Today I have a spotlight for Living is Losing by Cassius Cox (posting 3 days early to shout about the book again 😂)
Pages: 399
Synopsis: His thirst for revenge could cost him everything .
Jack Stone was just 13 years old when he witnessed the brutal death of his older brother.
As he enters adulthood Jack is filled with anger, unresolved trauma and suicidal thoughts plague his every waking moment.
Supported by his parents he seeks help and forms a close bond with his psychotherapist, Roisin. Together they explore the crippling guilt he feels surrounding his brother’s death.
To manage his aggression Jack joins a boxing gym where his trainer, Pete, believes he has potential and guides him to success.
He finds love with childhood friend Kirsten. His world is complete at the birth of his son.
But when the unthinkable happens Jack is forced to return to his dark past and confront his demons once and for all.
About the Author: Born in Dorking, Surrey England.
I love stories, whether it be in film, book, or music. If it moves me emotionally, then I am sold. As a child I used books or films to escape reality, in fact I probably still do. My happy place is the cinema.
My favourite genre is psychological thriller, I prefer a story that is emotionally driven, the darker the better. But I am happy to be recommended a good book in any genre. My favourite work of fiction is One Day by David Nicholls and my favourite non-fiction is Stephen King’s On Writing.
I am a huge sports fan. I love boxing, MMA and football. These days I am coaching football rather than playing. I love watching live sport, you might see me at the Meadowbank stadium watching my local team Dorking Wanderers, The London stadium watching West Ham or at Wembley watching England.
Favourite holiday destinations are Woolacombe in Devon, Florida, Vegas and Thailand.
I enjoy going jogging and going the gym, but I also like a drink and a takeaway so the two probably count each other out. I’m far from perfect.
This book is a little too raw for me at the moment but I will definitely be reading it when I’m feeling a little more able because I think it sounds brilliant!
If you like the sound of it it can be bought here! And is also available on kindle unlimited!
Come back to me on Sunday for an exclusive extract of the book!
Today I’m on the tour for Best Served Cold by Gabriel Galletti, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part & thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.
Pages: 379
Synopsis: “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”
Grudges harboured and hatreds hidden but not forgotten.
Then a catalyst ignites the flame… Someone in Leeds is settling old scores.
The Police ask Chad Hilton, an ex-pro footballer turned criminal profiler, for help. But his wife’s infidelity and his addiction to painkillers are pushing him close to the edge.
As the body count rises, can Chad uncover the murderer before his demons destroy him?
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: this is possibly my favourite crime book of the year. It was fast paced & the action was unrelenting.
Maybe it helps that I am from Harrogate and my boyfriend is from Bramley which in his words is the”Arse End” of Leeds so I was able to picture a lot of the places it was talking about, which made it feel more real.
Chad Hilton is an amazing character, I loved him from the start. He’s tough & knows his stuff. He’s clever and he knows it too, but also isn’t afraid to show his vulnerability. The parts where we got an insight into the workings of his mind and his inner thoughts were definitely some of my favourite.
There is a part in this where someone is describing one of the suspects as having a “posh Yorkshire accent, possibly from Harrogate” which actually made me laugh out loud because my boyfriend regularly tells me I’m not ‘proper Yorkshire’ because I’m too posh 🤣
The friendship between Lee, Chad and Freddie really shone through & I have to be honest this is the first time I’ve found myself rooting for the drug dealer in a book!
People are missing, the death toll is ramping up and other people are keeping secrets! – can they all work together to find out what’s happening before it’s too late and someone close to them all dies?
So much happens in this story that it almost feels like too much as you’re reading it, but the deeper you get into it, it all starts to make sense and you realise that actually it’s all tied together!
Quite often I’ll tell people that my favourite part about being a book blogger/reviewer is discovering debut authors Gabriel is absolutely no exception & I’m sat here hoping that this is the first book in a series and that we will see Chad, Lee and Freddie again!
Today I’m on the tour for His Dark Shadow by Phil Price, 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 having me on the tour.
I have an extract from the book for you today, but before we get into that let me tell you a little about the book and the author ☺️
Pages: 378
Synopsis: Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. But the way they were taken just compounds his agony
Mike never expected to be in this situation. He never expected the endless torment that plagued his days and invaded his dreams.
Moving back to his childhood home within a sleepy Shropshire village, Mike hopes to rebuild his shattered life.
However, shadowy figures lie in wait, watching, waiting to see him burn.
Has he forgotten what secrets the past still holds? He cannot run forever
About the Author: Phil Price was born in Sutton Coldfield in 1974. He lived in various places in the UK until his family settled in Rednal, a suburb on the outskirts of Birmingham in 1979. Growing up with an older brother and sister, he always flirted with reading, his home always littered with books. Then in 1997, Phil embarked on a travel expedition that took him from Greece to Thailand, via East and Southern Africa. Sitting in dusty bus stations in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi with Wilbur Smith and James Herbert accompanying him, his imagination was sparked into life. Since those far-off days, he has never been without a book to read.
Phil started toying with the idea of writing a book in 2009. After writing a few short stories, he caught a whiff of an idea in his head. It started to evolve in 2010 until he had enough to begin his writing journey. Marriage and two children came along, with the story being moved to the back burner for periods of time. However, during those periods of writing inactivity, the story continued to manifest until it just needed one thing. To be written down.
The story was littered with places that had influenced Phil’s life. From the Lickey Hills in Birmingham to the Amatola Mountains in South Africa, with other many other locations, in-between and far beyond.
The book was finished sometime in 2014, left on his computer until a chance conversation with an author friend made Phil take the bold step to publish his story, Unknown.
From there, Phil’s love for the first book spurred him on, creating The Forsaken Series. A vampire/paranormal/horror trilogy, set in our world, and others too. His love of horror and all things supernatural, inspired by authors such as King, Herbertand others, helped create the epic series.
After writing a science fiction novel, titled Zoo, Phil released his first psychological thriller, Ashes of Innocence, a story that he’d kept bubbling away for many years.
Aside from his writing, Phil lives on the edge of a small town in Worcestershire, UK. A wife and two sons keep Phil happily occupied as he steers his way through life, playing the husband, dad and world creator in equal measure
And now for the extract 😍😍
The others had left him at the graveside, a mild breeze blowing the cypress trees around him. He took a step forward, biting down his emotions when the brown teddy bear stared blankly back at him. Flowers and cards adorned both graves, the smaller of the two crushing his heart. A shrill wind swirled, sending a wreath of lilies skittering across the graveyard towards the Mediterranean a few-hundred yards away.
“Goodbye, Son,” he choked. He turned and looked at the stone church as dark clouds gathered above. When he took a step back, the faint sound carried on the breeze. He tried to focus on the source, attempting to block out the chaos of the wind and sea. There it was again. Faint crying close by. He turned, drawn by the familiar noise.
“Max?” he whispered, his eyes wide. Little thumping noises penetrated the air, the unseen voice becoming more panicked as the man leaned into the precipice. The incessant thumping, now more apparent, made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.
“Max. Daddy’s coming. I’ll get you out.” He dropped, falling into the darkness. His fingers desperately snatched at the lid. The crying inside, tearing at his soul, made tears fall from the man’s eyes, spattering on the casket. A rumble of thunder crashed overhead.
“Dada, Dada!”
“I’ll get you out, Max,” he cried, lumps of soil and rock pouring down on him, dragging him deeper and deeper. He spat to clear the earth from his mouth. It was no use. The harder he dug, the further he fell until a face appeared at the top of his grave. He knew the face well, although it had changed. Her once olive complexion had been replaced by a waxy pallor. Her milky eyes seeking him out. He opened his mouth to scream…
Mike shot up in bed, his breath ragged, his body slick with sweat. A hand moved across the sheet subconsciously, reaching for the person that was no longer there. The familiar voice of his son was lost to him once more. However, he knew that it would return soon. Tormenting him. Goading him with promises that he knew were without substance. All hope and promises had deserted him the day he’d found them. His life would now carry on, devoid of love. With little or no hope left. Only anger and pain were to be his lifelong companions.
I haven’t actually read this book yet, but I can tell from the extract that it promises to be one hell of a tear jerker!
If you like the sound of this book then it can be found here! it’s also available on Kindle Unlimited ☺️
Today I’m on the tour for Bonds by Marie Anne Cope, 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: 303
Synopsis: A four-century-old secret. A vampire curse. Can she uncover the truth about her family before it destroys her?
Following the death of her grandmother, Becca Martin comes face to face with an ancestor she is unaware of; an ancestor who threatens her very existence.
Antony Cardover bears a vampire curse, and he will stop at nothing to sever his ancient bindings.
As she uncovers the dark truth about her family, can Becca embrace the legacy she now bears? Or will the mistakes of the dead return to kill her?
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: I had no idea what to expect from this book, kinda felt like it would be your typical vampire/witchy story, think vampire diaries crossed with charmed.. apparently my idea is stuck in the ‘fluffy, teen drama” of the supernatural and I couldn’t have been more wrong!
Rebecca Martin Is hearing voices & having dreams that end with her waking up with bruises and marks that shouldn’t be there.. could the stories she was told on her 16th birthday be true?
This is the kind of book that is easy to get lost in because it’s not ‘real life’ but dark and twisty enough to make you look over your shoulder at the littlest noise. Let me tell you that reading this in the garden on a windy day is not a good idea 🤦🏻♀️😂
Antony is a thing of nightmares and Dick definitely lives up to his name!
The story was told in 2 time lines and I’ll be honest the one from 400 years ago definitely sucked me in more, but I think that’s just because I wanted to know how we got to the events that are happening in the current day.
I can’t wait to see where the series goes next, it’s been a while since I’ve dived into the supernatural/fantasy genre and this has just reminded me how much I love it!
So as you can probably see from the poster today isn’t actually my stop on the tour so I’m kinda breaking the rules… but rules are made to be broken.. right? 😂 I just wanted to shout about the book a little and tell you all about it so I thought hey, why not?
Look at that cover!! 😍
Synopsis:
A four-century-old secret. A vampire curse. Can she uncover the truth about her family before it destroys her?
Following the death of her grandmother, Becca Martin comes face to face with an ancestor she is unaware of; an ancestor who threatens her very existence.
Antony Cardover bears a vampire curse, and he will stop at nothing to sever his ancient bindings.
As she uncovers the dark truth about her family, can Becca embrace the legacy she now bears? Or will the mistakes of the dead return to kill her?
About the Author:
Reaching the quarter-final of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2012, Bonds, my debut, is the first of four novels, centred round the unusual relationship between Becca Martin and Antony Cardover. Inspired by Stephen King and James Herbert, Bonds is a gripping read that will appeal to fans of fantasy novels, in particular those with an interest in vampires, witches and the supernatural.
The story continues in the sequel, Broken Bonds, which is available to buy online, and Bonds: Re-Bound, the third novel in the series, which is currently being created.
In October 2013, Tales From a Scarygirl, a collection of my short horror stories, hit the shelves and included the individually published Three Silver Bullets and Sheer Hell.
In addition to being a writer, I am also a Business Improvement Consultant and a Yoga teacher and live in North Wales with my three cats.
I’m going to be honest I haven’t actually finished the book yet but I’m enjoying it so far 🙂 it can be bought here!And is also available on Kindle Unlimited.
You’ll have to come back tomorrow to hear my thoughts.
Today I’m on the tour for Angel Town by Fiona Cane and I have a spotlight for you. 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 having me.
Pages: 368
Synopsis: A doomsday cult. A stolen innocence. A reckoning.
What if you were born into a doomsday cult and knew nothing of the outside world? What if everything you’d been told was a lie?
The clock is ticking …
Wayward teenager, Lola, is stunned when, out of the blue, she is summoned by her leader. Oblivious to the resentment her promotion has whipped up and determined to shine, she enters Michael’s inner sanctum.
Single mother and activist, Donna’s search for her son takes her from Brighton to Edenville, a once-peaceful commune in the Colorado desert. Trouble is brewing. The guards on the gate are armed. No one can leave; no visitors allowed.
But who is Michael? And what exactly is his agenda? As the line between what’s true and what is not grows increasingly blurred, time is fast running out …
About the Author;
Fiona Cane is ‘a natural storyteller, with a vivid writing style that is eminently readable.’ Best selling author Peter James.
Fiona was born and educated in Sussex. After graduating from Exeter University with a degree in Philosophy, she worked in London in film, tv and entertainment PR, before moving back to Sussex with her husband and young family. When she wasn’t coaching tennis or looking after her two children, she was scratching away at her latest novel.
Her books cover several genres: cosy mystery, psychological thriller, literary thriller and coming of age. The one thing all five have in common is they will keep you turning the page.
If you like the sound of this you can buy it here! Also available on Kindle Unlimited 🙂
Today I’m on the tour for Do No Harm by Jack Jordan, 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: 432
Synopsis: MY CHILD HAS BEEN TAKEN. AND I’VE BEEN GIVEN A CHOICE . . . KILL A PATIENT ON THE OPERATING TABLE OR LOSE MY SON FOREVER.
The man lies on the table in front of me. As a surgeon, it’s my job to save him. As a mother, I know I must kill him. You might think that I’m a monster. But there really is only one choice. I must get away with murder. Or I will never see my son again.
I’VE SAVED MANY LIVES. WOULD YOU TRUST ME WITH YOURS?
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: Well after reading this book there is one thing I know for sure I will be having a serious anxiety attack if I ever have to have an operation ever again. The idea of literally putting your life in someone else’s hands is something that doesn’t even bare thinking about.
That being said, this was amazing. It all felt so incredibly real that at times I was so invested that I forgot I was reading a book.
All of the little details were cleverly thought out and so we’ll put together that I genuinely had no idea which way the story would go or how it would end.
The story was told from 3 different perspectives..
Anna – the surgeon who has an impossible decision to make
Margot –the scrub nurse with a past that she scared to reveal
Rachel – the police detective who can’t seem to focus on the right part of the investigation because certain parts are just too close to home for her.
By the time I’d finished this my heart was in my mouth and I’d cut my lip from biting it repeatedly 😂
Will definitely be picking up more from Jack in the future.
Today I’m on the tour for Twelve Months And A Day by Louisa Young, 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:
Rasmus and Jay, Róisín and Nico – two beautiful, ordinary love stories, cut short by death. Jay and Nico don’t even believe in ghosts, yet they seem to be… still here. Still in love with Rasmus and Roísín. And maddeningly powerless.
Both are incapable of leaving the living alone: Jay plays matchmaker, convinced that Rasmus and Róisín can heal each other; Nico, plagued by jealousy, doesn’t agree.
Rasmus and Róisín are just trying to navigate their newly widowed lives.
But all four of them are thinking the same thing: what is love, after death? What is it for? And what are we to dowith it?
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: this was another one that pulled at the heartstrings and played with the emotions.
2 seemingly perfect relationships both cut short when one dies, All the plans they had for the future gone in a matter of seconds, how do you learn to navigate that as the person left behind?
This was a love story with a twist we were get to see the perspective of the ones that have left too, their frustration leaks off the page when we witness them wanting to help their grieving loved ones with a cuddle or just to pass them something but it’s impossible they don’t have a physical form so they just have to watch and support each other.
Jay and Nico find themselves leaving on each other and being a big form of support to each as they slowly come to terms with the fact that they’re dead and will eventually have to move on.
Róisín and Rasmus are broken beyond repair but can a chance meeting blossom into a friendship that will help them find a way through the never ending darkness?
I know my review hasn’t done this book justice but I promise it’s one you won’t want to miss out on, I couldn’t put it down just absolutely incredible one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time.
Today I’m on the tour for Nothing Else by Louise Beech, thank you to Anne for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author and the publisher for my copy.
Pages: 352
Synopsis: Heather Harris is a piano teacher and professional musician, whose quiet life revolves around music, whose memories centre on a single song that haunts her. A song she longs to perform again. A song she wrote as a child, to drown out the violence in their home. A song she played with her little sister, Harriet.
But Harriet is gone … she disappeared when their parents died, and Heather never saw her again.
When Heather is offered an opportunity to play piano on a cruise ship, she leaps at the chance. She’ll read her recently released childhood care records by day – searching for clues to her sister’s disappearance – and play piano by night … coming to terms with the truth about a past she’s done everything to forget.
An exquisitely moving novel about surviving devastating trauma, about the unbreakable bond between sisters, Nothing Else is also a story of courage and love, and the power of music to transcend – and change – everything.
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: This was so moving. I was expecting a gritty twisted psychological thriller, but what I got was so much better – I don’t really know what genre I would put this in but I loved it.
We’re following Heather, a music teacher who is carrying a lot of emotional baggage from her past and just needs a break and to try something new.
Her friend Tamsin suggests working on a cruise ship, she feels it’s time for Harriet to stop teaching the piano and start playing it again.. little does she know that the cruise ship will change her life in more ways than one.
The story is told from 2 different perspectives and 2 different timelines.
I won’t say too much more because I wouldn’t want to ruin the reading experience but this was so cleverly written that it reeled you in before you knew it made you feel all the emotions, broke you a little bit and then made sure it put you back together again before you’d finished it.
This is my first dive into the work of Louise Beech but I will definitely be making sure I read more in the future.
Today I’m on the tour for Just One Lie by Ruth Harrow, 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: 392
Synopsis: Everyone has a secret. But not like Alison’s.
Alison loves being a mother which is why she is finding it so hard to come to terms with the recent loss of her baby daughter. She still has her young son Adam whom she adores, but the grief is always there…
Everyone can see she is struggling.
And they don’t know the half of it. Alison has a terrible secret she has never shared with anyone – not even her husband, Dan. She knows if he ever discovers what she did, her family will be destroyed forever.
But someone seems to know, because Alison gets a sinister message. And then bad things start to happen – her website is hacked, her business is sabotaged, there’s a fire in her home… then more threatening messages.
Alison is in no doubt that someone means to destroy her by exposing her to the world. But who? And why?
Can she discover the truth before it’s too late? Or is the terror that fuels her sleepless nights about to become all too real?
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: everyone has secrets, some are small, some are insignificant but Ali knows that if hers comes out so many lives and hearts will be broken including her own.
This was absolutely brilliant and I was gripped from the start, it’s one of those books that although the story was what I would call a slow burn I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, surprised I didn’t get friction burn on my fingers or create a dent in the screen of my kindle 😂
Ali is trying to get over the loss of her newborn daughter whilst raising her son, keeping her marriage afloat and run her new photography business, that’s a lot of plates for one person to carry, something is bound to fall… but which one will it be?
The pressure starts to build, she starts forgetting to pick her son up from school and prioritising the wrong things, then she starts getting emails.. someone knows her secret!
So many characters, all of whom could be guilty & tbh I doubt every single one of them at one point or another!
The story is told from 2 different perspectives which added a whole new layer to it & left me questioning myself throughout!
If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers then this is a great one to sink your teeth into.
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