prdgreads

Today I’m on the tour for Queens of The Underworld: A journey into the lives of female crooks by Caitlin Davies, 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: 320

Synopsis: Robin Hood, Dick Turpin, Ronnie Biggs, the Krays … All have become folk heroes, glamorised and romanticised, even when they killed. But where are their female equivalents? Where are the street robbers, gang leaders, diamond thieves, gold smugglers and bank robbers?

Queens of the Underworld reveals the incredible story of female crooks from the seventeenth century to the present. From Moll Cutpurse to the Black Boy Alley Ladies, from jewel thief Emily Lawrence to bandit leader Elsie Carey and burglar Zoe Progl, these were charismatic women at the top of their game. But female criminals have long been dismissed as either not ‘real women’ or not ‘real criminals’, and in the process their stories have been lost.

Caitlin Davies unravels the myths, confronts the lies and tracks down modern-day descendants in order to tell the truth about their lives for the first time.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: this book was right up my street, I’m a sucker for true crime & to to read about women being bad ass criminals was the icing on the cake!

Caitlin had a way of taking to people about their family history without judgement which was refreshing, she was just eager to know them as people and find out where possible what led them to the lives they chose to live.

This book was so easy to get lost in, although I did find it repetitive at times so this it’s definitely not a one sitting read, but that made me appreciate it even more.

The descriptions made this so easy to picture what was happening which helped me to remember that everything I was reading was real.

A book I would recommend to all fans of true crime, and those who just want to dip their toes in too.

Absolutely brilliant!

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Today I’m on the tour for The Painted Lobster Murders, part of The Cozy Craft Series and I have a spotlight for you, thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 218

Synopsis: A quirky and funny series for fans of a good mystery and compelling characters. Can you solve the crime before our dressmaking duo?

Penny Slipper runs a sewing shop in the beautiful market town of Framlingham and she’s got her wild and creative cousin, Izzy, to help with the latest dressmaking project.

A classic car weekend is coming to town and stylish Fliss Starling wants an outfit that will match her husband’s elegant vintage car.

When one of Fliss’s house guests is murdered by a masked intruder, Penny and Izzy have a deadly mystery to solve (as well as a dress to make!). With the aid of a cheeky little corgi dog and handyman Aubrey, they begin to search out the clues to this motor-related murder.

But fingers are soon pointing at Penny and Izzy when the intruder’s mask appears to have come from their own shop! And rival shop owner, Carmella, would be delighted to see them take the blame.

Can Penny and Izzy stitch the pieces of this puzzle together and find the guilty culprit?

About The Author: Millie Ravensworth is the pen name of two authors who have been writing entertaining and silly novels together for more than ten years. The Millie Ravensworth books focus on their shared love of crime stories and charming characters who readers love spending time with.

If you like the sound of this is can be bought here! And is also available on Kindle Unlimited!

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Today I’m on the tour for The Wonderland Murders, part of The Cozy Craft Series and I have a spotlight for you, thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 218

Synopsis: A quirky and funny series for fans of a good mystery and compelling characters. Can you solve the crime before our dressmaking duo?

After losing her job at an exclusive London hotel, Penny Slipper is only too happy to help when her grandma asks her to take charge at the Cozy Craft sewing shop in charming rural Suffolk.
With cousin Izzy on hand as the expert dressmaker and Penny’s head for business, what can possibly go wrong?
But Penny’s in town for less than a day when the local librarian is poisoned and Penny fears she might even be accidentally responsible. Penny and Izzy are forced to turn detectives to uncover the true cause of death, while finishing a costume commission for their first customer.
Matters take a further deadly turn when a second body is discovered.

Can Penny and Izzy unpick the mysteries of the past and sew the pieces of this puzzle together before it’s too late?

If you enjoy fast-paced mysteries, charming country towns and characters who you want to spend hours with then you’re going to love the Cozy Craft Mystery series.
Start your next murder mystery adventure today!

About The Author: Millie Ravensworth is the pen name of two authors who have been writing entertaining and silly novels together for more than ten years. The Millie Ravensworth books focus on their shared love of crime stories and charming characters who readers love spending time with.

If you like the sound of this is can be bought here! And is also available on Kindle Unlimited!

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Today I’m on the tour for Keepers by Cheryl Burman and I have a spotlight for you. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 321

Synopsis: Raine thought her future was settled. Until she finds herself alone, with a young child, and pregnant.

It’s 1951, Australia, and while Raine’s marriage to the good looking but moody Teddy was unplanned, all seems well. Cash is short, but their baby thrives and they get by.
Then Teddy disappears, sending a telegram which may or may not be the reason for his desertion.
Furious and grieving, Raine faces tough choices. Especially about her feelings for the faithful, devoted Alf. He’s always looked out for Raine. He’d love to do so forever.
Eight months pregnant, Raine sets out on a punishing journey to face her errant husband. And make the most important decision of her life.

About The Author:

When Cheryl Burman moved to the Forest of Dean in SW England she, like Tolkien and Rowling, was inspired to write. 

She started with middle grade fantasy, discovered a taste for historical fiction, also that short stories and flash can be fun, and now she has moved on to historical fantasy. She likes a challenge and a change.

As Cheryl Mayo, she is Chair of Dean Writers Circle and a founder of Dean Scribblers, which encourages the creative writing spark in young people in the community.

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

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Today I am on the tour for The Bone House by Caroline Mitchell and I have a spotlight for you, thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 240

Synopsis: When hundreds of birds fall from the sky into Slayton’s lake in a terrifying freak event, the waters are dredged – revealing a dark, long-held secret.

An old pram is pulled from the depths, with the bones of a baby still strapped inside.

It’s the moment that new mother, Cora, has been dreading since she moved to Slayton – because someone knows, and is going to make her pay.

With the help of forensic anthropologist Sophia Hudson, and the extraordinary young Elliott Carter, Detective Sarah Noble gets to the bottom of a cold case that refuses to stay in the past. Will she survive the secrets of the bone house?

About The Author: New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post and International #1 Bestselling Author. Shortlisted by the International Thriller Awards for best ebook 2017, the Killer Nashville Best Police Procedural 2018 and the Audie awards 2022. Over 1.7 million books sold.

Caroline originates from Ireland and now lives in a village outside the city of Lincoln. A former police detective, she has worked in CID and specialised in roles dealing with vulnerable victims, high-risk victims of domestic abuse, and serious sexual offences. She now writes full time.

Caroline writes psychological and crime thrillers. Her stand alone thriller Silent Victim reached No.1 in the Amazon charts in the UK, USA and Australia and was the winner of the Reader’s Favourite Awards in the psychological thriller category. It has been described as ‘brilliantly gripping and deliciously creepy’. 

The first in her Amy Winter series, Truth And Lies, is a New York Times bestseller and has been optioned for TV.

If you like the sound of this it can be bought here! And is also available on Kindle Unlimited.

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Today I’m on the tour for Living Proof by A.H. Martin, and I have a spotlight for you, thank you to Hannah at Hygge Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

This one will be a bit different but I have some posters to share ☺️

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Today I’m on the tour for Preloved by Lauren Bravo and I have a spotlight for you, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 445

Synopsis:
Gwen is coasting through life. She’s in her mid-thirties, perpetually single, her friends are busy procreating in the countryside and conversations with her parents seem to revolve entirely around the council’s wheelie-bin timetable.

And she’s lonely. But then, isn’t everyone?

When she’s made redundant from a job she hardly cares about, she takes herself out for a fancy dinner. There she has the best sticky toffee pudding of her life and realises she has no one to tell. She vows to begin living her life fully, reconnect with her friends and family, and finally book that dentist’s appointment.

Gwen decides to start where all things get a second chance: her local charity shop. There, with the help of the weird and wonderful people and donated items bursting with untold stories, Gwen will find a way to move forward with bravery, tenacity, and more regular dental care.

Dazzlingly witty, Preloved is a tale about friendship, loss and being true to yourself no matter the expectations. Lovingly celebrating the enduring power and joy of charity shops.

About the Author:

Lauren Bravo is a freelance journalist who writes about fashion, popular culture, food, travel and feminism, for publications including Grazia, Refinery29 UK, Cosmopolitan, Stylist, easyJet Traveller, Time Out, Delicious, the Telegraph and the Guardian. She is the author of two non-fiction books, What Would the Spice Girls Do? (2018) and How To Break Up With Fast Fashion (2020). Lauren lives in East London, and Preloved is her debut novel

Preloved will be released on April 27th and can be preordered here!

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Today I’m on the tour for Atalanta by Jennifer Saint and I have a spotlight for you, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 368

Synopsis: When a daughter is born to the King of Arcadia, she brings only disappointment.

Left exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta is left to the mercy of a passing mother bear and raised alongside the cubs under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis.

Swearing that she will prove her worth alongside the famed heroes of Greece, Atalanta leaves her forest to join Jason’s band of Argonauts. But can she carve out her own place in the legends in a world made for men?

About The Author: Jennifer Saint grew up reading Greek mythology and was always drawn to the untold stories hidden within the myths. After thirteen years as a high school English teacher, she wrote ARIADNE which tells the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur from the perspective of Ariadne – the woman who made it happen. Her second novel, ELEKTRA, explores the curse upon the House of Atreus, giving voice to three women who are caught up in its shadows: Clytemnestra, Cassandra and Elektra whose lives are shattered by the Trojan War and who seek to find justice at any cost. Jennifer Saint is now a full-time author, living in Yorkshire, England, with her husband and two children.

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

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Today I’m on the tour for Second to Sin by Murray Bailey, thank you to Murray for organising it, inviting me to take part and providing me with a copy of the book.

Pages: 352

Synopsis: “It only takes a second to sin,” Father Thomas said. He believes in saving souls, but Charles Balcombe is beyond saving. His control over his killer instinct appears to be weakening. BlackJack has killed again and more questions are being asked of Detective Inspector Munro. He is under increasing pressure to solve the murders, especially when he picks up more cases from Kowloon rather than solving his own.
As Balcombe battles with his demon, he investigates the death of a young woman. Was it an accident or did she kill herself? At first Balcombe thinks it’s straightforward but as he digs, other cases reveal an evil in Hong Kong. One that could consume them all.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: it’s no secret that I absolutely adore Murray’s writing, that being said I was a little dubious to start the BlackJack books because I was worried that they wouldn’t live up to the Ash Carter standards, I can happily report that I was wrong.

BlackJack is the alter ego of Charles Balcombe, Balcombe is a private investigator of sorts, whereas BlackJack likes to kill the bad guys that the police either can’t or won’t touch for various reasons.

We learn in this one that Charles doesn’t always have control of BlackJack and doesn’t always remember the crimes he commits, could be problematic for him moving forward when he’s working with the police to solve the possible murder of a young woman, can he cover his tracks at the same time?

This book was incredible, the pacing was perfect, the suspense was palpable, I devoured this in one sitting and can’t wait to see what he gets up to next time.

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This is the first review I’ve written since losing my grandad last month and I feel like I’ve forgotten how to be a book reviewer so please bare with me 😅

Pages: 394

Synopsis: MADDY
I cultivate my shamelessness.

I wore it as a badge of honour at my convent school, and I’ve been turning it into an art form at Alchemy, the club whose social media I manage.

My boss, though? He’s the most proper person I’ve ever met. No one would peg him as the Finance Director of a sex club.

(I mean, no one’s pegging him at all, which is probably his problem. #justsayin)

I get it. He’s a widower who’s single-parenting two little girls while holding down a massive job. He needs an outlet. Something just for him.

Besides, I’ve seen the looks he gives me. Equal parts disapproval and desire. Looks that compel me to bring him back to life.

Which is why I proposition him to do unspeakable things to me.

Use my body to find some light in his darkness.

After all, he has an entire sex club at his disposal. Surely it’s rude not to indulge?


ZACH
This woman will be the death of me.

It’s deeply unfortunate that my soul only finds peace when my hands are on her body.

I’m beginning to understand that the basest pleasures of the flesh can overrule the most elevated emotions of the heart.

She looks like the embodiment of sin.

But God, she feels like salvation.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: oh wow this book.. I thought unfurl couldn’t be beaten, but I was totally wrong.

Undulate was on another level, we have Maddy alchemy’s new social media manager, who loves to take advantage of the perks of the job and Zach the finance guy and co-owner of Alchemy after losing his wife to cancer and becoming a single dad to his 2 young girls, He is aware of what happens but doesn’t partake in any of it.

But could Maddy change all of that? She’s very switched on and takes in more than you think, so when she approaches him and tells him to use her to fulfil his needs will he take her up on her offer?

This story deals so well with the grief side of things and opened up conversations that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a super steamy romance novel.

The story made me laugh, it made me saw ‘awww’ out loud more than once, but them also made me sob real tears to the point I had to put the book down because I couldn’t see the words anymore 🥺

And oh my the spice is off the scale, I don’t understand how you get into the headspace to write scenes like that, but I am here for it all!

I can’t wait to see what’s next for the team at Alchemy but I’ll be honest, this one will take some beating!

Undulate can be bought here and will be available on Kindle Unlimited from 19th April 2023!

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