Today is my stop on the Audio Book Blog Tour for The Heatwave by Katerina Diamond, Thank you to Avon Books UK for the invite and providing me with a copy of the audiobook.
Pages: 400
Synopsis: One summer. One stranger. One killer… Two bad things happened that summer: A stranger arrived. And the first girl disappeared.
In the wake of the crime that rocked her community, Felicity fled, knowing more than she let on.
But sixteen years later, her new life is shattered by the news that a second girl has gone missing in her hometown.
Now Felicity must go back, to face the truth about what happened all those years ago.
Only she holds the answers – and they’re more shocking than anyone could imagine.
The heatwave is back. And so is the killer.
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧
MyThoughts: oh my.
WOW.
I’m not really sure yet how to put my thoughts into words, I’ve been sitting on it a few days, but now it’s my stop on the blog tour and now I’m out of time so bear with me 😂
The book opens with a missing girl in Felicity’s home town of Sidmouth in Devon, a place she left behind 16 years ago, but now suddenly she feels the desperate need to return with little to no explanation.
The book is told from two perspectives, Felicity’s and Jasmine’s.
Felicity is on a mission to see if the current missing person is tied to the one that went missing when she was last here.
Jasmine is felicity’s childhood best friend, who’s parents are perfect, the opposite of felicity’s and everything she has always wanted. They take people in, the newest one being Tim. They go on holiday all the time doing charity work in lots of different locations all over the world, but is all as perfect as it seems?
The way the 2 seemingly separate stories neat together in the end is incredible and really kept me on the edge of my seat & I for one did not see the conclusion coming!
But then it seemed so real, like something that could actually happen which really creeped me out.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough, & if you’re in a position too, definitely pick up the audiobook, it sets the atmosphere to the book perfectly and added a whole new depth to it.
pssst... if you click the cover image it will take you to amazon where you can pick up a copy of the book 🙂
Thank you to Avon books (ebook) Harper Collins (audiobook) and Netgalley for providing me with my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Pages: 400
Synopsis: She’s single. But it can still be complicated… Penny Bridge has always been unlucky in love.
So she can’t believe it when she meets a remarkable new man.
Followed by another.
And then another…
And all of them want to date her.
Penny has to choose between three. But are any of them The One?
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧
My thoughts: this is the second book of Laura’s that I’ve read, after reading our stop last year and absolutely adoring it I knew I had to read The Love Square too and it definitely didn’t disappoint.
We follow Penny, who after fighting cancer and freezing her eggs after having them fertilised with some German sperm, she feels like she’s ready to find love and maybe take her eggs off ice!
After falling in ‘friendship’ with Francesco, something happens within the family and she needs to move away, she is desperate to ask him to come with her but she’s just not brave enough.
6 months pass and she’s settled into her new life, she meets Thomas, who she very quickly learns is not “the one” but is always down for a bit of fun.
And then as if things aren’t complicated enough along comes Priyesh at the Christmas party, she seems to have found herself stuck in a live square with no idea who she wants!
What follows is absolutely hilarious and I absolutely adored it.
I had both the ebook and the audiobook, I won’t lie most of the book was read via audiobook because it was narrated by Carrie Hope Fletcher and she is a force to be reckoned with!
Laura Jane Williams has now cemented herself as an autobuy author for me and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
I was approached by Tim via email asking if I would be interested in reviewing his book, I was provided with a free copy in exchange for an honest review, but that has is no way influenced my thoughts on the book, all thoughts are my own.
The book is actually part of Amazon’s monthly deals for July and it’s currently 99p on kindle! – if youclick on the front cover it will take you to amazon where you can buy your own copy.
Pages: 250
Synopsis: A cow looks out to sea, dreaming of a life that involves grass.
Jan is also looking out to sea. He’s in Goa, dreaming of the passport-thief who stole his heart (and his passport) forty-six years ago. Back then, fate kept bringing them together, but lately it seems to have given up.
Jan has not. In his long search he has accidentally held a whole town at imaginary gunpoint in Soviet Russia, stalked the proprietors of an international illegal lamp-trafficking scam and done his very best to avoid any kind of work involving the packing of fish. Now he thinks if he just waits, if he just does nothing at all, maybe fate will find it easier to reunite them.
His story spans fifty-four years, ten countries, two imperfect criminals (and one rather perfect one), twenty-two different animals and an annoying teenager who just…
Will…
Not…
Leave.
But maybe an annoying teenager is exactly what Jan needs to help him find the missing thief?
Featuring a menagerie of creatures, each with its own story to tell, We Are Animals is a quirky, heart-warming tale of lost love, unlikely friendships and the certainty of fate (or lack thereof).
For the first time in her life the cow noticed the sun setting, and it was glorious.
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: the synopsis of this book tells you all about the book and sets the scene, which is what I would normally do at the start of a review.. I guess I don’t need to do that now so I feel a little lost 😂
This book was heartbreaking and hilarious and so easy to get lost in. Poor Jan is just sat at the bar on the beach like he normally does waiting for the love of his life to arrive, when along comes a young ‘vest’ who despite being ignored and told to go away, just won’t leave Jan alone! – we soon find that this annoying kid might be exactly what Jan needs!
Shakey – which by the way is the vests name, gets drunk with Jan and listens to him tell his life story that has led him to be waiting for LadyJan on the beach and I swear some of it you just can’t make up – the whole thing took you on a journey that was so emotional and felt so real.
I really don’t want to give any of the story away but if you trust my recommendations even a small amount, please please please pick this up… you will NOT be disappointed.
Today I’m here to tell you all about Kissing Daisy Parker by MichaelMilton.
Synopsis: First loves. Last chances. Street Fighter II.
Daisy is a Sylvia Plath reading, Robert Smith devotee, planning on a summer of Australian beaches with or without her two favourite boys. Obsessed gamer and jealous boyfriend Greg needs the prize money from the Scottish Street Fighter II championships to join Daisy in Oz. She wouldn’t really go without him. Would she?
Scottish-born, English-accented Junaid is the couple’s best friend. Haunted by that school dance and terrified of the future, he finds himself falling for his best friend’s girl. When a disastrous event at the video game tournament brings Daisy and J closer together, Greg attempts the ultimate redemption.
Each makes decisions which alter the course of their friendship, and their lives, forever. But do the answers to life’s biggest questions truly lie in kissing Daisy Parker?
About the author:
Michael Milton spent the first 25 years of his life pretending to be other people. After switching drama school for university, he travelled the world as an English teacher and returned home to complete his MA in Creative Writing.
His stories have been long and short listed for the Fish Prize, the Bath Short Story Award, the Mogford Prize and the Emerge Impact Creative Writing Prize. Kissing Daisy Parker is his first novel, and yes, he can beat you at Street Fighter
Pssst. If you click the cover image it will take you to amazon where you can buy your own copy.
Today is my stop on the blogtour for Photographing Kate by Elle Sweet, thank you to Emma at Damp Pebbles Blog Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part
Pages: 188
Synopsis: Welcome to Moonshire Bay – the small town lakeside community that has love in the air ♥
After Kate’s husband of over twenty years is sentenced for embezzling and fraud, she loses everything and needs to start over. She decides to visit Moonshire Bay to regroup at the urging of her friend, Claire, who owns the diner there.
Knowing she needs a way to support herself, she rekindles her passion for photography and starts to think maybe staying in Moonshire Bay is her best chance at happiness.
Zach is the town attorney and a confirmed bachelor. After a scarring experience with love and almost marriage in his younger days, he vowed never to get any closer to a woman than a casual relationship.
When Zach meets Kate, the wounded look that lingers behind her smile grabs him and he wants to know her better, but Kate was burned by her lawyer ex-husband. Even if she wanted a relationship it wouldn’t be with a member of that profession.
Zach tricks Kate in order to get to know her better. When she finds out, will she understand and forgive him or will it push her further away?
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts; this is my second dive into Elle Sweets writing and the lovely town of Moonshire Bay and this one was just as, if not more lovely than the first.
This time we follow Kate, who is trying to deal with the fact that her husband of many years had been given a prison sentence for fraud & on top of that is made redundant from the job she thought would see her into retirement! – needing to get away she gets in contact with her friend Claire who lives in Moonshire Bay to see if she is up for a visitor.
She doesn’t know what she wants from her visit or even how long she plans to stay, but she’ll work it out as and when, won’t she?
Just as she’s starting to find her feet she has a minor incident with Zach and his car, who just so happens to be the towns lawyer (oops🙈) the minute she sees him she can appreciate his beauty, but she’s sworn off men now hasn’t she?
What follows that is both funny and infuriating but makes for an enjoyable read.
Watching Kate find her new self and discover both old and new hobbies as well as gain new friends really made me smile and I cannot wait to jump into the next book in the series!
Today I’m on the blogtour for Dragon River by Rob Saunders, thank you to Anne from Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part & thank you to Rob himself for my copy!
Pages: 110
Synopsis: This story has everything: A boy who turns into a dragon…and back again. The longest, most boring train ride ever. Bully boys, making stuff, and a near disaster on the river. There’s even magic, two court cases, a plane ride and a song. Join the Drako family, the nasty Purkisses, teacher Hippolyta Scythe, singer Solange Luna, and Percy the phenomenal child artist, along with Gallo the superhero dragon! A brilliant book for fans of Lemony Snicket.
My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧
My Thoughts: this book is absolutely brilliant for young children, it’s packed with everything, magic, action packed scenes (obviously to suit a child ages between 7-10) beautiful illustrations and of course Gallo the dragon!
I know I’m too old to be the target audience of this book, but I was still able to appreciate the story and the messages it was trying to convey – it’s only very short but it covers a lot of important topics from bullying, the importance of following your dreams & above all to never be afraid to do the right thing no matter how scary it might feel at the time.
The illustrations in this book were incredible and really helped bring the story to life.
This is definitely a story I will be keeping hold of to read to my godson when he is a little older (he’s currently 5, so not long to go)
Thank you to Rob for also including a little 3D printed sculpture of Gallo, which you can see in the picture)
Today I’m on the blog tour for The Waiting Rooms by Eve Smith, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it andinviting me to take part!
I have a giveaway for you today! – the prize will be a digital copy of the book and is open worldwide! – to enter go to my Twitter, here!
Synopsis: Swinging from South Africa to England: one woman’s hunt for her birth mother in an all-too-believable near future in which an antibiotic crisis has decimated the population. A prescient, thrilling debut.
Decades of spiralling drug resistance have unleashed a global antibiotic crisis. Ordinary infections are untreatable, and a scratch from a pet can kill. A sacrifice is required to keep the majority safe: no one over seventy is allowed new antibiotics. The elderly are sent to hospitals nicknamed ‘The Waiting Rooms’ … hospitals where no one ever gets well.
Twenty years after the crisis takes hold, Kate begins a search for her birth mother, armed only with her name and her age. As Kate unearths disturbing facts about her mother’s past, she puts her family in danger and risks losing everything. Because Kate is not the only secret that her mother is hiding. Someone else is looking for her, too.
Sweeping from an all-too-real modern Britain to a pre-crisis South Africa, The Waiting Rooms is epic in scope, richly populated with unforgettable characters, and a tense, haunting vision of a future that is only a few mutations away.
About the Author: Eve Smith writes speculative fiction, mainly about the things that scare her.In this world of questionable facts, stats and news, she believes storytelling is more important than ever to engage people in real life issues. Set 20 years after an antibiotic crisis, her debut novel The Waiting Rooms was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize First Novel Award. Her flash fiction has been shortlisted for the Bath Flash Fiction Award and highly commended for The Brighton Prize. Eve’s previous job as COO of an environmental charity took her to research projects across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places.
Today is my stop on the blog tour for Storms Gather Between us by Clare Flynn, thank you to Kelly at Love Books Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.
I’m coming at you with a spotlight today 🥰
Psst… click the cover image to be taken to amazon where you can pick up a copy of the book ❤️
Synopsis: Life can change in a single moment…
Living under the watchful eye of her controlling and abusive father, Hannah Dawson’s hopes for freedom and happiness seem a distant dream. Her mother, passive and ashamed of her self-preservation, refuses to challenge her husband. It is the mysterious circumstances of her long-lost Aunt Lizzie’s disappearance in the 1920s that inspires Hannah to seek a better life.
Since escaping his family’s notoriety in Australia Will Kidd has spent a decade sailing the seas, never looking back. Content to live the life of a wanderer, everything changes in a single moment when he comes face to face with a ghost from his past on a cloudy beach in Liverpool.
Hannah and Will are thrown together by fate and bonded by secrets from long ago. Now, they discover a love like no other. But with Hannah’s father determined to see her wed to a man of his choosing they must fight against a tyrant who has ruined many lives. Even if they succeed, can they escape the chains of their histories? And will their plans for a future be possible when the whole world is changing forever…?
A compelling tale of family secrets and undeniable love against the odds, perfect for fans of Susanne Goldring and Fiona Valpy.
About the Author: Historical novelist Clare Flynn is a former global marketing director and business owner. She now lives in Eastbourne on the south coast of England and most of her time these days is spent writing her novels – when she’s not gazing out of her windows at the sea. Clare is the author of eight novels and a short story collection. Her books deal with displacement -her characters are wrenched away from their comfortable existences and forced to face new challenges – often in outposts of an empire which largely disappeared after WW2. Clare is an active member of the Historical Novel Society, the Romantic Novelists Association, The Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors
Today I’m coming at you with a cover reveal for Buried Treasure by Gilli Allan, which I must say sounds sooo good! – big thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part!
Im going to be really mean and keep you waiting a whilewhilst I tell you a bit about the book and the author but I promise it’s worth it 😛
Synopsis: Jane thinks he sees her as shallow and ill-educated. Theo thinks she sees him as a snob, stuffy and out of touch. Within the ancient precincts of the university the first encounter between the conference planner and the academic is accidental and unpromising. Just as well there’s no reason for them ever to meet again. But behind the armour they’ve each constructed from old scars, they’ve more in common than divides them. Both have an archaeological puzzle they are driven to solve. As their stories intertwine, their quest to uncover the past unearths more than expected.
Treasure is not always what it seems.
About the Author: Gilli Allan began to write in childhood – a hobby pursued throughout her teenage. Writing was only abandoned when she left home, and real life supplanted the imaginary kind. After a few false starts she worked longest and most happily as an illustrator in advertising and only began writing again when she became a mother. Living in Gloucestershire with her husband Geoff, Gilli is still a keen artist. She draws and paints and has now moved into book illustration. All of her recent books TORN, LIFE CLASS, FLY or FALL and BURIED TREASURE have gained ‘Chill with a Book’ awards. Following in the family tradition, her son, historian Thomas Williams, is now also a writer.
ARE YOU READY FOR THE COVER YET?
Pssst… if you click thecover image it will take you to amazon where you can buy a copy! – let me know your thoughts if you pick it up!
Today is my stop on the blog tour for the Utrecht Murders by Jonathan Wilkins & I’m coming at you with an extract of Utrecht Snow, thank you to Emma at Damp Pebbles Blog Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.
Synopsis: Utrecht police inspector Caes Heda leads a team looking into the disappearance of young women. Meanwhile his daughter, Truus, bored with University takes up a job with disgraced former police office Thijs Orman at his Private Detective Agency and finds herself looking for yet another missing girl, this time it’s her bosses own daughter. are they all linked? At the Kroonstraat Police station the team Caes has put together look into the normal run of the mill cases and try to overcome the weather as much as the crime in the city as snow envelopes the streets of Utrecht. We meet twins Freddie and Maaike Meijer who patrol the streets together with colleagues Adrie and Danny. The team is made up by Madelon Verloet and man mountain Ernst Hougewood. Together they investigate car theft, street crime, assault and finally murder. We look at the everyday lives of the police involved, Caes still traumatised after his wifes early death and Truus falling for Maaike.
Excerpt: Amaliastraat, 23.00. Truus and Maaike were settled in for the evening in Truus’s bedroom. Maaike had decided against being an observer at the car bust. What would be the fun in that, she’d thought? Leaving everything to the bully boys of OCU. Rather spend time with her new love Truus. Truus was sitting reading on the sofa, neatly wedged between the legs of Maaike. Maaike was fiddling with her hair; Truus liked this. It was the only time she wished her hair was longer as she enjoyed the closeness. Truus felt she would love to have her hair braided or plaited. There was such a sensual feel to having someone’s fingers running through your hair. Maaike suddenly hugged her tight, almost crushing all the wind out of her. “Really love you,” she whispered. “I know, Maaike. I know you do.” “No I really, really love you,” she leant down and kissed her neck sending shivers from the spot down her spine into her tummy. “I love to hold you close, feeling your warmth. I love everything about this…” “It is nice…” “Nice?” she protested, “is that all it is to you, nice?” “Nice covers a thousand feelings.” Truus said, “that’s the beauty of the word.” “Doesn’t seem enough to describe how I feel.” Truus could feel Maaike grimacing. “One of my creative writer tutors I had, once said never to use the word nice in writing, but I think that’s wrong. It does have so many meanings…” “Happy!” Maaike interjected. “Warm…” “Pretty…” “Beautiful…” Truus laughed. “Safe…” “Millions, stop. I need to read this.” “Why?” asked Maaike. “Just wanted a different perspective…” “On what?” “Something I wrote; I need to see where it’s going.” Truus explained. “Does it have to go anywhere?” “It needs to make sense.” “Shall I read it?” Maaike asked. “When it’s finished, I want it to be just right.” “When do you know it’s right?” Maaike wondered. “You just do. You write then edit then rewrite. Lose words, add words, mix it all around. Eventually it all fits into place.” Truus replied. “Are you never happy with the first thing you write?” “Usually I am, but you keep being told to trim it down, to edit and edit. Sometimes you seem to lose the meaning of what you first wrote. It’s madness sometimes.” Truus replied. “But you do like it, don’t you?” “I love it. I love to write; it makes everything right in the world. I can escape and be someone I never knew, go to places I have never visited. It can be magical.” “I can see that.” “I find myself in a world where I am always happy. I can make the world my own. It doesn’t have to be a bad place or a sad place, it can be perfect. A lot of the time when I write I just think nowhere could be a better place. Everything is as it should be…” “But?” “But I know that can’t be true and that I have to reflect the real world.”” “Are you trying to escape then?” “Sometimes I am. I can lose myself and no one can find me. It’s perfect, the best of both worlds, but now…” “Now?” “I have you.” “Will you take me with you?” Maaike asked smiling. “In my heart always.” Truus smiled in return.
Caes returned home after the arrest and settled down in front of the fire with a crime novel. Busman’s holiday indeed! Truus had told him that Tartan noir was the next big thing. He wondered what clothes had to do with anything until she explained. The plot was good though, there were even some believable elements to it, but he did think that if anyone on the Utrecht force had a similar drink problem they would soon be getting moved on, at least into some kind of therapy. Or maybe not considering what had happened to Thijs. They were pretty proactive here. Caes supposed his life bore witness to that with his now weekly visits to a therapist. People who drank as much as the hero here would not be tolerated. Why did writers have to give their heroes a flaw? Was it so necessary to make them different? Caes couldn’t work out how he was supposed to react to the drunk. Should he admire him for getting the job done, despite his illness alienating all he worked with or should he despise him for his weakness and just take him to one side and explain the damage he was doing to everyone around him. Caes knew it would be the latter, no one is more important than the job. They were there to serve after all. Maybe a bit too goody two shoes! Caes supposed you could say that they are all human beings first, but in this job one almost had to take on supernatural abilities. Yes, you had to understand your fellow man, but you also had to try to understand why they did what they did. If you thought their behaviour was the norm, what did that say about you? If you broke the law to keep the law, how did that help? Was this the flaw that critics wanted to see in their fictional detective? He wouldn’t last two minutes in the real world. What was his flaw Caes wondered? He was depressed, did that affect his job? Sometimes he wanted to be on his own and wallow a bit, just wanting to be… well depressed. But at other times he could just push it to one side – almost. Caes had constant reminders of Femke, especially as Truus was growing up to be so like her, and maybe that was a bad thing, always having her remind him of his wife. But there again he didn’t want to ever forget her. Caes had loved her so much. Even now he still loved her. He missed her terribly, five years on there was still this huge gap in his life. She had gone too soon, but at least he had Truus. Maybe that was the problem, Truus was always there. Did she need to move on as much for her sake as his? Caes had no idea if he was holding her back or affecting her. Perhaps he should ask. But what would he say? You need to leave home, lieverd, as you remind me of Femke too much? That was ludicrous. But maybe not. Did he need to find someone else, but how could he? It was almost as if taking up with someone would negate his time with Femke, well that’s how he looked at it. Caes knew that Truus had said there would never be a replacement for her mammie, but as soon as someone else came into his house, his bed, how would that affect things. It was easier not to bother, to keep the memories, to hold onto the love he had, a love as far as he was concerned that could never be bettered.
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