Author: ramblingmads

I am a thirtysomething from London, with a cat, a husband, bookshelves which keep threatening to crush me under their load and chronic health conditions. Basically your average over stressed millennial. Welcome.
blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Time of Cherries – Michael S. Hollington

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Burgundy, 1861.

Christine ‘Kiki’ Vellay, the daughter of vineyard workers, is forced to marry an older man in exchange for a piece of land. He abuses her. Seduced by a young naval cadet she plots to run away. When her husband is killed during the attempt, she finds herself wrongly accused of his murder.

Kiki is on the run.

On reaching Paris in disguise, Kiki discovers she is pregnant and takes on various jobs to survive. When her child is stolen from her, she begins a desperate attempt to find him. Her story takes her from imprisonment in the infamous Conciergerie, to a chateau in the Loire, back to Paris under siege – as a spy – during the Franco­Prussian war, culminating in a dramatic conclusion in the final bloody week of the Paris Commune.

A story of resilience in the face of immense hardship, The Time of Cherriesis a gripping account of a woman’s instinct and longing for her child.

Michael S Hollington qualified as a chartered surveyor. After spells in the City, Belgium and North America he spent the bulk of his career in Hong Kong, selling buildings on behalf of clients. He lives in London with his wife, Sarah. The Time of Cherries is his first published novel.

My thoughts: this was a really interesting, well written and researched historical novel with a delightful and compelling protagonist in Christine “Kiki” Vellay, who sometimes uses a lot of different names as she works her way through the 19th Century and Paris at the height of the Commune.

A resourceful and brave young woman, after the death of her horrible husband, she flees to the capital and using her wits and the skills she’s accrued as an educated seamstress, she takes on a variety of jobs, from chambermaid to accountant for a mining firm, eventually becoming a Baroness and a vintner.

Her son is kidnapped and she puts much of her efforts into rescuing him and building her finances so she can provide for him. She makes genuine friends along the way, as well as some false ones. Becoming a spy, she is double crossed but rescued once again by a face from her past.

I really enjoyed this book, it brings a period of time that doesn’t get covered much, to life and in the figure of Kiki, the hidden and often forgotten lives of ordinary women (even though she is pretty extraordinary).

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: Where Did The Wind Go – J.M. Failde

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Weredidthewindgo copy (1)

How amazing is this cover?! 

Welcome to the tour for Where Did the Wind Go by J.M. Failde. Read on for more details!

WDTWG-front cover-rgb

Where Did the Wind Go?
Genre: YA Horror
Ages: 14 – 18

With the help of the newly formed Ghoul Gang, self-proclaimed ghost hunter Simon Woo soon learns that his new town of Ravenswood, North Carolina, is riddled with ghouls. But something even more nightmarish is lurking within the woods. And it has its eyes on Simon.

After moving with his family, Simon discovers that his new town is better fitting for a survivor in a horror movie rather than a junior in high school. He quickly befriends two other outsiders—Miles, the equally horror-obsessed new kid from New York City, and Riley, the resident goth girl with a secret.

As the brutal murders continue, the Ghoul Gang must discover the truth behind the ghoul in the woods in order to save Simon from becoming the entity’s new host.

Add to Goodreads

Available Here

About the Author

Author Page photo-cmyk (1)

J. M. Failde spent just over one hundred fortnights rigorously studying the complexities of the English language at Florida International University. While she is not conjuring up stories, she can be found searching for el chupacabra, befriending the ghost in her house, or dying her hair a new shade of blue. Failde currently resides in her gothic manor on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, with her partner, Mike, and her familiar—the round but feisty calico cat, Maki.

J.M. Failde

Book Tour Organized by R&R Book Tours

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Blog Tour: I Spy With My Little Die – Helen Golden

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Uncovering a web of conspiracy that intertwines past and present, can Lady Beatrice and DCI Richard Fitzwilliam catch a killer and unveil the truth of her husband’s death at long last?

BREAKING NEWS

Second Senior Police Officer Dies Within a Week
A senior officer from the Protection and Investigations (Royal) Services died unexpectedly yesterday.
His death comes hot on the heels of Detective Inspector Ethan Preece (43) from City Police, who died of a suspected heart attack last week. Although he’s not yet been named, the dead officer was a
greatly respected public figure, who had served in policing for over thirty years. A PaIRS spokesperson has confirmed that ‘neither men’s death is being treated as suspicious at this time’.

With the senior PaIRS officer dead, so is any hope of reopening the inquiry into Lady Beatrice’s husband’s accident fifteen years ago. Unless, of course, there is something that links the two men to
the earl’s fatal car crash?
Can she and Fitzwilliam, along with their friends, work together to unravel the mystery and catch a killer before the truth is buried forever?


Amazon UK Amazon US


Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in a small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my step-daughter, her two cats, our two
dogs, sometimes my step-son, and our tortoise.
I used to work in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It’s very early in my life as an author, but so far I’m loving it.
It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a
lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes

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My thoughts: this series just gets better and better, and finally Lady Bea might just get some answers to the mysterious death of her husband fifteen years ago – or not. As two of the police officers with links to the case die one another the other – of suspected sudden heart attacks but DCI Fitzwilliam doesn’t believe in coincidences.

Digging into the deaths, and armed with some interesting ideas from the autopsy, he’s pretty sure there’s foul play afoot. But does it have to do with the investigation into the past or is it something else?

Bea is also dealing with moving back into the Dower House, the home she left pregnant and widowed, for her parents’, but now, with her son away during the week at school, it’s time. Or so she thinks, she just needs a spot of redecorating with Perry’s assistance and hopefully it will feel like home again, but minus any bad memories.

Another brilliant book and the title made me laugh. Intelligent and enjoyable, I can’t wait for the next one.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Confession of Hemingway Jones – Kathleen Hannon

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Another fantastic book to curl up with! Read more about The Confession of Hemingway Jones below and be sure to grab a copy on September 26th!

Hannon_THE-CONFESSION-OF-HEMINGWAY-JONES_FC - Copy

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The Confession of Hemingway Jones

Publication Date: September 26, 2023

Genre: YA Sci-Fi
It’s time to raise the dead.

Moments after a devastating car accident kills his father, 17-year-old Hemingway Jones takes his father’s body to Lifebank, the cryogenic preservation research center where he interns. Hijacking the lab in a desperate attempt to reverse the natural order, Hemingway holds police and medics at bay as he works to revive his father. As dawn breaks, the heart monitor beeps, and his father slowly creeps back to life.

Days later, Hemingway arrives at the hospital to learn that his father’s skin has turned ashen gray, he can’t exist in temperatures above 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and hydrogen sulfide has become his only source of food. Facing arrest for his reckless actions, Hemingway is offered a proposal by the billionaire owner of the lab: recreate the experiment he swore he’d never do again, or go to prison, leaving his father to die a second time.

Excerpt

It’s been a few months, but sour memories of the day I killed my father still burp back up, and my gut clenches every time. Todd and I were absolutely blazed, sitting on the front steps of his family’s double-wide when Dad pulled up, the tires on his Ford F250 skidding to a stop about three inches from my sneakers, while the Jones Construction and Restoration lettering was practically shoved up my nose. Dad hiked himself out the driver’s-side door with a slam and I knew I had about fifteen seconds to sober up.

We hadn’t planned on doing this—skipping school and getting baked. Or at least I hadn’t. But Todd had found this brick of hash in his parents’ barn, and well, it was the first spring day where temps were due to hit 65 degrees. We cut out fourth period, rode our bikes back to his place, and got rocked. Seemed like a good idea at the time, and we’d had fun tormenting the chickens, but now I was going to pay for it.

I wasn’t the only one who was nervous either. Todd tucked his drink behind his back while my dad crunched gravel. Todd had obviously forgotten that all he had was a Yoo-hoo. He nodded and called out, “Hey there, Mr. Jones.”

Dad murmured, “Todd,” in his general direction, but kept his eyes focused on me.

He was just standing there, directly in front of the late-afternoon sun. I squinted, but all I could see was this ominous black silhouette of rippling muscle.

I realize I’m making him sound scary, but he’s not. Everybody likes my dad, even Todd. Even me. He’s this pretty cool, off-the-grid kind of guy. He can build or fix just about anything, and I’m not just talking about when you’ve had a kitchen fire or a burst pipe—that’s just what he does for work. He’s also the guy who pulls over when you’ve got a flat and the one who starts applying the Heimlich on some choker in Kentucky Fried. (It’s happened.) He’s smart too. He doesn’t have a college degree or anything, but he can talk about black holes and relativity. He can take any online Mensa or IQ test and come up genius, every time. He even beats my scores, and I’m not easy to beat.

The point is stand-up guy Bill Jones can be a little scary when he’s mad. And I was about to get reamed.

He turned his face profile before he spoke, so I could see just how much air he was furiously pumping through his shadowy nostrils. “Got a call from the school. And another one from Cass.”

My first impulse was to cringe, make excuses, and get up, knowing I was busted. But over the last year or so I’d learned that if I waited long enough in these fights, my pangs of guilt would pass and I’d turn into a cocky asshole, someone far more capable of fighting with Bill Jones. So I waited until I saw Dad as a thunderstorm, rudely blocking out my sun. And I shrugged. I mean, big deal. So I skipped school again. I knew the real problem was the call from Cass. I’d never skipped the Tuesday/Friday afternoon internship before, and that was what he was really pissed about. He’d filled out all the paperwork for that internship himself—he’d even written the essay when I refused—all so that I would have “the future” he never did.

“Hem, I’ll uh—” Todd looked around quickly, hoping some excuse for his desertion would magically appear. “I think maybe I gotta help with dinner. See ya, Mr. Jones.” He practically ran inside.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Dad exhorted. “You have this gift. My God, you want to end up like that?” He gestured at Todd’s disappearing form.

“Dad, that’s low. Leave him alone.”

He didn’t even pause. He just growled, “Hemingway Jones,” in that low, throaty way that he always does before lecturing. And he knows I hate my name. But he rarely calls me Hem—he says it sounds like a pronoun.

“You have absolutely no idea what you’re risking. NONE!” And with that crack of thunder came the rain. He blasted on, salting his sentences liberally with words like responsibility and commitment.

I rolled my eyes. The lecture was so generic I didn’t taste anything close to regret. I could recite a variation of this speech as easily as I could the periodic table. Anyway, due to some really good dope, the tweaks and nuances of this particular version are lost forever.

Available at these Retailers:

CamCat Books

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Books-A-Million

IndieBound

About the Author

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Having worked as a Hollywood development executive for many years, Kathleen Hannon’s career got turned upside down by the Writer’s Strike of 2007. With nothing to edit, she turned her desk from west to north, and her editing skills to writing. Her Middle-Grade novel Bye for Now was published by Egmont in late 2011. After a couple screenplays for Hollywood, she has returned to books. The Confession of Hemingway Jones is her first YA novel. Hannon lives in Charlotte, N.C., and is the single mom of two daughters.

My thoughts: tackling grief, life after death, this sci fi tale fuses ideas from Frankenstein to Walt Disney’s chryogenically frozen head and creates a creepy but fascinating story. Hemingway Jones might only be a teenage intern but the experiment he conducted to save his dying father, turning him into another lifeform almost, brings him to the attention of his wealthy and possibly evil boss.

But Hemingway doesn’t want to recreate the terrifying moments before his arrest, can he prevent the billionaire from doing this again and can he help his father?

Clever, sinister and enjoyable, this is a mystery unlike any other.

Book Tour Schedule

September 25th

http://rrbooktours.com – Kick-Off

https://www.ladyhawkeye.com/ – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/kellyatx/ – Feature

https://www.instagram.com/dreaminginpages/ – Feature

September 26th

https://www.instagram.com/amanda_coffee_books/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/read.em.if.you.got.em/ – Feature

http://ramblingmads.com – Review

September 27th

https://www.instagram.com/ameliaveganreader/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/fathomsamidstthelines/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/authormariereed/ – Feature

September 28th

https://www.instagram.com/anta_syllaaa/?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D – Review

https://www.instagram.com/copyrightxcasey/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/id_ratherbereading_247/ – Review

https://breakevenbooks.com – Feature

September 29th

https://www.instagram.com/calhoun.crew/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/hmylek/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/mommyandherbooks/ – Review

https://lshadowlynauthor.com/ – Review

https://www.instagram.com/sassymamareads/ – Review

Book Tour Organized by R&R Book Tours

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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#TeamDaniels Blog Tour: Double Review – Deadly Deceit & Monument to Murder – Mari Hannah

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A gripping thriller starring Kate Daniels, who must make the connection between two seemingly unrelated grisly accidents…which may not be accidents at all.

Four a.m. on a wet stretch of the highway: a driver skids out of control. Quickly arriving on the scene, detective Kate Daniels and her partner, Hank Gormley, witness a horrifying display of carnage and mayhem that proves to be one of the worst traffic accidents in Northumberland’s history. But as the casualties mount, they soon realize that not all of the deaths occurred as a result of the accident …

At the same time, on the other side of town, a house goes up in flames and its two inhabitants become charred corpses. Except for the timing, there is no evidence to connect this incident with the traffic accident. But it soon becomes apparent that all is not what it seems, and that Kate and her colleagues are always one step behind a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

My thoughts: a terrible accident on a wet road, a fire ripping through a family home, a man dropping dead of a heart attack. How can these be connected? DCI Kate Daniels and her team have their work cut out for them as the killer starts targeting the one witness who can link them to at least one or possibly more of these terrible crimes.

They’re looking for a chameleon – someone who can change their appearance at will, with dozens of aliases and absolutely no concern for other people. Totally ruthless, willing to kill an old lady in a car accident to steal a lottery ticket, manipulative and cruel. And worse of all, they wear a uniform – they could be a cop, a paramedic or in the fire service, one of their own.

It’s a race against time to find their suspect and bring them to justice, before they disappear and possibly to somewhere with no extradition treaty. They are happy to kill anyone that stands in their way. But Kate has to do this by the book. Will her one witness tell her who to look for?

Another heartpoundingly good case for the MIT as a series of apparently unconnected crimes all start to come together and bring the team to focus on one person, if they can get the evidence together to prove it.

Plus Kate’s messy personal life comes to the fore, as Jo issues an ultimatum and prepares to move on in her job if Kate can’t come out and be with her publicly. Then there’s the glamorous, no strings, artist she’s been flirting with. Can Kate choose love or will she loiter in the closet?

The next gripping novel by Mari Hannah. When the body of what appears to be an adult female is found on the Northumberland coastline, it is DCI Kate Daniels and her murder investigation team that are first on the scene. Then another body is discovered sitting side by side with the first, and suddenly everything changes. Why have they been placed together in such a desolate area beneath the walls of an imposing castle? Meanwhile prison psychologist Emily McCann is just returning to work after the death of her husband only to find herself the fixation of convicted sex offender Walter Fearon. As his mind games become more and more intense could it be possible what’s happening on the outside has something to do with his murderous past, and as his parole approaches what exactly does he plan for Emily? As Daniels’ investigation runs down dead end after dead end it becomes apparent that nothing is quite as it seems, and someone is hiding more than one deadly secret…

My thoughts: this starts with a strange discovery on a quiet beach, and requires a delve into the past for Kate and the team to find some answers, do the outfits the victims are wearing have anything to do with why they were killed?

Meanwhile Emily, a psychologist colleague of Jo’s at the prison is having something of a crisis, an inmate is due for release, and he’s obsessed with her, sending her into a tailspin. Does she have reason to be afraid?

As the two cases unfold and become more complicated, can the team solve them and continue their run or successes in keeping killers off the streets?

Another intelligent and complex crime thriller, with lots of twists and turns that hooked me and drew me back into Kate’s world.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: New Dreams at Polkerran Point – Cass Grafton

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A surprise inheritance will open the doors to her future, and also the past…
When Aunt Meg leaves her cottage to Anna Redding in her will, Anna immediately packs up and heads to Polkerran, the Cornish fishing village where she was so happy as a child.
With ambitions to turn the cottage into a B&B, a job working for the enigmatic historian, Oliver Seymour, and the return of her childhood crush, Alex Tremayne, it seems the stars have all aligned for Anna.
But Aunt Meg left behind a mystery for her to solve, and a shock discovery reveals she may be living a dream that isn’t really hers to hold. Can Anna rescue the new life she’s made for herself? Who in Polkerran can she really count on in her time of need?
A charming and cosy romance for fans of Trisha Ashley, Cressida McLaughlin and Suzanne Snow.
Previously published as The Cottage in the Cornish Cove.

Praise for New Dreams at Polkerran Point:
‘What a fabulous start to a new series! A gorgeous setting, fantastic characters and a wonderfully romantic story’ Jessica Redland
‘A gorgeous read, infused with love, a true sense of community and delightful characters finding their way into the future as they come to terms with the past.’ Suzanne Snow
‘The perfect read to curl up with and escape to Cornwall. Cass’s descriptions of the county made me feel as if I were there, I could see Polkerran beautifully in my mind and hear the characters calling to
each other as they made their way around the village.’ Kitty Wilson

Amazon UK (ebook) Amazon UK (paperback)


Cass began her writing life in Regency England, enlisted Jane Austen’s help to time-travel between then and the present day and is now happily ensconced in 21st century Cornwall.
Well, in her imagination and soul; her heart and physical presence reside in northern England with her ever-patient husband and Tig and Tag, their cute but exceptionally demanding moggies.
A bit of a nomad, Cass has called three countries home, as well as six different English counties, but her aspiration is to one day reunite with her beloved West Country.
In the meantime, she writes feel-good contemporary romances set in Cornwall and, in doing so, manages to live there vicariously through her characters and settings.

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My thoughts: the author isn’t alone in being somewhat in love with Cornwall, I too have fallen for its charms. And transported to the fictional village of Polkerran with Anna, as she inherits a charming but cluttered cottage, this is a sweet and uplifting tale of love and kittens. There’s a tiny one hiding in the cottage.

Working for locally based historian, as his typist and general dogsbody, with locals dropping round for a chat at all hours, Anna soon settles into the village and decides to turn the cottage into a B&B, making her love of cooking and baking work for her.

She reconnects with her old crush Alex Tremayne too, things seem to be perfect. Maybe too perfect. Discovering that there might be another will, one that leaves Anna out completely, throws all her plans into disarray, and then there’s her attraction to her grumpy boss Oliver…

Charming, funny and enjoyable, this is a lovely read on a chilly evening, it always seems to be summer in Cornwall, and you’ll fall for Polkerran and its residents too.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: Mantle of the World Ruler – Kate Gateley

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MantleoftheWorldRuler copy

Welcome to the tour for Kate Gateley’s epic fantasy Mantle of the World Ruler! Read on for more details!

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Mantle of the World Ruler (The Lost Wells Trilogy #2)

Publication Date: January 2023

Genre: Epic Fantasy

An ancient curse broken, a new prophecy foretold, and a grimoire of dark Druidic magic.

After a year of unimaginable violence, magic, and an all-consuming love that has followed her through countless incarnations, Julia Harrison has not only come into her own as a magic Bearer-far surpassing those women in her bloodline who came before her-but is about to start down a path that can end in only one of two ways: with her fulfilling her prophesized role as Sovereign, chalice of the World Ruler; or with the death of everyone and
everything she holds dear at the hands of Cassius Longinus, The Child of Rome, in his brutal and inexorable quest to finally achieve true immortality.

Mantle of the World Ruler-Book Two of the Lost Well Trilogy-begins directly after the events of its predecessor, and with it, author Kate Gateley draws the reader right back into the romantic, magical, and often terrifying world of Bearers and Wielders, Knaves and Wraiths, and Domhnall O’Brien, cursed by choice to follow his love through one life after another until they can save each other at last.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Screenshot_20230917_100715_Instagram

Kate currently lives, and writes, on a small farm in the Cowichan Valley on beautiful Vancouver Island, with her amazing husband, two incredible sons, an adorable dog, several barn cats who don’t earn their keep, and some decidedly ungrateful chickens … all of whom are very dearly loved. She is a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC), Federation of BC Writers (BCFW) and Independent Book Publishers Association (IPBA).

Get a copy of Tides of the Sovereign and Mantle of the World Ruler by visiting the Books page, and subscribe to the newsletter for updates on book releases, upcoming events, and more pertaining to the Lost Wells Trilogy.

Book Tour Organized by R&R Book Tours

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Blog Tour: The Reunion – Kit Frick

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Thereunion copy

We are thrilled to share Kit Frick’s latest release with you all. It’s called The Reunion and it sounds amazing!

the-reunion_CV

The Reunion

Publication Date: August 29, 2023

Genre: YA Thriller

Publisher:  Margaret K. McElderry Books/ Simon & Schuster

From the author of I Killed Zoe Spanos comes a YA thriller in the vein of The White Lotus and Karen M. McManus’s The Cousins following a doomed family reunion at a posh Caribbean resort, where old grudges and dangerous secrets culminate in murder.

Eleven Mayweathers went on vacation. Ten came home.

It’s been years since the fragmented Mayweather clan was all in one place, but the engagement of Addison and Mason’s mom to the dad of their future stepbrother, Theo, brings the whole family to sunny Cancún, Mexico, for winter break. Add cousin Natalia to the mix, and it doesn’t take long for tempers to fray and tensions to rise. A week of forced family “fun” reveals that everyone has something to hide, and as secrets bubble to the surface, no one is safe from the fallout. By the end of the week, one member of the reunion party will be dead—and everyone’s a suspect:
The peacekeeper: Addison needs a better hiding place.
The outsider: Theo just wants to mend fences.
The romantic: Natalia doesn’t want to talk about the past.
The hothead: Mason needs to keep his temper under control.

It started as a week in paradise meant to bring them together. But the Mayweathers are about to learn the hard way that family bonding can be deadly.

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Available at Most Retailers!

About the Author

Kit Frick_Author Photo

Kit Frick is a MacDowell Fellow and International Thriller Writers Award finalist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA from Syracuse University. The author of The Split, the young adult thrillers Before We Were Sorry (originally published as See All the Stars), All Eyes on Us, I Killed Zoe Spanos, Very Bad People, and The Reunion, as well as the poetry collection A Small Rising Up in the Lungs, Kit loves a good mystery but has only ever killed her characters. Honest. Visit Kit online at KitFrick.com and on Twitter and Instagram @KitFrick.

Book Tour Organized by R&R Book Tours!

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Book Blitz: Takuan from Koto – Ryu Zhong

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Takuan copy

We are thrilled to share this epic adventure with you today! Read more about Takuan from Koto below!

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Adventures of Takuan from Koto

Publication Date: August 5, 2023

Genre: YA Fantasy

Whimsical adventures of a young trickster: from clever exploits to a god-given mission.

A stone marten, in pursuit of the sun, climbs to the very Heavens and causes quite a commotion. Both the stubborn gods and the ordinary people have a hard time when weredemons break free. Even the Lord of the Underworld turns out to be powerless.
But sometimes even a mouse can be stronger than an elephant, as the old proverb says. The fate of the world ends up in the hands of Takuan — a young trickster, who deceives the greedy, angry, and ignorant people across the country of Chinayindu. On his journey, he meets the wandering warrior Zhu Leizu, a temple monk named Soliang, the clumsy sorcerer Bricabrac, and many others.
Our story begins with a village boy setting off to a monastery to become a demon-hunting monk, only to find out how truly dull monastic life can be.
Or does our story actually begin with the birth of the stone marten Ta Guan? To learn about what happened in the Heavens, the incredible adventures of Takuan, and what was the end of all of it, read the book ‘Takuan from Koto’ by Ryū Zhong.

More about the Book:

Light humorous fantasy, comedy and adventure, fantasy & magic.
Audience: Middle-grade, teen, young adult, adult.
Setting: Pan-Asian continent in quasi-medieval times with magic in the air.
Each book in the series is a standalone adventure

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Author Photo 1

Ryu Zhong has spent the last fifteen years in multinational corporations doing future research and developing novel tech. Today, Ryu writes fantasy and science fiction based on his experience. In his novels, he highlights the phenomena that humanity may face in just a few hundred years.

Ryū Zhong were lucky to be born and grow in Asia. Now they live in Amsterdam, study Dutch, and adapt their writings to English and other languages.

Annon Ruini Books

Book Blitz Organized by R&R Book Tours

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Blog Tour: Clarionettes – Ruth Enright

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When mill owner’s daughter, Ellen Rastrick, dares to borrow her brother’s bicycle to join the Clarion Cycling Club in secret, she discovers an exciting new world. It is 1896 in the industrial town of Halifax, West Yorkshire. Ellen’s fellow Clarionettes are young men and women from all walks of life, liberated by the movement to mix socially for the first time.

Naïve or worldly, rich or poor, they all seek freedom, happiness and love. But they soon discover that these can mean very different things to one another. Dynamic relationships and a single drastic act create an unstoppable momentum in the lives of those both inside and outside their group.

They meet as rebels, workers and artists, full of their own hopes and dreams. They become conflicted allies, enjoying new times as friends and lovers while braving danger, risk, heartbreak and loss. Together, they find futures they could never have imagined.

Goodreads Buy Links

Ruth Enright is from Halifax, West Yorkshire.  She enjoys holidays in Whitby, Scarborough and the surrounding area; with  Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby being the inspiration for her debut novel ‘Seahaven.’  Her second book, ‘Button Box’ is for children and young adults. A young girl finds herself living in two worlds – the modern day and a dangerous Victorian past in 1850s London.

Ruth studied English Language and Literature at Reading University and has always had the ambition to write herself. She lives in Manchester with her family and works for local government, where she has held a number of posts. She  is now an Information Governance Officer. Ruth came to Manchester as a graduate trainee in Librarianship with Manchester Polytechnic before changing career paths and training for a certificate in teaching lipreading to adults with acquired deafness in Adult Education. Ruth then had her daughter and later became a local government officer.

Ruth has always kept on writing and started a blog a few years ago for her poems, stories and other items.  Encouraged by readers, she has recently succeeded in having five short stories published by ‘Yours Fiction’ special short story quarterly magazine.

Ruth loves to read and enjoys writing in both historic and modern settings, experimenting with different genres. Ideas for her writing come from many sources, for instance the name of Robin’s uncle Jorfant in ‘Seahaven’ came from researching her partner’s family tree!

Ruth lives with her partner Jack, and a cat called Margot. Ruth is delighted to be a published author and is looking forward very much to writing more novels.

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My thoughts: set at a time of great social change, this is an interesting read about class, love and improving the lives of ordinary people. The Clarionettes are a cycling club with a difference – whether from the mill owners side of society or the mill workers, they are united in wanting social change and improved conditions for all. The Clarion is a newspaper promoting these ideas, and the group meet to discuss their plans.

However some take direct action too far and put people’s livelihoods at risk. It’s one thing to push for change, another to force matters with arson.

Amidst the intrigue and exploration of the moors, there is time for romance, as several couples meet and fall in love. Ellen and Peter cross the social divide. Her father owns a factory, he works in one. Can they overcome the mores of the time and stay together?

There are other storyline that intertwine with theirs, that of Jane, the vicar’s daughter, in love with a rake, who doesn’t agree with his free love ideals and loses her heart. Ellen’s brother and sister both find themselves in somewhat unusual marriages, radically different to what they imagined, but somehow make it work.

Each member of the club gets a story, as the new century rolls on and change is coming. Ellen’s sister-in-law is involved in the work of the suffragettes of Manchester, who pushed for the women’s right to vote, and as the book reaches its conclusion, change is not only in the air but taking place within the mills and factories of the Yorkshire moors and in the homes around them too.

An interesting and enjoyable read, full of historical references and lively characters.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.