Today I’m on the tour for The Measure by Nikki Erlick, 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: 368
Synopsis: Eight Ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.
It seems like just another morning.
You make a cup of tea. Check the news. Open the front door.
On your doorstep is a box.
Inside the box is the exact number of years you have left to live.
The same box appears on every doorstep across the world.
Do you open yours?
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧
My. Thoughts: thought provoking and heartbreaking, what a brilliant debut novel!
You wake up one morning with a box on your doorstep that says “the measure of your life lies within” would you open it?!
This is the dilemma that faces the entire world one morning in March & we’re following 8 people who make the decision that is right for them and then have to face the consequences!
Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the main characters I love a multi perspective book so once I realised this I was hooked, I did worry that it would get confusing with their being so many but Nikki’s writing is flawless, subtle differences in each of the characters made it easy to tell who was who.
You find yourself really getting lost in the story and wishing that you could change the fate of some of these characters. Some were easy to love and support, others were easy to hate. The clever part was the fact that she created characters who seem like they’re on the fence and you don’t know what side they will be on until the last minute.
I devoured this book. I couldn’t put it down!
This is one of the best dystopian novels I’ve ever read and cannot recommend it highly enough.
Today I’m on the tour for The Ghost of Ivy Barn by Mark Stay, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.
I have an extract for you today! but before I post it let me tell you about the book!
This is book 3 in The Witches of Woodville series!
Synopsis: The Witches of Woodville Part 3
August 1940
In a quiet village in rural Kent, the enemy is at the gates . . .
The Battle of Britain rages and Faye Bright encounters the ghost of a pilot who won’t give up the fight. Before she can help him, Faye is whisked away to join a motley crew of witches to perform a top secret ritual on the White Cliffs of Dover that could repel the invaders.
But there’s a catch. The ritual must be executed in the nuddy. Mrs Teach threatens mutiny. Miss Charlotte is intrigued. And Faye wants to call the whole thing off when she suspects there’s a spy in their midst.
It’s up to Faye Bright to uncover the traitor, all while dealing with the ghost haunting Ivy Barn who may hold the key to the truth. But first, Faye has to learn to fly . . .
About the Author:
Mark Stay got a part-time Christmas job at Waterstone’s in the nineties (back when it still had an apostrophe) and, despite being working class and quite lippy, somehow ended up working in publishing for over 25 years. He would write in his spare time and sometimes those writings would get turned into books and films, including the Witches of Woodville series from Simon & Schuster, and the forthcoming Warner Bros. horror movie Unwelcome.
Mark is also co-presenter of the Bestseller Experiment podcast, which has inspired writers all over the world to finish and publish their books. Born in London, he lives in Kent with Youtube gardener and writer Claire Burgess and a declining assortment of retired chickens.
And now for the extract 🥰s
Extract:
Bertie Butterworth’s Battle of Britain Diary Friday 9th August, 1940
Started with distant gunfire in the morning. Air raid warning from 3–7pm. Big raid at night. Lots of flashes. Maybe twenty planes shot down. Think two planes crashed nearby. Must investigate. Made Spam hash today. Bit salty. Had a strange dream where me and Faye were riding bicycles in the sky. It was so peaceful up there. I wanted to hold her hand, but the wind kept pushing us apart. Can’t stop thinking about Faye. I think about her when I wake up, I think about her when I’m fixing Dad’s tractor, I think about her when I’m pulling a pint in the pub, and I think about her when I go to sleep. Is that normal?
Faye Bright’s teeth rattled as her Pashley Model A bicycle shuddered down the bumpy coast road towards the village of Woodville. The moon lingered, pale in the brightening sky, though the morning sun was already warm and the sea glistened. Waves beckoned her to hop in and splash about. Faye was tempted, though the beaches were littered with barbed wire and wrought-iron crosses and other such invasion defences, so a quick paddle was out of the question.
Faye was also knackered. Having just finished an all-night Air Raid Precaution coast watch with Freddie Paine, she was ready to curl up into a ball, duck under her bedsheets and kip the whole day.
It had been an intense evening. Faye lost count of how many planes tumbled into that same sea last night. At least twenty. The Luftwaffe bombers stayed high, and some of the fighters would come down and shoot barrage balloons like it was a game. Mr Paine seemed calm enough. Standing stock-still, gripping his binoc- ulars, calmly telling her how he had seen the bodies of pilots fished out of the water the day before, all while the sky was lit up like fireworks night. Faye had always felt safe on ARP duties with Mr Paine, but last night was the first time she’d had the terrible thought that they might actually lose this war. She tried to shake the thought away, but it lingered even now like a bad smell.
Faye hadn’t felt right for weeks. Not since that busi- ness with the Bavarian Druid Otto Kopp. In an effort to save three Kinderstransportchildren from a raven- ous demon, she had been forced to take them across a magical threshold into an endless void. For some time she stood alone in that strange darkness with the moon, and its incredible ancient power had coursed through her. She could feel it still, fizzing in her belly and her brain as if waiting for something.
Faye rounded a bend and could see the bell tower of Saint Irene’s Church poking over the tops of trees when Larry Dell ran out into the road and flagged her down.
‘Faye! Faye Bright, have you got a mo’?’
Larry’s farm was one of the biggest in the area. He mainly grew brassicas, hops and barley, and had recently dabbled in a bit of livestock, starting with a dozen sheep. Larry was a pleasant enough fellow, with a lower jaw that jutted out and an impressive dent in the top-right corner of his forehead. Rumour had it that he got the dent while leading a charge at the Battle of Ypres, though Faye’s dad said Larry was kicked in the head while shoeing a horse and had never fully recovered.
Faye squeezed her bicycle’s brakes and came skidding to a halt.
‘Morning, Larry. Where’s the fire?’
If you like the sound of this it can be bought here!
Today I’m on the tour for Knee Deep by Suzanne Lane, 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: 213
Synopsis: Three Best friends with three very different stories.
Georgie Baxter, a sensible wife and mother of two, spends her whole life juggling work with running the household.
Liza Carmichael is happily married to Tom – the most perfect man on the planet. She has a great life but craves for a baby to make their family complete.
Brooke Collins is confident, independent and full of sass. As well as being incredibly gorgeous, she is a highly successful businesswomen, who doesn’t need a man to make her happy.
These three friends have been together forever and support each other through thick and thin. Which is certainly needed at this time of their lives, as things start to unravel for them.
Can they fix each other when they become knee deep in their own problems?
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: this book felt like a breath of fresh air to me, I’ve read a lot of hard hitting heavy books recently & although this one deals with some pretty heavy topics it does so in a way that doesn’t weigh you down!
3 best friends all at very different places in their lives, but yet they come together so well.
I loved them all individually but I loved the dynamic they had as a 3, they were more like sisters than friends and even in the face of massive disagreements they were inseparable.
They gave each other space when it was needed but always knew when it was time to pull together again.
This is a relatively short book at just over 200 pages, but the emotions it made me feel really spanned the whole spectrum!
This is the perfect way to grab some me time with a cuppa, the epitome of friendship that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face by the end ☺️
Today I’m on the tour for White Crane Strikes by Ivy Ngeow, 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.
I have my review for you today!
Pages: 286
Synopsis: An enormous mansion. A Chinese restaurant. A baby on the way. Handyman Jerome “Jay Jay” Lee has landed a dream job. An underground tong seems to think so too.
Chicago, 1971. Jay Jay’s girlfriend wants a big knock-’em-dead wedding and a new bigger apartment with the whole ball of wax. Grateful when her art world schmoozing lands him a fixer-upper gig for a wealthy arts patron, he has no idea about the sleeping dragon he’s about to wake. His boss gets him a Chinatown side hustle, and Jay Jay looks the other way when he overhears an organized crime conversation for fear of losing the much-needed extra income and takeout treats. But when the Chinese restaurant manager vanishes, Jay Jay is trapped in threatening tong talk and the chow is now no fun. His family is now deep in hot soup.
Will Jay Jay be able to save them before he’s crispier than a burnt wonton?
My Rating 🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: when you read the synopsis you might be left thinking that this is a comedy thriller, I know I was 🤣
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
We’re introduced to Jay Jay who’s going for a job interview, he has a child on the way so needs all by he money he can get! – Mr Alfred is a lonely old man who lives in a run down house, the electric only works in one room so he needs Jay Jay to fix it all up.
What Jay Jay doesn’t expect is to find a trap door full of secrets on his first day!
His fiancé Dallas is an aspiring artist who had to give up her dream when Jay Jay lost his job so she now works in a department store and seems to have found herself an admirer.
The story started off slow, but the writing is intricate and really draws you in without you even realising. Concentration is key with this one otherwise you’ll miss key details without even realising.
A whole host of characters all completely different but yet they all come together in ways you don’t expect.
This one kept me guessing right until the last page..
Today I’m on the tour for Outcast by Claire Voet, 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: 287
Synopsis: In 1945 Molly Hazleton is heart broken when her fiancé doesn’t return from the war after being reported “missing in action.” So when Aunt Daphne comes to visit with news of having bought a 17th century manor house at auction in Scotland, Molly welcomes the opportunity to start afresh and help her aunt turn Aberdoch Manor into a hotel.
With a strange sense of déjà vu, Molly struggles to understand her connection with the property having never stepped foot inside of it or even Scotland for that matter. Ross McDaniel, the newly appointed gardener, knows more than he is letting on. And when he shows Molly an ancient yew tree named by the locals as the Ghost Tree, after touching it, Molly discovers a remarkable ability to vividly see and experience her own past life – a life of extreme danger and hardship on the road with the Jacobite in 1745, hunted by the Red Coats for crimes she hasn’t committed. She is also in love with a brave, Scot warrior, leader of the McDaniel clan who soon becomes her husband.
Stirring up forgotten memories and an uncontrollable yearning to be back with those she once loved, Molly is hopelessly torn between very different worlds, two hundred years apart!
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧.5
My Thoughts: Now I’m not normally a fan of historical fiction/romance, but when I was invited on the tour for this one something intrigued me and made me decide to give it a go.
The story is told over 2 time lines spanning a couple of centuries, in the 1700’s we’re following Fergus and Ella, in the 1940’s we’re following Molly and her aunt Daphne.
Daphne has just bought a Manor House in Scotland and wants to turn it into a hotel, but she’s not as young as she once was so she ropes her great niece Molly into moving to Scotland to help.
When they get there all the locals go quiet every time they mention that they’ve just moved into Aberdoch Manor..
Back in the 1700’s Fergus has just rescued Ella from the Redcoats who are after her because they think she’s a witch, being English everyone finds it hard to accept Ella in Scotland, there has been some recent history between the 2 countries..
This is a story of love, loss and determination spanning the 2 centuries, everyone is linked together and with the help of a magic tree they may just be able to work out how.
I really enjoyed this one, it was gripping in a way I just didn’t expect and surprisingly my favourite chapters were the ones from the 1700’s.
I thought the underlying message of fighting for what you think is right was apparent throughout which really made me smile. None of the characters backed down even though it would’ve been the easy option.
I also appreciated that the romance aspects of this book weren’t ‘fluffy’ it made it feel more authentic and relatable.
Definitely a book I’d recommended to both fans of historical fiction and to those wanting to dip their toes into a new genre 😊
Today I’m hosting a spotlight for White Crane Strikes, I’m not officially on the tour until tomorrow, but I just wanted to tell you all about it ☺️
Synopsis: An enormous mansion. A Chinese restaurant. A baby on the way. Handyman Jerome “Jay Jay” Lee has landed a dream job. An underground tong seems to think so too.
Chicago, 1971. Jay Jay’s girlfriend wants a big knock-’em-dead wedding and a new bigger apartment with the whole ball of wax. Grateful when her art world schmoozing lands him a fixer-upper gig for a wealthy arts patron, he has no idea about the sleeping dragon he’s about to wake. His boss gets him a Chinatown side hustle, and Jay Jay looks the other way when he overhears an organized crime conversation for fear of losing the much-needed extra income and takeout treats. But when the Chinese restaurant manager vanishes, Jay Jay is trapped in threatening tong talk and the chow is now no fun. His family is now deep in hot soup.
Will Jay Jay be able to save them before he’s crispier than a burnt wonton?
White Crane Strikes is a standalone. Fans of Lehane, Ovidia Yu and Naomi Hirahara, who like compelling characters, stirring settings and surprising twists, will love this smart and witty thriller.
If you like the sound of this it can be bought here!!
About The Author:
Born and raised in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Ivy Ngeowis the author of three published novels and numerous short stories, one of which has been performed and broadcast on the BBC World Service.
Others have been published in literary journals such as Burning Press, Lunate, Fixi Novo anthology and andalso broadsheets like The Straits Times.
Her debut novel won the 2016 International ProversePrize, and was published in Hong Kong in 2017. She holds an MA from Middlesex University where she was awarded the University’s 2005 Literary Press Prize, an international competition, out of 1500 entrants. Most recently, she was editor of Asian Anthology New Writing Vol.1 which was published in Feb 2022 in London.
Her lates novel was on a longlist of 12 for the 2021 Avons x Mushens Entertainment Prize for commercial fiction by a BAME writer. Ivy is a regular suburban mum who loves dogs, cake and piano-pounding. She lives in London.
Today I’m on the tour for The Memories In Blood by Guy Cross, 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: 316
Synopsis: A stormy night; a hit and run and Stephen Porter unleashes a train of events that delivers him—and his family—into the clutches of a terrifying dark magician…
… whose magick works through the medium of blood – and the innocence of children.
Stealer of souls, shapeshifter devil, how can he be defeated?
The answer lies in the memories of Jonny Sorrell, a teenage boy who has no idea they form the key to ending Rook forever.
The question is, will he realise in time?
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: I definitely underestimated how creepy this would be!
We’re following Stephen and his family, Fay and Dr Lofgren and then Elinor and Gray.
They’re all linked but we just don’t know how.. yet!
I have to be really careful what I say because part of the reading experience is because you don’t know what’s happening, you don’t know who’s involved and in what capacity and you don’t know where the story is going next.
Constantly shocking and full of surprises this one really kept me on my toes!
There’s a priest, a vicarage a psychiatric doctor, witches and magick.. lots of blood.. because that’s where the memories are 😉
A secluded cabin like home in a forest and a teenager who is yet to discover everything about himself.
I’m not always a horror fan so I was dubious going into this one, but I’m definitely glad I gave it a chance!
Today I’m on the tour for Here For The Drama by Kate Bromley, thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.
Pages: 352
Synopsis: You can’t spell Dream Man without DRAMA.
As a PA to famous New York playwright Juliette, Winnie has spent the last seven years behind the scenes fetching coffee, soothing egos and buying birthday presents.
Putting her own career plans on hold to (once again) cater to Juliette’s every whim, Winnie reluctantly agrees to accompany her boss on a trip across the pond to work on London’s West End.
There, she meets Juliette’s dashing nephew Liam (hello, hot accent!). With a standing-ovation-worthy smile, Winnie can’t help crushing on him. Hard.
When Juliette notices her assistant is distracted, she forbids Winnie from seeing Liam, making sneaking around backstage even more thrilling . . .
Dream job. Dream man. We’re totally Here for the Drama.
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: Oh, this was a lot of fun!
We’re following Winnie, she’s the PA to one of New York’s biggest playwrights Juliette, she may be her boss but Juliette is also one of her best friends and the mother figure she’s never really had so because of all of this Winnie will bend over backwards to make her happy.. even if it means but her own dreams and aspirations on the back burner.
Juliette is travelling to london to help with the reboot of one of her most well known plays, but she doesn’t want to go alone, so she’s roped her second assistant Roshni in to help her convince Winnie it’s a good idea.
Reluctantly she gets on the plane but little does she know she will find the love of her life (or that the love of her life had 4 legs and a waggy tail😛)
I loved all of the main characters in this book, although I think Roshni was amongst my favourites.
There’s sass and banter oozing from all the pages & the shirt snappy chapters added to need to just keep turning the pages the constant “just one more chapter” meant that I was nearly finished before I knew it.
It’s not all plain sailing though, there’s secrets, lies and a whole lot of history.. but more than anything just a lot of drama and I was definitely here for it!
Today I’m on the tour for Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic by Lauren Ho, 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: 400
Synopsis: Lucie Yi has tried love – it didn’t work.
She’s decided that finding Mr Right is a myth, and that finding Mr Right-enough-to-have-children-with is the next best option. So when she meets easy-going Collin Read on a platonic co-parenting website, it finally feels like she has found her version of happily ever after.
But things take a turn for the worse when they move back home to Singapore where her very traditional family and remorseful ex-fiancé await.
With pressure mounting on all sides and her perfect plan unravelling, Lucie has to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice for a chance at happiness – and maybe, just maybe, love.
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: Lucie Yi acts like she has everything together, she’s an Independent woman who has everything she needs/wants..
At least that’s what she thought until she went to but a gift for her friends new born triplets, whilst she’s in the store she has a complete breakdown.
She’s realising that she wants a baby, but she knows that love doesn’t work, she’s been there, done that and just got her heart broken, so she finds a way to have a baby, there’s a co parenting website, after a lot of research and some input from her friends she decides to go ahead.. enter Colin.
What follows is a book that is hilarious in places, absolutely mortifying in others and also heartbreaking at times, I’m not ashamed to admit that it made me cry more than once.
I really loved the fact that this book shone a light on a way to have a baby that isn’t necessarily the conventional way.
After reading this I feel like we should all be a little more Lucie Yi!
Today I’m on the tour for The Vacation by John Marrs, 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: 512
Synopsis: How far would you run to escape your past?
Venice Beach, Los Angeles. A paradise on earth.
Tourists flock to the golden coast and the promise of Hollywood.
But for eight strangers at a beach front hostel, there is far more on their mind than an extended vacation.
All of them are running from something. And they all have secrets they’d kill to keep . . .
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: this is a really long book for a thriller and just over 500 pages, but you soon realise that every single one of those pages are needed, there’s 8 main characters all with their own storyline.
The one place that links them is a hostel on Venice beach.. a place full of secrets and lies.
I can’t say much about this book because it’ll give it away but there’s so many twists that you don’t know which way you’re going.
The quiet ones are the ones you have to watch in this one!
It’s a very gripping book once you get started, it’s told in the past and the present so you get a very well rounded look into all the characters lives.
For a thriller I was very surprised to find that this one made me feel a whole range of emotions and even made me cry.
This is the first book of John Marrs that I’ve read and will definitely be diving into more in the future.
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