It's incredibly vivid. Both love stories are engrossing, romantic and engaging, though I'll admit to a tiny preference for Raedwald the gladiator hero of the Roman thread, who totally stole my heart! I loved this book and will read it again soon as I felt bereft when I'd finished it and had to come back to the real world!

I was truly excited to read this book and found myself immersed in the story from page one. Although I have loved the author’s Viking books, I found it easy to switch to the Roman Empire and follow the story of enslaved gladiator Raedwald as he undertook the role of bodyguard to Aemilia. The depth of research in the history of Pompeii was immediately obvious as I was guided through those streets in the shadow of Vesuvius.
Whilst this story has the predictability that comes with a story set in Pompeii – we all know what happened there - the twists and turns kept me absorbed as I followed their blossoming attraction. The pace was perfect and played out under the shadow of the impending doom from a distinctly unstable volcano.
As this is a dual timeline story, the present day introduces Cat who is escaping domestic hell and fearing for both her own safety and that of her precious daughter. As they seek safety in Italy, we meet Connor, a research scientist studying volcanic activity.
As the synopsis tells us, Cat wears an antique bracelet that appears to be the source of some visions that she experiences as she walks the streets of modern-day Pompeii and the surrounding vicinity. While those visions tie in the ancient timeline, the spectre of Cat’s abusive husband holds the story firmly in the present day.
This book left me feeling like I had been through some of the situations myself. Christina’s writing had me believing that I was witnessing the events first-hand, and I felt my nerves rising in response to the jeopardy on the pages. In both timelines, there was a similar yet differing story as the characters faced the challenges that fell upon them. The sense of urgency and escape was palpable, and I genuinely felt their fears.
This is a very engaging novel that is expertly told. The characters are well-developed and definitely triggered my imagination. The dual timelines worked flawlessly as they each provided a sense of history despite the different centuries as the response of flight or fight transcends the years.
Of course, there were no Vikings in this story, but Raedwald made for a fitting alternative and if he’d hailed from slightly further north…

Another brilliant time slip book this time set in 2022 and the eruption of vesuvius in ad 79 in Pompeii.
There is a dual time line and 2 stories that Co exist that run along a similar vein.
I really enjoyed this if you are a fan of Christina Courtenay's other books you will devour this one

Shadows in the Ashes by Christina Courtnay

The author is one of my favourite historical timeslot writers , and this one is no different. I could not put it down !
Present Day
Finally escaping an abusive marriage, Caterina Rossi takes her three-year-old daughter and flees to Italy. There she's drawn to research scientist Connor, who needs her translation help for his work on volcanology. Together they visit the ruins of Pompeii and, standing where Mount Vesuvius unleashed its fire on the city centuries before, Cat begins to see startling visions. Visions that appear to come from the antique bracelet handed down through her family's generations...

AD 79
Sold by his half-brother and enslaved as a gladiator in Roman Pompeii, Raedwald dreams only of surviving each fight, making the coin needed to return to his homeland and taking his revenge. That is, until he is hired to guard beautiful Aemilia. As their forbidden love grows, Raedwald's dreams shift like the ever more violent tremors of the earth beneath his feet.

Loved both the times and the characters in them and the way the author brought them together.

I'm new to this author and genre so I didn't really know what to expect going into this but I enjoyed the book. It was fun reading with the time slips even though I had to get used to it at first. But the plot wasn't that outstanding to me.

A wonderful time slip novel set in the present day UK and Italy, and ancient Pompeii. Christina Courtenay is well on her way to becoming the queen of the time slip novel, along with Barbara Erskine. I really enjoyed this novel and thought it was her best yet. Highly recommended.