prdgreads

Today I’m on the tour for The Digital Adventures of Ava and Chip: Self Driving Car by Beverly Clarke, 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: 32

Synopsis: Ava and Chip are back in their second adventure learning about technology as they travel in a self-driving car through a smart city. Join the duo as they interact with technology, learn about how the car works and the impact of tech upon society.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: now I know that as a 32 year old adult I am not the target audience for this book but I thought it was brilliant!

What a clever way to introduce children to the technology that now surrounds them, including them in the story so it’s not too overwhelming!

I really liked the fact that there were enough words on the page so that the older audience wouldn’t get bored, whilst also having boxes with just the main points and beautiful illustrations to help the younger readers understand.

I didn’t actually know a lot if anything about self driving cars, so I learnt a lot too!

A perfect book for the whole family to enjoy together ☺️

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Today I’m on the tour for Death at Crookham Hall by Michelle Salter 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: 326

Synopsis

A fatal jump. A missing suffragette. An inexplicable murder.

London, 1920. For the first time ever, two women are competing against each other to become an MP. Reporter Iris Woodmore has a big story on her hands when she accompanies one of the candidates to the House of Commons. But it’s a place that holds painful memories. In 1914, her mother died there when she fell into the River Thames during a daring suffragette protest. Then, in the shadow of Big Ben, a waterman tells Iris her mother didn’t fall – she jumped.

Iris discovers that the suffragette with her mother that fateful day has been missing for six years, mysteriously disappearing just after the protest. Desperate to know the truth behind the fatal jump, Iris’s investigation leads her to Crookham Hall, an ancestral home where secrets and lies lead to murder…

About the Author: Michelle Salter writes historical cosy crime set in Hampshire, where she lives, and inspired by real-life events in 1920s Britain. The first book in her Iris Woodmore series, Death at Crookham Hall, draws on her interest in the aftermath of the Great War and the suffragette movement.

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 A Distant Voice In The Darkness by Leela Dutt, 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: 274

Synopsis: A chance meeting at university leads to a relationship that spans marriages, the world and the decades in this sweeping and fulfilling novel from acclaimed author Leela Dutt, a story that reaches from the British countryside, through the glamour of Rome and the exhilaration of India to the turbulence of the South African invasion of Lesotho. Through it all, Eleanor Larsen-Bruun pursues a successful career and yet never loses her love for the man she met so many years before. At the peak of her success, fate seems to offer the chance to begin again something that was started so many years before…

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧.5

My Thoughts: this is a lovely story spanning a couple of decades, of first love and the fact that when the heart decides what it wants you just can’t fight it..

We travel the world watching Eleanor and Alec fall in love & separate but then their paths continually cross throughout the book in the most unlikeliest of places.

The descriptions of the places were beautiful and made me want to visit them all so I can experience it for myself.

The story was told from both perspectives which I loved, because you got to see what both of them were up to during their time apart and experience the emotions and inside thoughts of both of them which gave the story a well rounded feel.

The story was a little too fast paced for me, things happened very quickly, you’d get used to one thing and then before you know it the tables had turned again which left me feeling like I’d missed something sometimes and I found myself going back a few pages just to double check!

Overall an enjoyable read and one I would recommend!

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Today I have a spotlight for you to tell you all about The Widows Walk by John Anthony Miller ☺️

Synopsis: Cape May, N.J. 1976

When NYC editor Audrey Taylor finalizes her divorce, it seems as if her entire world has collapsed around her. And when she inherits a run-down Victorian mansion in a decaying N.J. beach town, it only seems to get worse. At least, until she finds the treasure map.

The Widow’s Walk is a tale of growth, self-discovery, and learning to appreciate all the good that life has to offer. A romance wrapped in a historical subplot, a mystery hidden in a centuries-old crime, it ties two unsuspecting people together to find a love that neither expected—which is far more precious than buried treasure could ever be.

About The Author:

John Anthony Miller writes all things historical—thrillers, mysteries, and romance.

He sets his novels in exotic locations spanning all eras of space and time, with complex characters forced to face inner conflicts, fighting demons both real and imagined.

Each of his novels are unique: a Medieval epic, four historical mysteries, two Cold-War thrillers, a 1970’s cozy/romance, four WWII thrillers, and the Revolutionary War spy novel, The Minister’s Wife.

He lives in southern New Jersey.

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

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Today I’m on the tour for Gerard Philey’s Euro-Diary: Quest for a Life by Brendan James and I have a spotlight for you.

Synopsis: Could there be a world of interest and adventure beyond the Midlands? A world of confidence, sex and excitement? A better life – a better me?’ These are the questions Gerard Philey grapples with over New Year, 1995. Sitting in his rented Black Country room, reflecting on his thankless teaching job and miserable love life, he courageously decides to abandon his humdrum existence and embark on a quest for Euro-fulfilment, fun and fitness on the Continent.

After a shaky start in Brussels, events manoeuvre him to Amsterdam where chance encounters shift his world well and truly into fifth gear. He samples the trials and tribulations of new relationships, alongside managing a sex shop in the city’s Red Light Area – on top of the challenges of fat-free living and international travel!

Through his bittersweet diary, we see how Gerard steers a laugh-out-loud course through farcical episodes and fanciful characters…and how entanglements from past and present draw him unwittingly into a criminal underworld where events ultimately take their toll.

About The Author: Brendan James is the author of the comedy novel, “Gerard Philey’s Euro-Diary: Quest for a Life”. Though this is his first novel, he has a large number of non-fiction publications (under the name Brendan Bartram) as a former university lecturer and researcher. A passionate linguist and Europhile, he spent a number of years working in the Netherlands, France and Germany. He lives in the West Midlands with his husband.

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

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Today I’m on the tour for Discovery of The Five Senses by K.N. Smith, 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: 334

Synopsis: A suspenseful incident in a forbidden preserve heightens the senses of five friends. Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell become super-gifts that forever change the world. But furious battles confront the boys as they try to understand their sensory super powers in a race to save mankind. With light beings and mysterious strangers complicating their plight, will the boys defeat the evil Druth before it’s too late? Get prepared for the twisting and grinding of this award-winning, action-adventure story — an edge-of-your-seat narrative for young and mature readers alike.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: just by looking at the cover you know you’re going to get an intense adventure from a close knit group of friends.

The lads all knew they shouldn’t go to the reserve but they go anyway what they don’t realise is that one trip will change their lives forever, but only they can devise wether it’s for the better or not!

The book almost read like a film, it was really easy to picture the scenes in my head which helped me get lost in the story!

The dynamics of the friendship group within the story was my favourite part, they were just so close knit, always had each others backs & weren’t afraid to tell each other when they thought they were out of order.. which made them stronger in the end.

As much as I enjoyed the story I wanted more from the bad guys 🤣 I wanted them to be badder so to speak, they just seemed too nice! – but then I guess at almost 32 years of age I’m not the target audience!

I would definitely recommend this one, it was a lot of fun.

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Today I’m on the tour for Strays by Janeen Leese-Taylor, 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: 306

Synopsis: A murder without evidence, a secret that could topple society and a cop with a bit of a coffee habit!

Three things were certain in the mind of Officer Theodore Night:
One: There’s a serial killer loose in Portstewart
Two: His new friend is a werewolf
Three: He’s in way over his head

When bloody paw prints at a crime scene leads Officer Night to consider the impossible, he must rely not only on his years of investigative experience, but on the local werewolf pack, for help.
An unlikely friendship gives Night the edge he needs to prevent an all-out war. Has Blair, the mysterious barista from Bean and Gone, caused him to bite off more than he can chew?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: this book had everything! – it’s been a while since I read a crime story that had had me hooked on the story, loving the main characters and having me laughing too!

We’re following Theo who had just taken a demotion from detective to a regular police officer so he can move closer to somewhere he feels he needs to be (the reason why is revealed later in the book no spoilers here 🤣)

And Blair, the local barista who as it happens turns out to be a werewolf and roped into helping Theo solve the case!

Families are being murdered and all the police have to go on are footprints, that are left by some kind of animal, but one far too big to be a domestic animal & a 13 year old boy who for some reason they can’t work out was left alive to tell the tale!

I instantly loved the dynamic between Blair and Theo, there was sarcasm, humour and banter oozing off the pages and I think I had a smile on my face every time the two of them interacted!

Obviously things don’t go smoothly and they happen to end up on the bad side of a lot of werewolves (that’s putting it lightly..)

This book really did have me on the edge of my seat & I’m sitting here hoping that it’s the start of a new series 🤞🏼🤞🏼

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Today I’m on the tour for A Proposal Changes Everything by Isabelle Grace, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book at ours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 230

Synopsis: He writes happy endings for a living, but can Jack orchestrate his own?

When bestselling author Jack Blackwood spontaneously proposes to Tess, her first reaction is laughter.

Wait, he isn’t joking? Sure, they’ve been best friends for most of their lives, but that’s just it: they’re best friends.

Except something shifts in both of them following Jack’s suggestion and the more time they spend together, the more Tess begins to consider Jack in a new light.

Could a rock-steady friendship be the perfect foundation of a love for the ages or would they be fools to risk everything they have on a “what if?”

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I couldn’t give this anything less than 5 stars, although I would’ve definitely given it more if I could!

A friends to lovers romance about an author?! For a bookworm who loves romance this was perfect.. and it ended up being everything I expected and more!

Although this series is about the Blackwood brothers, the focus isn’t on the men as such.. it’s all about the women.

Tess and Jack have been best friends for as long as they can remember.. but that’s all it’s ever been until Jack proposes to Tess, she laughs it off but then obviously starts wondering how serious he really was..

Watching the 2 of them discover the true feelings they have for each other was beautiful, I literally couldn’t put the book down!

I loved seeing the vulnerability of both characters within the story whist they navigated this new journey together but once they worked it out, they really worked it out 🔥🔥

I don’t want to give anything away, but I loved it & cannot wait to see what the next Hickory Ridge book has in store for us!

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Today I’m on the tour for The Testing of Rose Alleyn by Vivien Freeman, 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: 269

Synopsis: England in the year 1900. A vibrant young woman must take control of her destiny.
Vivien Freeman’s atmospheric novel brings late Victorian England hauntingly to life in the mind of the reader. In this beautifully written romance, we explore the choices facing an independent-minded woman at a time when women struggled for self-determination.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧.5

My Thoughts: this was a beautiful story of a 16 year old girl in 1900, trying to find her way in the world, she’s currently living in a hostel with 5 other girls in a small market town and had found herself a job in one of the local book stores with Mr Pritchard.

The descriptions of the people and places are beautiful and the writing had a poetic almost haunting feel to it.

The story is told in 1st person from Roses perspective which I felt was perfect, it means we really get to be inside her head and understand all her thoughts and feelings, it gave the book a real genuine feel.

A story of friendship, love, loss and just how hard it is growing up.

This isn’t one I would naturally pick up on my own, but I ended up really enjoying it!

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Today I’m on the tour for One Down by Diana Wilkinson, 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: 377

Synopsis: I’m not being paranoid. It’s all there in the crossword clues…in black and white. There’s no doubt the threat is real. Today, the answers spell out my murder.
May Third. Amanda. Silver Birch. Noontime. Assassination.

Is Nathan, my estranged crossword-setter husband, really planning to kill me? Or is it someone closer to home?

I check the door is bolted, slither to the ground, and count down the seconds to noon. There’s nothing left to do, and no one I can call. Who’d believe me anyway? The lady on the ground floor has already left the building, and my new boyfriend is on holiday. Or is he?

A tread of footsteps. A rap at the door, and I close my eyes, hold my breath…

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧.5

My Thoughts: I thought this story was really cleverly done, the idea that the main character feels her ex husband is communicating with her through the daily cryptic crossword was eerily believable and utterly fascinating! – I didn’t really understand half of the clues even though the author did a bloody brilliant job of explaining how we got to answers.

I loved Amanda as a character and teddy too, although I definitely didn’t trust any of them at all.

Throughout the story an event is hinted at, an event that caused Amanda to have serious anxiety and a bit of a drink problem, you’re left wondering if this is the reason she’s being taunted through crossword & wether her husband is really the one one responsible as she thinks… after all the crossword setters are anonymous and it could be anyone!

This was a good solid psychological thriller, I didn’t know which way it would go & doubted myself repeatedly.

Although the chapters were short which is what I love I did find the book a bit long and repetitive, but that’s just a personal preference. I would still highly recommend you pick this one up!

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