Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a fabulous New Year from The Coffee Pot Book Club!

Dear friends and followers of The Coffee Pot Book Club!

We've had a cracking year of showcasing brilliant historical fiction and non-fiction, right here at The Coffee Pot Book Club. We featured books from many different eras and sub-genres, and even in different formats. What an exciting time we've had!

Winter Break:

The Coffee Pot Book Club is now closed from
Monday, December 22nd, 2025 to Sunday, January 4th, 2026.

But we'll be returning in the New Year with exciting features. Look out for our upcoming announcements!

Editorial Book Reviews:

Mary Anne and Ellie Yarde, of Yarde Book Promotions, will again be in charge of our Editorial Reviews in 2026.

Please make sure to check both our Coffee Pot Book Club Editorial Reviews page HERE,

and Yarde Book Promotions’ blog HERE for all the details!

Each site has their own Editorial Reviews and Book Awards, just so you know...

Author Support & Online Workshops:

We have big plans for supporting historical fiction writers next year – and also the budding historians amongst you. We find that authors could often do with a helping hand, and we'll be delighted to provide that guidance.

At The Coffee Pot Book Club, we also have qualified tutors and knowledgeable historians in our circle who will be happy to share their wisdom with interested followers.

Expect to hear more in the New Year!

Book of the Year Awards 2026:

Our annual Book of the Year Awards will take place on November 30th, 2026. Find all necessary details, including categories, HERE!

And, as always, we'll continue to offer our exciting blog tours, promotional book spotlights, and our Book of the Month advertising sidebar adverts, at a range of reasonable prices, so we're sure you will find your perfect promotion!

We are looking forward sharing many great new historical fiction / non-fiction books & audiobooks in the New Year. Can't wait!

Lastly, we're extending a big *THANK YOU* to you – our dear friends and followers – for your support this year. We really appreciate it.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas,

and a very Happy & Healthy New Year to you all! 🎄

Oh, and keep reading!!!

Love and light,

Cathie xx

Book Review: Perfect Cadence by Tamar Anolic

*Editorial Book Review*

PERFECT CADENCE

by Tamar Anolic

Publication Date: 15th December 2025
Publisher:  Independently published
Pages: 338
Genre: Music Industry Historical Fiction (Rock Drama)

Fame. Fortune. Pitfalls.

It is 1978, and a music scene is brewing in Los Angeles. Singer Gunnar Erickson and guitarist Shep Townsend leave Grand Island, Nebraska, hoping to make it big as rock stars. Before long, they help form the talented and popular band Authentic Cadence and are managed by the biggest names in the business.

As they begin to realize their dreams, however, Gunnar and Shep learn that that fame has its downsides. Between the constant touring and groupies and the traps of easy drugs, their fame also attracts toxic family members they thought were long gone. As one platinum album turns into another, Gunnar and Shep find themselves playing to large stadiums with a tough manager who won’t give them a break. Soon, both musicians feel like they are losing themselves entirely- and it will take a tragedy to change that.

I approached Perfect Cadence expecting a familiar rise-and-fall rock novel, but Tamar Anolic delivers something more intimate and grounded, using the scaffolding of fame to explore identity, loyalty, and the erosion of self. Set against the volatile Los Angeles music scene of 1978, the novel follows Gunnar Erickson and Shep Townsend, two young musicians who leave Grand Island, Nebraska with little more than talent, ambition, and a shared dream of stardom. Their bond—equal parts brotherhood and creative partnership—forms the emotional backbone of the story from its opening pages.

Once in Los Angeles, opportunity arrives swiftly. Gunnar’s voice and Shep’s guitar work help propel the formation of Authentic Cadence, a band whose name quickly becomes synonymous with both commercial and critical success. The early chapters capture the intoxicating momentum of discovery: small venues give way to packed clubs, industry figures circle, and the machinery of fame begins to grind into motion. Anolic vividly renders the seduction of success—the first influential manager, the first platinum album, the first taste of a life lived at full volume.

As Authentic Cadence ascends, however, the costs of that ascent begin to accumulate. Constant touring frays personal boundaries, groupies and drugs blur lines of agency, and the band’s powerful manager exerts increasing control over their lives. Fame becomes a magnet not only for excess, but for unresolved pasts. Toxic family members resurface, sensing opportunity in Gunnar and Shep’s success, and old wounds are reopened in ways neither man is equipped to manage. The novel steadily darkens as the musicians find themselves playing to vast stadiums while feeling more isolated than ever, their original love of music distorted by obligation and exhaustion. When tragedy finally strikes, it functions less as a plot twist than as an inevitable reckoning—forcing both men to confront what they have sacrificed in the pursuit of perfection.

In the second half of my reading experience, what stood out most was Anolic’s restraint. Rather than glamorising excess or indulging in sensationalism, the novel treats fame as a slow, corrosive force. The prose is clean and purposeful, allowing emotional weight to build through accumulation rather than melodrama. Gunnar and Shep are not mythologised rock gods; they remain recognisable, flawed men whose vulnerabilities make their unravelling compelling rather than performative.

That said, Perfect Cadence is at its strongest when it remains focused on the internal lives of its protagonists. Some secondary characters—particularly within the music industry—lean towards archetype, serving more as embodiments of systemic pressure than as fully realised individuals. Even this, however, works thematically, reinforcing how fame flattens human complexity into roles and transactions. The manager’s relentlessness, for instance, is less a matter of villainy than of the inescapable logic of profit-driven success.

Ultimately, I found Perfect Cadence to be a thoughtful meditation on ambition and identity. Anolic understands that the true tragedy of fame is not collapse, but drift—the gradual loss of self that occurs while everything appears to be going right. By anchoring the narrative in friendship and shared history, the novel resists cynicism and instead offers a sobering, humane portrait of what it costs to be heard at the loudest possible volume.

Buy Link:

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Tamar Anolic

Tamar is a writer who writes in multiple genres. Her short stories have been published in many literary journals. Her most recent novel, A Summer Lasts Forever, is a young adult coming-of-age novel that takes place in Bennington, Vermont.

Tamar's legal thriller, This Side of the Law, takes place in the bowels of Brooklyn, New York, where city and federal prosectors clash as their careers hang in the balance. Tamar is also the author of Like Water and Ice, which follows figure skater Thad Moulton as he trains for the Olympics.

Tamar's short story collection The Lonely Spirit follows half-Comanche Marshal L.S. Quinn across the Old West. This book won an Indie Brag Medallion, was a winner for Historical Fiction in the Firebird Book Awards, was long listed for the Historical Fiction Company's Book of the Year Awards, and received the “Highly Recommended” award of excellence from the Historical Fiction Company. It also won first place (best in category) in the Chanticleer International Book Awards for short story collections and novellas. The Lonely Spirit is now available in audiobook format.

Tamar's novel in short stories, Tales of the Romanov Empire, was short listed for the Goethe Awards for Late Historical Fiction, and long listed for the Historical Fiction Company's Book of the Year Awards. Her other novels about the Romanovs include the alternate history series Triumph of a Tsar, Through the Fire, and The Imperial Spy. These three books are set in a world where the Russian Revolution is avoided and the hemophiliac Alexei becomes tsar.

Tamar's military fiction includes her first novel, The Last Battle, about a female veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Tamar also wrote The Vanguard Warrior Trilogy, a science fiction series about a gene that runs in military families and causes superpowers. The first book is The Fledgling’s Inferno, where cadet Katie McMann of Norwich University becomes the first woman to have the gene. A Silent Evil follows Deion Carter at Valley Forge Military Academy. In The Final Armada, twin cadets Gael and Isadora Perez at Texas A&M must decide which side they fight for.

Tamar's YA contemporary novel is Two Sisters of Fayetteville. Her MG fantasy is The Tunnel to Darkness and Light, and its prequel, The Keepers, is one of Tamar's more recent novels.

Blog Tour: Gradarius by A.M. Swink

Join The Coffee Pot Book Club on tour with…

Gradarius

Roman Equestrian Series

by A.M. Swink

February 9th - 13th, 2026

Publication Date: October 18th, 2025

Publisher: Historium Press

Pages: 364

Genre: Ancient Historical Fiction / Historical Romance

WAR IS ON THE HORIZON

Sworn enemies turned lovers, Decimus and Luciana face new challenges that put their love to the test. Decimus, haunted by his past, struggles with his feelings in the present. Luciana, when confronted with her old friend Boudicca's struggles, questions which of her loyalties is more important: her loyalty to Decimus, or her loyalty to her people? When sent to investigate a Roman traitor in Decimus's legion, both will have to decide which side of the coming battle they'll be on.

Rome and Britannia are hurtling toward a reckoning. Will Decimus and Luciana find a way forward together before war tears them apart?

Buy Link:

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A. M. Swink

A.M. Swink, the author of the award-winning Roman Equestrian series, grew up in Dayton, Ohio, obsessed with two things: books and horses. After a childhood of reading, writing, showing, and riding, she moved to Lexington, Kentucky to complete three degrees and work as a college professor of reading and writing.

She’s travelled extensively around Europe, exploring ancient sites and artefacts relating to the Iron Age and Roman era. She is fascinated by our connection to the past and the ancestral tether that draws us back into the mists of time.

Author Links:

Website • Facebook • Instagram • Threads

Bluesky • TikTok • BookBub

Amazon Author Page • Goodreads

Tour Schedule

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Blog Tour: The Witch of Godstow Abbey by Lady Harriet and Dr. Peter Stephenson

Join The Coffee Pot Book Club on tour with...

The Witch of Godstow Abbey

Murders in the Abbey, Book #2

by Lady Harriet & Dr. Peter Stephenson

February 2nd - 6th, 2026

Publication Date: October 18th, 2025

Publisher: Historium Press

Pages: 246

Genre: Historical Mystery / Medieval Mystery

A widowed academic investigating strange historical practices gets drawn back in time and into the year 1299 in Oxford. Join a cast of compelling characters-nuns, novices and outsiders-as they battle the forces of darkness. Enter their struggle against evil, clandestine organizations. Join their life-threatening fight to protect each other, be willing to die for each other, and occasionally fall in love.

Will heroic love and righteous pursuit of justice triumph? Will the horror-inducing villain be found out and overthrown? Or will the courageous troop of those fighting for what is good be overpowered and taken captive?

Set in Oxford, England, in the year 1299, a struggle takes place between the sisters of the local convent and a strange, terrifying local evil society. They discover a secret organization of men who perform unspeakable deeds. The lives of several sisters are in danger.

Join Mother Alice, Sister Agnes and Isabel, along with Lady Beatrix and Lady Harriet, as they confront and do battle with an evil, secret society intent on attacking them, taking over the convent and sacrificing a young woman.

If you love stories that keep you turning pages while imparting fascinating accounts of the past, this latest mystery in the "Murders in the Abbey" series will tingle your spine.

Praise for The Witch of Godstow Abbey:

'Richly atmospheric and quietly gripping, "The Witch of Godstow Abbey" is a worthy addition to your bookshelf.'

~ Yarde Book Promotion, 5* Editorial Review

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link

Lady Harriet

Lady Harriet holds the legal title “Lady of the Manor,” as defined under English law, and traces her ancestry to Charlemagne’s royal line.

A lifelong reader and devoted genealogist for nearly fifty years, Harriet has always had a passion for stories, whether they are buried in the past or found in the pages of a good book. She is the co-author of We Are Manx, a self-published family saga that explores her Manx heritage and the history of the Isle of Man in rich detail.

She’s also a photographer who prefers being behind the lens, a word lover addicted to word games, and a fan of wooden jigsaw puzzles. She has traveled extensively, with a deep appreciation for history, diverse cultures, and the unexpected joys that can be found away from home. Her career spanned volunteerism, real estate, and systems administration, but now she happily devotes her time to more creative pursuits.

As she puts it: “I’m old enough for Medicare, but not quite old enough to get a birthday card from King Charles—were I a Brit.”

The Witch of Godstow Abbey, written in partnership with Dr. Peter Stephenson, marks her first (but certainly not last) foray into historical fiction. With photography, she creates books of images; with storytelling, she creates images made of words.

Dr. Peter Stephenson

Dr. Peter Stephenson has written or contributed to over twenty books, all but one of which are non-fiction technical books. He has published over 1,000 papers in technical journals, technical trade journals, and peer-reviewed legal journals. One of his peer-reviewed papers has over 15,400 downloads.

In addition to writing, Dr. Stephenson has been playing blues and Americana music for 70 years. It is through that performing, and after earning a PhD from Oxford Brookes University, that he was given the appellation “Doc” by the owner of one of his performance venues.

Having visited Oxford several times and being employed by a UK company in nearby Malvern, it was only natural that he would set his tales in Oxfordshire. His academic experience in Oxford town sealed the deal and resulted in his first historical novel, The Whispering Dead of Rewley Abbey—Book 1 in the “Murders in the Abbey” series—which reached the Amazon Kindle bestseller list and won a Pencraft award for literary excellence in the winter of 2025. He now writes with his collaborator and writing partner, Lady Harriet.

Dr. Stephenson lives with two Savannah cats on a pond in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Starting a “new” career at the age of 80, Doc reckons that he has only about the next 20 years to finish the series and retire – again – perhaps this time to Oxford.

Author Links:

Website • Facebook • Instagram • GoodReads

Lady Harriet at Historium Press • Dr Peter Stephenson at Historium Press

Amazon Author Page Lady Harriet • Amazon Author Page Dr. Peter Stephenson

Tour Schedule

to follow