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Today is my stop on the blog tour for Blood Red City by Rod Reynolds, thank you to Anne from Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part & thank you to Orenda Books for my copy.

Pages: 395

Synopsis: When crusading journalist Lydia Wright is sent a video of an apparent murder on a London train, she thinks she’s found the story to revive her career. But she can’t find a victim, much less the killers, and the only witness has disappeared. Wary she’s fallen for fake news, she begins to doubt her instincts – until a sinister call suggests that she’s not the only one interested in the crime.

Michael Stringer deals in information – and doesn’t care which side of the law he finds himself on. But the murder on the train has left him exposed, and now he’ll stop at nothing to discover what Lydia knows.

When their paths collide, Lydia finds the story leads through a nightmare world, where money, power and politics intersect … and information is the only thing more dangerous than a bullet.

A nerve-shattering and brutally realistic thriller, Blood Red City bursts with energy and grit from the opening page, twisting and feinting to a superb, unexpected ending that will leave you breathless.

Keeping the secret could cost your life. Telling the secret could cost you everything.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: firstly let me say that even before I read the synopsis I’d already decided I wanted to be part of t r tour, on some part it was because it was an Orenda Books tour and every single one of those I have been part of has been incredible, but mostly it was because of the cover, it left me totally intrigued!

We follow Lydia a journalist, who gets an anonymous email with a video attached, which shows what looks like someone being murdered on the tube that night but when she looks into it, there’s been nothing reported to police or otherwise!

She then makes it her mission to try and get to the bottom of not only why this has happened but who the victim is, but everywhere she goes she draws a blank, how can someone be murdered in a public place full of CCTV and nobody catch anything about it? – but of course one person did, the person who took the video, will Lydia have anymore luck finding her?

Along comes Michael a “fixer” who just happens to see Lydia showing people the video, he instantly recognises the victim and realises he’s messed up, but how I’d he linked to the story?

We soon get the feeling that Michael is on the “good” side of things, he always seems to be there to save Lydia when she finds herself in trouble, but is he saving her, or is he protecting his interests?

This book was so full of twists and turns, it kept me guessing right until the last page! – part of me is hoping this will have a sequel in the future because I just loved Lydia and Michael so much.

If you like a good crime thriller that is never predictable, leads you down one road and then does a complete U-turn then this is the one for you!

If you click the picture of the cover it will take you to amazon where you can pick up your own copy 🥰 let me know your thoughts if you do pick it up!

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for Deja Vu by Melody Saleh, book 2 in The Unbroken Series. Thank you to the girls at Love Books Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AND RAPE!

Pages: 362

Synopsis: Amber, South Florida’s rising star journalist, is desperate for answers as her best friends are admitted into the hospital, either fighting for their lives or those of their loved ones. The doctor comes into the Emergency Waiting Room. “I’m so sorry… this is never easy.” Is Debra’s baby okay? Why did was Dominque’s napkin bright red? What caused all that blood in the park?

And now, her identical twin sister shows up-the one she wrote off years ago. She thinks she’s better than me; always has our entire life. Well, if she thinks she can throw me away like trash-think again, dear sister…I’m back and worse than ever.

Amber loves him very much, but he’s hurt her-one too many times. Is her heart safer with her Frenchman? Patrick has made mistakes, but she’s the reason he’s broken the promise he made to his dad so many years ago…she’s the one. But second chances come with a price.

After awakening from a fog, and unable to recall the previous two hours, Amber is arrested and handcuffed because she was the last one to see her attacker alive. Is this the result of a devious plan? Or, is she guilty of murder?

If you like fast-paced, provocative, romantic thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat, then you’ll love, Melody Saleh’s, Deja Vu, Book II in the Unbroken Series.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: all I can say is wow! – I won’t lie as much as I enjoyed the first book I really struggled to review it because I didn’t feel invested in the characters, but this time around I felt sucked into and part of their lives!

This one had me feeling all kinds of emotions, I was angry for what Amber had to go through, and then even more angry at the twist it took afterwards, not angry at the author, just angry at the situation 😂 Patrick however swoops in and finally admits he’s in love with her and does his very best to make things right, who knew a lawyer could be so sexy?

Dominique’s story absolutely broke my heart, the whole cancer storyline is a little bit too close to home at the moment, so those chapters were really hard to read and made me cry more than once! – Tad was amazing, so caring and thoughtful but there to make her laugh when she really needed, he lightened the mood for me and made the hard bits easier to read and digest!

I absolutely adore the relationship between Zya and Tina, it just shows that you can find love in the unlikeliest of places & that really you fall in love with the person and not the gender,

I thought the whole Ashanti and Mitch storyline was handled really well, surely I’m not the only one hoping that they get together at some point? 🤞🏼

And lastly we have Debra, poor poor Debra, who finds herself in a bit of a pickle, with 2 men fighting for her affection and being heavily pregnant in the heat of the moment she tells Roberto she’ll marry him, but it’s like a switch goes off in his head when he hears those words, he becomes controlling and demanding, has she made the wrong choice? Can her friends help her set things straight with Roberto and put things right with Brian before little George is born??

I could not put this book down, it was so fast paced and I just needed to know what happened…..

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE CLIFFHANGER THOUGH?!

I need book 3!

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Today I’m coming at you with a cover reveal for Not the Deaths Imagined by Anne Pettigrew, which will be released on the 1st August 2020 (I will include a preorder link at the bottom of the post 😛)

AND HERE IT IS! – IT HAS DEFINITELY MADE ME WANT TO READ IT! 😍

Synopsis: In a leafy Glasgow suburb, Dr Beth Semple is busy juggling motherhood and full-time GP work in the 90s NHS. But her life becomes even more problematic when she notices some odd deaths in her neighbourhood. Though Beth believes the stories don’t add up, the authorities remain stubbornly unconvinced.

Soon, Beth’s professional reputation is challenged. There follows a chilling campaign of harassment and she finds her professional reputation – and family – are put at risk.

Is a charming local GP actually a serial killer? Can Beth piece together the jigsaw of perplexing fatalities and perhaps save lives? And as events accelerate towards a dramatic conclusion, will the police intervene in time?

From the author of Not the Life Imagined, this slow-burning tartan noir novel from a Bloody Scotland Crime Spotlight author follows Beth on another quest for justice. Reflecting Pettigrew’s own medical expertise, Not The Deaths Imagined re-affirms the benefits of growing up in a loving family and the need for friends in hard times, while offering insight into the twisted development of a psychopathic mind.

About the Author: Glasgow-born, 31 years a Greenock GP, graduate of University of Glasgow (Medicine 1974) and Oxford (MSc Medical Anthropology 2004). Worked also in psychiatry, women’s health, and journalism (Herald, Pulse, Doctor, Channel 4). In retirement took Creative Writing tuition at Glasgow University aiming to pen novels about women doctors (rare in literature except as pathologists or in Mills & Boon). Runner-up in SAW Constable Award 2018, chosen as a 2019 Bloody Scotland Crime Spotlight Author – ‘one to watch.’ Member of several writers’ groups and a short story competition winner, she lives in Ayrshire and enjoys good books, good wine, and good company.

Where can you preorder the book?

Direct  from the  publisher!
Amazon UK
Amazon US 

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Out Tomorrow!

“A. J. Park is a master of suspense who knows how to keep readers hovering tensely over the edges of their seats.”
Sophie Hannah

THE FIRST LIE BY A.J. PARK

“This is a real page-turner. I finished it in one go!”
Martina Cole

A husband and wife cover up a murder. But the lie eats away at the fabric of their relationship and things unravel till they can’t trust anyone – even each other.

“A great thriller that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.”
Luca Veste

A freak accident. An impossible choice. But what was the first lie?

When Paul Reeve comes home to find his wife in the bathroom, bloodied and shaking, his survival instinct kicks in.

Alice never meant to kill the intruder. She was at home, alone, and terrified. She doesn’t deserve to be blamed for it. Covering up the murder is their only option.

But the crime eats away at the couple and soon they can’t trust anyone – even one another…

But there is much more at stake than anyone realises – and many more people on their trail than they can possibly evade…

“Fast-moving, gripping, the ground shifting perpetually beneath your feet as you read… I read it in one sitting.”
Alex Marwood

Available as a paperback, ebook and audio book.

Links:

Waterstones Paperback: http://tidd.ly/553cdf07

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KNl4rt

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Facade by Melody Saleh, thank you to Kelly at Love Books for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages:364

Synopsis: Four Friends…Each Hiding Behind a Facade.
Is Fantasy Better Than Reality?

Dealing with a tragic death, health issues, and difficult lifestyle choices, the lives of Amber’s closest friends spiral out of control. Despite feeling frustrated and helpless, she somehow finds a way to put everyone, including herself, back together again. Suddenly her sister, the one she wrote off years ago, appears. What could she possibly want? What devious plans has she set in motion to ruin Amber’s life?

When Debra closes her eyes, why isn’t the man in her dreams, the one that put a ring on her finger? Can Dominque truly love a man who is everything she’s never wanted? Will Zya trust her heart and allow herself to love…another woman?

Hurt for the last time by Patrick Simpson, Amber pours her time and energy into her friendships, her career, and a sexy Frenchman. The day Patrick found his father’s suicide note, he made a promise to him that no woman would ever get the chance to break his heart. One he kept…until he met Amber.

Who comes to Amber’s rescue when all her friends end up in the emergency room?

If you like thrilling and provocative romance novels, then you’ll love, Melody Saleh’s, Facade, Book I in the Unbroken Series.

To find out if fantasy is better than reality, buy Facade today.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My thoughts: I really loved this story, at first I thought the multiple perspectives would be hard to keep track of and really confusing & to begin with they were, but once you get into the main bulk of the story it’s really easy to tell the characters apart.

We have Amber, who seems to be the glue that holds their friendship group together, but unbeknownst to all of them whilst she is helping them work through all their issues, she’s hiding a big secret from them all, but as everyone knows secrets always come out in the end!

Debra, who is at home cooking her husbands birthday meal, waiting to tell him that the one thing they’ve wanted for years is finally happening, but he’s late home, he’s just stuck in traffic, right?

Dominique, who spends her life sleeping with anyone, not eating and over exercising in the hopes that she will one day land the perfect modelling job, but what will it take for to realise that there is more to life than your job?

And finally Zya, who converted to Islam for her long term boyfriend, their relationship had recently fallen apart (again) and she’s decided enough is enough, she has a 14 year old daughter Ashanti, and Zya is starting to realise they both deserve more and it’s time for her to put them first and teach Ashanti what it’s like to be a black Muslim teenager, are things going to be that straight forward?

Each of the main characters is hiding something that means they’re going to more important to each other than any of them will ever know.

The book really is a testament to how strong friendships can be and how you really never know what is happening behind closed doors.

I cannot wait to dive into book 2!

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for Aris Adventure, thank you to Emma at Damp Pebbles blog tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 175

Synopsis:

Welcome to Moonshire Bay – the small town lakeside community that has love in the air ♥

Finding out her husband of over twenty years is cheating on her? ✓
Laid off from her job the very same day? ✓

Ari had a very bad day and flees to Moonshire Bay to relax, heal and figure out what she really wants. At least she knows what she doesn’t want – a relationship.

Jack Callahan has been playing it safe in all aspects of his life after a failed business and a horrible misjudgment of someone’s character. Living in Moonshire Bay allows him to coast through life with his shields up and blinders on.

So what happens when Jack and Ari start working on a project together? Can their newfound friendship and attraction overcome their lack of trust?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧.5

My Thoughts: this was such a heartwarming story, which was exactly what I needed right now, we follow Ari, who within the space of a few days loses the job she’s had for so long that she thought it would be the one she would retire from & found out her husband of 28 years had been cheating on her and living a double life for the past two years, but does he have anything else he’s not telling her?

Feeling the need to just get away, she takes up her friends offer of house sitting whilst her and her husband are staying closer to the hospital where he is getting treatment got cancer, this is exactly what she needs, right?

On the way to MoonShire bay, Ari meets Jack, he’s a grumpy cantankerous man who really rubs her up the wrong way, but we soon learn that there is more to him than meets the eye!

Throughout the story we see Ari and Jack get close and then fall apart again a few times with both of them misreading situations that we as the reader knew were completely innocent!

Can Ari find the life she wants in MoonShire Bay and find the love of her life whilst she’s at it, or will it all just be one big mistake?

I highly recommend this book to fans of nice, easy romance stories that are easy to get lost in.

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for Just Friends by Holly McCulloch, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part and to Transworld Books for my copy.

Pages: 304

Synopsis: It’s easy to put someone in the friend zone. But what happens if you change your mind?

Bea isn’t happy. Desperate for a change, she looks to her friends for inspiration. Every single one of them is paired off, perhaps that’s what she needs too.

So, she starts dating again. But everywhere she goes – amid the hilarious and scarring dates – there’s Peter. Good old, oddball Peter, her closest friend from university. He’s always been firmly in the friend zone but something’s happened lately – he seems taller, more handsome and suddenly making him smile is Bea’s favourite thing.

But how can Bea possibly risk their friendship? And how do you even go about taking someone out of the friend zone? What if Bea and Peter were only ever meant to be just friends…

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My thoughts: friends to lovers stories aren’t normally my thing, but for some reason this was different, maybe it was because Bea was such a disaster 😂

We follow Bea and Peter or “oddly Bodley as he’s been nicknamed, they have been friends since university, unbeknownst to her Peter has been in love with her for years, but Bea has placed him firmly in the friend zone, hasn’t she?

The characters were really different, Bea was really unlikeable in fact I’d say at times that I hated her, but as the book went on she really grew on me. Peter however was quite the opposite, he was loveable and warm, exactly what I’d want from a best friend. – In fact I’d even go as far as to say that at the beginning I couldn’t help but feel he deserved better than Bea!

As the story goes on though I really found myself warming to the two of them together & by the end it’s all I wanted!

Some parts of the story made me cringe for Bea and want to hide under my duvet, but it also made me really laugh to.

I can’t help but feel that the story wasn’t long enough though, don’t get me wrong I was happy with the ending, I just wanted more!

If you’re looking for a lighthearted funny romance story then this is definitely one you should consider picking up

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for This is Not a Love Story by Mary Hargreaves, thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part & thank you to Trapeze Books for my copy.

Firstly let me say HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY! to Mary ❤️

Pages: 304

Synopsis:

Maggie Gardiner isn’t good enough. She had six glasses of wine at a work conference, woke up covered in curry and has accidentally ended up living with the boring guy who was supposed to be a one night stand. Something has to change.
Every other twenty-something on Instagram seems to have their sh*t together, so why doesn’t she? And so she makes a list. When she’s ticked off every item, she’ll become Maggie 2.0 – the best version of herself, and the one she wants to be. Won’t she…?

1.Go vegan. It worked for that girl on Twitter.

2.Take up yoga – that woman she hate-follows swears by it

3.Start practising mindfulness – all those people can’t be wrong..

4.Quit smoking. It’s not 1999.

This Is Not A Love Story is a book for anyone who’s ever wished they were perfect. It’s a book for anyone who feels like a failure. And it’s not a love story, it’s a real story. And it’s hilarious.

My rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I apologise if this is a rambling mess, my tour date got changed last minute so I thought I’d have a bit longer to process my thoughts and put them into coherent words.

The first thing you need to know is that I absolutely loved this and if I could give it more stars I would! – this is definitely by far my favourite book of the year, and I’ve read A LOT, having MS and being unable to go to work has left me with nothing else to do 😂 and I tell you it’s gonna take some beating to knock it off the top spot!

We follow Maggie, who having just dumped her boyfriend feels like now is the time to get her life together, but like so many of us has no idea where to start.

I was in agreement with Maggie when she said she needed to get rid of Martin, I didn’t like him at all, I may or may not have actually told him to piss off and stop mothering her out loud whilst reading 🙈

I felt sorry for her when she was listing all her faults and the things she felt she needed to change about herself but was 100% behind her achieving her goals like she was a friend I’d known forever.

One piece of advice I would give you if you’re going to read this book (which I highly recommend you do) I’d make sure you’re alone, because it will make you laugh, out loud a lot! – several times I got looks from my family because I just couldn’t hold it in! – one particular part, the unfortunate yoga incident, I thought I was safe, I was in my room on my own but forgot my window was open, I laughed so loud that I then heard a neighbour say to his wife “I wonder what’s tickled her”

I don’t want to give too much away, but there are so many layers to this story, you have friendship groups that are being tested, you have hilarious mishaps throughout but it’s not all lighthearted, there’s a very serious storyline about a family member with the onset of a very serious condition, you have another family with a big secret that they’ve been keeping about themselves and they were all dealt with in a sensitive way. I’m not ashamed to admit that parts of this even made me cry.

An absolutely beautiful story, that will stay with me for a long time & one that I will definitely be recommending to you everyone.

With her debut novel Mary Hargreaves has cemented herself as an autobuy author for me, I will gladly pick up anything she comes up with in the future.

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Lies I Tell by Joel Hames, thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for organising the tour and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 372

Synopsis: Meet Polly. Meet Emily. Meet Belinda.

They’re all me. My name is Lisa and I’m an identity thief. If I’m not inside your system stealing your money, I’ve probably already stolen it. I’m your friend. I’m a thief. I’m gone.
I’m in control.

Only now, the tables have been turned. I’m in danger. My son is in danger. And I don’t know where that danger’s coming from.

Any friend.
Any enemy.
Any stranger.

Anyone from the past I’ve been trying to outrun for years.

NOBODY CAN BE TRUSTED.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧.5

My Thoughts: this story really packs a punch, At the beginning with all the names that we were given I was worried that it would all be too much and I’d confuse them all, but I couldn’t have been more wrong, they all fit around Lisa seamlessly and on a really clever way to help the reader take them all on without even really realising that someone else has been introduced.

The story is told in Dual timelines which was someone I wasn’t expecting but worked really well within the story and means that we soon find out they not even Lisa is her real name! – she was brought up in an abusive household with more responsibility than any child should have something tragic happens which makes her leave home and change her name for the first time.

Lisa is a scam artist and a bloody good one, she can be in and out with all your money & erase all trace of her ever being there before you’ve even thought it could be a possibility. But she’s messed up somewhere, she’s being watched, she’s being lead to scenes of crimes by people she though she could trust, or is she?

She no longer feels safe, the lives of her and her young son are in danger, is there anyone she can trust to protect him whilst she tries to work out where she went wrong?

The story was brilliant, it had me on the edge of my seat needing to know what was going to happen! – I even changed my passwords for some things because it felt so real, which i guess it is, the story is fiction, but stuff like this happens all the time.

So Joel, thank you for writing a brilliant story that I couldn’t put down, but also for bringing the issue to light, it’s something that is probably happening more than we think with all the craziness that’s going on in the world right now.

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Today is my stop on the blogtour for festival fireworks by Ann Burnett, thank you to Love Books Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 216

Synopsis: Aussie Jill arrives in Edinburgh at Festival time, at the start of a gap year. Unfortunately, her boss at the temporary job she’s taken turns out to be her grumpy neighbour, Andrew, aka Mr Bossy. As the Festival fireworks explode over the city every night, they start to fall in love. Then Jill has to return suddenly to Australia. Can their budding romance survive or will the fireworks fizzle and die?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧.5

My thoughts: this book right here is the epitome of why I love doing blog tours, being completely honest I wouldn’t have picked this up if I’d seen it in the shelf, purely because the cover doesn’t really stand out to me, and that’s not to say it’s a bad cover, I’m just normally drawn to the cartoony covers 😂 – having read the book I can tell you that the cover fits perfectly & actually starts telling you the story before you’ve picked it up.

We follow Jill, who is from Australia but has come to Scotland for a break, swapped places with her aunt, who had gone to Australia to visit the rest of the family. The book opens with Jill parking in the wrong space & upsetting her neighbour from the flat opposite hers, Andrew, they get off on completely the wrong foot, could this gorgeous man really be as grumpy as he comes across?

Unbeknownst to both of them at the time Jill finds herself working for Andrew as his PA a fact that neither of them are happy about to start with, he feels like she isn’t capable of filling the shoes of his previous PA who is taking some time out, little does he know though that she is on the other end of the phone whenever she’s needed to help Jill succeed!

There was something that happened near the end of the book, that as much as I was hoping it would happen and was so happy that it did, for me it happened too quickly almost like it was an I stand decision with no thought (from the characters NOT the author.) it made me feel a bit unsure of it which is why I knocked half a star off and this didn’t get the full 5.

I can’t tell you too much more without giving away everything that made this the wonderful story it was, all you need to know is that it was hilarious, heartbreaking and full of surprises! – it was an absolute joy to read and some parts made me smile so much my cheeks hurt!

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