Cold Fire

“This story had me on the edge of my seat and cheering for the characters,” says Girl With A Good Book And Her Dog, full review here. “It was a fun read.”

“I just adored Cold Fire a retelling of Romeo and Juliet,” says the Secret World of A Book Blogger. “James Hartley has a magical touch when he re-writes one of the most famous stories William Shakespeare wrote and the one that was drummed into my head whilst doing my GCSEs. To be honest when I was at school they somehow put me off reading any William Shakespeare, but James has managed to make me fall in love with Shakespeare and now after a second re-telling I have gone out and purchased the classics and have started to read them again with a different set of eyes.

“James has a beautiful way of introducing Shakespeare into peoples lives without it being daunting. I believe James’ books need to be introduced into secondary schools to really make Shakespeare reachable to all and that way, I believe Shakespeare will be loved by all. ” Full review here.

“I have high praise for James. I only wish when I was at school I had something like Cold Fire to make Shakespeare cool and to break it down. Cold Fire is a fantastic book, it mixes fantasy time travel with past and present to bring history to life. The characters are very relatable. The length of the book is just right, just long enough to hold and capture the targeted audience attention. Cold Fire would be the perfect present for young children to read alone, as part of study material, or for discussions. I would love to see these books in schools. I highly recommend this book and the series.” Dash Fan Book Reviews 5 Star Review here.

Based on Romeo and Juliet, the book is now available on Amazon UK and US. You can read three free chapters at Instafreebie here.

Bookshops! It can be ordered from Gardners by following this link. It is also available via Bertrams and all the normal suppliers. For large orders please get in touch for bespoke service.

The Invisible Hand, the first book in the series, based on Macbeth, was published by Lodestone on February 24^th, 2017. It is available from Amazon UK here and Amazon US here. There are three free chapters at Instafreebie here. The ebook is on offer all the month of September – and the Paperback is on special too on Amazon UK.

More Reviews for Cold Fire

“Fresh, innovative writing which captures the essence of Shakespeare’s play,” says Books, Life and Everything – and there´s the first chapter on the blog too! Click here to read.

“This is a lovely retelling which offers modern day teens a refreshing and grabbing way to dive into a classical story,” says Bookworm For Kids blog. Full review here.

“We also move back 400 years in time to see a young playwright turn up at the school, looking for employment on his way to London. I enjoyed Hartley’s treatment of the young William Shakespeare himself and felt that these scenes were particularly vivid and memorable.” So says English teacher Emma Moyle on her Books and Wine Gums Blog. Read the review here.

“What I found was a highly creative and often fantastical take on the story of Romeo and Juliet – or Gillian, in this case – set in a very unusual boarding school and populated by a cast of characters (with a diverse range of multinational literary names: Sol Kerouac, Alain Verne, Miss Tartt and many more, including some far more obscure).

The school itself was a fascinating mix of the mundane (normal teenagers doing normal things) and the mysterious, magical and faintly sinister (the Magistrate, the Writers). It took me a long time to reach any kind of understanding of the nature of the school… had I read the first book, this would presumably have been slightly easier, but I actually didn’t mind at all as it generated an enigmatic atmosphere which sent my mind frequently spinning in all directions…” Says A Ticket To Everywhere blog. Read the review here.

“Young love, unrequited love, warring parents, peer rivalry, it’s all there in abundance, but what’s also fascinating is the way that the author has directed the story along the lines of Romeo and Juliet, a play we know so well, and yet, he has given it a slightly edgier feel, which I think works really well. Add into the mix the story of Will from Stratford who arrives at the school some 400 years earlier to look for work, and you have the excitement of the bard himself adding his own distinct personality to the pages,” says Jaffareadstoo blog. Full review here.