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Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Farmhouse of Second Chances by Helen Rolfe, 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:

Home is where the heart is…

Joy has made a family for herself. She’s turned her beautiful old farmhouse into a safe haven for anyone who is looking for a new beginning. She’s always ready with a kind word, a nugget of advice and believes that anyone can change their life for the better, if they really want to.

Libby has exchanged her high-flying job in New York for a break in the quiet Somerset countryside. She’s soon drawn into Joy’s world and into her family of waifs and strays – including Drew, whom Joy once helped get back on his feet.

So when a secret from Joy’s past threatens everything, can the unlikely group come together to give Joy a second chance of her own?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: now if I’m being completely honest, it’s not often books like this get higher than 3 stars from me, not because I don’t enjoy them because I do, but they’re all a bit samey and you tend to know where the story is going to go.

But this one hit different, so different that it wouldn’t be fair to give it anything less than 5 stars.

Joy lives at the Old Dairy farm and has always taken in the ‘waifs and strays’ that need a little extra love, the ones that have lost their way, maybe even lost themselves & she helps them back onto the right path – she’s done that since the old owners did the same for her, as a way of carrying on their legacy and a thank you to them for leaving her the farm when they died.

We know quite early on that Joy has a dark past, we don’t know any of the details though, just small hints until the full story is revealed near the end of the book in a shockingly brilliant twist that I did not see coming.

I really, really enjoyed this book, and I read it at just the right time, it almost felt like it knew what I was going through & it gave me the big warm hug I needed and didn’t let go.

This story will really make you think about wether it’s nature or nurture that makes you the person you are destined to be.

It’s full of heartwarming moments, sad moments, secrets, lies & love.

I would absolutely recommend this to everyone, just pick it up and read it I promise you won’t be disappointed ☺️

🐧❤️

Today I’m on the book tour for the Alex Cohen box set, the 3rd and final one from me as part of this!

Pages: 261

Synopsis: Is building another casino worth dying for?

Jewish gangster, Alex Cohen returns to America and settles in 1960s California to build a drug and prostitution empire in LA. When he gets a call from the mob to help the CIA invade Cuba, Alex must decide between family and his business associates.

If he helps Uncle Sam and the Mafia then he puts his life on the line fighting for freedom and the chance to rebuild his Havana casinos. If he refuses the favor then death will call on him, his ex-wife and their sons. Once he agrees to one accommodation then others are sure to follow, in a decade where even presidents, assassins and presidential candidates were whacked at a terrifying rate.

The sixth book in the Alex Cohen series is an historical thriller novel, which rips open Jewish organized crime involvement in Lee Harvey Oswald’s death and the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. Leopold Borstinski’s searing crime fiction lays bare the making of today’s USA.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: This is the 6th instalment in the Alex Cohen series and I have to say this is my favourite so far! 

This one was more character driven than plot driven which I appreciated, it was less heavy on the action which meant that we got to know the characters in a whole different way and it made me feel more empathy for them and everything they’ve been through, Alex especially! 

In this one Alex is trying to reinstate his previous drugs and prostitution business after having to leave Cuba in a rush! 

We meet characters like Kennedy, Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe and it’s done so seamlessly and fits in quite well with what we know about them and they’re real lives that Alex could’ve actually been a real person in those times! 

Then something happens that Alex can’t physically say no too & it makes him realise how old he is and how much he’s missing out on his families lives, could now be the time to say goodbye and let it all go? 

I love this series so so much, and I cannot wait to see where it goes next time!

Today I’m on the book tour for Leopold Borstinski’s Alex Cohen box set books 4-6, this is the second of 3 posts you’ll see from me for this 🙂 this one is all about Cuban Heel so let’s dive right in!

Pages: 228

Synopsis: Would you work with the devil to build a paradise on Earth?

Jewish gangster, Alex Cohen joins long-time friend and business partner, Meyer Lansky to recreate Las Vegas in 1950s Havana. When dictator President Batista gives them the opportunity to build their dream casino complexes, Alex must choose between dancing with this devil or being in debt to the Italian mob.

If he takes the mafia money then he will be tied to the men who planned his earlier downfall and removed his mentor, Lucky Luciano from the syndicate. If he refuses their investment then he will be beholden to the tinpot generalissimo and his bloated ego. But Alex knows that there is more at stake than mere gelt–now he has his family surrounding him and they will suffer the ultimate price if he makes a bad decision.

The fifth book in the Alex Cohen series is an historical thriller novel, which tears at the heart of the Jewish mob’s role in pre-revolution Cuba. Leopold Borstinski’s piercing crime fiction gives each reader the shocking skinny into the building of modern America.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I have to be really careful what I say here because it’s obviously book 5 in a series, so I won’t go into the plot like I normally would. 

This book was just as action packed as the others, There was fighting and disputes between some long standing characters which I didn’t see coming, it really brought the common phrase in the book “we live together, we love together, but we die alone” into perspective it really showed that these kind of people only see someone as useful whilst they have something to gain from them! 

I loved that this book was more family oriented than the others and we got to see more of a couple of Alex’s children (although they’re fully grown adults now) and ready to join the “family business” although both Alex and Sarah are reluctant for that to happen! 

I devoured this book in one sitting was totally hooked and thoroughly enjoyed it. I cannot wait to see what the gang get up to next time! 

🐧❤️

Today I’m on the book tour for Leopold Borstinski’s Alex Cohen box set books 4-6, this is one of 3 posts you’ll see from me for this 🙂 the first one is all about Casino Chiseler so let’s dive right in!

Pages: 255 

Synopsis: Would you gamble everything you possess to win more than you can imagine?

Jewish gangster, Alex Cohen leaves jail to find salvation from the 1940s mob in the hotels of Las Vegas. When Bugsy Siegel invites him to take over sports betting in Nevada, Alex must figure out how to get back to the top table in New York without attracting the Feds’ attention.

If he succeeds then he will regain his self respect, but if he fails then the last members of the national crime syndicate will cut him dead and he will be left a nobody or wind up a corpse. And after he bumps into his childhood sweetheart, he has a once in a lifetime opportunity to win her heart. But Alex knows the criminal underworld has the habit of spilling over into his personal life and when Meyer Lansky asks him to murder Siegel, Alex must choose what is truly important to him.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: Casino Chiseler is the 4th book in the Alex Cohen series! on the outside, the series itself seems like a fairly easy read but one that intrigued me instantly, – in reality it was complex and utterly gripping but still an easy story to follow.

In book 4 Alex has just been released from prison and makes his way Las Vegas to help a friend run his betting business, because obviously that’s where the money is now..however we are all aware that his end game is to get back in with the Murder Corp with the Mob Bosses. 

As always with the series nothing is ever simple and Alex finds himself in a lot of situations that I’m sure he would rather avoid – one of them even including carrying out a hit that he never thought he’d have to do. 

The story is action packed and just doesn’t stop but yet never seems to be confusing, we are reintroduced to an old character who i loved more this time round! 

There was a lot of emotion in the story too, some parts really upset me whilst others really made me smile. 

I cannot wait to dive back into the series and see what Alex gets up to next time! 

🐧❤️

Today I’m on the blog tour for A Wedding at The Jane Austen Dating Agency by Fiona Woodfield, 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: A modern-day matchmaker’s happily-ever-after bubble is about to burst in the second novel in this charming series of love and all its misadventures.

Sophie Johnson appears to be living the perfect life. She has landed her dream job as managing director of The Jane Austen Dating Agency and is dating the world’s most desirable man, Darcy Drummond.

But all is not as it seems. The relationship with Darcy is failing to live up to expectations and his awful mother is determined to cause trouble. To add to Sophie’s problems, the agency is struggling to attract enough eligible men, she has a Regency wedding to plan, and then there’s the amusing and disturbingly cute Henry Baxter who is making it hard for her to concentrate.

The problem is Sophie wants it all, but in trying to manage everything, she’s in danger of losing what matters most.

Can she keep the dating agency afloat and find her own happy ever after? Or is business and romance an impossible combination?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧.5

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one, this is the follow up to ‘The Jane Austen Dating Agency’ and it was exactly what I was hoping for in terms of character development for Sophie, but I couldn’t help but feel that it fell short on the romance and wedding vibes, the wedding was a very small part of the story!

As a main character Sophie is very relatable and since the end of the first book she’s become stronger and able to stand her ground a little more.

I didn’t like Darcy at all, there was just something about him that rubbed me up the wrong way. I was in Henry’s corner from the beginning and wish he had featured in it a little more heavily.

There was a lot of regency events within the book that I loved, I’ve never really been interested in classics but this duology makes me want to pick up a Jane Austen novel!

The mystery element of this story is what carried it & kept me hooked, I was all for Sophie sticking to her guns and doing whatever it took to get to the bottom of it and save the agency and her job!

Friendship was a strong theme within this book women supporting women and I was here for it!

I really enjoyed being back with the characters from the first book and meeting the new ones.

I would recommend this book, but I will say that if you’re going to read it then please pick up the first one before you do.

They’re on kindle unlimited!

🐧❤️

Today I have a review of the incredible The Death of Me by Michelle Davies, which was recently released in paperback!

Pages: 352

Synopsis: Is one of music’s greatest mysteries about to be solved?

‘He was a massive star until he did a headline grabbing retreat from the spotlight – but his disappearing act was FAKED. Fans won’t be happy when they find out – his reputation was dead in the water.’

When Isaac Naylor committed suicide after a teenage fan was found dead in his hotel room, the world thought it had lost one of the greatest rock stars of a generation. Naylor, lead singer of The Ospreys, had been arrested for causing the girl’s death and was on police bail when he drowned himself in the sea off the Devon coast.

Now, eight years on, music journalist Natalie Glass stumbles across a blind item on a US gossip website that suggests Naylor’s death wasn’t quite what it seemed – and he might in fact still be alive.

But as she delves deeper into what happened, Natalie finds she has a stark choice: give up trying to find out what happened to Naylor or risk her own obituary ending up in print.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: this book is a slow burn thriller, whilst reading i fluctuated on what my rating would be, but the last quarter of this book was so fast paced that it couldn’t possibly be any less than 5 penguins (if I could give it more I definitely would!)

We’re following Natalie, who is a recently divorced woman and is totally down on her luck, she’s maxed out all her credit cards and as a music journalist is struggling to get any work – as a result of all of this she only gets visitation with her 9 year old a couple of days a week, because her husband says he can provide him with more stability.

One night whilst looking at a music gossip website where people can post anonymously, she sees something that makes her look twice.. Isaac Naylor is writing music again, except he’s can’t be, he committed suicide a few years ago.. didn’t he?

After a phone call to her best friend Bronwyn who just so happens to be a music producer, she is warned to leave it alone after all Isaac is dead so it can’t be true, Natalie is left feeling like Bronwyn is hiding something.. if Natalie can get to the bottom of it it would be the making of her career and all her money problems would be solved.

The story that follows is told in mixed formats, there’s emails and texts as well as newspaper/magazine articles and podcasts too. The mixed media really helped break the story up and stop it getting too heavy.

I was so immersed in this story that in certain parts I was left feeling like I couldn’t breath!

The best part about that is that Michelle wrote all of the characters so well that you’re left not knowing who you can trust. i personally didn’t work out the big twist before it was revealed!

If you trust my judgement at all when it comes to books, please pick this one up I promise you won’t be disappointed.

🐧❤️

Today I’m on the blogtour for the House of Ashes by Stuart Neville, 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: 304

Synopsis: For Sara Keane, it was supposed to be a second chance. A new country. A new house. A new beginning with her husband Damien.

Then came the knock on the door. 

Elderly Mary Jackson can’t understand why Sara and her husband are living in her home. She remembers the fire, and the house burning down. But she also remembers the children. The children who need her, whom she must protect. 

‘The children will find you,’ she tells Sara, because Mary knows she needs help too. Sara soon becomes obsessed with what happened in that house nearly sixty years ago – the tragic, bloody night her husband never intended for her to discover. And Mary – silent for six decades – is finally ready to tell her story . . .

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: this was a gripping story from the beginning, it’s told from 2 different perspectives and 2 different timelines, it soon seems like the only thing connecting them is the house.. but how?

Sara and her husband have just moved into ‘The Ashes’ an old house that they got cheap because the old lady living there started a fire and it was decided she wasn’t safe living on her own anymore.

Sara doesn’t feel comfortable there, there’s blood stains on the kitchen floor that seem to reappear all the time no matter how many times she cleans it or what she uses, every morning she wakes up early to get rid of them before her husband sees them, because he wouldn’t like that.

Mary is the old lady who used to live in The Ashes, she turns up one day angry and confused asking Sara why she’s in her house, asking her if she’s met the children yet? – but there’s no one else in the house is there? what children?

Mary’s story is mainly told in the second timeline, she’s a child living in horrendous conditions, with 3 dads and 2 mums, shut up in the basement unless she’s needed for jobs around the house, no life for a child, but to her it’s normal, after all it’s all she’s ever known.

Sara and Mary’s stories become interwoven as the book progresses and what follows is chilling but gripping, it’s one of those stories that you don’t want to keep reading because you know it’s going to take a really dark turn but you’re so invested that you can’t turn the pages quick enough.

It’s been a while since a psychological thriller gave me goosebumps whilst I was reading. I would highly recommend this one.

🐧❤️

Pages: 298

Synopsis: The Briley Witch Chronicles, a light-hearted coming of age paranormal fantasy series with a dose of danger and a sprinkle of love…

Ever wondered what it would be like to truly understand a cat, every last meow, every narrowed glance, every jab of a paw?

When Briley Forester is torn from her world and dumped into the village of Maepole, she finds out the hard way. Trapped within a backward world without technology, she discovers that being a witch is hard, and that Smokey, her grouchy talking cat, knows more about men than she does.

Tricked into working as a delivery girl, and aided by an ancient grimoire, only by learning the powers of witchcraft can she ever hope to return home. But her journey is fraught with heartache and danger, love and despair. The powerful Whitehead family, haters of witches, will stop at nothing to be rid of her.

And lurking within the forest, the dark spirit lies in wait, ready to strike…

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: Well, this was a lot of fun. I had no idea what to expect going in, for some reason I assumed it would be a middle grade story with it involving a talking cat but I couldn’t have been more wrong!

Firstly, who wouldn’t love the ability to communicate with their 4 legged fur babies, my black cat Bella is currently making this review very hard to write as she’s climbing all over me and trying to nudge the phone out of my hand so I’d love to just know what was going through her mind 😂

Briley is a coder, but after something goes wrong at work she’s in her bosses bad books and goes home furious & after talking to her mum on the phone she decides to try meditation. Somehow it all goes wrong and she ends up in a totally new world where witches exist although not necessarily accepted, especially not new ones.

I did find the writing a little slow to begin with but that can happen with the first book in a new series as it sets the scene and builds the world you’re about to be thrown into, the world building was brilliant, I could picture it perfectly in my head and even had to check the cushion I was using a few times when they were talking about the straw bed.

There are a few characters to remember, which felt a little overwhelming at first but once you get into the story it all falls into place pretty easily. Just putting it out there that Sebastian and Calibor are my favourites so far, I think those two along with Clarissa and Leofard will be Briley and Smokey’s biggest supporters throughout this series.

For quite a short book this had me feeling all sorts of emotions, I laughed, I cried (yes actual tears) I got angry at characters within the book.

Would I recommend this to fans of witchy stories? absolutely, it gave me vibes of Charmed (the original series) and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Will I be continuing on with the series? Definitely, I need to know what happens!

🐧❤️

It’s been a while since I’ve done a review that isn’t part of a blog tour, but the lovely Sara Madderson provided me with an early copy of her new book A Fair Affair in exchange for an honest review.. who was I to say no?

Before I get into it though let me just say I have read every single one of Sara’s fiction books bar one, which she advised me not to read just yet, purely for personal reasons, she never disappoints and has become of my biggest supporters in both my book blogging life but also my personal life. I honestly cannot thank her enough ❤️

Enough of the soppiness now, let’s get into the book.

Pages: 268

Synopsis: Noah’s #1 celebrity crush since med school is Honor Chapman, one half of the UK’s most famous power-couple. When she moves her mother into his hospice, Noah gets to know the real Honor. And she’s spectacular. His vocation is helping the dying go peacefully. But his new obsession is bringing this woman back to life.

Honor’s on the brink. Her movie-star husband is cheating (again) and her mum is dying (for the first time, admittedly). They’ve built an empire from their family’s brand, but their gilded life feels more like a gilded cage. So, when delicious doctor Noah propositions her by a moonlit pool, she is there for it. His bedside manner has nothing on his poolside manner, and she deserves some extra-marital steam. It’s only fair!

It’s supposed to be a sexy little fling. It’s not supposed to jeopardise everything Honor has built. But as professional pressures mount and the paps circle, she and Noah must decide what’s worth fighting for.

A Fair Affair is a deliciously indulgent celebrity romance featuring divine doctors, glamorous lifestyles, Provencal vineyards and steamy poolside action! It’s just what the doctor ordered.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: well… I thought I knew what to expect from Saras books, but this just took everything up to another level and I was here for it!

Honor and Jackson have what looks on the surface to be the perfect marriage, both holding down pretty good jobs (or running their own business) 2 children in a god school and security on hand.. but it’s true what they say about not knowing what goes on behind closed doors.

Jackson has it all, a popular film star with endless female costars that he is allowed to have sex with.. (yes you heard that right, honor doesn’t have a very high sex drive anymore and knows that men ‘have needs’)

But what happens when the tables are turned? Will it work both ways?

In walks Dr Noah Thierry, sexy, confident and the biggest perk is that he’s had a crush on Honor Chapman since he was a medical student, so once he sees her he only has eyes for her.

This book broke my heart in places & fixed it in others, it made me laugh, it made me cry and god do I wish I could read it again for the first time 🥺

The sex scenes were very steamy so prepare yourself for that 🔥

I definitely have myself a new favourite Sara Madderson book that’s going to take some beating in the future!

This book is released on the 2nd February and you all need to add it to your TBR’s

🐧❤️

Today I’m on the Book Tour for A Balancing Kind Of Love by Joanna Cates, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the author for my copy.

Pages: 259

Synopsis: Kirsty Young, a 40-year-old single woman, is at a crossroads in her life. She works hard and enjoys socialising, especially with her best friend Henrietta Green and the rest of the gang. However, something is missing. Has she left it too late to meet Mr Right and become a mother?
With life-changing decisions to make, she packs her bags and travels off to Ibiza and Cyprus on a six-month sabbatical.
Max Bright, now in charge of the family business, Brightside Hotels, is emotionally exhausted. All the travelling and keeping an eye on his mother and playboy brother is taking its toll. He is unhappy with his lifestyle, and he wants balance. Is there room in his life for romance?
Max and Kirsty’s paths cross and it isn’t love at first sight. Fortunately, they head off in different directions. When fate and a little help from their friends intervene, they meet again. Is there such a thing as a second chance?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: Oh my gosh I LOVED THIS! – I devoured it in one sitting in just a few hours, I just couldn’t put it down!

I do sometimes feel a bit guilty when I read a book so quickly that an author has put so much work into, but when it grips you what can you do?!

Kirsty as a character was relatable in some ways, although we weren’t similar in any way, she really resonated with me and I just wanted to give her a big cuddle and tell her she wasn’t alone.

Right from the beginning Max was a little standoffish and came across as rude, unhelpful and just everything you don’t want in a guy, but what a turn around he had in the book!

Once you got to know the real Max and dig a little deeper you soon learn that that isn’t the real him and there are reasons that he’s built so many walls around himself, the question is can Kirsty knock them down?

This was a real will they/won’t they story. Every time it looked like a dead cert something would happen to put a spanner in the works that would leave you frustrating and shouting at the book (or is that just me?!)

I can’t tell you too much more because part of the joy of this book is in the reading and not knowing much. but there are plenty of loveable characters for you to get behind, and just remember that not everyone is as they seem.

🐧❤️