Category: books

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Blog Tour: The Little Girl in the Wardrobe – C.J. Grayson

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The police receive a call.

‘Please help. He’s coming.’

The small voice is barely a whisper.

‘Who’s coming? Are you in danger?’

‘He has a knife. He killed her.’

The line goes dead.

Nine-year-old Anya crawls into a cupboard in her bedroom and calls the police again. The line connects as the bedroom door creaks open.

‘They’re here . . .’

A blood-curdling scream barrels down the phone, filling the earpiece of the operator.

For the second time, the lines goes dead.

Detectives Tanzy and Byrd are called to Anya’s home, a small, semi-detached property.

They’re hit by the familiar smell of death.

Something terrible happened here — and it’s up to Tanzy and Byrd to pull together the pieces of this terrifying puzzle.

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Chris was born in Darlington, North East of England. He loves spending time with his family which include his three sons. He enjoys walking on the beach, listening to music, going for the occasional run to keep fit, playing football, and coaching his son’s football team.

When he’s not at work and at home, he loves reading (crime), watching engineering and construction programs (he loves how things methodically fit together), likes to immerse himself in horror / supernatural films and series which make the hairs on his neck stand on end, satisfying his strange fixation for unusual escapism, and possesses a disturbing obsession with drinking far too much coffee to feed his writing habits.

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My thoughts: This had me hooked from the beginning, who was Anya and why was she so scared? And then when she’s not the only child in peril, but that little girl has vanished, and there’s more murders, plus there’s something weird going on at the rehab/spa place that is suspicious.

I like Tanzy and Byrd, I enjoyed their previous outings, they’re interesting characters, both with full personal lives that often take a back seat to their jobs. Which throws up other issues and they have to balance things. They’re also very good detectives, with the ability to spot the thing that the whole case could hinge on.

Good, solid crime writing, lots of twists and hold-your-breath moments.

*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: Live Like Legends – Allie Shante

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Completed Series!

Happy book birthday to author Allie Shante and congratulations on the release of Live Like Legends, the final book in the series!

Live Like Legends (Living Legend Book 3)

Publication Date: January 30, 2025

Genre: Fantasy Romance/ POC

🪽angels/demons
🪽found family
🪽a fight for Heaven’s Gate
🪽hurt/comfort
🪽library spice
🪽I’ll always find you
🪽mental illness rep

Sometimes the light we seek…finds you instead

After the events in Purgatory, Dani hasn’t quite felt the same. She knows the fight for her soul—or whatever there is inside of her— isn’t over. Dani would take the realms by storm if she had her way, but the angel that has her heart would rather keep her all to himself. Nicholas just wants to keep her safe, but when a certain entity from her past pays a visit, the fate of her newly found family hangs in the balance. Dani can only ask herself one question when the time to stand arrives: What happens if she’s not strong enough to keep darkness out of Heaven’s Gate?

A final fight for happiness

Nicholas thought finally having Dani and getting the answers he was promised would be enough, but when his father revealed much more truth than he would have liked, he decided living in ignorant bliss was enough. The darkness that looms in his mind has settled but keeping Dani close and his father at arm’s length may prove to resurface old wounds. When things take a turn for the worst and his happiness is threatened, he will have to put his pride aside to ask for help. Nicholas will learn that the power to fight and win comes from the one thing he was born out of: love.

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Blog Tour: Into Thin Air – Ørjan Karlsson, translated by Ian Giles

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When nineteen-year-old Iselin Hanssen disappears during a run in a popular hiking area in Bodø, Northern Norway, suspicion quickly falls on her boyfriend.

For investigator Jakob Weber, the case seems clear-cut, almost unexceptional, even though there is some suggestion that Iselin lived parts of her life beneath the radar of both family and friends.

But events take a dramatic turn when another woman disappears in similar circumstances – this time on the island of Røst, hundreds of miles off the Norwegian coast, in the wild ocean. Rumours that a killer is on the loose begin to spread, terrifying the local population and leading to wild conspiracies.

But then Jakob discovers that this isn’t the first time that young women have vanished without a trace in the region, and it becomes clear that someone is hiding something. And another murderous spree may have just begun…

Ørjan Karlsson (b. 1970) grew up in Bodø, in the far north of Norway. A sociologist by education, he received officer training in the army and has taken part in many missions overseas. He has worked at the Ministry of Defence and is now head of department in the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection. He has written a wide range of thrillers, sci-fi novels and crime fiction, and been shortlisted for or won numerous awards, with a number of his books currently in production for the screen. He lives in Nordland, where the Jakob Weber crime series is set, and Into Thin Air is the first book in his first detective/police procedural series.  

My thoughts: This was a really good, tense crime thriller, with lots of twists and shocking moments, totally gripping.

Set in northern Norway, where the midnight sun makes detective Noora unable to sleep, a young woman goes missing while out on a run. As the police start to investigate her disappearance, questioning her friends and on/off boyfriend, another woman goes missing, but on a small island. Is this the same culprit?

The team step up their investigation, looking for both missing women, and find it has happened before, some years ago. Was it the island’s odd duck doctor or someone else, easily overlooked by the community?

It’s a race against time, the longer the women are gone, the more likely it is they’ll end up dead. When even lead detective Jakob’s dog Garm gets involved, because dogs make excellent investigators, and they’re beginning to lose hope, finally the clues start to stack up and the team have their suspects. Or do they?

An excellent and exciting new voice in translated crime fiction, I cannot wait to read more.

*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 Baguette Murders – Anne Penketh

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Meet Pippa. She’s feisty, forty-something — and living her best life in the charming little town of Louennec, Brittany.

Not so long ago, she was a corporate career girl. Now she runs her own bakery — and goes home every night to her dishy gendarme boyfriend and a glass of Merlot.

But murder is just around the corner . . .

Pippa is out on her rounds, delivering delicious crusty bread to her most loyal customers. Her first stop is Derek’s remote gîte. Fitness instructor Derek sees carbs as the enemy. But even he can’t resist Pippa’s signature baguettes.

Pippa cycles to Derek’s door . . . only to discover, someone got there first.

Derek is dead! His body lies slumped across the piano, in a mess of blood and — to Pippa’s horror — breadcrumbs.

He’s been bludgeoned over the head with . . . a lethal stick of bread?

Just like that, Pippa finds the finger of suspicion pointing at her.

Can she follow the trail of breadcrumbs to uncover the true killer — before more of her friends and neighbours die?

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Anne Penketh is originally from Lancashire, England, and turned to fiction after a career as a foreign correspondent. After writing a series of police procedurals for Joffe books set in Norfolk, where her relatives live, she has now followed her heart to Brittany for some amateur sleuthing. Anne worked in France for many years and divides her time between London and Paris.

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My thoughts: I like this series set in Brittany in a town filled with a mix of locals and British ex-pats, where things can get a bit tense between the two. The Bretons don’t even really like people from other parts of France, so British people “taking over” drives a few of them a bit mad.

These issues flare up in different ways, and now someone is killing people with a baguette filled not with delicious dough but metal pipes! And Pippa, as a baker, is on the suspect list.

So she and her friend and fellow ex-pat Judith, start their own investigation. It’s enough to make Yann, her boyfriend (and police officer) say “Peeper!!” Which is the amusing way her says her name and always makes me giggle.

Taking in the interesting (and stereotypically French) way of conducting affairs while married, rivalries over  bread, complicated and messy relationships, and occasionally making me hanker for a proper French baguette (British ones are too big and too doughy), this is a fun, entertaining read and if you solve the crime before either Pippa or the police, get yourself a croissant!

*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: Tarnished Relics AJ Titter

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We have another great book recommendation for you. This one is a fantasy called Tarnished Relics by AJ Titter!

Tarnished Relics (A Children of Isteni Tale)

Tropes:

  • Prophecy
  • Chosen One
  • Justice v. Revenge
  • Fate v. Free Will

Justice is good. Revenge is power.

Amiir, one of the first born, seeks to dethrone his father Isteni, the creator. An ancient prophecy of Ouroby says there is a woman destined to bring Amiir victory. He has searched eons, waiting for a female seer born when the lorkiss and the swan are high in the night sky.

Attoria sees the future when she dreams. A rare gift in Halgrond, even rarer for a woman. When Attoria’s parents are cursed with a deadly illness, she is determined to get her revenge. But first, she needs to discover who is responsible.

As Attoria hunts for answers, she is pursued by zealots of Isteni that want to prevent the prophecy. And the only sure way to do that, is to kill her.

Is she the one Amiir has waited for? Can she evade those intent on stopping the prophecy? And what will be the cost for her revenge?

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Blog Tour: A Council of Dolls – Mona Susan Power

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The long-awaited, profoundly moving, and unforgettable new novel from PEN Award–winning Native American author Mona Susan Power, spanning three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women from the 19th century to the present day.

From the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people, to the bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools, A Council of Dolls is the story of three women, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried….

Sissy, born 1961: Sissy’s relationship with her beautiful and volatile mother is difficult, even dangerous, but her life is also filled with beautiful things, including a new Christmas present, a doll called Ethel. Ethel whispers advice and kindness in Sissy’s ear, and in one especially terrifying moment, maybe even saves Sissy’s life.

Lillian, born 1925: Born in her ancestral lands in a time of terrible change, Lillian clings to her sister, Blanche, and her doll, Mae. When the sisters are forced to attend an “Indian school” far from their home, Blanche refuses to be cowed by the school’s abusive nuns. But when tragedy strikes the sisters, the doll Mae finds her way to defend the girls.  

Cora, born 1888: Though she was born into the brutal legacy of the “Indian Wars,” Cora isn’t afraid of the white men who remove her to a school across the country to be “civilized.” When teachers burn her beloved buckskin and beaded doll Winona, Cora discovers that the spirit of Winona may not be entirely lost…

A modern masterpiece, A Council of Dolls is gorgeous, quietly devastating, and ultimately hopeful, shining a light on the echoing damage wrought by Indian boarding schools, and the historical massacres of Indigenous people. With stunning prose, Mona Susan Power weaves a spell of love and healing that comes alive on the page.

Mona Susan Power (Standing Rock Dakota, born 1961) is an Native American author based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her debut novel, The Grass Dancer (1994), received the 1995 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for Best First Fiction.

My thoughts: This was a fascinating and engaging read, being British, I know very little about the dark and tragic history of the Native American tribes, apart from that what has been done to them over the centuries is cruel and unnecessary. This book brings that terrible history to life through three generations of girls and their dolls.

Charting the racism, institutionalised brutality of the industrial schools and Catholic church, the insistence that they speak only English and reject their inheritance and birth right, becoming more like the white invaders who took their land and killed their people.

Somehow despite the violence and horror, these three young women survive, grow and thrive, clinging on to their identities as proud members of their tribe and family. Scanning over 100 years, these connected stories, told from first their perspective and then from that of their beloved dolls, who have been there through it all, weave a gentle magic, even in the midst of their darkest moments, there is a kind of beauty about the resilience and courage they show.

And it does get very dark, Power does not shy away from the effects the past has on the present, the mental illness, poverty, addiction issues, domestic violence and heartbreak, even murder, that her people have endured, as parts of this are based on members of her own family, are ever present.

It’s a powerful reminder that the past is always with us, we cannot out run or ignore it, the Dakota people have to live with it every day (as I’m sure many others do too) and it is only by confronting it and dealing with it, that you move beyond 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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Blog Tour: The Cavalier – Izrah Azizi

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We’re getting ready for the release of book 3 in the HOTE series by touring all the books in the series over the next few months. This month, we’re shining the spotlight on The Cavalier!

heroes of the empire book 1 - ebook

Heroes of the Empire: The Cavalier #1

Publication Date: November 22, 2022

Genre: YA Fantasy

“For Fans of An Ember in the Ashes”

Tropes:

Multiple POV, Morally Gray MCs, Chosen One, Royal Intrigue, Warrior Training Academy, Hidden Powers, Mistaken Identity, Doppelgängers, Slow Burn Romance, Found Family

She calls the Empire home. He pledges to bring its downfall.

Death is Velamir’s close acquaintance. As a student in the Chishman academy, he cannot escape the brutal war. When he’s sent on a mission with three fellow academy cadets, Velamir returns to the Empire, the land of his birth. Calamity befalls the group as they trek through enemy territory, and Velamir learns a part of his past that makes the mission far more personal. Burdened with the deaths of the unavenged and the chance of losing his own life, Velamir must decide if revenge is worth the cost.

Natassa knows her role well: The silent and obedient girl. The one who looks away from the torture her father, the emperor, inflicts on the Empire’s inhabitants. The princess. But she’s a shackled prisoner, and somewhere under the mask is a spark of rebellion. When she learns of her father’s intention to marry her to a man she loathes, Natassa crafts a risky plan of her own—one dangerous enough to get her killed.

Two searching hearts. Two perilous paths. Velamir must find the courage to face his past and Natassa must find the strength to face herself before the war consumes them both.

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Blog Tour: How to Get Away With Murder – Tam Barnett

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A delightfully twisty and darkly comic crime thriller, for fans of My Sister, the Serial Killer and How to Kill Your Family

I’m obsessed with true crime. All the podcasts, the documentaries… I can’t get enough.

And now there’s a murderer on the loose where I live. What a rush!

Of course, some people might wonder if it’s me. Am I an innocent soul with an unhealthy fascination, or a deadly psychopath?

It’s the killer question. After all, I would love to know how to get away with murder…

Tam Barnett’s debut novel is perfect for readers of Katy Brent, CJ Skuse or Bella Mackie.

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Tam Barnett is a journalist, living in London. His debut with Boldwood is How To Get Away With Murder, a darkly comic thriller set in the Wirral.

Facebook: @TamBarnettBooks
Twitter: @TamBarnettBooks
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My thoughts: This could be subtitled “when a true crime obsession goes too far”

Our narrator is a journalist covering crime stories, but one without a home these days, as she’s been let go from various papers, luckily an old friend is editor at one of the nationals, because her competition is at one of the local papers, and she’s determined to get to the story first.

Her obsession with crime leads her to consume a huge amount of it, books, documentaries, the news, to the point where it’s become a bit unhealthy, and now this new serial killer, who might just be someone close to home…

Dark, twisted, blackly comic at times, this is a really enjoyable addition to the genre from a new writer and I really liked 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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Blog Tour: If the Ring Fits – Camilla Isley

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When Life Gives You Lemons, Fake an Engagement

When investment banker Adrian and software engineer Rowena started the day, they didn’t expect to end it engaged!

But Adrian has invented a fake fiancée to impress his CEO, regretting the lie
almost immediately, and now he is in hot water. Meanwhile, Rowena’s career has just gone up in flames, leaving her unemployed, unexpectedly expecting with no father in the picture, and short of
options. When fate throws these two hot messes into a meet-cute of epic proportions, it’s a match made in rock-bottom heaven. They say love is blind, and with nothing to lose, Adrian gets down on one knee… and Rowena says yes!

The rules of engagement are simple:
Pretend to be madly in love
Keep their real lives separate
Absolutely, positively do NOT catch feelings

However, faking it is harder than they thought, especially when every overnight stay comes with only one bed and zero personal space—blurring that imaginary line between ‘just business’ and ‘definitely
personal.’

Soon, their carefully constructed charade starts to feel alarmingly… real. Can Adrian and Rowena stick to their engagement pact, or will their fake relationship graduate to something authentically messy, complicated, and wonderful?

Find out in this hilarious, heartwarming tale of two strangers who said “I do” before they even said “Hello.” Because sometimes, the worst day of your life just might lead to the best mistake you’ll
ever make.

If the Ring Fits is an age gap, marriage of convenience rom-com with a multi-millionaire MMC and a STEM FMC perfect for fans of Lynn Painter, Sarah Adams and Fallon Ballard**

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Camilla Isley is an engineer who left science behind to write bestselling contemporary rom-coms set all around the world. She lives in Italy and her first title for Boldwood, The Love Theorem, a
Hollywood-meets-STEM romance, was be published in June 2023.

Facebook: @CamillaIsley
Twitter: @CamillaIsley
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Bookbub profile: @CamillaIsley

My thoughts: These loosely interconnected rom coms are a lot of fun, and this one’s no exception.

Getting fired on the day she’s just learnt that she’s pregnant with her awful ex’s baby isn’t exactly what Rowena planned. Her day could be going better, but when a handsome stranger throwing up in the bathroom stall next to where she’s throwing up, suggests they play fake fiancée to convince his boss he’s not all about work, without really hesitating, she says “why not?” And it gets crazier from there.

The handsome stranger is Adrian, a financial whizz who’s in line for CEO but his boss wants to see more from him, basically he needs to get a life. And he’s invented a pregnant fiancée in a panic, now he actually needs to find one.

As the pair play house (albeit with a housekeeper, driver, maids and very little to do around the huge fancy apartment) and try to convince people they’re madly in love and not plotting their relationship on a spreadsheet, the inevitable happens.

But will it be ok? Can a romance you cooked up in a desperate moment actually become something real? Well, you’ll have to read it and find out! I’m not telling.

Fun, funny and hugely entertaining, I can’t wait for the next one!

*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: An Italian Island Secret – Victoria Springfield

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Escape to a beautiful Italian island with this wonderfully romantic story, threaded with secrets and intrigue.

It’s time to return to Ischia…

Alessia knows her grandmother grew up on the beautiful Italian island off the coast from Naples. But Ornella seldom talks about her life there – or why she never went back.

So Alessia is amazed when Ornella reveals that, in the months before she left Ischia, she had worked on the set of a famous 1950s movie filmed on the island. Is there a link between the film set and the tragic death of Ornella’s teenage sister?
Ornella has kept her past – and the heart-wrenching promise she made – a secret for over sixty years. She has tried not to think about the love she gave up. But now, perhaps the truth should
finally be revealed…

Travelling to Ischia together, Alessia falls in love with the utterly captivating island. Meeting handsome journalist Roberto helps her dig deeper into her family’s past, too. Just what happened to Ornella’s sister? What heart-wrenching secret is her grandmother hiding?

This summer, can Alessia and Ornella put the past to rest and find the happy ending they both deserve?

A wonderfully escapist, romantic and compelling story of secrets and sacrifice, love and loyalty, that is perfect for fans of Karen Swan, Louise Douglas and Rosanna Ley.

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Victoria Springfield writes contemporary ‘wish you were here’ evocative women’s fiction set in Italy.
Her feel-good books follow unforgettable characters of all ages as they deal with love, loss, friendship and family secrets. Readers can feel the sunshine!

Facebook: VictoriaSpringfieldAuthor

Twitter: @VictoriaSwrites

Instagram: @victoriaswrites

My thoughts: This was a lovely, sun drenched read, perfect for chilly January, although it would work pretty much any time!

Ornella never talks about her past, or why she and her husband left Ischia to move to the UK when they did, so her apparently sudden decision to open up and then to return takes granddaughter Alessia by surprise. Triggered by the death of an Italian film star, Ornella’s story takes us back to the 1950s full of glamour and tragedy.

In the present day Alessia and journalist Roberto delve into the events of that past, searching for answers, the stories don’t add up and there has to be more to it. A tragic event throws their investigation into  relief as history seems to be repeating itself, but can something good come from so much sadness?

Romantic and sweeping, with the Mediterranean glistening in the background, this little island has a story to tell. Inspired by the truly glamorous film stars who once graced Italy’s southern coast and its unique history, this transported me to the warm glow of an Italian summer. Marvellous.

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