Category: blog tour

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Actuality – Paul Braddon

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She belongs to me – property rights will prevail.
Evie is a near-perfect bioengineered human. In a broken-down future England where her kind has been outlawed, her ‘husband’ Matthew keeps her safe but hidden. When her existence is revealed, she must take her chances on the dark and hostile streets where more than one predator is on the hunt.
The Actuality is a gripping, atmospheric speculative thriller from a powerful new voice.

My thoughts: I loved Evie and wanted her to succeed in outrunning those chasing her after everything goes wrong. She might not be human but she felt very human, if that makes sense. She could think and feel and was very afraid but also incredibly brave. I liked Daniels, his kindness and determination to help her as Matthew (who was a bit creepy) would want. I also really like Sola and Toto.

This book is incredibly moving and sad, Evie just wants to be left alone, allowed to live as she always has. A powerful meditation on what it is to be human.

*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 Long Weekend – Gilly Macmillan

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In an isolated retreat, deep in the Northumbria moors, three women arrive for a weekend getaway.

Their husbands will be joining them in the morning. Or so they think.

But when they get to Dark Fell Barn, the women find a devastating note that claims one of their husbands has been murdered. Their phones are out of range. There’s no internet. They’re stranded. And a storm’s coming in.

Friendships fracture and the situation spins out of control as each wife tries to find out what’s going on, who is responsible and which husband has been targeted.

This was a tight-knit group. They’ve survived a lot. But they won’t weather this. Because someone has decided that enough is enough.

That it’s time for a reckoning.

My thoughts: this was an interesting read, the heightened fears of the the three women in an isolated place, the nameless narrator of alternating chapters (who isn’t who I thought it was) and the sinister nature of the threat left with a bottle of champagne all slowly reveal someone very disturbed at the heart of this supposedly close knit group.

Ruth, Emily and Jayne are woefully unprepared for the remoteness of the Northumbrian farm they’re staying on, especially as the weather worsens and they can’t reach their husbands. Wandering about in the dark is a stupid thing to do and it pulls the farming family who own the land into their mess, ending in tragedy.

Meanwhile our villain is back home carrying out their increasingly unhinged plan, unaware of how sloppy they’ve been and of the various loose ends left everywhere. As morning arrives and people finally reconnect, their plan starts to unravel and they become more volatile.

Shocking and brutally violent, everyone is forced to deal with some pretty serious home truths about themselves and each other. But resolution is needed to continue, even if nothing will ever be the same.

*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 Thirteenth Hour – Trudie Skies

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Cover Artist – James T. Egan of Bookfly Design
 

When the saints fail, the sinners step up.

Cruel gods rule the steam-powered city of Chime, demanding worship and tribute from their mortal subjects. Kayl lost her faith in them long ago, and now seeks to protect vulnerable and downtrodden mortals from their gods’ whims. But when Kayl discovers powers that she didn’t know she had—and destroys a mortal’s soul by accident—she becomes Chime’s most wanted.

Quen’s job was to pursue sinners, until the visions started. Haunted by foreboding images of his beloved city’s destruction, Quen hunts soul-sucking creatures made of aether who prey on its citizens—and Kayl is his number one target.

To ensure Chime’s future, Kayl and Quen must discover the truth of Kayl’s divine abilities before the gods take matters into their own hands.

For a city that bows to cruel gods, it’ll take godless heathens to save it.

The Thirteenth Hour is the first book in The Cruel Gods series—a gaslamp fantasy featuring magical portals, gothic cosmic deities, quaint Britishisms, and steampunk vibes. This is an adult book containing strong language and mature themes that some readers may find disturbing. For a full list of content warnings, visit Trudie Skies’s website.

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Trudie Skies has been living inside fantasy worlds ever since she discovered that reality doesn’t quite live up to the hype. Through the magic of books, she wishes to share these worlds of hope and heroes with other weary souls. Living in North East England, Trudie spends most of her free time daydreaming about clouds, devouring whatever fantasy books or video games she can get her hands on, and chasing after her troublesome dogs, who would like to reassure you they are very good boys.

Her debut YA fantasy series, Sand Dancer, was published through Uproar Books. Trudie is now writing adult gaslamp fantasy with her new series, The Cruel Gods.

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Domain map designed by Soraya Cocoran
 
Character Art by Seraphim
 

My thoughts: this was an interesting new fantasy, I liked the way all the different races had unique abilities and Kayl’s gift of being able to become each one. It got a bit convoluted as there were lots of parts to the plot and the evil schemes Quen and Kayl uncovered. I wanted to know more about the Godless and their histories, and less about Quen’s deeply weird relationship with Eli.

The premise of the different gods’ domains and the magical clock face that allows entry was really clever and I think it was utilised well when things started to fall apart and Chime began to give into chaos. There were echoes of various world myths, for example the gods rising up against their Titan parents (Ancient Greece) and the way the gods meddle directly in mortal lives, which was interesting.

*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: Blood Games – Liz Mistry

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THREE MURDERS. ONE MISSING BOY. THE GAME IS JUST BEGINNING…
When a body is found at the edge of Chellow Dene reservoir Detective Nikki Parekh and DC Sajid Malik are quick to arrive.
This is the third murder in the space of a few weeks. Each murder has a completely different MO, but there is one common theme… all the victims are teenagers. The dead boy reminds Nikki of her nephew, and she feels more helpless than ever.
But then another boy goes missing. And this time his parents have been sent a threatening package too. The pattern is different again – is the killer just playing a game? Can Nikki find the strength to
uncover the shocking truth before the killer strikes again?

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Born in Scotland, Made in Bradford sums up Liz Mistry’s life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree. Once here, Liz fell in love with
three things; curries, the rich cultural diversity of the city … and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats and a huge extended family later, Liz uses
her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’
whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.
Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it’s all real. One of the nicest things about being
a published author is chatting with and responding to readers’ feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literature festivals and open mics. She also teaches creative writing too.
In her spare time, Liz loves pub quizzes (although she admits to being rubbish at them), dancing (she does a mean jig to Proud Mary – her opinion, not ratified by her family), visiting the varied Yorkshire
landscape, with Robin Hoods Bay being one of her favourite coastal destinations, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her blog, The Crime Warp.

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My thoughts: this series just gets better and better. Tackling the complex and secretive world of “honour” killings in Bradford’s Muslim community. The “Eyes” are teenagers and men recruited by a mysterious online mastermind. Causing chaos and sowing dissent between the different communities through a violent series of attacks and brutal machete murders.

Nikki’s struggling with her recent bereavement and overreacts to one crime scene and is signed off, but that doesn’t stop her investigating when her friend’s son goes missing.

It’s an intense, almost claustrophobic world where everyone feels policed by people they thought they knew, serious crimes are being committed but no one’s speaking and there’s too many suspects. But Nikki and her team won’t give up.

Gripping, intelligent crime writing at its best.

*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, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Winter Dawn – Alex Callister

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It is darkest before the dawn..

A hunt to the death. An all-seeing executioner. An unlikely hero.

From the author of the #1 best selling Audible Thriller of the Year comes a totally gripping crime thriller with heart-pounding suspense.

A New York Senator is being hunted.

With the world watching, she has been chosen as Colosseum’s next victim. No one can look away from the chilling new reality show, which awards a huge cash prize to the first person to assassinate its target. No-where is safe. No-one can be trusted. But just when her brutal death seems inevitable, an arrogant 21-year-old arrives from London to protect her. Now Winter is all that stands between the Senator and Colosseum. As dawn creeps in, time is running out for Winter to unravel the riddle at the heart of this sinister game: who is the shadowy Adjudicator of Colosseum, and what is his ultimate purpose?

Meet Winter: she’s the audacious, hyper-intelligent GCHQ agent with more notches on her bed post than James Bond and more hacking cred than Lisbeth Salander. Winter Dawn is the beginning of the Winter series, journeying back to the start of her story. This time, she’s grappling with Colosseum: a sinister online phenomenon that has gripped the world. It promises a massive cash prize to the successful hunter of its victims, unleashing an unstoppable tide of violence – and the world’s authorities are powerless to prevent it.

When a New York Senator is targeted, Winter is called in to protect her. But with all the world watching, there’s nowhere to hide. No one has ever survived Colosseum. It’s the winter solstice, and as they journey together into the dark heart of the longest night, they soon discover that nothing about Colosseum is what it seems. There are rules, and there is a purpose, if only they can solve the riddle in time. Colosseum is more than a hunt: it’s a challenge. Targets must face their darkest fear or die at dawn.

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Available on ebook, Paperback, Audiobook, AudioCD

Also on Amazon US

Alex has spent her career charting the rise of the internet and is fascinated by the dark web and its potential to facilitate crime. An action movie fan, her books are full of cult references. Her kick-ass heroine, Winter, was inspired by Bond, Bourne, John Wick, Vin Diesel, Jack Reacher and many others.

Alex has a history degree, a certificate in creative writing and a murderous imagination. She writes when she gets a chance, which is mainly at night between 10pm and 2am at home in London, with her three Bengal tigers.

WINTER DARK was the Audible Thriller of the Year 2019.

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Winter Series

Giveaway: Click the link for a chance to win a $25 Amazon e-gift card and some cool book swag! (International)

My thoughts: I hadn’t read the previous books in the series, but I don’t think it mattered when it came to reading this one, you get enough info about Winter as the story unfolds on a cold December night in New York.

As Winter and the Senator try to stay one step ahead of the black clad Hunters on their tail, Winter is also trying to unravel the mystery of who is behind this new violent game – who is the Adjudicator and how do they know so much about her and her charge?

Fast paced and full of jeopardy this is a thrill ride of a book.

*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: Bitter Flowers – Gunnar Staalesen, translated by Don Bartlett

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Fresh from rehab, PI Varg Veum faces his most complex investigation yet, when a man is found drowned, a young woman disappears, and the case of a missing child is revived. The classic Nordic Noir series continues…

PI Varg Veum has returned to duty following a stint in rehab, but his new composure and resolution are soon threatened when three complex crimes land on his desk. A man is found dead in an elite swimming pool. A young woman has gone missing. Most chillingly, Veum is asked to investigate the ‘Camilla Case’: an eight-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of a little girl, who was never found. As the threads of these three apparently unrelated cases come together, against the backdrop of a series of shocking environmental crimes, Veum faces the most challenging, traumatic investigation of his career.

A stunning, sophisticated, tension-packed thriller – the darkest of hardboiled Nordic Noir – from one of Norway’s most acclaimed crime writers.

One of the fathers of Nordic Noir, Gunnar Staalesen was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1947. He made his debut at the age of twenty-two with Seasons of Innocence and in 1977 he published the first book in the Varg Veum series. He is the author of over twenty titles, which have been published in twenty-four countries and sold over four million copies. Twelve film adaptations of his Varg Veum crime novels have appeared since 2007, starring the popular Norwegian actor Trond Espen Seim. Staalesen has won three Golden Pistols (including the Prize of Honour); Where Roses Never Die won the 2017 Petrona Award for Nordic Crime Fiction, and Big Sister was shortlisted in 2019. He lives with his wife in Bergen.

My thoughts: this was really good. After a stint in rehab Varg Veum is back on form and tracking down a killer after literally finding a dead body. This case seems to be connected to several tragedies from some years before – a missing child and the accident that returned a young woman to a childlike state.

As he digs in, more and more details come to light, and could these tragic events be connected by more than just the date?

Gritty, clever and with echoes of today’s climate crisis, this is a compelling and gripping read and one where for once I couldn’t figure out whodunit in the first few pages. Masterly work.

*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: After Agatha – Sally Cline

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After Agatha: Women Write Crime is the first book to examine how British, American, and Canadian female crime writers pursue their craft and what they think about crime writing. Hundreds of women who identified as lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual, able-bodied, disabled, feminist, left or right wing, who were black or white, who had experienced violence, sexism, homophobia or racism, and who came from big cities or small country villages had one thing in common: they read crime novels.

The book explores why so many women who face fear and violence in their daily lives, should be so addicted to crime fiction, many of which feature extreme violence. The book analyzes why criminal justice professionals including police officers, forensic scientists, probation officers, and lawyers have joined traditional detective writers in writing crime. It examines the explosions of crime writing by women between 1930 and today. It highlights the UK Golden Age women writers, the 1950s American women novelists, the 80s experimental trio, Marcia Muller, Sara Paretsky, and Sue Grafton, who created the first female American private Investigators, and the important emergence of female police protagonists, as well as those central characters who for the first time were lesbian, disabled, black, or ethnic minority. After Agatha also examines the significant explosions of domestic noir thrillers and forensic science writers.

Most have taken to crime in order to reflect and comment on the social and political landscape around them. Many are creatively exploring the significant issues facing women today.

Agatha Christie – photo via BBC

Sally Cline, author of 13 books, is an award-winning biographer and fiction writer. She is Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Research Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, and former Advisory Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund. Her biography on Radclyffe Hall, now a classic, was shortlisted for the LAMBDA prize; Lifting the Taboo: Women, Death and Dying won the Arts Council Prize for nonfiction; and she wrote landmark biographies on Zelda Fitzgerald and Dashiell Hammett. She is co-Series Editor for Bloomsbury’s 9 volume Writers and Artists Companions. Formerly lecturing at Cambridge University, she has degrees and masters from Durham and Lancaster Universities and was awarded a D.Litt in International Writing.

My thoughts: I am a huge crime fiction fan and adore Agatha Christie. I also studied English Literature at uni, including a module where we looked at crime fiction – all of the books on the reading list were written by men. Women writers were shunted off into their own module and focused on the Brontës, Austen and other 18th and 19th century writers. No crime fiction, no Golden Age.

Considering the immense popularity of crime novels, many written by women, and the history – which this book explores, that’s rather frustrating and I really hope that things have changed since the early to mid 00s, when I was studying.

This fascinating book has left me with an immense reading list (I’ve read many of the authors mentioned but not all and not enough as far as I’m concerned) and lots to think about. Digging deep into the legacy of Christie and her compatriots (Dorothy L. Sayers, Josephine Tey, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allington – aka The Golden Age writers) and following the growth, expansion and creation of the women who wrote and starred in hundreds of crime novels since then.

It looks at the sub-genres, like PIs, the psychological, forensic and others, as well as the fact that readers of crime fiction are overwhelmingly women and why.

Absolutely fascinating and crammed full of interesting information, this is a must read for anyone interested in the genre, in women’s writing and literary history.

*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: Lost Graves – S.A. Dunphy

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The only sound in the forest was the wind through the branches; the only light came from the campfire. Jessie stood up, suddenly gripped by a powerful sense of dread. There was something – someone – beyond the darkness, through the trees…

When single father Joe Keenan and his young son Finbar make camp for the night in the ancient forest of Leitrim, little do they imagine their rural escape is about to turn into a nightmare. For deep in the woods they find a corpse… As the remains of dozens more victims are uncovered by police, it becomes clear this is the burial site of a serial killer who has obviously been active, unnoticed, for years.

Arrested for the murders, while his beloved son is sent into care, Joe pleads his innocence to no avail. But criminal behaviourist Jessie Boyle is convinced the killer is still out there. Determined to reunite Joe and his son, Jessie’s investigation turns towards the local community. Who knows the shadowy depths of the forest well enough to hide not just one, but many bodies?

Then someone else goes missing, and the situation takes a terrifying turn: it’s clear the killer is escalating their gruesome spree. Forced to enter the woods alone to save a life, Jessie runs from a killer so skilled at hiding and so clever at hunting, it will take every ounce of her strength to make it out alive…

A gripping, nail-biting crime thriller that will have you hooked from the first page to the final line. Fans of Patricia Gibney, Lisa Gardner and Lisa Regan will not want to miss this.

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Shane Dunphy (S. A. Dunphy) was born in Brighton in 1973, but grew up in Ireland, where he has lived and worked for most of his life. A child protection worker for fifteen years, he is the bestselling author of seventeen books, including the number one Irish bestseller Wednesday’s Child and the Sunday Times Bestseller The Girl Who Couldn’t Smile. His bestselling series of crime novels (written under the name S. A. Dunphy) feature the criminologist David Dunnigan. Stories From the Margins, his new series of true crime books written for Audible, has been critically acclaimed and the second title in the series, The Bad Place, is an Audible True Crime bestseller. Website Twitter Facebook Instagram  

My thoughts: the second (book one) in a so far excellent series about strange killers and crimes in Ireland, this explores the vampire myth – the Abhartach – possibly one inspiration for Stoker’s Dracula (while it doesn’t include a visit to Ireland, Stoker himself was Irish), the doings and misdeeds of the military, Traveller culture and feuds, some of which date back years, and how a modern police force deals with all of these at times conflicting issues when solving crimes.

Joe Keenan and his son have found human remains in the woods, and despite his ambivalence towards the police, he reports the find, getting arrested and accused of being a murderer into the bargain. Luckily Jessie and Seamus arrive, having been dispatched by their boss to investigate. Pinning a crime on the nearest Traveller is not unusual, it happens wherever a nomadic group are currently staying – it certainly happens in the UK too.

Dunphy treats his Traveller characters with respect, they’re not just caricatures and a list of tropes, Joe is a fascinating man who has travelled all over Europe living a hard life but one recognisable to his ancestors. He’s also wanted by a Traveller family who have become gangsters, for reasons that once explained are terribly tragic. Jessie and Seamus promise to protect him and his small family, leading to escalating violence in the woods.

The Abhartach myth is also useful to one of the characters Jessie and Seamus meet in the small town of Ballinmore, it keeps people from the woods and from looking too hard. Which is why when the military start pushing Dawn and Terri to back off, they go further, digging deep into classified files to find a military secret that has led to deaths and bodies still being found.

The final cinematic showdown outside the police station is a huge set piece worthy of any number of police dramas and reminded me strongly of a book I read a while ago about the Troubles, although this time it was about more personal politics. The answers that are revealed are complex and troubling. I imagine Dawn had plenty to say to her bosses when handing over the report. I look forward to book three.

*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: Thine Eyes of Mercy – Danielle M. Orsino

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ThineEyesofMercy copy

I’m pleased to share the next exciting novel in The Birth of the Fae series, Thine Eyes of Mercy by Danielle M. Orsino. Read on for more info and a chance to win a mystery FairyLoot Crate!

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Birth of the Fae: Thine Eyes of Mercy, Book Two

Publication Date: December 1st, 2021

Genre: Fantasy

Queen Aurora, monarch of the Court of Light Fae and King Jarvok, Leader of the Court of Dark Fae are exhausted and battle worn after centuries of fighting. A war of attrition   had taken its toll upon their kin and power bases.

What happens when you have to give in to your enemy?

All wars eventually end even magical ones. The Dark and Light Fae have set their elemental magick and weapons down but, all is not quiet in the Veil…

King Jarvok was confident his army could win the war, but at what cost? It was time to act like a King not a power hungry megalomaniac. That was his Creator’s title not his. He reaches out to Queen Aurora, and the Treaty of Bodhicitta is signed.

The treaty promises the Fae will never spill each other’s blood again. Rules for their human worshipers are put into place. The Court of Dark must not interfere with humans in a malignant way, but they can act as gods and goddesses of atonement. The Court of Light can return to acting as advisors to the European royal families, as they have done for centuries.

However, Queen Aurora and King Jarvok will learn that while they were playing war games, their humans have changed and moved away from the old ways.

The two monarchs face unknown challenges in a world where Christianity not paganism is the new power.

Sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you do not.

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Available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble

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Locked Out of Heaven (Birth of the Fae #1)

Ride on the backs of fire-breathing dragons with the Dark Fae and watch the Light Fae play in the shadows of primitive humanity as they build their magical world.
Abandoned by their creator, two factions of powerful angels remain on earth after the Great War with Lucifer. They struggle to comprehend their Creator’s plan while their angel wings, a symbol of their angelic lineage, slowly and painfully decay. With no hope of returning to the Shining Kingdom, two groups of angels denounce their angelic lineage and develop into separate factions – the Court of Light, led by Queen Aurora, a former Virtue Angel, and the Court of Dark, ruled by King Jarvok, a former Power Brigade Angel. The two monarchs have opposing views on how to govern their kin, but the one belief they agree on is that human worship equals power.
Birth of the Fae: Locked Out of Heaven is an epic-fantasy adventure of heartbreak, rebirth, and hope that examines the bonds of family, friendship, and love. It is a fantastic tale of good versus evil in a beautiful world, where the Light Fae and their potent elemental magick are tested by the raw power of the dragon-riding Dark Fae warriors.
They are their own beings and masters of their own destiny. They are the Fae.

About the Author

fin for web

Danielle M Orsino, destined to be a writer from a young age, was working as a nurse and treating a patient who needed some distractions during long I.V. Treatment sessions. So, Orsino reached back to a forgotten skill, A childhood dream. Danielle had wanted to be a writer and so she decided to tell a story. Little did she know the seed would grow into a fantastically epic adventure of heartbreak, hope and rebirth — Birth of Fae: Locked Out of Heaven. Drawing from her passion for comic books, Cosplay and fantasy along with her expert martial arts expertise, Orsino brings forth an electric and hopeful debut.

Danielle is taking on her biggest challenge to date: taking the story born from the long treatment sessions with a patient into a fantasy book series-Birth of the Fae: Locked out of Heaven. Expanding her love of writing, comics and exploring the world of fantasy novels, she delves into the realm of fairies and retells their origins from a completely new perspective. Orsino has a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise science and is an LPN with a special interest in Lyme disease research. Orsino has been widely recognized from her influence and experience in martial arts realm, training for over 20 years and with over 500 tournament wins, and accumulating national and world titles. She has performed for former President of the United States Bill Clinton and has been featured on “Soap Talk, Fox Five news CBS, TLC and E! With this experience, she worked as a Fight Choreographer on ”Wonder Woman: Balance of Power” and has worked with the likes of martial arts legend Vincent Lyn and WWE marvel and action star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Nothing Danielle ever does is simple, look at what NY times Bestselling author Clete Barrett Smith has to say about her debut endeavor: “After summoning this world into existence through an imaginative force of will, Danielle has scoured every inch of the landscape several times over. Critics often praise a story’s world building by saying that it feels “lived in.” Well, the world of the Fae certainly seems like that because Danielle herself has happily lived there for years as she worked to put all of this together…My favorite part of this story is that it is gloriously depicted in vibrant images.

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Click the link below for a chance to win a mystery FairyLoot Crate which will include one book and 4 to 5 quality bookish items (US only)

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Blog Tour: Before We Grow Old – Clare Swatman

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When seven-year-old Fran first met Will they knew instantly that they were made for each other. For eleven years they were inseparable, but then, at the age of eighteen, Will just upped and disappeared.
Twenty-five years later Will is back.
Is fate trying to give them a second chance?
Still nursing the heart break from all those years ago, Fran is reluctant to give Will the time of day.
The price Will must pay is to tell the truth – the truth about why he left, the truth about why he’s back…
And Fran has her own secrets to hide. The time has come to decide what Fran and Will really want from life – before it’s too late.
Amazon

Clare Swatman is the author of three women’s fiction novels, published by Macmillan, which have been translated into over 20 languages. She has been a journalist for over twenty years, writing for Bella and Woman & Home amongst many other magazines. She lives in Hertfordshire.

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My thoughts: this is a weepy, so have tissues on standby. My cat was actually quite alarmed and even came over to see if I was OK, and then demand food, so you’re warned.

Fran is fed up and sat in a cafe near work one day, the last thing in the world she expects to happen, happens. Her childhood best friend, first love, and fond memory, Will Poulton sits down next to her. Twenty-five years after disappearing to Australia and leaving her bereft. Now he’s back and wants to reconnect.

I really enjoyed this but it was very sad in places, thankfully Will’s adorable daughter and Fran’s grunting teenage son are there for a bit of light relief, bouncing on trampolines and providing some funny lines, otherwise this sweet love story would have been too bitter.

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