prdgreads

Today I’m on the tour for The Adopted Daughter by JJ Burgess, 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: 285

Synopsis: She says she’s his daughter. But what does she really want?

Alice and Richard are happily married and about to achieve their lifelong dream – giving up their jobs to sail around the Mediterranean on their own boat.

But shortly before they are due to leave, a young woman, Sally, appears on their doorstep and says she is Richard’s daughter, given up for adoption by his former lover.

After he gets over the shock, Richard is welcoming to Sally, but Alice is unsettled. Discovering that Richard is a father is a painful reminder of her own desire for a family and her inability to conceive.

But is this what makes her wary of Sally, or is her intuition trying to warn her that something much darker is happening here?

When one suspicious incident follows another, Alice starts to dig into who Sally really is and why she has suddenly come into their lives. What she finds is something she could never have imagined in her wildest nightmares…

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: now we all know I am a huge fan of a psychological thriller and I didn’t think it was possible for me to discover new authors within the genre, then enters JJ Burgess with what turned out to be a read that I devoured, this wasn’t quite a one sitting read as life and work for in the way but believe me if I’d started this on a day where I didn’t have to work I wouldn’t have moved until it was finished!

The story starts off slowly, introducing us to the characters, we have Richard and Alice, who on the surface seem like a happily married couple who are just preparing for early retirement and going cruising around the Mediterranean, sounds perfect right?

We soon discover that things aren’t quite as they seem, Richard is keeping secrets, but how bad are they? how deep do they go?

Then Sally appears, a lady claiming that Richard is her dad.. but yet again it all just seems too perfect.

Once you get deeper into the story the pace picks up massively, the chapters are relatively short which helps & the story goes back on itself so you see the same scenes from both sides of the story which helped to fill in some of the blanks!

Normally when this happens it takes away from the story for me because you know what the big reveal is, but this time it made me root for a certain character more, no spoilers here but I just wanted it all to go in their favour & believe me when I tell you at certain points this had me on the edge of my seat and unable to sit still 🤣

Will definitely be looking out for more by JJ Burgess in the future!

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Today I’m on the blog tour for Gods Galore by Rupert Stanbury, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author for my copy.

Pages: 360

Synopsis: The Olympian Gods have made it to the 21st century AD. We may not have heard much about them in the last two thousand years, but they’re still controlling what we humans are up to – or at least they think they are.

The reality is that the Gods are like us – they’ve got problems!

Zeus is still Top God on Mount Olympus, but he’s got issues with many of the younger gods. His brothers, Hades and Poseidon, have issues with themselves – they’re getting too set in their ways ruling the Underworld and the Seas; they probably need a job change.

But help is at hand from an unexpected source – we humans.

It’s surprising what a dose of good common sense can do for even the most powerful of the gods, especially when it comes from a couple of teenagers!

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I had absolutely no use what to expect going into this but I’ve started dipping my toe into stories about gods and mythology.

I bloody loved this one, it was light and funny with totally tongue in cheek humour.

Vesta and Totty were almost a law unto themselves mixing things up and making the gods and historical figures on Mount Olympus, on earth and down in the underworld realise that they were stuck in their ways and helping them to realise there were better/ easier ways, but then realising themselves that change isn’t always for the better 🤣

I don’t feel like I’m selling this very well, but I promise it’s worth the read, I flew through it and I’m pretty sure when I wasn’t laughing I had a big goofy smile on my face.

I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to watch Hercules in the same way again!

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Today I’m on the tour for The New Husband by Brian R. O’Rourke, 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: 307

Synopsis: Mary always dreamed of a perfect husband. Now she’s got one.

When Mary’s husband Brent returns from a month-long wellness retreat, he seems like a totally different person.

Before he went away, Brent was anxious, depressed, and in danger of losing his job.

Now, he’s decisive, optimistic, and full of energy. He also has big plans to start his own business … big plans which require a lot of capital.

As Mary spends more time around her husband, she begins to realise just how much he’s changed in every little way. Is the man she’s living with really the same person she married?

And who is the guy in the grey SUV who keeps following her? Does he know something sinister about her husband?

Little by little, Mary realizes Brent has been hiding a dark secret about what really happened on that wellness retreat. And as she draws closer to the horrifying truth, she finds herself trapped in a nightmare beyond her wildest imaginings.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: Mary is eagerly awaiting the return of her husband, after suffering from depression and losing himself in more ways than one he decided to go on a wellness retreat for a month. Things were starting to get rocky between the 2 of them before he left so now she’s excited to see him again and see if they can get there relationship back on track.. but when he comes home he’s completely different, yet still looked the same, to everyone but the ‘nosy neighbour’ who is convinced that he is not Brent!

What an absolute rollercoaster this one was, having the story told in 2 different timelines from different perspectives really added to the overall confusion of the whole thing, no matter how many times I tried to get it all to fit, it just didn’t, very frustrating but yet satisfying from the readers point of view 🤣

This thriller is a bit of a slow burn to begin with, now normally this is something I dislike in this genre but this time it worked in the books favour because it really helped to build the doubts I had!

Even as I saw the outcome unfolding I found myself shaking my head as I was reading because I just didn’t want to believe it!

Full of twists and lies, this book is like a very intricate jigsaw puzzle winds you up as you’re trying to get the pieces to fall into place but yet the end result is very satisfying. This is definitely one you need to be adding to your tbr!

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Hi hi, this one isn’t a blog tour, just a review for a book I thoroughly enjoyed!

Firstly let me say happy publication day to you Conrad!!

Pages; 242

Synopsis: Cuckoos on the Mersey follows the child protection teams in social services and the PVPU (protecting vulnerable people unit- Merseyside Police) on Merseyside. They are in a constant battle to protect the most vulnerable in society. Leo is a sixteen-year-old in the grip of a violent OCG, struggling to kick his addiction to ketamine. When his neighbour Angela is visited by social services, the social workers can’t get an answer. They persuade her children to open the door for them and Angela is found unconscious on her settee. A police investigation is launched and an evil criminal network is uncovered. A race against time begins as witnesses are silenced or vanish completely.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: Right from the start this book pulled at my heartstrings, such a hard topic to write about but Conrad has really managed to pull it out of the bag making it seem very realistic yet done in a really sensitive way.

So many different elements and characters that all added up to the bigger picture, each characters story was heartbreaking on its own, but you just can’t believe how deep it all goes, just when you think you’ve reached the bottom something else gets dug up.

An book that had me in its clutches throughout and has every aspect of a crime novel you can imagine!

I’ve been purposefully vague so as not to give anything away but I highly recommend you give this one a go!

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Today is my turn on the tour for The Red Admirals Secret by Matthew Ross, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for arranging it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author for my copy.

Pages: 358

Synopsis: A Premier League bad-boy murdered at his newly refurbished home; a teenage runaway’s corpse uncovered on a construction site; a gunman shoots up the premises of the local gangland boss – all of them projects run by beleaguered builder Mark Poynter. Can he fix it?

The Red Admiral’s Secret is the second of ‘the Poynter + Perry Mysteries’, the darkly comic crime novels following Mark Poynter’s trouble on the tools, aided and hindered in equal measure by his trusted crew of slackers, idlers and gossips, and the lengths they go to just to earn a living.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed being bag with this big bunch of misfits, seemingly ordinary people who trouble just seems to follow 😂

This time Mark is helping to turn an old pub into apartments for his friend and boss, almost instantly they have someone knocking on the door telling them they will offer money for the pub as long as they leave it as is.

Obviously not one to be outdone Danny refuses and tells mark to carry on with the work.. only to later discover a body..

Mark finds himself under police scrutiny yet again whilst still trying to make money and keep his business afloat and keep his girlfriend happy. The only solution he can find to all his problems is Hamlet and we all know that won’t end well 😂

The Red Admirals Secret has everything you need from a book, it’s dark and twisty, full of suspense the perfect crime book, whilst also being full of laughs, moments to make you smile and characters who almost make you feel like you’re coming home.

A one sitting read for me. I am eagerly awaiting the next instalment!

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Hi 👋🏼

today I have a review for you that isn’t part of a blog tour! – I received an ARC of this book at the back end of last year by the author himself, unfortunately life got in the way and I’ve only just got around to it!

Pages: 154

Synopsis: Hallucinations where I am tortured to death or Emmerdale? Tough call. Ever feel that your life is so empty that all there
is left to do is drink? Life for Lucas hasn’t changed since he was 20, battling an addiction which consumes him and anyone close. Can Lucas break the cycle or is he cursed to have his life stuck on repeat?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: do not let the calming front cover fool you (although this will make sense at the end) what’s contained in these pages is, brutal and dark at times.

This is classed as Horror and Urban fantasy and it was absolutely fantastic. It had me laughing at Luke’s really dry humour and the fact that he just tells it as it is, but I suppose when you’re trying and sometimes failing to against your nature than you have to find the joy and the laughs where you can even if it’s at other people’s expense.

This is a fairly short book which meant the story took off straight away and never really tailed off or slowed down.

Luke is the kind of character that you should hate, he’s the ‘bad guy’ after all, but how can you when he redeems himself so cleverly and more than once in the story you’re praising him for the havoc he caused!

Im not ashamed to admit that this book had me shedding a tear too, and for an author to have me feeling 2 different emotions at opposite ends of the scale within 154 pages is a skill in itself.

Brilliant book that I would definitely recommend to fans of the horror/urban fantasy genre!

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Today I’m on the tour for Lamb of God by Catherine Fearns, 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: 256

Synopsis: Thy Will Be Done…

Detective Inspector Darren Swift can’t seem to give up the ghost. When a woman is discovered living wild in the Blundellsands dunes, followed by a burial of skeletons dating back centuries, he can’t help being drawn into the case.

With the help of Sister Helen Hope and heavy metal musician Mikko Kristensen they delve deeper, uncovering a world of secret societies, private clubs and religious orders.

But as they approach the truth, do they realise that the danger may be closer than they think?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I have absolutely adored this series and book 4 was no different, like the other 3 this one was a one sitting read for me, it was lovely to be back with my bunch of misfits that seem to work when you put them together even though everything in you tells you they shouldn’t, where else could you get a DI, a sister and a heavy metal musician solving crimes together?!

This one was a little different to the rest as they’re not all together, but a woman found living in the wild and a pile of mismatched bones some dating back centuries brings them all back in and doing what they do best!

As always things aren’t straight forward and they find themselves delving deeper into a part of society that we know exists but isn’t necessarily shouted about.

Full of wit, banter and sarcasm all tied together with the occasional reference to religion, it was creepy yet fun and exciting to read!

Already looking forward (and hoping) to the next instalment! A

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Today I’m on the tour for My Year With The Italian Girl by Linda Leuzzi, 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: 251

Synopsis: It’s 1985. The Bellport Evening Star, a weekly community paper headed by its sassy editor Vivian Allegra, covers both the humorous and serious issues that regularly erupt in this small village. When she agrees to host a teen exchange student from Catania for a year, Francesca, who descriptively discusses her ancient home city and is hilarious in her observations of American life and who teams up with Black student Keisha with her beautiful Broadway dancer aunt for the upcoming Step competition, life starts taking off.

Actually it does for all of them. These are three strong women who in their own voices, fight to achieve their goals, which includes the community that helps them.

Add a burgeoning local environmental issue with alarming threats to Vivian, a bit of magical realism, and a handsome Brit neighbor who has his eye on recently divorced Vivian and things get pretty interesting.

Who’s mysteriously threatening Vivian? Will the Wiley property be saved? Will the Step Squad win the Regional competition? And will Vivian let down her guard with sweet Ian?

This uplifting story about small town life presents the workings of a weekly paper, different cultures, and what happens when belief in one’s self persists.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one, it’s not my usual genre but I thought I’d give it a go and I’m really glad I did!

It tells the story of Vivian who has agreed to take on an Italian girl Francesca for a year and their worlds collide in such a beautiful way.

It’s hard hitting at times and heartwarming at others, there’s humour woven cleverly throughout whilst Vivian and Francesca get used to each other, start to compare their cultural differences and learn a lot from each other.

The book was told from various perspectives which gave us a well rounded view of the story as a whole. By far my favourite parts were Francesca’s letters home to her family.

Overall a really lovely read and one I would definitely recommend.

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Hi hi 👋🏼👋🏼

I’m here today to tell you all about A Scandal Of Secrets by J.F Howard because it’s available for preorder now ☺️

Synopsis: Anthony Crawford is young, rich, and lazy. With aspirations to take the film world by storm, he never quite seems to motivate himself enough to do anything about it – until he meets the beautiful Cecile. Wife to Robert Ford, who is Anthony’s stepfather’s business associate and close confident, Cecile is older, wiser, and wants Anthony to be her next little plaything, but will an affair with her be Anthony’s making or his downfall?

The oncoming Christmas season provides a perfect opportunity for Anthony’s mother and stepfather to throw a party, but what happens to turn a glittering, dreamlike celebration, the pinnacle of the social calendar of the rich and famous, into Anthony’s personal nightmare, and more importantly, will he survive?

A SCANDAL OF SECRETS is a cleverly presented murder mystery set in the environs of 1920’s English high society and is JOHN F HOWARD’S debut novel.

If you like the sound of this it is released on the 19th October and can be preordered here!

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Today I’m on the tour for The Atenisti by Aidan K. Morrissey, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part, today I have a spotlight for you, where I tell you all about the book and the author ☺️

Pages: 243

Synopsis: The Atenisti’ is a global rollercoaster ride of murder, the quest for justice, and retribution through the eyes of a conscience-driven assassin.
Travelling under numerous aliases, Ricci, a member of a secret organisation, finishes a mission in London. Apparently followed, he escapes to Italy. Seeking to avenge the kidnap, rape and murder of a young girl, he is plunged into a battle against a worldwide paedophile ring of extraordinary extent and power. This battle leads Ricci from Italy, through Germany, to India and beyond. Can he take on the might of this criminal network which seems determined to eliminate him?

About The Author: Aidan K. Morrissey, a lawyer, has lived and worked all over the world.

His time in Italy, Germany and India, all of which feature in this, his second novel, has given him a deep insight into their culture and everyday way of life. 

Inspired to write The Atenisti after reading daily newspaper accounts of horrific attacks on young Indian women and children, he has brought to the page, a fictional crime novel, set against the background of true and monstrous stories of abuse and depravity

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

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