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Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashley, thank you to Anne from Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to be a part of it.

Pages: 528

Synopsis: Meg is definitely not in the Christmas mood. She’s never gone in for tinsel, baubles and mistletoe, and right now she’s still getting over an illness. Yet when she’s invited to spend the run-up to Christmas in the snowy countryside, rather than dreary London, she can’t refuse.

Arriving at a warm and cosy family home in a small hilltop village, Meg soon begins to wonder what a proper Christmas might be like. But just as she’s beginning to settle in, she spots a familiar face. Lex.

Despite the festive cheer, Meg suddenly wants nothing more than to get as far away from him, and their past secrets, as she can. But if she stays, could this be the year she finally discovers the magic of Christmas…?

Fabulously funny, intelligent and heart-warming, Trisha Ashley’s brand-new novel is the feel-good Christmas novel of the year. It even contains recipes!

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My thoughts: this is the first Trisha Ashley book I’ve read and also the first Christmas book of the year.

I adored this story once it got started, although I do feel it was a little slow to begin with.

I didn’t like Clara to begin with, I felt she was pushy and horrible, but she soon became my favourite character which shows the skill that Trisha has with her writing.

I loved Meg, I saw myself in her a lot, especially at the beginning where she just went with Clara’s plan because she didn’t like the idea of confrontation.

If you love a romance that isn’t straight forward, with lots of twists and turns, but still gets you to the “happy ever after ” in the end then this is the story for you.

There were lots of different characters with their own stories to tell that added different elements to the story, I wish l could read if for the first time again, just so I could have all those feelings again.

Thank you Trisha for allowing me to read this beautiful story early.

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for She’s Back by Lisa Unwin and Deb Khan and o have an extract for you, thank you to Kelly at Love Books for organising it and inviting me to be a part of it.

Synopsis: Women’s careers twist and turn. Women step back or step away for so many reasons. Then, let’s face it, returning is tough.

Whether you are coming back after a break, or looking to ramp up a level, this book is an essential guide and helps you succeed.

You’ll learn the truth about how the recruitment market really works; how to craft a narrative that explains your value; mobilise a network to support your ambitions and find work that will work for you.

Examples of real women’s struggles and winning strategies provide inspiration and will enthuse you about how to make your own comeback.

Lisa and Deb draw on years of research across several different sectors and their experience of working with and listening to the stories of thousands of women to provide a fresh, pragmatic and above all useful handbook for today’s fast evolving job market.

In a world of #MeToo and Time’s Up, She’s Back. And so are you.

Extract: WHAT TO SAY ABOUT A CAREER BREAK

 Like much of the country, we’ve been absorbed, enraptured and enveloped by the BBC’s glorious adaptation of War and Peace. And Tolstoy’s lines made us think about how people currently deal with career breaks.

 “We imagine that when we are thrown out of our usual ruts, all is lost. But it is only then that what is new and good begins. While there is life there is happiness. There is much, much before us.”

 Career breaks are a little bit like the war. “Don’t mention it.” Professional guidance from recruiters advise us to skip over the break. We think this is profoundly misguided. To skip over a career break is to collude with the myth that nothing useful happens outside of work.

 That could not be further from the truth. In an age where, assuming we start work at, say 21 or 22, we all face a working life of upwards of 40 years who isn’t going to need a break at some point. It could be because of children, to go travelling, to look after elderly relatives or simply to recharge your batteries. It will happen to more and more of us.

 So take a lead. Change the conversation. Signpost the new, shinier improved you without apology or qualification.

 So what do you say?

 1.  I’m refreshed, re-energised and re-focused. Who isn’t better after a break? And when you decide to return, and have put in place the childcare and support to make it work, any new employer can be sure you are 100% committed. With something to prove and fire in your belly to prove it.

 2.  I am so much more productive. Minus a salary and the suffocating bureaucracy inherent in most large organisations, we tend to become slicker, speedier. Less time to faff If you’ve been juggling other people’s needs with your own, carrying four timetables in your head, you are more efficient. Guaranteed.

 3.  I’ve broadened my skills, knowledge and experience. Smash the myth that you turned off that busy brain. You still read, absorbed, thought and contributed. You knew what was happening in the world and in the world of work. You didn’t check out. Be specific about what skills you have now, give examples of how you developed them. Add what do you know now that you didn’t know before?

 4.  I’ve grown and deepened my network. I have more references and a wider range of organisations, people and situations to call upon, ask, tell things to or reference. Institutions can make us myopic. You’ve seen more than what is in these four walls.

 5.  I’ve witnessed – and can share – different ways of getting things done. Things we can learn from. That’s healthy. Leadership styles and ways of delivering are all around us – schools, hospitals, retail, travel. You’ve embraced other forms of comms, identified what works – and what doesn’t.

 6.  I have new perspectives on customers and clients. You have more insight because you’ve been out there more, interacting with the world as a consumer or creator or been on the receiving end of services. You know how it feels and how it could be improved. You have acquired those elusive empathy skills, by osmosis.

 7. You can trust me. I have delivered without the comfort blanket of a large organisation. I’ve dealt with my own IT, sussed out the fastest ISP, I’ve navigated the complexities of new technology tools or systems. I’ve learned independently. I’ve set my own milestones and frameworks for projects or travel or to help other people.

 And finally – dare we say it. You are older. With less time to waste. Life is speeding up, as are you.

 Back these up with examples. What was “ new and good” in your break? Help an employer understand. Be brief. Be brave. Know your own value. And negotiate the hell out of your return.

If you like the should of this book you can buy it here.

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Today is my stop on the blog tour of The Years of Us by Gemma Roman, thank you to Anne at Random things Tours for organising it.

Pages: 247

Synopsis: Five friends. Life, love and a night that will put their friendship to the test.

Following University, a group of friends plan to stick together, but will they survive distance, career changes and lustful love triangles?

Life throws unexpected realities their way, and one fateful night brings their lives into harsh perspective. Minor mistakes result in them questioning who they are and who can be trusted. Can they rebuild the foundations of friendship and move forward or will the test of time finally set them adrift forever?

My Rating 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: This book follows 5 friends post university as they adapt to a new way of life.

I’m not going to lie at first I found this book really confusing with all the different perspectives, but after a while I managed to tell who’s chapter it was by the way it was written, and to do that for 5 characters & add a 6th at a later point is really impressive, especially considering it was Gemma’s debut novel.

The book did a really good job of showing the way life can be after such a big life event such as university had ended, we had characters that were still clinging to the stereotypical university life style of going out every night and drinking, some characters that were ready to move on with life, get married and have a family, and then other characters that were just going with the flow and seeing where life was going to take them next.

There was so much packed into a relatively short book and it really packed a punch, we had unrequited love, best friends to lovers and someone who always hated the idea of a relationship fall in love.

There are dark themes to this book, alcoholism, rape, domestic abuse. But all were dealt with really well, I really enjoyed this book and read it all in one sitting.

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I received a copy of this book from TBC and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Synopsis: A body without a name…

One night, the body of a young woman is found, naked but for a necklace, tied to a statue outside a block of luxury flats. There should be an outcry. But the police rule it a suicide, and move on.

A case where nothing is as it seems…

Private investigators Lee and Jo, owners of No Stone Unturned detective agency in Leeds, are tasked with looking into the case. Who was the woman? Did she really kill herself?

A world where danger lurks around every corner…

As they investigate, Lee and Jo uncover shocking secrets. And when they see links between this case and another they are working on, they are forced to question – is any woman ever truly safe in this world? And are they risking their own lives by delving too deep?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: Another fantastic read by Ali Harper, it was so easy to get lost in the world of Jo and Lee again, and although this is the second book in the series it would also read well as a stand alone.

The girls are working on two different cases, one of them looking for Nikki’s boyfriend who hasn’t been seen since he left for a party and the weekend & the other a cold case about a woman who committed suicide 7 years ago, who’s case was never solved, they hadn’t even been able to identify the body.

I was totally hooked by this story, there were so many twists and turns and the ladies use unconventional means to get the answers they need.

I felt so many emotions whilst reading this story, someone of them on opposite ends of the scale which is a really impressive thing for an author to be able to achieve.

The ending totally broke me, I was hoping there would be more from Lee and Jo in the future and now I’m not so sure!

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Lost Thumb by Orla Owen, thank you to Anne from Random Things Tours for organising it and inviting me to take part.

Pages: 192

Synopsis: Lara and Luella Jeffreys lead isolated lives until the night they are left alone for the first time, and Luella decides to have some fun.

That evening goes horribly wrong.

After Luella wakes up in hospital, she’s kept prisoner at home with her mother acting as her warden. Lara is sent to school to keep up the pretence that she is fine, her sister is fine, and the world is fine. Except they aren’t. The local storekeeper, sensing that something’s wrong, pushes her son to befriend Lara but the results of her meddling are deadly…

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

My Thoughts: You’ll have to bear with me on this one, it’s a really hard book to review, not because it was bad because it really wasn’t I couldn’t put it down, it was just a very dark book in places, which wasn’t what I expected going in at all.

Definite trigger warnings for abuse – emotional, mental and physical, self harm and the use of drugs without the person being aware.

The story follows Lara and Luella, identical twins who are almost living double lives, they have a home life with their mother which in all honesty was horrific but believable, and they they have their lives outside of the place they call home. where they have to pretend that their family life is just the same as everyone else’s.

The main part of the story, something happens and the twins are separated, separate rooms, only allowed to see each other for 2 minutes at a time and Luella is no longer going to school, she spends all her time at home with mother who claims to be a fully trained nurse, whilst Lara is left to go to school, act normal and keep up appearances on her own.

Throughout the story we witness Lara starting to let people in, and slowly realise that something isn’t quite right but almost feeling powerless to stop it, can she get her and her sister out before it’s too late?

I don’t want to go into too much detail and give the whole story away so I’ll stop there, this story is hard hitting but done in a way that made me feel uncomfortable and uneasy in places, whilst also feeling happy and hopeful in others. It was bloody brilliant and I was hooked.

There was a preview to the next book at the end of this one & I honestly cannot wait to read it.

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for Truth Hurts by Rebecca Reid. Thank you to Anne from random things tours for organising it and Transworld books for my copy.

Pages: 369

Synopsis: Which is more dangerous, a secret or a lie?

Poppy has a secret.

It was a whirlwind romance. And when Drew, caught up in the moment, suggests that he and Poppy don’t tell each other anything about their past lives, that they live only for the here and now, for the future they are building together, Poppy jumps at the chance for a fresh start.

But it doesn’t take long for Poppy to see that this is a two-way deal. Drew is hiding something from her. And Poppy suddenly has no idea who the man she has married really is, what he is hiding from her or what he might be capable of.

Drew says he has nothing to hide. Drew is lying.

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My thoughts: The premise of this book had me so intrigued that when I was invited to be part of the blog tour I couldn’t turn it down.

This story follows 2 main characters Poppy and Drew, Poppy is a nanny who is fired after confronting the mother of her current family, she goes to the local bar for a drink and bumps into Drew and a whirlwind romance ensues. all seems perfect, but is it too good to be true?

Drew suggests that they make a pact to agree to never talk about the past, Poppy jumps at the chance because something happened when she was 21 that she doesn’t want Drew to find out, but is he hiding something too?

This book gripped me from the beginning and I honestly couldn’t put it down, just when you thought you had worked it out something else happens.

The only reason this didn’t get the full 5 stars was because I felt the ending was rushed and a little lack lustre compared to the rest of the story, but that being said I will definitely be picking up more from Rebecca in the future

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Today is my stop on the blog tour for deadly prospects by Clio Gray. Thank you to Kelly at LoveBooks and Urbane Books for organising it.

Synopsis: Deadly Prospects is book 1 in the Scottish Mystery series. 1869, Sutherland, Scotland. For years the people of this remote area of the Highlands have lived a hard life. Now a local Gold Rush has attracted the Pan-European Mining Company to the area, and Solveig McCleery is determined to re-open the Brora mines and give the population the riches they deserve. But when work starts on re-opening the mines, the body of a prospector is discovered, and odd inscriptions found on stones near the corpse. Before the meaning of these strange marks can be deciphered another body is discovered. Are these attacks connected to the re-opening of the mines? Will Solveig’s plan succeed in bringing peace and prosperity back to the area? Or has she put in motion something far more sinister?

Excerpt: Lilija Indridsdottir did not stop; she heard the plunking of birds hitting the ground all about her but could not see them. The sun had disappeared, and her world reduced to twilight in a moment, the only light coming from the embers that had embedded themselves into her clothes, into her skin, and from the bright halo about her head as her hair began to singe and then to burn. She could no longer see the path that led down to the village, but was pushed on by her own blind momentum headlong into a rock that broke her foot with its contact; she heard the crack of her bones even as the impact knocked her sideways, sent her off into a skid further on down the hillside, sliding into something warm and wet as cattle-shit, though she could smell nothing except the sulphur of Hekla exploding somewhere up above her, and knew now why the old folk called that mountain the gateway into hell.

Birds were falling indiscriminately all about her, all kinds, not just geese, but sparrows too, buntings, larks, thrushes, many still alive as they hit the ground, though not for long. A swan crashed down two yards to her right, neck bent and contorted like a gorse root in the hearth, tail feathers flaming, ash-blackened wings still beating, beating, as it tried in desperation to clear the ground, its white burned into black, its flight turned into immobility. Lilija reached out a futile hand towards it, but stopped mid-stretch; she could hear a kind of arrhythmic thumping and struggled to understand this new thing, the message of the beating drum, and then the sweat broke out upon her forehead, making grey rivulets through the ash there as she realised what it must be. She struggled to stand but could not, and instead flailed out with her hands, caught her wrist on a boulder and began to drag herself towards it, heaved with all her might to gain its protection, curled herself up tight against its solidity, beneath the slight overhang, an acorn trying to squeeze itself back inside its cup. And then they came, several score of steers and milkers broken free from their paddock, stampeding headlong away from the farm, down the hill towards the river. She could feel them coming, feel their movement in the ground, in the soil and in the bones that were shuddering within her skin, and then they were on her, passing over her in a chaos of tangled legs and panicked hooves, several tumbling as they hit the obstacle of the rock scree, crashing into their neighbours, tripping up the ones that came on behind. A hoof caught Lilija on the shoulder with the strength of a sledgehammer swung onto a fencepost, smashing a clavicle, breaking an elbow, and she whimpered as she tried to pull herself further inward, terrified by the burning of the ash, the thickening dust, the mud scooped up by the fleeing cattle, the snorts and bellows of those still running, the anguished screams and cries of those that had been brought down, and she felt the weight of them all around her as they crashed into the earth, felt her world breaking a little more with every fall.

Buy the book here!

Pages: 470

Synopsis: ‘In an ancient city by the sea, three sisters – a maiden, a mother, and a crone – are drawing maps by candlelight. Sombre, with piercing grey eyes, they are the three Fates, and every map is a human life . . .’

Stepsister takes up where Cinderella’s tale ends. We meet Isabelle, the younger of Cinderella’s two stepsisters. Ella is considered beautiful; stepsister Isabelle is not. Isabelle is fearless, brave, and strong-willed. She fences better than any boy, and takes her stallion over jumps that grown men fear to attempt. It doesn’t matter, though; these qualities are not valued in a girl. Others have determined what is beautiful, and Isabelle does not fit their definition. Isabelle must face down the demons that drove her cruel treatment of Ella, challenge her own fate and maybe even redefine the very notion of beauty . . .

Cinderella is about a girl who was bullied; Stepsister is about the bully. We all root for the victims, we want to see them triumph. But what about the bullies? Is there hope for them? Can a mean girl change? Can she find her own happily ever after?

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧

My thoughts: I really loved this story, it wasn’t what I thought it would be at all. This one follows Isabelle, it starts from when the prince brings round the glass slipper and follows Isabelle afterwards as she and the rest of the family are adjusting to life without Ella as their servant, the village has shunned them after finding out how they treated their new queen and ultimately they are left with nothing.

Isabelle meets the fairy queen Tannaquil and asks her to make her pretty, Tannaquil tells her if she can find the 3 pieces of her heart she will grant her the thing her heart desires most.

Before she can find them Isabelle has to first work out what they are and so the journey and adventure ensues.

The chapters in this book and short and snappy, and always leave the reader guessing at what’s going to happen next. It was a story of courage, determination and a girl realising her worth.

It reminds us that beauty and the idea of being pretty isn’t important & that it’s what’s inside that matters.

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today is my stop on the blog tour for a shot in the dark by Neil Richards and Matthew Costello, thank you to Red Dog Press for my copy.

Pages: 137

Synopsis; Sussex, England, 1929. Mydworth is a sleepy English market town just 50 miles from London. But things are about to liven up there, when young and handsome Sir Harry Mortimer returns home from his diplomatic posting in Cairo, with his beautiful and unconventional American wife, Kat. No sooner have the two arrived, when a jewel robbery occurs at Harry’s aunt’s home – Mydworth Manor. The police are baffled and overwhelmed with the case. But Harry and Kat have an edge in the hunt for the dangerous culprit: not only do they have certain useful “skills” they’ve both picked up in service of King, President and Country, they also have access to parts of English society that your average bobby can’t reach …

My Rating: 🐧🐧🐧

My thoughts: This was a good opener to a series, the 2 main characters Kat and Harry were likeable from the start and very well developed as the story went on, I loved their chemistry and the way they just seemed to bounce off each other.

This was a nice cozy mystery that seems to pack a lot into the short amount of pages, it was a really great read that has made me want to continue on with the series in the future.

Unfortunately I couldn’t score the book higher than 3 stars because the story felt a little rushed in places and I guessed the reveal by about 75% through, that being said I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys short cozy mysteries.

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Hidden by Roger A. Price arranged by Kelly at Love books.

Thank you to Endeavour Media for my copy.

Pages: 330

Synopsis: Vinnie’s romantic holiday did not go as planned. There was an assault, his companion was threatened and the police asked them to leave.

And when Vinnie returns to his police job in Manchester, things don’t get much better, as he finds himself at the heart of an investigation that stretches from Manchester to all corners of Europe. Women are being trafficked into the UK and forced into prostitution, and while the police are diligent in their enquiries, they seem to have a rogue in their midst.

As events unravel, the lines between good and bad, police and criminals, seem to become more and more blurred… and the stakes for all involved are getting higher.

Hidden is Book 3 in Roger Price’s the badge and the pen series, but it can equally be read as a novel in its own right. Existing fans of Vinnie and Christine are bound to love it, but Hidden is also perfect for crime and police fiction lovers, and anybody who loves a fast-paced, gripping story.

My rating: 🐧🐧🐧.5

My thoughts: as a fan of detective lead crime stories I was really excited to be asked to be part of this blog tour.

The story was one I had never read about in a novel before, so the fact that it was going to be something completely new intrigued me.

I really enjoyed this one, the chapters were short and the story flowed really well.

You can tell that the author had a background in what he’s writing about, he really knew his stuff, I did find the amount of explanation in some parts a little bit heavy and overwhelming, it sometimes felt like Roger forgot he was writing a novel, that being said it didn’t really take anything away from the story as a whole, it just meant I couldn’t get lost in it and finish it in one sitting.

There was a wide range of characters who were all very different and each one brought something new to the book.

The author did a brilliant job of making us love the “good guys” and hate the “bad guys” at the same time and don’t even get me started on Sandra, I really couldn’t tell what side she was on and the reveal really shocked me.

I didn’t see the reveal coming at all, but then when it arrived, I could pick out the small clues that were dropped throughout the book.

If you’re a fan of detective lead crime stories, then I can recommend this one.

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