Category: blog tour

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Growing Season – Seni Glaister*

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After a life-saving operation leaves Sam unable to have children, could a rural cottage be the fresh start she needs? Or is she running away from her problems?

For her husband Danny, this was never part of the plan. He likes predictability. The countryside is just a bit, well – wild. But he wants Sam to be happy, even if he isn’t.

If only Danny could tell Sam what is going on in his head. If only he knew what was really going on in hers. If only they knew that they’re equally afraid of what happens next.

Can the couple find a way to face the future together, or have they already grown too far apart?

Growing Season is a poignant and uplifting novel about how love and nature sometimes need a helping hand.

My thoughts:

A mediation on growth, fear, letting go of the past and nature, this novel features two women, Sam and Diana, both wrestling with letting go of who they were and embracing who they are now.

As well as their growth, there is literal growth as Sam turns her neat lawn into a wild flower meadow and Diana, who lives in the woods, records in her notebooks the growth of the woodland plants and her own planting.

Sam has had a difficult time dealing with cancer and the loss of her ability to have children, moving house to leave some things behind her, her husband Danny, who struggles with a number of phobias and fictional allergies, also needs to change and grow.

All three characters find that their proximity to nature alters them and helps them move forward. *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: Anyone for Edmund? – Simon Edge*

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They dug up his bones. They didn’t know he had a mind of his own.

Under tennis courts in the ruins of a great abbey, archaeologists find the remains of St Edmund, once venerated as England’s patron saint, but lost for half a millennium.

Culture Secretary Marina Spencer, adored by those who have never met her, scents an opportunity. She promotes Edmund as a new patron saint for the United Kingdom, playing up his Scottish, Welsh and Irish credentials. Unfortunately these are pure fiction, invented by Mark Price, her downtrodden aide, in a moment of panic.

The only person who can see through the deception is Mark’s cousin Hannah, a member of the dig team. Will she blow the whistle or help him out? And what of St Edmund himself, watching through the prism of a very different age?

Splicing ancient and modern as he did in The Hopkins Conundrum and A Right Royal Face-Off, Simon Edge pokes fun at Westminster culture and celebrates the cult of a medieval saint in another beguiling and utterly original comedy.

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Simon Edge was born in Chester and read philosophy at Cambridge University.

He was editor of the pioneering London paper Capital Gay before becoming a gossip columnist on the Evening Standard and then a feature writer on the Daily Express, where he was also a theatre critic for many years. He has an MA in Creative Writing from City University, London, where he also taught literary criticism.

He is the author of three previous novels: The Hopkins Conundrum, which was longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award, The Hurtle of Hell and A Right Royal Face-Off.

He lives in Suffolk.

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My thoughts:

This is very funny, a bit silly and a lot entertaining. Former patron saint, Saxon King, and the reason Bury St Edmunds is called that, St Edmund’s remains are found in near-future Britain, under the remains of the Abbey that bears his name.

Restored to his rightful place in the church, he suddenly finds himself the centre of attention, despite having been dead for about a thousand years.

Culture Secretary Marina Spencer, a ghastly woman ( the bit about her eyebrows made me laugh) posits him as the patron saint of the UK, her minions do some very sloppy research, chaos and ancient Saint powers ensue.

I am interested in medieval history, and that bit historians don’t like calling the Dark Ages (historical Twitter gets very upset) as well. We don’t know a huge amount about it, record keeping being done mainly by a few monks, and people like Edmund sort of don’t have very complete biographies.

Which is where the mischief lies – a few fabrications and the fact most people are too lazy to check the sources, mean you can say pretty much anything, as Mark does, but normally there are no real consequences.

This was a very entertaining read, and a snapshot of post-Brexit Britain that doesn’t sound too horrifying, just a bit nuts. I also really liked the monk, Brother Bernard, he was good.

*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: Penance – Edward Daniel Hunt*

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PENANCE is the first book in a series of crime novels featuring retired Boston homicide detective John Gilfillan. This story is about the race to find Lori Doyle. Ten years ago, Lori, as a teenager, witnessed a killing. Today, she has established a new life for herself and her daughter in Maine under an alias. Unbeknownst to her, all that’s about to change, as some are seeking her out to do her harm and some to do her good. A page-turner to keep you in suspense until the end.

Edward Daniel Hunt’s short stories have appeared in the Scarlett Leaf Review, Down in the Dirt Magazine and Adelaide Literary Magazine. “Hit Men Have Feelings Too” was named a finalist in Adelaide Magazine’s 2018 Literary Award Contest for Best Short Story. He lives in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, within walking distance of the ocean.

My thoughts:

This was an interesting book that began as a thriller but became more about people and their relationships, their lives.

Tommy is out of prison and looking for his ex-wife, the only witness to a murder he was involved in, she, Lori, has moved away and rebuilt her life, finding new family and friends in the process.

Retired cop turned PI Gilfillan is hired to find her too, to see if she can help solve the long cold case of a murdered doctor. He is also rebuilding his life post-retirement, in his beach front home in Maine.

Both men follow tenuous leads from Lori’s family, to friends and acquaintances, trying to find her before anyone else does.

Lori has been lucky, becoming the lodger of an elderly widow, who treats her and her young daughter, more like family and building a new relationship with a colleague at the diner she waitresses in. She knows that her ex-husband will be looking for her however.

The narrative weaves between the protagonists, showing their lives and loves against the backdrop of the search for Lori.

The ending is left open, presumably for a sequel, but with the strong suggestion that some of Lori’s fears may be laid to rest.

*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: CWA Vintage Crime Anthology – edited by Martin Edwards*

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Vintage Crimes will be a CWA anthology with a difference, celebrating members’ work over the years.

The book will gather stories from the mid1950s until the twenty-first century by great names of the past, great names of the present together with a few hidden treasures by less familiar writers.

The first CWA anthology, Butcher’s Dozen, appeared in 1956, and was co-edited by Julian Symons, Michael Gilbert, and Josephine Bell. The anthology has been edited by Martin Edwards since 1996, and has yielded many awardwinning and nominated stories in the UK and overseas.

This new edition includes an array of incredible and award-winning authors: Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Liza Cody, Mat Coward, John Dickson Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Liza Cody, Mat Coward, John Dickson Carr, Marjorie Eccles, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Anthea Fraser, Carr, Marjorie Eccles, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Anthea Fraser, Celia Fremlin, Frances Fyfield, Michael Gilbert, Paula Gosling, Celia Fremlin, Frances Fyfield, Michael Gilbert, Paula Gosling, Lesley Grant-Adamson, HRF Keating, Bill Knox, Peter Lovesey, Mick Lesley Grant-Adamson, HRF Keating, Bill Knox, Peter Lovesey, Mick Herron, Michael Z. Lewin, Susan Moody, Julian Symons Herron, Michael Z. Lewin, Susan Moody, Julian Symons and Andrew Taylor Taylor.

Martin Edwards (Editor) is the author of eighteen novels, including the Lake District Mysteries, and the Harry Devlin series. His ground-breaking genre study The Golden Age of Murder has won the Edgar, Agatha, and H.R.F. Keating awards.

He has edited twenty eight crime anthologies, has won the CWA Short Story Dagger and the CWA Margery A lingham Prize, and is series consultant for the British Library’s Crime Classics. In 2015, he was elected eighth President of the Detection Club, an office previously held by G.K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers.

The CWA CWA (Crime Writers’ Association) was founded in 1953 by John Creasey, and organises the prestigious CWA Dagger Awards which celebrate the best in crime writing. The CWA is a pro-active, thriving and ever-expanding community of writers based in the UK but with a reach that extends worldwide.

My thoughts:

This was an excellent collection of crime stories spanning the 1950s until close to the present day.

Short stories are often where crime writers’ talents shine, so many of crime fiction’s greats wrote short stories, which pack the crime, the solving and the solution in neat, clever parcels. Perfect for dipping in and out of.

And the joy of all that genius is contained in the this volume. The stories are clever, cunning and shrewd, much like the detectives solving them.

I’ve read several of the authors included, and it’s interesting to see the differences and similarities between their short stories and longform work. The stories included are all very enjoyable and easily read as standalone works.

The CWA does a lot of work to not only promote living writers but ensure that older stories are not lost and can be enjoyed by readers long after they were first published.

*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 Last to Know – Jo Furniss*

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A family’s past pursues them like a shadow in this riveting and emotional novel of psychological suspense by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of All the Little Children.

American journalist Rose Kynaston has just relocated to the childhood home of her husband, Dylan, in the English village of his youth. There’s a lot for Rose to get used to in Hurtwood. Like the family’s crumbling mansion, inhabited by Dylan’s reclusive mother, and the treacherous hill it sits upon, a place of both sinister folklore and present dangers.

Then there are the unwelcoming villagers, who only whisper the name Kynaston—like some dreadful secret, a curse. Everyone knows what happened at Hurtwood House twenty years ago. Everyone except Rose. And now that Dylan is back, so are rumors about his past.

When an archaeological dig unearths human remains on the hill, local police sergeant Ellie Trevelyan vows to solve a cold case that has cast a chill over Hurtwood for decades.

As Ellie works to separate rumor from fact, Rose must fight to clear the name of the man she loves. But how can Rose keep her family safe if she is the last to know the truth?

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After spending a decade as a broadcast journalist for the BBC, Jo Furniss gave up the glamour of night shifts to become a freelance writer and serial expatriate. Originally from the United Kingdom, she spent seven years in Singapore and also lived in Switzerland and Cameroon.

As a journalist, Jo worked for numerous online outlets and magazines, including Monocle and the Economist. She has edited books for a Nobel laureate and the palace of the Sultan of Brunei. She has a Distinction in MA Professional Writing from Falmouth University.
Jo’s debut novel, All the Little Children, was an Amazon Charts bestseller.
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My thoughts:

This was a really interesting and enjoyable read, dealing with memory, guilt and rumour.

Rose uncovers a web of intrigue surrounding a suspicious death at her in-laws’ home and terrible rumours of child abuse. Determined to uncover the truth and free her family from these past tragedies she applies her journalistic skills to uncovering the truth.

This was really gripping, full of red herrings and muddled recollections – having two of the characters suffering from dementia and not being able to fully differentiate the past and the present means both Rose and sergeant Ellie Trevelyan miss vital clues and have to work harder to solve the series of deaths uncovered.

*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: Sight Unseen – Sandra Ireland*

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1648. Alie Gowdie marries Richard Webster during a turbulent time in Scotland’s history. Charles I is about to lose his head, and little does Alie know that she too will meet a grisly end within the year.

2019. Sarah Sutherland is struggling to cope with the demands of her day job, caring for her elderly father and keeping tabs on her backpacking daughter. She wanted to be an archaeologist, but now in her forties, she is divorced, alone, and there seems to be no respite, no glimmer of excitement on the horizon. However, she does have a special affinity with the Kilgour Witch, Alie Gowdie, who lived in Sarah’s cottage until her execution in 1648, and Sarah likes nothing better than to retreat into a world of sorcery, spells and religious fanaticism.

Her stories delight tourists as she leads them along the cobbled streets of her home town, but what really lies behind the tale of Alie Gowdie, the Kilgour Witch? Can Sarah uncover the truth in order to right a centuries-old wrong? And what else might modern-day Kilgour be hiding, just out of sight?

However, she does have a special affinity with the Kilgour Witch, Alie Gowdie, who lived in Sarah’s cottage until her execution in 1648, and Sarah likes nothing better than to retreat into a world of sorcery, spells and religious fanaticism.

Her stories delight tourists as she leads them along the cobbled streets of her home town, but what really lies behind the tale of Alie Gowdie, the Kilgour Witch? Can Sarah uncover the truth in order to right a centuries-old wrong? And what else might modern-day Kilgour be hiding, just out of sight?

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Author Bio

Sandra Ireland was awarded a Carnegie-Cameron scholarship to study for an MLitt in Writing Practice and Study at the University of Dundee, graduating with a distinction in 2014. Her work has appeared in various publications and women’s magazines. She is the author of Beneath the Skin (2016), Bone Deep (2018) and The Unmaking of Ellie Rook (2019). She lives in Carnoustie, Scotland.

My thoughts:

This was a clever, engaging read, reflecting modern day events back to the 17th Century witch trials. Sarah and Grant are so enthralled with unravelling a centuries old tale they almost miss something right in front of their faces.

Sarah’s dad is seeing things, or is he? Slowly they unravel two terrible crimes, four hundred years apart.

With whispers of magic and mystery, this is a captivating story of relationships and righting wrongs.

*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: Little Falls – Elizabeth Lewes*

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She tried to forget the horrors of war–but her quiet hometown conceals a litany of new evils.

Sergeant Camille Waresch did everything she could to forget Iraq. She went home to Eastern Washington and got a quiet job. She connected with her daughter, Sophie, whom she had left as a baby. She got sober. But the ghosts of her past were never far behind.
While conducting a routine property tax inspection on an isolated ranch, Camille discovers a teenager’s tortured corpse hanging in a dilapidated outbuilding. In a flash, her combat-related PTSD resurges–and in her dreams, the hanging boy merges with a young soldier whose eerily similar death still haunts her. The case hits home when Sophie reveals that the victim was her ex-boyfriend–and as Camille investigates, she uncovers a tangled trail that leads to his jealous younger brother and her own daughter, wild, defiant, and ensnared.
The closer Camille gets to the truth, the closer she is driven to the edge. Her home is broken into. Her truck is blown up. Evidence and witnesses she remembers clearly are erased. And when Sophie disappears, Camille’s hunt for justice becomes a hunt for her child. At a remote compound where the terrifying truth is finally revealed, Camille has one last chance to save her daughter–and redeem her own shattered soul.

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Elizabeth Lewes is a U.S. Navy veteran who served during Operation Enduring Freedom as a linguist. A practicing attorney, she resides in Seattle with her family.

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My thoughts:

Camisole finds the tortured, murdered body of a teenager in a barn and sparks an investigation into local criminals that comes a little too close to home.

Suffering from PTSD and unsure how reliable her memory is, frustrated by the police’s glacial pace, she starts investigating herself, getting entangled in a web of very dangerous people, who do not want her nosing around.

Fast paced and with an unreliable narrator, this is a clever, intense thriller, with shocks and twists that throw Camille and the reader curveballs as she ricochets around Little Falls.

*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: Boy Queen – George Lester*

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Fall wig first into a world of big hair, high heels and even higher stakes in George Lester’s debut novel Boy Queen.

Life’s a drag until you try . . .

Robin Cooper’s life is falling apart.

While his friends prepare to head off to University, Robin is looking at a pile of rejection letters from drama schools up and down the country, and facing a future without the people he loves the most. Everything seems like it’s ending, and Robin is scrabbling to find his feet.

Unsure about what to do next and whether he has the talent to follow his dreams, he and his best friends go and drown their sorrows at a local drag show, where Robin realizes there might be a different, more sequinned path for him . . .

With a mother who won’t stop talking, a boyfriend who won’t acknowledge him and a best friend who is dying to cover him in glitter make up, there’s only one thing for Robin to do: bring it to the runway.

My thoughts:

Oh my wigs and lashes, this was such a fun read, I loved it. Written by a real life drag queen, aka That Gurrrl, this is such a delight.

Robin is out and surrounded by fantastic friends and a loving mum, a committed Drag Race fan, a birthday night out at a local drag night lights a spark in him and off he goes to discover his inner diva and drag up his life.

As a lifelong theatre kid and glitter aficionado who gets make up tips from drag queens at Pride, this book made my queer little heart sing. It’s so much fun and real and I just loved it.

My inner drag queen had her heels on and was dancing a boogie when Robin finally took the stage and it just ticked so many boxes for me.

Drag has become more and more mainstream over the last few years and the more positive stories about LGBTQ+ lives that get published the better.


*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: F.O.X.E.S – M.A. Bennett*

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Greer has just recovered from her terrifying experience during the STAGS play. Was she really put on trial by the sinister Dark Order of the Grand Stag? Or was it purely her overheated imagination? The imprint of an ‘M’ for murderer that has appeared on her thumb, though, is puzzling but incomplete evidence . . .

Meanwhile Ty is staying on at Longcross Manor and Greer, Nel and Shafeen are increasingly worried for her safety. When Ty sends a cryptic message directing them to Cumberland Place, the de Warlencourts’ palatial home in London, they decide to risk a visit. There they meet Henry’s grieving parents, Rollo and Caro. Rollo is arrogant, entitled and not overly grieving. Caro, however, while superficially charming, is clearly pushed to the brink of madness by Henry’s death, insisting that Henry is still alive. Which is clearly impossible . . . but Greer has her own troubling doubts about Henry’s death which make it hard to dismiss Caro completely . . .

Can Greer, Shafeen and Nel work out what Rollo de Warlencourt is planning for his deadly Boxing Day Hunt at Longcross in time to save Ty – who has now gone silent? Or will history horribly repeat itself?

A thrilling, richly complex instalment in the STAGS series.

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M. A. BENNETT is a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she specialised in the study of Shakespeare’s plays as a historical source. Her first YA novel, S.T.A.G.S., was published in 2017 and was shortlisted for the YA BOOK PRIZE 2018, winning various awards such as the Warwickshire Secondary Book Award 2019 and the Sussex Coast Schools Amazing Book Award 2019, both voted by students, and won the Great Reads ‘Most Read’ 2018 Senior Award.

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My thoughts:

You really should read S.T.A.G.S and D.O.G.S first to get you up to speed on what Greer, Nel and Shafeen are dealing with in F.O.X.E.S but it isn’t essential.

After almost dying several times at the hands of some of their classmates and the nasty Order of the Stag, you’d think these three would have transferred to somewhere less murderous and called in the police, social services and OFSTED, but no, they’re going to try to bring down the Order with the help of Ty, and a few other new acquaintances along the way.

Honestly, I found myself veering between horror and wondering exactly how dumb Greer actually is. She thinks mostly in terrible films, seems to forget the modern world exists, which I know is the point of the awful school they’re at, and wander around with her head in the clouds.

Thankfully Nel and Shafeen are a bit more with it, Nel is easily my favourite character.

The book left me with more questions than answers, no doubt some will be explained in the next book. I read Ben Jonson at uni, but he didn’t seem nearly as interesting as in these books, so I’m off to research his connections to the Gunpowder Plot…

*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 Shadow on the Stage – Nichole Heydenburg*

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Jackson Birkman has the perfect life: the lead role on the popular detective show “Dispatching David,” millions of adoring fans, celebrity status, and a beautiful girlfriend. After five seasons, “Dispatching David” has just been cancelled. With the final episode quickly approaching, Jackson is worried about more than just his future acting career. His once massive fortune is dwindling and his girlfriend Clara is pressuring him to propose.

When Jackson unexpectedly dies on the set of the TV show during filming, everyone speculates whether it was suicide or murder. Why would Jackson commit suicide? If it was a setup, who would want Jackson to die? And most importantly, what was the motive of the murderer? As the investigation continues, Officer Wilson inches closer to the truth, uncovering Jackson’s secrets. She begins to think no one really knew Jackson at all, but is determined to solve the case, no matter the cost.

As the investigation continues, Officer Wilson inches closer to the truth, uncovering Jackson’s secrets. She begins to think no one really knew Jackson at all, but is determined to solve the case, no matter the cost.

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Nichole Heydenburg earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English with an emphasis in writing and a minor in theatre from Adrian College in 2014. Her one act play “The Hidden Story” won a playwriting contest and was performed at her alma mater in 2015. She also had several poems published in “The Oxcart” literary magazine. Nichole has been working full-time as the Content Manager for a start-up company for 3 years. When she isn’t writing, Nichole enjoys going on adventures with her husband, reading, playing board games, and the occasional mimosa. “The Long Shadow on the Stage” is her first novel. She currently resides near Asheville, NC with her husband, Zed.

To stay up to date on news about her second novel, as well as read writing and self-publishing tips, subscribe to her monthly newsletter on her website.

My thoughts:

A twisted tale of love, friendship and fame. Edgar and Jackson have been friends all their lives, Jackson and Clara are engaged.

Jackson has secrets, could those secrets be what gets him killed?

Twisted and dark, this story weaves between narrators, showing you glimpses of the killer as well as the victim, his friends and the officer determined to solve the case.

The ending leaves enough hanging that the brave Officer Wilson could easily be on the case and tracking the killer into a second book. *I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.