Category: blog tour

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Gift Book One; Eleanor – R.A. Williams Plus: A Giveaway!

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A lush historical adventure that’s equal parts Gothic horror as it is tale of lost love, The Gift: Eleanor is the first in an exhilarating new trilogy that takes you from the Titanic to the trenches of WWI, and Honduran shipwrecks to ancient crypts in the heart of London.

The North Atlantic, 14 April 1912. Amid the chaos of the sinking Titanic, a young Eleanor Annenberg meets the eyes of a stranger and is immediately captivated. As the ship buckles around them, she follows him down into the hold and finds him leaning over an open sarcophagus, surrounded by mutilated bodies. She catches but a glimpse of what lies within before she’s sucked into a maelstrom of freezing brine and half-devoured corpses.

Elle is pulled out of the water, but the stranger – and the secrets she stumbled upon – are lost. Unintentionally, however, he leaves her a gift; one so compelling that Elle embarks on a journey that pulls her into a world of ancient evils, vicious hunters and human prey to find the man who saved her that fateful night. From trench warfare at Cape Helles in 1915 to a shipwreck in the tropical shallows off the Honduran coast, from a lost mine beneath the towering Externsteine in a Germany on the verge of war to the gothic crypts of Highgate Cemetery in London, Elle gets closer to a truth she has sought for most of her life. But at what cost? Gifts, after all, are seldom free.

An immersive gothic story spanning decades, The Gift is a compelling read that weaves the supernatural of Dracula with the adventure of Indiana Jones.

My thoughts: this was a fun, adventurous romp through early twentieth century history, a lot of it terrible, following in the footsteps of a monster who kills his own kind and recruits others to his cause. Elle spends her life in pursuit of the mysterious Balthazar, hunting him across the globe, from Michigan to Folkestone, the Caribbean to German forests, she won’t stop looking.

Hidden in the relics and artifacts of ancient civilizations are clues to the creatures known as Crimen – the Guilty. Vampiric monsters who want only to feed on the flesh of the living, they wiped whole societies out, and few references to them remain. As a ethnologist, Elle has studied these traces, putting forward a theory about them that she slowly discovers might just be right.

She risks her life to find out more, especially as Germany edges towards the Second World War, her being American doesn’t stop her being Jewish making the increasingly violent state suspicious of her. But in being sent to Britain, a place she left in 1912, she might just finally get her answers.

Elle is a sort of scientific proto-Buffy. In love with a monster, and in need of her own Scooby gang (yes I spent my teens obsessively watching the show, yes I can still quote bits of it.) She’s incredibly smart and doesn’t care much about her personal safety. Balthazar has left clues all over the world as he wades through the trenches at Gallipoli, or hunts in the Belgian Congo, for the banshee Siobhan, carving a legend along the way. Setting everything up for an incredible series of exciting and hair raising adventures.

Who wants to win a book?

Fancy winning a copy of this fantastic tale? Then simply follow me on Twitter and tweet me this password: #TheGiftisGiving you have between right now and publication day on December the 9th.

UK/Ireland only, book will be provided by the publisher. ramblingmads is not responsible for safe delivery of your prize.

*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: High Pressure – Sam Blake

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As temperatures soar across Europe during the hottest summer for forty years, a series of hoax terrorist attacks is generating panic in London. Then a bus blows up on Oxford Street and the hoaxes have suddenly become real. 

Student Brioni O’Brien has been desperately trying to contact her older sister since she unexpectedly returned early from travelling, so when Marissa’s bag is found near the site of the explosion, she fears the worst.

Teaming up with terrorism expert Anna Lockharte to search for Marissa, Brioni discovers that her sister had

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Sam Blake’s debut novel, Little Bones, was No 1 in Ireland for four weeks, and was nominated for Irish Crime Novel of the Year. It launched the bestselling Cat Connolly trilogy. Her first standalone psychological thriller, Keep Your Eyes On Me, went straight to No 1 and its follow-up, The Dark Room was an Eason Ireland No 1 for three weeks. Sam is originally from St. Albans in Hertfordshire but has lived at the foot of the Wicklow mountains for more years than she lived in the UK.

Follow her on social @samblakebooks. Visit http://www.samblakebooks.com for news and events and get a bonus free short story in audio & text when you subscribe to her newsletter.

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My thoughts: this was a clever and complex thriller that goes in directions that aren’t as predictable as it might first appear. Marissa and Brioni are Irish sisters who get caught up in a plot to cause terror in central London by terrorists. Luckily there’s a whole team of experts looking out for them after Marissa disappears and Brioni goes looking for her.

I liked Brioni a lot, she was pretty smart and determined not to let her sister’s disappearance go ignored, even with all the other things happening. I also really liked Anna, who even though she didn’t know Marissa and had only just met Brioni, she was more then willing to help out and stick by Brioni as she hunts for her sister.

*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 Imperfect Art of Caring – Jessica Ryn

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One small act can make a big difference

Violet Strong is strong by name but not by nature, or so she thinks. She listens but never talks about herself. She’s friendly but doesn’t have many real friends. She’s become good at keeping people at a distance ever since she left home at eighteen and never looked back.

But when Violet is forced to return home to care for her estranged mother Glenys, she quickly finds out that life as a carer isn’t easy. Feeling overwhelmed, she’s forced to turn to the other local carers, including childhood friend Adam, for help. Although returning home still feels like a mistake, maybe it will help Violet right some wrongs. After all, she can’t keep running from her past forever, and in learning to look after others, perhaps Violet can start to finally love herself.

My thoughts: I loved Jessica Ryn’s first book, The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside, and this is brilliant too. It made me cry, I felt so connected to the characters. I’m technically a carer, although I have my own disabilities, my husband is a paraplegic and I care for him. It can be very lonely at times, when things have been bad, and I totally related to the caring figures in this book. But I also related to Abbas, and his mental health issues, I have depression and anxiety, there are days when I can’t cope, can’t get out of bed, can’t do simple things. So I understood him, and Violet’s mum Glenys, too.

This book was so lovely and sweet and sad, and I wanted to reach into the pages and hug Violet and Tammy. Honestly if you need a dose of comfort reading, full of friendship and hot chocolate and soup, and love, then read this.

*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: Cytonic – Brandon Sanderson

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Spensa’s life as a Defiant Defense Force pilot has been far from ordinary.

She proved herself one of the best starfighters in the human enclave of Detritus and she saved her people from extermination at the hands of the Krell – the enigmatic alien species that has been holding them captive for decades. What’s more, she travelled light-years from home as a spy to infiltrate the Superiority, where she learned of the galaxy beyond her small, desolate planet home. Now, the Superiority – the governing galactic alliance bent on dominating all human life – has started a galaxy-wide war. And Spensa has seen the weapons they plan to use to end it: the Delvers. Ancient, mysterious alien forces that can wipe out entire planetary systems in an instant.

Spensa knows that no matter how many pilots the DDF has, there is no defeating this predator.

Except that Spensa is Cytonic. She faced down a Delver and saw something eerily familiar about it. And maybe, if she’s able to figure out what she is, she could be more than just another pilot in this unfolding war. She could save the galaxy. The only way she can discover what she really is, though, is to leave behind all she knows and enter the Nowhere. A place from which few ever return.

To have courage means facing fear. And this mission is terrifying.

My thoughts: I have really enjoyed this series, and was excited to read this next book in Spensa’s story.

In this she escapes her captors and enters the nowhere, a strange realm inside reality, where she must learn more about her cytonic abilities and find a way home. She meets new friends, including a man who just might be M-Bot’s original pilot, some pirates and some strange creatures. She learns more about the Superiority and the delvers and about herself too.

This was such a brilliant book, it really advanced the overarching story while also allowing Spensa to act as though she was in one of the adventure story’s her Gran-Gran told her. Although I will choose to ignore her belief that David Bowie isn’t real. I loved seeing more of M-Bot as he became more sentient, and Hosho, and of course the magnificent Doomslug. Cannot wait for Defiant, the next chapter in the tale.

*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 Soul Catcher – Monica Bhide

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Set in modern India in a dimension where time and space are fluid, Monica Bhide’s The Soul Catcher, a novel in stories, is a mosaic narrative about destiny, grief, loss, faith, love, and sisterhood. It takes us on a magical journey that begins with an unspeakable tragedy, and concludes with a surprising resolution. It chronicles the life of Yamini Goins — the Soul Catcher — a woman who transports souls from one body to another to keep people alive. In Yamini’s India, one set in harsh realities and far removed from tourist traps and movie cliches, anguish and death battle second opportunities and powerful prayers in an eternal dance in which magic and the impossible are mere elements of everyday life. Is death the end? What are the consequences of prolonging life by supernatural means? How does pain shape our identity?

A violent, touching, unique narrative with a great sense of place, The Soul Catchers features a diverse cast of complex characters – pain healers and lovers, parents and broken souls – that bring life and death to the page. The Soul Catcher explores that which makes us human—the desire to live, the fear of death, the longing for love and the release that comes with the acceptance of fate. Throughout the dark overtones of the interwoven tales of this book, an electric current of transcendence echoes from every page as each character attempts to shift his or her destiny to the whims of their hearts. 

Monica Bhide is an award-winning writer, accomplished literary coach, gifted poet, storyteller, and educator with a lyrical voice and universal appeal. As a bestselling fiction and internationally renowned cookbook author, Monica is known for sharing food, culture, mystery, and love in her writing. 

A respected writing authority, Monica appears regularly on NPR and conducts sold-out workshops on writing, food, culture, and scheduled speaking events at prestigious venues as the Smithsonian Institution, Sackler Gallery, Les Dames d’Escoffier, Georgetown University, and Yale University. She has taught all over the world including conferences in London, Dubai, US etc. She has also been the “Writing Coach in Residence” for the annual conference of the Association of Food Journalists.

  • Monica’s short story collection, The Devil in Us, topped the list on Kindle as a bestseller in its category of Literary Short Fiction. Her memoir, A Life of Spice, was picked by Eat Your Books as one of the top five food memoirs of 2015.
  • Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi picked Bhide’s Modern Spice (Simon & Schuster, 2009), as one of the “Best Books Ever” for Newsweek in 2009.
  • The Chicago Tribune named Monica “one of the seven food writers to watch in 2012”.
  • In April 2012, Mashable.com picked her as one of “the top ten food writers” on Twitter.
  • Her work has garnered numerous accolades and has been included in four Best Food Writing anthologies (2005, 2009, 2010, and 2014).

As a noted international food writer, Monica has built a diverse and solid audience through her books and articles in top-tier media such as: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Ladies Home Journal, AARP-the Magazine, Parents Chicago Tribune , Christian Science Monitor, Bon Appétit, Town and Country Travel, Food and Wine, Cooking Light, Coastal Living, Health, Better Nutrition, and many others.

Monica lives in Virginia with two sons.

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My thoughts: this was a lyrical and beautiful book about love, pain, and saving lives. A magical realist novel featuring people with special gifts, from the titular soul catcher, her healer sister, a little girl who can summon the rain, another who can see the truth. Each story builds into a larger narrative connecting the soul catcher to each character along the way, as she returns to India in time to save the life of someone important to her.

*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: Deadly Little Lies – Stephanie DeCarolis

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THE PERFECT LIFE

Juliana Daniels finally has the life she’s always dreamed of. A loving husband, a career as an attorney, and a cozy apartment in Manhattan to call home.

But when she gets a message from an old college friend, her blood runs cold. Remember me?

ONE DEADLY LIE

Juliana drops her phone as though she’s been scalded. The name Jenny Teller shines out from the screen… but Jenny can’t have sent that message.

Because Jenny is dead.

Juliana’s other college friends have all received the same message. The four of them are the only ones who know the truth about the night Jenny died. It’s a secret they have kept buried for thirteen years.

WHO DO YOU TRUST?

With ‘Jenny’ now blackmailing them and threatening to expose their secret, only one thing is certain. Someone else knows the truth about that night… or one of them is lying.

My thoughts: university in the US seems a lot more incestuous than in the UK, I don’t know whether it’s because they’re more campus based or that they have roommates. I lived in halls and my uni was on a campus but the main road outside took you into London in 20 minutes. American colleges seem like towns to themselves. It’s certainly the case here, where four young women end up getting into serious trouble after another student dies.

The creepy emails and messages from “Jenny” after so many years are unsettling and lure the women back to campus to settle some scores and get answers.

Juliana has tortured herself over what happened, pulling away from her friends and trying to build a different version of herself, she doesn’t even tell her husband about what happened.

The way things are resolved, answers are given and justice is done at the end felt realistic and didn’t go for the schlocky factor, which I liked. A clever thriller about truth and friendship.

*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 New Wife – Sue Watson

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You can never truly know what goes on behind closed doors…

My darling son, Sam, is marrying his childhood sweetheart and I couldn’t be prouder of the man he’s grown into. Walking out on his abusive father all those years ago was the best thing I ever did. And today he stands, tall and handsome, saying ‘I do’ to my dream daughter-in-law. If I hadn’t pushed them together all those years ago, he might never have found a girl as perfect as Lauren. It’s true what they say, mother always knows best.

But weeks later, Lauren is dead and police cars fill the driveway of their idyllic countryside home. As they question Sam, I sense he’s hiding something. Why won’t he look me in the eye? And who does he rush off to meet as soon as the police are gone?

Desperate, I do what every good mother would do: I let myself into Sam and Lauren’s bedroom. What I see, I will never be able to forget. My son’s beautiful new wife was hiding a dangerous secret. Can I clear my son’s name? And could my life be in danger now too?

A completely gripping, utterly twisted thriller that will leave your jaw on the floor. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Wife Between Us and The Woman in the Window.

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Audio Links:UK: US:  Listen to a sample here

Sue Watson was a TV Producer at the BBC until she wrote her first book and was hooked.

Now a USA Today bestselling author, Sue explores the darker side of life, writing psychological thrillers with big twists. Originally from Manchester, she now lives with her family in leafy Worcestershire where much of her day is spent writing – and procrastinating. Her hobby is eating cake while watching diet and exercise programmes from the sofa, a skill she’s perfected after many years of practice.

For more info visit Sue’s website; Facebook Twitter

My thoughts: this was really clever and had so many twists and turns, I could not guess what was going to happen next. I couldn’t guess who Lauren’s killer was, or whether it was all an accident after all. I liked Georgie as a determined investigator, trying to save her son even though it meant digging into the people closest to her, or at least the people she thought she knew. A really enjoyable, intelligent thriller.

*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: My First Animal Moves – Darryl Edwards

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Nathan loves to play, but he loves his video games more.

Can a trip to Animal Moves land convince him there’s more fun outdoors? Best-selling author and speaker Darryl Edwards has created this fun adventure inspired by his passion for encouraging kids to move in an ever-increasing sedentary environment.

MY FIRST ANIMAL MOVES

Discover the joys of animal moves with your little cubs in this first book of movement. Join Nathan and his cute, but sometimes lazy, dog as they crawl, jump and balance their way through the animal kingdom re-enacting moves designed to emphasise fun. It’s all in this exercise for kids book that focuses on family fun boredom busters.

HELPING KIDS MOVE AND GETTING KIDS OFF SCREENS THROUGH FUN ANIMAL PLAY

✓ Do you want to make physical activity for kids fun?

✓ Are you looking for ways to help your children develop strength, coordination and balance?

✓ Do your children love learning about animals?

✓ Are you worried about too much TV and screen time?

✓ Do you want to teach young children about the importance of physical activity?

✓ Would you like easy and fun fitness games to include in your day?

My First Animal Moves is your answer. Play along together, keeping everyone healthier and happier, promoting physical, mental and emotional well-being. You’ll all release more mood-enhancing hormones as a result, which help you feel good every day.

It’s written by professional movement coach and award-winning author Darryl Edwards who is best known for his groundbreaking TED Talk “Why working out isn’t working out“, viewed over a million times worldwide. My First Animal Moves distils the ideas in his bestselling Animal Moves book and Animal Moves Fitness Decks into a colourful picture book for children.

Available on Amazon

Darryl Edwards is a former investment banking technologist turned movement coach and author. He is the founder of the Primal Play Method and a physical activity, health and play researcher.

The Primal Play Method fuses evolutionary biology with the science of physical activity and play psychology.

Darryl wants to inspire humans regardless of age, ability or disability to transform their health by making physical activity fun and engaging.

His work has featured on documentaries, TV, radio, podcasts and international press.

Darryl is author of the best-selling book “Animal Moves” and has released a range of fun fitness cards for adults, juniors, infants, office workers and fitness professionals called the Animal Moves Decks.

He regularly presents as a keynote speaker at events worldwide. His April 2019 TED talk “Why working out isn’t working out”—has now been viewed over a-million times.

Darryl resides in London, England and publishes about playful living at PrimalPlay.com.

Primal Play | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram 

My thoughts: this is a cute, fun book, which encourages young readers (or the listeners to a grown up) to get up and have a go along with Nathan in trying out animal moves. My little goddaughter will love this, especially if her Daddy (one of our best friends) joins in too. A great way to build storytime into an activity too. Movement is really important and this becomes a lot of fun. It’s a great way to get kids moving and trying new things, it even made us adults laugh, it’s hard to resist having a go!

*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 Kidnapper’s Word – E.J. Wood

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AN ABDUCTED CHILD. AN INNOCENT DINNER PARTY.

When nine year old Emily disappears, Detective Chief Inspector Clarence Landon knows time isn’t on his side.

It’s the 1960s. Child abductions are rare.

Her mother, Ava blames herself. What mother would leave their child alone?

Behind twitching curtains, an unsettling truth of what happened is revealed. A story of family secrets and a chilling tale of deception is unravelled.

What would you be capable of when pushed to your limits?

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She’s just a storyteller! E.J. Wood is a thriller writer from England. Although British born, she now resides in Spain, speaks English, and Spanish, and is currently learning German.
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My thoughts: I found this book a bit confusing at times, there seems to be a lot more going on that has nothing to do with the missing child. Her mother is very strange, and seems to have managed to pull the wool over DCI Landon’s eyes, he had no idea who he was living with.

The neighbours who seem to be up to something are also rather odd, and it’s only towards the end that things start to fall into place and their role is explained.

*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: Remember Me? – Amanda Rigby

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A perfect life…
Paul Henderson leads a normal life. A deputy headteacher at a good school, a loving relationship with girlfriend Jenna, and a baby on the way. Everything seems perfect.
A shocking message…
Until Paul receives a message from his ex-fiance Nicole. Beautiful, ambitious and fierce, Nicole is everything Jenna is not. And now it seems Nicole is back, and she has a score to settle with Paul…
A deadly secret.
But Paul can’t understand how Nicole is back. Because he’s pretty sure he killed her with his own bare hands….
Which means, someone else knows the truth about what happened that night. And they’ll stop at nothing to make Paul pay…
A brand new psychological thriller that will keep you guessing till the end! Perfect for fans of Sue Watson, Nina Manning, Shalini Boland.
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Amanda Rigby is the nom de plume of the writing partnership between Amanda Ashby and Sally Rigby. Both authors live in New Zealand, have been friends for eighteen years, and agree about everything (except musicals). They decided to collaborate on a psychological thriller which they then entered into a competition, run by Boldwood, which they won!

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My thoughts: this was interesting, Paul has a lot of secrets, a lot of issues that he’s buried and that includes his former fianceè, Nicole, who he thinks he killed and buried in the woods. His current relationship is going really well, and I felt really sorry for Jenna, who is completely innocent in all of this and finds it very distressing when she starts receiving messages from Nicole.

I couldn’t see who it could be behind all of this if Paul’s memory was working ok, but since it wasn’t, I thought it could be Nicole. I didn’t see the twists coming at all. The way everyone involved is manipulated and tricked without her ever putting in an appearance exposes the problem with relying on technology so much.

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