prdgreads

Today I am on the tour for Forbidden Love by Sophia Greenwood with Helen Croydon, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 257

Synopsis: When Sophia, adopted as a baby, set out to find her birth parents, she hoped it would give answers about where she came from and why she was given away.
But nothing prepared her for the tumultuous events this reunion sparked. What began as a quest for truth gave rise to a secret that went on to change the course of her life and challenge all that she knew about love.
This heart-breaking and brave true story explores love and loss, belonging and identity, and the lifelong consequences of a mother-baby bond broken too soon.

About the Authors:

Sophia Greenwood is the pseudonym of a British-born writer adopted as an infant in the 1960s. Having lived between the UK and Australia for many years, she draws on a lifetime of personal experience to explore the emotional complexities of adoption, identity, reunion, and Genetic Sexual Attraction. She is currently studying counselling with a particular interest in attachment, parenting, and early emotional development. Forbidden Love is her first book.

Helen Croydon is a ghostwriter and non-fiction development coach. She enjoyed a 15-year career as a journalist and broadcaster during which she wrote three of her own books including two memoirs. She also ran a PR agency for 5 years but missed writing too much. She now helps others articulate their book ideas and bring their stories to life through ghostwriting, editing or mentoring.

If you like the sound of this it can be bought here!

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Today I’m on the tour for Singapore 52 by Murray Bailey, thank you to Murray for organising it and inviting me to take part and also for my copy.

Pages: 412

Synopsis: Chinese New Year 1952
Ash Carter had to leave the Middle East in a hurry. But when he arrives in Singapore he finds himself in the middle of a much bigger problem.
No one knows where, or when, or who but someone is planning an attack. Carter is told to make sure it doesn’t happen. With pressure from politicians and the army and with Chinese Secret Societies watching his every move, he has other plans. He is more interested in finding out who killed his friend.

My Thoughts: now I’m no stranger to Murray’s writing and I have a soft spot for Ash Carter, but this is my first dive into this book!

It was nice to see and experience Ash from the beginning so to speak, the story line was slightly tamer than what I’m used to from Murray and there was less action but I felt that was what was needed for this book!

We’re following Ash as he arrives in Singapore, he’s received a message from a friend asking for help. It seems like an urgent message so he gets there as soon as he can but when he gets there his friend is already dead, in what is believed to be a straight forward car crash, however Ash being the perfectionist and the sceptic that he is doesn’t believe that… what will his investigations uncover?

Whilst in Singapore he also works with the police, the army and the navy to get to the bottom of a black market scandal.

I felt this story was more character based than the other books in the series that I’ve read previously, but it really opened my eyes to why Ash is the way he is sometimes!

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Today I am on the tour for Pimlico People by Rupert Stanbury, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 365

Synopsis: Pimlico People is the third book in the Gods Galore series about the Olympian Gods in the 21st Century AD.

The Goddesses Artemis and Hebe are staying in Central London to obtain a better understanding of the lives of ‘normal’ people.

To their surprise, they soon encounter a plot to blow up a foreign embassy. Add to that a sophisticated operation involving the theft of valuable paintings from a major art gallery, and the two goddesses begin to question what a ‘normal’ life is all about.

Meanwhile, in the Underworld Cerberus encounters another dog who, amazingly, only has one head! How will they get on?

My Thoughts: there’s just something about this series that keeps me coming back for more.. it’s not the most sophisticated writing but it’s so much fun & has me laughing out loud or smiling whilst I’m reading!

This one follows Hebe and Artemis, Hebe is used to the human world but Artemis isn’t, so I really enjoyed her first experience and witnessing the things that are strange to her as an outsider.

OGGY OGGY OGGY throughout the book really took me back to being in the pub growing up, the nostalgia was real 😂

As always with the gods galore series, there’s a lot of joking and a lot of tongue in cheek but this one had a serious undertone too which I appreciated as it broke things up a little, this could be a bold statement but I think this one might be my favourite book in the series.

I absolutely love that Cerberus has a new friend 🥺 and I can’t wait to see what Rupert does with that story Arc in the future!

If you’re looking for a series that not only tells you about Greek mythology but also sweeps you along with it and makes you feel like part of the gang I promise you’ve found it.

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Today I am helping with the tour for Just One Bite by Miranda Rijks, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy. Now for those of you who actually look at the tour posters you’ll notice I’m not actually on it but I have included them so you can follow the rest of the tour if you’d like to!

Pages: 289

Synopsis: Brittany has gone viral. And not in a good way. 

Celebrity chef Brittany Cole has it all. Fame, success, and the perfect family. From her restored Vermont farmhouse, she’s built a wholesome brand that is trusted by millions.

But when her four-year-old has a meltdown, a video of Brittany shouting at the little girl goes viral. It’s a PR nightmare that threatens to destroy Brittany’s squeaky-clean image—and her career.

And it’s about to get so much worse.

More videos of Brittany abusing her daughter are released and #bitchmom trends within hours. But Brittany knows something truly terrifying: none of these new videos are real. Someone out there is trying to destroy her with deepfakes. Someone who has been watching her home, her studio, her marriage.

As more damning videos surface, Brittany’s perfect life unravels. Her sponsors flee. Her husband files for divorce. And then, when someone close to her is murdered, the police start asking questions Brittany can’t answer.

Her only hope is to find out who is behind this campaign to destroy her. Because it’s clear that they don’t just want to ruin her life—they want to end it.

My Thoughts: now if you’ve been here a while you’ll know I am a massive fan of Miranda’s work, I think I’ve read most if not all of her books & yet she still surprises me!

Just One Bite shows the scary reality of the world we live in right now, technology has advanced so much & with AI deep fake photos and videos have never been easier to make, we really can’t trust that anything we see digitally is real anymore!

Brittany is just your average working mum, had a full time job and a four year old, once you add in that she’s actually a celebrity chef currently in the midst of filming not one but 2 series for Netflix, you realise that no one can balance that many plates and let something slip.

So when a video of her hurting her child appears on the internet, she’s left shaken and confused, she remembers it well, she shouted, she lost her cool but she definitely didn’t hit her.

And I’ll leave it there 😂

The book is shocking, it’s twisty and it had so many layers, just when you think you’ve solved it and come to the conclusion you realise there’s still more pages and more of a story to be told!

The book left me feeling uncomfortable and antsy in the best kind of way & was exactly the escape I needed at the time.

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Hey 👋🏼

Today I am helping to celebrate the release day of Stateside by Stefan J Collins!

I’m going to tell you all about the book, and provide a link where you can buy it too ☺️

Pages: 344

Synopsis: Did you ever dream about being a professional athlete when you were younger?
Did you think about how cool it would be to play in a big stadium with thousands of fans screaming your name? Did you ever watch one of those American movies set in a university and think to yourself ‘it’d be so cool to go to college in America.’ If your answer to those questions is yes, then this book can help turn that dream into a reality. Throughout the course of stateside, former NCAA American football player, Stefan Collins gives an in depth breakdown of every detail you need to be aware of if you are to, first and foremost, earn a scholarship (covering all of the expensive tuition fees) to attend a university in the United States and then succeed both academically and athletically. 

Collins shares every detail of what being an international student athlete is like, detailing his experiences in securing a scholarship and the four years he spent as a Stateside collegiate athlete, covering both the glamorous details and the enduring work needed to play college sports and earn a degree from a prestigious American university. Several other prominent British athletes across sports such as tennis, golf, basketball, football and American football also share their stories and outline how they ended up playing college sports in America and how it transformed their lives in the most positive way imaginable. There is no reason why any young athlete reading this can’t enjoy the same experience and then leave with the highly employable skills necessary to succeed in life after college. Getting yourself recruited by prominent college teams can seem like such a daunting and overwhelming task that you’re not sure of where to begin. How about page one of Stateside?

If this seems like something you would enjoy it can be bought here!

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Today I an on the tour for Moon Over Marble Hill by Mark Laming, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Today I have a spotlight for you, I’ll tell you all about the book and the author and have a link to where you can buy it at the end 🥰

Pages: 292

Synopsis: Jo Patterson never expected to fall for a rock star – let alone lose him. Now she’s trying to find her footing by buying the Manhattan diner where their love story began. But this isn’t just about reclaiming a piece of her past. Jo is one of the richest women in New York with big ideas to launch an innovative chain of diners throughout the USA.

When she hires a brilliant new manager for her business, Moon Diners, Cooper’s input exceeds all expectations, yet difficulties arise after he reveals a secret that unsettles Jo.

And then there’s the man on the subway. Homeless, withdrawn, and strangely familiar, he haunts her thoughts. When Jo learns he was once a celebrated author, she’s compelled to help him find his voice again – whether he wants her help or not.

A life-changing move from her Manhattan penthouse to live in a modest Marble Hill apartment has its challenges as Jo slips deeper into her problems. This is a story that proves wealth means little without love, and that healing often begins in the most unexpected places.

About the Author:

Mark Laming has written six novels that have been set in New York, Spain and the UK. Over the last thirty years he has penned over one hundred short stories of which four have been broadcast by the BBC. He was nominated for The People’s Book Prize 2019 for his novel ‘Shadow with Nowhere to Fall’. Interests include horology and travel, particularly Brazil, where he lived as a teenager for one year. As a young boy, he hid in the wings of the Harrogate Opera House theatre, staring in awe as the actors rehearsed a show that his father had written. Irrefutably, a tiny slice of the magic rubbed off on the budding author and became the catalyst for his storytelling.

If you like the sound of this it can be bought here!

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Today I am on the tour for The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 316

Synopsis: Welcome to the Poppy Fields, where there’s hope for even the most battered hearts to heal.

Here, in a remote stretch of the California desert, lies an experimental and controversial treatment center that allows those suffering from the heartache of loss to sleep through their pain…and keep on sleeping. After patients awaken from this prolonged state of slumber, they will finally be healed. But only if they’re willing to accept the potential shadowy side effects.

On a journey to this mystical destination are four very different strangers and one little dog: Ava, a book illustrator; Ray, a fireman; Sasha, an occupational therapist; Sky, a free spirit; and a friendly pup named PJ. As they attempt to make their way from the Midwest all the way west to the Poppy Fields—where they hope to find Ellis, its brilliant, enigmatic founder—each of their past secrets and mysterious motivations threaten to derail their voyage.

A high-concept speculative novel about heartache, hope, and human resilience, The Poppy Fields explores the path of grief and healing, a journey at once profoundly universal and unique to every person, posing the questions: How do we heal in the wake of great loss? And how far are we willing to go in order to be healed?

My Thoughts: what an interesting concept this book is based on, if you could go somewhere, sleep for as long as it takes to erase your pain, would you? Because I don’t think I would, nor when one of the potential side effects is forgetting the reason all together, potentially losing all the memories that are currently so painful.

This book not only explores the idea of that, but shows people on both sides of the fence & people who have experience the side effect you’re warned about as well as people who come out with all their memories intact, they just hurt less!

With all of that we get the stories of the people and a look back at the interviews too, I was fascinated by the whole thing, it almost didn’t read like fiction and it was another book that yet again I struggled to put down.

So many raw emotions on the page, my heart went out to all of the characters, I laughed, I cried but most of all I felt this deep in my heart.

This book really helped to solidify Nikki’s skill as an author to me because I remember feeling similar when I read the measure & that was years ago.

This is one of those books that I just can’t stop talking about and will stay with me for a long time.

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Today I’m on the tour for The Death Row Club by V.A. Vazquez, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising us and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 336

Synopsis: SOME THINGS RUN IN THE BLOOD…

A darkly twisted debut thriller for fans of Riley Sager and Jessica Knoll. At an annual retreat for the adult children of serial killers, paranoia turns deadly when one of the guests is murdered.

Nicola Fischer’s father has just been convicted of killing five women – including her best friend. Shunned by her town and obsessed with the true-crime host who exposed him, Nicola jumps at the chance to join the Death Row Club: a secretive weekend getaway for people exactly like her.

But when an unexpected guest arrives at their remote wilderness retreat, tensions flare. By morning, one of them is dead.

And everyone is asking the same question:

If the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…which one of them is a killer?

My Thoughts: what a fun book this was, it answers the question of of if nature or nurture, we have a group of people who are all children of serial killers, in a secluded retreat, a place for them to just be, without the constant judgement of people, the constant pressure that surrounds them or the constant need to just act ‘normal’

This is Nicolas first time and the invite was sent by someone she considered a friend until it came out that she was the host of a true crime show, the same show that helped get Nicola’s dad convicted.

Hearing everyone’s stories & not only how different they were but how differently each of them dealt with the fall out left me absolutely fascinated! – I’m a huge fan of a true crime documentary and honestly the way this unfolded was just like one, the suspense, the intrigue, the murders themselves! I was here for it all!

I questioned everyone’s guilt/innocence over and over again, I just couldn’t pinpoint who I thought the culprit was.

Really love a book that keeps me guessing and this one was perfect, had enough red herrings & twists to stop you from getting to the answer even though it always felt like it was within reach!

I’ll be honest though, I am slight disappointed that it’s not a tv show! 🤣

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Today I am opening the tour for Into The Darkness by Brenna Bustamante, thank you to Hannah at Hygge Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 311

Synopsis: She was trained to end lives without hesitation.
He learned to survive by becoming something lethal.

Neither of them expected to hesitate when it mattered most.

Aza has built her life on precision, discipline, and distance. As a shadow-wielder and trained assassin, she survives by following orders and never questioning the outcome.

Her latest assignment should have been routine: eliminate a rival operative and disappear without a trace.

Instead, it becomes the moment everything fractures.

Before Aza can complete the kill, the Stars descend on the district, an extremist faction intent on eradicating every shadow-wielder they can find. What was meant to be a controlled execution spirals into chaos, forcing enemies into proximity and turning the city into a battlefield.

For the first time, Aza is not in control.

Cut off from certainty and hunted alongside the very man she was meant to eliminate, she is pushed into an uneasy alliance shaped by necessity rather than trust. Survival demands cooperation. Survival demands compromise.

But neither comes easily.

As violence spreads and the Stars tighten their grip, Aza’s priorities begin to shift. Protecting her sister and closest ally becomes inseparable from the fragile partnership she never intended to form. The lines between enemy and ally blur, and with them, the clarity she has always relied on.

What emerges in its place is something far more dangerous than hesitation.

Because proximity breeds understanding.
And understanding has consequences.

In a world where loyalty is fleeting and power is contested in blood, Aza is forced to confront the cost of everything she believes in: revenge, survival, and the identity she has carefully constructed.

When the moment arrives to choose between finishing her mission or preserving what remains of the district, the decision will demand more than skill.

My Thoughts: Brenna has done it yet again, written a story that pulls you in right from the beginning and leaves you so invested in the characters and the story that before you know it you just can’t put it down!

Aza is an assassin who uses the shadows she wields to help along with her tiny daggers, it’s a hidden part of her life, she’d rather everyone in her run down village think she’s a sex worker just like her mum because that’s what they expect of her.

But one day she’s given a job that will change her whole life and flip her world around, she’s asked to kill The First Breath, another well known assassin who will actually give her a fair fight.

They know the stars are coming, there’s been whispers in the town for ages, no one knows when or how many there will be, but that means that Aza and the rest of the shadow wielders are in serious danger.

This book was so good, who would’ve thought you’d ever be rooting for the ‘villains’ in the story but they were all so likeable and I just wanted to be a part of it 😂

I’ve fallen in love with Brennas writing, this is only the second book of hers that I’ve read but I just adore the writing style, the characters and everything about it.

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Today I am helping to open the tour for Until The Next Letter by Hannah Claire, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 297

Synopsis: When sisters Libby and Rachel open a letter from their late mother, they discover that it’s the first of five. Each letter asks them to scatter their mother’s ashes in a different place, and travel together to the carefully chosen locations.

What begins as an act of remembrance soon becomes a journey into the past. With every trip, the sisters uncover unsettling truths about their family. As questions mount, Libby and Rachel are forced to confront what they thought they knew about their mother, and about themselves.

Along the way, grief gives way to connection, laughter and unexpected romance. Old wounds are reopened, but new bonds are formed, offering the chance of healing and hope.

Until the Next Letter is a warm, uplifting novel about sisterhood and the courage it takes to face the truth. One letter, and one journey, at a time.

My Thoughts: I went into this one knowing it was going to be an emotional one, I was fully prepared and ready for it, the writing was beautiful, the story was perfect, I just loved everything about it!

Libby and Rachel were never afraid to confront the hard emotions, if they felt anger it was shown, if they were crying it was without feeling ashamed or guilty, it’s the side of grief that is never really shown either in real life or in books & that in a way made me fall in love with the book even more.

All that being said I’m not sure if I read this book at the right time or the wrong time, we’re very close to the anniversary of losing my dad, so everything feel heightened.

Their mums letters made me cry, every single one, their reactions made me feel the emotions with them & don’t even get me started on how I felt when they were scattering the ashes, complete emotional mess!

But it all added together & meant that I just couldn’t put this book down, it was so captivating.

There was so many happy moments in this book too, between all the secrets that were being uncovered I think both Libby and Rachel found a new lease of life, a new reason to keep going.

The overall feeling of this book is hope & not being afraid to move on and discover new things.

Absolutely one of my top books of the year!

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