blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Mother of the Bride – Samantha Hayes

My mother is obsessed with every detail of my wedding – controlling my dress, my ring, my happiness. But when the day finally comes, will she really let me go? Last year, my sister’s fiancé was murdered on his wedding day. And I found my mother’s corsage next to his body…

I’m beaming as I walk down the aisle, but my smile masks a prickling fear, even though this is supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

My husband-to-be, Owen, is everything to me, with his sandy hair and sparkling blue eyes. He keeps telling me it will all be fine. I pray he’s right as I slip a gold band onto his finger with trembling hands.

Please let me be wrong about what my mother did. Please let Owen be safe.

But when the priest asks if anyone objects, I turn to look at my mother. Her eyes are icy beneath the brim of her hat, and she’s staring right at me.

Is my husband’s life in danger? Or is it mine…?

A page-turning, addictive psychological thriller from an Amazon no. 1 bestseller with twists that will have your head spinning until the very end. Fans of The Housemaid, The Family Upstairs and The Perfect Marriage will be absolutely gripped!

Amazon

Audio UK Audio US  🎧 listen to a sample here

Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.

When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.

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My thoughts: Moving back home with her loving fiancè, to live with her impossible, manipulative mother, who might be a murderer, Lizzie and Owen are determined to make the best of a bad situation. Even if Lizzie’s mother insists on organising their wedding herself.

Lizzie harbours plenty of suspicions about her mother, especially as she never really knew what was going on in her parents’ life, her dad’s currently in a psychiatric hospital, her sister avoids their mother and now she’s completely paranoid.

But she thinks she’s right to be. There are a lot of questions about her mum, why she left her job so abruptly, blaming Lizzie, whether she was involved in the tragic death of sister Shelley’s fiancè Rafe on their wedding day a year before, and more.

As she starts to dig into her mother’s history, asking her dad some questions too, and the police are asking a few questions about Rafe’s death again, perhaps she’ll finally get some answers, but it isn’t until her wedding day that the truth will all be revealed…

If you like complicated domestic thrillers, where the characters aren’t asking the right questions and a very dysfunctional family, who could all do with some communication lessons and probably therapy, a lot of secrets and tragedy, then you’ll enjoy this, with its twists and misdirection.

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

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Blog Tour: The General – Israh Azizi

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We are thrilled to share the second epic installment in the Heroes of the Empire series, The General by Israh Azizi!

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The General (Heroes of the Empire Book 2)

Publication Date: November 2023

Genre: YA Fantasy/ Epic Fantasy

THE EMPIRE IS CRUMBLING, AND THE FATE OF A KINGDOM RESTS IN THEIR HANDS.

Mordon dedicated his life to his father; his only dream was to prove himself worthy of Verin’s general. But with the ruthless Tariqin attack comes a brutal awakening. Captured by enemy forces and dragged into a war camp full of the people he was trained to kill, his hopes of proving himself worthy are dashed to pieces. When the enemy offers him a chance for a grand future, he’s faced with a test that stretches him beyond his limits.

Coralie’s burden has never been heavier. After the Dark Lord Prolus’s recent assault and her uncle’s declining health, it is up to her to keep her kingdom together. The inevitable return of the Tariqin army lurks at their doorstep and her time is running short. Coralie turns to the newest residents of Verintown for assistance. Branded traitors and hated by many in the castle, they may very well be her downfall. Using their pledge for change in her favor, she tasks them with a mission most would consider a death sentence.

Two determined warriors separated by a river of blood. Mordon must risk everything to become the man he yearns to be, and Coralie must fight to become the queen she was born to be.

GET IT HERE

About the Author

Israh Azizi resides in the land of ten thousand lakes with her family and five cats. Since she was a little girl she has been a lover of words and fanciful tales. It was her dream to one day share a story of her own with the world. With sheer determination, lots of love, and a decent amount of caffeine, she managed to make that dream come true. Besides reading and writing, she has a dizzying number of hobbies, some of which include bossing around her younger siblings, experimenting with new baking recipes, and playing board games with her family and close friends. When life’s plot twists don’t cross her path and her fingers aren’t dancing across the keyboard building a fantastical adventure, she can usually be found in a quiet corner with a good book and a steaming cup of coffee.

Israh Azizi

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Blog Tour: In The Lives of Puppets – TJ Klune

In a small home, built into the branches of a tree, live a human named Victor and
three robots. These are a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, a small vacuum
desperate for love and attention, and a fatherly inventor-android named Giovanni
Lawson. Together they’re a family, hidden and safe.
Then Vic salvages an unfamiliar android labelled ‘HAP’. He learns that Hap and Gio
share a dark past, where they hunted humans. And Hap unwittingly gives away Gio’s location. Before they know it, robots from Gio’s former life arrive – to capture and return the android to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams.
The rest of the unconventional family must travel across an unforgiving and
otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommissioning. Or worse, reprogramming.
Along the way, Vic must decide if he can handle his feelings for Hap – even if they
come with strings attached.

Inspired by Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio, In the Lives of Puppets
is a masterful standalone fantasy adventure from the author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.

Special Paperback Feature: This paperback edition includes the beautifully poignant
short story ‘Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!’ set in the extraordinary world of In the Lives of
Puppets.

TJ Klune is the New York Times and USA
Today bestselling, Lambda Literary Award winning author of Under the Whispering Door, The House in the Cerulean Sea, The
Extraordinaries, Wolfsong and more. Being queer himself, TJ believes it’s important – now more than ever – to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.

My thoughts: this was a slow burn read for me, it took a while to understand the setting and the situation the characters were in. But once I started to understand the life Vic, his friends Nurse Ratched and Rambo (who I loved, if you’re a Wall-E fan, Rambo is Wall-E with a voice) were living in their forest home with Vic’s dad Gio, it’s an enchanting story inspired by Pinocchio, The Wizard of Oz, Top Hat (although my favourite Fred & Ginger film is The Gay Divorcee – it’s pure dancing silliness) and magic. Found family is a huge theme too, as that’s who Vic and Co are, especially when they add Hap to the mix.

After the Authority take Gio away, Vic and his family travel to the City of Electric Dreams to rescue him, and maybe learn a bit about Hap too. They’re kidnapped by the Coachman, who actually isn’t too awful, then have to sneak into the city and find the Blue Fairy.

Much like the original Pinocchio story, this isn’t for children. Bits of it were creepy and scary, and the Blue Fairy is more monstrous than fae.

But it’s message of love, hope and family is strong and together the robots and their boy are able to win against impossible odds and escape to make a new home in the belly of a whale.

Also I need more Nurse Ratched and Rambo stories, I loved them so much, Rambo is the bravest little vacuum cleaner ever and Nurse Ratched is terrifying for all the right reasons – who said robots can’t love to your entrails? They bring so much humour and lightness, much better than Jiminy Cricket.

The short story in the paperback edition – Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! was, if anything, more traumatic and sad. I don’t think the robot utopia is very nice, thank you. Maybe read something cute and fluffy after reading In The Lives of Puppets to recover. But do read it.

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

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Book Blitz: A Sword of Shadow and Deceit – Lucy Smoke

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Yay! A Sword of Shadow and Deceit is now available and you need this book in your life!

ASOSAD

A Sword of Shadow and Deceit (Mortal Gods #1)

Publication Date: March 21, 2024

Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance/ Why Choose

🖤Dark Fantasy Romance

🗡️Assassin FMC

☠️Anti-Hero

🚫Forbidden Existence

❤️Enemies-to-Lovers

🔥Why Choose

Desperation makes warriors of captives.

The Gods split the skies and rained down tyranny upon the mortal realm long ago. Ever since then, the only thing worse than being human is being of Divine Blood.

For someone like me—an undocumented God child, indebted to the Underworld Assassination Guild—that means only one thing: A life in the shadows.

Or so it should have been … until Mortal Gods Academy. Until them.

The Darkhaven Brothers are truly the worst of all the Gods’ spawn. Arrogant. Wicked. Violent.

To them, I’m nothing more than a human plaything meant for torment. For me … they’re the path and the key to my freedom.

But if any of them find out who I am, what I am … even the shadows won’t be able to save me.

*Please note this is a DARK Fantasy Romance with themes of a dark nature, death of loved ones, and other various themes that may be triggering. Please check trigger warnings and read responsibly*

GET IT HERE

About the Author

Lucy Smoke, also known as Lucinda Dark for her fantasy works, has a master’s degree in English and is a self-proclaimed creative chihuahua. She enjoys feeding her wanderlust, cover addiction, as well as her face, and truly hopes people will stop giving her bath bombs as gifts. Bath’s get cold too fast and it’s just not as wonderful as the commercials make it out to be when the tub isn’t a jacuzzi.

When she’s not on a never-ending quest to find the perfect milkshake, she lives and works in the southern United States with her beloved fur-baby, Hiro, and her family and friends.

Lucy Smoke/ Lucinda Dark

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Blog Tour: Kookaburras, Cuppas and Kangaroos – S. Bavey


Fueled by her spirit for adventure and with her £10.00 ticket in hand, Elizabeth Isle leaves 1960s England, determined to see it all, not just Australia and New Zealand, but as much as she can on the
way, too. She surrenders her passport to the Australian government and must find work to support herself on the other side of the world from her family and friends. There can be no going back for two years.

Join this intrepid young woman on the adventure of her lifetime. Share her amazing experiences, discover what exotic animals await, get travel tips and meet her new friends through her letters home and over plenty of cups of tea. Beware – the travel bug might prove infectious!

Purchase


Sue Bavey (writing as S. Bavey) a British mother of two teenagers, now living in Franklin, Massachusetts, having moved to the US in 2003. Writing as S. Bavey, she won a gold award from Readers’ Favorite for her grandfather’s biography: Lucky Jack (1894 – 2000), which she wrote during
COVID lockdown. She also has a number of non-fiction stories published in various anthologies.
Kookaburras, Cuppas & Kangaroos is the story of her late mother’s emigration from Yorkshire to Australia in 1960 for three years, told via airmail letters and travel diary entries.
A free prequel to Kookaburras, Cuppas & Kangaroos”, called “A Yorkshire Lass: The Early Years” is available for free download from http://www.suebavey.com.

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My thoughts: compiled from letters and diary entries her mother wrote while living and travelling in Australia as a Ten Pound Pom in the 1960s, Sue Bavey has given us a real treat. Her mother, Liz, had a wonderful time exploring Australia and New Zealand as a young woman.

She takes on various jobs to fund her trip, making friends and visiting relatives, exploring the landscape by train, boat and car, having lots of adventures and documenting it all in photos and letters home to her parents and sister.

I really enjoyed this adventurous young woman’s time Down Under, in a place I’ve never been and probably won’t go (Australia seems to want to kill you via its wildlife, weather and landscape – I don’t think we’d get on) at a time I didn’t experience (far too young).

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

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Blog Tour: City on Fire – Graham Bartlett

After losing her sister to an overdose, Chief Superintendent Jo Howe is desperate to tackle the world of drugs that consumes the shadowy backstreets of Brighton. Operation Eradicate is her response but not everyone sees it as a positive development.

For self-made millionaire Sir Ben Parsons it is a threat to his business – his colossal empire relies on addicts who survive on Respite Pharmaceuticals’ substitute drugs. With connections in the highest levels of government, media and organised crime, Parsons unleashes a brutal counterattack on Howe.

How will she survive being caught in the line of fire?

Graham Bartlett was the chief superintendent of Brighton and Hove police. His first non-fiction book, Death Comes Knocking, was a Sunday Times bestseller, co-written with Peter James. He has since published Bad for Good and Force of Hate starring Chief Superintendent Jo Howe. Bartlett is also a crime writing advisor helping scores of authors and TV writers inject authenticity into their work.

My thoughts: Brighton is in the grip of a drugs epidemic and Chief Super Jo Howe has devised a revolutionary plan to save the users and get them into treatment and get the dealers into prison. But there are those who oppose her scheme and will do anything to stop it.

Inspired by his job as the real life Chief Superintendent of Brighton and Hove, Graham Bartlett lifts the lid on the darker side of the Sussex seaside. This is an action packed, shocking and totally gripping police procedural thriller.

Jo’s whole life teeters at breaking point and the police force is falling apart around her as her enemies dismantle the services and go after officers and their families in order to put a stop to Operation Eradicate and claw back their money and control. 

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

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Blog Tour: Severance of the Sorcerer – Kate Gateley

The Lost Wells Trilogy is complete!
We’re touring Severance of the Sorcerer and now you can read all 3 books without waiting!
Severance of the Sorcerer (Lost. Wells Trilogy #3)
Publication Date: March 19, 2024

Amazon

And head over to Instagram to enter a giveaway

Genre: Epic Fantasy/Fantasy
A spreading darkness, a final prophecy, and one last chance to live … or die.

In his desperate bid to find answers of his own, Cassius Longinus—the ancient Child of Rome—released the killing darkness upon the world. A betrayal by Julia and Dom’s strongest ally and dearest friend, Ronan—who falls into Cassius’ ranks and advances the Sorcerer’s gruesome experiments—leaves the future looking more uncertain than ever for the Sovereign and the World Ruler.
Now on the run and isolated from their tight group of loyal allies, Julia and Dom must somehow pick up the pieces of their shattered trust, reconnect with their remaining friends, and together work to unravel the mysteries of the Otherworld’s most recent and worrisome portent—all while searching for a new path to end the darkness.

About the Author
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.

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Blog Tour: Battle Scars – JJ Asher

BattleScars copy (2)

We’re celebrating the release of Battle Scars by JJ Asher. Read on for more details!

Battle Scars Ecover - Final new author name

Battle Scars (British Invasion #1)

Genre: Dark Romance

Publication Date: March 18, 2024

🖤Enemies to lovers

🖤Forced proximity

🖤Slow burn

🖤Found family

🖤Hurt/comfort

🖤Grumpy/grumpier

🖤Mental health rep

🖤Possessive MMC who will k1ll for his girl

No one’s perfect, not even me. Hell, my closet’s so full of skeletons the bones are spilling out. But have your ghosts ever driven you to the other side of the world to seek refuge amongst faces no one can be bothered remembering?

Mine did, because I craved the anonymity.

I needed to lose my name.

To forget…

About my parents, the trial, the paparazzi at my door—

Then she came along.

A cryptic puzzle, a tempest of chaos. As beguiling as she is unsettling.

She almost stabs me, knocks me out—then kisses me, igniting a fire I’d almost given up hope of rekindling.

With whispers of a past as dark as the scars that litter her body, I’m left trying to cling to the last of my sanity as hers falls apart at my feet.

KINKS:

– Biting- Blood play

– Breath play

– Five finger necklace- Degradation

– Humiliation- Dirty talk- Dominant male / submissive female- DubCon- Dumbification- Praise- Size kink- Spanking

– Worshiping of a flawed body

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Sexual assault (on and off page)- Discussions of kidnapping- Forced captivity- Descriptions of torture and maiming- Emotional abuse- Self harm- Alcohol abuse- Discussions of mental health related medication- Excessive foul language- Homophobic slurs- Familial betrayal- DubCon- Intentional self mutilation- MMC is with another female during the slow burn phase- Thoughts of suicide- Violence- Blood play- Intentional infliction of pain- Choking / Spiting / Slapping / Intentionally gagging- PTSD- Anxiety

GET IT HERE

About the Author

If you could monetize staying in your pyjamas all day, Jordan would have been a millionaire years ago. A professional procrastinator masquerading as an adult, when she’s not eagerly awaiting her ult k-pop groups latest comeback, you can find her typing away at her laptop with her scruffy fifteen-year-old mutt, Basil, by her side.

JJ Asher

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Blog Tour: The Dubrovnik Book Club – Eva Glyn


In a tiny bookshop in Dubrovnik’s historic Old Town, a book club begins…


Newly arrived on the sun-drenched shores of Croatia, Claire Thomson’s life is about to change forever when she starts working at a local bookshop. With her cousin Vedran, employee Luna and Karmela, a professor, they form an unlikely book club.
But when their first book club pick – an engrossing cosy crime – inspires them to embark upon an investigation that is close to the group’s heart, they quickly learn the value of keeping their new-found friends close as lives and stories begin to entwine…

Purchase Harper Collins UK Harper Collins US 

Giveaway to Win a paperback copy of The Dubrovnik Book Club (Open INT) a Rafflecopter giveaway


Eva Glyn fell in love with Croatia during her first holiday there in 2019; the incredible scenery, the delicious food, the country’s dramatic twentieth century history all played their part, but most of all
it was the friendliness of the people.
One of these was tour director Darko Barisic, who told an incredible story about growing up in underground shelters during the war in the 1990s, and she knew she had to write a book around his experiences. This became her first Croatian novel, The Olive Grove, and she and Darko have become good friends and he continues to advise her on all aspects of Croatia.
Eva delves into Croatian history and everyday life for her inspiration, and visits the country as often as she can, having uncovered so many stories by talking to local people. Travel in general is her
passion, followed closely by food and wine, which also find their way between her pages.
Although Welsh by birth she now lives in Cornwall with the man she met and fell in love with almost thirty years ago. She also writes as Jane Cable.

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My thoughts: this was a really lovely read, the book club Claire starts in a Dubrovnik bookshop brings a disparate group together and their book choices, friendship and the magic of the bookshop slowly bring them together and allow old wounds to heal and new beginnings to flourish.

Claire has moved to Croatia to stay with her grandmother Fran and her husband, who is slowly succumbing to dementia. She had covid and is still anxious and afraid of crowds and getting sick again. 

The bookshop offers her a chance to start rebuilding her life, make some new friends and live again. She bonds with Luna, her new colleague, who is also trying to build a new life – she’s gay and not out, but she wants to be, even though she’s scared of how her parents will react.

I loved how each member of the book club, even the ones who don’t read the books, get more than they expected from being with each other, and opening up to their friends, dealing with their pasts and working together to save the bookshop when it’s threatened with having to close.

Moving, enjoyable and with a blend of genres, this was a really interesting and gently heartwarming read.

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will
not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random
Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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

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Blog Tour: The Last Resort – T.J. Emerson


The unputdownable new thriller from the bestselling author of The Perfect Holiday, which will have fans of Lucy Clarke and T M Logan gripped.

As soon as you first see the house, a former hotel in a picturesque enclave of the Cypriot hills, you know it’s the perfect home for you – with breath-taking views, a refreshing pool, and peace and quiet, away from the rest of the world. A private resort in paradise. A place to recover and grow.
But paradise isn’t cheap, and as the debts mount, you could lose everything you’ve worked so hard for.
Until someone makes you an offer: to keep your home, all you have to do is take a life.
But you could never do that… could you?
You’d die to stay here. But would you kill to?

Purchase


Tracey lives in Scotland and writes psychological thrillers. Her short stories have been widely published in anthologies and literary magazines, and her feature writing has appeared in Stella magazine, Woman’s Own and The Sydney Morning Herald. Her first psychological thriller for
Boldwood, The Perfect Holiday, was published in April 2022 and was an Amazon bestseller.

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My thoughts: this is why I am suspicious of any of these wellbeing places that seem a bit too cult-like. There’s always way too much secret tension and no one is completely immune to the lure of the outside world.

When Sofia returns to the place her mother died, now a hugely wealthy and dangerous young woman, she’s there for revenge. She’s not coming back to see the people she once knew but offer them a terrible proposition. If they kill their leader, Quinn, she will give them three million euros and enable them to turn the dilapidated villa into a resort and make it a success.

But is this a price too far? Is murder too much, or will someone do anything for the right place. As Sofia’s offer forces the small cracks between the residents to widen and grow, Quinn starts to unravel and secrets come to light. Can this tiny community stay together or will the money drive them apart?

Tense, creepy and sinister, moving between narrators and timelines, this is a clever and gripping thriller set in the Cyprus hills.

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