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Today I am on the tour for The Catch by Michael Leese, 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: 276

Synopsis: First comes the win. Then comes the catch . . .

For years, Martha Munro dreamed of taking down her mother’s killer. The charming, and rotten-to-the-core, DCI Tony Green.

Martha exposed his corruption. The crimes he tried so hard to bury.

Now he’s back with a chilling new obsession: burying Martha.

A string of threatening letters lands on the doorstep of Martha’s cozy Victorian terrace. Scrawled in red ink, the message is always the same: Die, bitch. Die.

It’s game on between Martha and her old adversary — and Tony’s playing dirtier than ever.

Before long, Martha realizes that someone is leaking secrets to Tony. Secrets that only those closest to Martha could possibly know.

Can she hunt Tony down? Before he catches her first . . .

My Thoughts: this is my first dive into Michael’s work and I thoroughly enjoyed it, the writing was fast paced yet somehow easy to follow along as nothing ever got confusing.

This was book 3 in the Martha Munro series & although it did work as a standalone I would recommend going back and starting from the beginning to really appreciate the angst in the book, I’m 100% tempted to go back to book one!

In this one we’re following Martha and her little team as they try and find Tony Green, a corrupt DCI who Martha helped to bring down who I am assuming went on the run.. he is now determined to get revenge on Martha & wants her dead.. can she stay one step ahead and find him before he finds her?

The tension in this book was palpable, Martha had her own ideas & her team were constantly disagreeing with her, trying to make her see sense whilst also protecting her regardless of their feelings.

The chapters we got from Tony’s POV were angry, you could feel it through the pages which also helped rile you as a reader up too 😅

This one kept me guessing throughout & given the ending I can’t wait to read book 4!

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Today I am on the tour for The Best Worst Mistake by Lily Parker, 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: 324

Synopsis:

Abby never thought she’d see Dax Harper again — let alone bump into him in a Manhattan coffee shop.

Dax was her law school fling. The one that got away. The almost-relationship she couldn’t forget.

Now he’s older. Hotter. And in town for just one night.

Dax wants dinner. Abby wants one night of rekindled heat.

It won’t change anything. He’s in L.A. She’s in New York. No strings. No regrets.

Until Abby’s firm is called to L.A. in a deal that will make, or break, her career. She’s ready for anything — except finding Dax on the other side of the boardroom table. All confidence, charm, and those damn hazel eyes still looking at her like she’s the only one in the room.

For the sake of their careers, they must stay professional.

But when the tension sizzles hotter than their last night together, it’s clear some rules are made to be broken . . .

My Thoughts: when I tell you this book has my whole heart I wish I was exaggerating, I absolutely ADORED this, I thought the first book would be hard to beat, but here we are.

I was so invested in Dax and Abby’s story I wanted them both to just be honest say what they needed from each other and realise they were meant to be, because let’s be honest the only people that couldn’t see it was themselves.

This book had me giggling like a school girl, squealing in delight, laughing out loud and at times even kicking my feet in excitement. (Not an easy task when your legs don’t work like they should🤣)

Abby is strong, independent yet strangely vulnerable, she says what she wants, she’s not afraid to go and get it, but she can never stay..

Dax is just the perfect book boyfriend, he was kind, attentive, he notices the little things and he’s there for support always, without really asking any questions.

This book definitely took a darker turn than I was expecting at one point, it felt so genuine, so real and so raw that it actually made me cry.

Sometimes you read a book and you enjoy it so much that you wish you could go back in blind and read it all again.. this was that book for me. I don’t think I’ll forget it in a hurry.

I may have only read 2 books by Lily but I’m going to be bold and say I may have found a new favourite author 😍

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Today I am on the tour for A Summer of Secrets on Arran by Ellie Henderson, 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: 268

Synopsis: Old flames. New love. One summer can change everything.

After a painful divorce, Rosie escapes to her family’s cottage on the Isle of Arran, hoping for a fresh start. But instead, a face from the past appears, reigniting feelings she thought she’d left behind long ago.

Isobel, her lifelong friend, arrives to support Rosie. But beneath Isobel’s warmth and laughter, she holds secrets of her own — secrets that threaten to change everything, for both her and Rosie.

Isobel’s daughter, Bella, has always wondered about her father, but her mother refuses to talk about him. When she discovers a hidden diary, she follows its trail to Arran — where she uncovers family secrets, and the possibility of a love she never saw coming.

As the three women confront their pasts, they learn that sometimes the truth can lead to the most surprising new beginnings — and even a second chance at love when they least expect it.

My Thoughts: this is book 5 in a series of connected stand alones, I’ve read 2 of them and was never left feeling like I’d ’missed’ anything!

This time we’re following Isobel, her daughter Bella and Isobel’s friend Rosie & I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed and appreciated a romance based on older people, it wasn’t about young love or first love, it was about rediscovering yourself after a marriage breakdown for Isobel, realising you don’t need a man to feel complete.

And for Rosie it was a second chance situation, I became so engrossed in the story that I felt like I could just sit down and have a cup of tea with them all 😅

The story isn’t all sunshine and rainbows which meant it felt realistic & more than just a story.

A book full of likeable yet flawed characters with a beautiful setting too.

It made me want to go ahead and read the previous books whist also looking forward to what Ellie comes up with next.

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Today I am on the tour for My Husbands Lies by Maryann Webb, thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers Blog Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the authors and the publisher for my copy.

Pages: 332

Synopsis: How well do you really know the people closest to you?

Aria Miller used to think she had the perfect life, but now that the honeymoon phase is all but a distant memory, she can’t shake the feeling her perfect life is a sandcastle waiting to collapse.

Recently she’s felt a prickle of anxiety when her husband Ethan says he has to work late. She’s trying to shake the feeling that he’s been lying. After all, trusting men has never worked out well for Aria . . . But sweet, kind Ethan has never given her a reason not to trust him, has he?

Perhaps the stress of trying for a baby is finally getting to her, recently she swears she feels someone is watching her as she grabs her morning decaf coffee.

Then, during a girls’ night that was supposed to take her mind off things, her best friend Isla is brutally murdered in a dark bathroom bar.

Aria is still reeling from the shock when the text arrives: How well do you know your husband?

And suddenly, amid a police investigation and Ethan’s increasingly strange behaviour, Aria is forced to question everyone around her – including herself.

He said he loved me. He said I had nothing to worry about. What else don’t I know about my husband’s lies?

My Thoughts: this book had me intrigued from the very beginning Aria is on a night out with her girls when one of them is found dead in the bathroom.. and for reasons that are not k no en to us at the time Aria can’t help but feel that she was the intended target..

Her husband is a highflying businessman who can’t find the time to come home and be with her despite the devastating circumstances & as if all that wasn’t enough she just found out she’s pregnant too.. a very much wanted baby, one they have been trying for for a while so why is she hesitant to tell Ethan?

What starts off as a relatively simple thriller storyline soon becomes anything but, with Aria caught in the middle of a police investigation.. is anyone else going to get hurt before she can work out what’s really going on?

A book full of secrets, lies, twists and turns galore, one that will leave you not knowing which way is up and not knowing who you can trust.

This one was told from just one perspective (Arias) which although not my favourite way to read a thriller it really worked for this one as it allowed us to really get into her headspace and feel everything she was feeling.

A book I would highly recommend & I can’t wait to see what’s next!

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Today I am on the tour for Once Upon A Crown by Leané Giliomee, 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: 375

Synopsis: A fallen king. A hunted queen. Bound by fate, divided by war.

I’d never really had anything in my life worth dying for . . . Until now.

As an enemy sweeps through the mountains in search of a legendary power, Queen Elara of Everness rules a fractured realm. Her grip on power is fragile, and her heart is caught between duty and the haunted king who once vowed to fight by her side.

Once the proud king of Norrandale, Cai is now an exile. He has lost everything . . . except her.

Elara and Cai’s only hope is a lost diary, said to have belonged to the first king of Everness. Within its pages are answers buried in ancient magic, cursed relics and a war that never truly ended. If they can find it, it could mean the difference between life and death.

In a world where legend and truth collide, the fate of two kingdoms — and one forbidden love — hangs in the balance.

And the crown will demand the greatest sacrifice of all.

My Thoughts: the 3rd instalment in this series was everything I wanted and more, the perfect romantasy story with enough action and betrayal to keep you on your toes & all the will they won’t they tension you’ve been used to, it just gets taken up a notch 🥵

You absolutely have to read the first 2 books to truly appreciate all the second guessing and the heartbreak that Cai especially goes through in this book because the ending of book 2 really did turn everything we thought we knew on to its head, don’t get me wrong I love a good cliffhanger but waiting for this book was awful 🤣

That being said it did mean that I devoured it in one sitting, I was totally engrossed in the story & refused to put it down until I’d finished.

Elara and Cai are at a crossroads, they can either fight against everything they’ve been brought up to believe & work together to save both kingdoms and unite or they can just let it all ‘go to the dogs’

You could cut the atmosphere in this book with a knife, but in the best way possible, it had me feeling like I couldn’t sit still.

I don’t want to give too much away but this whole series has reminded me why fantasy has always been a go to genre of mine, it’s my safe place & makes me feel at home.

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Today I am on the tour for Secrets At The Ambrose Cafe by Carryl Church, thank you to Zoé at Zooloos Book Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and thank you to the publisher and the author for my copy.

Pages: 327

Synopsis:Two women. Two different worlds. One secret that could ruin them both.

Exeter, 1925. Della Wilde has set aside her dream of moving to Paris to study at the renowned Le Cordon Bleu, choosing instead to support her family torn apart by war. By night, she works at the prestigious Ambrose Café, serving the city’s elite — she feels utterly invisible.

Until a chance encounter with rebellious Alice Winters, the daughter of a powerful MP, upends Della’s world.

Alice is a woman caught between duty and desire. She secretly yearns to be an artist but is expected to marry a respectable suitor and raise a family. Della, with her sharp wit and quiet strength, is unlike anyone she has ever known. She makes Alice feel alive.

So she draws Della into her orbit — first as a muse for her secret art, then as something infinitely more intimate. But in a world where reputations are easily shattered, their growing bond is a danger that threatens not only their futures, but those around them.

As Alice risks scandal and Della faces the consequences of following her heart, they must decide: will they allow others to choose their path, or dare to forge their own?

My Thoughts: now I’ll be honest, historical romance isn’t a genre that I enjoy very often, but something about this one pulled me in and made me give it a go.. and this book is the reason I never completely write a genre off, I LOVED it!!

I was so invested in Della and Alice, I wanted nothing but the best for them, I was literally on the edge of my seat when the first signs of attraction appeared it turned me into a giggly teenager 🤭

And don’t get me started on Gillespie what a gent he was, I want him to always have my back too!

The descriptions of places in this book were so cleverly done that I found it so easy to picture everything in my mind whilst I was reading & the cakes oh my word, my mouth was watering & my tummy was rumbling.

The perfect book to sit and get lost in! – I just wish it was longer. I wasn’t ready to say good bye to them, I needed more.

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Today I am on the tour for Robin In Winter by Carol Kerry-Green, 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: 352

Synopsis: Mysteries still surround the discovery of a sleeping vampire under the streets of York.

Malik needs to learn to navigate the 21st century. No easy task for a 3000 year old vampire. After 150 years in an enforced coma, he must discover who put him there, and why.

Robin Byrde runs the wool Emporium in York, and was there when Malik woke up. When he is attacked by another vampire, he turns to his family of foster brothers for help.

Malik and Robin are tracking an old enemy to confirm he was responsible for his imprisonment. Friends and family offer help, and as more discoveries are made their support is essential to their survival.

Finding the time for their changing relationship and fledgling family provides a challenger. New facts and problems abound as they try to track down their enemy.

My Thoughts: I absolutely devoured this book! I fell in love with the characters in book one flight of the falcon and I was so excited to have a book from Robins perspective.

As someone with a disability I really appreciated the disability rep in this book and the fact that it doesn’t hold Robin back, he owns a business and finds love too, who’d have thought it eh? 🤣

This book picks up directly after the first one which I appreciated because the action didn’t stop and I wasn’t happy, I needed answers!

In this one we follow Robin and the rest of the crew still trying to get to the bottom of the Eagle and Vasilys involvement & they somehow find themselves tangled with 2 young lads who my heart went out too!

I don’t want to give too much away, but I loved learning more about Maliks history and meeting his children.

This series has my heart & I’m secretly hoping there will be more. I’m not ready to say goodbye to these characters.

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Today I am on the tour for The Third Girl by S.C. Shannon, 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: Twenty-five years ago, I escaped. One of us didn’t.

We were best friends — Penelope, Emily and me — growing up in the picture-perfect town of Tranquility Ridge. Pine-lined streets, quaint diners, creaky porch swings. The kind of place nothing bad is supposed to happen.

But the night before my seventeenth birthday, everything changed.

Emily invited us to a party.

That’s when we were taken.

I woke up shackled to a rusted metal bed. My wrists bled. My ankles bruised. Music blared around the clock — too loud, too cruel. I never saw who did it. I was trained not to look.

I escaped.

Penelope didn’t.

And Emily? She’s been lying ever since.

Now, twenty-five years later, a stranger appears with a message, scrawled in Emily’s handwriting — a message I never expected to read:

Penelope’s alive — find her!

My Thoughts: can we just take a moment to appreciate the cover?! Now I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover but whoever designed this one really understood the assignment! – it’s eye catching, it’s eerily beautiful and actually has some relevance to the story!

I felt this book was very cleverly done, we have 3 best friends.. 2 get kidnapped, 1 escapes, 1 doesn’t. And the 3rd seemingly uninvolved but she was meant to be at the party too?

We’re getting 2 timelines the before and after which we all know is my favourite kind of thriller so i just ate it up, this was a one day read for me, would have been a one sitting read if it was acceptable to cancel plans 🤣

My heart went out to Christina from the start, you could tell how much trauma she still held on to from the events of 25 years ago.. the guilt she still felt from leaving Penelope behind could honestly be felt through the story so cue her utter shock when Emily’s husband drops a note in Emily’s handwriting saying that Penelope is still alive.

Can she find her before it’s too late?

I loved this, it was such an easy read, it never got overwhelming or over complicated but it was engaging & left you feeling like you just needed to get to the bottom of the mystery.

This was my first read by this author but definitely won’t be my last.

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Today I am on the tour for Owen by VH Nicolson, 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: 378

Synopsis: A runaway groom strangers to lovers unforgettable steamy romance from VH Nicolson. Perfect for fans of Ana Huang, Catharina Maura and Meghan Quinn
Don’t play the game, change it…

I was born into privilege. I had it all; the house, the car, more money than I knew what to do with. But it came at a price. Duty. An arranged marriage for the sake of the family empire to a woman who couldn’t bear to look at me. As I stood at the altar, the weight of that burden became too much. So, I did the only thing I could. I ran.

To another country and unintentionally straight into the arms of another woman. Jade is strong, independent, and a single mom. And brick by broken brick she dismantles the wall I’ve built up around my heart. But where once I had everything, now I have nothing. No home, no job and no idea what the future holds. All I do know is, Jade makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before.

But there is always the risk my past could catch up with me. Because the weight of my family’s expectation is likely to cause me to crash land and send my world up in flames. Can I save myself and Jade before that happens?

My Thoughts: oh my heart, I think there will always be a place for Owen in mine!

Now this book 3 in the Billionaire Boys series and although it will read as a standalone I highly recommend you start from book one to truly appreciate the character growth in Owen because I think it’s one of the biggest turnarounds I’ve read in a long time & I was here for it!

Owen ran away from his fiancé on his wedding day, it was an arranged marriage, neither of them wanted it and neither of them were happy… however he kneel it would have disastrous consequences with his parents so he fled to his cousin in Cyprus.. where he meets Jade & believe me when I tell him she is a force to be reckoned with and isn’t afraid to give him a run for his money and ask for exactly what she wants 🥵

Seeing Owen go from an arsehole in previous books to a total golden retriever with Jade and Poppy to then giving total touch her and die vibes at one point had me just wanting more and more from the pair of them.

This book is hot & steamy but also has a lot of heart and vulnerability too, I’m almost sad to let the characters go.

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Pages: 478

Synopsis: 𝗜 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲-𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱. 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲? 𝗠𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆, 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁.

My little girl has a life-threatening heart condition, and I’d like to think I’d do anything to save her.

Anything at all.

But it’s not until the most lucrative, shameful opportunity falls into my lap that I learn just how far I’ll go to protect her.

The opportunity? A “full-service” executive assistant role through the discreet agency Seraph, putting my body and my soul at the mercy of a ruthless billionaire who has a reputation for eating women like me for breakfast:

Brendan Sullivan.

He’s disarmingly handsome, disgustingly wealthy, and disturbingly depraved. The things he has me do are beyond sinful, and I’m way out of my depth.

He can never know that I’m just a desperate, duplicitous single mother and not the professional sexpot he thinks he’s hired.

He can never know just how terrified I am every time he and his debauched friends lay their hands on me.

And he can definitely never know that, the more he corrupts me, the more he affects me.

I’m falling hard. Against all odds, this role seems less like a means to an end and more like a glimpse of the Happy Ever After I know he and I can never have.

My Thoughts: I’m not sure how she does it but with every book Elodie writes she makes me fall in love with the characters just a little bit more than the last.

Brendan and Marlowe’s story was everything I wanted and more.

I found this book to be less about the spice, which is a strange thing to say given the premise of the series – don’t worry, it’s still there and it’s perfect as always!

But I found this one was more character focussed & that really helped me become invested in the story.

Marlowe is a single mum to Tabs, an 8 year old girl with a heart condition, she’s doing everything she can to stay afloat but life is just hard, made worse when she loses her job after yet another unavoidable hospital visit!

She needs money & fast, her daughter can’t wait for the NHS to be able to fit Tabs in, but the procedure in America is an eye watering amount of money! This is when she decided to follow in her best friend Athena’s footsteps and become a full service EA for the disgustingly rich Brendan Sullivan!

Both characters are equally flawed and I really enjoyed watching them both not only come to terms with that but also slowly allow the other in to their world & actually deal with it together. Although I’ll be honest their communication skills left a lot to be desired at the start, starting a relationship (even a working one) based on a lie is never a good idea we all know the truth comes out eventually and normally with disastrous consequences!

That however is where this book differs, the truth coming out was actually the making of them 😍

I honestly could waffle on forever about these two, so many cute moments that I want to share but my reviews have always been spoiler free!

Just know that I laughed, I full on sobbed, I swooned.

This book is literally everything & I think they may just stay my favourite Elodie Hart couple forever.

If only I could go back in time and experience the whole thing for the first time again *sighs*

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