prdgreads

Today I’m on the tour for When You’re Dying by MQ Webb, 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: 347

Synopsis: When you’re dying, a lot goes through your mind.

Verity Casmere knows Dale Carmot kidnapped her sister Ashlee and is willing to risk it all for the truth. 

Alternating timelines collide as psychiatrist Oscar de la Nuit returns to help Verity find peace before she dies.

Who would you live for? Who would you die for?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: oh I loved this, with book one in the Oscar de La Nuit series being such a huge hit for me I was worried that this one wouldn’t live up to my expectations, but I am happy to say that I was so wrong!

We’re following Verity, she’s been given a terminal cancer diagnosis and is determined to find out what happened to her sister, who has been missing for a while before it’s too late! – the police have hit a dead end and seem to have forgotten all about Ashlee so Verity decides to take matters into her own hands…

The first chapter had me on edge and uncomfortable but in the best kind of way, the descriptions almost set my vertigo off 😅

Oscar is tasked with speaking to both Verity and Dale as Caroline is convinced that one of them is lying and she feels Oscar is the best person to wheedle the truth out of them.

As with the last book this story is told in 2 different timelines, the then and the now, which is one of my favourite ways for a thriller to be written, it really fleshes out the story but in a way that still invites questions, places seeds of doubt and leave you wanting more.

We get to see more of Oscar’s life too & his past and present collide in a way that I wasn’t expecting, can’t wait to learn more about him in book 3 if we’re lucky enough to get one!

The book was fast paced and I the storyline didn’t let up enough for you to catch your breath I was left feeling like I just needed to know what happened which turned this into a one sitting read.

If you’re looking if or a book with a well written storyline that is also full of character development that will have you tying yourself in knots over the twists and turns then look no further, you’ve found it!

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Today I’m on the tour for An Italian Island Summer by Sue Moorcroft, 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 360

Synopsis: Will one summer in Sicily change her life for ever?

After her marriage falls apart, Ursula Quinn is offered the chance to spend the summer working at a hotel on a beautiful island off the coast of Sicily, Italy. Excited by a new adventure, she sets off at once.

At Residenza dei Tringali, Ursula receives a warm welcome from everyone except Alfio, son of the Tringali family. He gave up his life in Barcelona to help his mother Agata with the ailing business, and is frustrated with Ursula’s interference – and she in turn is less than impressed with his attitude. As they spend more time together, though, they begin to see each other in a different light.

But what with Ursula’s ex-husband on her tail, family secrets surfacing and an unexpected offer that makes Alfio question his whole life, there’s plenty to distract them from one another. Can she face her past and he his future, and together make the most of their Sicilian summer?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I really love a Sue Moorcroft book, her writing just has the ability to take you away from real life and transport you and this one was no different.

Ursula is offered a job in Sicily where she’s o my needed for the morning which leaves her afternoons free for exploring and working on her love of ceramics, she finds Fabio an older gentleman with his own workshop to teach her everything he knows! – he’s a bit hesitant at first but they both soon find their feet with each other, seeing their friendship blossom was beautiful.

Then we have Alfio the son of Agata (the owner of the hotel) he’s grumpy, standoffish and doesn’t really understand why Ursula is there.. but he’ll get there 🤣

So many feelings about this book, it was heartbreaking and full of characters that left you frustrated, but it was also everything you need from a summer romance and created the perfect escape!

I loved the fact that it wasn’t easy & never straight forward, but ir brought 2 family’s together and dealt with some tough topics in a really sensitive way.

Definitely one I recommend moving up your tbr!!

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Today I’m on the tour for The Secrets We Keep by M.I. Hattersley, 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: 216

Synopsis: What would you hide to protect those you love?

Twenty years ago on a midnight drive along a country lane, Rob’s life was almost destroyed.

Since then, he’s fought hard to get things back on track. Now he runs his own high-end restaurant, has a loving wife and daughter. And a newborn baby only adds to the joy.

But when an old friend, Dan, shows up, Rob realises the life he’s carved out for himself is under threat.

Because Dan was there that night. He knows Rob’s dark secret. And now it seems he’s going to use what he knows to push his own sinister agenda.

Rob is desperate to keep the past hidden from his wife, Jessie, but his secretive behaviour is driving a wedge between them, threatening their marriage. Things are going from bad to worse – and then the police come knocking, asking questions about that fateful night.

Rob must battle with his own demons, as well as the ghosts from his past, to protect himself and those he loves. But who can he trust when he can’t even trust himself?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: this book was a bit of a slow burn to begin with but the writing drew me in instantly. We’re following Rob, head chef and owner of the restaurant Fire and Ice which he had opened a few years ago with his wife Jessie when their daughter was a baby. Jessie had been front of house until 3 weeks ago when she had given birth to their son Noah.. a surprise who turned up just as they’d accepted that a second child wasn’t to be.

Rob is keeping secrets, mainly about the restaurant and the fact that it’s not doing well.. he’s worried that it won’t survive, but he can’t tell Jessie that when she’s stuck at home all day with a baby who never seems to do anything but cry.

It’s not a healthy relationship by all accounts but they’re making it work.. until Dan appears, Robs childhood best friend, we soon learn that Robs secrets go well beyond the restaurant and that Dan has the power to bring everything crashing down with just a few words.. how far will Rob go to make sure this doesn’t happen?

This one turned out to be a real page turner where the action and the twists just kept coming. It had me on the edge of my seat & biting my nails. This is definitely one I recommend people add to their TBR!

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Hi everyone! – today I have a cover reveal for you for A Scandal of Secrets by J.F. Howard!

It’s a debut novel and sounds bloody brilliant, let me share the synopsis with you before I reveal the cover!

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. Wfe to Robert Ford, who is Anthony’s stepfathers business associate and close confidente, Cecile is older, wiser and definately 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.

Thank you to Hygge Book Tours and Provoco Publishing for having me as part of the cover reveal!

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Today I’m posting my review as part of the readalong for Run To The Blue by P N Johnson, 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: 330

Synopsis: It was supposed to be the best day of her career, the day when she was the hero, the reporter whose story put a deadly gangster behind bars.

But as crime boss Ken Lean is sentenced, ace reporter Tess Anderson instead finds herself in the headlines: her husband is exposed as having an affair with a top government minister, and Tess herself faces death threats from the Lean crime family.

With her life collapsing around her, Tess runs to her friend’s villa on the Greek island of Paxos, but soon finds she’s been tracked down by killers and spies. Her only hope of escape is a mysterious, glamorous, and somehow familiar American yachtsman.

Can Tess stay alive long enough to see her pursuers behind bars?

Who can she trust as her enemies close in?

And what is the secret that her husband and his lover are so keen to ensure remains buried?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I bloody loved this, the action starts straight away and just doesn’t stop!

Tess is a crime reporter and today is the day she sees the crime boss Ken Lean sentenced thanks to a story she broke… but at the last minute she gets pulled out, it seems that the life she has built is starting to collapse around her feet, her husband has been having an affair with a high profile woman and the story is all over the media.

As if that’s not enough Ken’s brother is determined to find her.

I know I’m not selling the story very well, but it’s fast paced, full of shocking moments and definitely worth a read. The cover makes it look like a nice relaxing summer read, I promise you it’s not it will keep you on the edge of your seat right until the very end.

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Today I’m on the tour for Dear Diary, It’s Me by Lucinda Lamont and I’m actually attempting a review 🤣 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: 200

Synopsis: Can you keep a secret?

Alice is a young, budding professional, on a seemingly slippery slope. Struggling with life and drinking excessively, she doesn’t want anyone to know how bad her problem is becoming.

Power couple Hannah and Craig can’t conceive, which sends them down separate paths of betrayal.

Ollie has been bullied all his life, and neglected by his mother. When a new girl, Sky, starts at his school, could she be everything he has been looking for?

Disgraced PE teacher and now local pub landlord, Phil, lives a sordid life. No one knows what lengths of depravity he will go to, to get his kicks out of life.

Can Alice break the cycle of destruction she is on?
Will Hannah and Craig destroy their relationship for good?
Can Ollie get the peace he craves in life?
Does Phil get exposed for who he really is?

Lucinda Lamont’s ‘Dear Diary, It’s Me’ is a dark psychological thriller where poor choices have serious consequences.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: well this book definitely packs a punch! When I started reading it I thought it would be all diary entry’s from Alice, they were brutal, honest and left you feeling different emotions on her behalf..

But then we get to the chapters and the story is told from various different perspectives, we have Hannah and Craig, Phil and Ollie, all battling their own demons and dealing with them in different ways.

The book is deep, much deeper than I expected from 200 pages. it’s emotional, heart wrenching yet beautiful.

Not your usual thriller but one I would definitely recommend, it does however deal with some difficult topics and isn’t suitable for anyone under the age of 18.

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Today I am helping to real the gorgeous cover for Three Sisters by Kathryn Barnett! – thanks to Hannah at Hygge Book Tours for inviting me to br part of it!

Before I reveal the cover though let me tell you about the book!

Synopsis: Charlotte, Violet, and Rose. Three sisters growing up amidst the rumblings of World War One and each

of them fighting for their own personal freedom. Charlotte, the eldest and a teacher, engaged to marry

Richard, the Curate, and struggling to accept her passionate nature and sexuality, embroiled into the

world of Conservative activism through the Primrose League. Violet, a nurse, and a suffragette, fighting

not just for female emancipation, but also her own as she battles with her feelings for her best friend,

Maeve. Rose, the youngest, and diagnosed an epileptic, fights to be recognised as a person in her own

right and in the process falls in love with John, of lower class and station. 

When Charlotte takes the decision, along with her mother, to institutionalise Rose because of her

epilepsy, the family is split as Violet opposes Charlotte's high-handed decision, but is devastated to find

she cannot protect Rose, as personal and political boundaries are pushed to the limits and each girl

struggles with impending womanhood. 

Three Sisters is author Kathryn Barnett's first novel with Provoco Publishing and is a delightful,

beautifully written social statement, detailing the battle of three girls to become women in their own right.

Will Charlotte's passionate nature and conservatism affect her forthcoming marriage to the Curate? Does

Violet find her freedom in her suffragette activities, or will she be entrapped by her nursing duties and

family responsibilities? And what of Rose, the youngest, fighting to follow her true self and be accepted

despite her epilepsy and not ostracised because of it? 

A heart-warming tale of three sisters, fighting for freedom in this, the first of five novels making up the Three Sisters Story.

The book will be available soon.. but are you ready for the cover reveal now?!

What do you think?! 😍

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Today I’m on the tour for No Good Lie by Claire Stibbe and I have a spotlight for you, thank you to Anne from Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 348

Synopsis: The darkest secrets hide in plain sight.

When Freya Thorne finds a woman’s body on the beach, she is swept back into the nightmare of the past. She knows the similarities to her daughter’s tragic death cannot be coincidence, but nobody will believe her.

Letters arrive with chilling threats. This stalker knows more about Freya than any stranger could. Weird sounds disrupt her nights, and she knows someone’s been in her house. As the stalker draws Freya into a terrifying game, she uncovers more questions than answers. Her life is being threatened, and she doesn’t know who to trust. Someone has been pulling her strings, and that someone is determined she must suffer. Because Freya broke a promise. And promises aren’t meant to be broken.

About The Author:

Claire Stibbe is the winner of the 2021 Page Turner Award for Fiction and a prolific novelist. Today, she writes domestic suspense novels that draw on her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse. Her aim is not just to tell gripping stories but to inspire other survivors to find freedom and independence. Her books owe much to her years as a member of the Albuquerque Police Citizen’s Academy where her main focus was the impact of violence towards women and their families.

Claire now lives in Utah with her husband and son, and her cat, Edward, who sleeps on her desk while she writes. She is addicted to reading and sharing the crime fiction love.

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

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Today I’m on the tour for Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon and I have a spotlight for you, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Firstly I just want to say thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy, I have started it but unfortunately haven’t yet finished it.

Pages: 400

Synopsis: Neither of them expected to fall in love. But sometimes life has other plans.

When Wren realises her fiancé is in love with someone else, she thinks her heart will never recover.

On the other side of the world, Anders lost his wife four years ago and is still struggling to move on.

Wren hopes that spending the summer with her dad and step-family on their farm in Indiana will help her to heal. There, amid the cornfields and fireflies, she and Anders cross paths and their worlds are turned upside-down again.

But Wren doesn’t know that Anders is harbouring a secret, and if he acts on any feelings he has for Wren it will have serious fall-out for everyone.

Walking away would hurt Wren more than she can imagine. But, knowing the truth, how can she possibly stay?

About the Author:

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

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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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