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I received a copy of this book from The Book Club Reviewer Group in exchange for an honest review.

Pages: 320

Synopsis: Elusive online journalist Scott King examines the chilling case of a young vlogger found frozen to death in the legendary local ‘vampire tower’, in another explosive episode of Six Stories….

In the wake of the ‘Beast from the East’ cold snap that ravaged the UK in 2018, a grisly discovery was made in a ruin on the Northumbrian coast. Twenty-four-year-old vlogger Elizabeth Barton had been barricaded inside what locals refer to as ‘The Vampire Tower’, where she was later found frozen to death.

Three young men, part of an alleged cult, were convicted of this terrible crime, which they described as a ‘prank gone wrong’.

However, in the small town of Ergarth, questions have been raised about the nature of Elizabeth Barton’s death and whether the three convicted youths were even responsible.

King speaks to six witnesses – people who knew both the victim and the three killers – to peer beneath the surface of the case. He uncovers whispers of a shocking online craze that held the young of Ergarth in its thrall and drove them to escalate a series of pranks in the name of internet fame. He hears of an abattoir on the edge of town, which held more than simple slaughter behind its walls, the tragic and chilling legend of the ‘Ergarth Vampire’.

Both a compulsive, taut and terrifying thriller and a bleak and distressing look at modern society’s desperation for attention, Beast will unveil a darkness from which you may never return….

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I’m not going to lie at first I really struggled with the format of this book, probably my own fault for starting with book 4 in an already well established series 🙈 but I was pushed by a friend not to give up, was told it would be worth it & she quite honestly wasn’t wrong!

The story is told in the form of interviews for a podcast called “6 stories” it looks at past cases, this one a murder and gets 6 different sides of the story from people who knew or were close to the victim.

Each ‘story’ was thrilling in its own way, but I have to say if I thought the first one was bad then I was in for a shock, I soon learnt that they start off tame, the further along you get the more gory details you get.

By 20% I couldn’t put it down and needed to know what happened 😂

The only reason this book got 4 stars instead of 5 was because it took me so long to get into it and I’m not one for enjoying books with long chapters, so some parts dragged for me, this is complete personal choice and does not take away from the amazing piece of art that Matt has managed to create.

It was just so atmospheric, it drew you in and felt so real! – I will be going back and reading all of the other previous books at some point!

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for Promises Forged (Venators #2) by Devri Walls, thank you to The Write Reads Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 428

Synopsis: It has been mere days in the world of Eon, where Rune Jenkins, her twin brother Ryker, and their friend Grey have been trapped, fighting for their lives. After discovering the truth of their ancestry, the three are far from home, and far from anything resembling their mundane lives of the past.
While Ryker is still held captive by the eerily beautiful Zio and her goblins, Grey fall into the clutches of Feena, the Fae queen. She begins to drain his soul bit by bit to feed her dark underground garden, and Grey has no hope of escaping on his own.
It is now up to Rune to save Grey, as his precious time slips away inexorably. But the Council has denied her permission to embark on a rescue mission, until she can harness her Venator gifts and prove herself capable of venturing into the Fae queen’s territory. As Rune discovers that promises in Eon are forged with life-or-death consequences, she realizes that she must act quickly, or else be swallowed – and Grey along with her – by the dangers of Eon.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: if I’m being completely honest I have absolutely no idea where to start with this review, I loved it so much that when I think about doing a completely spoiler free review words have completely failed me, I have literally been staring at my phone trying to put my thoughts into words and I’m having no luck at all 😂 so this could be a load of rambling rubbish, good luck trying to decipher it.

The second book started off pretty much right where the first one left off, I really appreciated that, because I find that most fantasy series leave a bit of a gap to them be filled in later leaving me slightly confused.

This book had so much more than the first one, we got to experience more of Eon and the descriptions really immersed me into the story, when we got to the Fae world, everything felt so real that I found myself shifting constantly in my seat whilst I was reading because I could just imagine everything around me, whilst making me feel totally uncomfortable, it shows Devri’s skills as an a writer.

We still follow Rune and Grey, who are learning slowly how to be Venators and what it involves. Because this is the second book you didn’t have the slow burn of having to learn about the characters and how they fit into the story, so I found myself getting lost in the writing a lot quicker than with the first one.

The character development in this one was astounding, especially with Rune, at the end of the first book I found her a very unlikeable character who grated on me, but have now done a complete 180! her confidence in her abilities really shone through this time, whilst also learning that it’s ok to ask for help, and for once she wasn’t the one who found herself in trouble and in need of rescuing! – I really loved seeing her find the skills needed to step up and rescue Grey and become the badass that I had hoped was hiding underneath in book one.

We also got to see a change in Grey and witness his vulnerability and learn more about why he is the way he is, some of it was hard to read but it was nice to err his sensitive side.

A lot of the side characters from book one had a much bigger role in this one, sharing their histories with us, which helps to explain all the angst between the council members now.

Verida, Tate & Beltran are amongst my favourite characters and we saw different sides to all three of them in this book compared to the first one.

No romance has happened yet in the series but it had been hinted at several times so I will be looking forward to seeing how that develops & if anything comes of it in the third book, which by the way I need like now.

If you hadn’t already guessed I cannot recommend this series to butch to all lovers of fantasy.

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for Love is what you bake of it by Effie Kammenou thank you to Love Books Tours for Organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 278

Synopsis: The only love Kally Andarakis is baking is in the form of the sweet treats she whips up in her café, The Coffee Klatch.

Kally never believed herself to be a person worthy of love, but when an intoxicating man she considered out of her league pursues her, she risks everything to be with him. Later, when tragedy strikes, truths are revealed that leave Kally brokenhearted and untrusting.

Eight years later, Kally is a successful pastry chef running the café she’d always dreamed of owning. With a home of her own, a profession she’s passionate about, and the support and love of friends and family, Kally is content with the life she has carved out for herself.

Until the day Max Vardaxis walks into her café…

With arguing parents, meddling relatives, an overly energetic grandmother, a man-crazy best friend, and the long ago, mysterious disappearance of a grandfather, this new man in town is just one more complication in Kally’s life, if not the main one.

Kally must now decide whether to keep her heart safe or to once again take a ‘whisk on love.’

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: I know the saying says you should never judge a book by its cover, but for this particular book I was totally guilty of that, it just looks fun, flirty and lighthearted and I was totally in need of some of that.

The story did not let me down with the fun and flirty aspect and it totally sucked me in, I did find though that it wasn’t as lighthearted as I thought it would be in some places, but I found that I appreciated that, it gave the story a depth that I wasn’t expecting and made me love the main characters even more!

We follow Kally, a baker with her own shop, she has issues with letting people in and has already decided (and is ok with) that love is not on the cards for her.

But one day Max, a police officer but one she hasn’t seen before walks into her shop and she starts feeling things that she thought she’d never feel again, however she’s been hurt before, can she trust her heart again?

This story was told from 2 different timelines, and the last chapters really help you to realise why Kally is so closed off to love, I’m really glad they were put in and went into as much detail as they did, they really made me feel her pain, I just needed to know how the past ended 😂

This book had me laughing, it had me swearing at my kindle, I loved the whole will they won’t they aspect but when you as the reader can see things from both sides it’s easy to get so invested that you get frustrated when the main characters just can’t see what’s right in front of them!

It was an absolute joy to read and made my heart happy, I cannot wait for the next instalment

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Catalyst by Tracy Richardson thank you to The Write Reads Tour Company for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 248

Synopsis: Marcie Horton has a sixth sense. Not in the “I see dead people” way, but . . . well, maybe a little. She feels a sort of knowing about certain things that can’t be explained–an intuition that goes beyond the normal. Then there was that one summer four years ago, when she connected with a long-departed spirit . . . But nothing that incredible has happened to Marcie since. This summer, Marcie is spending time working at Angel Mounds, the archeological dig her mother heads, along with her brother, Eric, and his girlfriend, Renee. The dig is the site of an ancient indigenous civilization, and things immediately shift into the paranormal when Marcie and her dig teammates meet Lorraine and Zeke. The two mysterious dig assistants reveal their abilities to access the Universal Energy Field with their minds–something Marcie knows only vaguely that her brother has also had experience with. Marcie learns how our planet will disintegrate if action is not taken, and she and her team must decide if they are brave enough to help Lorraine and Zeke in their plan to save Mother Earth, her resources, and her history. It looks like the summer just got a lot more interesting.

About The Author: Tracy wasn’t always a writer, but she was always a reader. She went to school and school and got her degree in Biology, and now uses her science background in her writing through her emphasis on environment issues and metaphysics. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her doing any number of creative activities-painting furniture, knitting sweaters, or cooking. Tracy lives in Indianapolis.

If this book sounds like something they would interest you you can buy yourself a copy here ☺️ – kindle only at the moment, the paperback will be released on 22nd September 2020.

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Today I am delighted to be part of the cover reveal for Lets get Published by Val Penny & here it is….

Synopsis: At last, a book that is easy to read and tells it how it is! The book was written to assist authors to maximise their success when submitting work to agents or publishers, to help authors consider their priorities and preferences for getting work into print. To advise authors on how to identify the agents and/or publishers they want to approach. It should also assist with editing their manuscript fully prior to submission. The book offers advice about how to prepare a submission package to give an author the best chance of success. The road to becoming a successful author is not easy, but it is rewarding. Let this book take you on the journey.

About the Author Val Penny is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and two cats. She has a Law degree from Edinburgh University and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, lawyer, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer. However, she has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store. Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories and novels.
Her crime novels, ‘Hunter’s Chase’ Hunter’s Revenge, Hunter’s Force and Hunter’s Blood form the bestselling series The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries. They are set in Edinburgh, Scotland, published by Crooked Cat Books. The fifth novel in the series, Hunter’s Secret, is published by darkstroke. Her first non-fiction book, Let’s Get Published is available now.

Buy the book here!

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for Singapore Killer by Murray Bailey, thank you to Murray for inviting me to take part and providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Pages: 384

Synopsis: A helicopter crash and burned bodies.
A faceless corpse.
A mysterious town.
It’s September 1953 and Carter is drawn into a dark case from which there seems no escape.

Who is Black Jack?

My rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: When Murray first approached me at the back end of last year asking if I’d be interested in the blog tour for his newest book and after reading the very short synopsis I couldn’t say no, it drew me in straight away! – not even knowing it was book 5 in an already well established series but me off, he assured me it could be read as a stand alone.

The book opens with a helicopter crash, all we know is that one of the passengers is a criminal, he is handcuffed to the only other passenger (other than the pilot) after the pilot is shot we realise that the helicopter crash appears to be deliberate but why?

Ash Carter is like a real life action man, he runs a small business trying to solve people’s problems ie finding missing dogs and helping to work out why local businesses are struggling, the only issue being that he doesn’t actually like charging for his service, much to the annoyance of his receptionist/assistant Madam Chau & his savings are dwindling.

Ash finds himself sucked in my the mystery of the helicopter crash and makes it his mission to get to the bottom of it, especially when he realises that his friend is seemingly on the trail of the same person.

They reluctantly decide to work together to see if they can bring the killer to justice.

The case brings Ash to a strange community which appears to have no children despite a lot of women saying they’ve given birth, the children are nowhere to be found, why? And how is this place linked?

This book constantly had me second guessing myself, just when I thought I’d worked out who the killer something would happen to prove me wrong! – I got lost in the story so quickly and was a little bit sad when it ended, luckily for me though, there are 4 previous books to get lost in at some point in the future.

The book will be released for purchase on the 1st June 2020 and can be bought at the link below ☺️

Buy Singapore Killer here!

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Split by Sharon Bolton, thank you to Trapeze Books and Orion publishing for organising it, inviting me to take part and providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pages: 400

Synopsis: SHE’S GOT NOWHERE LEFT TO HIDE.

A year ago, in desperation, Felicity Lloyd signed up for a lengthy research trip to the remote island of South Georgia.

It was her only way to escape.

AND NOW HE’S COMING FOR HER.

Freddie Lloyd has served time for murder. Out at last, he’s on her trail.

And this time, he won’t stop until he finds her.

BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW FAR YOU RUN, SOME SECRETS WILL ALWAYS CATCH UP WITH YOU…

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: this book was a slow burner at first, which helped build the atmosphere really well.

Felicity is running away from her ex husband who she thinks she has seen after her. She’s a glaciologist and has taken a job in Antarctica on the last boat of the summer with the think that he won’t find her and she’ll be safe, little does she know that no matter how far you run, some things will always catch up with you.

The story is told within 2 timelines, eventually meeting up so it’s just the one, the first is the ‘before leaving where we follow felicity through her therapy and slowly start to see how she’s got to the point where she feels she has to run, the second is the present day, where we see her getting ready for her trip.

The book is told from different perspectives, all people who seem to have felicity’s best interests at heart, but are they all as they seem?

Once the story got going I couldn’t stop reading, and devoured it pretty quickly because I needed to know where it would end, would she get away? Would Freddie find her? would we ever find out why she felt the need to run in the first place?

This story was full of so many twists and turns that I didn’t know wether I was coming or going, but I’m the best way possible.

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for In Plain Sight by Marion Todd, thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for organising it and inviting me to take part & thank you to Canelo for my copy.

Pages: 311

Synopsis: When a baby girl is snatched from the crowd of spectators at a fun run, the local police have a major investigation on their hands. DI Clare Mackay and her team are in a race against the clock when they learn that the child has a potentially fatal medical condition.

As Clare investigates she realises this victim wasn’t selected at random. Someone knows who took the baby girl, and why. But will they reveal their secrets before it’s too late?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: Wow, I absolutely loved this, and in fact upon discovering this was book 2 in a series and having plenty of time before my stop, I actually purchased the first book, because more often than not I feel like I’m missing something if I have agreed to review a book that is part of an already established series, so I went into this already knowing the team of detectives and such.

The action gets going straight away in this book, within the first few pages the baby has been snatched, how can a baby be snatched and a big local event with lots of people around and no-one see anything?

It comes to light rather quickly that the baby has a heart defect and needs medication regularly to stop her deteriorating, the GP confirms that they have about 48 hours to find her before she dies, can it be done?

For the most part this book was just a straight forward police procedural story with the main characters following all these different leads to work out where the baby is, but they soon learn that it’s obviously not as straight forward as they first thought.

The mum has a secret phone that she hides in the bathroom and then suddenly just disappears without a word, does she know more than she’s letting on?

This story really kept me on the edge of my seat, just as I thought I’d figured it out, something else happened to prove me wrong! – a thoroughly enjoyable read and one that was so easy to get lost in.

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Today is my stop on the blogtour for Switchboard by Andrew Post. Thank you to Anne from Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 198

Synopsis: After two raids turn up zero evidence, narcotics detective Dwayne Spare infiltrates a crumbling apartment building where a suspected manufacturer of krokodil is hiding—but finds something much worse. The chemist Gerald Metzger isn’t after money; he’s lulling his most ‘dedicated’ customers into catatonia, to make contact with an eldritch being.

When Dwayne’s cover is blown, he becomes Metzger’s new test subject, an involuntary pilgrim into a world where “it’s all just in your head” is far from a reassuring statement.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: this book starts off as a normal police crime/thriller story which is one of my favourites and well within my comfort zone and as such I thought I knew what I was getting, but boy was I wrong 😂

Dwayne sees a rare opportunity to catch Gerald Metzger, the chemist who is making and selling krokodil, every other chance Dwayne has had has been foiled before it’s even started, somehow Metzger always knows what he’s planning. – this time he’ll go undercover and get him from the inside, he’ll never figure that out, right?

Unfortunately for Dwayne, Metzger does figure it out and unbeknownst to him Dwayne becomes the next “dreamer” from here things get really detailed and graphic with regards to the effects of the krokodil and I was hooked, I couldn’t stop reading and I needed to know what happened, every single one of the characters were vital to the story for one reason or another, which I really appreciated

I’ve been left wanting to know more about the authors work so it’s definitely something I’ll be looking into in the future

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Today is my stop on the blogtour for Ground Rules by Richard Whittle – thank you to Emma at Damp Pebbles Blog Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 235

Synopsis: Called out one night in the hope that she can identify the body of a man found in a field, Edinburgh forensic geologist Jessica Spargo – Jez – inadvertently becomes involved in the investigation of a university lecturer’s murder. The investigating officer, Tom Curtis, hands her a small glass vial and asks her to analyse its contents. She agrees to do it. The results confound everyone. Media attention around a seemingly unconnected incident on a construction site near Edinburgh means that all work has stopped. An object discovered beneath the site confounds everyone, including the police. Employed by the firm’s owner to attempt to solve the mystery, Jez falls foul of an uncooperative site manager. Unruffled, she perseveres. Meanwhile, the murder mystery deepens. Despite her reluctance to become further involved, she has her own theories about the origin of the vial’s contents, theories the police do not accept. To Jez’s dismay there are more deaths. As she says to Curtis, ‘I don’t do bodies. I’m a geologist, I look at rocks. If I’d wanted to look at bits of body then I would have become a surgeon or a pathologist.’

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧.5

My Thoughts: I couldn’t help but feel as I was reading this that I had missed a big chunk at the beginning, purely because the main characters had a history and a relationship (friendship) that was already established that we as the reader knew nothing about. I tried to do some research to see if this was a series with previous books but to no avail.

All that being said the story itself worked as a stand alone and it was gripping. I couldn’t put it down.

I loved the sassy sarcastic attitude of spargo when it came to Curtis, they bounced off eachother so well, their parts together gave me a small break from the geology parts of the story which for me was something new and obviously fit in really well with the story I did find them a little overwhelming at times, I didn’t really understand how it worked and it went straight over my head 😂

I loved the investigation part of the story, it felt familiar and helped to stop me losing the plot completely.

Why were these people being murdered? Were they linked to bones that were found on the dig site? There were so many elements to this story that left me second guessing myself and I love it when that happens.

I enjoyed the story and it’s left me intrigued it find Richards previous works to see what else he’s written.

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