BOOKTOUR REVIEW – For The Love of Lily By Olivia Lockhart.

Today I am on the tour for For The Love of Lily by Olivia Lockhart, thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 348

Synopsis: Lily Forshaw loves her life, her job, and her best friends. Romance? Not on her radar. So, when a blind date with Zack leaves her unexpectedly smitten, she’s completely caught off guard.

But Zack isn’t the only one vying for her affection. As her heart becomes entangled between two very different men, Lily tumbles into an emotional whirlwind.

Lily hasn’t found ‘The One’, she’s found ‘The Two’.

With a troubled past haunting her, friendships hanging in the balance, and two passions pulling her in opposite directions, which future will Lily choose?

Can she truly have it all, or will she be forced to make an impossible decision?

Get ready to fall in love…

My Thoughts: I absolutely adored this one!

Lily has had loads of bad luck with love and relationships, one of them leaving her unable to trust men, but since then her best friend Luke had been a huge pillar of strength for her.. he’s gone travelling and their other best friend Cassie has encouraged Lily to go on a blind date with Zach.

They hit it off almost instantly, but agreed to take it slow.. but believe me when the steam and spice start it doesn’t let up. 🥵

Luke comes back from his trip, find out that Lily has started a new relationship and has a confession of his own which leaves Lily not knowing which way is up & questioning her past.

An utterly frustrating book (in the best way) that will have you laughing, crying, shaking your head and wanting to throw the book across the room because Lily just always seemed to make the wrong decisions 😂

I cannot wait to see where the story goes in book 2!

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BOOKTOUR SPOTLIGHT – My Dubrovnik Summer Love by Jayne May.

Today I am on the tour for My Dubrovnik Summer Love by Jayne May and I have a Spotlight for you. Thank you to Hannah at Hygge Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 363

Synopsis: A summer of love, but it’s not with who she expected…

 

Luisa-Maria and her husband Mark were once the perfect couple, but in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

A holiday to Dubrovnik means make or break for them, but what Luisa doesn’t expect is a

mysterious stranger catching her eye, or the further secrets she uncovers about her husband.

 

Will the holiday mean heartbreak for Luisa, or will this be the summer that changes her life forever?

About The Author: I write romantic fiction books set in wonderful destinations. I find travelling very inspiring

and most places that I’ve visited have given me ideas for my writing. I started to write My

Dubrovnik Summer Love after a visit to Dubrovnik back in 2013. There was so much to

see and do whilst at the same time, it was a place that offered that relaxing by the pool

break which was perfect. The relaxation time allowed me to come up with the ideas that

started flowing as soon as we started to discover the beautiful sights and scenery.

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

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BLOGTOUR REVIEW – Love at First Sight by Jessica Gilmore.

Today I am on the tour for Love At First Sight by Jessica Gilmore, thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 333

Synopsis:She’s in love.
Just with the wrong man . . .

Nora is done with dating, but still dreams of finding the one. So when a handsome stranger comes to her rescue one night and vanishes leaving only a business card, it’s like a scene out of a romcom . . .

It doesn’t take long for the two to ‘bump’ into each other again, and Nora falls for the perfect-on-paper Gabe. Only a few weeks later, he invites her to Sicily, and she cannot believe her luck!

Until Gabe is forced away for work, leaving her alone with his big and warm family in gorgeous Sicily who welcome her with open arms. Everyone but Luca, his older and distrustful brother, who is always around.

Soon Nora finds herself on the holiday of a lifetime . . . just with the WRONG brother.

My Thoughts: this story was like going on holiday without leaving your home, it’s fun, flirty and full of moments that will have you either laughing out loud or shaking your kindle in anger at the characters or frustration because you can see things that Nora can’t!

Nora as a main character was an absolute delight, she’s romantic and soppy, and really believes in love at first sight, the only problem is she’s had so many bad first dates that she’s given up, she’s deleted all the dating apps and decided to leave it up to fate to find her one!

So when her heel gets stuck in a drain and she’s saved by a man, surely that’s the sign she’s been waiting for?!

The only problem being she didn’t get his name or his number so she uses her expertise as an heir hunter to find him! – she gets swept off her feet and taken to meet the family in Italy, but as soon as they land Gabe disappears for work!

This is a typical story of right place, right time but wrong person in a beautiful setting and is perfect for fans of romantic comedies, it read like a movie and I really enjoyed it.

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BOOKTOUR REVIEW – Sweet Appraisal by Shauna Richmond.

Today I am on the tour for Sweet Appraisal by Shauna Richmond, 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: 408

Synopsis: I don’t do relationships. Not since my ex-wife set me up to be cavity searched and robbed me blind.

My world is a perfect balance of working and hunting.

There is nothing I love more than the thrill of the kill. I’ve never been more focused. I’ve never been more content. Nothing can distract me from my goals and my purpose.

Until her.

A chance encounter with my little neurodivergent fireball has my world spinning off its axis. She looks like easy prey. The men hunting in my club certainly thought so. What they weren’t counting on was me lurking in the shadows.

What started as any other kill quickly turned into nothing short of an obsession.

She doesn’t know I watch her when she’s home alone.

She doesn’t know what I am.

Not yet.

She will soon realise that the safest place on earth is in the arms of a killer.

My Thoughts: when I tell you I flew through this book I am not kidding, a 408 page book that felt more like a 250 page book because I just couldn’t stop turning the pages!

I was hooked very early on.. In fact, I messaged Hannah on the morning I started it to tell her I was 28 pages in and already in love..

This turned everything I hate about dark romance and made me love it. Am I now head over heels in love with a fictional serial killer? Yes I am! sorry Jordan (my boyfriend 😂) you’re being replaced by Aiden Quinn.

The representation for autism in this book was incredible, it showed Katie stimming & explained what it was, why she was doing it & then it just became normal, a part of her.. a part that Aiden just accepted which is how it should be.

This is dark, like really dark, there are scenes of torture & killing which are described in a lot of detail & as twisted as it sounds it just made my heart happy.

There are a lot of possible triggers in this book & they are ALL listed in detail at the beginning of the book, so please give them a read before you start if you need to.

I personally went in blind, which was the right decision for me.

This has left me with one hell of a book hangover.. I need more. 😩😩

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BLOGTOUR REVIEW – One Summer by Taylor Cole.

Today I am on the tour for One Summer by Taylor Cole, thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher got my copy.

Pages: 355

Synopsis: Two people. Two pasts. One summer to fall in love.

Caleb is a former professional surfer trying to build his life after a career-ending accident.

Lindy has moved to Loor island to start a new life, combing the shores for sea glass to weave into jewelry.

When the two meet, sparks fly – but not the good kind. Then they discover they’re neighbours, and they’re stuck with each other for one, long summer.

As they slowly learn to trust each other, and find themselves sharing their stories that brought them to Loor, their dislike begins to unravel into friendship, then maybe something more.

But will the weight of their pasts ruin their chance of a future?

My Thoughts: this rom-com was like a breath of fresh air and I loved it.

Told from the perspective of Lindy in short snappy chapters that are almost just like the thoughts going round her head and ending up on the paper with no ‘editing’ it made the whole thing feel more genuine, more real.

I laughed a lot whilst reading this, it was fun, lighthearted and had a whole host of characters that broke the tension between the 2 leads..h

This is marketed as an enemies to lovers.. and I was here for it! – when Lindy turns up at Loor she knows she should be alone, but there is a man in the bed, poorly and a dog too… is she in the wrong house?

A beautiful location, an escape from a crappy situation and a summer romance.. what more do you need?

I was left with a big smile on my face when I finished this one and I would definitely recommend it.

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BOOKTOUR REVIEW – Blood Sport by Cameron Curtis.

Today I am on the tour for Blood Sport by Cameron Curtis, 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: 253

Synopsis: Terrorism 101—Don’t make war on Breed.

Ex-Delta Force operator Breed arrives in Wambesa, a small country in Africa, tasked with evaluating security at a vital French cobalt mine.

He finds a situation which is anything but stable. The mine is ruthlessly exploiting the locals, the government is corrupt, and the people eagerly anticipate the return of Marien Tombaye, an exiled revolutionary.

Breed immediately understands this is a powder keg that’s ready to blow.

His worst fears are realized when Tombaye shows up with an elite cadre of guerrillas. The revolutionaries wipe out the French military garrison and brutally massacre most of the European population.

But some survive and desperately need help if they are to escape the war-torn country.

Breed teams up with a former SEAL, a beautiful African doctor, a village priest, and a former mercenary. Together, they will go to hell and back as they try to save this ragged band of refugees from Tombaye and his ruthless guerillas.

My Thoughts: as always with a breed thriller, once the action starts it just doesn’t give at all..

In a way this one was a bit tamer than others in the series, now don’t take that as a negative, there’s still plenty of bloody spilt and guns, it’s fast paced and exciting but I also felt that this one had a lot more emotion built into the story, it gave us a lot of back story too which helped us to understand what was going on and why.

We see the return of Stein, as more of a background character this time, but she still plays a very important role in the book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, I found it really hard to put down, I was so invested in what Breed was doing and seeing a completely different side to him.

I can’t wait to see what happens in the next one.

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BLOGTOUR REVIEW – Meet Me At Ivy Falls by Amy True.

Today I am on the tour for Meet Me At Ivy Falls by Amy True, thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 384

Synopsis: Welcome to Ivy Falls

In the gorgeous small town of Ivy Falls, Torran is putting all her passion into building her new career in house restoration, trying desperately to help the town keep its identity and charm. She has no time for love but when her childhood sweetheart, Beck, comes back to town and outbids her on her dream house at auction, sparks fly. This man broke her heart. Can she ever trust him again?

For Beck, Ivy Falls means trauma and loss. He knows his sudden departure hurt Torran badly but there are things she doesn’t know. He never intended to return to Ivy Falls so why is he there, bidding on his childhood home? His feelings for Torran are as strong as ever but Torran means Ivy Falls and Beck can’t go back there. Can he find a way to heal his past and find his future?

My Thoughts: I think I’d like to live in Ivy Falls, Amy did a brilliant job of setting the scene, describing the small town so perfectly that it’s made me a little sad that it’s a work of fiction.

We have some very strong main characters in this book, Torran is quite honestly a force to be reckoned with.. she may be seen as small in some people’s eyes but she is mighty, she’s the last person you’d expect to be a contractor but she really does know her stuff. Between her and her business partner Manny they are determined to restore Ivy falls to its historical beauty.

And then we have Beck, returning to his home town after leaving to try and escape his heartbreaking past, he goes to the auction just to see who gets his childhood home.. the last thing he expects is to get into a bidding war with his childhood sweetheart, the one who’s heart he broke 10 years ago..

Absolutely adored this one, for so many reasons, but putting my thoughts into words is proving difficult 😂

Enemies to lovers, second chance romance and dual POV all of my favourite things in one book. It was so angsty in places and you could feel the attraction and the want for each other through the pages at times. I just wanted to shove them together.

The book dealt really well with addiction in a very sensitive way, as someone who has dealt with a family member with addiction I was a little bit nervous about this part, I thought it would all be perfect straight away and it wasn’t, it really showed the ups and downs that can be involved on the road to sobriety.

Grief was a big theme in this book.. another thing I was worried about, I lost my dad almost 2 years ago (not to addiction) so the emotions are very raw at the moment, the book made me cry because the characters thoughts and emotions just felt so real.

I could shout about this book forever, I just think you should all go read it! – I cannot wait to be back in Ivy Falls in the future.

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BLOGTOUR REVIEW – Dead Mile by Jo Furniss.

Today I am on the tour for Dead Mile by Jo Furniss, thank you to Tracy at Compusive Readers for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 334

Synopsis: Friday afternoon, and the traffic is bloody murder.

Sergeant Belinda ‘Billy’ Kidd is driving home from the airport, jet-lagged and ready to resign from a career that has left her traumatised. Menopause has robbed her confidence too – now she’s a traffic cop who’s afraid to drive. When brake lights haemorrhage up the motorway, the cars grind to a halt. Moments later she finds a dead driver in a black sedan.

He has a metal skewer in his neck. But how? The killer can’t have left the scene without being spotted by the dozens of witnesses – so he must still be there, among them. If the traffic jam stays put, they’re all in danger; if the traffic clears, she’ll lose her suspect. The clock is ticking, but she doesn’t know how fast.

My Thoughts: very cleverly done, you know the killer is around you, you’re all stuck and no one can leave, but you don’t know who it is..

This book felt so real, it was so atmospheric that I felt like I was in the traffic jam, I could feel the hot stickiness of being stuck in the car, the tiredness and frustration of having a busy day and not being able to get home.. I even felt pressure in my bladder when Billy kept talking about how much she needed a wee!

Such a diverse cast of characters, all with their own possible motives making it plausible for absolutely any of them to have done it.

You’ve got the estate agent from out of town, the lady who has been in prison, the ‘couple’ who claim to have just met but are far too over friendly for that to be true and a whole lot more.

The suspense building and the tension it creates is perfection, the book made me feel on edge, uneasy and absolutely terrified to ever be stuck in traffic again.

This might just be one of my favourite thrillers, if not books of the year.

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BLOGTOUR REVIEW – Threes a Crowd by Christy McKellen.

Before I start, let me apologise to the tour organiser, the author and the publisher that this review is actually 3 days late. I forgot to put it in my calendar 🤦🏻‍♀️

Today I have a review for Threes a Crowd by Christy McKellen, thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 242

Synopsis: Right guy, wrong time …

Daisy’s perfectly content with her life. She’s got a job she likes, a nice enough flat, and in a relationship with childhood best friend Adam. She’s got used to the lack of fireworks – after all, you can’t put a price on friendship being the foundation of everything.

But they say you never forget your first, and Daisy has never forgotten how she felt that one summer with Zach – one electrifying, yet slightly embarrassing fumble in the dark.

The catch? Zach was also her and Adam’s best friend growing up. Now he’s back, after making his fame in Hollywood, and he has the same to-die for smile and cheeky glint in his eye… but Daisy has made her choice and it’s Adam – right?

Can Daisy follow her heart without anybody else’s hearts getting broken in the process?

My Thoughts: I have been spoilt this year with the new authors I have discovered, which is both brilliant and terrible, it means I have to add yet more books to my never ending TBR 😂

To begin with we’re following Daisy, Zach and Adam along with a couple of other friends 6 years before the main bulk of the book which sets the rest of it up nicely.. Adam is the nice but under confident friend, Daisy is the dizzy female friend who everyone assumes knows nothing & Zach is the typical macho male arsehole friend.. the events that happen in the first few chapters are the reason the characters are the way they are as the story goes forward so make sure you pay attention 😉

Fast forward 6 years, Adam and Daisy are together but just going through the motions and Zach is a famous film star who is coming home for a visit..

I absolutely adored this book, it’s your typical Rom com love triangle that also seems to flip everything on its head!

Adam was a miserable main character, I didn’t like him at all, but I think that was probably done on purpose so that the differences between him and Zach were more obvious., that being said I didn’t necessarily agree with the way he was treated at times.

The banter and the chemistry between Daisy and Zach was instantly noticeable and at times very very hot, I think I needed more though, I could’ve done with this book being longer 😅

It’s fun, it’s flirty and at times a little sexy. It had me unable to put it down and was finished in a single afternoon.

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BLOGTOUR REVIEW – The Surprise Party by Julia Crouch.

Today I am on the tour for The Surprise Party by Julia Crouch, thank you to Sarah Hardy at Bookouture for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 343

Synopsis: This trip was meant to save our marriage. Instead it will destroy everything…

To celebrate my special birthday, my husband and I have returned to the beautiful Greek island village where we spent our honeymoon. As the boat pulls in to the harbour, I feel hope rise in my heart. The white houses, the blue doors, the brilliant turquoise of the sea, are just as I remember. If two weeks in this paradise won’t fix our marriage, nothing will.

But then the next day a boat arrives, full of my friends and family. My grown-up children jump on to the shore, grinning and holding balloons. My husband beams at me and says, “Surprise!”

I can’t believe it. It was meant to be just the two of us. This was my chance to confess what I’ve been hiding for years, the truth that will change everything.

Now I’m surrounded by all the people I’ve been desperate to escape, all the secrets I’ve been pretending I don’t know. I force a smile on to my face, but inside I want to kill my husband.

But even after my party ended in disaster, I didn’t expect anyone to die…

My Thoughts: Eve and her husband have returned to their honeymoon destination years after their wedding to celebrate Eves 50th.. A beautiful location, her husband and some alone time with him to share some secrets that have been weighing heavy on her heart for so many years.…

Unfortunately the arrival of her family and friends on the island as a birthday surprise puts a stop to that & also brings with it a whole boatload of other problems and secrets.

This one was so hard to put down, another one sitting read for me, so many characters and so many secrets, you didn’t know what was going to happen from one page to the next. The writing was weighty and atmospheric it had me in an absolute chokehold!

People turn up dead, others have revelations and secrets that you wouldn’t even imagine to be possible and just when you think you’ve seen it all another layer of craziness is added!

You absolutely have to pick this one up this summer.. although I’ll be honest.. I don’t think I ever want another surprise party ever again.

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